The Alpha's Temptation

The lights in it were still throbbing wildly. He picked up the soul stone. He pressed it in his palm. The lights calmed down and when they were completely gone, he gave it to her. "Don't remove that from your body, Tania," he said. "Or lose it..." Tania took it from him and with trembling hands put it around on her neck.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Rolfe asked.

Biham had also come in by then. He looked visibly shaken by seeing daughter's condition. He sat beside Rolfe on the ground after clearing the damp twigs and moss.

"I saw my Master, Menkar in my dreams. I was surrounded by rings of fire and I felt as if my body was burning. I couldn't breathe... I couldn't move out of those rings of fire. I felt trapped and thought I would never be able to come out of them."

"Then how did you come out?" Rolfe asked, narrowing his eyes.

Tania sucked in a ragged breath. "I closed my eyes and chanted a spell to break free. And the next moment, I peeled open my eyes."

"Was he asking anything from you?" Rolfe probed.

"He wanted to know where I was. But--" she looked away. "This was just a dream. I mean it can't be real, right?" She was still shaking. Eltanin covered her with his cloak.

"That bastard knows dark magic. It is not a secret in Araniea!" Eltanin spat. "And he has a piece of your soul!"

"This is a way of communicating with you, Tania," said Rolfe. "Did you tell him where you are?"

"No..." Tania was as shocked as she was perplexed. Her Master had never got into this kind of torture. And a shudder passed through her when she thought that by possessing a piece of her soul, he could get into her dreams and make her suffer.

"Good. Don't tell him where you are."

"Are you sure this was his way of communication?" she asked incredulously. This had happened for the first time.

"Yes, Lusitania!" Rolfe said. "Right now I have coated the soul stone with a concealing magic. And I hope that he is not able to reach you. In case he tries to reach you, call me. If he wants, he can forever bind you in your dreams and torture you."

"Bloody demon!" Biham rasped as his brows furrowed. "The only people who know dark magic are those in the Cetus Monastery." He looked at Eltanin. "Do you think that there are some lose ones who practice it outside Cetus?"

"There could be," Eltanin said. "Who knows? Why?"

Biham shook his head lightly. "Nothing."

"Come, let us start with Yunabi," Rolfe suggested. Then he looked at the men. "I want both of you to go out. As soon as Ileus and Anastasia are here, send them in."

"They haven't come yet?" Eltanin remarked, his eyebrows shooting to the hairline.

Rolfe chuckled and rose to his feet. "I hope they come in an hour, else we are going to leave them and proceed ahead." He went outside to bring Yunabi from the saddlebag.

Biham got up and walked to where Tania stood. He held her hands in his and said, "I am so proud of you, Lusitania. I hope that this nightmare is over soon."

Tania smiled as Biham embraced her snugly.

Yunabi behaved properly. The book wasn't in its usual self-destruction mode. All the symbols and text in it wiggled, but they didn't run away. In fact, they seemed to breathe. As soon as Tania started reading them, they flew out of the book rhythmically like music. They converted into honey-colored smoky tendrils and reached Tania. She absorbed all the magic easily without having trouble. Last time when she translated Yunabi, she felt as if her chest would explode with all the magic. But now she received them calmly. Within two hours, she finished five pages which was quite a progress. Back in Draka, she would do no more than two pages at a time.

Rolfe was impressed. "You are doing pretty well, Tania," he said. "If you want, we can take a rest." When she was absorbing the Yunabi magic, he saw how streaks of white lights would appear on her back in a zigzag pattern and then disappear. Her wings.

She chuckled. "No, I can do more. I am used to reading for the whole day." Her back was itching. She scratched herself over there.

Rolfe smiled at her eagerness. "I am sure you can, but all that magic is new in your body. It would need to be channelized. Take a rest. We will resume in an hour."

She whined, reluctant to stop. Rolfe tussled her hair and then left. Tania followed him and saw that Biham was standing on the cave's entrance alone. "Where is Eltanin?" she asked.

"He has gone to hunt!"

"Rolfe!" Anastasia's loud voice came. They all looked in that direction. Both of them were standing on the other side of the lake.

Rolfe waved at them, grumbling curses.

Ileus nudged his horse to turn back when Anastasia slapped across his forearm and threatened him that she would rather fly to them if he didn't behave. Ileus grunted and started moving forward. When they reached the cave, Ileus dismounted and held Anastasia to dismount. His hair was ruffled. There were twigs and grass blades and red petals on his hair and cloak. Some of them were also on Anastasia's wings. They both looked like they had rolled through the valley of passion flowers rather than rode through it.

"What happened to the two of you?" Biham asked. "Did a beast attack you?"

Anastasia blushed like the first rays of morning. "Yes, a beast attacked me," she said. "I need a solid bath! Is there water inside?" she asked, walking inside the cave.

Ileus stared at Biham with his golden eyes and then chose to ignore him. He walked inside after his wife.

"There is!" Tania warned her. "Don't go there but!"

Anastasia frowned. "Why?"

"There are these shimmery lights that--"

"Anastasia is the heir of this kingdom, Tania," Ileus cut her off. "She knows how to control them. Can't you see that she needs a proper bath?"

Tania said, "I can help you--" as she too rushed after Anastasia.

Rolfe grabbed Tania's arm and in a low voice said, "Unless you want to see some crazy water sex, you wouldn't want to go after them."

Tania's mouth opened and then she snapped it shut. She stopped immediately. "I think I will wait for Eltanin."

Rolfe rolled his eyes. His brother-in-law was hard to handle around his wife.

Eltanin came ten minutes later. He had two bunnies in his hand. "Do you know how to make rabbit stew?" he asked as he gave them to his wife. He was loving this caveman thing. Being a wolf, his natural instincts were to live in the wild. And he was enjoying the wilds. He started to go inside when Tania stopped him.

"Princess Anastasia is taking a bath!"

Eltanin blinked once at his wife. His cheeks pinkened. "I am going to hunt another rabbit for our next stoppage!"

An hour later, Rolfe and Tania were back in the cave with Anastasia. Ileus and Biham were on the outside, preparing a rabbit stew. Tania knew it would be a disaster.

"The next part of Yunabi is complicated, Tania," said Rolfe. "We will have Ileus to stand at your back."