The Alpha's Temptation

Eltanin set her on the bed and knelt in front of her on the rug. She leaned over to him and kissed him on his lips.

"Thank you," she whispered in his mouth.

When she pulled away, he was still gazing at her. "You have made me the happiest man in the world," he said, cupping her cheeks.

"No, I am the happiest woman in Araniea."

He trailed his hands on her sides and then placed his head on her lap. He was so happy that now she was going to permanently stay with him that he closed his eyes. He really wanted to sleep. He was so satisfied. She removed his crown and placed it on the side and then started to stroke his hair. She didn't want this moment to end.

A soft knock on the door disturbed them. The maids poured in to make the queen ready for the evening dinner. Tania sighed and he laughed. "Get used to it, love. I have ignored way too many meetings and dinners. I will be sending letters to every kingdom to announce you as my queen. Then there will be more dinners and formal occasions."

She sighed again. He kissed her on the lips. Leaning over her ears, he said, "In the night, I want to see you only in that veil and nothing else." He slanted his head to gaze in her eyes. He loved the effect he had on her. She was blushing heavily. He placed yet another kiss on her lips and stood up smugly. He left her with the maids.

"Wait!" Tania said. He stopped at the door. She picked up the crown and rushed to him. He lowered his head and she made him wear it and with a smile, went out.

Eltanin had to meet his mother on an urgent basis. Taiyi had whispered to him to meet her whenever possible. He wasn't sure how long she would stay in Draka, and so it was all the more important. He hurried through the corridor. His guards led him to the main hall which he crossed and entered the parlor. Everyone had left. A servant said that she saw Alpha Alrakis and Taiyi going back to their bedchamber. Eltanin grunted. He wondered if he should disturb his parents. Finally, he just walked to their bedchamber.

"Eltanin!" Taiyi exclaimed, getting out of her husband's lap. A pale blush spread over her cheeks.

"Mother!" He hugged her tightly when she came to him, least bothered that he interrupted his parents' love session. "Thank you for coming over. It means a lot."

She swatted his forearm. "Did you think I wouldn't?" she said, accusingly. "Sit," she said, pointing to a chair.

"You asked me to meet you?"

"Yes," she said and looked at Alrakis who nodded with a smile. He went to the bar to pour them all wine.

Eltanin gulped the wine down his throat, needing it heavily. As Alrakis filled his flute again, Taiyi said, "I went to the Cetus Monastery."

"What?" Eltanin was shocked. "On your own? Alone? Are you insane?" He was extremely angry.

Taiyi rolled her eyes. Both her husband and son had the same reaction. She waved off his anger and continued, "There was something off with Menkar. He is drinking some kind of potion which I don't know as to what kind of effect they have, but I took all his remaining bottles from his library and gave them to my royal healer to examine. He will be able to send me the report by tomorrow."

"You actually managed to enter his library?" Eltanin's jaw dropped.

She let out a rough exhale. "Yes. Now I want you to wait for a few days for him to contact you, which I am sure he would. I don't know what he will demand, but we need a plan." Then she got up and sauntered to a wardrobe. She opened it and dug out a sketch. She took it back and spread it on the table. "This is the hunched spy that Tania was talking about. You have to find him. If you have him, he will be able to shed more light on all of this."

Eltanin narrowed his eyes as he studied the sketch. It had the face of the spy that Menkar used for his dirty work. He was the man responsible for torturing Tania all the time. Through his clenched teeth, he said, "He won't crack, Mother. He looks like a tough nut."

"I know. That's why I set up a trap for him when I was there," said Taiyi. "If he falls in that trap, he will be here in Draka soon. And then we will put him in front of Ileus. He can swipe the cells."

Eltanin's face lit up with a smile. "You are brilliant!"

She chuckled. "Of course, I am!"

---

Menkar was pacing in his room. His spy had informed him that he found a piece of shawl twined in the brambles of the garden. And he was sure that the fabric was only found in Draka. His spy was really knowledgeable. He had such vast information about everything. The fabric was dyed in a dye that was found only in Draka. The traders in the kingdom were into breeding pink mollusks which were crushed and boiled. They gave a permanent deep pink and violet color to the fabric. The colored fabric was base of many garments.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Menkar shouted.

The spy stepped in and bowed to him. He stood in the corner of the room, afraid to go near his master after what happened in the morning.

Menkar picked up the piece of shawl and growled, "This means that someone from the Draka Kingdom had come to spy on us and you missed that."

"Yes master," the spy said in a low voice, feeling guilty.

"Now listen to me carefully," Menkar hissed. "You will be going to the Draka Kingdom alone. Do not take anyone with you. I want you to somehow extract Lusitania and get her to me."