Four Bonds

by Kelsey Soliz

  I knew it wasn’t the time to giggle but, still. “You’re right, she’s pretty basic.”

  “So the quick healing, shifting when threatened, I’m sue you’ve noticed your eyesight and hearing has improved vastly too?”

  “Hmm. I guess it did, but I’ve been so distracted by all of you walking around shirtless the past few weeks that I haven’t had time to do any self-diagnosis.”

  “Your human body will also be stronger because your dragon lends you strength when needed.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Well, when the time comes, you should know that shifter pregnancies are a little bit different from human ones.”

  “Uh, what?”

  Declan began tracing circles around my belly as he explained. “They’re accelerated. Human pregnancies last 9 months, but shifters only carry for 6 months, which means that should you get pregnant your symptoms will be amplified and manifest quicker than they would if we were human. That also means that the baby will develop faster, so it is pretty obvious pretty quick when a pregnancy occurs.”

  I swallowed loudly, unsure if they were trying to insinuate something.

  “Good to know…I suppose I should probably tell you all that I’m not on birth control?”

  All four hands on me stilled instantly and I turned a hideous shade of magenta as all four of them snapped their heads up to meet my eyes. They all began talking at once, no doubt recanting all the unprotected sex they’d just had with me.

  “I’m sorry if you’re upset, I spoke to the doctor about it before the weddings but it just felt selfish to hold out. I know how much the kingdom is counting on me, and I know I definitely want kids with you guys, so once you offered me the choice of waiting I felt safe enough to deny it.

  We never really had the talk, and I’m sorry if any of you feel blindsided by that news or if you aren’t ready, we could look into obtaining something once we’re home though if it makes you all more comfortable?”

  I looked up to meet all their eyes and they all were now sporting cute boyish grins.

  “Isla, you’re fucking incredible. You really feel like you’re ready to carry one of our kids?”

  I nodded, hoping I hadn’t screwed everything up. Atticus scooped me up and wrapped me in a hug, kissing me mercilessly all over my face.

  “Ugh! Ok you guys aren’t mad?” I gently pushed Atticus away from my face and his hand went to protectively cover my stomach.

  “Not even a little. I’m pretty fucking excited actually.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m pregnant, you realize.”

  The other guys were sitting up attentively now, love shining in their eyes. “We know that. It also doesn’t mean you aren’t though.”

  “Wouldn’t it be way too soon though for that? We’ve only been together for three weeks.”

  “Not if the timing worked out. Accelerated pregnancy, remember?”

  “Okay, so should we think about getting some pregnancy tests just in case?”

  “We don’t need those, we’re dragons.”

  “What does one have to do with the other?”

  “Once you’re pregnant you'll know.”

  “What does that even mean? You all are being so weird.”

  Lander came forward to stroke my hair. “Having dragons inside means we’re way more in touch with our bodies than humans. Our dragon knows when something is wrong or when there’s a change to our body. If you were to become pregnant soon, you’d likely know pretty quickly. Do you know when your last period was?”

  I blushed, unused to speaking of such things, especially to men with whom I was sexually active. “Not really, sometime before the wedding. I never really tracked them because there was no need to when I wasn’t doing anything that would warrant the need to.”

  “Okay, so it’s been three weeks since the weddings, so you’d probably know in the next week or so if you were pregnant or not. We’ll just have to wait and see. If you’re not, then that just means we get more time to try and knock you up.” Lander winked at me before standing and kissing me, going back to the bed to fall over and stare at the ceiling.

  I wanted more information about all this, but maybe it would be better to talk to their mom about it once we got back. As if on cue, the staff came on over the speakers to tell us we were nearing Nogalia and that we needed to buckle up for the landing.

  “I swear it took twice as long to get there as it did to return.” I was a little grumpy that my honeymoon was officially over, but anxious to make sure everything was as it should be within the kingdom. My people were counting on us and we couldn’t let them down.

  The car from the airport took us directly to the palace, and we were told our things would be brought home for us. We stepped into the palace and it was a little eerie how quiet it was. It felt strange to be here without his parents around.

  We all walked in without really knowing what to do, the guys scattered a bit but I felt the need to stand still for a minute. I stood in the middle of the foyer, right where his parents had greeted me last time I was here for the bonding ceremony. I let the memories of how happy my fathers-in-law were when the ceremony was a success flood through me, closing my eyes and feeling my happiness dance through to my fingers and toes.

  I check in with my dragon, getting a read on how she’s doing. Since the branding happened she’s been pretty quiet and content, waiting patiently for me to call on her again so she can show off. I smile at her antics, loving how startlingly different my life has become since I moved here. My dragon right now is alert, ears perked and bobbing her head at something. I take a deep inhale, getting information on my surroundings so I can try to think of a game plan.

  I can hear my mates in the distance, feet running up and down halls and doors opening and closing, but I shut out all the extraneous noise and focus on the here and now. What does my dragon sense that my human self can’t? She’s itching a little, her tail twitching as if she’s irritated by something. I open my eyes slightly to check my sight line and then re-close them as I walk down towards one of the hallways, hoping to tempt my dragon into action.

