A Savage Debt (Beholden Duet Book 1) Read online

  “Her family was one of the ones affected, Your Majesty,” the handmaid said, tears in her eyes. “Her husband has died, and her son is injured. She is safe,” she quickly added. “But her family house was one of those damaged.”

  Ana was mortified. Milly had been with her husband and lived in her house since before Ana was born. Thankfully, she was alive, but why should she have lost her husband and home because she happened to be a noble? Why should people lose their lives because of it? None of them deserved this. “I want to see her.”

  It was a few hours before Milly came to visit Ana’s bed chamber. She was nothing like the bristly Milly she’d always known. Tears shone in her blue eyes, and her brown hair was in complete disarray. Smoke covered her clothes, her hands were black with soot, and the dark smudges on her face made her expression so haunting.

  Ana couldn’t help the tears from falling as they spoke for the next hour. Milly was in a complete daze, and it anguished her to see someone who had always been so authoritative look so lost. But based on some of the things Milly hinted at, it was worse that Ana thought. Now that Milly had lost her husband and her home, she couldn’t officially maintain her noble status. She could be retained as Ana’s lady-in-waiting as a live-in servant, but she would drop down in the social structure to tradesperson. That meant there was a limit to how much she could earn. With her son also injured, and Milly being an older woman, there were no guarantees she would find her way back to noble status.

  Ana was certain she could do something to help, but she didn’t know law or procedure.

  “You are lucky,” Milly said to her, after they both had been sitting in silence for awhile, digesting what had happened. “At least as queen, you will not be bound to your status through your husband.” She looked at Ana. “The Alpha and Omega kings and queens always rule equally as a pair, but nothing else is like that in our society.”

  That was true. “I wonder why,” Ana murmured. “It seems insane that it’s not.”

  Milly shrugged. “Omegas are special, I suppose. And they biologically complement their Alphas. It goes deeper than any other pairing. Maybe the Omega has to be equal or the Alpha can’t rule.”

  Ana nodded. That seemed to make sense. Maybe that was one of the other things that all the stories she’d read had in common.

  “I’m so sorry, Milly. I’m so sorry this happened.”

  Milly patted Ana’s back as she hugged her. “I’ll be fine. It’s not your fault, Ana.”

  But it was.

  As the afternoon wore on, a ball of white fury and guilt burned heavily in Ana’s chest. This was a perfect example of the destruction Maddoc caused—this was who he really was. How she could have felt the slightest bit of doubt about the tales about him? Why would he be any different to what she’d heard and read?

  As reports came through, the blast had apparently been an accident, but Ana knew differently. Maddoc wanted to be able to come back in tonight. None of his current supporters could justify allowing him back into the palace if he admitted to killing and destroying innocent nobles. Ana knew without a doubt, he was to blame. But wasn’t the only one.

  This was her fault too. She didn’t explicitly tell her parents about Maddoc’s threat, nor did she warn them that he’d boasted about having spies inside the palace. There was no excuse for her withholding that. She’d simply been stupid—she hadn’t believed Maddoc, and therefore didn’t think it was important to repeat. In the back of her mind, she also didn’t want to do or say anything that would inflame the conflict between Father and Maddoc and cause them to start an outright declaration of a violent war or kill each other, but Maddoc was not her Alpha nor her husband. He wasn’t even her lover. He had manipulated everyone so he could get her in a room with him, and then used her like a whore to get back at her father. That was what he did; make others suffer because of his hatred of the crown. She shouldn’t have believed anything he said, because one thing remained clear; if Ana had warned her father, Milly’s family may not be dead and injured, and she may not have been in the situation she was now in.

  She brushed away the angry tears in her eyes. Even though she was furious with Maddoc for what he did, she knew there was no point in trying to talk to him about it. He would only get angry, lie, and confuse her… it wasn’t worth it. She just had to get through her last night with him and then never see him again. At least he had made her decision easy—she was not going to warn him about Father arranging to take his life. If he managed to survive, it wouldn’t matter to her. If he died, it would be at least some sort of justice for Milly. Ana would class her time with him as a sexual learning experience and nothing more. Those nights with him felt like she was a different person in a different time, but that’s not who she could be.

  She spent the afternoon brushing and rebraiding her hair in preparation for dusk. She picked a simpler dress to wear and even did her make-up. It was remarkable how different she felt about the situation now that this tragedy happened. Something cold, empty, and hard had lodged into her chest, and it would not be removed.

  As dusk approached, there was a knock at her door, and she firmed her mind to deal with him. But when she opened the door, it wasn’t her guards. “Ryden?”

  Ryden pushed his way into her room and looked around. “You’re alone?” He spoke firmly, a serious air about him, and Ana eyed him carefully.

  “Yes, what are you doing here?”

  Ryden turned to her. His hair had been styled differently, which made him look older, but he wasn’t wearing any of his normal clothes. He wore traveling furs, a cape, and had a cloak thrown over his arm.

  “I’ve been trying to see you for the last two days, Ana,” he said firmly. “Have you been refusing to see me?”

