Four Bonds

by Kelsey Soliz

  “I’ve never heard of something like that happening before. The magic waking up in you must be strong after decades of being dormant. I am so grateful to you for being here and agreeing to all of this. Please know you have mine and my wife’s full support, as well as King Elias’. We will do anything in our power to make sure you are happy in Nogalia.”

  Happy tears again. Would this ever stop? People were going to think I was an emotional wreck. Okay, I kind of was.

  “Thank you, that really means a lot to me. I’ve never had anyone other than Gran and Josephine, having this huge family all of a sudden is overwhelming but in the best way. I think I will be very happy here, just because of the people here that exist within the borders. Everything else is just an added bonus.”

  “If those boys get to be too much or you need a break, please think nothing of coming by for a visit. The three of us would love every opportunity to get to know you better.”

  “Thank you, your majesty. I will keep that in mind.”

  “Isla, please. You’re family. Andre will do just fine. Maalik looks like he’s getting ready to steal you back, could I infringe upon your goodwill a moment longer and convince you to spare a dance for my brother?”

  King Elias stepped in at that moment, as Andre laughed at the tantrum Maalik was throwing as he realized he’d have to wait longer for another dance with me.

  “Don’t mind him, he’ll get over it.” King Elias chuckled too as we started spinning around the dancefloor, much to the delight of the crowd gathered around it. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Maalik started dancing with his mother, Queen Alina.

  I giggled at his remark, trying to keep up with his footwork.

  “You are most welcome into our family, Isla. I know you still have one more of our sons to officially unite with, and I applaud you for the stamina it must take to sustain such energy for four of these parties. Lander is probably going out of his mind having to wait until last for his turn to name you his.”

  I glanced over at Lander, who stood with his brothers laughing at something. I caught his eye and he tilted his head at me, seemingly enjoying me spending time with his father.

  “Thank you, your majesty. I must admit I’m exhausted but giving each of your sons their own day feels too important to do it a different way. It may be a marriage between me and the four of them, but I love that I get a day to validate each one of our unique relationships and declare our intentions in front of everyone willing to listen.”

  King Elias considered this for a moment, smirking at me.

  “Yes, you’ll do just fine for them. No need for formal titles, my dear child. I can see you’ve already made our sons very happy. I think having you around is going to keep everybody on their toes. You bring a lightness and unity to this family we’ve been missing. Once my brother and I guide the five of you through your soul bonding, you will be thrilled to know you get a few weeks off with zero responsibilities to simply relax.

  You’re going to need it after everything that’s gone down recently. I cannot tell you how deeply remorseful we are that you were attacked in our kingdom. You deserve the highest honors for what you’ve agreed to do by being here and I hope that your initial impressions of our quaint kingdom will be vastly improved upon.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate that. Life before here was quiet but it was dull. I’m living the kind of adventure I thought I’d only get to read about. I could do without all the evil against my person but if I have to endure some hardships in order to find my happiness and be with your sons then there is no doubt in my mind that it’s worth it. That they’re worth it.”

  “Indeed I cannot say anything to improve upon those words. If we’ve raised our sons right, and I believe we have, they will strive to be husbands you so earnestly deserve to have. Enjoy your evening, Isla.”

  King Elias kissed me on the cheek as Maalik yanked me away, glowering at his father before wrapping his arms around me again and continuing with the full body contact dancing he had been doling out earlier.

  “I hope they didn’t say anything embarrassing?”

  “They’re wonderful, Maalik. Your whole family is. I was telling King Andre that having such large family all of a sudden is a huge blessing. I’ve always been alone and having so many people to support me now is more than I could have ever asked for.”

  “Why are you so incredible?” Maalik started kissing my neck, not loosening his grip on my body in the slightest.

  “I’m just being honest. Fate knew what she was doing when she united not only me and your brothers, but me and your family. I’ll cherish this new situation more than you can imagine.”

  Maalik seemed content to just hold me through a few more songs but I couldn’t stop looking at Lander as he watched us swaying together. He was just leaning against a post and following us with his eyes, one hand in his pocket and the picture of ease. His hair was tied back in a low ponytail and he was so tall and broad that he stood apart from everyone else in the room.

  “Maalik, we can leave soon but would it be okay if I danced with Lander for a bit? I think he needs me.”

  Maalik looked over to where Lander was standing, reluctantly leading us towards him.

  “Of course, Isla. I’m sorry I’m hogging you so much, it’s hard for me to not be holding on to you now that I’ve got you.”

  “And I’m loving it. We have all night alone together. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him enough to give him something to think about while we were with other people. Lander didn’t waste a moment, and the second Maalik took his hand off my hip he was sweeping me across the ballroom, heading towards the balcony. When we stepped out onto it, the people that were out there bowed and offered a quiet ‘congratulations’ before discreetly leaving us alone.

  Lander led us away from plain view of the doors, toward the fountain that was just beyond. As we sat down on a secluded bench nearby, Lander pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me.

