The Alpha's Temptation

"Spare us from your pitiful claims of 'come what may, I will never leave her' and all the blah blah!" she rolled her eyes and waved him off.

Okab let out a little laughter at his betrothed's jokes. She was surely well-taught by him. He loved the way she steered the whole conversation. She was fully in charge of it. He had trained her well in this task. Soon she would throw the gauntlet towards and he would be compelled to pick it up. He had thought ten steps ahead. If Rigel accepted the challenge, then instead of his wife, he would present himself for the ultimate fight.

In that fight, he knew that he wouldn't be able to beat him down because after all, Rigel was an Alpha himself. And so he had told his wife that she should get as many people as possible to witness the fight and pull him out before it began. She was going to accuse him of betraying the kingdom by not rejecting an enemy mate.

If Rigel refused to accept the challenge, things would become so much easier. He would simply ask Meissa to kill her brother in that instant.

And if he rejected his mate, he was going to be under so much depression that Okab would take advantage of that too. His plan was going on perfectly. He smirked when Rigel looked at his sister with utter disbelief.

"Come what may," Rigel didn't stop himself. "I won't let you take over the throne of Orion, Meissa."

Meissa's face fell to the floor as a wave of anxiety rushed through her.

Then Rigel turned to look at his father and said in a very cold voice, "You know that what she is doing is incorrect. I don't understand your reluctance towards Lerna. There should be none. Even if Meissa doesn't want to meet the spirit of Orion, you have to come and meet him. And if you don't want to, then I will go and meet him."

"You can do whatever you like, Rigel," Lerna interrupted his conversation with father. "None of us are interested in it."

"I know you are not interested. I am not even asking you to join me to meet him!" Saying that Rigel spun and started to walk towards the door.

Before he opened the door, Meissa shouted across the meeting chamber, "If you are unable to reject your mate in three days, I will challenge you in a fight to claim the throne."

Rigel turned his head over his shoulder but didn't look at her. He opened the door and walked out. He was too anxious as he walked across the corridors of the palace towards his room, but his steps took him to the royal garden where he would find the Orion spirit.

When Rigel opened the secret doors of the royal gardens, he saw the forest that was in front of him. It was said that Orion didn't like the gardens as much as he liked the forests. It was because he hunted animals and animals loved to stay hidden in forests. Mist rolled around him like a thick blanket of white. Something whizzed past him. He whipped his head in that direction. A sound like wood getting chopped echoed.

"What brings you here, son?" A stern voice from somewhere materialized in the shape of a spirit of Orion the Hunter. He had his bronze club held tight against his chest as he stared at Rigel.

This wasn't the first time Rigel had visited him. Whenever he was in doubt, he would visit the spirit and the spirit guided him well. Surprisingly, he knew everything in Araniea.

"It's about my mate, Lerna and the upcoming challenge that Meissa is posing for the throne…" Rigel breathed when Orion came nearer to him.

Orion stopped a few meters away. "It's nothing much, Rigel," he replied and then all of sudden burst into mist. The next he was found sitting on a low branch of a tree. "Accept the challenge and fight her."

"But I know that she would never fight. She is going to make Okab her representative."

"So what?" Just accept the challenge.

"Meissa is poisoning my people against me. It bothers me greatly."

Orion smirked. "Think of what you will do after you win. So don't waste your time procrastinating. You must think of what you will do in the future."

"And what about my parents?"

"You can't blame them, Rigel. Mintaka is only thinking of his kingdom. He is not biased but his eyes are definitely on the child that Meissa carries. So you have to be tricky and deal with the situation."

Rigel took a deep breath in. "What about—"

"I have something to do urgently, Rigel!" Orion said and then disappeared. Rigel heard a thwack, as if the ax had settled inside an animal's body. Rigel shook his head and then walked out of the royal garden.

For three days, he gathered as much information as possible about Meissa and Okab. Even though he knew everything, he couldn't reason with his father.

His younger sister, Tabit, came to him a day before the challenge. As they sat on the couch with Rigel holding his head in his hands and looking at the floor, she said, "Why don't you send a message to Princess Tarazed about Okab?"

Rigel sucked in a sharp breath. "I did! But right now she is a bit pissed off by the fact that her sister Petra has to remain arrested in the kingdom on a promise she made to Eltanin."

"Oh that bitch!" Tabit laughed and laughed. "Good for her!" Once she stopped, she placed her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it softly. "I have an idea. Why don't you use me as your representative?"

"What?" Rigel whipped his head towards her. "No!"

"That is the best I can think of, brother," she said softly.

Rigel hugged his sister in a warm embrace. "Thank you for thinking so much about me."

When he pulled away, she was serious. "Make me your representative. I am serious."

---

When the day of the challenge arrived, something unexpected happened that Meissa wasn't expecting.