MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
I thought he was my savior. I didn't know he was the heir to a blood empire that had been stalking me for months.
The life of Ruby Lane, a reserved art restorer, is shattered the night she witnesses a mafia execution in the shadows of a prestigious gallery. But the man who "rescues" her is no fairy-tale hero. He is Nevan, a lethal mercenary with ice-blue eyes and a dark, dangerous fixation.
After being kidnapped and locked away in an isolated cabin, Ruby discovers a terrifying truth: Nevan is no stranger. He has been her shadow long before that night, watching her every move, knowing her secrets and the dangerous legacy her father left behind.
As an army of assassins closes in, Ruby is caught between a killer who wants her dead and a man who is not only her protector, but also the future head of a criminal syndicate that claims ownership over her. In this game of survival, the line between protection and possession is blurred, and the forbidden heat of Nevan's touch becomes more dangerous than any bullet.
He was hired to protect her. He decided she belongs to him.
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Chapter: Chapter 10: The Price of InnocencePOV RUBYI emerged from the bathroom with trembling legs, wrapped in the cream-colored silk robe that felt like a sinful caress on my still-damp skin. Nevan's master bedroom was an extension of his own personality: vast, dark, and decorated with an elegance that bordered on military. The shadows of the velvet curtains were cast over the four-poster bed, and the only sound was the crackling of the wood in the black marble fireplace.He stood there, next to the bay window, looking out over the mansion's grounds with a cut-glass goblet in his hand. He was no longer wearing the silk shirt; he had left it open, revealing the white bandage I had placed over his wound, now slightly stained with red. Hearing my footsteps, he turned with the slowness of a predator who knows his prey has nowhere to run."You took your time, Ruby," he said, his raspy voice cutting through the air like a knife. His eyes scanned my body from top to bottom, lingering on the neckline of my robe. "It suits you better
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 9 : The Queen's Bath (and the Tyrant's Eye)POV RUBY Silas, the man in the impeccable suit, guided me through the labyrinth of marble and dark paintings. Each step echoed in the opulent silence of the mansion, and every member of staff who crossed our path lowered their gaze, a gesture of submission that reminded me again and again who Nevan was and, by extension, who I was now in this place. I was not the guest; I was the Boss's property. He led me to a suite on the second floor that was larger than my entire apartment in Dublin. The walls were lined with silk, the bed was huge and four-postered, and the windows looked out onto a winter garden that was lost in the fog. It was a golden prison, a cage too beautiful to be real. "The Lady," Silas began, his voice formal and icy, "has ordered a bath to be prepared and fresh clothes. The Chief will not return until the council meeting is over. Do not leave the suite without his permission. "The Lady." The title echoed in my head like a mockery. Did they consider me his wife? His
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 8: The Weight of a Crown of ShadowsPOV RUBYThe SUV devoured miles of asphalt and gravel as we ventured into an area of Ireland that didn't appear in tourist brochures. Here, the trees were denser and the hills seemed to hide secrets that no one dared to unearth. Nevan drove in tense silence, his right hand resting heavily on my thigh. Despite my attempts to brush it away at the beginning of the trip, now its warmth felt like a necessary mark, an anchor amid the chaos that was my life."Why are you staring at me so much, Ruby?" he asked without taking his eyes off the road. His voice had that hint of superiority that set my blood boiling. Are you trying to memorize my features before I throw you to the lions, or have you finally accepted that you can't stop wanting me?""You're an egomaniac," I replied, feigning disgust that crumbled with every mile. "I'm just trying to understand how a man like you ended up living like an animal in a cabin. You don't fit in anywhere, Nevan."He let out a dark laugh and squeezed my thi
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 7: Scars of WarPOV RUBYThe silence that followed our kiss was almost more violent than the confrontation itself. Nevan remained leaning against the wall, his torso bare and his freshly stitched wound throbbing under the dim light of the stove. I took a few steps back, rubbing my lips with the back of my hand, trying to erase the sensation of his mouth, but it was useless; the taste of him was etched on my palate.My hands were still stained with his blood. I went to the small sink and let the cold water run over my fingers. The red liquid swirled down the drain, disappearing, but the sensation of his skin under my fingertips did not wash away with the water."Are you going to be like this all night, Ruby?" he asked. His voice was now a low murmur, tired but with that edge of authority that never left him. "Staring at the water as if it will give you the answers you don't dare to ask?"I turned off the tap and turned around. He had stood up with obvious effort, gritting his teeth to keep from groani
