Page 72 of Bound to Four Alphas

Old King Dorian had been furious at the death of his son and heir, but he recognized the defeat for what it was. A reminder of the power of the magical beings.

He had not tried to tamper further.

Kaelen and Elian had been keen to press the advantage and reclaim the lands stolen from the First Realm, but Selena had cautioned them. Ronan believed that in a few years’ time, peace and alliance might be possible, and she was willing to hold out for that.

“Selena!” Caeda appeared around the corner of one of the towering bookshelves of the library. That had been Selena’sgreatest wish. A huge library, with every book she could get her hands on.

Selena smiled and made to stand, but Caeda shook her hands, “No, no, please! Don’t try to get up on my account.”

“I’m perfectly able to get up, I’m only a few months pregnant,” Selena grumbled but didn’t argue when Caeda instead curled up on the ottoman next to her. She was due in six months’ time, but there was something about magical pregnancy that left her rather exhausted.

“Whatever you say,” Caeda grinned mischievously, the expression eerily similar to Elian’s. “Where are your bodyguards?”

Selena rolled her eyes, “Malek’s reading a few shelves over, and Kaelen’s discussing war strategies with Iveir by the fireplace. Not that we need any war strategies.”

Following the attack, Malek and Kaelen had barely left her side. Malek seemed to only want to comfort her, help her with anything she needed, bring her food and water before she even had to ask. Kaelen was slightly more anxious, fretting over her ever groan and grumble, his protective and domineering facade unable to mask the fear that underpinned it.

Caeda shrugged. “It’s always worth being prepared!”

“I just think it’s an excuse to train the young dragon and wolf alphas together. Unite them under a common cause,” Selena said. “If they learn to fight together, they’re less likely to fight each other.”

“There are still problems?” Caeda’s eyebrows rose, “I thought Ronan and Kaelen had made it clear that we’re all one realm now. No more clans?”

“Those boys have been scrapping for decades,” Selena replied, “and while I think it’s mostly good-natured these days, it certainly doesn’t help that they all now have free rein to sniff around the omegas. Clan protectiveness runs deep.”

“They’ll learn,” said Caeda with a small smile.

“I hope so. We need peace if this whole unification thing is going to work.”

“Does it worry you?” Caeda asked, her voice carefully neutral.

Selena considered, “Sometimes it does. I mean, I was raised as a human. I didn’t even know about the Forest God until I met my alphas. And then to learn that he’s my father? That I’m destined to take his place and unite the realm? It’s a lot of pressure. Especially since I decided not to let the magic take over completely and keep some of my human side.”

She laughed and stroked her stomach, but it came out slightly weaker than she intended. Caeda reached over and took her hand, a fierceness painted over her features.

“Selena, we all know how hard you push yourself. The things that you’ve achieved in just the past few months have been astonishing.”

“It’s mostly been my mates,” Selena said, chewing her lip, “I mean, they’re the ones going and forging alliances, laying down the law. I’ve just been practicing my magic and trying to decide how best to go about things.”

Caeda snorted. “The only reason they’ve been the ones having to forge alliances rather than you is because they were the ones who insisted on fighting for centuries in the first place. They’re just cleaning up their own messes.”

Selena giggled. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“And another thing, there’s no such thing as ‘just been practicing magic,’ it’sridiculouslydifficult to get control over magic half as small as yours. And your progress would put any Fae to shame. Don’t push yourself too hard, Selena, nobody expects you to do this all by yourself.”

Selena smiled, tears welling in her eyes, her hormones driving to the extremes due to her pregnancy.

“Thank you, that means a lot. Really it does. Especially since we have to start thinking about relations with the other four realms. We’ve been getting more and more letters.”

Caeda shifted, her expression suddenly shy. “Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Selena raised an eyebrow.

“I’d like to go traveling. To the other realms, I mean. I spent so long trapped in that palace; I want to see more of the world. And I know it’s dangerous, and I know Elian probably won’t let me, but I want to go all the same.”

Her expression was so determined, so earnest, her young face showing every ounce of stubborn resolution, that Selena knew would be hard to argue against.

“Don’t you worry about what Elian says,” she laughed. “I can handle him. If this is something that you want, then you have my whole-hearted blessing.”

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