Novels by thee sophia maxwell

Kieran's smile was sad and small. "Partnership. Understanding. Someone who sees me clearly and does not flinch away from what she finds. I am not expecting you to provide those things, Aria. I am simply admitting that I want them, that the bond between us makes me hope for possibilities I had thought long dead. Sleep well, Luna. May your dreams be gentler than your reality has been these past days."Then he was gone, the door closing softly behind him, leaving Aria alone with her racing thoughts and the dying fire and the strange, persistent warmth in her chest that pulsed in time with the mark on her hand.She moved to the window and looked out over the moonlit forest, so different from the view from her bedroom back home but somehow more right, more fitting for what she was becoming. Somewhere out there, threats gathered in shadow, enemies she did not know pursuing goals she did not understand. The Echo Queen watched from beyond death, and rival Alphas schemed and pl

Kieran gestured toward a path that wound deeper into the forest, barely visible in the dappled moonlight. "My den is not far. You will have your own quarters, private and protected. No one will disturb you without permission, and the wards I have established will alert me immediately if any threat approaches."They walked in silence through the ancient forest, Aria hyperaware of Kieran's presence beside her… close enough to offer protection but far enough to avoid crowding. She noticed how the forest itself seemed to respond to him, branches shifting slightly to clear their path, roots smoothing to prevent stumbling, as though the land truly did recognize its master and moved to accommodate his passage. And through the mark on her hand, she felt echoes of that recognition extending to her as well, the territory acknowledging her presence with cautious curiosity.The path opened into another clearing, larger than the first, where a structure rose from the forest

A sound from outside Aria's window made them both tense. Kieran moved with inhuman speed, positioning himself between Aria and the potential threat, his entire demeanor shifting to something predatory and dangerous. Aria felt her mark pulse with warning, and through that pulse, she sensed what he sensed… a presence in the yard below, watching the house with intent that felt malevolent even at this distance."They have found you already," Kieran said, his voice dropping to a growl that raised every hair on Aria's neck. "Faster than I anticipated. We need to leave, now, before they decide to act rather than simply observe.""Leave?" Aria repeated, alarm spiking through her. "I am not going anywhere with you, especially not in the middle of the night when my parents do not even know you exist."Kieran turned to look at her, and in his eyes she saw genuine fear warring with fierce determination. "Your parents cannot protect you from what is coming. Neither can mundane locks nor ordinary w

What gave him the Guts...?? Or The Effontery? To talk about her in such a possessive manner??... The possessive phrasing sent a spike of anger through Aria's chest. "I do not belong to anyone!!. I am not some prize to be claimed or property to be possessed. If you think the mark changes that, then you fundamentally misunderstand who I am and what I am willing to accept."This time Kieran did smile, a quick flash of teeth that held genuine approval beneath the predatory edge. "Good. I was worried you might be too easily cowed, too willing to simply accept what you are told without pushing back. But you have fire in you, Aria Vale. You will need it for what comes next."He moved closer, and Aria forced herself to stand her ground despite every instinct screaming at her to retreat. When he was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body, he reached out and took her marked hand in his, his touch gentle despite the obvious strength in his fingers. The moment skin met

Three days passed in a haze of anxiety and restless anticipation. Aria tried to maintain her normal routines… but everything felt hollow and performative, as though she was acting out a role in a play whose script she no longer believed. The mark on her hand remained invisible most of the time, visible only in certain lights or when emotions ran particularly high. But she could always feel it, a constant reminder of that moonlit night and the man who had appeared at her window like something out of dreams or nightmares.Her mother had tried to explain more about the Oath and what it meant to be marked as Luna, but the information came in fragments and warnings rather than clear explanations. There were rules, apparently, ancient protocols that governed how Alphas and Lunas interacted, how power was claimed and challenged, how the shards were sought and won. But those rules felt distant and academic compared to the visceral reality of the mark burning against her skin whenever her thou

And then a sound from outside drew all their attention back to the window. Aria moved forward cautiously and looked out across the empty meadow. For a moment, she saw nothing, just moonlight on grass and the distant line of trees marking the forest boundary. Then movement caught her eye, a figure standing at the very edge of the woods, too far away to make out details but close enough that she could feel his presence like pressure against her skin."The Alpha", The man from her window. Watching and waiting, patient in the way that predators are patient when they know their prey has nowhere left to run.Aria pressed her marked hand against the glass again, feeling the symbol pulse warmth into her palm. And despite her fear, despite her anger and resistance and determination to fight against this unwanted destiny, she felt something else stir within her. Recognition, yes, but also something deeper and more disturbing. A rightness to his presence, as though some part of her had been in

