Chapter: Ch. 19 An Exemplary LeaderThe smell of food was intoxicating as we walked through the doors into the dining hall. Mages from all over the island came here to eat, so it was rarely a quiet occasion. My stomach twisted painfully as I inhaled the aroma of fresh bread and seasoned meats. This was the only good outcome of yesterday’s tragedy; those who managed to return safely hadn’t abandoned the spoils of their hunting ventures. My people would eat well for a few weeks before another hunting party would need to be dispatched. The mages who offered up their services to cook and prepare meals always laid out the choices buffet-style on a long table. Everyone understood the importance of being mindful of their portions. We had little food to share between a large group of mages. I helped myself to a slice of venison, some fresh vegetables from the royal gardens, and one of Godfrey’s fresh rolls. He had absolutely perfected them. They had a beautifully crisp exterior, and once you took a bite, you would discover a
Last Updated: 2024-11-15
Chapter: Ch. 18 Not in a HurrySylvren's voice cut through the air like ice, her tone sharp as if crackles of electricity surrounded the Queen Mage. I watched Gil very slowly wiping his fingers on his pants, his face as red as my hair, which I was hurriedly trying to fix. As if regaining control of my wind-blown hair could erase what my mother had just witnessed. "A little inappropriate, don't you think, now that you're engaged?" Sylvren's words lingered in the air, tinged with disapproval. "Technically," I breathed out, more of a pant than a response, attempting to mask my embarrassment with false bravado. "I'm not engaged yet." I added, my hand grasping for the contract. When my fingers only felt the hard stone of the bench, I looked over and saw the contract lazily making its way back towards me on a soft breeze—our passion tornado had rehomed it several feet away. Snatching it from the air, I whispered, "Thank you," to Gil under my breath. I extended the paperwork to my mother, who ripped it from my grasp. "
Last Updated: 2024-03-24
Chapter: Ch. 17 Too WarmGil covered my hand with his. "That's the future. Don't worry about it right now. Live in the present. Right here. With me. In the garden you love so much," he said softly, and I looked up, meeting his golden-brown eyes—the ones that looked so much like Ignatius's. "No, don't go there. Don't dwell in that dark place in your mind. Stay here, with me. In this garden, with this beautiful Morning Glory vine that Enid absolutely hates because it's a waste of space and kills everything it touches," he crooned. He always seemed to know what I needed, even before I did. My thoughts, which had been a jumbled mess just moments ago, began to dissipate, pushed back enough to give me time to breathe and relax. He understood my struggle to prioritize my thoughts sometimes and always did what he could to give me a break from the constant noise of ideas and emotions in my head. "Don't think about earlier. Don't think about tomorrow. Just think about right now. Just this," he whispered right before
Last Updated: 2024-03-22
Chapter: Ch. 16 I am Your Right Hand"Malorie," I called softly once I was outside the Council Chamber doors, knowing the Potioneer had stayed nearby in case she was needed. The other mage rushed out from around the corner and gave me a quick bow. “Princess,” she acknowledged. "Malorie, could you please show the esteemed Captain to the guest chambers where he can stay for the night? And if he would like to get out and stretch his legs at all throughout the day, make sure someone is there to escort him," I said, fully aware that Tross was listening through the open door, though I didn't turn to look at him. "It will be done, Princess," the Potioneer replied with another bow. I sighed and shook my head slightly. "Seriously, stop with the bowing, Mal," I whispered, and she nodded in compliance. I turned to walk away but paused and looked back over my shoulder at her. "If you run into my mother, and she seems in a foul mood, tell her I'll be in the gardens, would you?" With that, I headed out the side door that led into
