Page 67 of Bound to Four Alphas

“Selena!” Elian shouted, Phaendar using the distraction to knock him to his feet, pin him with a dagger at his throat.

Malek considered her, black eyes a raging storm.

Kaelen felt his joints pop.

Just. A little. Bit. Further.

From a distance away, Ronan roared, overcome with shadows and soldiers, his hide carved up from Malek’s teeth.

Damien’s eyes narrowed.

Malek shifted.

“Please,” Selena whispered, “I … I love you.”

A whine tore from Malek’s throat.

The pressure on Kaelen’s ribs eased as Malek backed away, his ears flat against his head, his eyes murky with sorrow and regret.

There was a brief silence.

Damien roared and several soldiers launched spears, the ends embedding into Malek’s flank.

The spell was broken. Malek whipped back towards Selena, a renewed growl rumbling in his throat as his teeth bared, ready to strike-

Kaelen grasped his weapon and embedded it into Malek’s paw, driving it all the way through and down into the stone, pinning him where he stood.

Malek screamed in fury and pain, tail lashing, great antlers narrowly missing from ripping Kaelen’s stomach open as he thrashed his head.

Elian managed to whip a shadow across his father’s face like the crack of a whip, tossing the Fae aside. “Keep him down!”he roared, and Kaelen caught Phaendar in the air and slammed him down, his strength far outweighing the aging lord’s.

Darkness ripped through the room, a swirling storm, a hurricane of power and death.

Elian at the center.

He opened his mouth to scream, green eyes flashing like fire, unbelievable power ripping out of him and hitting Malek squarely in the chest. Wave after wave of dark shadow battered into him, long roping lengths securing and pulling like chains between the Fae and the monster.

Damien screeched in horror, but Elian had Malek under his thrall.

He couldn’t break the control, but he could take it over.

With a heaving bellow of effort, Elian turned Malek towards the hordes of nightmares and soldiers currently ramming into Ronan, the sword trapping him into the stone melting away as Malek broke free and charged.

Phaendar struggled beneath Kaelen’s grip, shouting and snarling to break free.

Damien’s face twisted, ugly and enraged, his eerie, blank gaze falling on Elian.

But Elian was so concentrated on keeping control over Malek, on stopping him from falling back under the crown’s control, that he didn’t see the prince advancing on him.

Kaelen had no choice.

With a heavy blow to Phaendar’s head to try and keep him down, Kaelen barreled into Damien, knocking him to the floor.

Damien hissed, high and unnatural, the sound echoing in Kaelen’s head. The crown. He had to get the crown off Damien’shead. It was stuck there, welded to his skin, unmoving. He would find a way, even if he had to carve it from Damien’s flesh.

The prince was strong, so strong, his muscles invigorated with power. They wrestled, rolling over each other, both weaponless and resorting to fists.

Kaelen could live with that. He would beat the human into nothing more than a pile of gore for laying his hands on Selena.

---