MasukMy pathetic older brother embezzled millions of dollars from the most ruthless billionaire in New York City, and the absolute only way to save my last remaining family member from a federal maximum-security prison is to physically sign my entire life away on a legally binding marriage contract. I foolishly thought I was simply surrendering my family's massive shipping empire to Damien Sterling to pay off a corporate debt, but the psychotic, golden-eyed monster had a completely different, terrifying obsession from the very beginning. Damien did not just want to conquer my company; he wanted absolute, permanent ownership of my body trapped securely inside his penthouse, and he was completely willing to orchestrate my father's fatal car crash three years ago just to force my inexperienced brother into a corner and corner me into his bed. When I discover the horrifying truth about my father's brutal murder and steal a loaded silver revolver to escape his heavily guarded estate, I accidentally drive straight into the territory of the bloodthirsty Russian mafia who want to use my life as physical leverage against my ruthless new husband. Now Damien is actively slaughtering his way through an entire warehouse of heavily armed men just to drag me back to his gilded cage, and I am terrifyingly forced to realize that the dominant monster who completely ruined my life is the exact same man who will brutally butcher anyone else who dares to touch his legally contracted wife.
Lihat lebih banyakUREKAI:
In the days of old, the Urekai stood out as the strongest and most powerful beings in the world.
The ancient tongue called them ‘fearsome beasts’ for:
Like werewolves, they could transform into beasts.
Like vampires, they consumed blood.
And walked among humans with no one the wiser.
The ageless, peaceful, selfless beings preferred to keep to themselves. Despite being feared and distrusted, they never responded with aggression.
They granted passage to any species wishing to enter their lands beyond the great mountain and welcomed everyone.
But five centuries ago, an unexpected species attacked the Urekais during their one night of weakness. The humans.
While protecting his people, Grand King Daemonikai lost control of his mind, going feral.
Becoming a danger to the same people whom he had given everything to protect.
Although it seemed impossible, the Urekais managed to capture their king’s beast form, imprisoning him in a secure cage, ensuring he could never escape.
But, consumed by hatred for humans, the Urekai plunged themselves into darkness.
Becoming the fearsome beasts others had always feared them to be.
Wearing their monstrosity with pride.
HUMANS:
After invading the Urekais, a mysterious virus outbreak struck.
No one knew where it came from, but many speculated their attack on the Urekais brought it on.
While most males eventually recovered after a long struggle, the virus proved fatal for the majority of females.
Survivors rarely gave birth to female children. Those left or born became scarce and sought-after commodities.
In many kingdoms, greedy fathers sold their daughters to breeding houses. Some were forced into pleasure houses, existing solely for men's enjoyment. Some faced terrible abuse in exchange for protection.
Even the wealthy and the privileged could not guarantee the safety of the females in their lives, as the mere sight of a female—be it an infant, a young girl, or an elderly woman—drew unwanted attention.
Female children faced constant danger.
They are not safe in the society.
.
.
.
PROLOGUE
HUMAN LAND: THE KINGDOM OF NAVIA.
"It's a g-girl, your highness,"
Prince Garret froze.
As he turned, looking at the palace healer, his hands resting on his exhausted wife's body, shook uncontrollably.
He had secretly arranged the delivery months ago, and now they were hidden in one of the underground rooms in the palace, where his beloved wife, Pandora, was giving birth.
"What did you just say to me?" Prince Garret hoped he heard wrong. Perhaps it had been a mistake.
Please, gods, let it be a mistake!
But the pity in the older man's face couldn't be disguised. The palace healer turned the little bundle. "The baby is a girl."
Terror crossed Pandora's face as she adjusted herself to get a closer look at her baby.
"No. Oh, the gods, please no..." She shook her head vigorously fresh tears gathering in her eyes.
Tears welled in the healer's eyes. "I'm so sorry, your highness."
"No!!!" Pandora cried out burying her face into her husband's waiting arms, sobs after sobs ripping from her throat.
Garret felt numb as he held his wife.
His first daughter, Aekeira, wasn't even four yet, and the king was already negotiating with the kingdom of Cavar to sell her to the highest bidder.
Because, apparently, Navia 'could use more funds.'
