The Alpha's Temptation

Along with the soldiers Tania, Lerna and Tabit hurried to the battlefield. Through her mind link, Tania had already informed Eltanin that they were heading to the field.

'Why?' Eltanin sounded angry and desperate. 'This is not a safe place to be.'

'There is some huge misunderstanding and you should stop the battle right now!'

'Misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding?' Eltanin sounded confused.

'I will be there in less than half an hour. Can you stall the battle?' Tania's urgency was palpable.

'I can't stop it, but I can slow it down. Though I can see King Mintaka only a few meters away from me!'

'Do whatever you want to, but wait before making any big decision!'

'Can you tell me what is going on?' Eltanin growled.

'I can, but like this. Trust me, Elty. This is big!' She severed the mind link and asked the coachman of the carriage to go faster.

Eltanin was utterly confused when Tania said all that. In the midst of a battle with Orion, she asked him to slow down. But why? From the corner of his eye he saw Rigel. He was attacked by a dozen soldiers and he was fighting with all of them on his own. In order to help, Eltanin rushed his horse to his friend and together they slew the soldiers within a few seconds.

Rigel's eyes traversed to his father who was swinging his sword against the Draka soldiers. "I am going to meet him!" Rigel shouted to Eltanin over the noise of metal clanking, soldiers grunting, horses neighing and men getting thwacked by spears or arrows.

"Wait! There is something very urgent that I have to convey to you." Eltanin stopped him.

"There is nothing urgent about going and meeting my father! He betrayed me and he betrayed you as his ally. I have no idea what is going on with him!" Rigel was too angered to be stopped.

"But Rigel--"

Rigel didn't hear another word from Eltanin as he dashed his horse towards his father, slaying Orion soldiers in the way who were protecting Mintaka. When he was only a few meters away, Mintaka looked at him, his eyes full of fury.

"Have you come to kill me, Rigel?" he growled. "Now that you are with your enemy?"

Rigel clenched his jaws as he gripped hard the hilt of his sword. "I don't want to kill you father," he growled back. "I have no idea what is so wrong about accepting Lerna! We can stop all this nonsense and go back to normal."

"Lerna stopped mattering some time back, Rigel!" Mintaka barked. "Now it is between you and me!"

Rigel was dumbstruck.

"You want the kingdom of Orion?" Mintaka spat. "You should have asked me. I would have given it to you. Presented it to you"

"Father!" Rigel shouted. "When did I ever ask you to give me the kingdom? It was Miessa who wanted it. She was the one who wanted to snatch it from you, not me. It was Okab who wanted to grab the kingdom from you. Can't you see it even now? He cheated and stabbed me when we were coming to fight. For God's sake, are you so blind?"

Mintaka closed his eyes. Right now he couldn't even tell to his son that it was his mother who fucked up badly and now he was fighting for her honor. All he wanted was Rigel to challenge him. He just wanted to die honorably and not shamefully. He hoped that the secret of his wife's shameful act didn't come out. His wife had done something so drastic; he had no words. But she was his wife. He had claimed her and he had vowed to fight for her and be with her. He was going to do that.

When he opened his eyes, the world faded around him as his focus went to his son. "Come on, Rigel. If you want the throne, you have to challenge me and then kill me!"

Rigel's chest was heaving in and out, not because of all the movement across the battlefield, but because of his anger towards his father. He dismounted his horse and then said, "I would like to challenge you for the throne!"

Mintaka let out a humorless laugh. He too dismounted his horse. Swinging his sword in front of his hand, he walked towards his son. "May the best win!" he scoffed.

Rigel dipped his chin and lunged at him. Mintaka was ready. Their swords met midair as they looked at each other with pure rage. "Father, to be honest, I wanted you to rule the kingdom forever. Why are we fighting internally when a larger war is looming over us?"

They circled each other, withdrawing their swords. "It's no time to talk sentimental, Rigel!" Mintaka growled. "I want to see that sword of yours sing on the battlefield. You have challenged me, so fight me!"

With a ferocious snarl, Rigel charged at his father and they started attacking each other. Rigel was surprised to see that his father was matching all his movements. However, he was slowly getting tired. At the end of fifteen minutes, Mintaka gave way. Tired as hell, he planted his sword in the blood-soaked oil and knelt down with his head hung low.

He looked up at Rigel through his mangled hair on his face and said, "I accept defeat. Kill me and free me."

Rigel's throat bobbed as pain burned through him. He didn't want to do that. He stopped his sword midair.

"If you won't kill me Rigel, I will kill myself. So if you want me to die honorably, kill me. This way, your claim to the throne is going to be stronger and ruthless."

"No father!" Rigel rasped, bringing his sword down. "I can't do it!"

"You have to, Rigel!" Mintaka goaded. "I can't live in shame for the rest of my life. If you are a warrior enough, you will plunge that sword in me!"

Suddenly, a loud voice pierced the field. "Noooo Rigel!" It was Tabit. She was running towards them, dodging every soldier in the way.

When Mintaka saw her running towards them, he grabbed Rigel's sword and plunged it into his heart.

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