  At my movement, she shakes her head so I back up and try a different direction. When I get to the hallway opposite, she nudges me along but now I have to frown because I don’t remember anything being down this hallway. I open my eyes, staying connected to my dragon as I wander around. I try a few doors, finding an empty conference room, a sitting room, and a broom closet. There is priceless artwork on the wall depicting past rulers and I’m struck again by how deep the history of this country runs.

  I reach the end of the hallway with nothing to show for it but my dragon finally stills, sniffing insistently. I stand there staring at what I think is a blank wall as I hear footsteps approaching me.

  “You okay, Isla? There a reason you’re staring at that door?”

  I snap my eyes over to where Atticus is standing, realization dawning on me. “Door…shit. Is this where we went through to get to the caves?”

  “Yeah. You can’t really see it but it’s there. You hear something?”

  “No, my dragon senses something though. She kept sniffing around and was pacing and twitching, begging me to move until I got here, now she’s still as can be.”

  Atticus calls the other guys over and soon we’re all standing there together, staring at a seemingly blank wall.

  “What are we doing?”

  “Isla says her dragon wants her near this door. She compelled her over here.”

  “You have any idea why Isles?”

  I crouch down, running my hand along the baseboards and the nearly invisible seam, then let my hand walk up to where the door should open. I leave my hand there for a minute then bring it to my hand to see if there are any lingering scents that might help us and I know immediately why I’m here.

  “Smell where my hand just was guys.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  I elbow Lander in the ribs and roll my eyes, but he does
as I ask and all of their brows furrow in confusion as I say the name we instictively know is responsible for everything. “Adyson.”

  ✽✽✽

  After being stuck in that horrendous hunting cabin and dragged around by the evil witch, I know Adyson’s scent is something that will always set me on edge. I’m not the same scared little human I was last time she got to me, but the memories of what she nearly took from me still haunt me and I’m determined she won’t cause me to create more.

  “You’re right. But how would she know this is here?”

  “The rock.”

  “huh?”

  “Jasper…he had a rock. It was just like the ones you all gave me, but it must have been mined in a hurry because it was rough hewn and much larger. I wonder if they traced the origins of the bonding rocks to here and found a way to get in.”

  “That shouldn’t be possible. Our family are the only ones that know these caves are here.”

  “Well not anymore. When were you guys working on those nests? You said you started when I first moved here, right?”

  Declans face pales and he nods, understanding what I’m implying.

  “Adyson was plotting back then too. She drugged you with the silium about a day after we started going down here. She blended into the staff pretty well, she must have snuck in and discovered it. If she’s desecrated those caves…”

  Grateful she couldn’t ruin our bonding ceremony, but now scared for another reason, Declan reaches for the hidden catch and the door swings silently open. The mustiness from the caves wafts towards us and he walks forward to light the torch that should be there.

  “Well the torch is gone, so it stands to reason somebody took it.”

  “You sure your fathers replaced it after our ceremony?”

  “Yes, I saw one of them walking back up here with one once we separated for the first task. Fuck!”

  I stroked his arm, looking behind me to weigh the emotions on my other husbands’ faces.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  Maalik steps towards me, peering into the darkness. “We need to get down there asap, but I think we better notify somebody where we are just in case. We’ll also need another torch so we can see where we’re going.”

  “We’re on it.” Atticus and Lander take off down the hall and promptly returned with a few security guys.

  “This is Julian and Alex. Isla, you want to tell them what’s up?” I fill them in on what led us to this location and they look as confused as we feel.

  “Okay boss, you going in?”

  Declan nods and tells them we’ll need some torches since the other one is missing. They call in for backup and soon we have a whole sentry to not only watch our backs but to guard the door to the caves as we are handed a few new torches. We walk cautiously down the steep spiral staircase, silent as can be so we don’t alert anyone to our presence.

  When we get to the bottom I open up a silent link so we can communicate without being heard.

  I can smell your parents down here, and it’s too fresh for it to be from when we were down here last with them.

  Agreed. They’re here, the question is where? This place is huge and there’s so many hidden areas. I wonder what she hoped to gain by bringing them down here?

  Well it’s obviously an unknown location, so she got away somehow with hiding them here at least. In regards to her other plans, I guess we’ll just have to snuff her out to discover them.

  Okay, let’s stay together guys, we’re strong but we don’t want to give her any advantages.

  We all nod our heads, huddling in close together before we start following the trail. It leads us down the side halls that their fathers must have taken when we were in the mud pits, through some smaller caverns and past a few doors that are closed. The trail starts to fade off so we make an about face and re-trace our steps.

  My dragon is fully alert now, ready for the second I call her forward to protect what is ours. Somebody accidently kicks a rock and it echoes across the caverns loudly, so we all freeze and hold our breaths as we wait for the fallout. When nothing happens I get a little more suspicious and then I notice another strange smell in the air, something sour and metallic. Something like blood.

