Christmas in ashes
This Christmas, Elora discovers the one thing more dangerous than the monster in the snow…
is the truth buried in her blood.
When Elora returns to her family’s remote winter lodge for the holidays, she expects awkward dinners, annoying relatives, and too much peppermint hot chocolate.
She doesn’t expect glowing eyes watching her from the forest or a beautiful, terrifying stranger whispering her name through the storm.
They call him “The Winter King” a forbidden, ancient being who chooses one mortal bride every generation.
A bride he marks.A bride he claims.
A bride he hunts.
And this year, he chooses her.
As secrets erupt, doors splinter, and frost creeps beneath her skin, Elora is forced into a deadly game of desire and survival. Her uncle reveals the truth: their bloodline has been hiding from the Winter King for centuries and LIORA was never supposed to exist long enough for him to find.
But he has found her and he will never stop.Because the moment he spoke her true name,she became his.
Now, trapped between a family that lied to protect her and a dark, magnetic creature determined to claim her soul, Liora must decide,it's either she Runs,Fight,or surrender to the forbidden bond pulling her toward him… even as the snow outside turns red.
Baca
Chapter: CHAPTER 5: When he spoke my true name The sound of the front door breaking was not a sound I’ll ever forget.A thick, heavy CRACK that vibrated through the floor, down the staircase, and straight into my spine. Dust drifted from the ceiling like falling ash. My breath caught in my throat.Rowan braced himself against the cellar door, his shoulders trembling.“He’s inside the house,” he whispered.No kidding. Even without the sound, I could feel it. The temperature plummeted so sharply my breath turned white in front of me. Frost crept down the cellar walls like skeletal fingers reaching toward us.Then Footsteps.Slow, Calm,Measured,Not rushing. No desperation. As if the creature in my home knew exactly how this night would end.My heart thudded painfully.And then he spoke again,my name. My real name.“Liora…”That voice… no mortal should have a voice like that. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t threatening. It simply was quiet enough to whisper yet strong enough to make my bones hum.Rowan spun toward me, fear etched deep acro
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 4 :The truth my family buried When a flame turns black, you stop asking logical questions.You stop caring that the lantern in your uncle’s hand looks like it was stolen from Dracula’s basement.You stop arguing about whether or not your family is normal.Because normal families don’t whisper ancient curses under their breath while something supernatural tries to break down their front door.I stared at the black fire swirling behind the lantern glass.“Uncle Rowan… what is that?”His jaw tightened. “A warning.”“To us or to them?”“Both.”Okay, fantastic. I officially hated Christmas.He strode to the window and yanked the curtains shut, as if a couple yards of fabric could stop glowing-eyed creeps in the snow.“Stay away from the door,” he ordered.“I’m not stupid—”“You’re curious,” he interrupted sharply, “and that’s worse.”Annoyingly accurate.Another whisper drifted through the walls.Little star…My bones locked up.“Who is he?” I asked, voice thin. “The man with the gold eyes.”Rowan didn’t answer at first. H
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 3: The stranger in the snow I have always believed that silence carries its own kind of warning. That night, after everything that happened with the red-eyed child, the mysterious gift box, and my uncle’s strangely rehearsed reactions, the silence inside our wooden lodge felt like the pause before a nightmare opened its mouth.The old Christmas clock above the fireplace ticked with a smug rhythm, as if it knew something I didn’t.Tick. Tick. Tick.I wished it would shut up.Uncle Rowan had gone to “check the generator,” which was interesting, considering the lights were working just fine. My cousins were already asleep upstairs—well, pretending to sleep, if the little giggles from Ivy’s room meant anything. And me?I stood at the window again. That damn window. I couldn’t seem to stay away from it.The snow outside was glowing under the moonlight, thick flakes swirling like powdered sugar shaken by a giant hand. Our cabin sat alone at the edge of the forest, and the woods were dark enough to look bottomless.
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 2: The Ornaments that shouldn't exist I stare at the wooden ornament so long my fingers go numb.It’s cold in my hand,too cold. Like it’s been sitting there longer than snow should allow, yet somehow hasn’t melted beneath the falling flakes.It’s carved with unsettling precision: little flames licking the roof of a tiny house.My house.No—my parents’ house.My heartbeat stumbles.Someone knows.Someone remembers.Someone wants me to remember too.The snow keeps thickening, clinging to my hair, my eyelashes, the wooden ornament in my palm. I swallow hard and force my boots to move. I get inside my house, slam the door shut, and lock it twice.The silence inside feels heavier than the storm.I lean back against the door, breathing hard, the ornament still clutched in my shaking hand. My kitchen light flickers as if it’s scared too. If the house had a personality, I’m convinced it would start packing its bags to evacuate.I toss the ornament on the table like it might explode.“Twenty-four,” I whisper to myself. “What does
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 1:The Night the snow watched meI have never trusted December.People say that sounds dramatic, but those people never watched their parents’ house burn down on Christmas Eve while the rest of the town kept singing carols like nothing happened.So yes,every time snow falls, my skin crawls.And tonight, on December 1st, Hallowpine is drowning in it.Snowflakes tumble from the sky like they’re drunk on holiday spirit, sticking to my eyelashes as I lock up my bakery. Sugar & Sin,the name sounds cute until you realize the only sugar inside is the kind I dump into coffee to survive this town.The bells above the bakery door jingle behind me in that cheerful, irritating way that makes me want to kick them off their screws. But I don’t. Aunt Ruby would “exorcise” me with a vat of eggnog if she saw me abusing Christmas decorations again.The street is quiet. Too quiet.Hallowpine usually glows with warm lights and fake joy this time of year. Kids skating. Couples taking pictures. That unsettling animatronic Santa by the pos
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-21
Masuk
