LOGIN"They said the Alpha’s heir was a son. They lied." Wolfless. Worthless. A walking curse. Cinder Romero has spent her life as the shadow twin—blamed for her mother’s death, ignored by her kingdom, and promised like livestock to a man she despises. But when an ancient monster breaches the barrier and leaves her brother near death, Cinder is thrust into the role meant for him: envoy to the Vampire Kingdom of Erevar. Except no one knows she was the firstborn. Or that something terrifying and powerful woke inside her that night. Sent across enemy borders to a dark academy where vampires, fae, warlocks and monsters walk the halls, Cinder must navigate court politics, whispered legends, and the devastating attention of the Vampire Prince—a beautiful, cruel enigma who might want her dead… or worse, want her entirely. But nothing is as dangerous as the man she’s betrothed to. Zulu smiles like a lover and schemes like a villain. And he’s not just waiting for her return—he’s hunting for what’s inside her. The academy may teach her how to fight. But only the truth will set her free. A cursed heir. A forbidden magic. A love that could ruin kingdoms.
View MoreVARGRHEIM:
The world had long whispered of monsters lurking in the dark, of beasts that walked among men with human faces and predatory hearts. But for centuries, those whispers were nothing more than cautionary tales—stories meant to keep children from wandering too far at night.
Until Vargrheim rose from the shadows and thrived in plain sight.
It was not the first kingdom of monsters, nor the last, but it became the most feared.
While human rulers battled against the ever-growing dominion of vampires, fae, warlocks, and ogres, another kingdom was born—one that did not seek alliances, one that did not beg for recognition.
A kingdom of wolves.
The wolves of Vargrheim were unlike any other creatures that roamed the world. They were stronger than the vampires, who drained life from their prey. Faster than the warlocks, whose magic took time to summon. More cunning than the fae, who relied on their silver tongues and ageless wisdom.
And above them all stood the Alpha.
A being neither god nor mortal, but something in between. A force of nature itself.
It was the Moon Goddess—a deity they worshipped, that chose him, who granted him a power so great that even the other supernatural races feared his existence.
It was said the Alpha’s will could bend the very laws of their kind—that his howl could command the wind, that his rage could shake the earth.
Where other wolves shifted only beneath the full moon, the Alpha could change at will into man, beast, something in between. No waiting. No limits. No mercy.
Where other wolves healing took hours, his took seconds.
Where their strength had limits, his did not.
The Moon’s blessing was a double-edged sword, for the Alpha was not merely a ruler. He was the balance itself.
Unpredictable.
Unrestrained.
Unchallenged.
The vampires called him a wild card.
The warlocks named him a living curse.
The fae? They called him a mistake...
The world plunged into a war not long after Vargrheim rose.
There had been a fragile peace once, a tense truce between the realms of men and the creatures of the night.
Until the fae shattered it.
For reasons lost to time, the fae—once watchers, sentinels of ancient law, allied with the humans to launch an all-out war against the werewolves and vampires.
The battle raged for years, a bloodstained chapter in history that even the immortal races hesitated to speak of.
The Alpha of that age was the last true king of Vargrheim.
It was he who led the wolves into battle, his strength turning the tide again and again. It was said he could not be killed—that every blade that struck him shattered, that every spell cast against him fizzled into nothing.
But in the end, even he was not enough.
The fae’s trickery, their mastery of ancient magic, bound him.
It took thirteen warlocks, a circle of fae high lords, and the blood of a thousand men to seal him away.
Buried beneath rock and ruin, locked in a slumber that no one could undo.
With him gone, the werewolves of Vargrheim had no choice but to retreat behind their Moon-blessed barrier. And subsequent Alpha’s after him were weakened. They did not possess his might.
The werekind remained untouched, their kingdom intact, but the cost was great. They had become cut off from the world, severed from its growth and power. The other supernatural races bent the knee to the fae.
But Vargrheim?
It waited.
There was an old legend, whispered only in the darkest corners of the kingdom.
It spoke of a time when the Alpha King would rise again.
When the Moon Goddess would choose her champion once more.
He would come with fire in his veins and storm in his voice.
He would break the chains of the past and reclaim the throne stolen from their kind.
He would be the reckoning.
The prophecy did not name him, but it did name his title—the Alpha King.
But legends, no matter how deeply buried, never truly die.
And if the Moon’s will had changed…
If she had chosen again…
Then the world would tremble once more.
~~
A ‘he.’ Always a ‘he.’
The right to rule had only belonged to men alone.
For never in history had the Moon Goddess chosen a female Alpha.
