The Alpha's Temptation

Lerna couldn't help but follow Fafnir as he rushed towards his official chamber in the palace. Fafnir also held his office in the palace which was located towards the front.

"Lerna, you can go back to training," Fafnir said with urgency as he walked.

"No, I want to listen to what the spies have to say about the situation in Orion Kingdom," she replied stubbornly. She felt as if she was responsible for Rigel's situation.

When they reached the chambers, Eltanin was also there along with Tania.

---

"Who gave you the permission to challenge me?" Rigel hissed at Meissa, as his father watched the two of them in the meeting room. "You do not have the right claim to the throne!"

"Oh get lost!" Meissa snarled. Okab was standing along with her next to his chair. "You have a mate you cannot claim. She is the sister of King Felis of the Hydra Kingdom, which means that Princess Lerna is the most hated person in all of Araniea at the moment. And if you can't claim your mate, then you can't claim this throne because eventually you are going to become weak without her. So, it is better that you leave the throne in able hands."

Ever since the maid had died at the hands of Rigel, Meissa had been adding to his troubles one way or the other. Though she was the one giving shape to the problems, it was Okab who was the mastermind. Rigel had come to know about it from his trusted spies. He knew that it was a matter of time when she would show her true colors. While he had been arguing with his father and mother that Lerna wasn't the spy they thought she was or that she would go and tell her brother all about it, Meissa had been doing her best to swing her mother to her side.

At the same time she was also poisoning the minds of the citizens by sending rumors through her servants about Lerna, about how the Crown Prince was planning on marrying an enemy.

Royal games were all about strong heirs and Meissa had done something that had put him back in everything. She became pregnant with a child. And now she was definitely claiming to be stronger amongst the two of them. With an heir in the making, his father was gravitating towards his daughter.

"Can't claim my mate?" Rigel retorted. "I can't claim her because of some stupid ideologies that you have instilled in our parents' minds. I can bring Lerna here any time and claim her, but I know that if she comes here, you are going to kill her the next moment in the hopes that I would also follow her to the Fade!"

"What?" Meissa cried, showing the fake hurt on her face. "How can you even say that? Why would I kill Lerna when I know that she is your mate? But having said that, there are plenty of people who would want to kill her, knowing that she is Felis's sister and a potential spy!"

"How the fuck is she a potential spy, Meissa?" Rigel snarled. "Your words show that you don't know anything about mates. A mate would never go against her mate. There is no way that Lerna would go against me, knowing that her life depends on me." He narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe your concern here is just as fake as the crocodile tears that you are shedding right now."

"You are so cruel!" she cried and sagged in the chair behind her. "I am pregnant," she said looking at her father in order to add to her pitiful condition, when in fact it was more to show that she was carrying a potential heir. "And yet you are just insinuating me as always." Tears rolled out of her eyes. Okab placed his hands on her shoulders as if to pacify her but it was more of a patting to convey that she was acting pretty well.

Rigel looked away. He was aware that she was using all her shenanigans to crawl her way to the throne, and he couldn't do much. "Meissa—"

"Rigel!" Mintaka's voice boomed in the meeting chamber. "I have heard enough of your excuses and arguments. Now it is established that I can't accept Lerna as the Crown Princess of the Orion Kingdom. She is hated by the netizens like anything. She is the enemy, and if we get here, I am sure that people would rebel. So—" he glared hard at Rigel. "Either you reject her or you lose the stake to the throne. And that is final!"

"But father, this is ridiculous. With Lerna I can have strong heirs for Orion, and you know that they would be the true heirs!" Rigel protested harshly. "Why don't we talk to the spirit of Orion and get his idea about my mate? Why are we all shying away from the very spirit of our kingdom in times of such urgency?"

This was what Meissa never wanted. If they talked to the spirit of the kingdom, he was surely going to go the right way. And right was not what Meissa wanted. She wanted to grab the throne.

"Why should we talk with the spirit?" she retorted. "That is not the last resort. The spirit doesn't rule the kingdom. We rule it. What would the spirit say? That Lerna is your mate and that you should marry her? What is so new about it? Everyone knows that you should marry her. But everyone also knows that she is not the right woman for Orion. So back off, Rigel!" she snarled. "Else if this comes out in the open, I won't be able to stop the movement of people who would want to kill you!"

Rigel was aghast. In his own lands, he was alone. He wasn't hurt by the fact that it was his sister who was challenging him, he was hurt by the fact that even his parents weren't supporting him. He couldn't help but think how lucky Eltanin was. His parents accepted his mate even when they didn't know about her identity. "Come what may—"

"Oh please!" Meissa scorned.

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