Last Updated: 2024-03-22
Chapter: Ch. 15 Courtesy"No..." He said, pausing to give me another look up and down, as if verifying something in his head. "In the event that she is still too young to marry and fulfill wifely responsibilities, she'd be promised to the Prince until she is old enough to carry out those duties. Obviously, we'd still take her with us and let her finish her childhood in the Kingdom, as per the letter we sent. But the sooner we can present this unity to our people, the better." He offered, looking like he'd rather be discussing anything but my daughter’s "wifely responsibilities" with me. Frustration bubbled up within me; apparently, there had been more in that letter than my mother let on. "Hmmm," I said, leaning back. "So, how old is she? If you don't mind my saying, Queen Mage, you look awfully young to have an heir old enough to be married off," he noted. "The Princess is plenty old enough to be married. She goes into this willingly. Fiery, a little temperamental maybe, but willingly nonetheless." I repli
Last Updated: 2024-03-22
Chapter: Ch. 14 Only So Far"Your Majesty—" "And stop calling me that." I waved a hand in his direction. "That's a made-up human title meant to bolster and feed the egos of those who wear your unnecessary crowns. Real leaders don't need inflated egos or fancy accessories to prove their worth to their people. So for me to be called as such is insulting," I finished coolly. Tross just stared at me, wide-eyed for a moment, before shaking himself back to the present and clearing his throat. "Yes, Queen Mage. I apologize for any offense. But if I may, what do you mean you don't want to be ruled by the King?" "I mean just that. We'll ally with him; we'll help when needed, when we can. We'll fulfill our part of the contract. But at the end of it all, mages will still be their own people, their own rulers. This alliance, between," I paused, almost saying "myself and the throne," but corrected it to maintain the ruse, "the Princess and the throne, will, as your King put in his letter, be a symbolic marriage to sho
Last Updated: 2024-03-22
Born of Ash, Risen to Rule
In a world where Werewolves, Vampires and other mythological creatures have evolved to not only fit in with the human world, but to run it, a young witch, raised by an erratic coven of witches finds herself an important pawn in a war that began centuries before her birth.
Prudence Skov, Rue to her friends, Styria to her enemies, is charged with a mission that will most likely end in her death, but it would be the steppingstone her coven needs to turn the tide of this war in their favor, getting them one step closer to righting all that is wrong with this new world of drug dealing werewolves, business mogul vampires and the disgusting practice of human trafficking. Humans, who once fought each other to end slavery, ended back up on the bottom of the food chain when their predators, though outnumbered had learned how to blend in.
Rue, ready to do whatever it takes to keep herself and her brother safe, knows that being sold into the employ of Phoenix Arizona's most eligible werewolf bachelor is necessary in accomplishing that. But when a wedge is thrown in her plans, her world balances on a precarious edge that naivety had once shielded her from.
Will she take the beating of these men who think they own everything and accept her role as a pawn? Or does she have it in her to take control of her destiny, to rise from the ashes of her past and come back stronger than ever?
Chaos, love, pain, loss, spicy secrets and more await you in this thrilling story of myths and dangers.
