Page 60 of Owned By Four Alphas

“No, I suppose not,” she said, wincing as she remembered Ordovic’s smug face.

“Just a few more hours,” said Malek, setting off at a gentle, loping run through the fields, kicking up pollen that tickled her nose and stained his fur yellow.

Sure enough, the tiny specks of the buildings became clearer as they got closer. There was no smoke, no sign of life, which Selena supposed was a good thing, even if she did secretly want to see another human. They would be unlikely to recognize her, and she might be able to buy some medicine and supplies for her birth. She’d scrounged what she could from her garden, but she was desperate for a stocked apothecary. So far, they’d had no luck on that front.

After a few hours, Malek cleared the final fence between the fields and the abandoned village, his claws scraping againstthe cobblestone. Carefully, he lowered himself down to the ground, letting Selena slide off with a muffled “Oof.”

“Kaelen seems to be getting more aggressive,” he said, his black eyes searching the skies. “We better find cover. The next patrol is due soon.”

“Perhaps we should find a way to send them a message, let them know I’m alright,” Selena said, twisting her fingers together. The long days of travel had given her plenty of time to think, and while she was still utterly adamant that she had made the right choice, her omega was in complete distress.

Between that, the pregnancy, and the constant effort to keep her magic under control, she was getting rather exhausted, if she was being honest with herself. As the birth drew nearer, her magic seemed to lash out at the barest provocation. A sudden movement in the corner of her eye, a scuttling beetle, the hoot of an owl.

Not to mention that, despite Malek’s presence, nothing could quite compare to the feeling of safety her omega felt when surrounded by all four of her mates. With her birth imminent, she was especially vulnerable.

“If that is what you wish,” Malek said, sniffing the air, “although I cannot think of a way to do so without alerting them as to our presence.”

“You’re right,” she said, biting her lip, her heart sinking despite herself. “Maybe once we’ve found my father. We can send a message then. With him there, Kaelen couldn’t possibly drag me away.”

Malek huffed in amusement, “If anyone would challenge a god to protect you, Selena, it would be Kaelen.”

“Do you think they’re angry?” she said, her voice small.

Malek turned to her, his black eyes flashing with something warm, “If they are, it will be with themselves. They are not fools. They know what it took to drive you to this.”

“Maybe I should have asked Ronan if he wanted to come,” she said, her omega whining.

“Perhaps, but I don’t think he would have abandoned care of the Realm to chase after a dream. He’s too devoted to his people, to the idea of unity. And I doubt he would have wanted you to go. He’d have wanted to send someone else on your behalf.”

“I know, but—”

A muffled thud had Malek spinning on his heel, his hackles raised, his teeth bared with a warning growl.

“What was that?” Selena squeaked, darting behind him, hands clutching the bunched muscles of his hind leg.

Malek didn’t stop growling, the rumbling echoing against the stone of the village. The door of one of the houses ahead of them creaked open, and a familiar face peaked through the gap.

“Please don’t attack me!”

“Castien?” Selena exclaimed, darting forward from behind Malek, unable to stop the grin spreading over her face. “What are you doing here?”

The librarian darted out of the house, his blue robes dirty and torn, a guilty look on his face. A leather satchel swung at his side, several books threatening to burst out of it.

“I…um…is he going to…” Castien pointed nervously at Malek, his finger trembling.

“Malek, this is Castien, he’s the librarian who was helping me with my research!”

“I know who he is,” Malek snarled, nudging Selena with his great, shaggy head to push her behind him. “I’d like to know what a Fae, an omega Fae, is doing so far from home.”

Castien gulped, pushing his long brown hair out of his face, “After you…after the…um…theaccident, the Marble Halls went into complete chaos. You disappeared, along with your mates. It was mayhem. Some of the alphas were saying they wanted to go after you, that they wanted…that they wanted to hurt you.”

Selena’s stomach wrenched, “Yes,” she said quietly, “I’m not surprised. I did…it was my fault…what happened.”

Malek snarled.

Castien fiddled with the strap of his bag, “Well, I just thought that you might need some help. And we’d just discovered where the Forest God was, and…and I thought I might be able to…to help you. Find him, that is.”

Selena’s lip wobbled at the open nervousness on his face, the earnest set of his shoulders.

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