Scars of His Wrath
Copyright © 2024 by Zoey Ellis. All rights reserved.
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.
The right of Zoey Ellis to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent’s Act, 1988. All rights reserved. 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.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by any way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover photographer: Michelle Lancaster
First Edition: April 2024
CONTENTS
Author Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Eastern Lands Map
Also by Zoey Ellis
About Zoey Ellis
SCARS OF HIS WRATH
Bound by fate to the man she's sworn to defy.
Revered for her magical ability, Naya is the most treasured omega in her parents' empire. Her birth marked the arrival of peace in the land, and her people eagerly await her reign.
But Naya is haunted by a tragedy.
Finding her mate is the key to banishing the shadows plaguing her. Yet no matter how hard she searches, Naya can’t find the one who ignites the profound attraction her mate is destined to arouse.
Then one night, she is stolen.
Akoro, an alpha dominated by vengeance and violence, takes her to a distant land where her powers are useless. A cold-hearted king, he demands she help him conquer her empire.
Naya vows to safeguard her people, but she is horrified when Akoro awakens the primal craving that confirms he is her true mate.
Devastated, she endures his cruelty and growing obsession with her, certain they could never be together.
But Akoro has scars of his own.
His secrets might help her oppose him, but as she digs deeper, the desire between them erupts into an irresistible, heated torment.
Scars of His Wrath is book 1 in a steamy dark romance series set in a dark fantasy world. This book ends in a cliffhanger and contains dark romance situations. Please see author's note for warnings. For fans of faithful alpha anti-heroes, omegaverse, and captive romances.
AUTHOR NOTE
Scars of His Wrath is a Dark Romance set in a Fantasy World and contains potentially triggering situations including dub-con, torture, and violence. Please visit my website for the full list of warnings/triggers.
CHAPTER ONE
Someone else was in her forest.
A thick, muscular arm was visible from several feet away, partially obscured by a twisted, black tree trunk and the early morning mist that still lingered, desperate not to dissipate under the brightening sun.
Naya leaned forward, peering into the clinging mist to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. The tree obscured most of his body, but based on the bulging shoulder alone, the rest of him had to be enormous. An Alpha.
Naya leaned her weight onto her palms and jumped from sitting cross-legged to a tip-toe crouch. Swift, quiet.
No one should be in her dark, gnarled refuge.
How did he even get here? The forest wrapped around almost half of the palace and was only accessible from the Omega village in the lower west grounds. Far on its other side stretched a patch of desolate, grass land—Naya’s favorite spot—and beyond that, a steep, rocky decline led to the rushing Ashens River, so wild that even the empire’s strongest boats couldn’t cross. The forest was closed off from wanderers and strangers, and if anyone attempted to enter it, its trees tangled and wound their branches so tightly it was impossible to traverse farther than a few feet.
Naya could only travel through it because of her ability with magic. At fourteen she started sneaking into the forest, and she’d never seen another person this far in, which was how she preferred it.
Quietly crouched down, she observed the stranger for a few long moments. He didn’t move. She scanned the surrounding area to see if he was waiting for someone, but the forest was silent and motionless like always. On this side of it, the trees were less compact and easier to see between.
Veins scattered along the stranger’s arm. She could see him from behind, his back leaning against the tree. From his relaxed stance, she assumed he thought he was alone. The Omega village that sat between the forest and the palace housed families—it was illegal to enter the village unless you were a resident, and something about the way he held himself made her doubt he was. The forest wasn’t suitable for hunting, so why was he here?
The strangest thing was that she hadn’t heard or felt him arrive—no footsteps, rustling leaves, or voices. If he’d used magic, she would have detected it. The magic that existed in the forest was vastly different from the magic across the rest of the Lox Empire. Ancient and largely undisturbed, its brooding weight had personality.
But she’d felt no sign of it being disturbed, and if she hadn’t happened to glance over, she wouldn’t have known he was there. Maybe Papa was testing her? It wasn’t difficult to figure out where she might be in the vast forest.
From her favorite spot, she could look down over Ashens, the capital city, which sprawled in every direction in its chaotic growth to become the powerful pulse of the Lox Empire. She loved watching its moods but she no longer visited the city. For six years, only the forest had seen her with any frequency. She’d returned to it multiple times a day, battling relentless thoughts, whispering dreams, and a shame so potent, she needed to be alone in order to breathe.
Except now she wasn’t.
A hollow clang startled her out of her thoughts, sending a jolting shock racing to her heart. She snapped a look at the city. The palace tower was nearly visible from here; its noon chime rang out loud and clear. Naya straightened to her full height. The dewy early hours always quietened her thoughts, suspending her in a timeless peace, but it never really was timeless. And now she was late.
Exhaling a harsh hiss through her teeth, Naya pushed her feet in her shoes and straightened her tunic. Before reporting this man to her parents, she needed to ask him exactly what he was doing here. If it was a mistake, maybe she didn’t need to report it at all—it wasn’t as though she were in any danger. But her parents would be concerned to know a someone was in the palace forest, especially with the Omega village so close. It was protected for a reason.
