The Alphas & The Heiress

Kat

The only thing more breathtaking than Magnolia’s fiery eyes is the way my brothers look at her, seeing her properly for the first time. It’s like I no longer exist, they are in their own world, staring intently at one another.

Well, this got uncomfortable real quick. I can sense my brothers’ wolves clawing for control to complete the mating, not to mention the room is at least 10 degrees warmer than it was moments ago.

I stand up from the couch and try to take my leave before they jump each other, “yeah, I think I’m just gonna go find the kitchen. You three have fun.”

When I get back downstairs I realize how completely lost I am, this palace is huge. The hallways are 12 feet wide and ceilings are 20 feet tall so the dragons can fly through the place quickly. Rather than get even more lost, I decide to follow Magnolia’s scent back to her office.

I’m relieved when I approach her door that I can smell Incandis nearby. I enter her office with a soft knock as I open the door slowly. Incandis is sitting with another male on the balcony outside.

“Hey Kat, back so soon?” Incandis gestures for me to sit with them.

I shrug noncommittally, “yeah, I just went to see if she was okay.”

“The Alphas leave too?”

I blush furiously because they’re nowhere near leaving, I’d be surprised if they ever let her out of their sight again. “Nope, no, they’re uh… they’re still there, talking.”

“She’s supposed to be on bed rest.” The guy sitting next to Incandis mutters to himself.

Oh she’s in bed alright.

He stands up abruptly, golden wings spread wide, “I’m going to go see her, make sure she’s resting.”

“No!” I shout in panic. If he were to interrupt two alphas mating with their Luna, he’d never live to tell the tale. My brothers would kill him in an instant. “Sorry, what I mean is she just asked me to leave. She said she needed to talk to them… alone.”

“Xan, she’ll be alright. I’m sure they’ll let her rest, let’s leave her be for now. We can bring her up some dinner later.” Incandis offers by way of placating his friend.

Xan mutters his disapproval and takes off for the skies.

He exhales a frustrated sigh and covers his face with his hands before running them up through his hair. “I just lied to my best friend, didn’t I?”

He refuses to meet my eye but I can sense his guilt. I scoot closer to him hoping my proximity is enough to comfort him even a little bit.

“No, I mean, bed rest…couch rest…what’s the difference really?”

He shoots me a doubtful look. I want to put his mind at ease but it’s not my place to tell him about them being mates. The truth is, she’ll heal faster by their side than she would alone on bed rest. Their bond will give her body the energy it needs to repair itself.

If I can’t tell him the truth then at least I can distract him.

“What’s his problem anyway?” I ask, unable to censor my curiosity.

Incandis sighs again but leans back against the bench, relaxing into the cushion. “The colony is anxious. They’ve felt her absence this past week, and coming home injured like she was didn’t do anything to settle their nerves.” He shrugs and gives me a tight smile. “He misses her.”

There are so many things I want to know about Magnolia and Incandis and their life here, it’s hard to know where to start, which question to ask first.

I mirror his posture causing our legs to brush against one another creating a humming energy where our bodies connect.

“Can I ask you about something?” I finally manage to say something after many silent moments.

He looks amused if not slightly offended that I’d even have to ask. “Of course.”

“You don’t treat her much like a sister, my brothers and I actually thought the two of you were like…together.” I laugh, now embarrassed by the thought.

His face scrunches up in disgust. “What on Earth would give you that impression?”

A small giggle escapes my lips, “you want the list?”

“There’s a list?” His smile softens his bewildered expression.

“Well, okay, for starters you always smelled like her. And you were practically inseparable at first. And then there’s the way you look at her, like she’s the most incredible woman on the planet, like you’d take a bullet for her without blinking.”

“I would,” he says without hesitation. “I wasn’t lying to you when I said things with her and me were complicated. She’s my sister, but she’s also our next queen. She’ll rule our colony for centuries, seeing to our prosperity and safety, and in return it’s my duty to ensure her safety. Those two identities are hard to tease apart sometimes, sibling versus guardian.”

“I get that, I just… I wish…” I exhale a heavy sigh, my shoulders slumping down leaving me deflated, “I wish my mate would look at me like that.” My volume drops even further, my voice coming out barely a breath, sounding as small as I feel, “I wish you would look at me like that.”