Read
Chapter: Chapter 0014The last of the time slots seemed to pass by so slowly. My heart was pounding ridiculously loud in my chest, mimicking the beat of each footstep the purveyor took across the stage as he talked up the audience over each "item" before he'd begin calling out numbers and declaring the new master of each slave based on who was most willing to dump out the highest amount of their dirty money from their pockets. The whole thing was making me sick. "Forty-eight," he called out and I swear my head vibrated with those words as they hung heavily in the air. So close. We were so close to my number being called. I was barely following along with the proceedings. My mind was a jumbled mess but I tried to pay attention to the current being up for sale. The slave, in this case, a male vampire who could manipulate some things, some ways at some times. I didn't know. The words were all a muffled noise in my ears, the movements all blurs that seemed to simultaneously be speeding by while also crawli
Last Updated: 2024-05-26
Chapter: Chapter 0013Reese's POV "Don't look at the succubus," Came the order through his earpiece. Reese gritted his teeth, deciding instead to focus his eyes on the man, woman and boy that he'd been told to watch. Nothing serious had really happened with them this whole time aside from the salty tears Reese could smell coming from the boy. When he'd looked, sure enough, Reese had seen a couple drip off the boy's nose onto the ground, though he did a good job keeping his head down to hide them. He must know the mage girl personally somehow, Reese thought to himself. "Nordberg is bidding on this one," Taylor's voice sounded in his ear. Reese refrained from looking at the man to see for himself.Taylor was one of the Pack that wasn't a werewolf, but that didn't diminish her importance to the group one bit. She took on one of the most dangerous jobs our Alpha ever asked of us. And she did it daily and with no complaints. She was constantly infiltrating enemy ranks like she was one of their avid followers
Last Updated: 2024-05-19
Chapter: Chapter 0012I wrung my hands in my lap as I stared back at Lathan. I was his mate, right? According to all the old texts I'd had to study over the years about werewolves, a fated mate was something special to them. A rare gift that they believed came from their beloved Moon Goddess. So rare they'd do anything for them. So, would he make sure I got out of this safely? Would he do anything to ensure my safety? I wondered, my stomach roiling with nerves. "-later on in years, but still has many more years of service to offer! He's done it all, from kitchen duty, maid service, butlering, even bedroom tasks are in his repertoire, and high ratings from what I'm told. You don't want to miss out on this item! Bidding starts at fifty." I chewed my bottom lip as I waited for someone to put their paddle up. Hoping it would be someone who looked kind at least. The purveyor asked a few more times for fifty before lowering it. And lowering it. And lowering it... Down to twenty grand and no one raised a padd
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
Chapter: Chapter 0011Prudence's POV As soon as the man's voice came over the speakers, the entire room fell silent and the lights fully dimmed. My talkative neighbor and I were in complete darkness with the rest of the slaves. "Everything will be ok," the old man said from behind me and I don't know how, but a calm settled over me. I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me and continued to stare out towards the congregation of rich assholes who believed they had this right to sell and use people. "It will be ok," my neighbor in chains repeated and another wave of contentment hit me. "Tonight is going to be one special night," the man who was hosting the event continued. "In fact, I've a feeling it's going to set the new precedent for future events. Records are going to be set, pockets are going to empty! I can feel it in my bones!" he declared with such enthusiasm I saw people lean forward in their seats out in the audience. The night's purveyor was somewhere in his forties, and so energetic that I knew
Last Updated: 2024-05-02
Chapter: Chapter 0010Reese's POV"All of it goes on her," his Alpha's voice said over his bluetooth."You go it boss," Reese responded quietly along with the confirmations from the other four members that were also on the conference call. Not all of them were able to communicate telepathically, so the use of phones was necessary.Honestly, not many people knew about the telepathic means of communicating anymore, it was something that had been forgotten by most over the centuries of adaptation and magic loss. Reese had been a skeptic of it even being a thing before he'd taken the oath, joined the pack the way the Moon Goddess had intended and had found out firsthand that he could hear the other stronger pack members in his head. Some of the mid tier members were able to communicate telepathically, only if they were in their wolf form. Some couldn't even then. And then the most unlucky of them couldn't even access their wolf skins.The inability for some of them to be able to communicate that way, or even c
Last Updated: 2024-04-28
Chapter: Chapter 0009We found the spot that was reserved for time slot 50.For me, I realized, swallowing hard.The viewing seats were located on a darkened platform connected to the main stage by stairs that led down into the lit center of it all. Where they had us sitting was dark enough that it would black us out from the audience should they wish to. Looking up, there were dozens of lights that pointed in all different directions."Spotlights," whispered a voice slightly behind me to my right.I looked back at the older man, chewing my lip.Glancing back up at the lights when he just stared at me with a goofy smile on his face. They were probably used for when each lot number was initially called and we'd be strutted across the stage to show the buyers the goods. Leanne had described to me in detail what would happen and what would be expected of me.I felt like a piece of meat being put on display in a butcher's window. A very rare piece of meat, at least. I allowed myself to think, remembering the
Last Updated: 2024-04-18
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