  “Thank you Isla. I didn’t want to be rude and steal you on Maalik’s night but I’m going crazy seeing you get claimed by my brothers and having to wait so long to do the same.”

  “I’m going crazy being away from you. You ready for tomorrow?”

  He squeezed me tighter, burying his face in my hair.

  “Damn Isla. I don’t know how I’m going to wait that long. The only thing really keeping me sane is knowing that after days of torture, I’ll get you completely to myself for the whole night.”

  “You have more self-control than some of your brothers then.” I said with a giggle.

  “What?! Which bastard broke the rules??”

  “Would you believe me if I said that Maalik really missed his twin brother and had to tell him good morning in person today?”

  “Asshole. Now I’m thinking of just barging in there tomorrow morning and stealing you from him.”

  "Aww, don’t do that. I think he needed me.”

  “Don’t play into that Isles, we all need you.”

  I exhaled heavily, peeling back from him to lock eyes.

  “I know, and I need you too. He was a little broken though, I think the past few weeks is kind of catching up to him. I hate that we have to wait so long for it to be us but think how much sweeter our time together will be.”

  “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m not jealous or anything. Seeing you up there with my brothers the past few days has made me love you even more. You can’t get away from us even if you wanted to, you’re already married to three of us now. You have no idea how happy this all is making me.”

  I would never get over the shade of his eyes, such a tropical shade of blue that I felt the calmness of the ocean pulling me in.

  “Why would I want to leave? You’re all literally making my dreams come true. You guys didn’t do like a stag night or anything. Is that not a tradition here? Or did you all just miss out on yours because of all the crazy events that went on?�
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  “Stag nights are for men that are sad to see their single days go, Isla. I know I can speak for my brothers when I tell you that none of us want those days back. You look fucking incredible, by the way. Have I said that tonight? Every night you’ve looked fucking incredible, and I can’t believe you thought to find gowns that would match our dragons. You see us, Isla. No one else would ever think about something like that. I really want to just rip this dress off you, but I guess I’ll have to leave that to Maalik. I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing when it’s just for me.”

  Lander kissed me then, trying his best to use his hands to convey the restraint he was practicing, pulling me into his body and pushing his very stiff bulge into me. When we got back to our everyday life, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get anything useful done when I was constantly being ravished.

  “Shit. You’re too good at this, Lander. I love you. Please don’t forget that. One more day and this separation is in the past, I’ll be all yours and you can do whatever you want with me.”

  Lander’s eyes took on a steely glint as his voice dropped.

  “Is that a promise?”

  I understood the meaning behind his words, swallowing loudly at the implied meaning. Was I ready for anything? Hardly, but I knew I trusted Lander.

  “Ok, I’ve only had sex like 2, no 3 times now. You’re going to have to ease me into whatever kinks you have.”

  “Only 3 times? My brothers haven’t been utilizing their husbandly obligations then.”

  I blushed, burying my face into his incredibly fresh male scent at this throat.

  “Oh my God. Lander. This is so awkward.”

  He just laughed at me, rubbing my back and nipping at my shoulder.

  “It’s only awkward if someone’s left out.”

  “Lander! Are you trying to tell me you expect me to be with all four of you simultaneously?? A girl can literally only handle so much! You’re going to break me! Soft human here!”

  Now he was laughing so hard that he had to take me off his lap as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. I heard the footsteps approach before the rest of his brothers manifested themselves, finding themselves in a circle around us.

  “What did you do to our brother Mrs. Damani?”

  “Oh, yes, let’s please blame the girl. I think I should be asking you all what you intend to do to me!”

  “Oh God that was good. Not her fault. She’s just too easy to rile up! But seriously, Isles. You’ve got 3, almost 4 husbands. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect that if you’re getting it on with any one of us that the rest of us won’t want to join in. You’re sexy as hell and your body is this luscious little thing demanding us to take control of it. We respect the hell out of you, but I am not going to lie and tell you we don’t all want to bang you until you can’t walk straight. Boys? Can I get some backup here?”

  “He’s right, Isla. We’ll work our way up to what you’re comfortable with, but we’re all obsessed with you. Now that you’re ours we intend to use our new claim to the utmost of our ability.”

  I hung my head in my hands trying to hide my blush and embarrassment. I couldn’t deny that their words turned me on like crazy, but did we have to talk about it in the open like this?

  “I’m going to have to get used to all of us being up in each other’s business, aren’t I?” I asked with a groan. The guys all laughed at my embarrassment but Lander just pulled me back onto his lap. He then leaned forward to kiss my neck as his hands ran the length of my thighs, encouraging them to widen as he pulled my back against his chest.

  “And this is why we’re okay with it. We can all hear little sighs you’re making right now, and you’re fully clothed.” Maalik came closer to us, sitting back on his heels in front of me, in between Lander’s legs that he had draped mine over. His voice took on a gravelly tone as he lowered it.

