The Alpha's Temptation

Flashback:

Nerio disregarded the man with the golden eyes. He had seen way too many with illusions. And if he was a Shaman then he knew how to deal with him. Did they think that they could match his powers?

He had an upper hand in this game. Only he knew that way to unlock the soul that was trapped in the tangerine soul stone and no one else.

Eltanin pointed at an empty chair at the far corner of the room for him to be seated. Gordon took him there and made him sit on it. His chains were clasped behind and his legs were tied to the legs of the chair. Nerio scoffed. The moment Eltanin would life the spell from his mouth, it would take him no more than two minutes to break the chains.

He looked at Tania who was staring at him with eyes full of hatred. "How are you doing my little slave?" he asked, totally enjoying her misery. "I visited your dreams when you were in Vilinski using this soul stone," he said in order to intimidate her. "But you were too smart to conceal your location. I see that your fae powers are coming forth."

Eltanin growled at him. His growl was so ferocious that the guards who were chaining him to the chair, froze. As soon as Eltanin withdrew his aura, the guards resumed their work. Nerio chuckled. The guards bowed to him and left, closing the door behind them.

"So, King Eltanin of Draka, finally you have called me? Of what service can I be to you?" Nerio started the conversation. He was going to enjoy making this deal with the king.

"Tell us how to unlock the soul from the tangerine soul stone and I will give you a quick death," Eltanin said, leaning forward.

Nerio burst into laughter. When he stopped, he said, "I hope you are not under the impression that I am the stupidest person in Araniea? What makes you think that I will give away the only piece of puzzle that will win me freedom?"

"Like I said, I will give you a quick death," Eltanin replied, resting back on his chair.

"No. No. No. No." Nerio shook his head. He had been waiting for this moment. "If you want her soul back, you will have to allow me a passage to Hydra Kingdom."

Eltanin's eyebrows shot to the roof. "Hydra Kingdom? Do you know King Felis also?"

"Of course!" Nerio replied. "One has to cover their bases all the time. See what Sirrah did. She covered herself so nicely. She asked me to help her to oust Kinshra so that the fae wouldn't be a threat to her position, to her crown and to her daughter who would then become the rightful heir. But look what happened to her? She is still rotting in the dungeons of Draka only because she didn't have the last card with her." He glanced at Tania and in a very cold and dangerous voice said, "As for me, I have the trump card in our little game."

Eltanin took a deep breath in. He got up from his chair and closed the space between them. "Do you know how Morava was sent to Hydra?" he asked, his hands clasped at the back.

"What do you mean by that?" he jerked his head back as if in surprise, but he was in fact mocking him. "Your jailers are corrupt men. I am sure they were bribed well."

Eltanin pursed his lips. He turned and walked to where Tania was sitting. He went behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Yes, they were bribed. But it was me who asked them to accept the bribe. You see we had to stage her exit. We had to make her feel that she was doing it all on her own accord."

​ Nerios narrowed his eyes. He knew that Eltanin was a sharp man who was too cunning. Maybe, he was trying to intimidate him in order to settle the deal. "Even if that is the case, Morava did end up running away." He chuckled.

"Under the illusion of looking like Princess Lerna. Now I hope you know who Lerna is."

A crease formed between the merman's brows.

"Don't be confused," said Eltanin. "We did it on purpose. Morava tried her best to kill Tania, drug me and along with her mother made a plan to send Tania to the Nyxers to make her their sex slave." Tania wings trembled at the mention of it. "Princess Lerna had already come out of Felis's grip. In a rescue mission, we got her to Pegasii. And Felis was getting jittery about it. So, we put an illusion on Morava in which she started looking like Lerna and after that it became easy. Morava was caught by the Alphas who Felis had readied to give his sister to. Rest is history."

Nerio's muscles tensed with shock. That kind of strong illusion could only be created by faes. He gulped and then said, "I don't have time to waste, Eltanin. If you want her soul back, you have to allow me to leave this place. I will be escorted till the borders of Hydra kingdom. Once I reach there and once, I see Ling Felis's men, I will free her soul. I won't touch this stone until then. You can kiss it goodbye until my demands are met with."

A muscle in his jaw feathered. "You don't have the right to demand. Now unlock her soul, or be prepared to die. And trust me, I am going to give a very slow and painful death."

"You can do all you want. The more you torture me, the more I won't open my mouth," Nerio replied stubbornly.

Eltanin shook his head. "In that case, we will have to keep you inside our dungeons for the rest of your life. We will keep giving you this potion so that your features are altered. This way Tania will have to live like this forever, but that would be fine." He glanced towards the man with golden eyes who nodded.

---

And right now Nerio was experiencing all the pain and then some more. He couldn't do a thing, and the man with golden eyes was taking away his last hope.