Page 10 of Bound to Four Alphas (Silverthorn Alphas #1)

She looked up at him in wonder, any trace of fear gone, replaced with a tidal wave of emotion that had a few tears falling from her lashes. He caught them, wiping them from her face, before lowering his lips to hers.

Squeaking in shock, she made to pull away, but the moment his lips touched her, she melted into him with a sigh, every muscle in her body relaxing. She didn’t know if it was some magic of his, she didn’t particularly care, all she could focus on was the gentle movement of his lips over hers.

The deep vibrations from his chest became louder, sending a surprising jolt of arousal straight to her core. She keened, curling closer into Malek as the alpha cradled her to him. He paused at the needy sound from her mouth, his movements stilling, before a sonorous growl ripped out of him and he clutched her tighter, nudging her lips open with his tongue.

As soon as she yielded, opening her mouth under his assault, his tongue filled her, curling around hers in aggressive strokes that only served to intensify the throbbing ache between her thighs. Never had she expected a kiss to hold such toe-curling pleasure, and never had she thought it would come from one such as Malek.

His hands were gripping tighter now, the sharp tips of his claws pricking her skin, and she gasped at the slight pain. Immediately, he withdrew, looking down with something close to horror at his own hands, and she was immediately compelled to comfort him.

“It’s alright.” She took his hands in her own, drawing them into her chest. “You didn’t hurt me.”

He swallowed thickly, his dark eyes roving over her face. Without a word, he abruptly stood, turning from her to face the altar. He needed no knife to open his palm; instead, he drew a claw over his skin, and just like Elian splattered his blood over the skull.

“I am her servant. Until the end of time. Forest God, I pledge myself to her.”

He drank from a goblet, and with one more pained look towards her, he melted away into shadow and left her once more alone.

The same tears that had welled at his entrance now threatened to fall at him leaving. Her fear, once so potent and all-consuming, had been destroyed with a single kiss, leaving only burning desire in its wake. Surely, he could smell it, sense it, but still, he had looked so horrified at the thought of hurting her. Perhaps he had to fight against his very nature in order to be close to her.

She was tempted to call out for him, beg him to come back so that she could reassure him, but Ronan’s huge form filled the door, and all coherent thoughts left her.

His smell. His eyes. The sheer size of him.

His frenzied eyes met hers and he was on her, not a word spoken. She groaned as he shoved her back into the cushions, pinning both wrists above her head as he scented her neck with a series of wicked growls.

Perhaps such an animalistic display of lust, such lack of control, should have scared her. But a fresh wave of slick poured out of her, and she threw her legs around his thick torso, thrusting upwards seeking any kind of friction against her aching flesh. Ronan grunted in surprise at the action, pulling back so that she could see his glowing yellow eyes. Then, a feral grin curved over his mouth, and he slammed his hips down, the rock-hard bulge hidden in his trousers making contact with her mound.

A keening wail escaped her lips, and she rubbed herself against the thick length of him, struggling against his hold, desperate to pull him closer. All those days spent in his arms, indignant at him sniffing at her, desperately trying to shove away any hint of attraction. It had all been swept away with the tidal force of her heat.

All she knew was that he was strong. So unbelievably strong. He would keep her safe, tear apart any who threatened her. And in the haze of her lust, she would let him.

With a grunt, he sat up, shredding the silk fabric of her robe from her body with a single swipe of his claws, leaving her utterly bare for his perusal. She didn’t care. Not when there was such clear hunger in his eyes as he drank her in like a man dying of thirst.

“By the Gods,” he said, his free hand tracing a line down between her breasts and over the soft swell of her stomach, “you look good enough to eat, sweetness.”

She mewled at the words, thrusting her hips upwards, and his gaze darkened. Without warning, his mouth dropped to the tightened bud of her nipple, laving it with his tongue. Squealing, she bucked up again, and the hand that was on her stomach traveled lower.

The sensation was almost too much to bear. He took her nipple between his teeth and pulled, the sharp pleasure-pain rocketing through her. At the same time, his hand roughly pushed her thigh to one side, exposing her center entirely to his wandering fingers.

Sucking in a breath, she tried to control the shake of her muscles at the raw anticipation as he trailed his fingertips further up the inside of her thigh. It seemed that in this state, Ronan was not a male of many words, lifting his head not to speak to her but instead to bury his nose in her neck, sniffing and scraping his teeth over her skin.

“Please,” she begged, trying to wriggle her hips so that his damned hand would just touch her there—

He grunted, using the sheer bulk of his body to pin her down, his bite hardening slightly in warning. Against her will her muscles froze at the invisible command from the alpha, obeying his silent order to be still. Instead, a slew of whimpers and whines escaped her.