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 6: Flesh and AshesPOV RUBYThe night had turned into a hungry beast scratching at the walls of the cabin. Nevan hadn't returned at his usual time, and the silence of the mountain was beginning to weigh on my shoulders like a layer of lead. I caught myself pacing back and forth, clutching the gray T-shirt he had given me in my hands. It still smelled like him: a mixture of tobacco, cold, and that particular masculine scent that was becoming addictive to me. I hated the way my pulse quickened with every creak of the wood, and I hated myself even more for worrying about my captor.Then I heard it. A thud against the door. It wasn't a code, nor a triumphant entrance. It was the dead weight of a body collapsing against the wood.I threw the door open, completely ignoring my own safety rules and the fear that Julian Vane might be on the other side. Nevan fell forward, landing on his knees on the cedar floor. He was soaked, but not just from the rain. The thick, iron-heavy smell of blood filled the small room
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 5: The Predator's TrailPOV RUBYI woke up to the sound of the steel door closing from outside. The morning chill seeped through the cracks in the cabin, and the fire in the stove was now just a pile of gray, dying ashes. Nevan was gone. Probably patrolling the perimeter, or hunting, or simply leaving me alone with the echo of my own unfulfilled desire.I sat up in bed, rubbing my arms. I could still feel the warmth of his hands on my waist, the pressure of his body against mine. My belly still throbbed with shameful wetness. I hated myself for it. I hated myself for being an art restorer who knew how to appreciate beauty in broken canvases, and for beginning to find it in a man who was pure rubble and violence.I couldn't stay still. Curiosity, mixed with growing paranoia, forced me to get up. If Nevan wasn't here, now was the time.I started with his tactical bag, but it was locked with a biometric code. I went to the small kitchen, rummaging through drawers in the hope of finding something other than tin
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Rejected for Her Curves, Claimed by the Blood Alpha
Darlene always knew that her curves made her different from the other wolves in the Silver Moon pack, but she thought that her beauty and her gift as a healer would be enough for her mate. She was wrong.
On the night of the ceremony, in front of hundreds of mocking eyes, the future Alpha cruelly rejects her: "I don't want a Moon who can't even run alongside a warrior. You're too much for my eyes, Darlene."
Humiliated and heartbroken, Darlene flees to the territory of the Blood Wolves, a pack of outcasts led by the fearsome and legendary Eryx. He is an exiled Alpha, scarred by war and hatred, who does not believe in destiny... until he smells the scent of the she-wolf who has entered his lands.
To the world, Darlene is "too much." To Eryx, she is the perfection his wolf demands to claim.
Eryx will not only give her a home; he will give her the power to destroy those who scorned her. Because when a Blood Alpha claims his woman, the entire forest kneels... and his enemies burn.
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Chapter: Chapter 6: The Shadow of the PastPOV DARLENE Dawn found me with muscles screaming in pain, but my mind was clearer than ever. Eryx had left me in the infirmary with a clear order to rest, but the stillness of the stone walls suffocated me. I needed to move. I needed to feel that the ground beneath my feet belonged to me, not because of an Alpha's permission, but because of my own ability to inhabit it. I slung the leather bag over my shoulder and secured the obsidian dagger to my thigh. The weight of the weapon was a constant reminder that I was no longer the wolf hiding behind marigold petals. I left through the west postern, avoiding the main patrols. My goal was the Whispering Edge, a dense area where Blood Moss grew, essential for the deep wounds that warriors brought back from the border. I walked for an hour, using the stealth techniques Eryx had shown me. "Don't step on the dry leaves, Darlene. Let your weight distribute to the front of your foot." His words echoed in my head with the rhythm of my breath
Last Updated: 2026-01-19
