“Oh, fuck,” Martin whispered. “I didn’t know. Jolie, I-”
“We love you. We want you to be our mate. We want you to be our queen,” Deryn said.
“I’m a fucking curse. I’ve always been a curse. Justina came here because of my dad being killed. She hurt me because of that. If you’d never gotten involved with me, none of this shit would have happened. Please, just…stay away.”
There was silence on the other side of the door, so I assumed they had listened. Finished packing, Martin grabbed our two bags and put his arm around my waist. “Ready?” he asked.
I nodded.
Yes, I was ready to go home. I was ready to go back to Jinla to start over.
Martin opened the door and unsurprisingly, four princes stood in the hallway. Before I could move away, all four dropped to their knees before me.
“Oh, shit,” Martin whispered and backed away.
“Stop,” I whispered, tears in my ears. “Stand up.”
“Jolie Bernardo, will you become our queen?” Rhys asked me. He pulled out a small black box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a diamond ring. It was a human engagement ring.
“I thought I couldn’t become your queen,” I whispered. “That’s why I joined the warrior’s bond, because I’m human.”
My voice came out steady, which shocked the hell out of me, since I felt like crying and screaming at the same time.
“That only happened because of how we added you. There is a different set of procedures for you to become our queen,” Nico said. “And we can do that still.”
“You’re finally free,” I whispered, looking at each of them in turn. “Why bind yourselves to me again?”
“We love you, you idiot,” Deryn said with a soft smile, his words soft instead of harsh. “We want to spend the rest of our lives with you.”
Could I do this? Could I become their queen? What would it feel like if I was removed from the bond as their queen?
“It would most likely kill you,” Nico said.
Apparently, I’d said that last part out loud instead of in my head.
“Do you want to be with us?” Fox asked.
More than anything.
“More than anything,” I said, sniffling as tears built in my eyes and my throat grew tight.
“Say what you want,” Rhys whispered.
“I want to be your queen and your mate,” I whispered back, the tears spilling over. “But, I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I don’t want to cause you pain. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
I was trying to leave to avoid this. I was trying to leave so they could move on. They were so stubborn. And, I loved them so much.
“Kitten,” Rhys whispered, “that’s what it means to be together. We get hurt protecting what and who we love. We were getting injured in the tournament long before we met you. We’ll get hurt in the tournament next year and the year after, no matter what the prize is.”
“You are the only one we will bow to,” Fox said. “You are our equal. You are the most important thing in our lives. More important than each other.”
The other three nodded in agreement.
“You’re sure?” I asked softly. “You’re sure that you want me? This is a lifelong commitment. This is something we can’t go back on. If you decide to do this now, you are going to be rescuing me and getting hurt and who knows what else until I die!”
“We’re sure,” they all said in unison.
“Jo, come on, just give them your answer,” Martin groaned.
“What about Amos?” I asked.
“Let me handle Amos,” Dan said from behind me, making me jump and spin around.
“For such a large man, you’re too damn quiet!” I snapped at him. Then, realized that Emrys and Katar were with him as well. “Oh, hi.”
They waved at me, but then looked at their sons.
“They won’t even bow to me,” Katar grumbled.
“Jolie,” Deryn rumbled.
I turned back to them and said, “I have one condition.”
“What condition?” Rhys asked.
“If I become your queen, you have to become my mates,” I said. “That way, even if someone breaks one of our bonds, we’ll have another one available.”
All four surged to their feet and surrounded me with hugs. Their towering figures made for a wall of protection and I felt safe again. Rhys slipped the ring on my finger while hugging me and I sobbed softly.
“It hurt so much,” I whispered. “To feel you each taken from me, from my heart. It’s so cold. I feel so empty.”
“So do we,” Fox whispered.
“But you have each other,” I reminded them. “I have no one. I’m alone and hollow.”
“We’re still there, in your heart,” Rhys whispered. “But, you don’t need to worry. We’ll make our vows to you and you’ll be bonded with us once again.”
“We’ll wait on the mating bonds until we get home,” Deryn said. “We don’t need to rush to make those while we are here.
“Finally!” Dan bellowed and pushed aside Deryn and Rhys to pull me away from them. He looked down at me and said, “Welcome to the pack, Jolie. Welcome to my family.”
“Guys,” Thor called as he walked towards us with what looked like a newspaper. “This was published today.”
Dan took the paper and sighed. “Well, looks like you won’t need to make an announcement.” He handed me the paper and I read the headline.
Princess of the Four Clans bonded with the Four Princes.
“How did they find out?” Fox asked, taking the paper from me.
“Justina,” I whispered. “She probably did it to try to hurt me more. Everyone being told that I was bound to you when she’d just severed those ties is pretty fucking painful.”
Fox handed the paper to Nico and then pulled me into his arms. “We’re here. We’ll make our connection again tonight.”
“Are you still going back home?” Deryn asked.
For once, he wasn’t ordering me around. He was asking what I was going to do. Maybe, our painful experience had done something good.
