Page 1

Part 1

Prologue

Saren

Age 12

“This will help you. It’ll be over soon.”

Saren Ashford held his breath while his guardian, Patryn Ashford, stroked a loving hand over his brow. All six of New Grove’s council members were present, watching with rabid interest while the surgeon lowered the scalpel. Saren bit down on his tongue so he wouldn’t scream. White lights streaked across his vision. He shivered uncontrollably despite the restraints strapped over his limbs and chest. The rigid stretcher under him sent a chill through his bones. His eyes pleaded with Patryn to make it stop—at the very least, put him under for the procedure. But his silent request went unanswered.

Patryn looked away.

Fingers pushed inside his belly, searching for the piece of him they wanted to cut out. The council insisted that if it were gone, Saren would no longer be hindered by his emotions. If they did this, he’d be suitable for a proper role. The fact he was born an omega would not matter anymore. Tears ran down his cheeks like a roaring river, splashing into his ears and muffling the sounds of squishing and squelching, and his own screams. If he could, he’d vomit.

There was no end to the horror—the pain.

“Nearly there,” Patryn whispered, his face ashen against his dark hair.

Saren didn’t believe him. Surely, he’d die right then and there. Those horrible gloved fingers kept yanking and pulling. His throat burned from the force of his cries.

His alpha's scent filled his nose, trying but failing to soothe him. This would be the last time it could. He cried harder at the loss. After this procedure, Saren would never be whole again. He’d be ruined.

Something wet plopped into a steel dish. The split skin below his navel was yanked as tiny stabbing pricks traveled up the incision at a snail’s pace. The scar would go away, Patryn had said earlier. No one would ever know what was done in this sterile room. The community would respect Saren when he was a grown man. They would see him fit to sit on the council and lead over the Supremes. Only alphas could rule, after all. And only alphas could become the Maven.

But no one had ever seen a Telex like Saren in New Grove before. A prodigy. A gift from the first seer. It had been a shame he was born omega. So, with one simple surgery, they’d take it away. Sterilize him, and remove the very essence of his sex. He’d be perfect now.

A prince awaiting his throne.

Saren sobbed into Patryn’s wrist, desperately trying to cling to his scent. Hollowed out, in agony, fingers spasming and twitching with no end in sight. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. The animal inside him roared in misery, knowing nothing it did could fix what had been done.

“Shhh,” Patryn whispered, still petting Saren’s soaked cheeks.

Cold, burning fire was thrown over his abdomen. The bite of pain was so intense that Saren choked on his own warbling tongue. His eyes rolled into the back of his skull as violent tremors wracked his body. He seized—thick white foam spewed from his lips. Voices shouted; chairs skidded over the concrete.

Just as Saren thought he’d die from the torture, Patryn finally granted him mercy. A gentle caress fell over his mind before he surrendered to the darkness.

1

Saren

Age 13

New Grove was preparing for refugees.

Even though he was only a child, Saren knew they weren’t just refugees. He’d read all the history books and knew what the world had been like before the Telex rose to power. End Days, as it was now known, was an apocalypse for all humanity, paving the way for superior beings to consume and control those who survived. Most technologies of that era ceased to exist seemingly overnight. Contaminants fell from the sky, scorching parts of the world while freezing others.

Some said Telex engineered it. Others blamed a bio-attack of some kind. But hundreds of years had passed since then. No one knew the truth anymore.

The refugees were better off in New Grove than out in the Barrens. After all, New Grove was safe. Infrastructure was in place to ensure survival. They had strict laws and, for those who earned them, luxurious homes. They had their own food source, medicines, and schools. As with many communities, a biodome encased the settlement, ensuring no toxic air from the Barrens entered. Even the weather was manufactured and perfect. New Grove was where everyone should want to be.

Patryn reminded Saren of this almost daily—that he was lucky.

Saren didn’t feel lucky, though. He was ruined and alone. The other children were either too envious or too afraid to go near him. One boy said he didn’t smell right and accused him of being a spy. Since he was no longer detectable by scent and his pheromones had permanently changed, the other youth ostracized him. Children he used to see regularly abandoned him the moment he returned to society.

He had no place in their social hierarchy anymore, and that fact left him lost.

Avis, the general of New Grove’s militia, took that boy away. Saren didn’t even know his name, only that the boy’s parents placed mourning blossoms on their doorstep for three months afterward and reeked to the heavens of loss. He mostly stayed within the council compound afterward—too afraid another child would say something they shouldn’t and disappear.