Novels by Maxpher1

Marcus turned away, running a hand through his hair. What did he see? A young woman who challenged him at every turn. Someone who made him laugh, made him think, made him feel things he'd thought died with Cynthia. Someone who was far too perceptive for her own good, who saw through every defense he put up."I see someone who is too smart for her own good," Marcus said finally. "Someone who's brave and stubborn and—" He stopped without looking at her."And what?" Emma prompted."And mature," Marcus finished quietly. "Far more mature than you have any right to be at eighteen."The word hung in the air between them.Mature.Emma went very still. Marcus heard her sharp intake of breath, felt the shift in the atmosphere like the change in air pressure before a storm."Say that again," Emma whispered.Marcus turned to face her, confused by her reaction. "What?""You think I'm mature," Emma said slowly, her eyes locked on his. "Not young. Not naive. Not a child. Mature."Too late, Marcus re

Emma settled back into her chair, tucking her legs underneath her. "Okay. Let's see. I love old movies, the black and white kind, where everyone talks fast and wears amazing clothes. I dream about traveling, seeing the world, and maybe living in Paris for a year or two. And what keeps me up at night?" She paused, her eyes finding his. "Lately? You."Marcus's throat went dry. "Emma—""Your turn," she said quickly, not letting him retreat. "What do you love? What do you dream about?"Marcus took a long drink of wine, buying time. "I love the ocean. Early mornings when no one else is awake. I love watching Lily grow into herself, even when it terrifies me. As for dreams..." He shrugged. "I stopped dreaming a long time ago.""That's sad," Emma said softly."That's reality," Marcus countered. "When you get to my age—""You're not old, Marcus," Emma interrupted. "Stop using your age as a shield.""I'm forty-five years old," Marcus said firmly. "I have a daughter your age. Those aren't shiel

"Let go," Emma just said without hesitation, but she didn't pull away. Marcus looked down at where his hand circled her wrist, at the rapid pulse beating beneath his fingers. Every rational thought in his head screamed at him to release her, to step back, to maintain the boundaries he'd so carefully constructed. But standing there with Emma, feeling the heat of her skin against his, seeing the way her eyes had gone dark with something that wasn't anger, Marcus felt his carefully constructed walls beginning to crumble. "I can't," he said hoarsely. "Can't what?" Emma's voice was barely audible over the crash of the waves. Marcus's thumb stroked unconsciously over her pulse point, feeling her heartbeat quicken. "I can't—" "DAD! EMMA!" Lily's voice carried across the beach, bright and cheerful and completely oblivious. Marcus dropped Emma's wrist as if scalded, stepping back just as his daughter appeared over the dune with Jake and his friends, carrying bags of food. "We got taco

The next morning dawned bright and mercilessly clear. Marcus had barely slept, his mind replaying the conversation with Emma over and over. He'd hurt her. He could see it in her eyes, he heard it in her voice. But what choice did he have? Pursuing anything with Emma would destroy everything, his relationship with Lily, Emma's friendship with his daughter, and his own self-respect. It was the right decision. It had to be. He found Lily in the kitchen, making coffee and humming to herself. She looked happier than she had in weeks, her face glowing with contentment. Jake had texted her to find out how she was doing. At least three times, and she'd been floating on cloud nine ever since. "Morning, Dad," she said cheerfully, pouring him a cup. "Sleep okay?" "Fine," Marcus lied, accepting the coffee. "You?" "Amazing." Lily grinned. "I know it's only been a few days, but I really think Jake might be special, you know? He's so sweet and considerate and—" She paused, studying her

Emma thought about Marcus. About Serah. About Lily and her innocent trust. About the mess she had willingly walked into and the price she might have to pay for staying. But even as doubt crept in, even as fear whispered warnings in her ear, Emma felt something else rising within her. Something fierce and unyielding. Determination. She wasn't going to give up. Not now. Not ever. “ Marcus is a liar.” She said to herself. That night, Emma lay in bed staring at the ceiling, her mind replaying the day's events over and over again. She could still see the look on Marcus's face when he told her about Serah. She could still hear the casual way he mentioned their ongoing phone calls, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It made her blood boil. But beneath the anger was something more dangerous: insecurity. What if she wasn't enough? What if Marcus couldn't let go of his past? What if Serah still held a piece of his heart that Emma could never claim? "No," Emma whi

"And what did you say?" Emma's voice cut through the quiet like a blade. Marcus turned slowly, his expression unreadable. For a moment, he said nothing, and Emma felt her heart hammering against her ribcage. The silence in Marcus felt heavy, almost suffocating. As Emma's eyes were still staring at him, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her knuckles white from the pressure. However, Marcus, his back turned to her, his shoulders tense beneath his crisp t-shirt. She needed to know. She had to know what he had said to Serah, what lies or truths had passed between them. "I didn't say anything," Marcus finally replied, his voice low and measured. Emma's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you didn't say anything?" "Exactly what I said." Marcus moved away close to the window, running a hand through his dark hair. "Even though Serah and I are separated, we still talk on the phone. I'm not the reason for our separation, Emma. You need to understand that." The words hit Emma l

