Billionaire Quadruplet Alphas

Wednesday 23rd September, 2020 (Continued)

Harper’s POV

Where was she going? My dragon had a mind of her own and I had been daydreaming a little during which my dragon had veered off course intentionally.

“We’re supposed to be heading back to the castle now, Helena?” I said.

She grunted and I knew she meant she wanted to go somewhere else first. I sighed, allowing it. I was curious to see where she wanted to go. There was a village, half buried in the deep snow up ahead. Heat rose from the chimneys of small stone cottages. Helena landed nearby. I was a little worried the sight of the dragon might cause a panic among the villagers but Helena seemed to know what she was doing. I slid off of her back.

“What’re we doing here?” I asked, looking up at her.

She used her claw and wrote something in the snow.

Friend

She had a friend here.

“You have a friend here?” I asked, smiling up at her.

She nodded.

“A dragon friend?” I asked.

She shook her head.

I looked at the village. The cottages were quaint, small but quite prettily decorated. There were frost flowers in many of the small gardens, something only the Fae could make grow. The icy blossoms added cheer to the snowy sight. There looked as though they were made of ground glass but they were living flowers blessed by Fae magic to sustain the endless winter easily.

“A Fae friend,” I said, knowing I was right this time.

Helena nodded.

“Let’s say hi,” I suggested.

Helena nodded happily. She walked around the outskirts of the village, dwarfing the already small cottages. She stopped at the very last cottage. It was then that the smell hit me. I shuddered. My skin tingled and it was not the cold. It was her scent, sweet and alluring. Helena actually rapped gently with her claws on the door. There was the sound of someone scrambling about in the tiny cottage. A small figure bundled up in a coat came hurtling out. She fell, plopping right down into the deep snow face forwards. This little clumsy person was the source of that glorious smell.

I went over to the person who seemed like a bundle of clothes lying unattended in the snow. The bundle stirred. Helena made a strange grunting sound which I realised was her laughing at her clumsy friend. I put my hand on the figure and pulled them up. It was a young girl, probably my age. I set her on her wobbly legs. I could see her breath in this bitterly cold weather. She was shivering. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms but that would be a weird and perhaps inappropriate introduction.

“Hi,” was all I could manage.

She turned her large eyes on me. They were a deep amber. Her skin was golden. Wisps of chocolate brown hair had slipped out from under her hood. Her nose was a bit pink from the cold. She looked up at me from under her long lashes. She frowned.

“Who’s this?” She said, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

She wasn’t even talking to me. She was talking to Helena.

Helena wrote my name in the snow.

Harper

“I’m Harper,” I added unnecessarily.

“Oh,” she said.

“Do you have a name?” I asked, getting annoyed.

“Holly,” she said as if that were obvious.

What was her problem?

“Would you excuse us, Harper? Helena and I have some stuff to do,” she said.

“Excuse me,” I said.

“Yes, thanks,” she said, moving towards Helena.

I grabbed the back of her cloak. She yelped as she tugged on the fabric and was yanked backwards slightly. Her hood fell off revealing thick waves of long dark brown hair and slightly pointed ears. A gust of wind tousled her hair and sent her scent in my direction. The full blast of her aroma frankly made me rock-hard. My inner wolf roared. He was ready to produce another heir though we had literally just inherited the throne and the pack. I stepped away from her quickly.

“The nerve of you!” She squeaked.

“This is my dragon!” I snapped.

“This is Helena, my friend,” she snapped back. “And I’ve never seen you on these lands before. Who are you?”

I smirked at her.

“I am Hesper’s son, the rightful Alpha of the Ice Moon Pack, a Fae Prince and the future King of these lands,” I snarled.

She made me so infuriated which was entirely not what I expected a mate to make me feel. She was so dismissive of me. I folded my arms and huffed in annoyance. I realised she was quiet. I looked back at her and realised she was kneeling, her bare palms on the snow.

“Forgive me, your majesty. My excitement gets the better of me. I’m sorry, please accept my most sincere apology, my Lord,” she said in earnest, trembling a little.

“Hey, hey, no, no,” I said softly, scooping her up again and placing her back on her feet. She was about a foot shorter than me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. She looked baffled by my apology.

“I’m the one who stormed in here and crashed your girls’ night out,” I said, with a laugh. That was totally not the case but I really wanted her to calm down. I could hear her heart beating frantically like a hummingbird’s.

“Ok,” she said slowly.

I sniffed the air. I bent a little towards her, my brow furrowing.

“You werewolves are obsessed with sniffing people,” she mumbled to herself.

I glared at her and she ran and hid behind Helena.

