The Alpha's Temptation

Kypho was... shocked. He fell on the street a few meters away from the force that collided with him. He looked up and to his horror, he saw... General of the Draka Army, Fafnir. How did Fafnir know about him? Did they catch Platt or did Nora reveal about him? He had no option but to either kill Fafnir or kill himself. He had way too much information about Cetus Monastery.

Fafnir started to walk closer to him, one heavy step after the other. It felt like doom. Kypho scrambled back as dread and fear exploded in his chest. He wasn't expecting the General. His hand went to his belt where he had sheathed a curved dagger. In his large span as a spy, he realized one thing. The curved dagger was when killing a wolf. It would pierce the skin like butter and reach the flesh in a second. It could cleave a bone so fast that the man wouldn't feel the pain and die within seconds.

He waited for Fafnir to come closer, donning a face that was marked with fear. If Fafnir shifted, it would be better. Then he would pierce his dagger in his skull.

He heard heavy footsteps behind him and knew that more soldiers had come behind him. He was trapped. But he wasn't going to give in so easily.

He was a trained spy. He was sharper than most Generals of the kingdoms. His only problem was that he had a hunchback. Had he been a normal man, he would have risen to the post of a General by now, but he was spotted by Menkar. And Menkar gave him the deal to work for him as his spy. It was a great honor for Kypho several centuries back, but not anymore.

Long back he had discovered what Menkar was doing with those green bottles and the blood of Tania. He had asked Menkar to share the potion with him, but Menkar had blatantly refused. The potion cured his hunchback temporarily.

As Fafnir closed in on him, his grip on his dagger tightened. One more step and he was going to rise up, spin around Fafnir and hold his dagger on his throat. That would be his escape card.

Fafnir stopped two meters away from him. "Come with us," he said in a cold and quiet voice. "Look around you. You can't escape."

He sneered. "I am not a fool, Fafnir. If I give up so easily, you are going to kill me. And I am not ready for that. I challenge you to come and take me by force." He needed Fafnir to come closer because that was his only chance at freedom. He would grab him so fast that Fafnir wouldn't be able to blink even. It was not hard to understand that they were keeping a sharp eye on Platt and Nora and he was trapped with them.

Fafnir raised an eyebrow. "Why would I challenge you, Kypho?"

Kypho's lips parted in surprise. How did he know his name? No one other than only a few knew him by that name. Now it was evident that his cover was blown. He was exposed. He cursed Nora and Platt internally and cursed himself even more for not leaving early. "Because you are an honorable General. Wouldn't you want to show your valor in catching a spy like me?"

Fafnir chuckled. "You think too highly of yourself, Kypho. I would not challenge Menkar for whom you work, let alone you." He spat on the street as if showing him how low he was.

That was enough to bruise Kypho's ego. "I am stronger than you!" he growled. "Come on and fight with me. I won't give up that easily. And I know that your king wants me alive."

Fafnir crossed his arms across his chest as he measured Kypho. "Look behind you." When Kypho looked behind, he saw a guard kneeling on one knee, his arrow aimed at him.

Kypho laughed. "You want to pierce that arrow in me and kill me? Won't your king be unhappy?"

"No. That arrow won't be able to kill you. But--" Fafnir growled. "It is tipped with a sedative. That would be enough to take you with me."

"Then why aren't you firing it?"

,m "Simple," Fafnir smirked. "I have a deal on the king's behalf."

Kypho stared at him for a long moment. He knew what the deal would be. It would be to reveal everything about Menkar, but the things won't stop there. Once he would tell it all to Eltanin, the king would personally slay him or maybe put him in the dungeons. Kypho hadn't been particularly good with Tania. He had whipped her, beaten her and imprisoned her, all the while, gladly.

"I will not accept any deal from your king!" he snapped. He didn't have much time left. He had to act fast and the General wasn't coming closer.

So he rose to his feet very fast like a cat. He lunged at Fafnir, withdrawing his dagger out of its sheath. He attacked Fafnir with it, but Fafnir dodged him by moving to the side and took two backward somersaults. "Now!" he shouted. The soldier aimed his arrow at the spy and fired it. Kypho spun to the left, missing the arrow, but it grazed the tip of his ear. The effects were quick. He swirled to attack Fafnir, but the sedative spread fast and the dagger fell from his hand. Kypho's vision became blurry but he didn't lose consciousness. He fell on the ground and watched the commotion around him as guards lifted him and put him on a stretcher. He let out a laugh. "You don't have any evidence against me..." he said with a swollen tongue.

They put him in a wagon and tied him with ropes. Once done, the wagon began to roll. Kypho couldn't move a muscle but his eyes remained open and he could see and hear everything. As they passed through the gates of the palace, he saw a body hanging on the ceiling of the arch of the gates, his eyes gouged.