The Alpha's Temptation

He wiped the ones on her lips and then took his thumb to his mouth and sucked on it as he stared at her with heavy lidded eyes. His thoughts went to the gutter. Those lips were so plump and pouty he thought about how they would taste if he nicked them with his fangs. He would pull on her lips, lick them and plunge his tongue inside and explore every part of her mouth. He would bunch up her gown and slide his fingers between her thighs and then—

Tania gasped as awkwardness flitted down her chest. “Can we go now, Your Highness?” she begged.

And his thoughts got interrupted. A g***n mixed with a curse left his lips. He nodded reluctantly as he held her hand and dragged her to the door.

“What are you doing?” she asked, scandalously, staring at their joined hands.

“We are going,” Eltanin said, following her stare. And why was she blushing? It was only natural for him to hold her hand. He wasn’t letting anyone else hold her hand and he sure as hell wasn’t letting her go alone. She was unclaimed, beautiful, exquisite, and the worst part was that she didn’t know that she was his mate. Not in a million years was he planning to let go of that hand. He was on the verge of becoming mad when she left him and by some miracle she is back. Hell, even if this realm split into two, he wouldn’t let go of her hand. He dragged her out of the room into the quiet corridor.

The servant who had served them tea was lingering around. He hadn’t expected the king to come out of the library with the girl and full intentions of flirting with her, even inviting her to his room. As soon as he saw the king, he paled. He tried to flee from there.

“You!” Eltanin’s voice boomed in the corridor and everyone froze. The servant turned to look at him, shivering. The king took a step closer. “What are you doing here?” He gnashed his teeth and shoved the girl behind him.

“N—nothing, Your Highness.”

“From this moment you will be cleaning the stables. And only the horse shit in the stables!” Saying that Eltanin walked away taking his treasure with him.

Shocked like the vibration of a bell, the servant mumbled after him, “Yes, Your Highness.” He didn’t even know what wrong he did to deserve such a horrible demotion.

Saying Tania was scandalized was an understatement. She was shocked beyond comprehension. He was the king of the Draka Kingdom, the most powerful, wealthy and influential kingdom of Araniea and he was holding her hand? Escorting a slave? Giving her things to eat? What if anyone saw their joined hands? It would send a shockwave of rumors about her. Yesterday evening, she had heard from a few servants who were taking a bath in the common bathrooms that he was about to get engaged to Princess Morava and that he was going to marry her soon. What if Morava saw them? Everyone knew that Morava had a terrible temper. Tania winced. She really didn’t want to get beaten again.

She wriggled her hand free from Eltanin as they walked through the breezeway. The morning had brought gray rays inside. A warm sea breeze blew in the spicy scent of clover, along with peppery smells of pine and ash, announcing the coming of spring. It sent a flurry of birds whirling out of the trees, chirping noisily. Just before they reached the carriageway, where Menkar was still talking to Prince Rigel, she had managed to free her hand. As soon as she saw her master, she rushed to him past the king. “Master,” she looked at his cold face with a slightly flushed face with expectation.

“Tania,” Menkar said, taking his hand to the soul stone that was hidden beneath his white robe. Rigel moved away from them and joined Eltanin, giving them a chance to speak privately. He couldn’t help notice the girl’s discomfort and his heart tugged. _{ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​}

When Rigel was out of earshot, Menkar waved his hand slightly to create a sound barrier around them. “Be careful here Tania,” he said. “Your mission has now changed.”

Tania’s shoulders became taut. She nodded. He had already mentioned about her mission change.

“Eltanin is one of the most shrewd and intelligent men who loves to entrap guileless victims with his sharp tongue. You better stay alert and don’t fall for his trap.”

Tania’s breath lodged in her throat. She knew that she had to stay silent and observe everything. Somehow her master’s warning only added to the unease she was experiencing. She had never been left alone. The protection of her monastery was far better than what she would experience while staying here.

Menkar waved his hand again to remove the sound barrier and bowed to the royalty before climbing the carriage. As the carriage rolled out, Tania watched it leaving with the desperation of an abandoned child. With a sigh and a heavy heart, she turned and found Eltanin and Rigel watching her intently. Her heart stuttered. Panic seized her heart in a vise-like grip. She lowered her head under their scrutiny. She was sure that they had not heard what Menkar said to her, but they might question her being here.

“She should be taken to the servant quarters before she is seen by anyone,” Rigel said with urgency in his voice.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Eltanin was never going to allow that. He growled. “She will stay in the chamber beside mine. No one enters that floor.”

Rigel whipped his head to look at Eltanin. “Are you f*****g mad?” he snapped. “The servants and your father will smell her in no time! She would be safer with more people around her.”

Eltanin’s chest rose with anger thinking about how he was going to be able to let her go in a sea of common people. For f**k’s sake, she was his mate, unclaimed and so naïve. What if someone so much as looked in her direction? She wouldn’t be able to save herself because she was so delicate. “No, she is coming with me,” he replied arrogantly. He started walking towards her even when he noticed that she had balked.

“Eltanin!” Rigel called him and grabbed his shoulder from behind. “Do you want to jeopardize her life?” he growled.

Color bleached from his face. “What do you mean?”

“If you take her up with you, you won’t be able to hide her for long. And then there will be questions about her identity. Don’t you want your work done in secrecy? By taking her upstairs you will be practically blowing a horn about her arrival!” Rigel’s nails dug in his skin as if he was trying to dig some sense into him. Eltanin stared at him menacingly, trying hard to contemplate his words. “Let her stay in one of the servant quarters. Let me take care of this.”

Eltanin’s emotions were all over the place. Though Rigel’s words did make sense, his own thoughts were so addled, he was in a daze. He looked at his lamb who blinked at him innocently. But before he could say much else, Rigel strode to Tania.