Page 23 of Bound to Four Alphas

It might have been easy to lose track of time, what with every hour spent in thrall to the delicious little omega begging and pleading so prettily for him. But Elian was never one to let his wits get away from him, even with such a gorgeous distraction to keep him occupied.

Selena was a true beauty to behold.

Since Kaelen had finally decided not to undo centuries of hard work and complete the ritual by fucking the sweet little dove, they had all been able to enjoy the full extent of a mated omega in heat. Ronan had practically broken down the door as soon as the magic holding them back, forcing them to play their part and take only what was offered in the ritual, had elapsed.

It was truly fascinating. Elian had never come across any enchantment capable of preventing an alpha from doing exactly what he wanted to a willing omega when she was in heat, but he did so love the novelty of something new. Even if it did mean having to tear himself away from Selena after giving her that mating mark.

After all, that was precisely what had led him here. The ability to finally uncover the mysteries of the magic for himself.

As for what he was going to do with that magic, well. He had had centuries to plan.

So he had spent the majority of the week reveling in Selena’s warm heat, claiming her in every and any way she would let him. So had the other three. Apart from a few snapping bites and warning growls, they had all managed to somehow get along rather well given an alpha’s natural disposition to possessiveness. Elian had even braced himself against theexpected rage of seeing another alpha take her, but instead, he only felt a calming sense of rightness.

It made sense. They were bonded to each other as much as they were to her. The research prospects were tantalizing.

It wasn’t all endless pleasure, either. Selena certainly had periods where her cloud of lust ebbed as her body demanded rest and nourishment. And they were only too happy to cater to her every whim.

The priestesses left food, water, wine, clean blankets, anything they could need in the small atrium beyond the sacred heart of the temple. They took it in turns to feed her, bathe her, wrap her in furs and hold her close as she dozed into sleep.

And in those moments, Elian had the perfect opportunity to get to know his fellow packmates a bit better. The presence of an omega certainly was invaluable in dissuading any violence between them, and he was enormously enjoying the free range to wind Kaelen and Ronan up.

Malek had yet to take the bait. He had spent most of the time with a look of fierce adoration and mournful self-loathing painted across his face. It had taken him four days to finally give Selena the mating bite. He had even made Ronan swear to gut him if he took too long. Malek was seemingly unaware of the clear desire radiating from Selena as he finally sunk his teeth into the pale flesh of her hip, retreating as soon as his teeth broke the skin as if burnt. Selena had merely smiled down at the final mark to match the ones at her neck from Elian and Kaelen and the one on the side of her breast from Ronan.

In all his experimentation, Elian had never been able to pinpoint exactly what drove the bloodlust of the nightmare creatures—Malek’s bloodlust. His working hypothesis was that it was merely born from a desire to be part of the living world, buthe also wasn’t entirely convinced that it wasn’t just because they were predators, plain and simple.

Though he had never managed to kill one through starvation. Perhaps one day he might get Malek to spill his secrets once they were out of the temple.

Nearly a week had passed, and Selena’s heat was beginning to wane. Her constant insistence to be taken had calmed into more of a desire for comfort and closeness, and she was currently half-asleep curled into Ronan’s chest, listening to Elian and Kaelen as they spoke.

“Does your father know where you are?” Kaelen tore into a chunk of bread, his hair mussed and his neck covered in bruises from the little minx watching them through lidded eyes.

“Phaendar likes to pretend he has me under control,” Elian replied, taking a swig of wine, “but we both know that’s not the case.”

That was one unexpected, and somewhat irritating, side effect of the ritual bonding them completely into a pack. The other alphas now knew the full extent of Elian’s powers, and he theirs. Unlike them, however, he had never wanted the full force of his magic to be known. It had always been in his best interest to allow others to see him merely as a capricious Fae princeling. It meant that he could continue with his scheming undisturbed. Now, however…

Kaelen exchanged a wary look with Ronan. “The magic you wield,” he began carefully, “it’s the most powerful I’ve ever come across.”

“Is that a question?”

Kaelen frowned. “Why keep it hidden? The humans might think twice before invading if they knew what you were capable of.”

“You have a considerable amount of magical power yourself, not to mention your ability to turn into an overgrown lizard. That doesn’t stop them, so why would the threat of my powers?”

The dragon growled, but it was fairly half-hearted. It seemed that being able to lock Selena away and care for her every need had calmed him somewhat.

“You could have made it known,” Ronan said, one enormous hand tracing up and down Selena’s back. “Could have done more to stop the human attacks.”

Elian scowled. “Just because I don’t feel the need to spend my days throwing myself over and over into a constant brawl with the humans doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything to try and stop their attacks.”

“Then what are you doing?” Malek sat a little further away, either unaware or uncaring about the cold stone beneath him beyond the comfort of the blankets.

With a cocked brow, Elian slid his finger to his lips. “Trade secrets, I’m afraid. But if you’d like to help me with my plans, I’m sure your insights would beinvaluable.”

Selena stirred out of Ronan’s arms with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t goad him, Elian.”

“Little dove,” he filled his voice with mock affront, pouting his lip out even as she crawled over to wriggle into his open arms, “I would never dream of goading anyone.”

She pushed her head under his chin, fiddling with the lapel of his crumpled white shirt. “I think if you’ve got the gift ofmagic,” she said quietly, her voice small and filled with a strange sort of sadness, “you should use it to look out for other people. People who can’t always look out for themselves.”

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