Novels by Confidence Chigozirim Emeka

The floor trembled under the weight of boots. A sharp thud rattled the shutters, followed by the splintering crack of wood splitting under force. My lungs tightened, panic clawing at my chest.Kenneth’s hand was still locked on mine, his grip so firm it almost hurt, dragging me down the narrow hall that smelled of dust and cedar. He didn’t speak, didn’t look back, just moved with the ruthless precision of a man who had done this too many times before.“Wait” I gasped, stumbling over my own feet. “Kenneth, what’s happening? Who”“Quiet.” His voice was a blade. “They’re here for you.”The words gutted me, sharper than the pounding boots outside. Not for him. For me.We reached a steel door at the back of the house. Kenneth shoved me against the wall, his body shielding mine as he pressed a code into the keypad. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might crack.The lock clicked. He yanked the door open, revealing a stairwell that plunged into darkness.“Go.”I froze, staring at the

The silence pressed against me long after the door clicked shut. It wasn’t the kind of silence that soothed, it was thick, restless, filled with the memory of his eyes and the ghost of his almost-touch.I curled my knees to my chest on the couch, staring into the dim safehouse. The shadows stretched long across the wooden floor, the air heavy with cedar and dust. Every corner felt foreign, every breath shallow.But the strangest thing of all was that the danger outside didn’t scare me half as much as the man who’d just left the room.Kenneth Diego. My husband. My punishment. My protector. My cage.I pressed a hand against my chest, willing my heart to slow. Not if he’s in it with me. The thought had slipped into my mind like a treacherous whisper, one I should have crushed before it grew roots. But it lingered, no matter how hard I tried to silence it.The floor creaked faintly outside the door, pulling me back into the moment. His footsteps—steady, measured, purposeful. I imagined hi

His grip on my shoulders was bruising, his eyes burning into mine with a feverish intensity that made it hard to breathe. The words still echoed between us, They want you dead.I froze, staring up at him, trying to make sense of the whirlwind that was Kenneth Diego. One moment he was cold, calculating, calling me leverage. The next, he was trembling with the kind of desperation that didn’t belong to a man who claimed not to care.“Why?” My voice was barely a whisper, my lips trembling as I searched his face. “Why me?”His jaw clenched. He looked away, as though my question was too dangerous to answer, his hand still hot and heavy on my shoulders.“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”That wall again. His fortress of silence.I swallowed hard. “I don’t want your protection if it comes with chains. If I’m already marked”“You don’t get a choice, Melinda.” His voice cracked, low but sharp. “You think I wanted this? You think I wanted you here? But if you step out of line,

His words struck harder than any blow, sharper than any blade.Punishment.The syllables reverberated in my chest, tearing through bone and breath until I could barely feel the ground beneath my feet.For a moment, I forgot the blood on his shirt, the fight that still echoed faintly in the night air. I forgot the car that had just vanished into the shadows. All I saw was him, Kenneth Diego, standing before me like a broken monument. His chest rose and fell, each breath ragged, like the words had ripped something out of him too.“I don’t” My voice cracked, fragile. “I don’t understand.”Kenneth released my wrist slowly, as if the weight of his grip had burned him. He staggered back a step, dragging a bloodied hand across his jaw. The night wind caught his shirt, torn and hanging from his frame, revealing the deep bruise already darkening along his ribs.“You’re not supposed to,” he said finally, his tone flat. Brutal. A verdict, not an explanation.Anger clawed at me, burning through t

The night air bit into my skin as I froze before the idling car, my breath catching like a trapped bird. My legs screamed to run, but my body refused to obey. The stranger from the study—sharp suit, eyes like black steel, a predator wrapped in calm, watched me with that same cutting smile.“Get in, Mrs. Diego,” he repeated, his tone smooth, polished, lethal. “We’ve been waiting for you.”The car’s interior was dark, shadow swallowing shadow, but I could see the faint outline of another figure in the backseat. Watching. Waiting.My hand gripped the rusty gate behind me, the cold iron biting into my palm. Kenneth’s voice still rang in my head, Run.But where could I run now? Behind me, chaos exploded: shouts, fists meeting flesh, Kenneth’s low growl like a storm breaking. He was fighting for me. Fighting them.And yet here was this man, calm and patient, like he already knew the end of the story.“I’m not going with you,” I said, though my voice shook.The stranger chuckled softly, tilt

The marble floor was cold under my feet as I bolted up the staircase, my breath tearing in ragged bursts. My nightgown clung to me like a second skin, and the air around me thickened with the echo of men’s voices, sharp and cutting, ricocheting through the vast mansion.“Run.”That one word, Kenneth’s voice, deep and burning with urgency, rang inside my head with every pounding step.But run where?This was his house, his cage. Every hallway twisted into another, every locked door reminded me that I wasn’t free. And if those men were hunting me…I darted down a corridor, heart slamming, lungs burning, until I pressed myself against the wall of a shadowed alcove. My hand flew to my mouth, muffling my breath as footsteps thundered below.“Find her!” The younger man’s voice was sharp, furious, animalistic.I flinched, curling into the shadows, praying the moonlight spilling through the windows wouldn’t betray me.Another voice followed, calm, dangerous, commanding. The stranger. “If she

