Crave To Conquer

by Zoey Ellis

  “I don’t want him.”

  “You don’t get to say that,” Mother Azia snapped. “Your life will be filled with pleasures almost no other Omega alive will ever experience. You have already had much that the Omegas in this Compound will never have.”

  “Pleasure isn’t everything, Mother,” Cailyn said, her voice breaking. They couldn’t possibly understand the horror of who he was. “He is cruel, and vicious and is only concerned with conquering every challenge that arises. That’s what I am to him. A challenge—something precious only because no one else has it.”

  “Did you take time to get to know him?” Mother Orlee asked. “To find out why he is the way he is? Did you have any honest and open conversations with him without any hostility, Cailyn? It is easy to judge when you don’t understand.”

  Cailyn stared at her. “Did you hear how he tortured me?”

  “Maybe he was as unprepared to deal with your connection as you were,” Mother Fern said.

  “How can my true mate be someone I despise? Someone I never want to be around? You say you haven’t prepared me, but I know enough to know that it isn’t normal to hate your true mate.”

  “Do you hate him?” Mother Fern asked. “Or do you hate his actions? Did you not find anything about him honorable or interesting?”

  “It sounds like you don’t know him well enough to truly hate him, Cailyn,” said Mother Naysa.

  Cailyn shook her head in disbelief. How could they be saying this?

  “Being true mates doesn’t mean you never disagree or fight,” Mother Azia said. “It means that you’re highly compatible for breeding, it means you’re highly attracted to each other and cannot resist each other’s nature. It means that you are stronger together, and feel complete with each other. True mate couples achieve more and live longer. It is a gift, Cailyn. Even if you don’t think so.”

  Cailyn lowered her head, tears stinging her eyes. “But he’s a monster,” she muttered. “How could I be the true mate of someone so…” She couldn’t find the word to complete her dejected thought.

  “Did he purr for you?”

  Cailyn lifted her eyes. Mother Azia had tears in her eyes and Cailyn suspected she too had experienced the purr of an Alpha. “Yes.”

  “Then you know he isn’t a complete monster—he won’t be to you. You said he went days without mating you after he attacked you—did you know that goes against his nature? I have known Omegas on their deathbeds still mated and knotted by their Alphas as viciously as if they weren’t slipping away from this world. He restrained himself for your comfort and your comfort alone. He waited until you were ready to mate again and then let you lead the way. I would say he was trying to redress his actions, trying to apologize, in that confusing way that Alphas do.”

  Cailyn was silent for a moment. “He threatened to hurt me when I left,” she said, quietly. “He said when he finds me he will do worse than he did before. You’re asking me to willingly go back to that.”

  “He is angry you betrayed him, but he will calm if you return to him,” she said. “The longer you are apart, the more vicious he will become. He will not stop until he has you. That’s another reason why there is no point in you joining us again—you will put us in danger, especially since he already knows we exist. His memory will have to be modified too, if we can get access to him.”

  Cailyn took a shaky breath and finally considered the idea. “I don’t know if I can really return to him, Mother. I don’t know if I can deal with who he is. He wants me to be submissive to him and he is keen to have multiple women for sex… When I left, it began to seem like it wasn’t really that intense—like it wasn’t real.”

  “I can assure you it was real, Cailyn,” Mother said gently. “That kind of bond cannot be faked. It’s your blocks making it seem that way. As for who Drocco is… you just need to find a way to tame him for yourself. You have more power than you think. And although he may try, no Alpha will have an interest in any female that isn’t his destined Omega once he has met her, and certainly not once he has mated her.” Mother Azia smiled as glistening tears dropped onto her cheeks. “Go to your Alpha, my daughter.”

  ***

  Cailyn wandered the market, her mind in turmoil.

  Everything the Mothers had said revolved in her mind until one thing became clear; she could not return to the Omega Compound. She would never be able to return. She would never be a spy again, she would never see Viktoya or Amara or any of the Mothers. She cried silently as she walked, the market’s muddle scents and sounds blurring her senses. Her life had changed so dramatically, and she didn’t even know how it happened.

  She wandered through the port, along the edge of the sea traders’ stalls, wondering how she could possibly return to Drocco. Yes, when it was good, it was fantastic, but it was always a physical thing—their personalities did not match. She was not the submissive he wanted, and he was not the kind of Alpha she would ever have chosen. Still, there was obviously something between them if they were true mates. There had been a spark of potential there when they hadn’t spoken for days on end, but was that what being true mates meant? That you didn’t speak for fear of upsetting each other? Her mind drifted over what Mother Orlee mentioned—an honest, open conversation. Drocco didn’t seem capable of that.

  Her tears flowed as she thought back through all her missions, all her training, all of the extensive exercises to skill her Talent—all useless. That life was gone. How could the Mothers discard her so easily? How could they erase all of that knowledge too?

  She sighed, turning to head away from the port, when a strong-smelling cloth slammed over her nose and mouth. A number of hands grabbed her and she froze in shock before fighting against their hold. A dizziness swept over her and she lost her balance.

  Someone wrapped an arm around her waist, propping her up against their own body.

