by Zoey Ellis
Copyright © 2020 by Zoey Ellis
All rights reserved. Sale of any edition of this book is wholly unauthorized. Except for use in review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part, by any means, is forbidden without written permission from the author/publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First Edition: January 2020
Contents
Eastern Lands Map
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Discover Myth Of Omega
Acknowledgments
About Zoey Ellis
Compulsion
He won't let her life slip through his grasp
When Lox warrior, Roclan, is sent to investigate a crime, he wasn't expecting to encounter a female so captivating he would be compelled to go into a rut.
Unfortunately, she is his prisoner.
Roclan quickly realizes he has to find a way to keep her alive, if only to explore if she is his to claim, but Omega healer, Nyan, isn't interested in escaping her punishment.
As she tries to keep the brutish Alpha at a distance, he peels away her defenses until she is forced to address the deep compulsion between them.. setting her at odds with her own desires and the secrets she holds.
COMPULSION is a novella-length, fantasy Omegaverse romance that delves into the depths of dark, consuming love. This story is set in Zoey Ellis’ Myth of Omega world but is a standalone story with a HEA. For fans of possessive Alpha anti-heroes, feisty Omega heroines, and fiery romances. This story includes romance of a dark nature.
For more stories in this world, start with CRAVE TO CONQUER
Eastern Lands Map
See the color version
Chapter One
In a magical world of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, Omegas have been missing for over a century. As they slowly return to the land, Alphas discover the unique fulfillment Omegas bring to their existence, with dark, riveting, but always satisfying results.
This is Roclan and Nyan’s story.
ROCLAN
“Halt!”
Roclan drove forward, the clang of steel ringing in the air as his sword clashed with his opponent’s.
The voice called again. “I said halt!”
His opponent, fellow Lox warrior, Brannoc, lowered his sword, but Roclan continued to advance, swinging his sword around his torso and aiming a slash at his neck. Brannoc recovered quickly, and soon they were in a furious exchange, their blades whipping through the air as they battled. Roclan’s swings became heavier as his ferocity unfurled, and within a few moments, he’d knocked his opponent’s weapon from his fist.
“I said halt, Roclan!” his commander bellowed.
Roclan finally paused, the tip of his sword pointing at Brannoc’s heaving chest. Then he exhaled slowly before lowering his weapon and stepping back.
Commander Torin strode up to him, the crunch of his footsteps as gritty as his voice. “When I say halt, you stop immediately. Is that clear?”
Roclan held in a growl in his throat. Turning, he barely looked at his commander as he sheathed his sword. “Yes,” he bit out, before storming across the training grounds and into the palace.
He made his way to the weapons room to clean his blade, trying to shake off the annoyance bounding in his veins. The training session was supposed to have helped his mood, but it just made things worse. As expected, Brannoc arrived a few moments later in a cloud of outrage.
“What the fuck, Roc?” he bellowed, throwing down his sword. “Were you trying to kill me?”
Roclan assembled his cleaning equipment and sat down on the bench. “If you fight halfheartedly, there is no one to blame but yourself, Brannoc.”
“Halfheartedly?” Brannoc stopped by the bench, his expression incredulous. “This wasn’t a bout! We were supposed to be working on blocking techniques.”
“Yes, I disarmed you,” Roclan said sharply, glancing up at him. “So you should have worked harder.”
Brannoc silent for a moment, his stare slowly turning quizzical. He moved to sit opposite Roclan. “What happened?”
Roclan grunted, his annoyance flaring again as he turned his sword, continuing to clean. He and Brannoc had joined the Lox army at the same time, and Brannoc had learned the signs of his moods. Sometimes Roclan wished he wasn’t so transparent and could keep things to himself, but he wasn’t the sort of person to suppress his feelings. “I got denied for advancement.”
Brannoc nodded in understanding, then frowned. “Again?”
“I don’t know of anyone who has been rejected this many times,” Roclan shot at him.
“Have you asked why?”
“Does it matter?” Roclan thundered as he rose to put the weapon away. “I want to earn it, not argue my way into it.”
“If you know what you’re doing wrong, you can make a better effort the next time.”
“There will not be a next time.” Roclan turned to face him. “I will not allow him to deny me again.”
Brannoc frowned. “Who? The commander? You think he’s doing it on purpose?”
“I fought him for his Omega, didn’t I?” A hot agitation worked through Roclan’s chest. When the rare female Omegas began returning to the Lands, they settled into Lox Palace, where he was based, under the protection of the Omega empress. Both he and Torin had been interested in the same Omega, and had even dueled for her. Torin won, but Roclan was sure the commander considered it a slight when Roclan challenged him. “I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten that.”
“Commander Torin is a Beta and more levelheaded than us, Roc,” Brannoc said. “I don’t think he’d make it personal against you.”
