The Four Horsemen

Zayla

As I stood behind the door, I watched with amusement as one of the men, who I’m assuming is Soren’s brother, swings at him.

He’s a tad shorter than Soren but he’s bigger. His tattooed arm is thicker than my head. He reminds me of a biker.

I study him for a moment taking in the slight differences between him and Soren. His hair is lighter, a mixture between blond and fawn.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re all fucking hot. Good lord, their genes are flawless.

Soren continues to dodge his swings before the tallest one yells at the man Soren calls Dev to stop.

The tallest one reminds me of a skateboarder. His body is skinny but still muscular.

His hair is black as night and his skin holds a more olive tone, but he’s beautiful. He has a look to him that I just can’t place.

I stand quietly. More in my head than in the room, but my eyes are still taking in the scene. I’m mesmerized by the four men as my eyes drift over to the last one.

His body is around the same size as Soren’s, maybe just a bit bulkier. His hair is a deep brown. He’s what I imagine would come out if you mixed the other three together.

My eyes drift to his mouth as he speaks: “Zayla is on the list! Your reapers are in mourning. Why do you think we’re here, Soren? We’re here for you!”

The pain and hurt in his deep voice have me abandoning my staring.

“What list am I on?”

I try to keep the confusion from my tone, but it’s a lost cause.

The three of them whirl around to face me. Confusion and excitement wash over their faces before a final look takes over.

Pride.

Soren pushes his hand out to me, making quick work to reach him. I barely touch him before the one I know as Dev scoops me into a deep hug.

Kissing the top of my head, he squeezes the freaking life out of me!

“I’m so happy you’re alive!” is whispered into my ear.

“Hey, don’t hog my new baby sister!” is whined out, and I’m ripped from Dev’s arms and into the brown-haired one’s.

He hugs me just as tightly as Dev, resting his head on my own like we’ve been apart for years.

He stays like this for several minutes before he kisses my head and passes me off to the tallest one.

His hug is so soft on me, like he’s scared I’m going to break, but at this point I’m fucking invested in these hugs so I squeeze him like the others squeezed me.

He’s more awkward as he pats my back. His hug is far quicker than theirs, but he keeps up with tradition and kisses my head before giving me back to Soren.

Soren’s arms wrap around me, holding my back to his chest as he kisses below my ear. “My beautiful little Lux, right where she belongs.”

His sweet, whispered words have my face blushing. The other three are watching me with so much admiration that I almost am too embarrassed to even hear what they’re saying.

That is, well…until Dev says the one thing I was hoping he wouldn’t.

“How is she here? And fuck—what is that smell!” The three of them sniff then. Their faces start to contort in discomfort as the smell of sex and arousal fills their nostrils.

How they managed to ignore it for so long is beyond me, but they surely fucking smell it now.

Soren cracks up laughing behind me. He’s finding so much enjoyment out of their discomfort, whereas I’m red-faced as all hell.

Every part of me is flushed.

The boys take notice quickly and chuckle along with Soren, whose grip on me has loosened slightly.

“Oh, how rude of me!!!” Devlin slaps his hand against his forehead dramatically. “Where are my manners!”

Grabbing my hand just as dramatically, Dev grabs my hand, kissing it slightly.

“I’m War, but you can call me Devlin.”

Of all of the things I assumed he would say, that was not fucking one of them.

“War?” My voice comes out as a squeak, causing Soren’s body to tense behind me. Devlin just nods enthusiastically.

Pointing his thumb behind him at the brown-haired brother, he says: “And this is Famine, but you can call him Craven.”

“Famine,” comes out in a whisper, my body trying to register what the fuck is happening. Craven smiles wildly at me, nodding his head before winking at me.

I can’t stop the smile that takes over my face at their enthusiasm.

“And this tall bastard is Pestilence, but he prefers Zennen.”

Zennen rolls his eyes at Devlin before locking them on me. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Zayla.”

His voice is so smooth, like a fine whiskey. Mine, not so much.

“Yeah, you guys too,” comes out forced and all mouse-like.

Clearing my throat, I make sure I’m not absolutely fucking tripping. Pointing at Devlin, I repeat what he’s said.

“Your name’s Devlin, but you’re War?”

Devlin nods.

Moving my hand to the next one, I say, “Your name is Craven, but you’re Famine?”

Craven clears his throat, slightly uncomfortable. “That’s correct.”

Then I point at Zennen, and he looks even more uncomfortable than I feel. Clearly he’s not someone who likes attention.

“Your name is Zennen, but you’re Pestilence, one of the Four Horsemen?” Zennen follows Devlin’s lead and just nods slightly.

Turning around in Soren’s stiff arms, I take in his beautiful yet stressed features.

Bringing my hand up, I grab his face. His beautiful gray eyes are momentarily hidden from the world by his long eyelashes.

“You’re Soren, also known as…” My voice comes out unsure. My sentence almost halting, but with a deep breath, Soren’s eyes lock on mine, finishing the sentence for me:

“Death.”

I can see the worry on his face. His fear that I’ll be scared of him now that I know who he is, is shining brightly in his eyes.

“But I’m confused,” I say, looking at Soren before turning around in his arms.

“If you guys are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, then why do you have wolves or whatever Soren has?”

All four of them crack up at my description of Soren’s creature, his chest bouncing against my back as he chuckles deeply.

Leaning in my ear, he so very fucking seductively whispers, “Oh my little Lux, my beast is very much a wolf. I’ll be happy to show you sometime.”

I try to calm my breathing, to calm myself down, but I can’t. Soren’s fingers are slowly making circles along the waistband of my borrowed bottoms.

I’m so caught up in the movement and tingles from Soren’s fingers, and in his deep breathing against my barely covered mark, that I don’t notice the uncomfortable glances I’m getting from his brothers.

That is until a deep cough snaps my attention back into the room. The smell of my arousal hits me head-on as I lock eyes with Craven, who looks damn near ready to jump out of the window.

“So we’re going to go…,” Devlin says awkwardly as he walks up and kisses me on the head.

Zennen and Craven follow his lead. Saying my goodbyes to them, I break away from Soren.

“I’m going to go to your room while you four talk,” I say.

He nods, unsure, but I just kiss his head like his brothers did me and walk down the hall, closing the door slightly behind me.

But it’s not even halfway before I hear what sounds like Zennen opening his mouth.

“I thought you weren’t going to mark her?” He sounds so genuinely confused, I assume he’s inspecting Soren’s mark.

“I wasn’t going to. But she…” He stops for a moment, that pitted feeling bubbling in my stomach.

“Let me guess, she marked you when you weren’t expecting it?” Soren doesn’t say anything that I hear, but the chuckling the brothers are doing confirms he agreed.

Scared to hear his reply, I quietly close the door to his bedroom. Sitting on his bed, I wait for several minutes before Soren comes into the room.

He looks unsure and, quite frankly, scared.

“So, you’re Death?” I ask.