The Alpha's Temptation

The Pegasii palace was like a fortress. It wasn't that Mizvah couldn't enter it, it was that the wing where Princess Morava stayed was sealed. Entering that part, then going to her bedchamber and stealing the bag of gems was like putting your hand inside the gaping maw of a hungry lion. If found, he would be hanged to death from the tree outside Pegasii and his body would be left for vultures to feed. Yet, Mizvah was driven... for his love for the princess. He was sure that after he stole the precious gems from her bedchamber, he would be able to bribe the jailer and then she would be free from dungeons.

Once Morava would be free, she would never return to Pegasii and he would take her away from the two kingdoms. Together, they would make a home for themselves and have babies. What would his babies look like? He wanted them to be like her. She was so beautiful and feisty and sensuous. Mizvah took a deep breath when he reached the gates of the Pegasii Palace. It had taken two days to reach here from Draka. He had traveled by road, hitched a ride in a gypsy caravan and even shared a saddle with a lone traveler to reach here. The soldiers knew him and so without asking for papers they opened the gates for him.

He avoided going to his home and instead took a bath in the stream on the outside before entering the palace. He stole a fresh pair of tunic and trousers from a fellow soldier. Once he was on the inside, he knew his way to Morava's bedchamber. It was a bright sunny day and he knew he should wait for the evening to enter that wing, but he also knew that he didn't have the luxury of time. After stealing the gems, he had to travel back and that would take another two days.

Mizvah looked at the string of guards that were pacing up and down the corridors. He knew the schedule. It was common knowledge amongst the guards on how to seal a certain building. There were three shifts. One in the morning that ran till afternoon and then one in the afternoon that ran till midnight. The guards of the midnight shift were always new ones while the guards of the day shifts were the same.

It took precisely five minutes for Mizvah to get dressed like one of the guards and then gel with the soldiers out there.

"Seeing you after a long time, Mizvah!" said one of them. "Your lover isn't here anyone." He winked.

"I heard she is adorning the dungeons of the Draka Kingdom!" sneered another one.

Mizvah controlled his anger. "I am no more concerned about her," he replied nonchalantly as he walked further into the sealed wing.

The two guards behind him laughed and walked away. Mizvah rushed to the corridor that led to Morava's bedroom. Two guards were stationed that paced the whole corridor. He said, "You both are called at the training center. General Balfour has sent a message to some of the guards, not all."

The guards stopped in their tracks. "But the General isn't in Pegasii!" said one of them.

Mizvah pursed his lips. "I know, but that's the message I have been asked to deliver."

He spoke it with so much seriousness that the guards believed him instantly. "Then you better keep an eye over here till we return!"

Mizvah nodded. He knew that they trusted him. As soon as they left, Mizvah entered the bedchamber. He rushed to the place where Morava had stashed the precious gems. He found a small black velvet bag and hid it inside his tunic. He left as soon as possible. He didn't go out the way he had come in. Instead he walked out of the palace from the rear. As he dashed through the jungles, he saw two wolves playing with each other on the grass. The wolves whimpered and pawed and yipped and nipped each other, but none of them even looked in his direction. It was as if they were in a mating dance. The world around them had faded.

He wondered who could be the white wolf? White wolves were rare and the only one that existed or that people knew of was Prince Rigel. Did that mean that the prince was in Pegasii? He shook his head. What would Prince Rigel do here? And even if he was here, was he again on one of his indulgences? Scared that he would get detected, he crouched behind a bush, hoping that he would escape without them seeing him.

After a long time when nothing happened, Mizvah peeked at them from the side of the bush and found that a large white wolf was playing with a dark brown she-wolf. They were nuzzling each other. The white wolf had jumped and caught the neck of the brown one. She whimpered and rolled on her back as if surrendering to the wolf. The white wolf nuzzled her neck as she pawed him. Mizvah couldn't help but smile at them. They looked... in love. He imagined Morava and himself in that position. Slowly, he padded away from that place leaving the lovers in solace.

He was back on his way to Draka Kingdom by evening. This time he stole a horse from the royal stables and rode it. He knew that his absence would be noted soon. He had to hurry up. He rode all night but he was forced to stop when a raging blizzard started. He muttered curses but he couldn't risk riding in the heavy snow.

---

General Alphard had crossed the borders of Hydra by midnight. He had planned on reaching the borders of Aquila where the disturbance occurred. However, by the time they were not even a few miles out, a blizzard started. The army was forced to stop and camp in a clearing in the Ivory Forest. The four Alphas were getting anxious and jittery and all the more furious with each passing minute. Unfortunately the blizzard didn't stop for the whole night.

Alphard asked his men to erect tents for the Alphas but by the time the tents were erected, the Alphas had shifted and they ran into the deep woods in their wolf form. He shook his head. The Alphas were in their peak breeding season and they needed to mate. The problem was that they wanted to mate with the girl who was their bride. He just hoped that the four didn't stray much. If anything happened to them, Felis would take only a minute to chop his head.

Alphard was too tense. He must have cursed Lerna so much yet he cursed her again. And he cursed the Nyxer who took her, who was his mate. Everything was going on pretty well in Hydra, but this event shoved them in huge trouble. Didn't Lerna understand that she was the only princess born to Hydra after so long? She was precious and being a demon werewolf heiress, she could cater to all twelve Alphas easily.

---

"I have to go to Draka," Eltanin said to Tania as they walked to the throne hall. Rigel and Lerna had run to the woods that surrounded the palace and Eltanin thought that it would not be right to send guards after them. Because if he did, Rigel would kill every one of them. Reason: he was with his unclaimed mate. Any virile man in her vicinity would be a threat to him. Even he thought the same for Tania and only rested when he claimed her. Even now he had problems accepting men around her. His possessiveness and obsession about Tania, was unfathomable. He was new to marital bliss and having a mate. His emotions were everywhere.

"Why?" she whined. "Stay back."

"I want to, Tania, but it isn't right for me to stay away from Draka for so long" he said as he brought her hand to his chest. He let all the guards see what he was doing because he was fed up of being secretive about his relationship with her. He was aware of all the gossip that was running that the royals were hooking up at night. And he let them run. It was better.

She sighed as her lips curled down. "Father wants me to meet some more nobility and take a tour of the kingdom. If I go on the tour, it would take at least a month before I return."

"What?" Eltanin stopped in his tracks.

Tania stopped and came to stand in front of him. "I have declined that request, Elty!"

He took a sigh of relief. "Then when are you returning?" he asked. "Rolfe Aramaer would be arriving at Draka in three days."

"And what about Prince Ileus Volkov?"

"I don't know."

They rounded the corner and reached the throne hall where King Biham immediately beckoned her to come and join him on the dais where another throne was kept right beside his. As she trudged to the throne, a pale blush rose on her cheeks. Every courtier rose and bowed to her. When she reached the throne, Biham said, "Get used to it, Lusitania. You will soon be on the throne of Draka as their queen."

Tania jerked her head in surprise to see Biham. "Father?"

Biham winked. "I have received a message from Prince Ileus."

She held her breath to listen to it.

"However, I want you to go to Draka and translate Yunabi first," Biham said in a mysterious way.

"And Pegasii?"

"I have plans."