Page 20 of Bound to Four Alphas (Silverthorn Alphas #1)

Despite their injuries, their exhaustion, none of them were able to sleep. Kaelen in particular had taken to pacing the tree line, growling at every tiny noise. Elian was getting dizzy just watching him.

Malek was more heavily injured than he was letting on. He hadn’t expended any energy trying to change back into his human skin and was licking at his cuts like some kind of wounded lion, an occasional whine breaking free.

Elian grimaced. “Here, let me try.”

Malek bared his teeth as Elian approached, a warning growl low in his throat, but he nevertheless let Elian get closer and examine the sliced flesh. The gouges ran deep, shadows and an inky-black substance dripping from them, Malek’s blood.

Careful not to break his gaze, Elian let some of his power free to reach out for the wounds. Malek started as their shadows made contact, the rumbling in his chest louder, but he still didn’t strike or snap.

Elian’s brow furrowed. He had always assumed that Malek wielded a similar power to him, with command over shadow and darkness, but that wasn’t the case. Malek was the magic Elian could control, or at least another form of it. Elian had no doubt at all that should he try to bend Malek to his will, it would go badly, even though he suspected it was possible.

As such, Elian could command the shadows at ripped edges of his skin to close and heal, even though it took a considerable amount of energy. Malek’s eyes closed and he huffed out a breath, relief perhaps, as the injuries closed.

The action cost Elian more reserves of his magical power, a fact which chaffed him, but he knew now that the humans had figured out how to temper his magic. And while he could more than hold his own in a physical fight, not to the extent that Malek could. If they were to protect Selena, then they would need to play to their strengths.

“Thank you,” said Malek, his eyes clearing slightly, some of that mindless rage receding.

“Don’t mention it,” Elian said, painting an easy grin on his face to hide the true extent of his fatigue. “Can’t have you bleeding out, you’d make a terrible throw rug.”

“Elian,” snapped Kaelen, his amber eyes half-wild, “now is not the time.”

“I couldn’t be sorrier, oh great and powerful King of Embers,” Elian retorted, narrowing his eyes. A few hours without Selena and they had resorted to jabbing each other like children. Elian couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“Listen here, you arrogant little—”

A series of howls tore through the night sky.

Ronan was calling.

They turned and sprinted into the forest without a moment of hesitation.

Elian gritted his teeth, shifting mid-stride into a mountain lion, the extra boost of agility and speed helping him to keep up with Malek. Kaelen used a fallen log to launch himself into the air, shifting in the blink of an eye back into a dragon.

They were getting closer, the snarls and growls louder, alongside the shouts of men and the smell of pitch.

Fire. That’s what they could use against Ronan. The wolf’s skin was impenetrable to nearly every blade or fang, but he was not impervious to fire.

Sure enough, as they broke through the tree line into a rocky outcropping at the base of a hill, Ronan was trapped inside a circle of flames that licked at his feet and singed his fur. Selena was clinging to his back, coughing through the thick cloud of smoke. Soldiers stalked the edges, jeering and shouting.

“Wait!” Elian yelled to Malek, who looked ready to launch into the fray, “Let Kaelen!”

Fire was deadly to Ronan, for sure. But to Kaelen, who made his home in a dead volcano and poured lava from his belly, fire was a blessing.

The inferno surged, closing in on Ronan, who barked in shock and pain, his yellow eyes wide with fear. The soldiers cackled and threw stones, waving their puny spears in the air.

They didn’t see the red-gold streak slamming down towards them until it was too late.

Kaelen landed like a strike of lightning amongst the flames, molten fire dripping from his teeth, a roar that cracked the earth shaking the men to their knees.

Then, to Elian’s combined horror and fascination, Kaelen rolled through the flames, setting his scales alight. As he emerged, wings spread and engulfed in fire, the soldiers shrieked and ran straight into Malek’s waiting jaws. Kaelen snapped his great maw, catching a few men in his teeth, before spinning and lashing his tail in an arc of flame through the row of soldiers. More shouted and ran towards them, hundreds pouring down the side of the hill.

Elian leapt into action.

His paws thundered over the stone as he side-stepped Malek’s trail of bodies and ducked low to avoid the fire raining down from Kaelen’s mighty wings.

Ronan was choking on the smoke, his chest heaving, still trapped by the wall of flames. Elian jumped and plucked a string of shadow from the smoke with his mountain lion’s teeth and pulled .

The inferno raged against him, but he roared in anger and sent wave after billowing wave of shadow to smother the flames. His energy was low, but he would do this. He had to do this.

Pain tore through him, his very core writhing in agony, but he ignored it.

With one last surge of energy, he managed to part the flames for just long enough that Ronan snarled and took a great running leap through the gap.

He cleared it by a hair’s breadth.

Elian collapsed, the shadows snapping as the fire raged upwards again, but didn’t matter. Ronan got free. Selena was safe .

Ronan thundered towards him, not losing speed, and Elian just managed to stagger to his feet and launch himself onto the enormous wolf’s back before they were disappearing back into the forest, leaving Malek and Kaelen to finish off the soldiers.

