Page 18 of Bound to Four Alphas

The girl. The omega.

My omega.

He shook his head against the intrusive thought. The girl wasn’thisanything. She was an anomaly, a strange incident that he would deal with and then move on. Besides, she was stubborn, infuriating in her constant disobedience of his orders. He would be glad to be rid of her.

My omega.

“What you are suggesting,” Kaelen bit out, fury lacing each word, “would condemn her to a life she has not chosen. You would happily force yourselves upon her rather than allow her to return home or remain here?”

He ignored the twist in his belly at the thought of leaving her. It was nothing. Just his biology.

“In a heartbeat,” Elian’s voice was dark and low.

Ronan shot the Fae a warning growl. “You heard the priestesses, she has agreed to this. It is her destiny. Do you really think she would even want to return to a place that shunned her? Kidnapped and sacrificed her to the forest? She will be safe with us.”

“But would she be happy?” Malek, who had remained silent all the while, finally stood to join the tense circle, the tips of his antlers nearly grazing the ceiling.

Elian rolled his eyes, even as Ronan’s narrowed in distaste. “I believe she can learn to be. As we will learn to be happy with this arrangement. It is the will of the Forest God.”

“You’re blind to anything but your cock, Ronan,” Kaelen spat. “Don’t pretend this has anything to do with the damned magic. You just want to fuck her.”

“And you are ruthless to the point of cruelty, Kaelen.” Ronan stepped forward, narrowing the space between. His yellow eyes flashed as he spoke. “It seems that you have learned nothing from your previous mistakes.”

Red flashed across Kaelen’s vision, his magic lashing out. “Is that why you’re disagreeing with me? A centuries-old grudge?”

“You are the reason my father is dead,” Ronan thundered, “even if you did not kill him yourself.”

“Your father was a fool,” replied Kaelen. “The northern clan alpha had every right to challenge him. It’s not my problem that he succeeded.”

Ronan’s teeth were sharpening, his hands flexing, the wolf within clearly howling to break free. “But you never got your precious revenge on the humans for your father’s death, because I killed Landon and took his place as alpha before he could invade the human lands for you. You’re the one with the grudge.”

“It was myright,” Kaelen seethed, desperate to attack, holding himself back by the merest thread of civility. “Your father wouldn’t help me get the justice I deserved, so I found someone who could. And you took that away.”

“Landon was a ruthless murderer. He had no intention of honoring your treaty; he would have killed you and taken your lands as well,” Ronan said.

“So you keep saying,” Kaelen replied, close enough to the other alpha that he could just reach out andstrike—

“Your pride will kill you,” Elian said, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion. “You would rather die than join forces with us? All you have to do is claim the girl, and all the power of the realm will be at our disposal.”

“We can ensure peace,” said Ronan, his aggressive stance giving way to something more insistent, “peace for all our people. How long will we last if you don’t? We’re already close to killing each other. Without her, we won’t last a month.”

“You felt the magic,” said Malek, placing a clawed hand over his own heart. “Listen to it. Please.”

Kaelen’s dragon seethed at the three alphas in front of him, all with their own reasons for requesting his compliance. Would he really subject themselves to their will? Give over his allegiance and allow a human omega into an unwanted pack bond?

There had to be another way. Surely, there had to be. He would find it, and break the pack bond. It had been formed by magic; it could be broken by magic. He would not be subject to this any longer.

But a small voice inside him, the same one that purred in pleasure every time the omega girl had been in his arms, the one that bellowed for blood every time she so much as winced, was growing louder with each passing moment. And another voice, the one that respected Ronan as a leader, urged him that the wolf would never do anything to place his people in harm’s way. That against all reason, the magic had chosen them. Chosen her.

Selena.

The mere thought of leaving her behind made his blood boil in a way that was utterly unfamiliar to him. He hardly knew her, and yet his dragon roared to keep her by his side.

If he went through with the ritual, there would be no turning back. He would be bound to all of them, for life. He would be more than willing to make the sacrifice if he could guarantee his people’s safety, but he was not a fanatic. Even the power of the Forest God had its limits.

What were Kaelen’s limits?

Before he could speak, could give the alphas his answer, Ronan stiffened, his neck snapping towards the door. Malek was next, a feral growl erupting from his chest as his teeth bared.

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