Chapter: Legacy of LovePOV: Aria BlackthornThe memorial stood in the center of campus, impossible to miss. White marble carved with names. Otto. Juliana. Others who'd died during the conflicts that had torn our world apart.I traced Otto's name with my fingertips, the stone cold beneath my touch."You would have liked what we've built here," I whispered. "What your sacrifice made possible."A year had passed since everything fell apart and came back together in a new shape. The Academy looked different now. Felt different. Students from rival packs walked together without tension. Species that had been enemies for generations shared classes and meals.It was what we'd fought for. What people had died for."Aria?" Darius's voice came from behind me. "It's almost time."I turned to find him standing there, dressed formally for the ceremony. My mate. The Alpha who'd rejected me and then fought to win me back. We'd survived everything the universe threw at us and came out stronger."I'm ready."We walked toget
Last Updated: 2025-12-14
Chapter: THE BETA'S STRENGTH PART TWODinner with my mother was comfortable. Easy in a way it hadn't been before everything happened. She'd made lasagna, garlic bread, and Caesar salad. My favorite comfort meal."How was the group session?" she asked, passing me the salad bowl."Good. Tessa had a setback but handled it well. Marcus is making real progress.""And Emma? The new girl you mentioned?""She's scared but she's listening. I think she'll be okay with continued support."My mother studied me over her wine glass. "You're doing important work, Desi. I hope you know that.""I'm trying.""You're succeeding. The students trust you. They know you understand what they're going through.""Because I've been there.""Exactly." She set down her glass. "Have you thought about what comes after graduation? Where you want to take this work?""I've been offered a full-time position at the Academy. Expanding the counseling program, specifically focusing on relationship abuse and manipulation.""And?""And I think I'm going to take
Last Updated: 2025-12-14
Chapter: The Beta's StrengthPOV: Desi WhitmoreThe girl across from me wouldn't meet my eyes. She sat hunched in the chair, picking at her cuticles until they bled.I recognized that posture. I'd worn it myself not so long ago."You don't have to tell me anything you're not ready to share," I said gently. "But I want you to know this is a safe space. Nothing you say leaves this room unless you're in danger.""I'm not in danger." Her voice was barely a whisper."Okay. Then let's start with something easy. I'm Desi. What's your name?""Emma.""Nice to meet you, Emma. How long have you been at the Academy?""Two months."I waited. The silence stretched between us, but I didn't rush to fill it. That was something I'd learned in my training. Sometimes people needed the quiet to find their courage.Finally, Emma looked up. Her eyes were red-rimmed, exhausted. "My boyfriend says I'm too sensitive. That I overreact to everything."My stomach tightened. I'd heard those words before. Different voice, same manipulation."W
Last Updated: 2025-12-14
Chapter: HEALING HEARTS CONT...The semester found its rhythm quickly. Our class became popular, with students often staying after to ask questions or share their own experiences. We talked about rejection, acceptance, the difference between a bond and actual love.We held nothing back."My parents are mates," a boy said during week three. "But they hate each other. They stay together because of the bond, but there's no love there. Is that normal?""More common than people want to admit," I said. "A bond creates a connection, but it doesn't automatically create compatibility or affection. That takes work.""So bonds can fail?""Bonds don't fail. Relationships do." Ben leaned forward. "The bond is just a foundation. What you build on it is up to you."The girl from the back, who we'd learned was named Sophie, finally spoke up in week four. "What if your mate rejects you? How do you survive that?"The classroom went silent. Every eye turned to me.I took a breath. "You survive by remembering that rejection isn't about
Last Updated: 2025-12-14
Chapter: Healing HeartsPOV: Bea SharpeBen's hand found mine across the breakfast table, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. Six months since everything fell apart. Six months since we almost lost each other.Six months of rebuilding."You're doing it again," he said, that familiar warmth in his voice."Doing what?""That thing where you get lost in your head. Overthinking."I squeezed his hand. "Can you blame me? After everything?""No." His expression softened. "But we're okay now. We made it through."We had. Barely. The physical wounds had healed faster than the emotional ones. My shoulder still ached when it rained, a reminder of how close we'd come to losing everything. But the scars that mattered most were the ones no one could see.The nightmares had faded. The constant fear that something would tear us apart again had lessened. We'd done the work, gone to therapy together, talked through everything until there was nothing left unsaid.And somehow, impossibly, we'd come out stronger."Dean Whitmor
Last Updated: 2025-12-14
Chapter: The Alpha's GriefPOV: Ronan MontagueThe memorial garden was finished.I stood at the entrance, looking at what three months of work had created. White roses climbed trellises on either side of the stone pathway. A fountain sat in the center, water flowing over smooth rocks. Benches lined the edges, placed in spots where sunlight filtered through the trees.Juliana would have loved it."It's beautiful," Marcus said beside me. "She would be proud."I nodded, not trusting my voice. The garden had been her idea, something she'd mentioned once during a late-night conversation about the Academy's future. A place where students could go to find peace. To remember those they'd lost.I'd built it for her. A living memorial."The dedication ceremony is in an hour," Marcus continued. "Dean Whitmore wants you there.""I'll be there."Marcus hesitated. "Ronan, you don't have to do this alone. We're all here for you.""I know." I looked at him. "Thank you."He left me alone in the garden. I walked the pathway slow
Last Updated: 2025-12-14
The Alpha's Bargain
A single rose can bind two fates forever.
