Own to Obey

by Zoey Ellis

  “Don’t say that,” he growled.

  “In the meantime, you’ll be fucking your betrothed and celebrating with whatever you’ve been promised in return for me,” she said bitterly. “What is it, money, gold, land—”

  The shinno stormed over to her, his face like thunder as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “You do not use that language!”

  Shaya looked up into his eyes, the mini-oceans she had admired so much. They were lies. Everything about him was a lie. “You are much worse than I ever imagined you were.”

  His eyes searched hers for a moment. “You are hurt,” he decided. He glanced around the room, his jaw clenching, and then back to her face, something raw in his eyes that she could not identify. “But you will come to realize that you are doing the Southern Lands a great service and you must do your duty, kysm eshar.”

  “It is not my choice!”

  “You chose to come with me,” he said, his voice booming into her. “You chose to put yourself at my mercy, and this is my choice. It has to be. I am the Alpha and the shinno and the tribe leader, Shaya. I decide what happens to you. You will serve the people of the Southern Lands and you will come to enjoy it, I assure you. It is in your nature.”

  “So you were training me the whole time?” she said, fighting to keep her voice from breaking. “When you hurt me? When you had your cock in my mouth? When you took me that first day—”

  “That was not planned,” he interrupted sharply.

  “When you put me in the box-room to break my shoulder?”

  Kardos’ eyes flashed and a vicious growl tore from him.

  “When we watched the ocean—”

  “No,” he barked. He picked her up, holding her tight to him, his eyes fierce. “That had nothing to do with this. That was our time, just for us.”

  “There is no us!” she said sharply. “You took me from my sister to give me away.” She held up the potion bottle. “And drugged me into doing what you wanted.”

  A look of surprise crossed the shinno’s face before he scowled and grabbed the bottle from her. “I was trying to make things easier for you, Shaya.”

  “You mean easier for you! And my name is Katashaya!” she yelled, fighting against his grip.

  Lowering her, he held her tighter, locking her arms down by her side and spinning her so that her back was pressed against him, his large hand over her stomach as he lowered his face to her neck. “Do you think the decision was fucking easy for me?” he asked, his voice gritty. “Because it wasn’t!” He bellowed the last word, making her jump and her heart raced as she tried to catch her breath.

  “I stood here with you like this the first day I had you, and I knew you were something special. Do you think it’s going to be possible for me to allow any other man to touch you? I knew every time I looked at you that I would have to give you up and I am the only one that fucking deserves you in this Land.”

  Shaya squeezed her eyes shut. He knew every time… the whole time. He stayed strong and she didn’t. But she didn’t just break, she shattered.

  The shinno removed the wrap from her hair and ran his nose up her neck, just like he did that first day. But then she feared and dreaded what he would do to her, and now she wanted it—she needed it. Just like she always had… or like he had trained her to.

  A coarse shiver ran through her. “Kardos…”

  His hand slid up her torso and he pulled down the neckline of her tunic, releasing her breasts. “You are so beautiful when you fly, kysm eshar.” He caressed her nipples into hard peaks as tears began to stream down her face. “It is the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed,” he muttered, pressing his arousal into her lower back. “I never expected you to be so… perfect.” His other hand ran over her ass, squeezing it hard.

  Yet he could give her up so easily. “I hate you,” Shaya said stiffly, aware she sounded like a sulky child. “I hate everything you are.”

  He growled as his hand left her breast. “But that is not true,” he muttered, his fingers stroking the outside of her panties that were soaked. “I can feel the truth right here.” He groaned into her ear and the sound burrowed so deep into her core, she gushed onto his fingers.

  Her tunic was ripped from her body, followed quickly by her undergarments. Grabbing the back of her neck, he pushed her forward and down onto the bed, her knees hitting the floor as her face pressed into the blankets.

  She blinked away her tears as he kissed the back of her neck and made his way to each shoulder. She mumbled as he kissed down her spine, nipping and licking as he went. By the time he was biting her ass cheeks, she was sighing a hitching breath and widening her knees for him.

  He groaned, pressing his face into her wetness and she felt him take a deep breath in. Then his tongue brushed her slit, and she moaned as it sought out her nub, licking and sucking, setting her whole body alight.

  He must have undressed because when she turned her head to lay her cheek on the bed, the room was filled with his scent. It made her twist even more, desperate for him.

  He pressed open her thighs to reach more of her, the slurp of his mouth getting louder as her slick drenched him, but his grunts were like music to her. Her orgasm was fierce and uncontrolled, especially when his large finger stroked inside, twisting to rub the delicate spots that made her scream.

