Page 6 of Bound to Four Alphas (Silverthorn Alphas #1)

For six days, they had traveled together, the five of them, and Malek wore the proximity like an ill-fitting cloak.

He knew it wasn’t his fault, not really. He had just never spent so much time so close to so many others. There were the monsters, the nightmares, but the ones that hung around him were closer to shadow than sentience, drifting through their infancy at his feet. As soon as they matured, they slunk back into the woods, and he would only have cause to see them again if they decided to make trouble.

And his nightmares were all too fond of making trouble. His only prior contact with any of the other three alphas bonded to him had been when Kaelen presented him with the ruptured head of one of his monsters, throwing it at his feet with a warning snarl to control his fucking creatures. Or when Ronan growled, remaining stubbornly in his wolf form, hackles raised and teeth bared until Malek backed away from the border.

He’d never actually met Elian before. But that was only because he didn’t relish the idea of ending up as some kind of specimen in a bottle.

Malek spent most of his time in his true form, unused to long stretches of time forcing his skin into what he hoped was close enough to human to put the others at ease. He wasn’t like Ronan or Kaelen; he couldn’t choose between two predetermined forms. Neither was he like Elian, born in one form and blessed with magic enough to don others as it suited.

His true form had grown out of darkness, out of the rupture left when the magic of the Forest God retreated. He felt the loss as keenly as a missing limb, even though he had spawned from its absence. He supposed he was rather like a reflection, only able to exist because of the light shining on some mirrored surface, but never able to be a part of it. As for his body, the shadows that made him were fickle, often choosing the features of whatever creature’s carcass they pooled from.

It had taken decades for him to grow, and decades more to begin to understand what he was, what his place was. He was the oldest, the strongest of his kind, and the magical beings of the forest had received his presence with fear and violence. They thought he wanted to take over, to claim power.

But he never wanted that.

The forest was his cradle, his home, his domain. He had decided long ago to protect it, keep the land safe so that if the Forest God ever returned he could offer himself as a dark blade to wield against the human threat. Some of the younger monsters didn’t understand what needed to be done, couldn’t restrain their bloodlust, so Malek was happy to take the name of king to keep them under control. His own bloodlust was his constant companion, but that never troubled him. Who did he have to protect?

And then the girl came.

Selena.

She was brought to the forest as a sacrifice. An offering. And her arrival struck Malek like lightning. It was the sudden understanding of his own existence, the pieces of himself slotting into place so that the mystery of him suddenly became clear.

And it was her. All for her.

He didn’t know why her yet, but he didn't particularly care. He had found the one meant to wield him, and he was only too happy to be the shadowed reflection to her radiant light.

“We’re getting close now,” Kaelen called. He had stubbornly remained in his human form, but his speed spoke to the dragon within. Or it would, if Selena had not insisted on walking some of the way.

Malek didn’t respond. He knew that Kaelen knew he was there, even though he stuck close to the shadows beyond a human’s ability to sense him. All of them, bar Selena, knew where he was at all times and were reluctant to keep their watchful gaze from turning to him.

He didn’t resent them for it. For whatever reason, they all felt protective of the girl, and didn’t know enough about Malek to know that he would never willingly harm her.

But that was just the problem. He wasn’t always in control of himself, of his bloodlust. Sometimes, when the sun disappeared and the moon was obscured by clouds, a haze of animalistic un-being crept through him.

And the girl smelled tantalizing.

So he kept his distance. He knew he scared her and was reluctant to cause her any amount of distress. If he had had his way, he would have released her to return home, even if those spiteful villagers attacked her again. He would be there to protect her, if she wanted him. Her happiness, her safety, her contentment was his guiding star. It always cut through the violent rage that howled for a taste of her blood.

And thank the Forest God that it did. The other three would cut him down in a heartbeat if he turned on Selena, and he would let them.

“Malek,” Kaelen called, and instinctively he flinched deeper into the shadows. “Come out.”

He considered disobeying. It would be his right; even Kaelen could not force a command on another king.

But the dragon had appointed himself the leader of their tenuous little pack, and Malek was reluctant to cause any upset. Ronan was the only other who arguably could claim leadership, but he seemed content to concede to Kaelen. Privately, Malek mused it was because Ronan couldn’t be bothered to try and keep Elian in line.

Materializing out of the shadows, forcing his form into the clumsy limbs of a human, Malek fell into step next to Kaelen.

He ignored the sharp intake of breath from Selena behind them, the sudden spike of terror in the air. One day, she would learn that she had nothing to fear.

She was in pain; he could smell that, too. The shoes Elian had conjured for her didn’t stop the tumbles and twists of her aching limbs, but the omega had caused such a fuss that the alphas had had no choice but to concede to her wishes to walk.

