The soft growl at the back of his throat trembled in her stomach. "It was always supposed to happen. It was just delayed. My brother has been caring for you, and he thought it necessary to give you extra protection from going into your heat, on top of the steps we’d taken."

"You mean with these stupid bands?" Naya realized she wasn't wearing them. She frowned up at him. "Why aren't I wearing them? And why did your guards escort me to my room without them?"

"You don't need them right now.” His voice was heavy with satisfaction. “You smell of me."

Naya's face dropped and she dragged her eyes away. "Your methods of suppressing an Omega scent are ridiculous," she mumbled. "It's outdated. At least your brother was doing something that would protect me. He heals me. Nothing you have done has been for either reason."

Akoro growled. "I don't want to talk about Oppo."

"I don't want to talk at all!" Naya suddenly yelled. "You are in here uninvited." She pushed him, fighting against his overbearing nature, his imposing presence and the arms that pulled her and comforted her without her permission. But she was like a tiny, irritating gnat against a giant—it made no difference.

"When you build a nest, it is not just for you," Akoro said, pulling her even closer to him. "It is a sign that you want to feel safe. And that you want your Alpha with you."

Naya froze. Had she built a nest? No… It couldn’t be. This wasn’t a nest… but then, she hadn’t done this cocoon thing before. She sought out memories about what she read, her heart racing at the idea. Fuck, he was right. She scowled. "A few days ago you didn't know anything about true mates, and now suddenly know everything about Omegas?"

“It wasn't that I didn't know,” Akoro held her eye, "but I wasn't expecting it. This information has been buried in our culture. Once I sought the information out, there was plenty there."

Naya lowered her eyes, wondering why information about Omegas would be buried, but a more important question pushed that aside. "What does this mean for your invasion?"

"Nothing." He held her eyes. "You do not understand our culture yet, but a true mate pairing is considered highly rare and coveted if it happens at all. It cannot be ignored or disregarded just because you come from a land facing invasion. The invasion must still happen."

Naya's heart sank. If he had been willing to stop the invasion, she might have found a way to accept what had happened. If she was going to be used and abused, it might as well be for a good cause.

"Once you are feeling better, you will continue the meetings with my council until at least until your memory comes back," Akoro was saying. "And then we need to talk."

Naya's eyes fluttered up to his. He didn't realize that her memory had come back already. She said nothing. Those memories would be burned out of her mind if it were possible—she would never admit to having them. He could wait until death for that admission.

"The one thing that changes is that we will sleep in the same bed," Akoro said. "Here or my bedroom?"

"Neither."

Akoro’s jaw hardened. “If you don’t choose, I will choose for you.”

“You’ve chosen everything else,” Naya muttered.

“Where would you be most comfortable?”

“In my forest,” Naya breathed. “I miss my forest.”

“Tell me where you want to be?”

She wanted her forest. Her mama and papa. She wanted Drocan, Azarn and Idaya. She wanted Lili.

He kept speaking and she stared at him, letting his voice blur, just appreciating the physical nature of Alpha male who should have been hers. He was so incredibly handsome. Imagine if he had been good. Imagine if he had arrived at Lox Palace, seeking a new alliance through marriage? Imagine if they had seen each other and recognized instantly that they belonged together? Imagine that he had a desire to learn about Lox culture, while also keen to teach her about his? Imagine if that had been their beginning, the start to something that could have been incredible? But all she could do was imagine. Because that was not the reality of who her true mate was.

And so, she didn’t fight it. She’d lost on every front. Her sister, her family, her reign, her self-respect. He’d thoroughly beaten her down, so what was the point? She was nothing more than a used Omega, whose Alpha cared only to fuck her both physically and mentally.

When she no longer responded, he pulled her into him, tucking her head against his neck. Naya tried to fight it, to twist her head in a different direction, but he held her there until she was too enticed by the deliciously scented skin. She breathed him in, forced to take comfort from her enemy.

Then she let everything blur. Sound, touch, taste—she let them become non-distinct, unimportant. She didn’t want to hear or see him. She didn’t want to care—she had failed her people. She couldn’t help them from his bed. She’d become a slave to her instincts, a slave to the one who was supposed to be her true mate. And he wasn’t even going to stop his invasion.

Akoro wasn’t happy about her lack of interest. He tried to speak to her, but his voice blurred into the background. She barely looked at him and refused to speak to him. Furious at her behavior, he was constantly inside her, taking his fill multiple times a day. When her eyes opened, his fingers or mouth were on her—pinching, caressing, probing. He learned what she liked and thoroughly dominated her pleasure, hyperfocused on her orgasm, since it was the only time he heard her voice. He ate her cunt every day, as he warned he would, like a man having his favorite meal, greedy and desperate, never relenting until she came in his mouth. Naya couldn’t resist the storm of him. She remained in a sticky, seed-filled, Akoro-scented euphoria, only needing to whimper for him to slide his fingers into her folds and start driving her toward the high.

The days blurred together, and she remained the Omega. Akoro spoke, he lifted her up and buried his face in her neck. She just let him do what he wanted—it wasn’t Naya he desired, just the Omega.

He wrapped her neck and wrists with the dark red material again and let them tighten, his non-descript voice threatening and quiet. Naya experienced the squeeze with no panic, letting them tighten until no more air could come through her throat, the bands cut into her skin. But she had no fear of the bands any more, it didn't matter.

He started taking her out of the room. Once it was in front of the council. They all spoke, their blurred voices directed at her, and they expected a response. Instead, she took the time to take in the beauty of the room. One of the things she loved about this culture was the attention to detail in their design. Who had done it? Who had sat for hours carving, painting, sewing all of the little lines and patterns that made up the magnificent design of the room?

And then the healer came. He had sad eyes and defeated shoulders. She hadn’t noticed that before. He had tried to help her, but he couldn’t help her escape. Still, when she saw him, she smiled.

Akoro erupted into a blazing rage of aggravation. Bellows burst from his lips and aggression tensed his body. He grabbed the healer and yanked him back, away from her, and their blurry voices argued. Naya curled up onto the bed, trying to ignore the stink of their aggression filling the room.

He took her to the stables. And for the first time, she delighted in something. The beautiful nnirae stood around the stables eating, resting, or being groomed. The Alpha led her to her to his, the incredible beige-colored beast. It was huge, but the Alpha encouraged her to pet it and then to feed it from her hand, lastly he showed her how to groom it—long smooth strokes down his coat and then combing the spiky short hairs down his mane.