Page 68 of Owned By Four Alphas

Having Kaelen ask him for advice had not been a common occurrence up until this point.

“I think we should—”

“Wait!” Malek lowered his head to the ground sniffing, his black eyes flashing in concentration.

“There’s nothing here, Malek. If I can’t smell her, then you won’t be able to-”

“It’s not Selena,” Malek replied, flashing his teeth, “it’s leather. I can smell leather. It smells the same as the Fae librarian’s satchel.”

Malek pushed past, his nose to the ground, his shaggy mane brushing the floor. He approached the divergence, trying one passageway, then another.

“It’s this one,” he said, raising his head and peering through the darkness of the one on the right.

“Can you keep the trail?” Kaelen asked, his voice bubbling with excitement.

“I’m not sure,” said Malek, his nose to the ground, “it’s very faint.”

Ronan sniffed, taking in the information from the rock, looking for the sharp, acrid scent of tanned leather. Sure enough, there it was. He had mistaken it for Elian’s clothes, but now he knew to look for the difference, it was distinct.

“I’ve got it,” he growled, taking off into a run, the others close behind him. They encountered many twists and turns leading deep into the bowels of the earth, but Ronan was a born and bred tracker. Once he had a scent, it was nearly impossible to throw him off.

They were close now. Heat radiated from the rocks, sharp and unpleasant. The tunnels, previously so cramped, were widening out, leading deeper and deeper.

“Wait,” Elian hissed, his head cocking, withdrawing a dagger, “I hear something up ahead.”

Without warning, he darted forward into the darkness, enveloped in shadow.

“Hold,” Kaelen held up an arm, stopping Ronan and Malek from pursuing. “Let him come back first.”

After a few silent, heart-pounding moments, Elian emerged from the darkness, a drooling Fae in his clutches. Elianthrew the male the ground with a sneer, and he rolled over, incomprehensible babbling pouring out of his mouth.

“What did you do?” asked Kaelen.

“Searched his mind, got some key information, and then locked him inside with his worst fears,” replied Elian, dusting his hands. “I know the way now. And I know what we’re up against.”

“And?” asked Ronan, stepping over the quivering male.

Elian’s eyes narrowed, his jaw setting, his voice low and rough with anger. “She’s in labor, they’re preparing now. The gates are opening. We don’t have long.”

Ronan’s snarl reverberated off the walls.

“Are you done with him?” Kaelen asked, his voice flat.

“Yes,” said Elian.

Almost too fast to see, Kaelen unsheathed one of his blades and swung it through the air, cleaving the Fae’s head clean from its body. It rolled a few feet before settling, glassy eyes staring into nothing.

“Let’s go,” he said darkly, gesturing at Elian to lead the way.

They were nearly there. They encountered more and more guards, swiftly killed either by blade or fang. The temperature was rising, and the very rocks seemed to be groaning with the weight of something mighty and terrible. No longer were they in complete darkness, relying on Elian’s magic. A fiery glow pulsed through the tunnels, flickering andliving.

The distant thundering of stone rolling over stone became louder, joined with the roar of a great inferno. But beneath it all, echoing and bouncing off the stone as they got closer, their mate’s screaming.

Elian hissed, “What’s the plan? Try to go in quietly, or storm it?”

Ronan glanced at Kaelen. “We go in hard, cutting down everything we can see. Malek and Elian, you follow quietly. Dispatch any hidden members of the Order.”

Kaelen’s blades shone as he twirled them through the air. “Deal.”

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