Aria’s POVThe Choice the Moon Couldn’t Undo.The darkness waited for me. It didn’t breathe, it didn’t move, it watched.Every instinct in my body screamed at me to stop. To turn around. To kneel and wait for judgment.But I didn’t.The shadow lifted itself from the mist like liquid black fire. It twisted, curling and coiling, until it grew tall and solid, a presence heavy enough to press the air from my lungs. I felt it first in my bones, then in my blood, an echo of fear I had buried for years. Even Cato, Elias, and Dorian flanking me stiffened, claws flexing, muscles tense.And then the light came. Blinding. Sharp. Living. A radiance so raw it burned against my skin. My eyes stung as it split the darkness apart. The mist fled like smoke, curling back into corners that no longer existed.Three figures emerged, tall and impossibly commanding. Veiled in silver flame, their faces hidden beneath veils of starlight.The Moon Mothers.I should have knelt. Every fiber of me knew I should b

Aria’s POVThe Realm That Remembered My Pain:The moment I stepped forward, the world I knew vanished immediately.There was no ground beneath my feet, only a cold, silver mist that wrapped around my ankles like fingers. It crawled up my legs, slow and deliberate, as if the ancestral spirit realm was tasting me.Judging me.“Do not turn back,” a voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once. Old. Powerful. Unforgiving. “Walk.”My heart slammed against my ribs. “I didn’t come here to be punished,” I whispered.The realm didn’t answer. Slowly, I took another step.The mist thickened, and suddenly the air shifted. The cold changed into something sharper. Familiar.I was no longer in the spirit realm.I was home.Or at least… what had once been called home.I stood in the center of a pack hall I hadn’t seen in years. The walls were the same. The smell was the same. But the eyes are watching me.They were cruel. Whispers rose instantly. “She’s back?”“Why would she come here?”“She was

Magnu’s POVWhen Aria woke up, I thought I had calculated every outcome. That was my first mistake.The ritual circle burned beneath my feet, ancient symbols rising like fire-serpents around my legs. Power thundered through my veins, raw and intoxicating. The walls of the Citadel trembled, stone groaning as if the building itself wanted to flee from what I was becoming.Behind me, Aria should have stayed down. She didn’t.I felt it before I saw it, a pressure shift in the air, sharp and wrong. Like the moment before lightning strikes.I turned just in time to see her stand.Not crawl. Not struggle.Just standing.Her eyes were glowing.Not with rage. Not with fear.But with something older.“What…?” I breathed. Aria lifted her head slowly, like she was waking from a dream she had been trapped in for years. Light bled from the markings spreading across her arms, sigils I had only seen once before, etched into forbidden texts the Councils swore were myths.Awakened blood. “No,” I whis

Magnus POVI learned the truth on a night that refused to stay quiet.The wind howled through the broken towers of the Citadel, dragging old ash across the stone floor like it was trying to erase me. I stood alone in the prophecy chamber, staring at words carved so deep into the wall they looked like scars.They were never meant to crown me.They were meant to end me.I laughed at first. A short, sharp sound that echoed too loudly. “Figures,” I muttered. “The universe never did like me.”The runes burned faintly as I touched them. Blood magic. Ancient. Older than the Councils. Older than mercy.He who bends the age will be undone by the age.His reign ends not in power, but in silence. Death.I clenched my fist. For years, they told me the prophecy spoke of a ruler, someone who would rise, break the old order, and sit above kings. They let me believe it. No, they pushed me to believe it.All so I would walk willingly toward my own execution.“You lying bastards,” I whispered to the e

Chapter 43 – The Price of BetrayalKael's POV The curse wakes me before the pain does. It always starts in my chest, tight, crushing, like invisible hands closing around my heart. Then it spreads. Fire through my veins. Ice in my bones. A reminder carved into my body for one simple crime.“I betrayed my true mate.”I gasp, jerking upright as agony slams into me so hard I fall off the bed. My knees hit a stone. My palms burn. My vision fractures.“Not again,” I choke. “Please, not now.”The curse doesn’t listen. It never does.I claw at my chest as the mark flares beneath my skin, black veins crawling outward like living things. Every pulse of pain carries a memory with it.Aria’s eyes looked at me like she didn’t know me anymore.Aria’s voice when she said my name, as it hurt her to speak it.Aria turned away because I was too weak, too afraid, too blind to fight the lies fed to us.“Say it,” the curse whispers in my head. “Say what you are.”“I know,” I growl through clenched teet

Kael's POV I thought the bond was dead.That was the lie I had wrapped my heart around with, the lie I used to breathe.I was standing on the balcony when it happened. Night wind. Iron clouds. The city below is glowing like nothing in my chest ever could. I was counting breaths, trying not to think of her, when pain ripped through me so fast I dropped to my knees. Not mine.Hers. Aria.I gasped, my fingers digging into stone as fire tore through my ribs. My vision shattered white, then red. My heart slammed so hard I thought it would break my bones.“No,” I whispered. “No. That’s not possible.”The bond was supposed to be broken. Snapped. Burned away by choice and betrayal and blood.So why did I feel her scream inside my skull? The pain wasn’t physical at first. It was worse. Fear. Sharp and choking. The kind that freezes your lungs and makes your soul curl in on itself.“Aria,” I breathed, the name ripping out of me like a wound.Her emotions crashed into me in waves: panic, grief