“Then how do you explain me being denied for advancement to general three times,” Roclan bellowed out. “I’m an excellent warrior. I am loyal, I’ve worked harder than anyone else who is on track to become general, and my length of service is significant. He has no other reason to deny me.”
“Then you should ask him instead of taking it out on the rest of us.” Brannoc rose to his feet. “Or even better, hurry up and mate with your own Omega, so he doesn’t see you as a threat. You must have met them all by now, I didn’t think you’d be so picky.”
Roclan glared at him. “Why the fuck shouldn’t I be?”
Brannoc chuckled, giving him a knowing look. “It’s not like you lack female attention, Roc. It’s hard to believe you’ve met with so many and not chosen one.”
Roclan clenched his jaw and turned away.
The matching events, where Alphas and Omegas met each other to see if they were a suitable couple, had been happening since Omegas arrived at the palace, and Roclan had been a regular attender. He wasn’t shy to admit he wanted his woman and didn’t care what he had to do to find her.
But after attending so many matches and meeting so many Omegas, it became glaringly obvious that his Omega, the one who was his true mate, wasn’t among them. He’d listened to his Lox brothers talk about their females—none of the Omegas he’d met made him feel the way he was supposed to, even the one he thought he wanted when he challenged the commander. And he didn’t want to make do with a pretty girl. He wanted, needed, the woman who satisfied his Alpha nature—one who could bring him that unique kind of peace the way Emperor Drocco talked about with his empress. Unfortunately, not all Omegas could be found in Lox Palace, a
nd even more depressingly, he’d read the research on the dynamics in the Lands—there weren’t enough Omegas for all Alphas. His Omega might not even exist.
Normally he wouldn’t let himself become concerned with that kind of thinking, but now that the Lox had claimed the Eastern Lands, and the empire was developing and maturing, he had to start thinking about his place in it. If there was a possibility he wouldn’t find his Omega mate, he wanted to become a general.
And with that thought, he made a decision.
Commander Torin remained annoyingly calm on the other side of his desk, his steel-grey eyes locked onto Roclan. “You do not have the discipline to become a general, Roclan. I’ve observed you since you first joined the Lox army, and you are not ready.”
Roclan’s nostrils flared. “And how did you reach that conclusion?” he bellowed. “You haven’t given me even one training exercise or mission to determine whether I am ready or not.”
Commander Torin shook his head. “There are many duties and responsibilities expected of generals, Roclan. I don’t yet believe you are capable.”
Roclan turned away and paced across to the other side of the commander’s office, his burning anger threatening to overwhelm him. “Is this a professional opinion or a personal one?”
Commander Torin stilled. “What do you mean by that?”
“I was the only one who challenged you for your Omega. Is that why you are punishing me now?”
The commander rose slowly from his chair, his face like stone. “That has nothing to do with my opinion on this.”
Roclan snarled. “No? I have requested this advancement three times. Was this the reason for the denial each time?”
Torin was silent for a moment. “You are barely in your midthirties, Roclan; you have time to gain the skills needed—”
“Do not make this about my age! Plenty of other Alphas advanced when they reached the same length of service I have. I’ve worked just as hard, if not harder, than most other Lox warriors. Even those who are currently in training for advancement! I want to know why they can advance, and I cannot.” He jutted a finger at Torin, his eyes hard as he made a face of disgust. “And I expect honesty, Commander. I am shocked I even have to say that to you!”
Torin’s eyes darkened, and a flash of annoyance crossed his usually impassive face. “You are too wild!”
Shock barreled into Roclan, forcing him to still for a moment.
Commander Torin stalked around the desk and halted in the center of the room, a few feet from Roclan. Although he was a Beta and had a slimmer build than an Alpha, he was an extremely talented and formidable warrior. He trained all Alphas who joined the Lox. “You are an excellent warrior, Roclan,” Torin began. “That is not disputed. But your wild nature makes you miss details, so you lack the consideration we would expect from a general. Until you can demonstrate that ability, you will be unsuitable to progress.”
Heat rushed over Roclan’s skin as his shock turned to outrage. “What if my wild temperament is just how I am, Commander? Does that mean I can never advance in the Lox?”
Commander Torin held his gaze for a long moment, and Roclan ground his teeth as he waited for an answer. If he said yes, it would ruin Roclan’s high opinion of the family of brothers he had dedicated his life to for over eight years.
Roclan was aware that he looked and sounded more like a typical Alpha than most. His voice was naturally deeper, his frame bulkier, and his temperament instinctively overbearing. Most of his time was spent on the training grounds or the battlefield, and he unashamedly loved women, indulging in the lewdest obscenities of carnal pleasure when the mood took him. He’d never spend much time studying or reading before joining the Lox, and as such, it was easy for citizens to believe he wasn’t that intelligent. All of this culminated in an opinion of him that proved more harmful than helpful, especially from his blood family, who were mostly Betas.