  “Have you got her?” a female voice said to her right.

  “Yes, let’s go,” said the man who held her.

  They moved along in silence for a little while and Cailyn could do nothing but allow herself to be half-dragged, half-carried. Her body didn’t respond to her instruction and her mind was too blurry to use the Talent, but at least her blocks remained in place. Her mood dropped. Drocco had already found her before she even had the chance to decide.

  After a little while, they stopped and the man that held her struck up a conversation with another man, although Cailyn couldn’t keep up with what they were saying. Eventually, the man continued to shuffle her forward, passing the man he was just speaking to, and stepping on a bridge that hovered over the distinctive white foamy waves of the White Ocean. Her heart began to pound when she glimpsed the side entrance of an enormous ship at the end of the bridge.

  “We leave immediately,” said the man they passed.

  “Excellent,” said the man dragging her toward the ship. “May Eiros thrive and be wealthy.”

  End of Book One

  Thank you for reading Crave to Conquer. If you enjoyed the story, please take a minute to leave a review. Your review will help new readers decide if the book is for them. Reviews are crucial in helping to spread the word and I’d be grateful for your time if you could spare a moment :)

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  Crave to Conquer is the first book in the Myth of Omega series. The next book, Crave to Capture, continues Drocco and Cailyn’s story and ends on a cliffhanger.

  Read on for the sneak peek!

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  Crave To Capture

  He will take her back – and he will make her his

  Drocco

  He allowed himself to be a fool for Cailyn once, but now she has gone too far. The insult of her attack and escape fuels his fury, and strengthens his need to have her submit to him once and for all. She will soon learn that, of the many mistakes she made, running from him was the worst.

  Cailyn

  With no home, family, or way of making a living, Cailyn begins to come to
terms with the possibility of a new home and a new life in unfamiliar territory. However, when Drocco proves how far he will go to get her under his control, she finds herself once again trapped—only this time, she is forced to contend with a monster that cannot be tamed.

  Crave to Capture is the second installment in the Myth of Omega serial, a dark, erotic, Omegaverse romance. Cliff-hanger included. If dominant Alpha anti-heroes, sassy Omega heroines, epic fantasy worlds and captive romances are your thing, start with Crave To Conquer (Book 1)

  Crave to Capture is an explicit reading experience from sexual scenes to violence and language. Includes disturbing situations and romance of a dark nature. For readers aged 18 and over.

  DROCCO

  “How do you intend to find her now?” Torin asked, as they marched out of the dungeon where the hacked and mutilated bodies of the Lox Talent-crafters lay strewn on the blood-pooled floor. “I know you don’t want to have anything to do with the Talent now, Drocco, but they were our best chance of understanding how she could be hiding or traveling.”

  Drocco gripped the handle of his dripping axe tighter with the fury he felt, glaring unseeingly down the corridor and ignoring the pain still aching in his shoulder. It had been the only thing that had stopped him from personally executing the Talent-crafters earlier. His shoulder had had to be treated, patched up, and given time to heal. Over those days, the Talent-crafters had deduced that Malloron’s spell had destroyed all of the Talent-disabling charms in the Palace. But that information did not save them. “They were not our best chance for anything,” Drocco said, his voice hard. “They were not as skilled as Malloron, and I have no use for Talent-crafters who are lesser skilled than my enemies.”

  “You gave them three hours to examine that spell, Drocco,” Torin said, evenly. “They asked for at least a week.”

  “That is of no consequence!” Drocco bellowed, his anger blaring through him. “They were simply not skilled enough. We need crafters who can protect us from him.”

  “Agreed,” Torin said, his voice low. “But now we have no protection at all.”

  Drocco halted abruptly and turned to him. “That spell could have killed my Omega, Torin. It could have killed me. It could have done unimaginable things to everyone in this Palace. It could have disabled the entire Lox army and left the Empire defenseless.”

  “Then you should have waited for their assessment,” Torin replied, his gray eyes boring into Drocco’s. “I know you don’t want to hear it, Drocco, but your eagerness for answers is what caused this.”

  Drocco stepped closer to him, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “The Talent-crafters admitted that they wouldn’t have been able to deduce the effects of the spell before it was cast. They couldn’t even recreate it in the five days it took to treat my shoulder. No matter when I used it, it would have had the same result, except my Omega may have been pregnant or bonded to me instead, which would have been worse!” The thought drove his anger to a hot peak. “They failed in their duty to the Lox Empire and they suffered the consequences. Do you disagree?”

  Torin was quiet for a moment. “No.”

  Drocco turned and continued to march down the corridor, determined to do whatever he had to to find Cailyn.

  He knew his fury could be felt across the entire Empire. Households were searched, carriages were stopped, buildings and factories were destroyed, citizens were questioned fiercely and some imprisoned. The Lox descended upon every territory within the Eastern Lands intent on watching everyone and everything, and citizens did not respond well to it, particularly those still loyal to the late King of Ashens. Protests began and, though they were stamped out almost immediately, deaths occurred.

  Drocco didn't give a fuck. He wanted Cailyn back. If every single person in the Eastern Lands had to die for that to happen, so be it.