  “We’ve waited too long for you to come into our lives to do any of this by half. We’ve been alone for so long Isla, and you’re here now, bringing us closer than we’ve ever been before and all any of us want to do is to make you happy. We want to see how crazy we can make you as we tie you to us. Sometime maybe literally.”

  I groaned again at the imagery. Lander was past the point of getting excited, and feeling his body stirring under mine while he slowly worked me into a frenzy and his brothers just sat watching was a bigger turn on than I thought it’d be. I leaned my head back onto Lander’s shoulder as he continued to whisper sensations across the all the sensitive areas on my neck, his hands gripping my legs and throwing friction on them that made the moist area in-between my legs start to throb with need. I shifted in his lap, trying to find a way to ease the growing need.

  “Now I can promise you that all of us working together will be a very good thing for you Isla. If you’ll trust us to take care of you, we can do things to you that you’ve only read about in books or fantasized about in dreams. We love you. All of us. More than you can imagine. And as strong as our need to protect the last female shifter is, our desire to light your entire body up with passion and pleasure is just as strong. They go hand in hand.”

  I could feel the lust hazing my eyes as I tried to maintain eye contact with Maalik, but Lander had done too good of a job priming me and I was ready to get beyond the reach of the public’s eye.

  “Unless you want your new wife to share all her secrets with your kingdom Maalik, I think this party is ready for us to leave it.”

  Maalik leaned forward and claimed my mouth, his hands bracing against the sides of my neck as he pulled me into him. Lander started standing at the same time Maalik did and then Maalik’s hands slipped down to my hips to hoist me onto his strong frame. My dress slid up as my legs parted and secured themselves around Maalik, my chest heaving into him and my breathing labored.

  Maalik started walking further away from the party, finally breaking our kiss so he could walk without bumping into anything. Declan, Atticus and Lander stood shoulder to shoulder as we walked off, each of them boring holes into me with the intensity and heat in their gaze. I held each of their eyes in turn as Maalik lead us down a walking path, ending with the promise in Lander’s eyes for what tomorrow would bring.

  Before I knew it, the cabin was once again before me, but instead of going inside Maalik just walked around to the back of it. He slowly set me down, tilting my head up to look at him.

  “That night that you walked with me out to the garden, where you explained everything to me, I fell in love with you. I can’t get that image out of my head of how beautiful you looked in the moonlight, the stars above us in solemnity. I’ve always felt like a fuck-up. But being with you, feeling how you see me and the intensity of your affection, has changed my perception of myself.”

  “What do you mean?” He reached into my hair and began pulling out pins as he explained.

  “You’re too good to love someone bad. Too pure of soul to be able to love someone that wasn’t worthy. Makes me feel like maybe I am, or at least could be. I don’t think I’ve done anything spectacular in my life to feel like I could possibly deserve you but knowing the confidence you have in me drives me to do better. I’m starting to see what my destiny might look like and you’re front and center. You agreed to have me as your husband in front of my kingdom and I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve done in my entire life.”

  I couldn’t even think of words adequate to tell him how full my heart was at that moment so I just leaned into him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and buried my face into his chest while I breathed in his scent. Maalik smelled like fresh pine and strength, if strength had a smell.

  “That’s how I always imagine you when I think about you. Relaxed and lying under the stars. We only get this one chance to make memories for our wedding day and I couldn’t see tonight playing out any differently. Before you say anything, you should know that all staff is gone for the night, and guards are patrolling far enough away that you don’t need to worry about them. Th
is is our night together, and I just had to see you under the stars again, feel your skin in the night air, kiss you all over without the suffocation of walls and furniture. Maybe it’s the dragon in me yearning for the wild abandon that only the forest can offer but if you’re comfortable with it, I’ve tried to think of anything I could to make it damn near perfect out here for you.”

  He slowly spun me around and my jaw dropped. There was a large clearing behind where the house stood and there was a large thick blanket spread right in the middle of it. Fluffy cushions adorned the padded blanket and lanterns glowed in random intervals around it, lighting the space up with a warm glow that didn’t detract from the brilliant stars above us. There was a low table next to it that was once again covered in snacks and sweets, and a bucket of ice holding more champagne.

  The whole place fit in with the theme the entire kingdom exhibited, like it was something out of a storybook.

  “This is perfect, Maalik. Thank you for thinking of this, I’ve never had anyone go to such lengths for me before. And the pride goes both ways. I don’t know why I’m the person destined for you all, it still seems like the universe has a few screws loose to me because I have always thought myself to be so plain and disconnected. Claiming you as my own, having you tell the entire kingdom that I’m yours and that you’ll promise your life to me broke another piece of my soul off and seared it to you.

  Having you as my husband is beyond words. And this? There’s no one else I’d rather share this with. This is exactly our style. In fact, I think we might need something like this set up back at the house when we return, but somehow made to be a permanent structure.”

  “Whatever you wish, your highness.”

  I rolled my eyes at the formal title, choosing to give him crap for it another time. I simply walked forward, shaking out my hair after the pins had been released and slipping my shoes off as I walked onto the blanket that had been laid out.