  As she lay limp recovering, her arms outstretched on the bed, his cock rammed inside her—no warning, no preparation, and it dug in at an angle as though he was standing. He pounded her hard and unrelenting, her nipples jerking wildly against the rough sheets until she thrashed in the tidal wave of ecstasy that consumed her. He didn’t stop, his balls slapping hard against her as he gripped her body, growling and muttering in Mayaros until her knees were sore and another roaring orgasm had claimed her breath, her mind, and her muscles.

  He lifted her onto the bed, flipping her onto her back, and dropped on top of her immediately, impaling her again as he thrust his tongue in her mouth.

  Shaya sucked on him, widened her legs for his battering hips. The twisting pain and pleasure of his thick cock buried deep inside her, overtook her, and she wound her arms around his neck clinging to the one thing she had learned; he had broken her and was now discarding her. Tears still trickled from her eyes as he plundered her pussy and her mouth, just like he had her heart. He growled into her ear that she was his and she felt it was true, but how could it be? He told her he was her Alpha and would protect her, and she believed him, even though she knew he lied.

  When the magnificent crest of the approaching orgasm came, when he was clutching her sweaty body to him and telling her to fly and be free on his cock, she convulsed, and then soared. Higher than she’d ever gone before.

  The flight was incredible and a joy unlike anything she’d known flooded her body. And in that moment, clarity came to her. She was weak. She was on her own. She didn’t have magic or spy training or even the sense to not fall for an Alpha’s deceit or his claiming touch—even after he tortured, drugged, and manipulated her. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have power.

  So as he came, wildly slamming into her with a low groan, her teeth found that fragrant spot on his neck—and she bit hard, sucking his blood into her mouth, causing an awareness to blossom inside her mind. She sucked twice more and the awareness revolved wildly, sweeping through her to burrow deep into her chest as she sobbed, claiming the only power she would ever have.

  End of Book One

  Thank you for reading Own To Obey. I hope you enjoyed the start of Kardos and Shaya’s journey. In the next book, discover the fall out of Shaya’s decision to claim Kardos, and the impact it has on his own goals.

  CLICK HERE to read their next book OWN TO OBSESS

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  Excerpt of Own To Obsess

  SHAYA

  “Take it slow,” Rozalia said gently.

  Shaya gripped onto her arm as she lowered into the hot bath
, wincing at all the different aches and pains bounding through her body. But once the hot water enveloped her, she sighed deeply as her muscles relaxed. Rozalia examined some of the bottles she’d brought with her, tipping them to release tiny, powerfully scented droplets of various healing oils into the bath before setting about scrubbing Shaya clean from the enormous amount of Kardos’ seed crusted around her neck.

  Shaya remained quiet. She’d woken groggy and dazed, a deep, satisfying ache in her muscles, a dull pain between her legs, and little memory of how she had ended up in the guest bedroom. The last she remembered, she had been in Kardos’ bedroom, sinking her teeth into his neck in despair.

  And it worked. The presence smoldering deep within her chest told her as much—she had bonded with him. The enormity of that idea, now that she was more clearheaded, stunned her. She had done it. She had acted against him, shown she wasn’t weak, proved she could retaliate… and yet the realization that it had happened manifested pure terror in her.

  What would Kardos do to her now? Or… what had he done to her?

  She wasn't sure what the immediate repercussions had been; she couldn't remember. The ache in her limbs and the pain between her legs didn’t seem like it was due to him being violent toward her, but it was impossible to know how the Alpha would have behaved about her outright defiance. Rozalia was also behaving strangely. The older woman hadn't spoken to her at all since she woke, simply ushering her here and there, getting her undressed and prepared for the bath.

  However, Shaya wasn’t willing to engage Rozalia in conversation just yet. She suspected, from how lethargic she felt when she woke, that she may have been drugged again and she couldn’t ignore the fact that Rozalia, as Kardos’ potionist, would have been the one to create the potion that Kardos gave her on the ship. Shaya couldn’t deny her disappointment with that realization; she thought she’d found a new friend, but she hadn’t. What if Treska had been involved too? Had everyone known all along what Kardos planned for her?

  The thoughts were too heavy for Shaya to contemplate while she still felt so frail. A weak apathy dominated her body and mind—she didn’t feel her usual self. It had to be because of the bond to the Alpha—it sat heavy in her chest, hard and sharp like a claw buried deep, combined with the pain in her body and the aftereffects of whatever potion she had been given all made her feel strange. So she simply kept quiet and allowed Rozalia to do as she wished, even allowing the woman to wash her hair. It was now a stiff puff that was in dire need of care, which indicated the loss of time she couldn’t account for.

