Page 11 of Owned By Four Alphas

They turned, leaving Ronan alone in the rain, his anger unspent and his teeth bared.

He needed a drink.

Chapter 5 - Selena

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to…no, no. That’s not right.Welcome everyone to the celebration of…argh!” Selena’s foot tapped against the floor and she growled at the stiffness of her dress, her head swimming with the noise of the festivities.

“Of everything you have to remember, I didn’t think the introduction would be the part you’d have issues memorizing,” said Elian, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

They sat at the high table at the end of the hall, watching their guests mingle and drink and laugh. There had to be at least two hundred people. Mostly Fae, but there were a fair number of dragons and wolves about the place, too. Any minute now, the gong would sound, and everyone would be looking at her. She tugged on the high neckline of her gown.

“You’ll be fine, Selena, if in doubt just make a joke and tell them to raise their glasses to the coming of spring!”

“You make it sound so easy,” she muttered.

“You were the one who wanted to make a speech!”

“It’s expected of me,” she countered, “I’ll look incompetent otherwise.”

Elian hummed, his attention once again taken by watching the crowd with an easy smirk, no doubt eavesdropping with his heightened hearing on private conversations. Selena sighed.

“Sweetness,” Ronan growled from behind her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

“Ronan! You’re here! I’m so glad, I’m just about to make my speech and—”

“Have you seen Kaelen?” Ronan interrupted, turning to Elian and placing a hand on Selena’s shoulder with absent-minded affection. “I need to talk to him about a thing or two.” His voice had that scary tone it did whenever something bad had happened. Selena fought a shiver.

“I think he’s with Iveir and some of the other dragons,” mused Elian, tossing his head in the direction of the crowd. “If you look over—hey! For fuck’s sake! Whilst you’re at it, get that cocky little shit’s claws off my sister!”

Selena glanced over to see Caeda blushing, her back against a marble pillar, as the young dragon Phane leaned over her with a distinctively roguish grin.

“They’re only flirting, Elian,” she said, elbowing him. “In fact, you use that move onmeall the time.”

“Which is exactly why I don’t like it. I know what he’s thinking,” grumbled Elian.

Selena didn’t respond. Her eyes followed Ronan’s bulky form as he stalked towards Kaelen, his expression set.

“I wonder what happened?”

“There was an…altercation. Between the young wolves and dragons,” replied Elian, dangling a grape into his mouth and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

“An altercation? Honestly, Elian, why did nobody tell me?”

He shrugged, “It was only a few hours ago, and Ronan stopped it from getting too bad. Besides,” he pulled her in closer, “we were busy working on the speech you’re so nervous about.”

“Oh, Gods,” she whispered, her stomach swooping. No matter how many parties Elian held, she had never gotten used to the crowds. She couldn’t imagine standing up in front of themall, speaking to them. She was supposed to be theirqueen,and she didn’t even have the bravery to address her people.

“Ooh, look over there!” Elian’s eyes were sparkling with mischief. “Do you see that group of dragons? Rumor has it they’re part of the Order of Theldir.”

“Theldir?” Selena repeated, following his line of sight to three of four dragons stood slightly apart from the others, their expressions terse. “As in the god from the story? The fire god defeated by my father?”

“The very same,” said Elian. “I bet Kaelen’sthrilledthey made an appearance! What fun!”

She turned to him, her mouth falling open, “Why on earth would Theldir have a whole Order dedicated to him? Didn’t he try to destroy the realm?”

Elian chuckled, “Some believe that he only wanted to return the realm to the natural order of things. He’s always had sympathizers amongst the dragons—fire god and all that—and a fair few Fae courts too. It’s always been mostly harmless, just a few nobles bored with their dull existences, but with anti-human sentiments on the rise, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gains some traction.”

“Shouldn’t we be worried?” Selena asked, swallowing her fear. She was, after all, physically a human, even if she did carry the magic of a god.

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