102: Ada's POV

Shortly after I’d completed the final marking, solidifying my bond with Phoenix, the four of us had bathed. The bathroom had been silent and full of tender moments. It was very clear that Darius felt a particular way about the decision I had made to ultimately exclude him, but we were all too exhausted to deal with it. Something about all three of my mate bonds being complete had drained every ounce of energy from my body. I was practically fluid as the three of them helped wash me down and carried me to my bed.

I had fallen asleep before my head had hit the pillow. Several hours later, I awoke to find that they had put me in pajamas and were all sleeping around me. Nik, in his usual gray sweats, was to my left. His chin was resting on my shoulder, and his arm was draped over my midsection as his body spooned me. Darius was to my right and was flat on his back. He was in boxers and a white tank top that was form-fitting. I had curled around him, resting my head on his chest. It wasn’t entirely clear where Phoenix had fallen asleep, but he had wound up on his side below me on the bed, with his head resting on the dip of my knee. His arms wrapped around my legs, effectively binding me in place. I could feel his bare shoulders and chest pressed against my calves.

Sunlight filtered into the room. Birds chirped in the distance. I could hear my three mates breathing, evenly and in time with each other. Nothing existed but peace and serenity in my body. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was in perfect harmony. I stretched slightly, my muscles tense. Phoenix and Darius remained perfectly still, but Nik adjusted himself. He pressed himself against me more tightly, placing a gentle kiss on the curve of my neck that he nestled into.

A knock on the door had all four of us up within a second. Darius and Phoenix, awoken the most suddenly, growled at the door as it slowly opened up. Nik chuckled at his brothers, and I sat up to look at who was entering. As I twisted my body to see, I cocked my head to the side. It was Cade. What the hell was the Beta doing in my room? My eyes flickered to Darius, Nik, and Phoenix. Right. I had all three Alpha Kings in my bed. Odds were I’d have to get used to these interruptions if I was going to spend my time with them.

Nik was the first to be fully alert. He tossed his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. “What is it, Cade?”

“There’s an army,” Cade’s eyes roamed over the entire group of us, lingering on me for a few seconds, “It’s about twenty miles out. They’re preparing for battle, Your Highness.”

“How the hell did they get here?” Phoenix was up now, moving toward Nik and the Beta quickly. He moved effortlessly, fluidly. Any evidence of the wounds inflicted during his kidnapping was gone. Clearly, completing the mate bond had done each of us a whole hell of a lot of good. “How many of them are there?” he rushed out before Cade could answer his first question.

“About five thousand,” the Beta’s eyes looked at me again, and he swallowed, standing a bit straighter, “Half are shifted and half are in human form. They weren’t there yesterday, and none of our border patrols through the night reported anything either.”

He didn’t want to be saying any of this in front of me. That much was obvious. Darius sat on the edge of the bed beside me, eyes narrowing at Cade. He rested his hand on my thigh and gave a gentle squeeze before standing up. “Any patrols go missing?” Cade shook his head, and Darius joined his brothers in forming a wall between me and Cade, “Well, we can’t let them attack us here. There are too many villages between them and us. Too many people would be in danger.”

“We have to go to them,” Nik stated flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. The way his back muscles flexed nearly made me drool, but I pushed past the reflex, given the severity of what they were talking about. “We’ll meet you in the War Room in thirty minutes. We should all be prepared to head out within the next few hours.”

Cade nodded at them, gave a small bow, and left the room. The door clicked shut behind him. Phoenix turned to me, a pitying smile on his face, “Well, Ada. Looks like you’ll have the run of the castle for a few days, at least.”

“Every event we had planned is delayed until further notice,” Darius spun on his heel to look at me, face grave, “All three of us will have to go for this.”

Nik heaved a sigh as he also turned to face me, “You’re going to see the pack doctor today while we prepare for this. We will try to see you this evening before we leave,” he explained quickly as Phoenix approached and placed a chaste kiss on my lips, “No guarantees though.”

I accepted Darius’s kiss as well. The two of them began to depart through the hidden passageway without another word, but Nik lingered. Nik stepped forward, dropping his arms to his sides. I looked up at him, “Things are moving so quickly. I feel like I can’t keep up,” I admitted softly.

He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine, “Such is life, unfortunately. Take some time to process everything while we are away,” Nik started toward the passageway, “Try and stay positive, dove.”

As his body disappeared within the passageway, unexpected tears pricked my eyes. I wrapped my arms around myself, looking around the empty room. What I had just said was true. It sometimes felt as if I was just being dragged along, with no time to process and no time to adjust to circumstances. I hated that my mates were about to go into battle, and that it felt like there was nothing I could do to be of assistance. I hated that it took only two minutes for the blanket of pleasantness to completely disappear. We couldn’t even revel in our new bonds. It was overwhelming to think that this could be the new norm.

Now, I had to go see the pack doctor again. Just the icing on the cake— me, alone in a room, with a prick that had always seemed exceptionally loyal to the late Alpha King Everett. Swell. And what the hell had happened to me always needing to be with one of my mates? Didn’t that still apply?

With a huff, I trudged into the bathroom to prepare for my visit to the doctor’s as my mind raced.