Chapter: Chapter 5: The Edge of the MountainPOV DARLENE The early morning cold in the lands of the Blood Wolves wasn't just a matter of climate; it was a physical presence that penetrated to the bone, reminding you every second that here, nature had no mercy on the weak. Eryx had woken me before the first ray of sunlight touched the granite peaks, dragging me out of the warm furs with a single growled command: "Move." We walked in silence along a steep path that skirted a gorge. My lungs burned from the thin air at this altitude, and my thighs, the ones Jackson always looked at with disdain, worked hard to keep me upright on the loose stone. Eryx walked ahead of me, moving with the agility of a shadow. His broad shoulders and tattooed back tensed with every step, and I couldn't help but stare at the play of his muscles beneath his skin. "Have you had enough of staring, little wolf, or do you need a break to finish cataloging my scars?" Eryx said without stopping, his voice laden with dark amusement. I blushed violently,
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 4: The Edge of Healing and TemptationPOV DARLENE Dawn at the Blood Wolves' fortress did not arrive with the singing of birds, but with the sound of metal striking stone and the roars of training that made the walls of my new prison vibrate. I woke up wrapped in heavy furs, feeling the icy mountain air bite my bare shoulders. For a second, panic gripped my chest as I didn't recognize the carved rock ceiling, until the stabbing pain in my sternum reminded me of reality: Jackson had broken me, and Eryx had claimed me. I dressed in the leather and wool clothes Myra had thrown at me the night before. Unlike Silver Moon's oppressive silks, these garments hugged my curves with brutal honesty. The leather clung to my thighs and hips, highlighting my figure rather than trying to hide it under layers of useless fabric. When I looked at my reflection in a bowl of water, I didn't see the ashamed wolf who had fled the central square. I saw a woman who was beginning to resemble the wild environment that surrounded her. "Are you
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 3: The Fortress of the OutcastsPOV DARLENE The rhythmic movement of Eryx's footsteps should have kept me alert, but the heat emanating from his body was a sedative drug for my exhaustion. It wasn't Jackson's warm heat; it was a roaring bonfire that seemed to want to devour the cold that rejection had left in my bones. When we finally crossed the black iron gates of his fortress, the sound of metal striking stone brought me back to reality. Eryx set me down with a brusqueness that was not meant to hurt me, but to test me. My bare feet touched the cold stone floor and I staggered. Around us, the fortress was not the nightmarish place described in the legends of Silver Moon, but it was not a welcoming home either. It was a city of stone and fire, built in the bowels of the mountain. "Eryx!" A loud, raspy voice broke the silence of the central courtyard. A tall man, his torso crisscrossed with battle scars and one arm made of metal engraved with runes that glowed blue, approached us. His gaze fixed on me with a
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 2: The Trail of Blood and ColdPOV DARLENE The crunch of branches under my bare feet was the only sound reminding me that I was still alive. The emerald dress, the one my mother bought to hide my "imperfections," was now a silk trap that tangled in the brambles and cut my skin. I stopped at the edge of the River of Shadows, the natural boundary that separated civilization from the Silver Moon pack and the utter chaos of the Exiles' lands. I dropped to my knees, not to pray, but because my legs had finally given way. The pain of the bond broken by Jackson was physical agony; it felt as if invisible acid was running through my veins, burning the connection to my inner wolf. She was there, curled up in the back of my mind, whimpering in sheer terror. "Calm down," I whispered to the void, my voice coming out as a dry croak. "He can't hurt us anymore." I looked down at my feet. They were mangled, covered in mud and blood. As a healer, I knew that infection was my first enemy. I tore off a piece of my dress skirt
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
Chapter: Chapter 1: The Echo of an Invisible HeartPOV DARLENE The scent of lavender and calendula had always been my refuge, but today, the air in the infirmary felt heavy, almost suffocating. As I crushed the dry roots in my stone mortar, the rhythmic sound seemed to mark the countdown to my own execution. Or to my salvation. In the Silver Moon pack, hopes were luxuries that wolves like me didn't usually allow ourselves. I looked at my hands, stained with green sap and dirt. They weren't the delicate hands of a future Moon, according to my mother's standards. They were working hands, hands that knew every nerve and every tissue of a wounded wolf. But no one cared about my talent for saving lives if my hips didn't fit the aesthetic vision of the heir to the throne. "Darlene, for the Goddess's sake, are you still in here?" My mother Elena's voice entered the room before she did. She paused in the doorway, looking at me with a mixture of disappointment and panic. She was carrying the emerald dress she had forced me to buy. A dr
Last Updated: 2026-01-18
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