When her family’s fortunes crumble, Catherine never imagines her father’s desperation will lead him to barter her freedom. Promised as payment to the reclusive Lord Kieran—master of a castle steeped in legend and whispered curses—she is thrust into a world of shadows, secrets, and a predator’s gaze that both terrifies and captivates her.
Kieran is more than a man; he is a wolf bound by an ancient curse, his life ruled by the prophecy: The rose will bring her. Catherine’s arrival is no accident—it is destiny. But claiming her means awakening a dangerous magic neither of them fully understands, one that threatens to unravel the fragile truce between man and beast.
As moonlight sharpens the edge between desire and danger, Catherine must navigate the perilous game of a lord who guards both his heart and his curse with deadly resolve. In a place where every shadow hides a secret, every glance is a test, and love itself may be the deadliest bargain of all—one question remains:
Will the rose bind them together… or doom them both?
Perfect for fans of dark fairy-tale retellings, shifter romance, and gothic intrigue.
Read
Chapter: Her Perspective(Catherine POV)The woman who'd arrived at this castle months ago felt like stranger whose choices I could barely remember making. She'd been so afraid—of the unknown, of losing whatever identity she'd managed to claim, of being consumed by forces beyond her understanding or control.That Catherine had seen captivity where I now saw sanctuary, had felt trapped by circumstances where I'd learned to find freedom in connection that honored rather than diminished who I chose to become.I thought of Mother's letters, of family obligations that had once seemed like chains binding me to life that had never quite fit properly. The guilt I'd carried about choosing my happiness over their immediate comfort had faded as I'd come to understand that love sometimes meant trusting people you cared about to build their own paths toward whatever fulfillment they could find.Father would recover from the guilt that had been consuming him—Kieran's gold would ensure their material comfort, and time would
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: Morning After (Dual POV)(Kieran's POV)I woke to sunlight streaming through windows that had never held such peaceful quiet, to the weight of Catherine's head on my chest where it belonged as naturally as breathing. Her dark hair spilled across my skin like silk given substance, and for the first time in twenty-seven years, morning brought anticipation rather than the careful assessment of threats that might require immediate attention.The world outside our chambers was whole. No supernatural tensions pulling at pack dynamics, no territorial disputes demanding diplomatic navigation, no curse driving wedges between what I wanted and what duty required. Just... peace. The kind of stillness I'd forgotten was possible when connection became choice rather than desperate claiming.(Catherine's POV)The arm around my waist was warm and solid and utterly real in ways that made the previous night feel like dream I might have imagined if not for the tenderness in muscles that had covered impossible distan
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: The Pack Around Them (Catherine POV)The wolves emerged from shadows like materialization of moonlight given form, their massive shapes flanking us with synchronized precision that spoke of choreography practiced over generations. But this wasn't performance—this was family, pack bonds expressing themselves through movement that required no conscious coordination to achieve perfect unity.Lucas ran point, his gray-furred form cutting through underbrush with efficiency that cleared paths for those who followed. Elena and Marcus flanked our group, their attention focused outward toward threats that might challenge pack activities rather than inward toward whatever ceremony we were fulfilling. Thomas and the twins wove through trees with liquid grace, their younger energy finding expression through leaps and bounds that would have looked like showing off if not for the obvious joy that drove their movements.Through the bond, I could feel their emotions as clearly as my own—satisfaction at successful cere
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: Invitation to Shift (Catherine POV)Kieran's hand was warm in mine as he led me toward the forest edge, our fingers interlaced with the easy intimacy that had developed since the mating ceremony completed whatever connection had been building between us for months. The pack dispersed around us with liquid grace, some already shifting into forms that belonged more to moonlight than civilization, others maintaining human shape but moving with predatory fluidity that spoke of barely contained wildness."Are you ready for this?" he asked, pausing at the treeline where ancient paths wound deeper into territory that had never known human habitation. His golden eyes held anticipation mixed with something that looked like concern—not for my safety, but for my reaction to whatever I was about to experience.The traditional first run. Lucas had explained it during the ceremony preparations, how newly mated pairs raced through pack territory under the full moon's light, how the experience bound couples together in
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: The Vow Spoken (Kieran POV)The ancient words felt strange on my tongue despite decades of witnessing these ceremonies, weighted with significance that personal experience couldn't fully prepare anyone to understand. But I spoke them clearly, letting my voice carry across clearing where my pack waited to witness bond that would reshape our collective future."Catherine Montgomery," I said, using her full name because ceremony demanded formal acknowledgment of who she had been before choosing transformation. "I offer you my protection, my strength, my life itself in service of bond that will tie our souls together beyond death, beyond time, beyond any force that might seek to part what we join here tonight."The words echoed off ancient stones, absorbed by earth that had heard similar vows spoken by generations of alphas who'd understood the weight of what they were undertaking. But none of them had offered bond to human mate, had navigated territories where biology itself became negotiable rather
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: Preparation (Kieran POV)The clearing had been sacred to my family for generations, a natural amphitheater carved from living rock where ancient trees formed cathedral walls beneath stars that had witnessed ceremonies older than human memory. Tonight it hummed with power that went beyond mere moonlight—energy that spoke of bonds being forged, destinies being claimed, futures being written in languages that predated spoken word.My pack moved through final preparations with reverent efficiency, each member understanding their role in rituals that would bind Catherine to our family permanently. Torches burned in iron sconces that had been blessed by alphas whose names were carved in stones that marked territorial boundaries. Flowers gathered from gardens that bloomed out of season perfumed air thick with anticipation that felt like electricity before storms.But more than the physical preparations, I could sense the emotional weight settling over everyone present. This wasn't just ceremonial ackno
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
LOGIN