In his weakened state he very nearly slid off Ronan’s back, but dug his claws in and heaved himself upwards, ignoring Ronan’s snarls of pain. Selena launched toward him and grabbed his neck, heaving with all her tiny amount of strength until he was safely balanced behind her.

“Are you alright?” she shouted as the wind whipped past them, soot smeared over her cheeks and staining her fur-lined dress.

“Yes,” he managed, groaning as his transformation fell away back to his Fae form. “Are you?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she said, tears in her eyes as she helped him sit, her hands flitting over his various scrapes, her scent spiked with fear. “Kaelen, Malek, are they okay? What if they need help?”

“The humans have handed Kaelen his own weapon on a silver platter, they’ll be fine. The King of Embers is aptly named,” Elian said, wrapping his arms around her, heart pounding in his throat.

“Ronan,” Selena wept, digging her hands into his fur, “Ronan, are you hurt? Please tell me you’re not hurt!”

“I’m alright, sweetness,” Ronan replied, though his voice was tight, “Just hold on.”

They reached the gates in moments, the mighty doors into the mountain still closed firmly. Ronan bellowed in frustration and Elian’s brow furrowed. Where the fuck were his people? Phaendar had watchers crawling all over the mountain, there was no way they’d have missed a fucking dragon.

“Elian,” Ronan said, his voice tight with warning. “Kaelen and Malek won’t be able to hold them off for long, not in their state.”

Elian slid off Ronan’s back and ran to the gate, running his hands over it, sending a few pathetic wisps of magic through the crack. “They’ll be here. They’ll open the gate.”

Selena’s eyes were wide. “You can’t open them?”

“There should be sentinels,” Elian replied, frustration gripping him. “The magic guarding the border is strong. I should know, I helped weave it.”

Ronan growled, “What’s the plan, Benellane?”

The sounds of fighting were getting closer, and Elian whipped his head around, desperately trying to work out another route. Over the mountain perhaps? But there was no way Kaelen could carry them all. Round? No, it would take too long.

He bellowed in anger, kicking the door. Snapping branches and pounding feet got closer, the warning roar of a dragon approaching.

He had seconds.

But then, just as Malek broke free of the trees and Kaelen soared over the canopy, soldiers racing after them, the gate cracked open.

Elian nearly wept at the familiar face that greeted him.

“Inside,” she said, pulling the gate wider, “quickly!”

He held the gate open as Ronan thundered through, followed by Malek, and finally Kaelen who transformed mid-air and hit the stone of the bridge beyond with a sickening thud.

Just as the soldiers were close enough to swing their swords at him, Elian darted inside and slammed the gate shut, the magical barrier snapping back into place.

They all stopped, panting and groaning in pain, Selena weeping openly at Kaelen’s injured form. Ronan dropped to the ground, letting her roll off and throw herself over Kaelen, begging and pleading with him to be alright.

Kaelen raised a bloodied arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her close. Ronan transformed back into his human skin, clothes muddy and torn, and she held a hand out for him to come closer, eyes full of tears. He obliged, crouching beside her to check over Kaelen, wincing at his own wounds.

Malek too dragged himself over, shadowy blood dripping from his teeth, black eyes half-wild and lost to the beast within.

But they were a pack. Even without full control of himself, Elian knew Malek wouldn’t hurt them.

He turned back to the beautiful Fae maiden who had let them in, tears gathering in her eyes as she looked him up and down.

“Elian!” she sobbed, launching herself toward him, her blonde curls spilling over his arms as he caught her.

The force knocked the air out of his lungs, and he staggered back a few steps. “I don’t know what you’re crying about,” he said with a wince, nevertheless glad to breathe in her familiar scent. “I’m the one who’s injured. Typical omega.”

She pulled back and lightly swatted him on the arm but quickly moved to checking him for wounds.

“I’m fine,” he insisted, but she batted his hands away.

“You’re not, you’ve nearly drained yourself, I can sense it! You are such an idiot, Elian!”

“Elian,” Ronan interrupted, his face pulled into a scowl. “Who’s this?”

He glanced over at his pack, a stab of guilt at Selena’s crestfallen face as she looked over the female next to him. He probably should have explained before letting the meddlesome thing paw over his injuries in front of his mate.

“This is Caeda,” he said, “my younger sister.”

“Hello,” Caeda said with a warm smile as she cautiously approached the group. “It’s lovely to meet you all.”

“Caeda,” Kaelen said with a wince as he pulled himself up into a seated position, subduing Selena in his arms as she squawked at him moving. “How come we’ve never met?”

Caeda glanced over at Elian nervously, and Elian cleared his throat. “Phaendar is somewhat … protective. She’s an omega, and her mother, Phaendar’s second wife, died giving birth to her. He knows the political power that comes with an omega daughter and doesn’t want to lose her to an alpha he deems … unworthy.’

“But Father doesn’t know that I sneak out to fly,” Caeda said with a small giggle. “And it’s a good thing I do, otherwise I wouldn’t have seen you fighting those humans.”

“Yes,” said Elian with a frown, “speaking of that. Where the hell is Phaendar, and why wasn’t he here to let us in himself?”