“Holly!” I exclaimed indignantly. “Stop doing stuff like that.”

“Stuff like what, my Lord,” she said, peaking out from behind Helena. Helena looked thoroughly amused. Had she known Holly and I were fated? How could she have? She was certainly brilliant and ancient and magic.

“Stuff like being afraid of me,” I said. “And don’t call me ‘my Lord’. Please call me Harper!”

“Lord Harper,” said Holly.

“Holly!” I said.

“King Harper?” She said.

I frowned.

“Alpha Harper,” she said.

“Get up on the dragon,” I commanded.

She scrambled up on Helena’s back and immediately began to slide back down. She held on though for dear life, her feet dangling in the air. I struggled not to laugh. I got onto Helena’s back and hoisted Holly up with one hand setting her behind me.

“Put your hands around my waist so you don’t fall off,” I said, trying to keep my tone even to hide how eager I was.

Holly slid her arms around my waist. She leant her cheek against my shoulder, seeming quite contented all of a sudden. She was feeling it too. It was starting to affect her, the mate bond. I wasn’t too sure how this would work.

“You’re Fae?” I said.

“Yes, my Lord,” she said.

“Holly!” I growled.

“Yes, person on this dragon with me,” she said, at a loss.

I chuckled.

“You’re certainly not a Winter Fae. You don’t look like a Winter Faerie,” I commented. Winter Fae tended to be pale with icy blue or grey irises and blond, white or silver hair.

“Aye, you’re quite right, my Lor…um, yes,” she said. “My mother was a Fall Faerie, or Autumn Fae, whatever suits you, my…person.”

“Ok, my person,” I repeated, chuckling.

Autumn Fae usually had warmer complexions, all shades of rich brown with golden, red or dark hair and eyes the colour of autumn leaves, amber, green, hazel or chocolate brown. The Fae’s beauty mirrored the season for which they were named.

“And your father?” I asked.

“Human, my Lord,” said Holly.

I huffed.

“Sorry,” she mumbled into my neck, nuzzling closer as Helena took flight.

“What plans did you and Helena have?” I asked, truly curious.

Holly’s heart rate quickened.

“Where were you headed?” I asked.

“Nowhere special,” said Holly.

She was lying. I could sense it. Ugh. Why would my mate lie to me?!

“Ba-, Holly, don’t lie to me,” I said, stressing the word.

It was a little early for calling her “Baby” but it was never too early for honesty.

“I always know when someone is lying to me,” I said to her.

“Aye, because your mother was half Winter Fae,” said Holly.

“That is something all Winter Fae can do?” I said, astonished.

“No, my Lord, only the powerful ones,” said Holly.

“Name your price,” I said as we soared over my snow-covered pack lands.

“My Lord?” She said.

“How much to get you to stop calling me Lord?” I said.

She giggled. I loved her laugh. I glanced back at her and she was smiling brightly at me, relaxing a little. I had the maddening urge to k**s her until her lips were sore.

“B-, Holly, tell me the truth. What were you and Helena up to?” I said.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered.

“Why?” I stage-whispered back.

She giggled.

“I could be put to death, my…Harper,” she said.

Heat pooled in my lower abdomen at the sound of my name escaping her lips. I almost missed the very important first part of that sentence.

“Wait, put to death?” I asked incredulously.

“Aye,” she said.

“Why?” I said.

“No, I said aye,” she said. I knew she was stalling.

“Ugh, Holly,” I grumbled.

She hid in my collar.

“Holly!” I called.

She remained hiding from me in my own collar. I sighed. I smiled slightly to myself. She was certainly quite amusing though she seemed a trickster as many Fae girls were.

“Were you going to steal something?” I asked her bluntly.

She gasped, peeping out at me.

“My Lord, please,” she said softly.

“Please what?” I asked.

“Spare me,” she said.

I laughed. She seemed startled.

“You’re not gonna get in any trouble Holly. You’re my m-…” I stopped myself again.

She was half Fae, half human. Would she know what that meant? I was mostly werewolf from an Alpha lineage and part royal Fae so the Fae magic remained strong in me according to my great grandmother. Yes that grumpy old Fae lady had actually pulled me aside for a chat after I impressed her.

“What do you know about werewolves?” I asked her.

“They are immortals like the Fae, my Lord. They transform into wolves and run about under the light of the full moon. They cannot touch silver and wolfsbane,” she said.

Some of that was accurate except the full moon part. We shifted at will regardless of the lunar phases but we did love the moon.

“We don’t need it to be a full moon night to shift,” I said.

“Very impressive, my Lord,” said Holly.

“And what do you know about…love between werewolves?” I asked.

