Page 9 of Bound to Four Alphas

Kaelen seemed to recover his ability to talk, pushing past Ronan to tower over the girl, eyes blazing with fury. “Did you do this?”

The growl that ripped free from Ronan’s throat at Kaelen’s menacing voice surprised even him.

The girl’s eyes darted back to him, and he realized they were silver.

“Back off, wolf,” snapped Kaelen, tearing his attention away. “She clearly has something to do with what happened, and I want to know what it is. I’ll be damned if I’m bound to the likes ofyou.”

“I d-didn’t do anything,” stuttered the girl, her voice hoarse, “I promise, I didn’t. Please, just … just let me go!’

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, sweetness,” Ronan said, crossing his arms over his chest, “not until we get this mess straightened out.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the pet name, and Ronan couldn’t help the grin that carved itself onto his face. So perhaps underneath all that dirt and fear, she had a spark of defiance within her.

“Do you think if I had any kind of power at all that I would be tied up to this tree?” The girl shifted, bristling, the action causing the hem of her thin nightgown to bunch up her legs. They were nearly blue with cold, harsh slashes of red from various injuries littering her skin.

Ronan growled again, and she shuffled back in fright. He nearly reached for her then, some strange desire within himcommanding him to take her into her arms, to warm her, to say that he would never do anything to harm her.

He shook his head. It was like he was a pup again, drunk on the scent of some omega in heat, chasing after them and earning himself a smack across the jaw from an older alpha.

But he wasn’t a pup anymore. And he couldn’t deny the scent wafting from the girl in front of him was nothing short of intoxicating. He wanted nothing more than to bury his hands in her dark hair, feel her soft flesh beneath him, bury himself into her tight,wet—

“Fucking hell, Ronan, keep it to yourself,” muttered Kaelen, and Ronan glanced over to see the dragon’s eyes fixed resolutely on the omega. But he also saw the flare of his nostrils, the slight tense of his muscles. It seemed as if he wasn’t the only one entranced by the girl.

“Silver birch,” murmured Malek, and Ronan turned to see the monster staring at the girl with naked awe, his inhuman face earnest. “You’re tied to a silver birch.”

The girl stilled, and Ronan scented the thrum of fear as she stared at Malek. “So what?”

Malek didn’t reply, but he reached for her, claws extending. When she shrank back, he stilled, a frisson of sorrow running through him. Ronan had smelled that on him before. Sometimes, on his patrols of the woods, he came across the monster king at the border of his territory. Malek often paused, black eyes lighting up slightly at seeing him, but that excitement always died away as Ronan stayed in his wolf form, growling at him to back off the territory line.

Once or twice, he had gotten the sense that perhaps the monster would have liked to talk. But Ronan couldn’t risk it. Ifany of Malek’s nightmares sensed weakness, they would descend on the wolves like the fall of night.

So the monster always slunk back into the forest, melting into the shadows from whence he was born.

Elian clapped his hands together, apparently unable to go a single moment without being the center of attention, and the sharp sound stung Ronan’s sensitive ears. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Think of what?” snapped Kaelen. He normally had much more patience for the Fae than Ronan, but apparently, even the dragon had his limits.

Elian’s smirk was nearly feral with excitement. “Of course, I forget none of you were alive during the reign of the Forest God.”

Ronan snarled, fists clenching, loathing that Elian’s smile grew brighter at having gotten a reaction. “Spit it out, Fae.”

“All in good time, mongrel.”

When Ronan’s fist connected with Elian’s jaw, there was no spark of lightning forcing them apart, shocking them with pain. And Ronan decided to take full advantage.

To his credit, Elian didn’t melt back into the shadows, evading the attack. His green eyes flashed and then there were two wickedly sharp daggers in his hands, his arms raised in defiance. “Come on then, I know you’ve been desperate for this.”

Ronan took the bait. He lunged forward, teeth bared, ready tostrike—

Kaelen intercepted him.

“Get off me,” Ronan roared, shoving Kaelen from him, desperate to reach that smug little Fae prick so he could finally knock some sense into him.

“Back off,” yelled Kaelen, bracing to stop Ronan’s lunge. “If Elian’s right, we’ve just been bonded together. The magic is fragile, you could be killed if you attack him.” Kaelen narrowed his eyes, glancing over to an incredibly smug Elian. “Not that I blame you for wanting to.”

Ronan snarled at Elian, fully intending on ignoring Kaelen and attacking the Fae, magic be damned, when a soft, floral scent broke him from his rage.

He turned.

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