The fortress trembled long before the first horn blew.I’d been pacing my chamber for hours, unable to rest. Sleep mocked me; every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face, molten gold eyes, firelight flickering over skin that looked too human and too divine all at once.Draven Blackflame.The Hybrid Alpha.The curse and the crown of the realm.And somehow, I was bound to him.The thought made my chest twist with something I couldn’t name, part fear, part anger… part something dangerously close to longing.Outside, thunder cracked across the mountains, echoing off the obsidian walls. But it wasn’t thunder. It was dragons. Hundreds of them, roaring across the skies in warning.The Alphas had arrived.A knock came at my door, sharp and impatient. I turned, heart hammering. “Come in.”Kael entered, armored head to toe in blackened steel. His expression was unreadable, but his aura was tense, that telltale scent of danger in the air. “You’re being summoned.”I folded my arms. “Again?”“Thi

The fortress didn’t sleep that night.Wolves in black armor patrolled the courtyards. Dragons circled the skies, their roars splitting the silence. The torches burned blue instead of gold, a sign of war readiness, Kael had told me earlier.And somewhere at the heart of it all, the Hybrid Alpha prepared to summon his enemies into his home.I sat by the narrow window, watching the horizon bleed crimson. Every instinct screamed that I should run, that I didn’t belong here, that I never would. But where would I go? The other packs wanted me too. I wasn’t safe anywhere.My reflection glowed faintly in the glass — silver veins pulsing under my skin like lightning trapped beneath flesh.The Healer of the Eclipse.My fate had never been my own. Not since that night under the moon.The door opened with a low creak. Kael stepped inside, his armor half-fastened, expression sharp. “They’re here.”I stood quickly. “Who?”“The emissaries from the three packs. Silverclaw, Moonveil, and Nightbane.” H

Sleep didn’t come.Not with the fortress humming around me like a living creature. The walls seemed to breathe. The torches flickered in strange rhythms, pulsing as if the stones themselves had a heartbeat.And beneath it all, the faint echo of a growl I couldn’t locate.When dawn’s first light crept through the narrow window, I was already standing, pacing. My reflection in the glass looked foreign, silver eyes faintly glowing, hair tangled, robe loose at my shoulders.The Healer of the Eclipse.A title I didn’t want.The thought of Draven’s words still burned in my chest. You belong here now. My Beta will ensure your safety.Safety. Right.I turned sharply when the door opened without warning. Kael stood there, holding a tray of food, dark bread, roasted meat, and a small bowl of something that shimmered faintly blue.“Breakfast,” he said flatly.I crossed my arms. “Do I look hungry?”He shrugged. “It wasn’t a question. Eat. The Alpha ordered it.”Something in his tone made me brist

I woke to the sound of thunder.But when I opened my eyes, I realized it wasn’t thunder at all. It was breathing, heavy, rhythmic, surrounding me like the heartbeat of a beast.The air smelled of smoke and metal. My head throbbed. I blinked, and a ceiling carved with black stone came into focus, lined with silver veins that pulsed faintly like living roots.I was lying on a bed far too large for one person, covered in dark pelts. Chains shimmered faintly near my wrists, not binding me, but close enough to make a point. My torn dress had been replaced with a thin silk robe, soft but foreign. My heartbeat quickened.Where… am I?The last thing I remembered was fire. Wings. Golden eyes that looked like they’d seen centuries.The Hybrid Alpha.I sat up too quickly, and pain lanced through my shoulder. The silver blood that had spilled from it earlier was gone, not even a scar remained. My fingers brushed smooth skin. Healed.The door creaked open.I froze.A man stepped in, tall, broad, a

The moon was supposed to be my ally.That’s what my father always said, that the moon watched over all wolves, especially the lost ones.But that night, her light felt like a curse.It spilled through the trees like silver fire, chasing me as I ran, bare feet slapping against the wet earth. The forest was alive with screams, some human, some not. I could smell blood before I saw it. Iron. Smoke. Death.Our village was under attack.The first explosion had torn through the western ridge, scattering homes and hearts alike. I’d been fetching water at the stream when it happened. One second I was humming, the next, the ground shook and a red haze swallowed the stars.Now, as I darted through the trees, clutching the hem of my torn dress, all I could think about was one word pulsing in my chest: run.But there was a cry, high, broken, that cut through the chaos.A child’s cry.I stopped. My breath came in quick bursts, fogging in the cold air. My wolf instincts screamed to keep going, but

