Page 8 of Bound to Four Alphas (Silverthorn Alphas #1)

“A-and so you see,” the priestess, one of Rania’s minions, stammered out, “t-that’s what you have to do. During the ritual.”

Kaelen’s dragon shifted under his skin, burning fire desperate to be released.

“No,” he said, jaw tight.

The priestess blinked and her eyes flickered to Ronan. Understandable; from smell, she was a wolf shifter. A young runaway from one of the Gods-damned Northern clans, most likely.

“Maybe I wasn’t clear before,” she wrung her hands, her scent spiking in distress. “Selena agreed to this. The four of you can’t stay in a pack alone, you need an omega to balance your magic, o-or you’ll kill each other!”

“I said no.” Kaelen crossed his arms, unwilling to even entertain the notion of such a ridiculous idea.

“Kaelen,” Ronan took a hesitant step towards him, his own expression grim, “I think we have to.”

“Like hell we do,” Kaelen turned on him, magic sparking down his skin, fury rising.

Ronan cast a wary look towards the priestesses. “Maybe you ladies should leave so we can discuss this amongst ourselves.”

The priestess looked for a moment like she was going to protest, opening her mouth to speak, but a deep growl from Kaelen had her squeaking and scurrying away, the other priestesses close behind her.

“That wasn’t very nice,” commented Elian from where he lounged on a divan, idly flicking through one of the many books from the modest library where they had been bid to wait.

“Fuck off, Benellane,” Kaelen rumbled without bothering to look over to the Fae prick.

Ronan arched an eyebrow. “What other choice do we have? The magic of the Forest God has decreed it. We will bind her to us in the most ancient of rituals and that is the end of it.”

“The Forest God is dead,” Kaelen hissed, “his magic has been set loose. Do you really think it would decide that some chit of a girl, from the human lands no less, would be the one to unite the realm?”

“I do,” said Ronan.

“Then you’re an even bigger fool than I could have expected.”

Ronan snarled, drawing himself upwards, his impossible size unfurling against the slight. Kaelen didn’t break eye contact, his own fists clenching as he eyed up the threat in front of him. Neither of them could shift, not in a room this size, so it would have to be fists if it came down to it.

“You disrespect the magic,” Ronan said through gritted teeth. “We have been granted an opportunity to come together, to fight the encroaching humans who would destroy us, and you would turn your back on it? You would condemn your people to death or slavery by refusing us?”

Kaelen shifted, Ronan’s words hitting unexpectedly close to home. He was all too aware of his responsibility as a king, the burden of his responsibility ever present. But that was why he had to refuse. “You think I am condemning my people by refusing to go through with this? I’m not the one putting my faith in stories and childish hopes of unity. I know what dangers there are in the world and I defend my people against them. I will not put them in harm’s way because some priestesses claim prophecy .”

“How safe will your people be if we tear each other apart because this bond is unstable?” Ronan roared. “Without us to protect them, how quickly will the human King Dorian send his whelp Damien alongside an army thousands strong to overcome us? Your territory doesn’t border the human kingdom like mine does. I’ve heard things, Kaelen, dark things. Things about a weapon that could destroy us.”

Scoffing, Kaelen turned away from him, ignoring the warning growl at the slight. In their days traveling together, he had reluctantly come to respect the wolf. Ronan’s strength and devotion to his people was clear. But of course, they could never be allies.

Their past was too soaked in blood.

“If I may,” Elian said, swinging his legs down and snapping the book shut, “I wouldn’t be too fast to discount the prophecy. I’ve learned over the years that disrespecting a deity in their own temple is often a bad idea.”

Kaelen’s gaze snapped to the Fae, a growl already forming in his chest. Elian had masterfully managed to piss him off for almost the entire journey, and his patience was running very thin. But for once, the Fae didn’t seem to be messing around. His expression was serious, guarded even, against Kaelen’s aggression.

“The dying words of a God no longer fit to rule? Why should I place my faith in such a thing?”

Elian stood, cautious and placating, “Because the prophecy is much older than that, Kaelen. It’s older than me, older than the Forest God, even. Certain things have been foretold in legend for a millennia. And this is one of them.”

Kaelen couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “You don’t seriously believe this, do you?”

Elian shrugged, a secretive smile tugging on his lips. “I’ve been waiting for this day for centuries, Dragon King. And you are not going to get in my way.”

The threat was plain as day. Shadows began to gather at Elian’s feet, the light of the fire fading as the temperature of the room dropped to ice. And his eyes, his strange green eyes, seemed to glow.

A frisson of fear ran down Kaelen’s spine, the alpha within him recognizing the true power of a real threat. But with that fear came a surge of rage, and Kaelen bared his teeth. For all his power, all his age, Elian was a selfish child compared to him. And he would not bow down to him.