“I’ll stay with you four,” I whispered and kissed Fox’s neck. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”
“Good,” Deryn said and pulled me away from Fox so that he could hug me. “I don’t want to be away from you.”
“How do you want to handle this?” Rhys asked.
“We can make an official announcement when we return home that we are her guards and she is our mate,” Nico said, hugging me from behind. I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to me. “I’m sorry for everything my asshole father did.”
“Not your fault,” I whispered back, kissing his cheek and inhaling his scent. I wanted to burrow into him so that his scent completely surrounded me.
I pulled away from him and looked at my ring. “So, what’s special about this ring?”
All four chuckled.
“Yes, it was expensive,” Rhys answered my unspoken question. “It’s magically enhanced so that it will expand when you shift forms.”
“Will I be able to shift forms as your queen?” I asked, my chest aching as I thought of the dragon being torn away from me.
Warm hands wrapped around mine, stopping me from rubbing my chest. “Yes,” Rhys said, taking his turn to hug me. “You’ll get your dragon back.”
“I was mid-shift and she stole the dragon,” I whined. “She took the dragon and all of my heat vanished. I’ve been so cold since then.”
Rhys’s body warmed, heat surrounding me. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, rubbing my back. “It wasn’t a picnic for us either.”
“What did it feel like for you?” I asked, my voice muffled as I buried my face in his shirt.
“Like my heart had been ripped into two, and half of it vanished,” Rhys said.
“Like the sun was destroyed and our lives were thrown into darkness,” Fox said.
“It was as thoug
h half of my body was destroyed,” Nico said.
“It felt like someone stuck their claws into my chest and shredded me from the inside out,” Deryn said.
“They flipped out,” Emrys told me. “When the first of them, Deryn, felt your connection snap, he began tearing out of the building, trying to rush to you. But, as each one was cut, they fell from the pain. They were all crawling toward the city on their hands and knees, snarling and cussing. Then they started going berserk.”
“It was excruciating,” Rhys snarled into my hair.
“Come, let’s get into the room so we can talk,” Katar ordered us.
Rhys picked me up before I could even take a step and carried me into my room.
“I love you,” he whispered softly into my ear. “When our fathers are done, we are cuddling the shit out of you to try to cope with what happened. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled my nose into his neck. “I love you, too.”
“So, we came to let you know that Justina escaped,” Dan told us.
“Not surprising,” I whispered. “She’s a crafty bitch.”
Rhys sat on the end of the bed with me in his lap, my arms still around his neck.
“How did she sever your bonds?” Katar asked.
“She had a silver knife that she cut them with.”
“Did it have any designs on it?” Johann asked.
I hadn’t seen him come in and I had no idea when he had shown up.
“It had strange symbols. I didn’t recognize them, but I could draw them for you,” I offered.
“Please,” he requested.
Nico handed me paper and a pen and I turned around in Rhys’s lap, using a book as a hard surface to draw on. I tried to draw the knife and the symbols like I remembered, but it wasn’t exact.
“I was a bit preoccupied with pain at the time, so these aren’t accurate,” I mumbled as I drew. After finishing, I handed it to Nico who cussed and held it up for everyone else to see.
“The Blade of Tate,” Dan growled. “I had a feeling it was that cursed blade.”
“That blade can cut anything,” Johann told me. “It can even cut through mating bonds.”
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m still not safe? That she could cut our new bonds when we make them?” I asked softly, fear sliding up my back and making me shiver.
Rhys wrapped his arms around me and increased his heat once again. “We won’t let that happen,” he assured me. “We won’t let you be taken again. We value your life.” The last sentence was said with such venom, that it made me flinch, even though I knew he was directing it at Johann.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” I asked. “Aren’t you supposed to finish the Tournament?”
“We will. We will announce that you are their queen, and as such, we aren’t going to make you choose a single mate. We will announce that we are leaving you to make your choice for mate at a later date and not force you to make it now,” Emrys said.
“Amos-”
“Amos isn’t as powerful as he thinks,” Johann said. “He’s old and has let the power go to his head. It is time we reminded him that he may be there for the reason of keeping us in line, but this is an instance where he needs to be put back in line.”
“Seems a few of us need that reminder,” Nico grunted.
“She needs to eat,” Dan told them. “She hasn’t eaten since yesterday and she’s refusing to.”
“I’m not hungry,” I whispered and looked at the floor in front of me. Even though they were going to make me their queen, and they were going to become my mates, I was still empty - hollow.
“You have to eat,” Rhys growled at my back.
“Martin, can you get some food for her?” Deryn asked him.
“Certainly,” Martin said and set my bag on the ground before leaving.
“You were really going to leave us?” Nico asked.
“Yes,” I said, not feeling remorseful at all. “I was going to go back to the apartment and try to figure out what I was going to do to with the rest of my life, without you in it.”
“You’re so damn stubborn,” Deryn growled at me.
“Ditto,” I replied with a smirk.
Fox sat in front of me, leaning his body against Rhys’s legs so that his head could lean into my lap. “We would have followed you,” he told me.
