The Alpha's Temptation

"They must be sleeping. I don't think it would be right to disturb them at this time..." Rigel said unwillingly. "Why don't you also sleep and then I will take you to meet them in the morning?"

Eltanin nodded and then jumped on the bed beside him. "That's also fine." Even though he was eager to meet Ileus and Rolfe, it wasn't a good idea to wake them up at such an ungodly hour.

"Hey, get out of my bed!" Rigel growled as he kicked Eltanin.

"You get out of it!" Eltanin kicked him back. A tussle later both of them were lying side by side. However, when Rigel brought his hand over Eltanin's chest, Eltanin pushed him down the bed and stretched over it in a way that left no space for Rigel. He threw the blanket for him on the floor. Rigel was so sleepy that he gave up. He spread the blanket on the ground and laid down on it. Just before he drifted off to sleep, he said, "I won't take you with me to Hydra... I don't want you to be exposed to Felis now that you have found your mate... You must claim Lusitania after she has read Yunabi... only after that..."

Eltanin stared at the canvas of the tent's ceiling for a long time. He didn't reply.

When they woke up the next morning, it was before dawn. Rigel didn't wake up Eltanin. He didn't want to take him to the Hydra Kingdom. He knew that even if his beast was stronger than before, Felis would try his best to leash his beast if he knew that Eltanin was in Hydra. No. He would never take that chance. Rigel shuddered when he recalled how he rescued Eltanin the last time. By the time he had reached Eltanin, he was so badly tortured that Rigel had nightmares about it for a long time. He couldn't even imagine what all Eltanin had gone through.

Rigel looked at his friend, who was sleeping peacefully, one last time before leaving the tent. He had made the decision to go alone with Ileus and Rolfe to find his mate. Even if he died on this mission, at least he wouldn't have the burden of Eltanin's capture on his shoulders. What would happen to Lusitania?

When Rigel reached Rolfe's tent, he saw that he wasn't inside. All his men were already set to leave as he had instructed them. There was a commotion amongst the soldiers of both the kingdoms. Rigel went to Ileus's tent and he wasn't there either. Had they left already? Did they think it to be a burden to help him? Rigel whipped his head to look around for them, feeling helpless with his hands on his waist. If they had left, he felt responsible for the fact that they might not help Eltanin as well. He should have let them go to Eltanin. Suddenly, his legs felt weak when he realized the gravity of the situation. His hopes came crashing down as desperation seeped in his chest.

He closed his eyes and tipped his head up to clear the fog in his mind. Even without their help, he would go in search of his mate. He didn't know whether he would return alive from Hydra or not, but he didn't care. He shook his head and scoffed. What did he think? It was ridiculous to expect that  Ileus and Rolfe would help him. At the same time, he regretted that he stole Lusitania's chance to learn Yunabi. He became all the more determined not to take Eltanin with him. He walked to where his men were. "Rein the horses!" he ordered them. "We will ride soon!"

Just as he reached the thicket where his horse was tied, shadows and smoke burst out in front of him and a pair of golden eyes emerged from them. He almost jumped back, shocked at the way it happened. "Ileus!" he rasped. Rolfe walked behind Ileus, popping his ear.

"Stop doing that, okay?" Rolfe snarled. "At least warn me next time!"

Rigel gaped at the two men in front of him. He thought they had left. "Where were you?"

Ileus exhaled a rough breath and said, "We had gone to Hydra Kingdom."

"What?" Rigel almost jumped out of his skin. "Alone? That place is full of dangers! How could you go alone? I am so worried about Eltanin's safety that half of my hair is already gray, and now I have to worry about you?" Rage boiled inside his chest along with anxiety.

"Relax Orion!" Ileus said as he walked past him and grabbed a water canteen from a stunned soldier. The soldier gawked at Ileus without realizing that his canteen was gone.

"I am Rigel, not Orion!" Rigel snapped.

Ileus threw the canteen to Rolfe who drank the water greedily.

"That place is dangerous," Ileus warned, leaning against the trunk of a tree to catch his breath. "I didn't see a single woman out on the streets. They were all men. Are you sure you smelled your mate?"

Rigel tensed. What if his mate was a man? He was a straight wolf. "I did." Still, he had to go and find out. And he couldn't get over the fact that Ileus and Rolfe had infiltrated the Hydra Kingdom on their own and returned unharmed.

Ileus looked pensive as if contemplating on what to do next. He looked at Rolfe and then said, "Maybe we need to get some faes here. I don't think that it would be a great idea to go there by land. Felis's dark magic is vicious."

"But the more the people there are, the riskier it will be," Rolfe replied.

Ileus straightened and then began pacing the small clearing between the thicket. "In that case what do you suggest? Hydra is fortified as hell. The Nyxers roam around that place like ants. Felis's palace is carved beneath a mountain. It's not like any normal palace that one can approach easily. It has only one entrance and that is the front gate." He glanced at Rigel who was pretty nervous by now.

"Maybe, you both should go to Eltanin and do the work you have come for. I-- I will take care of my own problem," Rigel said defeatedly.

"I will accompany you," Eltanin's voice came from behind and jolted him. Eltanin came forward and bowed to Ileus and Rolfe. "I am so honored to meet you. Thank you for accepting my invitation."

"King Eltanin." Ileus walked to him and the two grasped each other's forearms, the way kings met. "This is Rolfe Aramaer," Ileus said, pointing at the demon who also approached them.

Eltanin's smile turned into a grin. "You bring hope to our lands," he said as Rolfe also greeted him with a bow. It was the first time Eltanin had seen them and he was... mesmerized. Ileus and Rolfe were everything the legends said and then some.

"I hope I can be of help," Rolfe replied benevolently.

"Eltanin, that place is dangerous! I won't let you come with me!" Rigel protested.

"I have already made my decision, Rigel," Eltanin replied firmly, crossing his arms across his chest. "I will go with you. I will not go back to my palace and wring my fingers as you hunt for your mate here!"