Page 16 of Owned By Four Alphas

She turned on her heel and fled. Kaelen jumped to his feet to follow her, but Ronan was there, his teeth bared.

“I think you’ve done enough,” he growled, before storming out after their mate. Malek looked back over the hall and swallowed, before following after Ronan, his shadows jittering around him.

Kaelen, ever the handler of unfortunate situations, turned to the hall with a wide smile, “The magic of the Forest God!” he called, lifting his goblet yet again, “Lest we forget its power.”

He drained his goblet, falling back into his seat as people raised uneasy toasts, their eyes still fixed on the destruction in the center of the hall.

“I thought you said she was getting better at controlling it,” Kaelen bit out under his breath, not looking at Elian.

“She is,” replied Elian, “but I think the pregnancy is causing some instability. She has a long way to go. And she’s only getting stronger.”

“A hunk of rock today,” Kaelen breathed.

“A mountain tomorrow,” Elian finished.

Chapter 7 - Selena

How had she done that.Howhad that been possible? An entire marble statue reduced to rubble and dust.

She hadn’t meant to do it. She had just been soangry, it was like there was lightning in her veins, thunder in her voice. Something old, something ancient, begging to break free. Her father’s face had filled her head, the memory of the dream, of the forest, of the fire. Her vision of the Forest God had smiled, and her magic had exploded.

It was still there, sparking in her fingertips, silver embers dancing over her skin. She wrestled with it, shoved it back down, tears falling freely as she raced through the corridors of the palace.

She didn’t know where she was going. She didn’t particularly care, either. It was dark, streaked with sudden, violent brightness every time lightning struck outside and flashed through the windows. The thunder rumbled in a steady, aggressive rhythm and the rain poured down from the skies.

The library. She realized she was running towards the library.

The library was good. Nobody would be visiting during the feast. And perhaps there would be something there, some book or scroll, that could explain what in all the gods’ names had just happened. Why she had seenhisface. Why she was dreaming about him at all.

Normally she would have asked Elian, but…

She shook her head, gritting her teeth and forcing her feet to run faster.

“Selena!”

She stumbled to a halt down one of the many corridors, her shoes slipping slightly against the polished marble.

Ronan. Of course. Not all of her mates had enraged her today.

She turned around just to see Ronan skidding round a corner, stopping abruptly when he saw her.

She couldn’t stop the sob that escaped her.

He closed the distance between them in seconds, scooping her up into his arms as all the tension and frustration exploded out of her in a series of increasingly loud wails.

“It’s alright, sweetness, I’ve got you now. I’ve got you,” he murmured as he drew soothing circles across her back with his huge hand, cradling her against his chest like a babe. She only sobbed harder, twisted her fingers into the soft material of his shirt, pressing her face into his neck to try and stem the flow of tears.

“Is she okay?”

It was Malek, materializing in front of Ronan, his wonderfully gentle shadows encasing them all.

“A-a-are the oth-others coming t-too?” she hiccupped, twisting her head to look at Malek.

He shook his head, his jaw clenching, “No. At least, I don’t think so.”

“They won’t if they know what’s good for them,” Ronan growled, his grip tightening on her, protective and caring. “Unless you want them to come?”

“No!” she said quickly, rearing back, “I… no. I don’t want to see them. Not yet.”

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