Page 39 of Bound to Four Alphas

Elian stroked his chin, “Actually, it kind of is. We don’t know what kind of magic she possesses, but we know it’s tied to the forest. Tied to us. I’m willing to bet that as far as the magic is concerned, we’re all part of that child.”

“What kind of ridiculous logic is that?”

Elian raised an eyebrow at him. “Kaelen, until a few moments ago, you weren’t capable of speech, let alone scientific inquiry. Your instincts have been triggered. That only happens to the biological father. And it happened to all of us.”

“But that is not the way of things!” Kaelen bellowed.

“Does it matter?” Malek’s voice was quiet. “I mean, we’re all mated to her. Whether one of us is the father, or all of us, does it matter?”

Kaelen ground his teeth, his dragon close to his skin, desperate to break free. But Malek had a point. Selena was his mate. Malek’s mate, Ronan’s, Elian’s. And as unexpected and unwanted as the arrangement had started out, with every passing day he couldn’t deny the bonds between them getting stronger.

But a child complicated things. In any other circumstances, he would have been overjoyed at the prospectof an heir. However, Selena’s life was in danger. She was being hunted by the Silverthorn Kingdom that, if rumors were to be believed, had access to some ancient weapon that could destroy the last vestiges of the First Realm.

“What do we do?” He turned to Ronan, jaw set and duty clear.

Ronan frowned, glancing around the rest of the camp. “We leave. Just the five of us. It’ll be faster that way. We’d have to at the border anyway. We get to the Marble Halls so that Elian can figure out what the hell Selena is, so that we know what Damien wants with her. That way, we will know how to defend her.”

“It’s dangerous,” replied Kaelen. “Damien has scouts, he’ll know where we’re going by now. If he knows it’s just the four of us defending her, he might be foolish enough to try and attack. And we don’t know what we’re up against.”

“Then we split up,” said Elian, “throw him off the scent.”

Ronan growled, “And leave only one of us to defend her if we get attacked?”

“We’ve been fending off attacks for days,” said Elian. “Damien’s only getting bolder, the chances of him attacking the five of us are very high. If we separate, he’ll have to divide his forces, his attention.”

Kaelen nodded slowly. He hated it, but he understood it.

“What if one of us is captured?” asked Malek, “And forced to give away who Selena is with?”

“We won’t know,” said Elian. “We’ll go to the four corners of the clearing. I’ll use my magic to conceal Selena’s movements, and she’ll choose who to travel with.”

It was clever. High risk, high reward. Kaelen could see Ronan wrestling with the logic, trying to fight down his wolfish preference for traveling and fighting in a pack.

The tent flap rustled and Selena tumbled out, her expression firm as he turned to her with a warning snarl.

“Don’t even try it, Kaelen, I deserve a voice in this conversation,” she said, her eyes narrowing.

He gritted his teeth, battling every instinct to throw her over his shoulder and never let her down. Ronan too was staring at her with a similar intensity, his own muscles bunching.

“I’ll do it,” she said to Elian, her little fists clenched with determination. “I think it's the best chance we have.”

Elian smiled. “Excellent choice, little dove. We’ll leave just before dawn. Come, we must warn the others. But only the ones we would trust with our lives.”

Malek stepped forward to join Selena in the tent as Kaelen cast his eye around for Iveir.

“Oh, and Selena?” Elian’s voice was filled with familiar cunning. “Don’t try and be clever with your choice. Damien will know to play those games. Roll dice, flip a coin, make your decision random. We’re all equally able to protect you, so don’t try and be smart.”

She pouted at him, and Elian chuckled. Kaelen fought a fond smile. If he had learned one thing about Selena over the weeks, it was that she adored the acquisition of knowledge, and hated any implication that she wasn’t smart.

When they had eliminated the threat, when she was safe, he silently promised that he would buy her every book in the world if that was what she desired.

The night was long and tense, and just over an hour before dawn, the four alphas rose and said their farewells, leaving Selena nervously waiting in the center of the camp, surrounded by a guard of wolves and dragons that would alert them if anything happened.

“When the first rays of light break the trees,” Elian said, “leave. Good luck, and I hope to see you soon.”

Kaelen swallowed but nodded, making his way to the northernmost tip of the clearing. A few moments later, every one of his senses was cut from his mate.

He couldn’t stop the growl that escaped him.

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