Fated: Alphas of the Compass

Chapter Four - Tea and Old Books

Good goddess, Lumina, how could you give me four mates?! I'm currently stuck in the Hall of Light, looking between the four men and my two friends, at an absolute loss for words. I'm keeping my distance from the four, choosing instead to sit between Erylis and Ellyana, picking familiarity over something new and admittedly terrifying.

"So let me get this straight," the one with the vibrant blue eyes and sea salt scent says, "You're my mate," he points to himself, then each of the other males. "And his mate, and his mate, and his mate." He snarls out the final one, pointing at the newest member of our mate-pentagon.

I nod, then look between them. "You two know each other, don't you?" I ask, seeing the familiarity in their eyes. Then I look to the other two. "Don't tell me that all of you know each other."

They four exchange looks, then the most recent addition nods. "We do. But you have no idea who we are, do you?"

I look at him incredulously, as do Erylis and Ellyana. "I have no idea, no. Am I supposed to?" I look to Erylis and Ellyana, who both shrug. If neither of them know, should I really be that concerned?

The first man, with the warm smile and scent, looks at me for a moment, then chuckles to himself, shaking his head a little. When he looks up at me, his warm amber eyes are filled with mischief. "I don't know about you three, but I think I like remaining anonymous for a moment. She'll find out soon enough. I'd like to enjoy the anonymity for as long as I can." He grins at me, and if he hadn't essentially just said that he's going to mess with me, I might think it was cute, with a little chip in his tooth and tousled brown hair. But he did, so I push those thoughts from my mind, at least for the time being.

"You mean to tell me that all four of you are my fated mates, and all four of you know my name, but I don't get to know yours? That doesn't seem fair, does it?" I ask, crossing my arms and shaking my head at them. They all look at each other for a moment, then one by one, they start to nod, grinning.

The cold, cocky one from the last night pipes up. "It's just a game, priestess. Trust me, it won't even last until this afternoon. Let us enjoy it, okay?" He gives me that wolfish prince charming smile, and I shiver a little. I see his grey eyes take in the movement, and I swear his smile get a little more predatory. I have to resist the urge to shiver again.

The most recent one stands and approaches me slowly, like approaching a skittish animal. I smile a little at that, and all four of them notice. The cold, cocky one scowls a bit, as does the one with blue eyes, but the other two seem bolstered. The one who approached looks to the others and says, "She's confused, and scared. All of us need to back off and stop making it worse." He growls out the last bit, looking directly at the predatory male. He rolls his eyes at the barb, but he doesn't argue.

"Can she at least have something to call you? I'm sure not having a name for each of you is driving Stella crazy," Ellyana mutters in her quiet way, but their shifter hearing makes it easy for them to hear it. Everyone chuckles, but she scowls. I don't think she meant for it to be funny. I grab her hand, and Erylis grabs my other one, both of them squeezing reassuringly. I take a deep breath.

"She's right. If I don't get to know your names, I need something, or I'm going to start calling you your scents." I mean for this to be an incentive to tell me, but it has the opposite effect.

The four males perk up at that, and each of them slowly gets a grin. The one closest to me, smelling like books and tea, is the first to ask, "What would you call us, then?"

I roll my eyes, but I point to each and tell them, starting with the one that asked. "You smell like comfort, like old books and tea. I guess I would call you Tea?" Then I gesture to the one with vibrant blue eyes. "You smell like adventure, like sea salt and rain. I think Rain fits?" Then comes the cold one. I shiver a bit as I say, "You smell like cedar and fresh fallen snow. Cold, but playful I suppose. Cedar isn't bad." I come to the first male I met, and I blush, remembering how warm he was that afternoon. "You smell like warmth. Wood smoke and cloves. If you don't mind, I'll call you Smoke for now."

They all nod, obviously not minding the nicknames. Smoke turns to me after a moment and asks, "Would you like us to do the same? I know we already know your name, but at least you'll know your scent, right?" The other males seem to like the idea, and it isn't half bad.

"I guess it's only fair, but you can still call me Stella. I am curious, though. What's my scent?" I look at him intently, excited to find out. He slowly steps forward, leaning down and nuzzling my neck, inhaling.