  Ana shook her head. “No. I was in the library today, and yesterday I didn’t want to see anyone. I wasn’t in the right state, I’m sorry. I couldn’t face it.”

  Ryden strode toward her, and took her hands in his own. “I wish you had let me at least try to comfort you, Ana. I had something I wanted to tell you that might have helped.”

  Ana eyed him. Something about him was different, he looked more regal, and certainly more resolute. “What is it?”

  “Before I tell you, I want to know how you feel about this outlaw.”

  “I feel nothing for him,” Ana said immediately. Something inside her twisted at the words, but she wasn’t going to give him the benefit of the doubt anymore.

  “You are sure?” Ryden asked, watching her closely.

  “Absolutely. He is a criminal.”

  “Then come with me.”

  Ana sighed. “We talked about this—”

  “We did, but at that time I didn’t have the support of Houses Thorneshaw and Goldfrost.”

  Ana stilled. “What do you mean? Support for what?”

  “Support for us to break the Royal Promise and marry now.”

  Ana’s eyes widened. “I don’t understand. How can that happen?”

  “I can explain it all on the way,” he said, handing her the cloak, “but we must go now.”

  Ana pulled away from him. “I can’t risk anything happening to my father because of this. If I’m not there, Maddoc will blame others and hurt people.”

  “He can blame me,” Ryden said bluntly, his upper muscles flexing. “This is not a secret, Ana. I will send a message to your father about what’s happening, and our wedding will be announced and celebrated everywhere. If Maddoc wants you, he will have to go through me and at least two other houses to get you, not to mention your father.”

  “And if he succeeds?” Ana said, slightly panicked. “You will all be dead, and I’ll be stuck with him!”

  Ryden gently grabbed her shoulders, and stepped close to her, lowering his voice. “I already told you that I want to marry you, no matter what happened with that thug. That is not going to change at any time. I won’t give you to this bastard because he is bent on revenge. We have our entire lives ahead of us. We cannot live the
m in fear.”

  Ana took a deep breath. Ryden was right, of course. She’d been clinging to the fact that she only had one more night with Maddoc before her father killed him, but if he managed to escape, he wouldn’t leave her alone; he’d basically said so. Maybe she should be more proactive and stop being a victim for once?

  “Ana?” When she looked up at Ryden, he peered down at her with a hard jaw. “Do you doubt us?”

  Ana smiled at him. With all the successful Alpha and Omegas who had been paired the way they had, it was difficult to maintain any doubts about them belonging together. “No. It’s just a surprise. Everything feels like it moving so fast.”

  “I know, but we were always going to be together, and I shouldn’t have let you go through even the first nights. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, Ryden.” And it wasn’t hers either. Ana took a deep breath. “All right, let’s go.”

  9

  MADDOC

  The first thing that alerted him something was wrong was that Analisa’s guards were not at the door.

  Maddoc clenched his fists, tension sparking up his muscles. It was not a good sign. Either they had left her unprotected or she wasn’t in there. Either way he wasn’t going to be happy. He’d been impressed with the king’s attempts to keep her safe. Although his guards were practically useless, he was at least trying, and Maddoc had to be appreciative of that.

  Staying alert, he approached the room tentatively, remaining watchful for anything else out of place in the corridor. There were no other doors along this corridor, and it was out of the way for most courtiers, so it had been perfect for his time with his Omega. Only one more night to go.

  When he opened the door and entered, he was annoyed to see it empty. Granted it wasn’t dusk yet, but Analisa had always been waiting for him. He closed the door behind him, and examined the space. It was exactly the way it had been the last two nights; a table in the far left with food spread out along it, a crude washroom in the corner, and a large bed in the center. The darkening sky had an orange tint to it today and filled the room with a warm glow that would make Analisa’s hair look stunning. Her beautiful scent still lingered in the room, and in his nose from when he licked and nibbled her clit this morning. It had been a mistake to get between her legs like that just before they had to leave each other. He’d been rock hard all day, distracted, and fucking irritable. The way she moaned, the way she stroked his hair… Fuck. He couldn’t wait to claim her. He was even contemplating forgetting the rules and sinking inside her before dusk arrived, but everything had been too carefully planned to start fucking around with things now. So he would wait, cling to his last remaining willpower until dusk. Then he would take everything.

  He walked to the window. Nothing looked amiss, and yet everything felt wrong. Analisa should be in here.

  When dusk arrived, she had better be in the room or hell would rain down on the king. The only thing that man seemed to have gotten right was producing a woman like Analisa.

  Maddoc should have known that she would be different. Of course she was the most beautiful woman in Allandis, but beauty did not always mean anything. He’d been apprehensive about whether she truly was the way she’d been portrayed. Some virginal, innocent child, who they were clearly intending to keep as a child for as long as possible, so the king could hold onto his reign.

  Maddoc had seen her visiting villages and towns, talking to the people, playing with children—always pleasant, never a harsh word for any of the commoners, even when they harassed her. But that behavior made her seem dull, with no personality, no fire. And with all that beautiful red hair… what a fucking waste it would have been.

  He made it his mission to see her five times before arranging this plan, and she never once strayed from the personality constructed for her. Luckily, Analisa wasn’t like that at all.

