Page 23 of Owned by Four Alphas (Silverthorn Alphas #2)

Their journey, already slow due to her pregnancy, was made even harder by the constant patrols of dragons flying overhead.

It seemed Kaelen was determined to find her.

They stuck to the tree line where they could, skirting the border, Malek’s shadows hiding them from the keen eyes of the dragons above whenever they passed. At night, they would find a rundown town or abandoned village to hide in, blanketed in shadow.

Many humans had fled away from the border. It meant plenty of space, and plenty of supplies.

And despite their slow progress, despite Kaelen’s patrols, after two weeks they were getting close. With every passing hour, every passing minute , Selena became more and more aware of her imminent birth. She had days at most. But she wasn’t worried. With Malek by her side, she would be able to do it.

They had run out of forest about five days back, the border of the First Realm giving way to the mountains of Kaelen’s territory. Through that land, Selena had consented to let Malek carry her on his back in his true form, aware that they were exposed and close to her searching mate. It had sped up their pace, even if it was uncomfortable for her.

They had reached the steppes just south of the mountains where Kaelen’s territory drifted into the neutral lands between the First and Second Realms. Across the lush fields of grass and wildflowers there was a dilapidated little town. If they could make it by nightfall, they would be able to enter the mountain range the following day. It would be dangerous, rocky and harsh, but they were close.

Carefully avoiding the patrols, they ran through the fields, and Selena enjoyed the warmth of the sun at her back. It was beginning to feel real now, tangible and within her grasp. She could almost taste the clear water of the stream from her dreams, feel the cool breeze, smell the fresh leaves.

See her father.

“There must be forests hidden behind the mountains,” she mused, her fingers combing through locks of Malek’s fur. “Or perhaps it lies beyond the mountains. The northern wolf clan is from the Second Realm, right? Wolves must need forest.”

“I’m hoping we won’t encounter any wolves,” Malek said, his tone wry. “I’m not sure they would take kindly to either of us.”

“No, I suppose not,” she said, wincing as she remembered Ordovic’s smug face.

“Just a few more hours,” said Malek, setting off at a gentle, loping run through the fields, kicking up pollen that tickled her nose and stained his fur yellow.

Sure enough, the tiny specks of the buildings became clearer as they got closer. There was no smoke, no sign of life, which Selena supposed was a good thing, even if she did secretly want to see another human. They would be unlikely to recognize her, and she might be able to buy some medicine and supplies for her birth. She’d scrounged what she could from her garden, but she was desperate for a stocked apothecary. So far, they’d had no luck on that front.

After a few hours, Malek cleared the final fence between the fields and the abandoned village, his claws scraping against the cobblestone. Carefully, he lowered himself down to the ground, letting Selena slide off with a muffled “Oof.”

“Kaelen seems to be getting more aggressive,” he said, his black eyes searching the skies. “We better find cover. The next patrol is due soon.”

“Perhaps we should find a way to send them a message, let them know I’m alright,” Selena said, twisting her fingers together. The long days of travel had given her plenty of time to think, and while she was still utterly adamant that she had made the right choice, her omega was in complete distress.

Between that, the pregnancy, and the constant effort to keep her magic under control, she was getting rather exhausted, if she was being honest with herself. As the birth drew nearer, her magic seemed to lash out at the barest provocation. A sudden movement in the corner of her eye, a scuttling beetle, the hoot of an owl.

Not to mention that, despite Malek’s presence, nothing could quite compare to the feeling of safety her omega felt when surrounded by all four of her mates. With her birth imminent, she was especially vulnerable.

“If that is what you wish,” Malek said, sniffing the air, “although I cannot think of a way to do so without alerting them as to our presence.”

“You’re right,” she said, biting her lip, her heart sinking despite herself. “Maybe once we’ve found my father. We can send a message then. With him there, Kaelen couldn’t possibly drag me away.”

Malek huffed in amusement, “If anyone would challenge a god to protect you, Selena, it would be Kaelen.”

“Do you think they’re angry?” she said, her voice small.

Malek turned to her, his black eyes flashing with something warm, “If they are, it will be with themselves. They are not fools. They know what it took to drive you to this.”

“Maybe I should have asked Ronan if he wanted to come,” she said, her omega whining.

“Perhaps, but I don’t think he would have abandoned care of the Realm to chase after a dream. He’s too devoted to his people, to the idea of unity. And I doubt he would have wanted you to go. He’d have wanted to send someone else on your behalf.”

“I know, but—”

A muffled thud had Malek spinning on his heel, his hackles raised, his teeth bared with a warning growl.

“What was that?” Selena squeaked, darting behind him, hands clutching the bunched muscles of his hind leg.

Malek didn’t stop growling, the rumbling echoing against the stone of the village. The door of one of the houses ahead of them creaked open, and a familiar face peaked through the gap.

“Please don’t attack me!”

“ Castien? ” Selena exclaimed, darting forward from behind Malek, unable to stop the grin spreading over her face. “What are you doing here?”

The librarian darted out of the house, his blue robes dirty and torn, a guilty look on his face. A leather satchel swung at his side, several books threatening to burst out of it.

“I…um…is he going to…” Castien pointed nervously at Malek, his finger trembling.

“Malek, this is Castien, he’s the librarian who was helping me with my research!”

“I know who he is,” Malek snarled, nudging Selena with his great, shaggy head to push her behind him. “I’d like to know what a Fae, an omega Fae, is doing so far from home.”

