The Alpha's Temptation

The guards looked at Fafnir as if he had grown two horns on his head. They disbelieved him. "Who are you?" one of them warned, pointing his spear at him.

Very confidently, he replied, "I am the messenger who is supposed to bring this news to you!"

"He is conning!" said another one. "Seize him and take him to the dungeons! How dare you speak such nonsense?"

"Why would I say something so grave so casually?" Fafnir growled. "If you don't want to go, say so. I have to inform others as well!"

Suddenly, several soldiers were seen running towards the palace gates. Everyone became alert. They looked at each other and then at Fafnir. He shrugged and then began to leave. But he walked through the corridor slowly and soon he heard heavy footsteps of the guards mingling with those of the soldiers. He turned back immediately and then rushed to Tabit's bedchamber.

There were two guards standing at her door, guarding the area. It took him precisely two minutes to lunge at them and make them unconscious. He slammed them against the wall, their skulls cracking. The spear from one of them had grazed his flesh in the upper arm. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "What all I have to do to save a princess who doesn't even belong to Draka?" He dragged the bodies of the soldiers to the side and dumped them in the corridor, behind the pillars where no one could see them.

He rubbed his hands and then opened the princess's bedchamber, and as soon as he did that, the most mouthwatering smell wafted through his nostrils. Fafnir froze on his spot as every part of his body became hyper-aware.

---

Tabit was in a deep sleep in her chamber. She heard a distant noise and stirred. She tried her best to break the spell of the poison. It was making her so dizzy that every time she tried to open her eyes, she would go back to sleeping. Somehow, she peeled her eyes open and found her throat to be paper dry. She moaned and curled over her bed and the next she knew was that she landed on her ass. She moaned in pain and extended her hands to the pitcher that was kept on the bedside table. She picked it up groggily and drank water greedily.

Suddenly, she heard heavy footsteps in her bedchamber. "Who's there?" she asked in a hoarse voice, scared after what her mother did to her. She tried to look through the gauzy curtains that surrounded her bed. Just as she picked up the pitcher to hit him, the curtains opened and her attacker prowled in.

Tabit craned her head up and up... and she lost her breath.

Her attacker was over six feet tall and splashed with blood. His lips were parted, exposing his fangs. Gods, he was big, certainly not from Orion.

His broad chest and brawny arms covered in a chainmail shirt and his muscles were rippling under the metallic chains. Clad in leather pants which were spattered with his blood, his straight hair hung over his shoulders around his... Gods above! The most handsome face she had ever seen. Surely, he couldn't be her... he couldn't be... him.

When their eyes met, she gasped. His eyes were gray and just as she was staring in them, the gray flickered, turning into amber, usually a sign of his beast trying to come out.

Fafnir was... shocked. Just as she was studying him, his gaze raked over body. Over her gown that had bunched up and bared thighs. At once his chest vibrated with a dangerous rumble. He raised his eyes to meet hers and she narrowed them. "Who are you?" she breathed. Her inner wolf said, 'Mate'.

He clenched his fists tightly and opened them repeatedly as if trying to control his wolf. His erection was hardening by the second and it was impossible to miss it. He sucked in a sharp breath as if trying to tamper down his lust.

"P-- please don't hurt me," she said as she studied his expression, thinking that he was one of the men her mother had sent. His jaws were clenched tightly and a muscle feathered in them. And his only answer was his ever-growing erection.

Just as she was about to get up, he slammed his fist in his chest and in a rough voice said, "I am General Fafnir."

When he stepped closer to her, she saw a dragon tattoo coming out of his chest on his neck. Goddess, help her.

"I have come here to retrieve you on Prince Rigel's orders!" He leaned towards her and all of a sudden scooped her in his arms. She squealed, grabbing his neck with her arms.

Fafnir had never been this shocked and thunderstruck in his life. When he had caught her exquisite scent, he had recognized what she was. This was the woman for him. His mate. With his erection going painfully hard, all he wanted was to reach her. He would have killed a thousand guards to be with her. His heart was thudding hard against his ribcage, his lungs drawing sharp breath.

She was his. Fate had given him a woman with emerald green eyes and dark hair, with skin so creamy and with curves only made for his hands. She was perfect. Her scent was enticing. And she was his mate.

Protect her.

And suddenly the realization that she was Prince Rigel's sister crashed upon him. He grabbed her tightly and rushed out of the room. How was this possible? How did he miss her all these years?

"What is happening around?" she asked, confused when she saw soldiers running everywhere.

"King Eltanin has waged a war on Orion!" he replied as he scanned the surroundings. Now he not only had to protect the princess, he had to protect his mate and that was the primal instinct.

"What?" Tabit rasped. "B-- but I was going to--"

"Shh!" Fafnir hushed her when he saw a group of soldiers coming in his direction headed by none other than Alina.