  I don’t think or wait a second longer, I meld further into my dragon without shifting, allowing her heightened sense of smell and sight to infiltrate my mind so I can get to my family. I remember the way Gran laid outside, staring blankly up after Adyson killed her and I am enraged all over again at her audacity.

  The guys are right on my heels and I appreciate them letting me lead without questioning whether it’s safe to do so. They must sense how desperate I am to end this. We get to a door that is covered in cobwebs, but I can hear the faint heartbeats seeping through it so I start trying to pry it open but everything I do is completely useless. We didn’t take any tools down here, and even though I know how physically strong my men are I know we don’t have a moment to lose.

  I communicate with my dragon, asking her to lend me her fire. She lent me her wings last time we were down here, so I don’t even pause to wonder if it’s possible. I look back at the guys, indicating with my arms they need to back up and even though they look a little confused they comply without question.

  The guards seem a little less sure and try to question me but I shut them up pretty quick when I focus my fire on the hinges, instantly melting them and then the lock without any further damage and without much more change than an enlarged neck and mouth to emit and produce the flames.

  The moment I step back the guys rush forward to remove the door and we see their parents heaped in the dusty closet like they were beanbag chairs. None of them are conscious but I can still hear their hearts beating so I know they’re at least alive. We waste no time in gently pulling them out, following the guards out as they carry them through the halls up to where we entered. We continue through the palace, landing in what must be the wing their bedroom is on. Declan opens the door and his parents are carried in, then laid carefully on the bed.

  “I’ll get a doctor here as fast as I can.” The head guard runs out of the room, pulling a phone out of his pocket. More guards rush in but these ones are unfamiliar to me and make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  “How’d you find them down there?”

  I look at the guard speaking, wondering how old he is. I’m only 21 but I know he’s not quite that age yet.

  “Down where?”

  He blushes, and the sweat on his forehead starts giving him away.

  He shouldn’t have known where they were unless he was in on the plan. Block the door before anyone tries to escape.

  The guys all acknowledge my statement and move towards the door just as the other head guard comes back. The young one tries to quietly back out of the room but my dragon forbids it. We jet over to him, tackling him to the floor and use my dragon’s weight to keep him down.

  Maalik tells the guard they seem to trust that he needs to be arrested immediately and sent for questioning.

  “My nephew? Why? What did he do?”

  I rub my forehead in irritation. “He sold the kings and queen out. He knew where we found them so it goes to reason he was in on the plan to get them there.”

  The guard looks shocked but the guy I’m sitting on isn’t capable of moving forward an inch.

  “Where’s Adyson?”

  “Who?”

  I use my dragon fire again to singe the top of his hair, warning him that his games won’t be tolerated.

  “Fuck! I don’t know! Okay?”

  I scorch him again, this time close enough to his ear that the tip of it smokes a little bit.

  “You can do better than that. What’s his name?” I ask the guard behind us.

  “Ronnie.”

  “Okay, Ronnie. Adyson killed my grandmother, nearly killed my sister, nearly deprived me of my mates. I’m a fucking dragon, and I know you aren’t. You really want to go this route?”

  “She said
you wouldn’t have your powers yet. You can’t really do anything.”

  “Even if that were true, I’ve got four men behind me that definitely do have their powers. Funny thing about being a dragon, we have some extra senses that humans don’t. I’ve got a built-in lie detector. Right now, I’m sitting on top of you as an itty bitty human, borrowing some heft and fire from my dragon. If you’d like to test the theory that I haven’t come into my powers yet, I’d be happy to take you someplace bigger so I can demonstrate more fully.”

  I gave Ronnie a minute to make his final decision and he didn’t disappoint.

  “She’s hiding out in her mother’s old house.”

  “What did she do my in-laws?”

  “I didn’t know they were going to get hurt, okay?! She said she was only going after you and that she’d reward me for getting her out. Fast track my career, help me find my mate.”

  “So it’s okay for the crowned princess to be abducted but not the kings and queen? You wanted your career fast-tracked buddy? Okay, I think we can help you out. Boys?”

  The head guard Julian looked pissed that his nephew had gotten involved, but I still couldn’t believe that he acted alone. To get all three bodies down to the caverns there was some heavy lifting involved. Declan knew this as well and luckily took charge of the situation

  “The Princess is right. Julian, full lock-down procedures on this palace. No one out, only the doctor allowed in. What’s the status on him?”

  Julian replied quietly, clearly ashamed of the treasonous act in front of us. “Should be here within the quarter hour your majesty.”

  Declan huffed at this and took control of Ronnie as I went to go check on his parents. Their heartbeats were still quiet but steady, and I looked gently around for the source of the metallic scent I had sensed earlier. Whatever had been bleeding was now closed up, I couldn’t find any fresh blood. There were only lingering stains, so at least there was that. I felt their pulses, watched for their even breaths, satisfied that they at least seemed stable.

  I spun back around to Ronnie. “What. Did. She. Do. To. Them.”