Page 14 of Bound to Four Alphas (Silverthorn Alphas #1)
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck .
She didn’t know what had compelled her to walk forwards, to greet the prince. Her omega had screamed at her to stay safely ensconced in Malek’s protective hold, to let her alphas speak for her.
But she was more than just an omega. And she refused to let herself stay silent for them to fight for her. So here she was, facing down the alpha Prince of the Silverthorn Kingdom. He was handsome enough, for a human, dark blond curls and a wicked smile. But it was his stance that sent fear curling through her, his foreboding presence. She swallowed. She could not show fear.
“I am surprised to hear you regard me as one of your subjects,” she said, proud of how steady her voice was; it helped that Ronan and Kaelen loomed either side of her, teeth bared at the threat. “Given that I was offered as a sacrifice to the forest. Surely, that negates my position as one of your people.”
His smirk sent ripples of disgust down her spine. Lazily, he let his gaze travel down her body, not even trying to conceal the blatant lust in his eyes. The growl rumbling in Ronan’s chest grew louder.
“It is unfortunate what happened to you,” said Damien. “Perhaps more unfortunate still that it was done without the permission of the royal court, and as such, it was done illegally. I can assure you that those responsible have already been punished. I can send you their heads if you like, as a gesture of goodwill. They’re currently rotting on spikes.”
Selena’s blood ran cold. She hadn’t had time to give thought to those who had dragged her into the forest. Part of her was spitefully glad that they were dead, but the other part was horrified. How was the village pack supposed to survive without its strongest alphas?
“That won’t be necessary,” she said, the small crack in her voice betraying her emotion. Damien smiled in delight.
“As you wish, my dear. I can only extend the deepest apologies from the king himself, and am glad to say that your ordeal is over. I am bid to bring you back and take you to the Seat of the Empire. My father is eager to meet you.”
“If you dare lay a single fucking finger on her—”
“Ronan,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. His yellow eyes, half wild, turned to her, and she gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “It’s okay.” Turning back to Damien, she bowed her head, “As grateful as I am for such an offer, I am afraid I must decline. For I am now mated, and therefore am bound to remain with my mates.”
Damien’s grin remained, but his eyes were cold. “Alas, while I would never want to part you from your mates, I’m afraid that the bonding ceremony was also carried out illegally. It is our law that omegas must receive permission to bond from the authorities, and you, my dear, did not receive permission. Therefore, it is within my rights to have the bond severed, and to mete out justice as I see fit.”
“You forget, little human,” Kaelen growled, his voice so cold and full of menace that Selena had to fight not to flinch, “that you are not in your territory. Your laws have no power here. You are at the mercy of our justice. And I think you’ll find our rules slightly simpler.”
“Oh?” Damien raised an eyebrow, staring Kaelen down. A huge man, nearly the size of Ronan and clad in the same imperial clothes, moved close to the prince with a warning hand on the pommel of his sword.
Kaelen didn’t flinch. “If an alpha tries to get between an alpha and his omega, by the ancient laws he may be destroyed without consequence. So tread carefully.”
Damien’s eyes flicked back to Selena, and she fought not to tremble under the weight of his stare. “I will obey the laws of this land,” he said, his voice full of menace, “for however much longer they exist.”
He turned on his heel, the enormous man giving one last warning look before following after him, leaving Selena alone with her four alphas.
All the air escaped her at once. She had done it. Faced up to that horrible prince, kept her nerve. Pride swelled inside her. Three weeks ago, she would have run cowering from one of the village alphas snapping too grumpily at her. But here she was, having stared down the famed Prince Damien.
“Why the hell didn’t you stay behind me?” Kaelen turned to her, his eyes full of blazing fury. “Why didn’t you stay silent ?”
Shock rendered her mute for a moment, before she finally managed to open her mouth to speak. “Excuse me?” she sputtered, glaring right back at him. “He was talking about me, I think I have the right to defend myself!”
“You were in danger,” replied Kaelen, his fists balling at his sides. “It is not for you to defend yourself, that is our responsibility. You could have been hurt!”
“With all four of you with me? I highly doubt it,” she seethed. “I can speak for myself.”
“You think that just because you are my mate you have the right to disobey me?” Kaelen’s voice was low and dangerous, the other three watching their exchange with worry, but Selena didn’t care. She wasn’t about to roll over and submit every time Kaelen demanded her to, especially when he was being so pig-headed about it.
“I think you’re the one with a misapprehension,” she said, squaring up to him. “Just because you are my mate, it does not give you the right to tell me what to do.”
Kaelen’s jaw worked, his expression ferocious as he spun on his heel and stalked away into the crowd, seemingly in search of his clan. She watched him go, anger bubbling through her.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” she said to nobody in particular, although turned quickly at the snort of laughter from Elian. “You! Keep it to yourself!”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“You were about to,” she grumbled, reading the mischief dancing in his eyes.
