The Alpha's Temptation

"Bring them out," Eltanin heard a faint whisper from his mother. It was as if it was coming from very far.

Using his willpower, he started to draw them out and by the time they were up to his chest, he was so exhausted that he started sweating.

"Eltanin!" his mother's sharp voice fell on his ears. He snapped open his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by a blazing red glow. It was so bright that he couldn't see beyond it. Flustered as hell, he whipped his head around to see his mother.

"Retract it!" she ordered.

He didn't even know what she was asking to retract because his body was surrounded by the red hot glow. He felt like he was sitting in an oven. However, he didn't feel a thing when he wasn't aware of it.

"This is your magic!" Taiyi's voice came again. "Retract it!"

Eltanin was surprised. He closed his eyes, willing his magic to retract. And within a few seconds, it all went back inside him. With a loud sigh, he opened his eyes and found that not a wisp of the red hot glow was left. He was even more surprised.

Taiyi seemed to be relieved. She rolled her eyes. She pointed to the ceiling and said, "Do you know how long it took for you to extract your magic?"

Eltanin followed her gaze and saw that the sun rays were stronger over the bubble, which meant that he ended up spending the whole morning just on that little exercise.

"Don't be surprised, Eltanin," Taiyi said. "This was just a part of your magic that came out, but getting the full load of it to your chest was not easy. Now you have to try and toss that magic in her throat and arms. I want you to govern it, control it and understand it. Only when you can master the control, will you be able to use it well."

He wiped his sweat with a towel that Taiyi gave him. "That is going to take years, Mother!" he said.

"Why?" She looked displeased. "You are my son. You have the potential to master it within a few days!"

He chuckled. "But I have to go back to Draka as soon as possible. There are a lot of things to be done. And the foremost is that I have to get Tania's soul back--the little piece that Menkar has pinched." He gave the towel to a servant who brought him lime juice. He picked up the glass and gulped it down. He didn't know that he would become so dehydrated. "Get me one more," he ordered. The servant bowed to him and left.

"Why don't you call Menkar to your place and deal with him? I am sure he has a price for it," Taiyi said as they walked back to the main hall. Ever since Eltanin had come, Taiyi had suspended her throne hall meetings to be with him.

Eltanin shook his head. "Menkar is a sly character. We contemplated that. If he wanted something, he would have already contacted us or Lusitania, but he still hasn't. I have no idea what he wants, but whatever he wants is not going to be easy. When we had gone to Vilinski, he entered her dreams to demand to know where she was. It was with King Rolfe's magic that she was able to ward off those nightmares."

"Calaman's horns!" Taiyi breathed.

"We met her mother, Kinshra."

"The fae?" Taiyi said with a smile.

"Yes," Eltanin replied. "She is a very sweet and calm woman. Still not over King Biham..."

Taiyi clenched her teeth. "She deserves someone better! I really feel sorry for her."

"Me too... But from what I felt, even King Biham was under the spell of that Murel when he rejected Kinshra," Eltanin remarked.

Taiyi halted in her place. "What did you say? Under whose spell?"

Eltanin stopped and gazed at his mother with narrowed eyes. "Kinshra mentioned a priest called Murel."

"Unless there is another Murel who exists in Araniea, the only Murel I know of is the Kingdom of Murel, whose princess is Nerina," Taiyi said. "And her father's name is Murel."

Eltanin's jaw dropped to the floor. "Do you mean that--"

"No, I don't mean anything Eltanin!" Taiyi stopped him.

"How about we visit Murel?" Eltanin said, feeling excited. "A lot can be uncovered."

"No!" Taiyi said. "If he is the culprit, then he would understand the purpose of your visit. At the same time, it wouldn't be safe for Tania to stay here. What if Murel comes to know she is here?" She tapped her chin. "And that brings me to one question. Why was Father so highly interested in your wedding with Nerina? Did Murel influence him?"

Eltanin was perplexed. "The Murel we are talking about is the one who lives on land and not in the Jade Sea. Moreover, did King Murel ask you about Nerina?"

"No, he didn't!"

The whole thing became even more confusing. "How about I ask Kinshra to come here and meet Murel?" Eltanin said. "If she will recognize Murel, we will at least have our culprit in our hands and we will be able to negotiate a deal with him."

"No way!" Taiyi grunted. "We cannot take the risk of showing Kinshra to Murel." She rubbed her neck. "But I guess it is time that I go and meet King Murel."

"Elty!"

Eltanin whipped his head to look at Tania who was smiling at both of them. Tania came to them and bowed to the queen. They stopped talking about Murel.

"Tania! My girl, how are you?" Taiyi hugged her daughter-in-law in a tight embrace "Look what you've done to my son?" She held her shoulders and turned her to look at Eltanin who was gazing at her with affection. There was a silly smile on his lips. Tania's cheeks heated up when her blue eyes met his dark ones. Her mate was glowing and looked mesmerizing. She forgot to breathe.