  And in all truth, she never could’ve been—she was his, after all.

  He gritted his teeth as the sky changed, a vicious fury flaring around his body. She wasn’t coming.

  Maddoc stormed out of the room, holding back the roar he wanted to blare across the whole palace. He couldn’t alert anyone yet, not until he got to the king and found out what he’d done with Ana. Then he would suffer.

  It didn’t take long to gather his men stationed nearby. Within half an hour, they used the known entry points to enter the palace and gather outside the king’s throne room.

  Even though he was infuriated, it was clear that something was amiss in the palace. Even if Analisa wasn’t coming, it was strange to not be greeted by guards, trying to kill him, capture him, or escort him out. It was unlikely the king would allow him to simply roam the palace when he had no reason to be there, regardless of what the people of Allandis thought about his visits. Maddoc tried to be careful and think things through, but anger was coursing through his veins more than any other time in his life. He had been so close, but she had slipped through his fingers. He would need to start again—another three nights.

  Once his men were ready, he burst into the throne room and strode to the center, his eyes on the king while his men flanked him. The king sat next to the queen, who looked teary, and a number of their advisors surrounded him.

  “I don’t have time for you right now, Maddoc,” the king snarled, rising from his seat. “This is all your fucking fault!”

  King Orick was sending him away instead of killing him? Something was certainly wrong. “What are you talking about?”

  “Ana is gone.”

  Maddoc tensed. “What are you talking about?”

  “She left!” he bellowed. “She’s gone to get married, so she can break the promise.” He threw a page of parchment at Maddoc, and one of his men collected it for him to read.

  The anger that he was barely holding onto nearly erupted as he read it. His woman seemed to think she could play him for a fool. He had warned her multiple times, and yet she had not only chosen to skip their last night, she’d decided to disappear with this idiot of an Alpha who she was betrothed to. He had made himself very clear, and she hadn’t listened.

  “I don’t care what they think. The Royal Promise cannot be broken,” he growled, throwing back the note.

  “I know that!” The king’s face was dark. “If I thought it could be broken, you wouldn’t have touched her at all. But it’s whatever you did has caused her to make this foolish decision.” He pointed at Maddoc, snarling. “It is your fault.”

  For a moment, doubt flickered in Maddoc’s chest. Had he been too rough with her, too hard? He didn’t try to hold back Analisa, he didn’t need to. He gave her everything, and she had responded with such a beautiful enthusiasm; it encouraged him on. It was even more evidence that he was her Alpha, and she was his Omega. Of course, it was problematic that they didn’t agree on anything, apart from how magnificent his cock in her pussy was, but that didn’t matter right now. They would have time to figure that out. But this… this was a problem. He couldn’t allow any other man to touch her, let alone marry her. She belonged to Maddoc. And her betrothed, Ryden, should have known better. Clearly he had ulterior motives for persuading Ana to do this. There was no way there could be even half the attraction between them as there was between her and Maddoc, and he told her that! The man hadn’t even fucked her in the years since it had been announced they were paired. It was unnatural. Still, maybe this situation would provide him with an advantage.

  “I will find her,” he bit out to the king. “Do not get in my way.”

  “You will not!” the king roared.

  Maddoc roared back, the air in his lungs on fire as he released his rage. This old man thought he could challenge him?! “The promise is still not paid off yet, Orick! Her nights are still mine until it is. So I will find her.”

  “Do you think I give a fuck about your cock?” The king said, incredulously. “Go and find some redheaded whore and pretend she’s Ana, if you still crave her, but you will leave her alone or you will be fucking killed.
”

  Maddoc’s fingers itched, prompting him to reach for his blade, but he held off. He didn’t want to kill the king, but he could still make this work for him. “I will make you a deal.”

  The king glared at him but said nothing, indicating that he was willing to at least listen.

  “If you find her first, the promise is forgotten, the debt is paid. But if I find her first… she is mine.”

  The king frowned, horror bleeding into his face. “There is no benefit for me to make that deal.”

  “No? You do realize that once she returns, without this deal, the three nights start from the beginning?”

  The king’s nose flared, and the Queen began to sob. Maddoc and the king glared at each other for a long moment, until the king broke the gaze, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

  “I will agree on one condition,” he said. “If Ana does not want to stay with you for longer than a month, you will let her go.”

  Maddoc almost told him to fuck off. Analisa was would not be permitted to leave him. Ever. But what was the use of telling that to the king. He wanted the reassurance his daughter could have freedom if she was still upset after a month, but that was not the way things worked. Still, if he found her first, how would she know?

  “Three months.”

  The king dipped his head in a slow nod. “Deal.”

  “Deal,” Maddoc repeated.

  He turned and made his way out of the palace, surrounded by his men. Clearly his Omega was stubborn and disobedient. It would take more work to get her, but he wouldn’t have it any other way—she was worth it. But he was furious she hadn’t listened. She didn’t take him seriously and that had to change, no matter how hard she had to learn that lesson. Maybe it was the days she’d spent away from him that were the problem. Once he got her back, he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. He would have his Omega, and the royal court, and all that came with it, could burn.