Page 7 of Bound to Four Alphas

But hadn’t Elian said the dragon was younger? Selena bit her cheek so hard that the metallic tang of blood exploded across her tongue. She had to remember she wasn’t dealing with humans. She was facing the beasts of the forest.

“Malek,” said Kaelen as he strode past Elian, ignoring him entirely, “transform. Now.”

The monster bristled slightly at Kaelen’s harsh voice, but when the wolf released a great snarl, he lowered his head in obedience, his form melting into shadow. The darkness cleared and what was left was something out of a nightmare. He was tall, cloaked in dark robes, deathly pale skin giving way to blackened claws and the same antlers as his monstrous form. His eyes werecompletely black, no whites showing, and when he opened his mouth Selena could see the fangs shining.

“Kaelen, I don’t mean you any harm.” Malek held up his hands, and Selena nearly choked. It was as if this monster was afraid of Kaelen, but Selena could not see how that was possible. Surely it should be the other way around?

Kaelen didn’t respond, his eyes not leaving Malek’s form, muscles tense.

“Your turn, Ronan,” sang Elian, skipping towards the huge wolf. “Be a good pup and shed some fur!”

The wolf, Ronan, bared his teeth before transforming. Much like Elian, his fur receded, his form growing smaller, until a man stood dressed in hides and leather.

He was enormous. By far the biggest of the group. His height, the sheer width of him, made panic crawl up Selena’s throat. His long dark hair was pulled back, gleaming yellow eyes shining from a face half-hidden by a dark beard. His ruddy skin was littered with scars that danced as his muscles tensed.

“Watch your mouth, Fae.”

Elian chuckled, “Easy there, doggy, you’ll get no trouble from me.”

“Elian,” Kaelan warned again, turning away from Malek.

“A thousand apologies, Your Majesty,” Elian stepped into a low, mocking bow with a flourish of his wrist. “Now, do you think we should be expecting anybody else? One of the centaurs, perhaps? Or a member of the northern wolf pack?”

Kaelen snarled and grasped Elian by the throat, copper eyes blazing. “Youdareeven joke about that?”

Elian smirked, and in a blink, Kaelen was holding nothing but shadow, grasping at thin air.

“Perhaps we should greet the fifth member of our little entourage,” the voice came from the tree above her, and Selena glanced up to see Elian reclining in a branch. “I’ve already said hello to our little dove, but perhaps you may also want to make her acquaintance.”

Three sets of eyes turned to her, seeming to notice her for the first time, and she shrank back.

“So you’re what I can smell,” said Ronan, stepping forward with an easy grin. “Hello, Omega.”

She swallowed, her mouth dry, fear pulsing through her. They were alphas. All four of them. She could scent them all clearly now, deep and seductive, nothing like the stench from the village alphas. But she was only too aware of how vulnerable she was, tied to the tree, an offering trussed up and ready for them.

Ronan’s nose twitched, and his expression grew troubled. “Easy there, we’re not going to hurt you.”

Selena tried to get to her feet, but her restraints meant she could only get as far as her knees. Nevertheless, she tried to make herself as big as possible, baring her teeth, her mind telling her that if she couldn’t run, then she might as wellfight. There was a rock by her hand, small, but hard. Her fingers curled around it.

“This is it?” Kaelen’s voice was incredulous, offended. “This little girl woke up the magic of the Forest God? Elian, if this is one of your tricks, sohelp me—”

“It’s not a trick,” Malek’s voice was quiet, but certain. “I know the magic. I was born of it. This Omega disrupted something. The forest is unhappy.”

“Finally, the elusive monster king wants to spill his secrets,” Elian said. “Please, do share, I’ve been waiting for this forcenturies—”

“If the forest was unhappy, I’d be the first to know about it,” Ronan growled. “What could she have possibly done?”

“Maybe this is the humans,” said Kaelen, his expression turning murderous. “Maybe they’re finally making their move.”

“I fail to see how the humans have anything to do with this.”

“This wouldn’t be the first time they’ve tried something.”

Their voices turned angry, bleeding into each other, a storm inside her head.

“If the humans are moving against us, we’d know about it—”

“—whispers from the shadows, something big is coming—”

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