Savage King: New Worlds - Milly Taiden Page 0,53

her eyes with the collar of her shirt. Xenos stood with his shoulders back and chin held high. In his mind, he’d been forgiven and redeemed; his alpha persona had returned. He was gorgeous, and she was so happy he was hers.

The rest of the elders gathered around Zee, chanting or singing. With Zee in the middle of their circle, the group inched away from the table. One elder took the weapons off his back. Zee was about to snatch them back, a scowl on his face before another of the elders told him no.

Shiny liquid was poured onto his shoulders, and the older females rubbed the liquid down his arms, back and stomach. It was as if they were applying sunscreen on him for all day at the beach. All still chanting and moving away. Zee caught her eye, confusion filling his face. He had no idea what was going on.

Taking her eyes from the strange ceremony, Wren saw where they were headed. The same dome that the beautiful woman had gone into a short time ago.

She sat straight up, making sure what she was seeing was correct. In front of the mound opening, his loincloth was stripped from him, and he was pushed inside. The elders sealed the opening.

The old man that had been talking, turned back to the tables of the tribe members. “And now, the first duty of the reigning alpha shall be completed. Neither alpha nor mate are allowed to leave their home until an heir has been conceived. May the Gnoleon live long.” He raised his arm, and the people cheered.

Wren jumped to her feet, knocking her chair back. Everything in her turned cold and unfeeling. That exquisite female had been chosen to be his mate. And he wouldn’t be able to get out of the mating until the woman was pregnant.

Lilah’s and Daphne’s eyes were on her. Their shock was as apparent as hers felt. Wren felt sick, sweat breaking out on her forehead. She turned and hurried toward the mound she and Zee had shared.

She jerked her body in another direction. No, she couldn’t go in there and see where they had been together only hours ago. Somewhere behind her, Haml called her name. She couldn’t face him, couldn’t face anyone. She broke into a run, cutting between mounds and into the woods.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Wren ran through the woods with no place to go. She just kept running. Her heart was frozen and shattered into pieces. She cursed herself for being so gullible, so stupid, to fall in love with someone so perfect. She should’ve known someone like her, plain and boring, would never be allowed to have someone like Xenos.

But he had told her he loved her, that she was his true mate and would never leave her. Well, didn’t take long for that to be proven a lie. In her stories, the alphas never lied to those they loved. They never hurt those who loved them in return.

And fucking-A, she wasn’t writing one of her books. She was on a fucking alien planet controlled by evil, dark magic. What the fuck should she have expected? Evil was out to ruin all goodness and light. And it had done a perfect fucking job on her. All her happiness and light were dead. She wished she were too.

Tears blurred her vision, but she kept running. She wouldn’t stop until her body was exhausted and couldn’t go any longer. Maybe by then, she would’ve fallen off the edge of the planet into space where all the hurt would go away.

Her bare toes rammed into a root and she yelled, skidding on the ground. She grabbed her foot and cried, pulling into a ball of pathetic blubbering. She screamed out her anger into the forest around her. If she didn’t let it free, she would’ve exploded.

Something soft touched her cheek. She opened her eyes to see leaves floating down from the trees above. They trees were crying with her, shedding the only thing they had to give. That’s what she felt like—that she’d given all she had to him and she was bare. Exposed and naked with nothing to cover her leafless limbs.

The sunlight streamed through openings created by the sway of the sky-high canopy. The dust drifting among the beams sparkled like tiny fairy lights falling on and around her.

She tilted her head up to let the sun dry her tears. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled as much pain as she could. Not