Page 37 of Bound to Four Alphas

A pounding on the door, so forceful that dust clouded from its edges, stopped the men in their tracks.

Selena nearly wept. They were here.

“Selena?” Elian’s voice was full of concern, his horse nudging closer as he leaned over to brush a thumb over her cheek, “Are you alright?”

She forced herself to nod, giving him a small smile, but she could tell he wasn’t convinced. His jaw worked, anger flashing in his eyes.

“We won’t let them take you again,” he said, his voice full of dark promise. “You’re safe. I promise you, you’re safe.”

She nodded again, not knowing what to say. She believed him, of course she believed that they would do everything in their power to protect her. But things happened, unpredictable things. Malek had managed to be distracted, a fact which she knew he was killing himself over, but it didn’t diminish the fact that any one of them could be forced away from her. And then she would be vulnerable.

All this talk about her being some Omega of Prophecy, sent by the Forest God himself, all it had done was paint an enormous target on her back. She had asked about the magical power she supposedly carried, of course she had. But neither her mates nor the priestesses had any more information on how she could actually use it. She was utterly defenseless. She didn’t even have the luxury of the superior senses that her mates were blessed with.

She might be an omega, but she was woefully and completely human.

And by all accounts, from Ronan, from messengers, from the priestesses, the Silverthorn Kingdom had some kind of secret weapon that was capable of destroying anything in its path. What hope did her mates have against something like that? What hope did she have?

There was a great beating of wings, and she glanced up. It was Kaelen, returning from his evening patrol, the dying rays of sunlight gleaming off his golden scales. He landed a few hundred feet away and Ronan’s ears flicked forward, as if listening.

“We’ll camp there for the night,” he growled, his wolf-voice deep and sonorous.

There was a flurry of activity by the time they reached the clearing, the young dragon shifters shooting down from the sky in blurs of blue and green. Iveir was with them; he had refused to return to the dragon’s territory after what had happened to Selena. No matter how many times she had said it wasn’t his fault, the older male had taken a large portion of the blame for leaving her alone with Malek in the gardens in the first place.

He was currently overseeing the construction of camp, wolves and Fae alike building tents as the dragons deposited their various kills for dinner next to great roaring fires. Kaelen was back in his human skin and ran to her side, lifting her with ease from the horse and carrying her towards one of the fires.

“I can walk, you know,” she said, but it lacked any real bite. Ever since the attack, her omega had effectively squashed most of her stubbornness, and she only ever felt truly calm when she was in the arms of one of her mates.

“I know,” he replied, his voice gravelly and tired. “Let me hold you anyway.”

It seemed she wasn’t the only one desperate for physical closeness.

“Kaelen,” Elian came over holding the reins of both horses. “You know we won’t be able to bring all these people into Fae territory. Phaendar won’t like it. We’ll have to leave them at the border and continue with just the five of us and the Fae fromthe Benellane Court. Once we reach the Marble Halls, I can send word and have them join us.”

Kaelen’s jaw stiffened, but he nodded curtly. “Discuss it with Ronan. I suspect he’ll have some doubts.”

Elian nodded and leaned down to press a kiss to Selena’s forehead before making his way to the group of wolves circling the camp.

Kaelen settled down on one of the shaggy furs that had been arranged around the fire, positioning Selena so that she was nestled between his legs with her head resting against his chest.

She closed her eyes, breathing in his scent, tempted to go to sleep then and there. Ever since the attack she had been so tired. It was probably the stress, the constant worry of attack, the fear for the safety of her mates.

“You need to eat before you sleep,” said Kaelen, though his voice sounded almost as exhausted as hers.

“So do you,” she replied, taking one of his huge hands in both of hers, running her fingers over the calluses on his palm.

He shuddered at the touch, his face dropping low to hers, a spark like lightning shooting between them. The air was suddenly thick, heavy with expectation, and Selena’s core clenched.

She hadn’t done anything more than kiss any of them since her heat. There was the constant threat of danger, of course, not to mention the lack of privacy in a camp such as this. But there was also the nagging feeling deep in her belly that taking them to her bed when not addled by heat was somehow different. Her choosing them, as opposed to just her omega choosing them.

They had all seemed far too distracted to try and initiate anything, and she knew they wouldn’t unless she was willing, but there had been more and more moments like this one. Heated exchanges, looks filled with lustful intention. It seemed like it was only a matter of time.

The spell was broken by Ronan appearing with a skinned deer carcass ready to roast on the spit. Selena watched, her stomach growling, as he skewered it with a length of metal, a small dribble of blood hissing on the fire below.

Her mind went blank.

Blood.

How long had it been since she was sacrificed? How long since her heat broke?

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