A Savage Debt (The Beholden Duet #1) - Zoey Ellis Page 0,48

almost feel ill. It was very similar to the one that Maddoc gave her; it wasn’t clear if it was a story or a factual retelling; however, the Omega’s name in the book was Atara, like her mother.

Apprehensive about what she was going to find, Ana settled into her chair and read it.

In the book, the Omega princess came from a different kingdom. She was destined to marry an Alpha from her kingdom, but there was no arranged marriage or pairing, like in Allandis. Alphas had to fight to impress the Omega; demonstrating skill, strength, and wisdom to prove that he was the most appropriate male for her. The Omega, Atara, had been the youngest princess of the ruling family, and a series of battles had been arranged for an entire week to determine who she was going to marry. Even though those battles took place, Atara found herself in love with the son of an Alpha from a different kingdom who’d visited that week in hopes of making an alliance with her father.

Ana’s heart began to pound but she kept reading. Atara and the visiting Alpha’s second son fell in love within moments of meeting, but there were only two days left of the tournaments. The king wouldn’t break tradition for her to marry whom she wanted, even though a marriage across kingdoms was the best way to secure an alliance. So, the night before the final tournament, Atara vanished, never to be seen again. It was speculated she traveled to Allandis where she joined one of the royal houses and bribed the pairing scholars to “arrange” for her to marry the second son of the ruling king.

Ana closed the book, her heart in her throat. This couldn’t be about her mother—Mother simply could not have come from an entirely different kingdom. But hadn’t someone sent men to kill the king? Was it an assassination attempt from another kingdom that had allowed Maddoc to save the king that day? Who had the men been? And why would they be trying to kill her father?

Suspicion, annoyance, and curiosity cascaded into Ana’s mind as she realized how much she truly didn’t know and how much she hadn’t been told. The worst part was that she never questioned it, just simply took whatever she’d been told at face value. She could almost hear Maddoc’s voice in her ear calling her ignorant. She looked at the text in her hand, dread making her mouth bitter. If this was truly her mother, then she had been lied to about a lot of things, but what was the point? What were her parents, or particularly her mother, trying to hide? She looked down at the books in her lap. What was the connection between them? They were all about ruling Alpha and Omega couples, but their stories were all slightly different. Apart from the one about her mother, they all went through the arranged marriage process to find their fated mate. What was there to hide? Gritting her teeth in annoyance at her inability to piece the puzzle, Ana returned the books back where she found them, taking note of where they were so she could find them again.

She might have been ignorant and blind to a lot of things going on, but her mother wasn’t. And she would have to ask her.

“Ana.” The queen smiled widely at her and patted the seat next to her. She was preparing to visit a nearby village for a minor event and sat in front of a mirror in her bed chamber while handmaids added little gold hearts to the golden headpiece that rested on her blonde hair. “I was going to come and see you again today. I heard that you were back in the library.”

Ana didn’t return her smile. “I was,” she said. “I was reading an interesting story about an Alpha and Omega couple.”

The smile remained on her mother’s face, but the look in her eyes changed. She raised a hand, and her handmaids ceased their task and left swiftly. “Interesting. Where did you find that?” she asked casually.

“In the library. There are many in there it seems.”

The queen’s smile faded. “Then how did you find them?”

“Does it matter?” Ana asked. “I just want to know why they are hidden, and if they are true?”

“I doubt any of them are true,” Mother responded. “They are most likely stories for entertainment.”

Ana held her gaze, but she was unable to tell if her mother was lying. She