I brave a glance at his face, his eyes are impossibly wide, lips slightly popped open in an O shape. I love how surprise softens his features. He spends most of his time looking stoic and hardened, he’s seldom knocked off balance so my heart does a full backflip twisting layout when he shows me these other facets of his personality.

He studies my face, looking for answers in my eyes rather than breaking the silence to voice them aloud.

Every second that passes feels like its own rejection, but I can’t look away, afraid that when our gaze finally breaks he’ll never look my way again, let alone with the longing and desire I crave.

He takes my hand in his, pressing a soft kiss to the center of my palm before sliding it up to his cheek, nuzzling into the contact.

His eyes close slowly with my hand still pressed to his cheek, weighed down with pain and anguish.

“I failed her.”

My heart plummets to my stomach like a rock in water. I just laid it all out for him and he’s still choosing her. I try removing my hand from his grasp but he holds onto me tightly, his grip unwavering.

“In the cave, she and I got separated. I thought she’d be okay, we’ve faced worse odds before and she’s fucking lethal…”

He lifts his eyes to look at me, I struggle to conceal the whimper on my lips. I wither under his intensity, sure that his gaze alone could reduce me to ashes.

“I felt her heat before I saw it, the telltale signs that she was going to torch the place. And instead of worrying about her, instead of protecting her, all I could focus on… was you.”

My chest tightens, his words rekindling the hope I had lost that he felt the same pull towards me that I do towards him.

“The whole time I kept scanning the room for you, making sure no one was coming after you. I panicked when I saw her about to torch, I had to get to you as fast as possible and shield you from her fire.”

He releases my hand only to wrap his around the back of my neck, his thumb tracing along my bottom lip.

“I’ve tried burying these feelings, I tried focusing on the mission. But I couldn’t deny it anymore in that cave. I have little to no right to feel this way, but I do. I want you.”

He pulls me into him fast and hard, slamming his mouth to mine. I gasp from the shock and he uses the opportunity to slip his tongue past the seam of my lips. I let him explore my mouth with his tongue, we nip and bite at each other until we both need to pause to come up for air.

“Fuck, Kat, what are you doing to me?”

He kisses away the hot tears that have begun slipping from my eyes. Giggles break through the sobs which eventually give way to laughter.

He breathes a laugh, “I can’t tell if you’re laughing or crying.”

I can’t stop smiling as I kiss him over and over, “me neither.” I laugh, pressing our foreheads together, my cheeks burning from being pressed into a wide grin.

“Now what?” I breathe, afraid that speaking any louder would walk me up from this dream.

“Now, let’s go see about dinner.” He smirks.

***

“No, no, no, you have it all wrong. You’ve got to start slow, make sure that they know every punishment will only get worse. You can’t just go in guns blazing.” Runidar says.

“Says the guy who threatened to rip Mags’ tongue out for calling him names.” Incandis taunts back. “That was you not going in guns blazing?”

“I find psychological torture to be much more effective. Will the blow come? Won’t it? Waiting for them to make peace with their death only to snatch that away from them too.” Xander chimes in.

I’m stuck in the kitchen listening to the guys discussing proper torture techniques like cavemen when I catch a familiar scent wafting our direction.

I can smell them before I see them, my brothers finally coming up for air. Her scent clings to them like it’s theirs.

Runidar catches my eye with the same knowing grin, not even my brothers could resist their mate.

“How’s Magnolia?” I ask once they finally enter the kitchen, flashing them a mischievous grin that only they can see. Xander’s and Incandis’ heads snap up towards my brothers.

“Fine, taking a bath I think,” Ro says, trying to play it cool.

I’m surprised you let her out of your sight. I mindlink Varian while Ro talks to Incandis.

We’re just getting some food to bring back up to her. She’s rather tired, and even if she had the energy I’m pretty sure walking will be difficult for a while.

My nose scrunches in disgust but Varian just laughs at me under his breath.

Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to, Kat. He winks at me and starts piling a selection of food on a tray at Incandis’ invitation.

Xander stalks out of the room, obviously still itching to finally go see Mags. I wonder what my brothers will make of him. They were ready to kill Incandis and he’s her brother, every other male who looks at her the wrong way will be fair game in their eyes.

