Chapter 20: Bloody Great
"I should have you whipped."
Damon flinched at his father’s words.
They were all standing in his study now.
His brothers stood to the side together while he was left at the center... the sinner who had come to answer for his sin.
"I am sorry." Damon’s voice was barely above a whisper.
"It is not me you should be apologizing to. I did not raise a son who would take what a woman is not offering."
Damon’s hands curled into fists at his sides. He kept his head bowed.
"How is the girl?" Alpha Kieran asked Ares.
"I believe she is going to be fine." he asked.
"Good. See that she is."
He returned his gaze to Damon, eyeing him up and down.
"If you ever..."
"You will not have to worry about it again." The words came from Ares.
His eyes were fixed on his younger brother as he spoke.
"If you touch her again without her consent..." he let the rest of his words hang in the air between them.
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting the palpable tension in the room.
Alpha Kieran frowned as the priestess stepped inside.
"I do not recall summoning you, Miranda. What are you doing here?"
"You did not, Alpha." She inclined her head respectfully. "But I heard the commotion."
"I have it under control."
Her knowing gaze drifted across the three princes.
"But you don’t, Alpha Kieran. I have always suspected this day would come."
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"When I heard about what the prince had done I knew the bond has begun. Ninety days was merely a grace period before the consequences became irreversible."
"I don’t understand." Ares frowned.
"The Moon Goddess granted all four of you ninety days to willingly accept what fate has already chosen but the bond has already begun forcing itself into your lives."
"Miranda, I am going to need you to be very clear about what you are talking about."
"Alpha Kieran." she stepped forward. "With each passing day, it is going to be difficult for your sons to stay away from Ayla. They will all begin to be affected in ways they cannot explain just like the prince was."
Ares’ mind reeled. He thought of his dream of Ayla and the impossible ache that had consumed him.
He had never dreamed of anyone like that. Thinking about it now made his cock twitch, standing here in his father’s study with his brothers beside him.
He pushed it down.
"Has anyone else been affected yet? Asides Prince Damon, of course." The priestess asked, her gaze sweeping the room.
Ares cleared his throat.
"I had a dream."
The room was impossibly quiet as he spoke.
"A dream?" Alpha Kieran echoed, staring at his eldest son.
"Yes."
"What kind of dream?"
"It is exactly what you are thinking, father." Ares muttered dryly.
Alpha Kieran’s smirked.
His eldest son looked as though he wanted the floor to swallow him whole.
"I take it that it was... rather vivid."
Ares rubbed the back of his neck.
"You could say that."
Damon snorted and Ares immediately shot him a glare, silencing him.
"What about you?" Ares turned to Cassian who had been silent. "We know I have had a dream about Ayla and Damon here almost raped her. What about? What has happened to you?"
Cassian’s heartbeat quickened.
His mind immediately went back to the time they had gone to pick up the moonleaf, the taste of her skin on his tongue and them kissing.
He remembered lying awake for hours afterward, unable to quiet either his thoughts or the restless energy coursing through him.
He had lain on his bed, still fully clothed, his cock straining against his trousers. He had closed his eyes and thought of her, her soft lips and he had touched himself. He had come harder than he ever had before.
No.
He wasn’t about to share that.
He met the Ares’ gaze evenly.
"Nothing has happened with me yet," he answered.
Ares stared at him in suspicion but nodded.
"This is going to keep happening," the priestess said, "until you all mate with Ayla."
"Fucking great," Damon scoffed, pushing off the bookshelf. "Just fucking great." He ran a hand through his hair, pacing now.
"This is ridiculous. We are supposed to be Alphas. We are supposed to be in control. How does it make any sense we have to be slaves to some bond we did not even choose."
"Enough." Ares snapped. We do not have time for petty complaints. The bond is real and it is happening and whether we like it or not, Ayla is ours."
He turned to the priestess.
"Is there a way to make it lesser? To lessen the effects for all of us?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I am afraid that is not possible. The bond grows whether you act on it or not. The only way to lessen the tension is to give in to it and that would trigger the final bonding."
Damon groaned again.
"There is one thing you should know."
All eyes turned toward her.
"You are not the only ones being affected."
Cassian’s eyebrow furrowed. "What does that mean?"
"Ayla is also going to experience her heat. Intense arousal. Whenever she is around the three of you. She will feel it as strongly as you do. Perhaps even more, given that she is an Omega. Her body will crave you and her mind will be consumed by thoughts of you. She will not be able to escape it any more than you can."
"Are you saying Ayla would..."
"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. The bond is a living thing and it feeds on proximity and touch and on longing and it will not be denied."
She looked at each of them in turn.
"You may have ninety days but everyday the pull will grow stronger until neither of you can stop thinking about the other without wanting to mate."