The gates of Empire High stood before us, tall and imposing, just as they had when I first walked through them years ago with trembling hands and a heart full of doubts.But today, it was different.Today, I wasn’t just Arielle, the timid girl who once got swallowed whole by rumors and power games. I wasn’t just the student who’d spent sleepless nights fighting shadows cast by the Knight empire.Today, I was Arielle Knight. Wife. Mother. Survivor.And beside me stood Xavier, his hand intertwined with mine, his tall frame casting a protective shadow that felt more like home than fear. He was no longer the arrogant senior who once made me grit my teeth in frustration and secretly blush in the same breath. He was my partner, my anchor, the father of the little girl skipping ahead of us in her white sundress, pigtails bouncing with every step.Hope. Our five-year-old miracle.Her laughter rang out, bright as bells, echoing across the schoolyard. She stopped in front of the entrance and tu

The sky outside the hospital window was turning from violet to gold, the first promise of morning painting the world soft again. The night had been cruel, brutal, the kind of night that left scars you couldn’t see. But now, as the light pushed against the darkness, it felt like more than dawn. It felt like a rebirth.I shifted slightly in the hospital bed, my body still sore, still trembling from the storm it had endured. But none of that mattered. Not when she was here. Not when she was breathing, crying softly in the crook of my arm.Hope.Our Hope.Her tiny chest rose and fell against me, her warmth anchoring me to the present. I bent my head and inhaled her newborn scent, sweet, delicate, alive. The tears came again, but they were different this time. Not fear. Not grief. Pure, unfiltered joy.Xavier sat beside me, his arm draped protectively along the back of the bed, his other hand resting lightly over Hope’s small form. He hadn’t slept. His face showed it, red-rimmed eyes, tens

The car lurched forward, tires screeching as Xavier barked orders into his phone. My vision blurred, my body fighting me with every contraction. Sweat beaded on my forehead, dampening my hairline, and my fingers clawed at Xavier’s arm.“Xavier, it’s too soon,” I whispered, my voice trembling.His jaw clenched, but his voice stayed steady for me. “I don’t care if it’s early. You and the baby are going to be okay. Do you hear me? Okay.”But deep inside, fear pulsed through me like a drumbeat. My baby wasn’t due yet. What if something went wrong? What ifI squeezed my eyes shut, cutting off the spiral. I couldn’t break now. Not when the world was already waiting for me to.The car’s engine roared as it weaved through the city streets, headlights slicing through the night. Black SUVs flanked us, the motorcade’s speed barely contained.Xavier kept one arm wrapped around me, the other holding his phone. “Clear a path to St. Mary’s. Now. And if anyone tries to follow—deal with it.”“Yes, sir

The roar that greeted us when Xavier stepped out of the car was like thunder tearing the sky apart. Cameras flashed, microphones thrust forward, voices overlapped in a frenzy of questions, accusations, and praise. The red carpet stretched ahead of us like a river of blood, guarded on either side by men in black suits whose sunglasses reflected back the chaos.Xavier turned and extended his hand to me. For a moment, the world blurred. It was just him—his steady gaze, his palm open, waiting. The same hand that had shielded me from knives and bullets, the same hand that had cupped my face in the darkest hours, now reached out as though this was just another night, another gala.But it wasn’t.This was war dressed in silk and tuxedos.I placed my hand in his, and the crowd erupted again, their cheers and shouts weaving into a single deafening roar.“Arielle! Smile this way!”“Xavier, how does it feel to inherit your father’s legacy?”“Mrs. Knight, is the baby the future heir?”Their words

The silence after those men left clung to the suite like smoke that wouldn’t clear. Their footsteps echoed long after the door had closed, like ghosts pacing the hallway, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.I stood in the middle of the living room, frozen, staring at the faint impression the photo had left on the glass door before Xavier tore it down. One smile. One bullet. The words replayed in my head until they carved themselves into my bones.Xavier still hadn’t put the gun away. His knuckles were pale, his veins standing out like cords, his chest heaving with the effort to keep his rage caged. He wasn’t just angry; he was terrified. And that, more than the photo or the threats, scared me.“Xavier,” I whispered.He turned, his eyes wild, a storm caged behind them. “They want you to smile while they hold a gun to your head. They want me to play the grieving son while they tighten the noose. They think they can turn us into actors in their script.”I moved toward him slo

The photo fluttered against the glass as though mocking us, caught by the faint draft sneaking under the balcony doors. The red ink seemed to pulse in the dim light, One smile. One bullet. Choose wisely.Xavier’s entire body went rigid. His hand, still clutching the pistol, trembled with barely-contained rage. He ripped the photograph from the glass, crumpling it in his fist so tightly I thought the edges might slice into his skin.“Get away from the doors,” he barked, his voice sharper than I’d ever heard it.I didn’t argue. My hand instinctively moved over my stomach as I backed away toward the center of the room. My heart was hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat. Every instinct screamed that we weren’t alone, that eyes were on us even now.Xavier checked the balcony, flinging the doors open with a force that rattled the frame. He stepped out, gun raised, scanning the rooftops and alleys below. From my spot near the couch, I could see the motorcade cars still lined outside