Casual chatter fills the room once more, Runidar back on the topic of torture. I successfully disrupt Incandis’ offer to bring Mags her dinner, earning me a thank you from Varian. They’re so fucking in love, it’s adorable.

I practically inhale my food, I’m so hungry. I’m helping myself to another serving when we hear a growl I recognize as Ro’s echo through the halls.

Fuck, Magnolia!

I drop everything and begin sprinting up to Magnolia’s room. Incandis has to fly to catch up to me, but when he does he grabs onto my shoulders and teleports us into Magnolia’s room.

I immediately see my brothers standing several feet inside the room wrestling for control of their wolves. I can tell Ro is a foregone conclusion, he’s practically half shifted. There’s no use trying to stop it now. It’s not until I look further around the room that I realize what’s agitated their wolves.

Magnolia is sheltered behind Xander wearing nothing but a towel. No wonder the twins are incensed.

Ro finally gives into the shift and emerges as a tower of dominance, power and rage rolling off him in waves. Even though I’m his sister his aura has my wolf whimpering to submit.

No one moves.

My eyes shift between the four of them, wolves to my left, dragons to my right. I almost squeal in excitement at the impending brawl.

“Oh Goddess this is going to be fucking epic!” I whisper to Incandis gleefully. He still doesn’t know that Mags is mated with my brothers. He’s so cute when he’s confused.

A movement so fast I almost miss it signals to me that the battle has begun. In a golden blur, Xander flies towards Ro, leaving Mags alone. Varian darts to his mate and instantly relaxes, his wolf finally placated.

Xander has Ro in a choke hold on the floor. Ro‘s thrashing wildly, teeth snapping, trying to break out of Xander’s grip while Magnolia attempts to disentangle herself from Varian’s hold. The more Ro and Mags try to pull away, the tighter Xander’s and Varian’s grips become.

“Varian let me go, I have to stop them. Xander’s my guardian, he thinks Ro’s a threat!” Mags implores Var.

“I can assure you, love, Ro and I feel the exact same way about Xander.” He growls out to her.

None of these dragons have any idea how territorial our wolves are, especially alphas, especially alphas over their mate.

“Be that as it may, I’m not going to let them rip each other apart.” Mags’ wings expand, liberating her from Varian’s protective grasp.

She jumps into the air, glides towards Ro and Xander, and lands on the floor by their heads so forcefully that Ro and Xander are knocked out instantly. The impact of her leap stuns them both long enough for Incandis to pull Xander away while she kneels besides Ro’s wolf, running her fingers through his fur trying to soothe his rage.

The mate bond has obviously hit them hard. Their bodies respond instantly to one another, proximity the only balm the bond will accept.

The effects of her stun wear off and Ro leans into her touch. Slowly, he begins to shift back; hair retreating, bones breaking and snapping back into place effortlessly. Back in human form, Ro pulls Magnolia down on top of him, crashing their lips together with urgent need.

Incandis is usually pretty controlled, but seeing his sister half naked straddling a naked Rohanor with their tongues shoved down each other’s throats must have struck a nerve.

“Can someone please explain what the fuck is going on?”’

This snaps Mags and Ro out of their lust. Varian removes his shirt so Mags can cover herself, the shirt reaching down to the top of her thighs. She gives Ro the towel she had been wearing and he wraps it around his waist as they stand.

Magnolia scans the room with emblazoned eyes. Her heat is oppressive and no one is brave enough to meet her gaze. She may not be a wolf but there’s no denying the alpha-like aura she radiates. The room stills, its breath hitches awaiting her command.

“Everyone take a moment to compose yourselves and get decent. We’ll meet in the lounge downstairs in ten minutes.”

Even from across the room it’s easy to see the conflict on Xan’s and Incandis’ faces. They want so badly to stand their ground and resolve this here and now but they can’t resist their Queen’s orders.

Incandis hovers for a moment longer not knowing if he can truly trust my brothers to be alone with her. She nods at him and he begrudgingly teleports himself out with Xander.

I can’t help the delighted grin plastered on my face as I wave goodbye to Mags and the twins, shutting the door behind me.