Page 69 of Bound to Four Alphas

He was dead before his head hit the floor.

Malek was there, low to the ground, his head bowed in subjugation, free now from any control.

“Goddess,” he said, his voice full of agony. “Selena. I am sorry. So, so sorry. Please,” he begged, “kill me. Punish me. I am yours.”

“Malek,” she said, her voice full of warmth and love, “there is nothing to forgive.”

The others came now, Ronan and Elian, covered in blood and mud. Phaendar groaned in pain, his voice a death-rattle as he spoke. “You can’t win,” he choked, gurgling on his own blood. “There are others—darker forces beyond the borders of the First Realm. You can’t defeat them!”

Selena turned to him and blinked. She was herself, but not herself. The beautiful, sweet girl he knew, and all the might of the Forest God.

“You would not have defeated them either.” Her voice was heavy with promise. The promise of a God. Prophecy. “Only light can defeat the darkness.”

Phaendar’s eyes widened as he coughed and gurgled.

Then fell silent.

Kaelen sat, gasping in cool air, his hand flying to his chest. The dagger. It was gone. He was healed. He staggered to his feet, gazing at Selena in wonder.

The others too, in their human skins, cleaned of all wounds.

“My mates,” Selena said, her voice clear and beautiful, forging them anew, “together, we will unite the realm.”

The light intensified, nearly blinding, then as soon as it had appeared, it was gone, faded from her. She collapsed to the floor with a gasp, the crown rolling from her head.

“Easy,” Elian rushed forward, catching her before she could hit her head. “That was your first time channeling magic, just try to breathe!”

Kaelen too rushed forward, falling to his knees at her side. “Selena,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “my beautiful Selena.”

The ghost of a smile brushed across her lips, and she raised her hand to his face.

“We did it.”

Chapter 29 - Selena

Nobody was surprised when Selena announced that she didn’t actually want to be a Goddess. Two months had passed since she had donned the crown and defeated Phaendar and Damien, and ever since then she had been working closely with Elian to learn how to control her magic, channel it, remain its custodian until such a time as she could hand it down.

She didn’t need to be a Goddess. Not when she was perfectly content with the life she was building with her four alphas.

For the time being, they had taken up residence in Marble Halls, with Ronan and Kaelen regularly traveling to their territories to strengthen the border and their control. Elian had taken his father’s place as Lord, and Malek helped oversee the reclamation of the forest. The current discussions centered on unifying the realm, with Selena as Queen and custodian. There was some opposition, but with all four alphas by her side, dissent was rare.

Under Kaelen’s orders, a great palace was being built just north of the temple of the Forest God where the priestesses had welcomed them with open arms. The heart of the realm.

Selena grunted as she reached up to pull yet another book down from one of the high shelves. Most of the library was likely in the Northern Suite at this point, but she didn’t care. She had a lot to learn.

“Struggling, are we?” Elian pressed up against her from behind, his hand darting out to grasp the book that remained frustratingly out of reach with ease.

She turned, a blush rising on her cheeks at his wicked grin.

Her mates had more than made up for lost time over the past few months. Kisses had turned passionate, wandering hands explored with leisure, and she had shyly let them know that she was happy to welcome them into her bed. Just that morning Kaelen had taken his sweet time bringing her over the edge again and again before finally knotting her as the sun rose.

Elian placed the book down, his hands resting heavy and hot over her hips, his lips grazing the shell of her ear. “I think you’ve done more than enough reading today, little dove.”

She stifled a moan as one of his hands drifted higher, cupping a breast over her satin dress, his thumb rubbing over her stiffening nipple. She could feel his hardness pressing into her back and keened softly, skin alight with desire.

He walked them backwards until he sat back in a large armchair by the fire, pulling her down in between his spread legs to sit against his chest. Ronan, who had been lazing by the fire, resting before a journey west, looked up with interest, his eyes turning dark.

“Now, little dove,” Elian crooned into her ear, his hand massaging her tender flesh, “why don’t we put on a little show?”

---