A King to be Feared by Brea Alepoú

The new bondwith Gin had the bond overruled with heat. Alfrik’s lava bear was more than ready to bask in the power surge. They all were. Being Titos’s keeper felt more like being a part of a family. If he’d followed his house wishes, he’d have missed out on something so warm and inviting.

Titos was no doubt their master and the king of the territory, and yet he treated them as equals. He laughed and bickered with each of them and listened to what they had to say. That was unheard of.

Alfrik looked to Seth. He was the alpha—he’d know what to do next. Even if everything inside of him said to go to his master and offer himself.

Alfrik had thought his bonding moment had been intense, but to be on the outside while their master took in another keeper was something he wasn’t prepared for. Mazki whimpered, and the little vixen instantly drew everyone’s eyes to him. He was an attention whore, to say the least, but it’s what made him so easily loved.

Alfrik didn’t question his growing emotion for the rest of the keepers. It was impossible not to feel for them. It went beyond just surviving under Titos; they were quickly becoming something more to him. Especially Kail—he was the first one that Alfrik had realized he was drawn to.

“Mazki, are you turned on?” Titos said in a cool voice that rushed down Alfrik’s spine.

He hadn’t even been talking to him directly and the bear was still affected. Glowing green eyes pinned him in place. Sweat broke out over his brow. Being under the scrutiny of his master was both exhilarating as it was nerve-racking. Alfrik’s breathing picked up, but he noticed he wasn’t the only one.

Gin: What’s happening?

Alfrik cleared his throat, trying to swallow down the ball of nerves that stayed locked there. He couldn’t answer Gin, not with his brain short-circuiting. A slow, easy smile curved Titos’s lips, the very ones Alfrik knew were soft to the touch and looked absolutely amazing wrapped around a cock.

He absentmindedly rearranged himself, trying to relieve the pressure on his hardening member. Titos groaned, and his glowing green gaze followed Alfrik’s hand hungrily.

Titos opened his mouth, and Alfrik was ready for whatever order his master gave—they all were. Mazki moved closer to the couch, and Gin clutched Titos’s hips. But whatever was about to happen came to a screeching halt as Titos’s smile dropped instantly and a faraway look came over his face.

Alfrik’s head tilted to the side as he tried feeling through the bonds what was wrong. Curiosity thrummed through the open bonds with everyone.

“What is—”

“We are under attack,” Titos said. He was up and off Gin in a flash.

His eyes were still glowing and power still at all their fingertips. Growls filled the room, and Alfrik moved instantly.

Seth: Guard Titos at all times.

Alfrik nodded and moved closer to his master. They needed to get him somewhere safe, but Titos seemed to have other plans. He moved from their inner circle and was at the door before any of them realized what was happening. He yanked the door open and headed down, leaving all his keepers to scramble behind him.

Gin: What is he doing?

Alfrik grumbled. It felt as if his master planned on confronting their attackers.

Mazki: What about the barrier?

Gin: The outer one is just to warn Titos. It won’t keep anyone powerful enough to pass it out. And it’s made so the king knows if edoli enter his territory. The only one that can keep people out is the one around the main house.

Titos came to a screeching halt at the front door, Liby and Kyo both joining in.

“What’s happening?” Kyo asked.

“Your barriers are foolproof, right?” Seth asked.

Kyo didn’t hesitate. “Within reason. Let’s say if—”

The house shook as a resounding boom rocked through the place.

“Like that. If it’s attacked repeatedly, it can be broken,” Kyo said.

Titos glanced over to her, and she gasped at the sight of his glowing eyes. “How long do we have?”

Kyo shrugged. “Depends on how many are attacking.”

Titos: This is my home.

Seth: Then we defend it.

Alfrik nodded in agreeance.

Liby pulled out her sword, and Alfrik was already letting his lava bear come forward.

“Titos, can you feel how many?” Kyo asked.

Titos’s head tilted to the side, and he closed his eyes. A shiver worked its way down Alfrik’s spine as he felt Titos brush against the bond before he went further away from them. Alfrik reached for his master just in case, although he could clearly see Titos hadn’t moved an inch.

The others did the same.

Titos was back all too quickly. “It was a group that entered, but I can’t seem to feel them individually.”

Kyo tsked. “The barrier is still new, and you have only been connected to it for a short while.” She pulled out two magical pistols.

“Thought guns don’t work?” Kail asked.

Kyo grinned at him. “Oh, these babies are special.”

Titos opened the door to the house, and they rushed to the front. Another bomb went off, and everything trembled around them. Alfrik glanced up, and the barrier that was around the main house shimmered and showed itself for a short second before becoming invisible again.

“Damn, they are hitting us hard,” Kyo said.

Seth growled. “Everyone, shift. Adom, Gin, and Kail, stay close to Titos.”

Alfrik nodded and took in a breath, allowing his bear to come forward. He was bigger and hotter than ever. In fact, it felt as if he’d grown even more since Titos bonded with Gin. His body grew to be at least eight feet, and his skin sizzled, forming into lava rocks with magma flowing right under the surface.

Once Alfrik was fully shifted, he let out a roar, letting his enemies know that he’d destroy them.

Titos: Wow, you have all grown.