“I swear to whatever stupid Forest God you all worship, if you don’t put me down this instant, I’m going to tell the priestesses to turn you all into frogs.”

His lips curled upwards at the memory, at the indignation on Ronan’s face as she finally managed to scramble out of his arms. Since the first day, she had been swapped between the wolf’s embrace and Kaelen’s, with Elian briefly permitted to carry her until he had thought it amusing to whisk her in a whirl of shadows into the branches of a tree.

Malek hadn’t even bothered to offer. He knew she would refuse him, and that Ronan and Kaelen would never have allowed him to take her from them while she slept. For all their tension towards each other, the dragon and the wolf had developed some kind of unspoken agreement when it came to the girl, bearing the responsibility of caring for her evenly. They never stopped to make camp, and Selena reluctantly slept in their arms, waking with a confused scowl.

It seemed sleeping spells were within Elian’s arsenal. Selena had barely been awake for most of their travel.

The road was becoming wider now, the tall trees retreating into shrubs and bushes. In the distance, Malek could see the top of the once great temple peeking through the foliage, its pale gray stone half encrusted with ivy.

Despite its crumbling exterior, the priestesses kept the temple in impeccable order, never once faltering in their duties to their absent God. They hated his kind, but Malek was somewhat fond of them, and respected their devotion to the forest. And so any of his monsters that prowled their grounds and threatened their worship were met with the vicious extremity of his savage justice.

The birdsong and gentle breeze through the trees as they entered the final mile to the temple was ruined by a near-constant chattering from the Fae lord behind him. Elian had taken it upon himself to comment on every tiny detail of the landscape to Selena as they walked, and she was utterly enraptured by his anecdotes and descriptions, pestering him with questions and delighting at every new morsel of information.

“… Of course, there’s another great feast not one moon later, a celebration of the first apple to fall. We brew cider especially with cinnamon collected from the greenhouses at the Marble Halls, and light bonfires that blaze as red as the fruit we celebrate.”

Selena’s gasp of wonder was a thing of beauty. “Is there a significance to the celebration of apples in particular? And what about the cinnamon?”

Elian chuckled, and Malek noticed Kaelen rolling his eyes. “Some say that the apple is a symbol of fertility, and Fae maidens are known to give apples during the feast as an … invitation to the males of their choosing. And as for the cinnamon, it just tastes so sweet , wouldn’t you agree, my little dove?”

Selena’s scent spiked again, but this time with something floral and heady. Ronan and Kaelen both faltered slightly, their nostrils flaring.

Elian’s scent flared in smug satisfaction. “Then we move into the harvest festivities, which last almost—”

“Elian,” Kaelen hissed, coming to a sudden halt.

As Elian protested, Malek lifted his head and scented the air.

There.

The priestesses had seen them and were coming to greet them.

“Behind me,” Kaelen growled at Selena.

Her mouth pursed, arms folding over her chest. “I don’t think anything’s going to happen if I stand next to you instead of behind you.”

Kaelen’s eyes never left the road as he hissed through gritted teeth, “Omega, get behind me, now .”

“Come here, sweetness,” Ronan said, offering his hand. “Ignore him.”

Selena grumbled but obeyed, eyeing Malek nervously as she went to stand beside Ronan.

He ignored the frustration that pooled in his belly. Soon, she would feel at peace around him.

“My King,” a soft, feminine voice called as several cloaked figures floated into view, their hands clasped demurely in front of them. “We apologize, we never received word that you intended to visit.”

“This visit wasn’t planned,” said Kaelen, his voice clipped. “I assume you felt the shift in the magic.”

The priestesses glanced at each other, and Malek caught glimpses of pale flesh and red lips.

“We did,” said the leader, a circlet of silver upon her cloaked head. “We have been trying to divine what it means.”

Kaelen shifted, powerful arms crossing.

He was nervous .

“We think we may have found the source,” he said, jaw tight.

Malek understood his protectiveness, his possessiveness. Revealing Selena could have unforeseen consequences. But they needed answers.

“I assume it is the omega girl you travel with.” The priestess peered around Kaelen’s bulky form, raising her head to reveal deep blue eyes wide with amazement. “May we speak with her?”

“Yes, you may,” Selena interrupted whatever the dragon was about to say and strode forward, pushing past Kaelen and ignoring his thunderous growl. As soon as she reached the priestesses, the women surrounded her, bustling her forward in a sweep of silvery capes and leading her towards the temple.

Their leader, the high priestess, remained standing before them, calm in the face of Kaelen’s aggression. “I see you four have found yourselves in quite the strange predicament. A pack bond forced upon you by the forest. My, my, such a thing hasn’t been seen for centuries.”

“If you think you’re going to just take her—”

“Calm yourself,” the high priestess smiled at Kaelen. “We will not bar you from her. If you’d like to follow me, there is much to be learned.”