I ran my fingers through his hair and said, “I figured you would try, but I was hoping my exes would keep you busy.” I froze a moment, my hand buried in his hair and asked, “Did you guys hurt them?”
“Who?” Deryn asked.
“Ezio, Thor, Declan, Kylan-”
“Oh, you mean when you ordered them to hold us so you could run off and sacrifice yourself?” Rhys growled at my back.
“Yeah, then.”
“No one was killed or seriously wounded. They got a few heavy hits from us and scratches, but we couldn’t punish them when they were following your orders,” Fox said.
“Next time you pull something like that, I’m going to tie you up for an entire week,” Deryn threatened me.
I winked at him and said, “Promises, promises.”
Dan burst into loud laughter and stood up. “I love you, Jolie. You’re the only female I’ve ever seen who keeps my boy on his toes.”
I smiled back at him while Deryn scowled at us.
I climbed away from Rhys and Fox to wrap my arms around Deryn’s neck and lean into him. “Are you still mad at me?”
“No,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around me and burying his head into my neck while my arm covered him. “Having you here, alive, has made my anger vanish.”
“Good,” I whispered.
“I’d recommend staying in here the rest of the night,” Emrys said. “Nico, put up wards.”
Nico nodded. “I will as soon as Martin returns with her food.”
Emrys nodded and they all left, leaving me and the guys alone in the room. Deryn’s mouth crashed into mine, need and worry spurring on his movements. I kissed him back, glad for the physical touch. I tugged at his shirt and he ripped it in half, so we didn’t have to break our kiss. My hands splayed across his chest and I moaned at the heat he was giving off.
“No shirts,” I gasped, pulling back long enough to order the other princes.
They all removed their shirts and I followed my own order, removing mine as well, but leaving my bra on. Four male chests pressed against me from all sides and I sighed.
“She’s so cold,” Nico whispered worriedly.
“I told you I was,” I reminded them.
“When are we making the bond?” Deryn asked Rhys.
“After she eats,” Rhys said. He blew air against my skin and it was so hot that it burned me a moment.
“Ouch!” I gasped and jerked away from him.
“What?” he asked.
“That burned,” I told him and turned around.
“Shit, Rhys. You burned her,” Deryn said and touched the top of my back.
“I didn’t use fire. I just warmed my breath,” Rhys told us. He cupped my cheek. “It shouldn’t have hurt you at all.”
Fox set his hand over the burn and I felt his magic pulse into me, cooling the burn and then giving me relief.
“Thanks, Fox,” I whispered and leaned my forehead against Rhys’s chest.
“I’m sorry,” Rhys said. “I don’t know why that burned you.”
“She’s fully human right now,” Nico reminded him. “Without the bond, she’s not enhanced by our powers. I think we all got used to her being tougher than a regular human.”
“So, we need to be extra careful with her,” Deryn said. “Which means, no rough sex.”
“Boo!” I yelled, which earned me four rumbling male chests against my body as they laughed. “Seriously? Where’s the fun in that?” I grumbled.
“Uh,” Martin said from the doorway.
“We’re not naked,” I assured him, since he couldn’t see me sur
rounded by the princes.
“You need to eat,” Rhys ordered me, stepping away to get the platter of food Martin had brought with him.
Martin handed it over and asked, “Do you need anything else?”
“No, you can go,” Rhys said.
“We’re good,” I assured Martin.
He nodded and then left, shutting the door behind him. Nico went to the door, swiped his hand across the doorway, and a silver line stretched from the doorway, all the way around the room, creating the ward.
“Eat,” Rhys snarled at me.
“I’m not hungry,” I groaned, but sat down at the table where the food sat. Meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and various dips rested on the large platter. None of it looked good.
“Please,” Fox begged me, sitting down cross-legged beside me. “We need you to eat and get more strength back or we can’t do the binding ceremony.”
“Can’t we just do it tomorrow?” I asked as I pushed around some of the fruit with my finger.
“You’ll be even weaker tomorrow if you don’t eat,” he reminded me.
“None of this looks good,” I complained.
“What do you want?” Nico asked. “I’ll go have the chef make whatever you want.”
I was being a spoiled brat. Shit.
“No, this is fine,” I said with a sigh and chewed on a carrot.
“Seriously, we can go get you something else to eat. The chefs here are top notch and can make you whatever your heart desires,” Fox said.
What did I want?
“Nothing sounds good,” I admitted after a moment. None of my favorite foods sounded good. Not even dessert sounded good.
“We could get you a protein shake,” Deryn offered.
“No,” I almost gagged. “There’s no way I could drink the entire thing. I’d end up getting sick before I finished it.”
“Are you ill?” Fox asked and put his forehead against mine. “No fever.”
“My insides are scrambled,” I told them. “Did you guys eat?”
They all frowned and looked at each other.
“No, I guess we didn’t,” Rhys admitted.
“See!” I said victoriously. “It’s not just me.”
“We need to eat,” Deryn said and grabbed a piece of meat. He looked at it and then sighed. “I don’t want to eat this. Shit. What’s wrong with us?”
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