The Alpha's Temptation

"Stripping off you?" Eltanin asked, puzzled. The swirl was only a few meters away now. If only he could make through the swirl and jump off into whatever was on the other side, he would attend to Tania immediately. Ileus had informed him that the portal will close soon enough. It opened only at a certain time and that too if it sensed the presence of a fae.

All at once, a blast sounded behind them. The horses whinnied and Wind reared. "Calm down, Wind!" Eltanin urged him, now wasn't the time. But what was that blast about? Since it wasn't near him, he continued to soothe his horse and goaded him to move forward.

"Can you keep that down?" Ileus shouted. It was Anastasia who was so pissed off by the vampires that she conjured all her energy that she could in Sgiáth Bio and hurled it at the vampires who were coming behind them. It flung in the form of blue sizzling lights. It hit the heads of the beasts and they exploded. Only one was able to dodge it because he jumped on the sides. Blood and flesh and bones spurted out of them in fountains, splashing and splattering on the snow-covered ground.

Rolfe looked ahead. The swirl was not even fifty meters away. Biham was close to it. He was going to jump his horse any time. "Anastasia!" he called her. "Go!"

Anastasia left the solitary vampire on the sides and spun. She flapped her wings strongly and flew over them. She stopped right before the portal that was swirling like whale's teeth gone mad, and looked at Eltanin. Then she gave one tight knowing nod to Ileus and leapt inside the swirl. Biham jumped his horse right after.

Rolfe sent a fresh burst of spell on Tania's back. She shrieked with excruciating pain. White lights sizzled across her back as if yawning from a long sleep. They took the shape of wings and… unfurled. Tania could feel the sizzle of the lights. They were speedily zigzagging, creating a pattern behind her.

"I am going to do it now!" Ileus shouted. With his blazing golden eyes, and a strained neck, he increased the speed of his horse. He sidled with Eltanin's horse.

"What are you doing?" Eltanin hissed when he saw that Ileus was picking up Tania.

But without another word, Ileus yanked her away from Eltanin and made her sit in front of him.

"Ileussss!" Eltanin roared. However he was too close to the portal. There was no time for him to stop.

Tania was already suffering in so much pain that she was numb. Ileus placed his hand on her back to cast his unlock spell. The moment he did it, Tania let out another shriek. Beneath the skin of her back, she felt as if thousands of needles were crawling. They all wanted to come out at once. And if they came out, they would pierce her back, make holes and she would become terribly wounded.

Rolfe's horns started curling up as he saw that Ileus has cast his spell. This was the time when everything had to be extremely well coordinated, else Tania would be physically affected. It was possible that one of her wings— He shoved the thought out of his mind and focused back on Ileus and Tania.

"Jump through!" Ileus said to Rolfe through his clenched teeth. His hands were on Tania's back. The lights on her wings were sizzling so harshly that he could feel them burning his skin.

Eltanin looked behind at Ileus as if he was going to murder him. "Jump!" Rolfe shouted at him so that he gets time.

"What the fuck are you doing to her? Will you take her life?" Eltanin roared at him.

"You fucking jump!" Rolfe yelled at him. He neared his horse to Eltanin's and kicked him on the back. Wind neighed angrily and he leapt through the portal with his owner yelling a curse at him.

Ileus looked at Rolfe. A muscle feathered in his jaw. This was the moment. As soon as he was barely five meters away from the portal, he slowed his pace. He picked up Tania and threw her inside the swirling maw of the portal.

"Nooooo!" she let out a protesting scream as the portal ate her up.

Ileus yanked the last layer of dark magic from her back, urging his horse to stay a little longer till the layer severed each and every connection from her skin.

Rolfe leapt in the portal following Tania.

Eltanin had stepped inside the portal and his horse had taken him ahead. He veered his horse back towards the portal, seething with anger. Despite Biham and Anastasia's protests he was about to leap in the portal to go back and get Tania when he saw Tania being hurled on this side of the portal. The lights behind her were sizzling crazily. It was like they were fitted to her body, clasping something on her back. One by one, they snapped out of her skin. They were stapled on her back with magic so dark that they burned away with a spark when they left her. The threads of the lights were still coming through the other side of the portal. It seemed like someone was pulling them fiercely as she grappled in the air.

Eltanin's eyes widened with amazement, shock and tension. He saw Rolfe jumping out of the portal.

Anastasia had spread her wings, holding Tania's hands and resisting the pull of the portal while Rolfe halted his horse right beneath them. He was looking at the two girls. Eltanin and Biham joined Rolfe.

"What is going on?" Biham asked, his mind numb seeing his daughter's pain.

Rolfe remained quiet as he watched the last of the dark magic snapping out of Tania's skin. The moment it came out, her wings sprouted. Tania dropped unconscious on the soft snow, covered by blood, pure white wings cocooning her.

"Taniaaa!" Eltanin's mind was numb with shock. He dismounted and rushed to his fae mate.

Biham froze. He watched his fae daughter being taken by his son-in-law in his lap. Eltanin turned her over and gathered her in his arms with her wings tucked behind her. "Calaman's horns!" he rasped as he stared with astonishment at the spread of her beautiful, white wings that had an outline of very fine golden. And there was blood all over them. "My fae mate," he murmured. His eyes welled with tears out of happiness or misery; he couldn't decide. But his tears rolled out and he gathered her close to his chest. "Tania. Tania. Tania." He sobbed, his shoulders shuddering.

Biham came close to him and placed his hand on his shoulder as he too stared at his daughter's wings. He had no clue that Rolfe, Ileus and Anastasia were up to all this. He sat beside Eltanin as his eyes too filled with tears. "We have to take her somewhere safe. She has… blood on her body."

But Eltanin wouldn't leave her. His heart was sinking by the minute. He could feel the faint heartbeat of his mate and that was the only thing he wanted to hear and cling on to. So, he pressed her against his own heart and felt her beats. She had undergone so much that his body trembled with each tear that fell on her cheeks. His gaze went to the portal where he saw Ileus coming out.