“You may do as you wish,” Kaelen said, allowing his own magical power to unfurl with molten heat. “I will not be a part of this nonsense any longer.”

“And the girl?” Ronan growled. “You would abandon her?”

Kaelen opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out.

The girl. The omega.

My omega.

He shook his head against the intrusive thought. The girl wasn’t his anything. She was an anomaly, a strange incident that he would deal with and then move on. Besides, she was stubborn, infuriating in her constant disobedience of his orders. He would be glad to be rid of her.

My omega.

“What you are suggesting,” Kaelen bit out, fury lacing each word, “would condemn her to a life she has not chosen. You would happily force yourselves upon her rather than allow her to return home or remain here?”

He ignored the twist in his belly at the thought of leaving her. It was nothing. Just his biology.

“In a heartbeat,” Elian’s voice was dark and low.

Ronan shot the Fae a warning growl. “You heard the priestesses, she has agreed to this. It is her destiny. Do you really think she would even want to return to a place that shunned her? Kidnapped and sacrificed her to the forest? She will be safe with us.”

“But would she be happy?” Malek, who had remained silent all the while, finally stood to join the tense circle, the tips of his antlers nearly grazing the ceiling.

Elian rolled his eyes, even as Ronan’s narrowed in distaste. “I believe she can learn to be. As we will learn to be happy with this arrangement. It is the will of the Forest God.”

“You’re blind to anything but your cock, Ronan,” Kaelen spat. “Don’t pretend this has anything to do with the damned magic. You just want to fuck her.”

“And you are ruthless to the point of cruelty, Kaelen.” Ronan stepped forward, narrowing the space between. His yellow eyes flashed as he spoke. “It seems that you have learned nothing from your previous mistakes.”

Red flashed across Kaelen’s vision, his magic lashing out. “Is that why you’re disagreeing with me? A centuries-old grudge?”

“You are the reason my father is dead,” Ronan thundered, “even if you did not kill him yourself.”

“Your father was a fool,” replied Kaelen. “The northern clan alpha had every right to challenge him. It’s not my problem that he succeeded.”

Ronan’s teeth were sharpening, his hands flexing, the wolf within clearly howling to break free. “But you never got your precious revenge on the humans for your father’s death, because I killed Landon and took his place as alpha before he could invade the human lands for you. You’re the one with the grudge.”

“It was my right ,” Kaelen seethed, desperate to attack, holding himself back by the merest thread of civility. “Your father wouldn’t help me get the justice I deserved, so I found someone who could. And you took that away.”

“Landon was a ruthless murderer. He had no intention of honoring your treaty; he would have killed you and taken your lands as well,” Ronan said.

“So you keep saying,” Kaelen replied, close enough to the other alpha that he could just reach out and strike—

“Your pride will kill you,” Elian said, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion. “You would rather die than join forces with us? All you have to do is claim the girl, and all the power of the realm will be at our disposal.”

“We can ensure peace,” said Ronan, his aggressive stance giving way to something more insistent, “peace for all our people. How long will we last if you don’t? We’re already close to killing each other. Without her, we won’t last a month.”

“You felt the magic,” said Malek, placing a clawed hand over his own heart. “Listen to it. Please.”

Kaelen’s dragon seethed at the three alphas in front of him, all with their own reasons for requesting his compliance. Would he really subject themselves to their will? Give over his allegiance and allow a human omega into an unwanted pack bond?

There had to be another way. Surely, there had to be. He would find it, and break the pack bond. It had been formed by magic; it could be broken by magic. He would not be subject to this any longer.

But a small voice inside him, the same one that purred in pleasure every time the omega girl had been in his arms, the one that bellowed for blood every time she so much as winced, was growing louder with each passing moment. And another voice, the one that respected Ronan as a leader, urged him that the wolf would never do anything to place his people in harm’s way. That against all reason, the magic had chosen them. Chosen her.

Selena.

The mere thought of leaving her behind made his blood boil in a way that was utterly unfamiliar to him. He hardly knew her, and yet his dragon roared to keep her by his side.

If he went through with the ritual, there would be no turning back. He would be bound to all of them, for life. He would be more than willing to make the sacrifice if he could guarantee his people’s safety, but he was not a fanatic. Even the power of the Forest God had its limits.

What were Kaelen’s limits?

Before he could speak, could give the alphas his answer, Ronan stiffened, his neck snapping towards the door. Malek was next, a feral growl erupting from his chest as his teeth bared.

Kaelen noticed at the same time as Elian. His muscles clenched, animalistic need taking over as the scent hit him.

An omega had gone into heat.