The Alpha's Temptation

After riding through the gray weather for an hour, a gust of chilling wind blew away the dense clouds, letting the evening sun peep out even if it was for a little while. Lerna's mare neighed softly as she shook the prisoned snowflakes out of its glossy mane.

She slowed her mare, in order to slowly let it into the sun. Sun was a rare commodity in Hydra and so whenever it was out, Lerna would run wild beneath it. This is what she did now--enjoy the feel of it on her face. Feeling languid, Lerna patted her mare and scratched her mane as she watched the trees around her. Every other often she would see a blur of white or brown or black or gray among the gnarled branches of the woods. She would glance at Rigel, hopefully hoping that he wouldn't look back at her, but she would find him looking her way only. Her cheeks would pink and she would whip her head away.

"I wanted to say one thing to you. Can I ask for something?" Lerna said with a lot of courage.

"Sure!" Rigel came closer to her. An inch closer and he would practically have his horse ride hers. And this was the first demand from his mate. He was going to give her all the rubies and emeralds of the kingdom and if she wanted, he would open the treasure or Orion for her.

She bit her lip and then hesitated a little. Then gathering some courage, she said, "Can you find a polka dotted horse for me?" The moment she asked the question, she berated herself. How could she even demand such a thing from Prince Rigel and that too in the first few hours of their meeting? He had just rescued her and what would he think. Yet, here she was. Stupidly blurting her wants. She had this fantasy that she possessed a horse with polka dots. They weren't available in Hydra. Maybe they were available in the kingdom of Orion. She flushed a beetroot red when she found Rigel staring at her.

A beautiful challenge swam in her eyes and her nostrils flared when Rigel stared at her for a very long time. She was so adorable. She didn't want rubies and emeralds. She wanted a polka dotted horse? His gaze dropped to her lips and a smile came to him. "A polka dotted horse it will be then," he replied. His blood rushed to his groin when she gave him a mesmerizing smile. He get a polka dotted horse for her.

"So, what books were you talking about?" Eltanin asked Ileus. They were riding behind Rigel and Lerna.  "There are plenty in the library at Pegasus Palace and then also in Draka's. And if you are talking about the arcana, that is in Draka. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about Yunabi. When we reach Pegasii, you can have a conversation with Lusitania about it. It is very important that she starts translating Yunabi as soon as possible!"

Ileus yawned as he stared at Eltanin with that boring glare. "I am not talking about those books. I discovered these books in the human realm where my cousin Daryn lives with his wife, Dawn. They are quite a handful." He grinned thinking about them. "What do you think about them, Rolfe?"

"Yes, they are good! Have you brought some here?" Rolfe wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"Of course. What's life without them?" Ileus replied nonchalantly. "Would you like to see them, Eltanin?"

"I wouldn't mind," Eltanin said in all seriousness. "But what are they about?"

Ileus tilted his head. He scratched his day-old stubble. "They are about a certain type of... education."

"Oh, I see!" Eltanin replied with curiosity. "If the books were recommended by Prince Ileus Volkov, surely, they were of importance. "What kind of education? Sword fight, magic, dark magic or something in the games of politics? And I think even Rigel can benefit from them."

Ileus sighed. "Rigel is a baby for those books. He has just found his mate and I can't give those books to distract him any further than he already is."

Eltanin raised his eyebrow. What had mate got to do with the books? "Won't it be better that even his mate read them? She is--"

"No!" Ileus cut him off.

Eltanin became too curious. What kind of education it would be that Ileus wasn't willing to share with Rigel and his mate. He didn't question, but he was full of questions. He would glance at Ileus every now and then for the next few minutes, open his mouth to ask something, but snapped it shut.

Ileus knew that he had raised the inquisitiveness of a wolf to the next level. The only way to get Eltanin off his back was when he gave him the book. He flicked his wrist. The books appeared inside the saddlebag of the horse he was riding. He turned towards it, opened the bag and took one book out of it. Giving it to Eltanin, he said, "It's difficult not to have them when you are on a journey. They keep you... entertained." Just as when Eltanin was about to take it, he withdrew it. "Remember to give it back to me as soon as you have read it, okay?"

"Sure!" Eltanin bobbed his head, happy that Ileus could share his knowledge. Ileus gave the book to him and the moment he saw the cover, his eyes widened. His entire world shrank and his limbs stiffened. The cover was that of a man and a woman standing naked against each other, with a serpent coiling around their bodies. The man's fingers were in between her thighs and disappeared inside her. "Fuck!" He left the reins of his horse and then whipped his head back to look at Ileus who had smugly raised his chin and eyebrow.

"Did you like it?" he asked.

Eltanin was dumbfounded. Slowly, he dragged his gaze to the book and then back at him. He opened the first page and his mouth dropped to the floor. "I love it!" he rasped. He imagined Tania in that position beneath him. "Fuck!" He raked his fingers through his hair as if he had found a treasure. "C--can I keep it for a few days?" he asked. He barely sounded like a king. And suddenly he understood why Rigel couldn't read it.

"Sure," Ileus gave him a benevolent smile. "I have more of those." He looked at Rolfe and winked. Rolfe shook his head. They got a new member for their library. Maybe, he should start charging them something now. His club was widening at a rapid speed.

They rode into Pegasii by the time the periwinkle skies of the evening blended into the darkness of the night.

King Biham and Princess Lusitania were waiting for them on the steps of the palace. The moment Biham's eyes met with that of Ileus and Rolfe, he bowed to them immediately. He had immense respect in his eyes for them as he recognized them. At the same time, he was absolutely stunned as to how come these men were marching along with his son-in-law.