But of all the places he thought he would be stereotyped and held back because of his extreme Alpha nature, never did it once cross his mind that it would be from within the Lox, the only Alpha army that existed in the known Lands. Once he’d joined, Roclan had discarded any possibility he would be so blatantly discriminated against.
Emperor Drocco, the leader of the Lox, had strived to create a pure Alpha army for this exact reason—he’d told Roclan, and all the other Alphas, when he recruited them. Roclan always believed it had not only been right to do but necessary in order for Alphas to have the chance to thrive. Many believed that just because Alphas were the most dominating dynamic—the largest and most aggressive men in the Lands with the potential for both power and destruction—that they were not subject to discrimination or threat. Before Emperor Drocco created the Lox and took over the Eastern Lands to form the Lox Empire, Alphas had been in danger from their own self-destruction… at least Roclan had been.
“The Lox has changed since you joined because it has grown. Have you?” Commander Torin asked.
“That does not answer my question.”
Torin’s voice lowered authoritatively. “Answer my question first, and I shall.”
Roclan was silent for a moment. Primarily, he’d joined the Lox for the glory of the fight, the hunt and excitement of battle, but he had gained so much more. The training had allowed him to flourish in ways he never considered possible. By allowing him an outlet for his ferocity, he was able to then seek calmer interests
The commander might consider him to be “wild,” but before he had joined, he’d been a savage whirlwind—a quality that was almost unrecognizable now. He had gained and learned a lot of control, which had, in turn, led to a more balanced life, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still be considered too “wild.” He had no intention of taming himself.
“I have grown immensely,” he answered. “But none of that matters if you are not looking for it.”
Something in Torin’s gaze changed. “What do you mean?”
“You believe I am too deep in my Alpha instincts so that’s what you see, and that’s what you’ll always see if you don’t try to look beyond that—” He paused for effect. “—especially as a Beta.”
Torin’s eyes flashed. “My dynamic has nothing to do with it.”
“No?” He stepped toward him, their eyes locked. “Do you believe I was overbearing in my pursuit of your Omega?”
Torin’s body tensed, but he didn’t reply, making his answer obvious.
“From my perspective, I could have done much more to try to win her, Commander,” Roclan said, his voice low. “If you think about it, you will realize I could have tried harder if I wanted to.”
Torin’s gaze didn’t waver. “Why didn’t you?”
Roclan shook his head. “She wasn’t for me; I realize that now. But my point is, you don’t see everything in the same context, Commander. Just because I may do things differently or with less… control, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t excel as a general. I demand that you give me a case, a mission—anything to prove to you I am ready.”
Torin inhaled a long breath before turning slowly and walking back around his desk, and Roclan had to force himself not to bark at the man to just give him a fucking answer! It was an answer he was owed.
There were over ten thousand Lox warriors, all different types of Alpha with all different types of concerns and priorities. But the one thing that bound them together was the overall perception of Alphas; base, unintelligent, and brutish. Drocco had always wanted more than that for Alphas, and Roclan had always seen it as an honor to be in the army of an Alpha who thought that he could be more.
But if Roclan was not able to progress further than being a Lox warrior, then he was every appalling stereotype that Alphas were assumed to be. And he would never be anything of real worth—not even to his Omega. And that he could not have.
“All right,” Commander Torin said finally, his voice grave. “If you want an opportunity, I will give one to you.” He sat back down behind his desk. “Sit down.”
R
oclan nodded and slowly sat back down on the chair in front of him.
Torin pulled out his chair. “We have just had word that the general of Dorei has been killed.”
Roclan frowned. “General Freydon?”
“Yes. Did you know him?”
Roclan shook his head. “I never met him but heard of him. How did it happen?”
“I don’t know the details. The culprit has been caught and is being held at the Dorei base. You will travel there, determine the details, and mete out the required punishment as dictated by Lox law. I expect all protocols to be followed, and all considerations taken to ensure General Freydon’s death sees justice.”
Roclan dipped his head in agreement. “And if I am successful?”
“Then, Dorei is yours.”
Roclan almost made a face. Dorei was the smallest territory in Lox Empire, and it didn’t produce anything special or have any great features like many of the other territories.
Still, it would be his.
“I must warn you.” Torin’s low voice cut through his reflections. “All advancements to the position of general require important missions, but this one concerns the death of a Lox general. It is serious. You have to deal with this criminal appropriately and ensure her justice is both fair and appropriate.”
“Her?” Roclan straightened in his chair. A female killed a Lox general?
Torin ignored his question. “If you fuck this up, it will be beyond me to help, do you understand?” The commander continued, his eyes hard. “If you fail, you will be discharged from the Lox.”