  Someone had to have seen Cailyn in Ashens the day she escaped, and he wanted the Empire to feel the pressure until she was found. Of course, no one beyond Torin and his generals knew they were actually searching for his Omega. They only knew that the Empire had an interest in finding a certain female with deep brown eyes and copper-colored hair, who was of great importance to the Empire. Every young woman fitting her description had to be brought in, and Drocco looked at each one of them himself before allowing any to return to their families. As he sifted through them, Drocco’s agitation grew hotter. The longer they took to find her, the further away she could get, especially now that she could use the Talent again.

  ***

  Two weeks trickled by and Drocco hardly slept. He spent every waking moment seething that his Omega had dared to attack him while also battling a desperation to find her that he couldn’t control.

  She was supposed to be carrying his child and heir by now, not fleeing from him in his own Empire. After she had escaped, he had sent troops to surround the forest she had disappeared into, but she never appeared. The search of the forest had not resulted in finding her body, which relieved him somewhat, but he couldn’t bear the thought that she was roaming the Eastern Lands.

  It stung to know that she hadn’t softened to him like he’d thought she had. The first opportunity she had to attack him and escape, she had taken it. He had allowed himself to believe that their time in his bedroom had been real for her, but instead, he had lost himself in her. He said he wouldn’t become a fool for Omega pussy, but that was exactly what had happened. He had been tricked by how she made him feel and it incensed him that he allowed himself to be deceived by her yet again. If she wasn’t going to ever accept him, he should break her like the traitor she was, and keep her imprisoned where she would never see daylight again. And yet the thought caused an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

  Memories of her tortured him, revolving in his mind constantly; her full lips when she scowled, her expression when she orgasmed, how she bit her lip when she was undecided, and the way she pulled him deeper into her when her legs were wrapped around him. He couldn’t go back into his bedroom without smelling her fading scent or seeing her nest, where she had purred for him and clung to him like he was the only thing she cared about. How could he turn his back on the possibility of returning to that state with her? And what did that mean for his future? He couldn’t see himself settling with an inferior woman to raise his family. He just couldn’t.

  He and Torin talked over varying theories of why Malloron chose to craft his spell so that it knocked out the defenses Drocco had against the Talent. Drocco, of course, considered it to be intentional, but Torin pointed out that there was no way that Malloron would know that Cailyn was a Talent-crafter. Even the Lox crafters had no idea that she was the one that created the barrier that kept her from him during her Haze. Malloron couldn’t have known that she would use the Talent, therefore, there was a possibility that he hadn’t intended it or it had done something else that they weren’t aware of.

  Drocco, however, remained suspicious and bitter. How could Malloron weave a spell that went so wrong? How could his spell just accidentally leave them vulnerable? He wasn’t convinced and Torin had to admit it was suspicious. Either way, they had no way of contacting Malloron now that their Talent-crafters were dead. They arrested and imprisoned all of the Western Land traders that were in the Empire. Most of them worked at the port borders and so their ships were held too. Perhaps once Malloron’s precious trading stopped being profitable, he would contact them.

  Torin strengthened the security around the Palace and increased Drocco’s guard, but Drocco didn’t care about any of that. With the mood he was in, he would gladly cut down anyone who dared to even look at him too closely.

  As three weeks drew to a close, Drocco spent a lot of time at the Records Keep looking through the Omega research on the top floor. The details that the keeper had put together for him was thorough and wide-ranging, from Omega accomplishments across the Lands to typical pregnancy behaviors. It was fascinating and he found himself reading more deeply.

  At the start of the fifth week,
Torin arrived at the keep unannounced.

  “I am sorry to disturb you, Drocco,” he said, eying the many files and parchment sheets laying around the table, chairs, and floor. “But I have some witnesses for you that cannot wait.”

  Drocco rose from his chair. “Bring them in.”

  Torin nodded at the door, and three men of different ages stumbled into the room, their ankles restricted by shackles and their wrists bound together. They wore simple, faded clothes and their skins looked weathered. An odd smell wafted from them and they looked absolutely terrified.

  “You are sea traders?” Drocco guessed.

  They nodded, their eyes wide.

  “Tell him what you told me,” Torin ordered.

  The youngest of the three swallowed and took a breath. “We work on the sea border, your Imperial Majesty, and there’s always… people bein’ traded on them big ships that go to the Western Lands.”

  Drocco’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, and?”

  “I’m sure I saw…” He glanced at the other men, who nodded at him. “We saw a woman of the description you’re looking for being carried onto one of them ships.”

  A fierceness gripped Drocco. “How long ago?”

  “Going on five weeks, now,” said another, older man with a chunky square beard. “She was wearing the exact dress your Lox warriors have been askin’ about—black with the red collar, and red stitching on the sleeves. Her hair was wild an’ curly too.”

  “The only reason why we noticed her,” added the third and graying man, “was because she seemed unconscious. Since you came into power, your Imperial Majesty, they stopped druggin’ people. Most of the slaves are chained and led onto them ships, but she was being carried. We noticed it and commented that maybe things were goin’ back to how they used to be, and then continued on with our work.”