Alfrik caught sight of Seth in his manticore wolf form. The spikes on his body were large, and Alfrik knew any enemy pierced by one wouldn’t survive. If Alfrik was big, Seth was ginormous. The only reason Alfrik might have looked a tad bit bigger than Seth was that Alfrik stood on his hind legs.

There was a screech, and fluffy white feathers fluttered in Alfrik’s view. Adom in his owl-griffin form was a beauty to be held. He lowered himself, and Titos got onto the man’s back. If only Alfrik wasn’t molten lava; he’d love for his master to ride on his back. Kail was nowhere in sight, but there was a cloud of darkness that shimmied around Titos.

Alfrik realized it was Kail, and again he wondered what Kail was. He was neither a magic user nor a true shifter. Something glowed like the sun, and Alfrik’s gaze fell to their newest member. Gin was a mostly black cat with gold spots on his face and down his back. Antlers that held flowers that Alfrik had never seen before.

When all grouped together, they were a force to be reckoned with. Alfrik pitied the idiots who thought it was okay to attack them. Liby and Kyo were right there with them, their weapons drawn.

“They are toward the back,” Titos said.

Mazki took to the sky, his wings pure red flames, and sparks rained down as he flew. Alfrik watched him for a second before he was on all fours and racing around the house to the back. He made sure not to hit the trees with his hulking form. The last thing he needed to do was start a fire.

Seth breezed past him, the manticore wolf twice as fast as him. Alfrik broke the tree line right behind their alpha and came to a halt at the number of edoli outside the barrier.

Seth: They have come for war.

Enormous fireballs slammed against the barrier, followed by strikes of lightning that had the barrier once again flickering into sight.

“It won’t hold much longer,” Kyo said through clenched teeth.

Seth: Mazki, cut the numbers down. They want fire to show them they chose the wrong one to go up against.

Mazki flew outside the barrier, and he was attacked instantly. Alfrik took a step to go help, but Seth growled for him to stop. Alfrik froze and watched in horror as Mazki was hit with a bolt of lightning. The pain seared through the bond, and Adom screeched. Rage flourished through the bond, and Alfrik knew instantly it was Titos’s.

Mazki didn’t fall; instead, he flew higher, and there was a tug inside of Alfrik. He gave in to it. The barrier flickered, and Alfrik got ready to attack the moment it fell.

Mazki’s wings grew four times their normal size and brighter. He plummeted down to the group of edoli, and they tried to run. Some even stayed to hit Mazki with lightning, but it had no effect. The moment Mazki got close enough, they went up into flames.

Seth: Get ready.

The barrier popped like a bubble, and Seth howled. Alfrik didn’t think, even as the scent of burning flesh and hair assaulted his senses; he went on the attack. He clashed with an electric liger. Electricity danced along with the liger’s paws, and every time he swiped at Alfrik, there would be a shock to follow. Not much got to Alfrik when he was in his lava bear form, with his exterior being mostly rock, but the electric shock to his system had him seeing colors and his heart racing.

Alfrik shook him off and waited till the liger took another swipe at him. He let the claws connect with his body. He ignored the pain, growling as he pushed his entire body into the liger, making sure he didn’t have room to dodge. The lava that flowed just under the surface sprung free and dripped down onto the liger.

He mewled and scratched at Alfrik, but it only made more lava fall onto him. The scent of singed fur was all too familiar. Alfrik rolled off the other beast and watched with satisfaction as the liger rolled around on the grass, trying to get the lava off him. But unlike regular fire, lava burned hotter and couldn’t be put out that way.

Alfrik got back on his hind legs and picked the liger up. He was barely clinging to life. A roar tore through him, and he used his strength and tore the liger in half. Blood splattered on him but instantly was burned upon touching him. He dropped the dead edoli and went to attack the others who threatened to come onto their territory.

Alfrik turned in time to catch sight of another liger coming at him. It didn’t make it to him. One second it was ready to pounce on Alfrik, and the next, a bright light flashed and nearly blinded Alfrik before Gin appeared. He was slightly smaller than the liger but had no issues bringing it down. His teeth ripped into the liger’s back.

Gin jammed his antlers into the liger before being tossed to the side. Alfrik roared and charged at him.

Gin: No, don’t touch him.

Alfrik stopped and glared at their newest member as he shook himself off. Alfrik growled and was about to attack the liger anyways when he caught sight of vines wrapping around the liger, keeping him immobile. Not only that, but small buds started to appear, and the liger mewled. It turned into a scream as he shifted back into his human form.

Fear glittered in their eyes as he shouted for it to stop. As the buds grew, the more the man screamed and the weaker his thrashing got. When the flowers opened up, they were the same gold flowers that decorated Gin’s antlers. The screaming stopped, and Alfrik checked the man’s eyes. They were lifeless.

Alfrik: Impressive.

Gin pranced away from him with what looked like a smile on his feline face. Alfrik looked around, and they were winning by far. The enemy had made a grave mistake.

An arrow whizzed past him, nearly hitting Seth. Alfrik growled and turned to catch sight of someone hiding in one of the trees. He bellowed as he went in for an attack. He saw the glint of metal and tracked the aim of where the arrow was headed, and his heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach.

Alfrik: Arrow aimed at Master. Cover.

He just hoped one of them reacted fast enough because Alfrik wasn’t going to get to the shooter in time, but he sure as shit was going to rip him to shreds and make him into a fossil.