But Instead, he positioned himself against the back wall, arms crossed over his chest, and began his survey of the room again. This time, when his eyes found me, they stopped.I felt it like a physical touch… that particular intensity that made my skin feel too tight and my pulse accelerated into something dangerous. The woman next to me, a blonde woman named Jennifer who'd been making nervous small talk before he'd arrived, suddenly seemed very interested in her orientation packet."Continue," he said to Patricia, his voice low but carrying perfectly through the silence.Patricia stumbled through the remainder of the policies, and I spent the next forty-five minutes acutely aware of his presence. Not looking at him directly would have been suspicious, but looking at him felt like admitting something I wasn't ready to acknowledge. So I stared at my packet and tried very hard to regulate my breathing.When the orientation finally concluded, people stood and began filing toward the door

NOVA'S POVI didn't sleep that night... I just lay in my bed and kept l staring at the ceiling, replaying the conversation over and over.The way he'd asked about the dream, The intensity in his voice...The question that had felt less like curiosity and more like he was searching for something specific.Around two in the morning, I did something I'd been avoiding since Friday. I opened my laptop and searched "Rochefort family history."The results were extensive. Corporate accolades. Philanthropic initiatives. Press releases about acquisitions and mergers. But there was also historical information...genealogies and family trees that stretched back centuries. I scrolled through generations of Rochefort CEOs, each one marked by dates and accomplishments.And then I found it. A historical section about the family's origins, and a portrait labeled "Rochefort CEO, 1847: Marcus Rochefort."The portrait showed a man with silver-grey eyes and dark hair swept back from a sharp-featured face. T

MYLES' POVFor the first time in his adult life, Myles felt something like genuine shock.He'd hired Nova Harlow on instinct… something his grandfather had warned him about years ago. Never hire on instinct, boy. Always hire on strategy. But looking at her application, reading her carefully composed essay about ambition and overcoming obstacles, he'd felt something stir in his chest that had nothing to do with strategy and everything to do with recognition.A recognition he couldn't explain. Shouldn't have been possible.His entire life had been structured around control. Control of his emotions, his reactions, his desires. He'd been groomed since childhood to lead the Rochefort empire… a corporation that was only the public face of something far more extensive and dangerous. The Rochefort name carried weight in circles that polite society didn't acknowledge.And the Rochefort bloodline carried a curse.His grandfather had told him the story once, when Myles was sixteen and old enough

NOVA'S POVMonday arrived so fast For me… with the kind of inevitability that suggested I'd never really had a choice about whether to show up. I'd spent the weekend in a state of suspended anxiety… researching the Rochefort name online, staring at photographs of their corporate headquarters, and trying very hard not to think about the dream that had woken me at three in the morning.The dream I'd been having variations of ever since.Six forty-five a.m. found me standing in front of the Rochefort building, which looked even more imposing in the grey pre-dawn light. The structure rose forty stories into a sky that hadn't quite decided whether to be blue or remain stubbornly grey. Glass and steel and the kind of architectural ambition that suggested the people inside believed themselves to be above the limitations that governed ordinary mortals.The security desk was staffed by a man who barely glanced at my employee badge before waving me through. I took the elevator to the executive

"Potential for molding," he murmured. "For learning. For understanding exactly what I need, even when I don't say it explicitly."I should have been offended. Should have pulled my hand away and told him exactly where he could place his corporate opportunity. Instead, I felt something hot and electric coil low in my stomach, a response that frightened me even as it thrilled me."And if I don't want to be molded?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt."Then this won't work." He released my hand and stepped back, returning to a state of perfect professional distance. "But I don't think that's the case with you, Nova. I think you're very aware of what you need, and I think you're willing to do what's necessary to get it."There was something uncomfortably perceptive in that assessment. He'd seen through my careful armor within minutes of meeting me."Your first day is Monday," he said, moving back behind his desk as if the moment had never happened. "Seven a.m. You'll receive an email

NOVA'S POVThe email from my scholarship advisor had arrived on a Tuesday morning, the subject line flagged as urgent… “” Exceptional Opportunity–Rochefort Global.”” I'd read it three times before the words actually penetrated. A temporary administrative position. Three months. Working directly under the executive management team of one of the most powerful corporations in the country. My advisor, Dr. Chen, had written that they specifically requested someone from our program… someone with discretion, intelligence, and the kind of hunger that came from having nothing to lose.The pay alone would cover my tuition for the next two semesters.I'd accepted before I could talk myself out of it.Now, standing in the marble foyer of the Rochefort estate on a Friday afternoon, I was reconsidering that decision with something approaching panic. The building itself seemed designed to intimidate… soaring ceilings that disappeared into shadow, floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the city like