“Selena,” said Ronan, tucking her against his side, his voice unusually somber, “I don’t think you understand what just happened. Kaelen is right to worry. You are in very real danger.”
“Don’t you start,” she said, but her anger was cooling, worry replacing it as she combed through the conversation with Damien again. Was it true? Could he sever the mating bonds? Was he planning to try? The thought of being forcefully separated from the four alphas panicked her more than she would like to admit.
“I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself,” said Ronan, his tone brooking no space for argument. “I want one of us to be with you at all times. Will you do that for me?”
She looked up into his warm face, eyes kind despite the grim determination. “Yes,” she muttered eventually. “It’s not like I really know anyone else here anyway. Except for Rania and some of the priestesses.”
Ronan nodded once, his jaw tense as he glanced over the crowd in the direction the humans went. Selena tried not to be jealous of the view his height granted him. As a human herself, she was ridiculously short compared to most people in the room, her alphas in particular. Next to Ronan she was sure she looked like some sort of doll.
“Bold of him to show his face here,” said Elian, far too brightly. “How did you know who he was?”
Ronan’s eyes narrowed. “It’s my job to guard the territories bordering the human lands,” he said, his voice tight. “I’ve seen him a few times from afar attempting to breach the forest. He never got very far.”
“How did he get here, then?” Selena asked, growing ever more frustrated at her own lack of knowledge. How was she supposed to mingle with so many magical beings without revealing her ignorance? She would look like a complete fool.
Malek’s words hit her. Silence was a preferable option when you didn’t know what to say. No wonder he was quiet so much of the time.
“The southern road, most likely,” growled Ronan. “There are human territories there. With armed guard it’s plausible he could have made it safely to the temple. Technically, we’re on neutral ground here.”
She chewed her lip, instinctively looking through the crowds for a glimpse of Kaelen’s red hair, suddenly desperate to see him. “What does Damien want with me?”
“Ah,” Elian’s eyes sparkled, “another question to add to the growing list. But we can worry about that tomorrow. Tonight, I have many interested in meeting you. Stay here, I’m going to find them!”
As Elian danced away through the throngs of people, Ronan dipped his head down, his hand hot against her waist. “Give him time,” he said quietly. “Kaelen is just as stubborn as you, but he doesn’t do anything without reason. He just wants to protect you.”
“By controlling me,” she said. “That’s not what I want.”
“I know,” Ronan’s words were soft. “And he will come to learn that too. As I said, give him time.”
Selena let Ronan press a brief but searing kiss to her lips, her omega purring at the contact, before he stretched out to his full size and threw an easy grin at Malek. “Some of those bear clan lot brought some fantastic barrels of ale, fancy a horn?”
The look of pure shock on Malek’s face was enough to leave Ronan roaring with laughter as he disappeared into the crowd, seemingly in search of some beer. Malek moved closer to her, one arm automatically curling around her waist. It seemed that her alphas were only happy when they were touching her in some way or another.
If she was being honest, she didn’t mind it.
“What…” Malek’s face was pulled into a confused frown. “What is ale ?”
Selena giggled, leaning into his warmth. So far, Elian and Malek had managed to resist the overt protectiveness, possessiveness even, that seemed to plague Kaelen and Ronan. Perhaps it was a shifter thing. Or perhaps their threshold for triggering it was just higher. Either way, she appreciated that Malek in particular had never once tried to tell her what to do.
The irony that the alpha she had been most terrified of was somehow the gentlest to her was not lost.
Ronan and Elian soon returned with beer and introductions to be made, and Selena spent the next few hours meeting countless family members, generals, friends, and followers from the Benellane Court and the western wolf clan. The Fae she found to be charming, if slightly secretive, with the same easy ability to brush unwanted questions aside as Elian. The wolves, on the other hand, were a rowdy bunch, shouting and hollering and toasting to Ronan. She found herself laughing until her sides hurt at the myriad of stories of what Ronan was like as a young pup.
Malek too seemed more at ease, even going so far to smile at some of the jokes, an untouched horn of ale in his clawed hand. Selena had also turned down any offers of wine, not wanting to lose her senses.
After a particularly raucous joke, she noticed an older man approaching, the hair at his temples graying. He paused, waiting for the laughter to fade, before speaking.
“Selena,” he said, his voice warm, “it is an honor to meet you. My name is Iveir, I am the general of King Kaelen’s forces.”
Her eyebrows shot up. None of the dragons had yet come over to greet her, probably because Kaelen was still seething with rage at her disobedience. “Iveir, it’s lovely to meet you.”
“I wonder, my lady, might I have a word?”