My breath catches, and I know he hears it, because there's a low growl he struggles to hold in. He clears his throat before saying, "Like toasted cinnamon. You smell spicy, and delicious." He winks, stepping away, and my blush deepens.

The cold one — Cedar — steps up and mimics what Smoke did, running his nose lightly up my throat. "Caramel coffee. Sweet, but you'll burn me if I go too fast." He nips at my throat before retreating back to his seat, and I let out a small whimper.

Next comes Rain, and he smiles slyly before putting a hand into my hair, tugging softly so he can sniff my exposed throat. I can feel his lips brush against it as he says, "You smell like the water lilies in my mother's garden at home. You said I smell like adventure, but you smell like home." I look into his eyes, and see nothing but absolute sincerity in his eyes. The other males groan, but I hear Erylis and Ellyana sigh beside me. He gives me a small smile before retreating to his seat.

The last finally steps up — Tea — and I give him a genuine smile. I have to admit I'm enjoying the attention, and being so close to each of them has been exhilarating. Tea runs a hand down my cheek before pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head, then to my forehead, then to my cheek, and finally to my neck, inhaling a bit after.

The sweetness of the gesture overwhelms me, and I almost don't hear him whisper, "You smell like books, and leather, and my favorite tea to sip when I read. You're like home, yes, but you're also my comfort, my favorite place to just sit and be. It's intoxicating." I feel the air behind every whisper on my neck, and my entire body feels like it's on fire. Is this what being wanted is supposed to feel like?

Tea steps back and, like he read my mind, nods. I look at him for a moment, but he only smiles softly at me and retreats back to his seat. That was beyond weird. I'll have to ask him about that later. I take a moment to process what all of them told me, closing my eyes. When I open them, everyone is staring at me. Thankfully, the bell tower at the top of the temple chimes ten times, signalling that the welcome ceremony for the alphas and betas will be starting in an hour. Erylis, Ellyana, and I look at each other in a panic and jump to our feet.

I look at my four mates and give them an apologetic smile before saying, "The welcome ceremony is in an hour, and we still have a few things to finish. Will I see you all there?"

The four of them look at each other, and with a mysterious smile, Smoke says, "Oh yeah, we'll definitely be there." I give them a quizzical glance before running off after Erylis and Ellyana. Why do I feel like I'm going to regret asking that question?

After an hour of hurried last minute preparations, Erylis, Ellyana, and I stand at the steps of the pack house, waiting for our guests. The sun has once again made an appearance, making a last ditch effort to keep the winter chill at bay. The king and prince stand nearby, waiting impatiently with their mates. They check their watches for the fifth time in the past ten minutes, and I have to suppress a sigh and an eye roll. If they're so impatient, why did they show up so early?

Ellyana gasps and pulls me out of my thoughts, looking towards the woods. I follow her gaze and see eight male figures, but I can't quite make them out yet. But as my tattoos begin to tingle, I know exactly who these men are. Mates.

I feel a buzz go through me when each of their gazes eventually meet mine. When I take in their attire, I realize I'm standing face-to-face with the Alphas of the Compass, and nearly gasp. I manage to hold it in, only giving them an incline of my head, as do the other priestesses. Cedar sneers a bit at them, but when he catches the fire in my gaze, it lessens. All four of them stop in front of the king and prince, kneeling. The males that I assume are their betas also kneel.

"Alphas, you may rise," Arden says, nodding at them. They obey, nodding to the queen and princess as well. And so begins the welcome ceremony, though I can't say I hear a single word of it. My attention is too focused on the four males in front of me as I finally put things together.

Tea is Alpha Emron Lawson of Dawnrise.

Rain is Alpha Luka Barmin of Duskfall.

Smoke is Alpha Elias Deriston of Nocturne.

Cedar is Alpha Ronyn Hartwell of Aurora.

I swear their eyes gleam with mischief when they see the realization hit my eyes. They were the visiting alphas all this time, and weren't about to tell me.

Good goddess, Lumina, what have you gotten me into?