“Werewolves are very lustful, my Lord,” she told me.

“Ok,” I chuckled. “Have you ever heard about fated mates?” I said.

“Yes!” She squealed. “I know all about it, my Lord,” she said.

“You should give me a job at the palace on your advisory team. I would be good at that,” she said.

I burst into laughter. She fixed me with an indignant look.

“You will be given a job at the palace but you will not be an advisor,” I told her.

“What will I be, my Lord?” She said.

I was quiet. We were nearing the castle.

“I cannot cook,” she whispered as if it was a horrifying secret. I knew the Fae could be a little old-fashioned. I burst into laughter.

“We’ll order pizzas. It’s what my band mates and I eat the most anyway,” I said.

I felt a little pang. I missed my best friends and band mates. Even more than them, I missed my adopted parents. My adopted father and my biological one were best friends so I knew Dad would not mind me bringing my adopted parents here to the castle. I wanted Holly to meet Dad and my adopted parents and Pariah!

“Do you like music?” I asked her.

“My Lord, I cannot play the fiddle nor any other instrument,” she said with a sigh. “Please don’t make me an entertainer at the palace. I have stage fright!” She said.

I could tell she was shy.

“You won’t be an entertainer,” I told her.

“What will I be, my Lord?” She said.

“You will be similar to an advisor, making decisions for the pack and kingdom,” I said.

“Really?” She asked eagerly. “What position is that, my Lord? What is the position called, if it has a name?”

“Yes, the opening has a name,” I said.

“Oh, I’m filling a vacancy. Which one?” She asked, smiling.

“The position of Luna is open for you to fill,” I said brazenly, glancing back at her.

She blushed deeply, looking flabbergasted.

“Please, my Lord, do not jest, I beg of you,” she murmured.

“I’m serious!” I said, chuckling.

She looked at me.

“You’re my mate,” I said, unable to hold it in any longer. “You’re mine,” I said more to myself than to her.

“That is what that is,” she said.

“What what is?” I asked. What was she talking about?

“The feelings I have. The butterflies,” she said.

“Like butterflies in your stomach you mean?” I asked.

“Aye, I thought that was only me feeling that,” she admitted.

“It’s mutual,” I said, smirking. “Why would you think it was one-sided?”

“You’re quite good-looking, my Lord,” she said matter-of-factly.

I snorted with laughter.

“I thought I was merely fantasising by my lonesome,” she said. “As I often do.”

She was kinda crazy and off-beat but I liked that.

We landed in the courtyard. Helena spotted Haven and immediately went towards him just as I slid off of her back taking Holly with me. Holly shrieked and panicked, releasing my hand and falling onto the snow while I landed lightly on my feet.

“Why’d you let go?” I asked, chuckling as she scrambled to her feet, shivering yet again.

“It’s cold,” she said, not answering my question.

I pulled her against my side, shielding her with my own cloak and walking her inside. We almost collided with Asriel.

“Asriel!” I exclaimed.

“Harper!” Cheered Asriel.

He was drunk. I knew word of my triumph at securing a dragon and proving my legitimacy had spread throughout the pack lands like wildfire. Fae and Wolves alike were merry-making and celebrating including those residing at the castle. I was surprised Star was not among the group here in the noble dining area.

Asriel peered at the extra lump in my cloak. He peeked inside and spotted Holly huddled under my arm.

“Wow, who’s this?” I asked.

“This is my mate, Holly,” I said grinning. Holly tried desperately to hide behind me now that the cloak was no longer shielding her from view. Several upperclass she-wolves and noble Fae stiffened in response to the word “mate.” Some gave Holly dirty looks. I glared at those who were shooting mean looks at her until they looked away.

“Harper, it’s good to see you’re moving on,” said Erin. “Like I told Zaya before I told you, I’m just not ready yet. Perhaps, when I’m ready, I’ll let you know,” said the earring with a sigh.

“This is your mate. Ain’t she the thief who stole the Queen’s lingering Lotus?” Asked Rein.

“What?” I asked, confused.

Holly’s heart rate picked up exponentially. She took off running down the corridor.

“Holly!” I yelled.

“Get her! Thief! She’s a thief!” Boomed one of the Fae staff.

What the hell was a lingering Lotus? I did not have time to wonder about it. A dozen or so wolf and Fae guards jumped up and ran after my mate. I snarled.

“Poor girl,” said Asriel, slurring slightly. “That’s punishable by death.”

I growled in my Alpha voice making the castle walls shake. Several people shrieked and clutched onto any strong structure near to them.

Over my dead body! I thought as I dashed in the direction my Holly and the guards had gone.