Castien gulped, pushing his long brown hair out of his face, “After you…after the…um…the accident , the Marble Halls went into complete chaos. You disappeared, along with your mates. It was mayhem. Some of the alphas were saying they wanted to go after you, that they wanted…that they wanted to hurt you.”

Selena’s stomach wrenched, “Yes,” she said quietly, “I’m not surprised. I did…it was my fault…what happened.”

Malek snarled.

Castien fiddled with the strap of his bag, “Well, I just thought that you might need some help. And we’d just discovered where the Forest God was, and…and I thought I might be able to…to help you. Find him, that is.”

Selena’s lip wobbled at the open nervousness on his face, the earnest set of his shoulders.

“Oh, Castien !” she ran forward, pulling him into a hug. He squeaked in shock, awkwardly patting her back.

“There, there… don’t…um, please don’t cry!”

“I can’t help it!” her voice cracked as tears escaped her. “I’m just…just so happy to see you! You’re so amazing!”

He laughed nervously, pulling away from her, his gaze flitting from her face to Malek.

Her mate paced up beside her. “You trust him?”

“Of course I trust him,” Selena said, wiping away her tears, “he’s my friend!”

Castien blushed, his high cheekbones turning rosy. “Wow! That’s…I mean…I consider you a friend too!”

It was apparently enough to set her bawling again, and Malek licked her cheek with his rough tongue. “Don’t cry, little mate, you’re alarming him.”

She sniffled, trying to get herself under control, but that was a hard task these days. She blamed the pregnancy. Or her exhaustion. Or both.

“Come on,” said Castien, “I’ve set up camp in one of these houses whilst I try to figure out a route through the mountains! I’ve nearly got it.”

Selena followed him into the building, with Malek padding in behind them, still reluctant to change from his true form, apparently.

As night fell, he watched them as they poured over books, and Selena’s heart soared at the familiar activity.

“You’ve made so much progress!”

“Well, I’ve been here a few days,” Castien said, “there’s not much else to do. I didn’t want to go in unprepared.”

“Very sensible,” she said, eyeing Malek. “When was the last time you ate?”

Malek lifted his head, his eyes narrowing. “About a week ago.”

“Maybe you should go hunting now, while it’s dark. I don’t know how much food there would be for you once we’re in the mountains.”

Malek’s eyes turned to Castien, and Selena could practically smell his displeasure.

“Come on, I promise we won’t go anywhere! You’ll be gone, what? An hour? Maybe two? It would be good to get your strength up.”

“My strength is fine, little mate.”

They argued back and forth for a little while more, Castien sitting awkwardly pretending to be entranced by a book. Eventually, the argument that he wouldn’t want to hunt for a good while after she had given birth won out, and reluctantly he crept out of the house just as dusk began to fall.

“If anything happens,” he said, looking to the sky. “If I come back and you’re not here…”

Selena groaned, “If you come back and I’ve somehow disappeared, you have my full permission to light enough bonfires to stretch between here and the Marble Halls to get Kaelen’s attention. Is that a deal?”

That seemed to appease him, and with a warning snarl that had Castien trembling in his boots, Malek melted into the darkness.

Selena turned back to the books with an apologetic shrug. “He just doesn’t want anything to happen to me.”

“That’s understandable,” Castien said, “he just wants what’s best for you and your baby. All your mates do. It’s been rather annoying, actually.”

Selena rolled her eyes, “Okay, I know they’ve been overbearing, but they haven’t been that…”

She trailed off, Castien’s words finally sinking into her brain. A small warning alarm sounded, and she instinctively shuffled a bit further away from him.

“Anyway! Maybe we should…”

“Incredibly annoying, actually,” Castien continued, getting to his feet and bolting the door. A frisson of dread ran down her spine.

“Castien, what are you doing?” she said slowly, climbing onto unsteady feet, her hands braced on her stomach.

“I thought it would be easy. Give you all the answers, guide you towards the truth, let you ‘discover’ your father’s supposed whereabouts yourself. Get you to ask your mates to go on an expedition to somewhere they weren’t lurking around every corner with a hundred spying eyes.”

His voice was cold, his eyes devoid of any warmth. Selena backed away slowly, looking around the house for any sign of escape. He noticed and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t bother. I’ve sealed off the entire house. When you disappeared, I thought I’d blown it. Months of careful planning, of getting you to trust me, disappeared. But I know you, Selena. I know you very well. When you didn’t immediately reappear in the Palace of Embers, or in any of the wolf’s territories, I knew your idiot mates had decided to keep you hidden. And you, in turn, would find a way to get to your father.”

“Castien,” Selena said again, her heart in her throat, her magic lashing out around her. He looked at her critically, pursing his lips a little.

“Your magic was always going to be a problem.”

The ground rumbled beneath them, the windowpanes rattling as her panic fully set in. Malek. She had to alert Malek.

She screamed, loud and shrieking, trying to direct her magic to shatter the windows, to blow the roof off, to do something , anything to get his attention.

As soon as she opened her mouth, all sound was cut off with a lazy wave of Castien’s hand. She gripped her throat, eyes widening.

“We only have a few hours’ head start,” he said, gathering his books and papers up into his satchel. “Thanks to you, we can be sure that all four of your mates will be after you in no time. But that’s no matter. We’ll be long gone by the time Malek gets back.”

Selena scrambled backwards, her back hitting the wall, her hands raised in front of her, her magic crackling but utterly useless.

“Time for a nap, don’t you think?” Castien crouched in front of her, opening a small satchel. From there, he withdrew a pinch of a strange gray dust and blew it into her eyes.

She was asleep before she hit the floor.