The Alpha's Temptation

The words like 'rejection' came so easily on Mintaka's lips. Rigel couldn't believe it. His parents were not mates and so he knew that no one could understand it better than him or Eltanin.

"Father is right!" Meissa chirped in. "Didn't you think that Lerna is from the enemy kingdom? What if she is still in touch with Felis? And what if she goes and tells all our secrets to him? Then it will be easy for him to destroy all of Orion and take over. How can you trust someone like her just because she is your mate?"

Rigel clenched his jaw. "I am not talking to you, Meissa," he growled and once again released his power in a way that she winced. "So stay quiet!" When Meissa visibly shrank, he looked at his father and said, "I have a small proposal," Rigel countered.

Mintaka stiffened. "What is it?"

Rigel once again prepared himself. Once he was ready, he said, "I will bring Lerna here and we are going to keep her under wraps. We won't talk about her to anyone. The war between Felis and Eltanin is soon coming. With so many allies on his side, I have full belief that Eltanin is going to win. That means that Felis would be killed or thrown into dungeons for life. Once that is done, we can let Lerna come out of her hiding and you can declare her as my mate."

Mintaka clenched his jaws. He wiped his hands with a napkin. "Do you think I am a fool?" he said in a cold voice. "Lerna is going to stay hidden here and who knows that she won't act as a traitor and pass on information to her brother? How can you jeopardize your kingdom's future? Or are you so blind that you can't see what I am seeing?"

"She is my mate, father!" Rigel snapped. "She is not a traitor. She hated her brother and that was why she came all the way with me in a foreign land. That girl hadn't even seen the world outside the tower she lived in, let alone the whole of Hydra! She is too naïve. You don't even know her. How can you label her as a traitor without knowing her, without talking to her? She is like a delicate flower who I plucked from the sludge called Hydra. Even if you don't believe in her, do you believe in me? Will I get someone who would give away the secrets of Orion?" His gaze darted between the eyes of his father, as he tried to show him sense.

"Rigel, my decision is final! Lerna's association with Felis is enough to mark her as untrustworthy!" Mintaka growled. "And--"

"Wait!" Meissa said to her father. Then she turned her face to her brother. "You mean that you will keep her hidden after bringing her here?"

"Yes. Why?" Rigel narrowed his eyes.

Meissa smiled. "Then you should get her here!" She looked at her father. "Please father," she coaxed him. "If Rigel will keep her hidden from the eyes of the masses, then Lerna can stay here as long as she likes or at least till the war."

Mintaka and Alina were both surprised at this changed stance of Meissa, but they were quiet about it. It was as if they were thinking about it. Rigel didn't like it at all. They were not listening to him, but they were considering Meissa's suggestion.

Alina spoke first. "As long as she doesn't get out of her wing of the palace, I am fine."

Mintaka nodded. "That makes sense. If Lerna doesn't get out of the palace wing where she would stay, we don't have problems."

It was as if she would be put under house arrest. And Rigel didn't like it at all. "But why not? She can roam the entire palace!"

"No!" Mintaka gave his decision. "If you want to bring her, you can get her and she will remain confined in her wing. She will not participate in any social functions, nor will she join us for lunch or dinner. Basically, she is going to stay in her quarters."

Rigel wanted to argue with his father about it but he gritted his teeth and just left it out there. At least this was a start. "Okay..." he breathed. He got up, bowed to his father and mother and then walked out of their room. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he heard his sister chuckling. And he knew that if Lerna came here, she was going to get ridiculed as hell.

Meissa left her parents' room and rushed straight to Prince Okab. He was sitting on the bed in his room, having wine and looking too pissed. "What happened, Okab?" she asked as she walked to him and kissed his lips.

"That asshole of your fucking brother!" he shouted and threw the wineglass on the floor.

Shocked, Meissa stepped away from him. "What did he do?"

"I don't like him!" he growled. Then he told her what happened at the throne hall. "I am going to kill him for insulting me."

Meissa chuckled. "That's all?"

"What do you mean?" he said. "That was humiliating as fuck!"

She reached for his hands and grasped them. Then she pulled him towards her and placed a kiss on his lips again. "We have got the right opportunity."

"Of killing him?"

"No!" she laughed. "Of killing his mate."

Okab immediately became interested as his lips lifted on the right side. "You have caught my attention. Tell me."

Meissa wanted to marry Okab and rule the Orion Kingdom. Ever since she had heard about Lerna, she had been scheming behind Rigel's back to oust him. And the Goddess presented her with a perfect opportunity. "Rigel is going to get his mate here, because it is impossible for him to stay without her. Father has ordered him that if she comes here, she will stay in her wing of the palace. Actually, it was me who suggested it." She giggled. "Once she is here and confined to her wings, it will be easy for us to kill her! And guess what?"

Okab was grinning. "The mate follows the other to the Fade. So Rigel will automatically die."