With a dark chuckle, his fingers finally brushed against her soaked folds, and she nearly fell apart. With expert precision, he swiped one thick finger through her and rubbed against the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs.

She moaned in pleasure, unable to stop herself from writhing beneath him as he began to speed up, dipping his finger into her sex to collect more slick to rub against that delicious spot.

“Don’t stop,” she panted, and he seemed to have no issues at all obliging her.

Dropping his lips once more to one engorged nipple, he doubled his efforts until tears were rolling down her face, moans spilling from her lips.

And then, finally, that coil that had been tightening in her, desperate and aching, snapped.

She screamed as the world shattered around her, wave after wave of delicious pleasure rocking through her until all she knew was the never-ending bliss of orgasm.

After what felt like an eternity, the onslaught seemed to finally ebb, and she was granted a brief moment of clarity through the fog of heat.

Ronan sat back and raised his glistening fingers to his lips, tongue flicking out to taste her. The action threatened to undo her again, a small whimper escaping her.

He chuckled, leaving her boneless as he stood, making his way to the altar.

“Forest God,” he ripped open the skin of his palm, “you have given us the chance to unite. The chance to finally come together against the rising darkness. I pledge myself to your cause.” Like the two before him, he offered his blood to the skull, then drank from a goblet.

With a wink, he swaggered past her, licking his lips. “I’ll be seeing you again very soon, sweetness.”

She shivered at the dark promise in his voice.

That left only one.

It was some time before Kaelen came to her. She had drawn a blanket around her naked body, wincing as the sharp stabbing evidence of her heat began to swell deep within her once more. One orgasm could only hold it off for so long. A terrible, creeping fear had just begun to take root that he had denied her, that he wasn’t coming, when he finally appeared.

His clothes were mussed, his shoulder-length red hair escaping the confines of the leather cord that held it back. His lips were tight as he took her in.

Instinctively, she shrank away from the seeming anger radiating from him, and his jaw tightened further at the action.

“Omega,” he growled, half-stumbling into the room, “if you do not want this, speak now.”

She swallowed, a fresh wave of arousal hitting her, and his eyes turned wild, his face twisting with the pain of holding himself away from her.

From the very start, Kaelen had tried to control her. She suspected it came from a place of protectiveness, wanting to keep her safe, and this all but confirmed it. But where there had been frustration, anger even, she only felt desire. And she didn’t care if it was brought on by the heat, or if it had always been there. For all of them.

“I want this,” she said.

The dragon king was not gentle as he descended on her, kissing her lips with bruising force and running his hands over her bare flesh. His clothes were gone in a blink, wrestled off with lightning speed, and he was there. Naked as she was, his muscle-bound body burning hot above her.

With another searing kiss, he nudged her legs apart, the tip of his enormous manhood brushing through her folds. She whimpered and squirmed beneath him, begging and pleading for him to fill her. Their breath mingled as he rested his forehead against hers, eyes locked together.

“My omega,” he said, and pushed his hips forward.

She gasped as the first few torturous inches slid into her, her muscles painfully tight at the intrusion. He paused, concern lacing his gaze, and she leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. “I’m okay, it’s okay, just very … big.”

He chuckled at that, and she realized it was the first time she’d heard him laugh. With slow yet powerful precision, he pushed himself further in, and a wave of pleasure jolted through her, a gasp escaping her.

It seemed to be all the encouragement he needed to withdraw and push again into her, slow thrusts building in power until he was slamming into her, the size of him bringing tears to her eyes.

She clung to him as he pounded into her, her moans unashamed and desperate. One orgasm hit her. Then another. Then another, until she could do nothing but lie back and endure the rapturous agony of his thrusts.

The base of him began to swell, the start of his knot, and a high-pitched whine that was purely omega had him stalling, jerking in his movements until he finally came with a roar, the swollen base of his knot lodging him deep inside her.

It was a while until he was finally able to pull free from her, and he spent the time cradling her to his chest, whispering how perfect she was, how beautiful. Selena practically purred with contentment, the arousal in her core turning into a pleasant ache.

Eventually, he had to leave her, standing to complete the ritual.

Kaelen stared at the altar for a while, contemplating the skull with a grim expression. Then, with military precision, he cut open his palm and opened the bloody hand.

“Forest God,” he said, his voice strangely thick, “you have given me a great gift, and a greater responsibility. I pledge to shoulder that responsibility. I will not fail.”

He gave his blood, then drank from the goblet.

A great wave of silver light clouded Selena’s vision, and she leaned forward with a gasp, shock mounting through her. The magic, that same magic that had bound the four alphas together in the forest, had now bound her, too.

The ritual was complete.