Guardians of the dark world - Deadly desires Book 1

In a secluded corner of the bustling city, under the dim glow of a street lamp, Stella stood confused about where she was supposed to go, not after she was chased away from her family's mansion. She was always the outcast in her family, and friends, not like she had any anyway, never quite fitting in with her peers in class for reasons she didn't know. It was not once that she had seen them gawking at her. She had heard hushed rumours that it was all because of her skin colour. They called her an alien because her skin was paler than normal. As she walked along the deserted alley, lost in her thoughts, she stumbled upon a figure slumped against the wall. Stella used her flashlight, and there he was, a pale, haggard-looking young man, his face so calm that one might mistaken he was not in any pain at all. The scene before her was horrible. The young man was sitting in a pool of blood, and an angry, crimson river was flowing from the several wounds that were scattered all over

It was around ten in the morning when Stella and Morgan finally woke up. They didn't have any recollection of how they had slept last night. The only thing that they could remember was their grandmother's last words before everything had gone dark in their mind. "Stella, I know you both have a lot of questions to ask me, but unfortunately I don't have any more time to answer any of your questions. I would leave you a book from which you would get the answers. In the meantime, take care of yourselves. Stella, remember to always put on the pendant, never even for once should you ever remove it because the time is near. Morgan, I'm sorry that you have to take on this duty at such an early age." Thinking about it, they immediately swung into action to find their beloved grandmother so that she could explain to them what exactly had happened and what she meant when she said those words. They hoped that whatever she meant when she said she didn't have any more time was not what they were

Stella couldn't believe her luck when she received the call offering her the position of secretary at one of the city's most prestigious companies.A college dropout with dreams of changing her life, she eagerly accepted the job with excitement evident in her face.It came as a shock to her, with no experience in the job and no certificates at all she hadn't expected to land the job, but here she was, standing at the gate of the Royal Empire company, reassuring herself that all would be well.Not only was she offered the job, but her brother, Morgan too had received the call just as she had, offering him the job as the personal chauffeur for the boss, and since he was much more excited than Stella was, he had headed to the company as early as seven even when they had been told that they should be there as from eight."You are Stella, the new employee?" the receptionist asked immediately after Stella had keyed in her details earning an affirmation nod from her "Here, follow me," she

Lucian’s footsteps echoed through the empty corridors of the office, each step a measured cadence of irritation. He had been at the company for nearly a decade, but recently, the daily grind had begun to weigh heavily on him. The once-familiar hum of productivity now felt like a constant drone of inefficiency and frustration.He reached his desk, a fortress of cluttered paperwork and half-drunk coffee mugs. The disarray mirrored his mental state. With a sigh, he slumped into his chair, feeling the day’s tension in his shoulders. It was going to be one of those days.Stella, his assistant and personal unofficial coffee guru, was his next hope for a small respite. He picked up the phone and dialed her extension."Stella! I could really use a cup of coffee. Just the usual."As he hung up, he glanced at the clock. It was nearing eleven, and he’d already consumed three cups of coffee. His nerves were frayed, and his patience was wearing thin.A knock on his office door heralded her arrival

Lucian stared at his reflection in the mirror, hardly recognizing the man looking back. The sleepless nights and the guilt gnawing at him left him looking haggard, and worn. He had tried to forget what happened the previous day, the burst of anger, the way he’d lost control, and the split-second decision that had led him to hurl a mug of hot coffee toward Stella. Even now, the memory made him wince. He’d caught a glimpse of her face afterward, shock and silence. The guilt, sharper than any he’d felt in a long time, clung to him, tightening like a vise around his heart. Lucian wasn’t used to feeling guilty. But Stella’s face kept surfacing in his mind. He knew he couldn’t simply ignore it because, deep down it was torturing him. He couldn’t continue acting as though nothing had happened. And so, he resolved to make things right. When he arrived at the topmost floor of his office, he took a deep breath, his gaze to her top-to-floor glass-walled office, he saw her. Stella was at her d