The Alpha's Temptation

The Nyxers went away chatting with each other. Another Nyxer joined them and they veered left over a bridge.

The highest spire, where they were supposed to go, didn't have a single opening. There was no bridge connected to it and it looked like it was carved out of the mountain for monumental purposes. It didn't look like anyone inhabited it.

"Let us go to that bridge," Ileus said pointing with his chin to the bridge that led up to the next level. They had to look around every side in order to find the entrance.

They crossed three levels using the interconnecting bridge until they came as close as possible to the spire where she was held. They scanned the whole place to find a way to get close to the spire, but there was none. Suddenly, they heard yips and snarls. Rolfe rushed to the rail of the bridge they were standing on and looked down. A pack of wolves ran from the base of the tower as if they had just appeared out of nowhere. Ileus walked over and stood  beside Rolfe. He narrowed his eyes and his lips curled up. "The entrance is carved into the stone," he scoffed. "Idiots!"

Eltanin stayed close to Rigel, whose eyes were flickering a winter blue. "Do we have to go back down to the base?" he asked.

"Yes!" Ileus replied. He gave a cursory look to Rigel and then hurried back down to the first floor. They crossed the stream and veered left into an avenue that led to the tower. The wolves were still there barking and howling as if they were in agony. They were all leashed by two Nyxers. Ileus pulled Rolfe to a corridor and they started to walk slowly away from the tower. Eltanin and Rigel followed.

Ileus rasped, "We will need to take the wolves and the Nyxers if we have to get in. And I am sure that there are more of the Nyxers inside. However, the moment we take them down, the whole place will be alerted! We won't be able to stop after that." He looked at Rolfe and said, "Can you shield us with magic while coming out?"

"I can, but I am sure that Felis will detect it sooner or later. It will cause quite a commotion!"

"We will have to take our chances!" Eltanin said as he moved his neck from left to right. His muscles bulged. "I can't let my friend suffer."

Rigel's fangs had lengthened. Seeing the Nyxers around his unmarked mate was causing havoc on his senses. He was continuously growling at them. He couldn't believe that Eltanin was able to stay so focused and composed when he had scented  his mate for the first time. No wonder he was the strongest wolf in all of Araniea.

"Rigel, listen to me wolf!" Eltanin said in a low voice as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "You have to protect yourself and your mate from these people. And that can only be achieved if you focus and push your wolf down. You can do it!"

Sweat broke out onto his face. His chest heaved up and down. He closed his eyes and forced his wolf down, promising him that he would let him come out once their mate was  free. On the promise, his wolf settled down. When he opened his eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, I am ready."

---

Winter winds howled out the dark window of the tower. Lerna could hear it whipping the flags of the palace around through the cracks in the walls. Hail pelted the stone walls. It was strange to watch the brutality of the ice storm raging at such early hours of the day when she soaked in the heat of her bath. Vapors rose as thick hot tendrils over the tub and slowly filled the bathroom. Her nannies were lathering her legs with scented bars of soap. The marks on her wrists and ankles were red and angry. Skin was raised and bruised in many places. Every time a finger touched the marks, she would wince in pain.

"Alphas are going to love you," said one of them. "They have been waiting for you to come of age."

Sweat beaded on her skin as every muscle in her body tensed. Felis was going to throw her in front of a dozen alphas. Was he even in his right mind? She had pleaded with him, but it was like hitting your head against the Crimson Peak. He was unrelenting and threatened her. Her lips quivered when she thought of the ritual.

A heavy scent of pine mixed with crisp snow pulled her from her stupor. She jerked her head up from the rim of the tub, her brows pulling tight together. It was as if her soul was being tugged in thatl direction. The smell was... addictive. She loved it. Her lips parted and she licked her bottom lip. Heat pooled between her thighs and she yearned to touch herself.

"What is it?" the nanny asked as Lerna's legs went back in the water.

Lerna looked left and right but her body was so heated that the bathroom became hotter and cloying.

"Princess Lerna!" the nanny breathed, feeling worried about her. "Are you okay?" They had brought Lerna from the crypt and she was very unwell. The healer had given them a variety of salves and pastes to apply to her skin. They had brought her back only a night back. She only has a few days with her before she will be given to the alphas, and in those four days she had to be brought back to full health. She should be healed completely by then, because if she complained that she wasn't feeling well still, heads would roll.

Lerna was in her own world. The smell was so intoxicating and strong that she couldn't help but reach towards it. But where was it coming from? She wanted to understand what it was before asking anyone about it. The worrying part was that her wolf wanted to come out. It rarely came out, because it was afraid of Felis. What if Felis leashed it? But now--now it wanted to howl and go towards the scent it had smelled.

"I want all of you to leave!" She ordered her nannies.

"But you aren't feeling well!" the nanny gasped.

"Get. Out." She said in a menacing voice, showing her fangs. As such her wolf was clamoring inside of her to be free.

The nannies trembled at her order. They didn't want to see the wrath of the princess of Hydra. They just scurried out of the bathroom, leaving her alone. Lerna rose from the tub and stepped out. She picked up a towel from a chair, dried herself and wrapped it around her body. "Stay down. Stay down," she kept repeating the mantra for her wolf to keep low. But her body was overwhelmed with emotions so strong that she couldn't understand it. Adrenaline rushed through her and her body heated. Her heart accelerated as she padded her way to the window that overlooked the thick snow of the Crimson Peaks. Her brother had smartly locked her in this tower. It was the highest in the palace and didn't have a single entrance, apart from the one at the base. All the windows that opened were in the rooms near the ceiling and were facing towards the mountains.