The Alpha's Temptation

Eltanin's lips tugged up in a smile. He put his finger beneath her chin and closed her mouth. "She is a sea goddess, Tania. What do you expect?"

"Sh— she is a mermaid?" Disbelief surged through her like a rush of adrenalin.

"Yes," he replied proudly.

"So, you are a half merman?" she asked with curiosity. "You can shift into a merman too?" The room in which he had put her in had glass walls and she saw many mermaids through it. He had even said that the room was created by his mother for his amusement and was secret. Did his mother already know that they were mates? Who were the mermaids who would come and watch her?

He laughed as he pressed yet another kiss on her forehead. It was impossible to stay away from her or to not touch her. "No, I can't shift into a merman. And honestly, my mother or father weren't even bothered about it."

"That is wonderful," she said with stars in her eyes. "I wish I could shift into my wolf…"

His chest squeezed. His mate was so adorable. "You are a powerful girl, Tania. No one that I know of has learnt magic so quickly and been able to use it. I feel it is nothing short of a miracle. You have so much potential in you. It is only waiting to be uncovered, unleashed."

She grinned as a pale flush spread across her face and neck. "I am just a normal scribe."

"No, you are very intelligent! And you know seven ancient languages. Never underestimate yourself, okay?" He didn't like how she belittled herself. Her confidence was low. "And you have to tell me what I should do so that you will start believing in your own capabilities."

Her eyes welled up with happy tears. "Nothing. Your presence is enough."

"Oh, Tania!" He took her hands and kissed her knuckles. "You will never lose me. I would scent you from miles away."

She grinned wider. She loved the way he assured her and then decided something.

As much as he didn't want to leave, Eltanin had to go and investigate Glenn's death. It was unusual. Who would have murdered him and then left him in the rose gardens? The thought that someone had discovered the secret passageway was unnerving. "I have to go, love. I will be back as soon as possible. Stay in the bedchamber, okay?"

"I will. And I can start translating the Yunabi arcana now," she added enthusiastically.

Eltanin paled. "Hell no!" he almost shouted. "You will not touch the book until you are well!"

She jerked her head back. "But I can…" she whined.

"I have locked the Yunabi arcana somewhere safe. You won't be able to reach it and translate it until you have fully recovered," he said firmly, almost mulishly. Last time her powers had been drained when she used them to revive him and blasted the crimson mist away. He wouldn't let her touch the arcana until she was as healthy as a cow.

She pouted her lips. He couldn't believe it that her pouty lips were so sexy that he immediately wrapped his own lips around them. Blood rushed to his groin. They kissed each other passionately. When they pulled away, they were both breathless. "Don't pout your lips. My wolf will go mad!"

"I love your wolf," she said.

"Really?" he asked, slanting his head.

"A lot!"

"Then close your eyes."

"Why?"

He placed his hand on her eyes. "Just close them."

She chuckled and closed them. He removed his hand from her and a few moments later she heard a growl. When she opened her eyes, she saw a massive black wolf in front of her on the floor. "Eltanin!" she rasped. He had such a beautiful wolf. Eather spilled out of his eyes in the form of blue mist. Instantly, she threaded her fingers into his soft, black fur. He placed his head on her lap. She loved raking her fingers through his fur. She kissed his snout as he yapped and nipped at her. She laughed and laughed until her ribs hurt. "God, I love you so much!" He licked her face and she giggled more.

Finally, when he had sufficiently uplifted her mood, he shifted back into his human form in front of her. She watched his transformation with extreme interest but wasn't ready to see him completely naked. Eltanin loved her reaction when her eyebrows shot to the ceiling upon seeing his massive erection. He climbed on the bed as she took her fill in and kissed her on her forehead. "I wouldn't mind if those pretty, pouty lips of yours were around me."

Tania gasped. Shenever thought that she could want it so much. She ended up kissing the bouncy erection. A rumble vibrated in his chest and he said, "Not now, my love. You are too unwell, but when you are, I will have my way with you. And I want you to call me Eltanin or Elty from now on, not 'Your Highness'."

Tania bit her lip and blushed heavily.

Eltanin got dressed and left Tania after ensuring that she was comfortably lying beneath the blanket. He hurried to the site of the cold murder.

Glenn's body was found in the same way as the previous guard's body had been in front of his father's room. He was on his belly with his neck turned in an odd direction. The man was tortured brutally. There were bruises on the sides of his lips, wrists and ankles, which meant that he was gagged and bound and wasn't allowed to shift even if he wanted to. Blood hadn't spilled onto the grass but it was caked on his wounds. Which meant that he was killed a few hours back. There was not a spot on his body where he wasn't bruised. Eltanin felt a pang of pain when he looked at Glenn.

"Have you informed Rigel?" he asked Fafnir, who was standing beside him with his hand on the sword's hilt.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Take the body to the cold storage. Wait for Rigel and his last rites will be performed according to his wishes." Eltanin didn't say much about the murder. As he walked to the throne room, he had multiple thoughts running through his mind. Whoever was doing it, was definitely an insider. The person must be watching over everything. If they had murdered Glenn, and threw his body near the secret passageway, then this also meant that they knew about Tania or wanted to know about her. The bruises on Glenn's body meant that the man hadn't  spoken a word about it. His body was not exactly found near the tunnel, but it was found several meters away from it. That meant that the person didn't exactly know where the tunnel was, but he or she had a rough idea about it now. This piece of information posed a direct threat to Tania.

Now Eltanin had another angle to think about. Was this murder related to Tania? Was this a message to say that they were near Tania and found out about her, that she was his mate? The thought unsettled him to the core. Her safety was paramount to him. He was going to have to reveal it to someone about her.