  After she was finally dressed and dried, she felt a little better. The pain in her body had lessened and Rozalia began working her creams and oils through her hair to soften it, massaging her scalp, which helped her to relax. The hard claw in her chest hadn't changed, but at least she knew other things could positively impact her mood.

  As she sat there, a sudden image of Kardos's mouth between her legs seared into her mind and she quickly inhaled, surprised. His mouth buried into her, his tongue swirling around her nub while his pretty eyes locked onto her face. Her legs spread as wide as she could get them as her hips rolled up to feed him, and her fingers digging into his scalp.

  A shudder trembled through her body at the memory, and she squeezed her legs tightly together, pressing her hand between them as the recollection of how incredible her body had felt returned.

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  Translations: For scenes with untranslated Mayaros, get the translations here

  Author Note

  We’re finally in the Southern Lands! Woop woop! I’ve been DYING to get to this couple. I couldn’t wait to delve in on the culture and language and the shinno!

  This was an easier story to write in some ways, because of the natural progression of who each character is and the circumstances they find themselves in. I barely had a plan that was beyond the first three chapters—it mostly wrote itself, kinda like Crave To Conquer did. Where things did get tricky, was with all the details that were breadcrumbed in previous books. I had to go back and make sure everything tied up and made sense where necessary, which is all part of the fun of writing a series.

  The big surprise for me with this book was Shaya. She’s the first sweet heroine I’ve written—I always knew she was going to be, but I thought I would struggle with that, especially because I enjoy writing the banter, wittiness, and those zinger lines between more vocal, angsty couples. But I adore Shaya. I think she’s actually braver than all the heroines I’ve written so far. They’ve all been trained to expect the worse, whereas she follows her heart and is prepared to sacrifice herself. She’s completely out of her depth with Kardos, but she has the potential to grow so much and I’m looking forward to seeing her come into her own.

  I hope you have enjoyed this book! If you know anyone else who would enjoy it, please recommend it to them. If you didn’t enjoy it or felt that this couple wasn’t for you, try the CRAVE or REIGN trilogies or my EMPIRE OF ANGELS series to see if one of those capture you. I also have a brand new series coming this year, so hopefully I can grab your interest in the future. Either way, thank you for giving this one a chance, and please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book so other readers know what they’re getting into if they decide to try it.

  My reader’s group Dark Halos is the best way to get news, bonuses, prizes and also just to chat and drool over sexy bodies with me :p Two of the characters in this book were named from random chat and suggestions from that group so jump in and join us!

  Acknowledgments

  Randie: This one has been a bit of a whirlwind, but once again I absolutely love working with you on these stories. Thank you for always making my work shine and helping me to excavate the story I’m trying to tell. Your expertise is incredible—even when I send you something thinking, “ yeeeah, she won’t find much,” I’m always soooo wrong lol! I thought this book was our number ten but it’s not! We can’t forget Torin and Toya’s novella so we’re on book eleven already! Thank you, thank you, thank you x

  Margarita: This world has already been on such a journey between the two of us, I feel like it must exist somewhere out there! When I think of the topics we’ve covered and the laughs we’ve had, it’s been pretty amazing. Thank you for bouncing ideas with me and helping to order my thoughts.

  L: This is dedicated to you in honor of our first buddy read, and I think that book is reminiscent of this story and my main inspiration for this series as a whole. I’m so pleased Shaya is your fave; you know I was stressing about writing sweet lol but I hope that means you’ll tackle writing feisty one day :p Thank you so much for all your support and guidance on this one, I couldn’t have done it without your advice.

  To my Dark Halos and readers, thank you so much for all your support for Kardos and Shaya! Hopefully this couple provide an added dimension to the world. I never thought the series would still be going strong with book 7 this time last year when Conquer released. I hope you continue to follow this couple to the series conclusion. :)

  To my friends and family, there are no words for how much I appreciate the love and support you offer without condition every day. Love you x

  About Zoey Ellis

  Zoey Ellis writes dark-edged fantasy romances described by readers as 'intensely erotic’ and 'deliciously dark.’ Her stories feature tortured, possessive, alpha anti-heroes and the sassy heroines who go through tough journeys and make mistakes but ultimately have to grow for each other to survive the dark worlds they inhabit.

  A Londoner, cat mama, and proud romance and epic fantasy addict, Zoey loves possessive heroes, sexual tension that jumps off the page, and memorable, magical worlds. She reads most genres of romance and has a special love for the 'true mates' trope and dark angst.

  She offers exclusive news, bonuses, and giveaways to her reader's group, Dark Halos.

  Snoop around Zoey's online home for her favorite reads, rel
ease news, exclusive content and bonus media about her fantasy worlds: www.zoeyellis.com