Consumed (Tribes Book 5) by Milana Jacks

Author:Milana Jacks [Jacks, Milana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Milana Jacks, LLC
Published: 2021-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Tash

While Imani shops for paint, Kore and I lean against the wall and drop the bags full of Lena’s clothes and jewelry. They thump on the ground.

Kore’s eyes roam the marketplace. “They can all smell them, but they’re not approaching. Why?”

“I killed the predator who tried to take a bite out of Bera the last time I was here.”

“Ah. Our little brother must’ve been pleased you were in the city and didn’t come to pay your respects.”

I snort. “Like sister, like brother. And where were you hiding while I was in town?”

“Here and there.”

Kore recruits for Ark in the same way Ark and I have been recruiting all over the land. When Ark walks back into Ralna, people will start dividing. Some will follow the current bloodline, that of my stepfather, and others will follow Ark. Although Ark is an Alpha of our tribe, he’s not yet the Rai because he hasn’t responded when called for a vote on our Rai. The reason we refuse to answer the call for a vote is because we don’t have the majority of support.

My stepbrother and my mother do. Earls such as me know my stepbrother will be easier to manipulate once elected Rai. Whoever gets favor with the Rai gets the spoils of wars. This is how it’s done in the Ra tribe. Ark is undefeated, cunning, and unpredictable. They can either submit to his hunter or alienate themselves from the tribe, in which case, Ark will cut off all access to Ralna’s market, a place where tribes come to trade or buy goods.

Imani’s smiling at something Lena said, and the two women laugh. Their voices are like music and carry over the crowded space, and more than one predator stills, tilting their heads as if unsure what they’re hearing. Bera’s laughter and commands are said to slither into ears like tiny vipers, but unlike Amti, Bera doesn’t drive us mad. She makes us do whatever she wants. My people believe Ila, her daughter, carries Bera’s laughter over the winds and spreads joy across the lands. Or a whisper to take up arms and go to war.

I march across the street and spin her around. I kiss her like I’m mad, and I probably am a little insane given I’ve figured out what I’m gonna do with her. No male is allowed to mark Bera. She might slay me for it, but then again, she might not.

Bera’s wide brown eyes look up in surprise as I step back. Some merchants I’ve known since I was a boy hoot.

“What was that for?” she asks.

“No reason.”

She looks around and sees that people are staring.

“If you tell them you’re Bera, they’ll throw their goods at you.”

“I feel like…that’s not a good idea,” she says.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I think we should leave now.”

“All right. We honor our instincts. Are you about done?”

Imani nods and drops the feathers she was holding. “I’m ready.”

I pick up a bundle of fake blue feathers. Blue feathers come from

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