Page 63 of Owned By Four Alphas

Letting his human disguise creep over his muscles, fur giving way to pale skin, he swept up some discarded straw and set it against the fallen thatched roof of one of the abandoned buildings.

He looked up. They were getting closer now, their forms visible against the clear sky. Four of them. Not Kaelen.

He grit his teeth. No matter.

A strike of his claws against stone sent a few sparks skittering across the floor, but the straw didn’t light. He growled, and struck harder, glancing back at the dragons. Still, the fire didn’t catch.

On the third try, a large spark landed in the midst of the straw, and it crackled to life, a sudden blast of heat from theembers waving over him. He grinned, blowing on it, fanning it with waves of shadow.

An ember turned into a small flame, which soon caught the summer-dried thatch of the roof and exploded upwards, a great column of fire into the sky. With another wave, he sent the flames blowing around, catching more buildings, until three were alight. Then five. Then ten. More and more caught, the fire spreading, roaring, and crackling and mighty.

He looked up. The dragons had noticed, their wings turning as they changed course towards him, fire brimming in their throats, ready to face any enemy.

He breathed in, unbothered by the smoke, forcing his human skin to stay in place.

One by one, the dragons thundered to the ground, hissing and spitting fire, their wings arched out behind them. Malek emerged from the smoke and shadow, the blazing heat at his back.

“You’re Kaelen’s men, correct?” he yelled, his voice thunderous.

“We are,” the largest one spat, “and you are?”

“I am Malek, King of the Nightwalkers, mate to the queen. Pack brother to your king.”

The dragons exchanged glances, their hostile stances easing slightly, although their eyes still flashed with suspicion.

“And why have you signaled to us, King?” the largest one said again.

“Selena,” he replied, his voice cracking slightly, “I need my pack. The queen was here mere hours ago. I’ve been travelling with her. But she was betrayed by a friend. And now she is truly missing.”

The dragons reared back in shock, their eyes wide. The largest turned, wasting no time in giving orders.

“You, fly east; our king’s patrol should be over the Blacklan River. You, north. Ronan is negotiating with the wolf clans. You, come with me back to the palace, Lord Elian is there. Instruct them to come here immediately.”

“But…” One of them glanced at Malek. “But what if this is a trap?”

Malek roared, splitting out of his human skin and lunging forward teeth gleaming. “You tell my pack brothers,” he hissed, “they will come.”

The dragon backed away, taking to the skies. The largest narrowed his eyes, “The king will not be pleased with you.”

“I care not for Kaelen’s petty anger,” Malek snarled. “I serve the queen. He knows that.”

The dragon bowed his head. “As you wish, King Malek.”

The remaining three dragons took flight, their muscled forms like darts against the night sky.

Malek could do nothing but pace and wait, the fire still burning bright behind him. He couldn’t be bothered to smother it. At any rate, it would light the way. At their fastest, his pack brothers could cover the length of the realm in two or three days. He could only pray they weren’t too far away.

Elian was the first to reach him, a sleek golden bird shooting out of the morning rays down towards him, swerving to avoid the acrid black plumes of smoke.

“We’ve been wondering where you were,” Elian said, shifting into his Fae form, his normally luxurious clothes replaced by spartan leathers and numerous blades. “What happened, where is she?”

“One of yours,” Malek growled, rising to greet him, “a Fae omega. The one who worked in the library with Selena.”

“Castien?” Elian sounded genuinely surprised. “Why on earth would Castien take her?”

Malek didn’t reply as Elian’s gaze misted over, his lips moving slightly as he searched his mind for any clue, any indication of Castien’s motivations.

“He must be a member of the Order of Theldir,” he said eventually, “sent to ensure Selena found her way to him.”

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