The air grew colder the closer we rode to the Keep. I didn’t even realize I’d been holding my breath until my vision went spotty. I let it out slow and leaned my forehead against the silver bars. The metal was freezing. Figures.I let the world blur around me as hooves clattered against stone, echoing off buildings that looked too perfect and uniform to be real. The air smelled like incense and sea salt and something else… something sharp.Blood. Old blood.Holy place, my ass.Mafos, the goblin, had long shed whatever fear he’d once had of me. He’d been chattering beside my cage since, going on about where we were headed. I suspected it was less about me and more about how no one else wanted to listen. Vasska certainly didn’t.I, ever the cooperative captive, responded with my polite little ohhs and ahhs.Mafos made the city sound like paradise.And then it rose before us — vast, cold, and beautiful — like something sculpted from a nightmare, as everything in Erevar tended to be.Hal
The first thing I noticed was the ache.Every joint, every muscle, every inch of me throbbed like I’d been thrown from a cliff and left for the wolves.I shifted, the ropes biting into my wrists, the silver bars humming faintly with the bite of metal meant to keep creatures like me subdued. The cage rocked over stones, the wheels creaking beneath it.I'd thought it was all a bad dream.Somewhere beyond the rattling and hoofbeats, I heard birds—morning birds.Sunrise.I’d been unconscious long enough for night to die.I blinked through the dim blur. The air was sharp and cold, the kind that crawled straight into the bones. My throat burned, and before I could stop myself, a small sound escaped. A sniffle. Pathetic, weak—but it slipped out anyway.From ahead, his voice came, low and even.“Crying won’t change anything.”My head snapped up, heart lurching. He hadn’t even turned around—just spoke as if he could feel me crying.Vasska.His pale hair caught the sunrise like frozen glass, hi
My tears soon dried in the biting cold air.The pistol was cold against my palm.My last defense. My last chance.I'd never killed before but apparently I had no squabbles with it when it came down to me being a prisoner to the undead.I raised it, aimed for the nearest vampire’s head, and fired.The shot split the night apart—but they were faster than sound. One blurred aside, the bullet carving air instead of flesh. I fired again. Missed again.The third time, the one I tore his flesh with my teeth caught my wrist mid-shot. His grip snapped bone before I could even scream.White-hot pain seared up my arm. I staggered back, clutching the useless limb to my chest.It would heal.They didn’t advance. They just stood there, pale faces gleaming under the moonlight, watching. I could see it in their eyes—contempt. Disgust. Loathing.“You’ll have to kill me first,” I gasped, aiming again with my good but shaking hand. My voice shook, but I forced it steady. “The only way I’m getting in t
"On the return trip." Father paused, "You'll be excluded. Queen Nymera and the other pure blood nobles of the Eternal house decided to trade the cease of the killings at our borders for—you."For a moment, I just knelt there, staring up at the orb. The light from it flickered faintly, glinting off the sheen of sweat that had broken along my brow.Then I laughed. A small, broken sound.“Father, is my punishment you trying to scare me?” I said, voice trembling between disbelief and hysteria. “That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. Me? Sold to the Erevar royals?”No one else moved. No one even blinked.My laughter died.“Father?” I whispered. “Please tell me this is a joke.”Alpha Romero’s expression didn’t so much as twitch.“A mating,” he said at last.He paused. “I’ll admit, when Queen Nymera requested this of me, I didn’t quite understand. I even suspected the vampires were up to their old tricks—trying to take advantage.”The room blurred around me. A mating?Every word af
The moment they dragged me inside, I knew.It wasn’t a room anymore. Quinn’s quarters had been stripped bare and turned into a council chamber. Maps were pinned to the walls. A lantern swung low above the table, casting warped shadows on every face.And in the center—resting on a stand of blackwood—sat the orb.That damned glass.The air was tight, heavy. No one spoke as I was shoved forward.I stumbled but caught myself. My boots scraped against the boards.My eyes went first to Elio.He didn’t look up. His hands were braced on the table, jaw set. His eyes—red. Not from anger. From something worse. Shame.My stomach sank.Quinn stood beside him, arms folded, somber.The elders flanked them in a perfect half-circle: Ezekiel, North, Torah—all wearing the same look. Disappointment, merciless, sharp and deliberate.And there was no sign of Isolde.That couldn’t be good.The silence stretched until I swore I could hear my pulse echoing in my ears.Then the orb pulsed once.Light spilled
Quinn hadn’t left his room in hours.I knew because I’d been watching the thin line of light under his door since dusk, and it hadn’t moved once.The crew were in wonder. They whispered that he was speaking with my father through the dark glass orb. The one Korra delivered. The one that pulsed faintly red whenever someone held it.Warlock-made. Rare.Called the glass between worlds.Only a handful in existence, or so they said. The kind of artifact you didn’t so much own as owe.Apparently, my father had one too.Which meant whatever was being discussed in there wasn’t a report—it was judgment.Soon enough, more doors opened down the narrow corridor.Ezekiel went in first, shoulders stiff, like he was about to face divine wrath. Then the other elders on this trip, North and Torah.And last, Elio.The door shut. The sound of the lock clicked like a verdict on my beating heart.I sighed and leaned against the wall opposite my own quarters, listening to the muffled hum of male voices an
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