King Orestus might be Garret's brother, but he was a tyrant, and his word was law.
Now, another girl child? Two daughters?
Tears filled Garrett's eyes as he looked upon the crying bundle wiggling around in healer's arms.
The world was not safe for either of his daughters.
“I’ll raise her like a boy,” Pandora declared suddenly.
The healer's eyes widened. “Are you suggesting we keep her identity a secret?”
“Yes," Pandora affirmed, her resolve strengthening. "This child will never be seen as a girl. No one will ever find out!”
“B-but, it’s impossible to hide something like this, your majesty." The healer panicked. "The king will order our execution!"
“Then, we take the secret to our grave." Pandora's voice was fierce. "I was unable to protect my first daughter, but by the Light-gods, I will protect my second."
Too dangerous, but Garret was all for it too. This was their best chance to keep their daughter safe, and they would take it.
"As far as we are concerned, the child I bore today was a male." Pandora looked at the baby. "His name is Emeriel. Emeriel Galilea Evenstone."
Emeriel.
It's a neutral name, and also means 'Sky's Protection' in the old tongue. Garret liked it.
Fitting too, for their daughter would need all the luck and protection in the world.
"I agree," Garret spoke aloud.
With the plan fully in his mind, Garret swore the two other men in the room to secrecy.
*********
That night, Garrett and his wife, stood by the baby’s small cradle, watching their newborn sleep. Across the room, their three-year-old daughter, Aekeira, lay curled under a blanket, her tiny chest rising and falling in peaceful rhythm.
"In all my years on this earth, I’ve never seen anyone bear two female children, Garrett," Pandora whispered, voice cracking.
She glanced up at him, eyes glistening with tears. "I don’t know what this means for us... or for them."
Garrett placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Maybe it means they have a great destiny to fulfill."
"Or a great sorrow in their future," Pandora's eyes drifted to their eldest, worriedly. "I’m so scared for them. How could something like this happen?"
“Perhaps you’ve been touched by the gods, my darling," Garrett said in comfort.
"I really doubt that. Why me? Why us?"
He had no answer to that.
"If that’s true," Pandora sniffled, brushing her fingers over the baby’s soft cheek, "may that god always protect my babies. We won’t always be here to do that."
Garrett pulled his wife into his arms, holding her close, fighting to hide his own worry.
Because, she was right.
What were the odds of a couple in these times bearing not just one, but two daughters?
None. Absolutely none.
As he gazed at their sleeping children, prayer rose in his heart. Whatever god you are, please... protect our angels.
I gripped the heavy leather steering wheel of the black armored SUV with both of my trembling hands and slammed my foot down onto the gas pedal while the freezing rain slashed fiercely against the bulletproof windshield. I ignored the glowing red traffic lights and the blaring horns of the civilian cars swerving desperately out of my path because I only had a few precious minutes to reach the downtown warehouse district before my psychotic husband officially executed my older brother. The massive engine roared loudly in the dark, empty streets and I tightly clenched my jaw until my teeth ached to keep the overwhelming, suffocating panic from completely paralyzing my rational mind.I jerked the steering wheel to the right and sent the heavy vehicle skidding dangerously across the wet asphalt as I finally turned onto the desolate, unlit street bordering the Volkov syndicate's contested territory. The flashing headlights of the SUV suddenly illuminated a massive rusted chain-l
I kicked the rusted steel door of the Volkov syndicate's downtown warehouse completely off its heavy iron hinges and instantly raised my customized automatic rifle to unload a lethal, deafening spray of hollow-point bullets directly into the chests of the first three Russian mafia guards who foolishly tried to raise their weapons against me. Dark blood and shattered bone violently exploded across the damp concrete floor while my thirty heavily armed enforcers flooded seamlessly into the massive, dimly lit building right behind me and systematically slaughtered every single man standing between me and the pathetic, bleeding coward who legally sold me his sister. The heavy, suffocating stench of gunsmoke and freshly spilled blood completely filled my lungs as I marched relentlessly through the massive maze of wooden shipping crates, entirely ignoring the agonizing, wet screams of dying men echoing off the corrugated metal roof because my mind was singularly focused on protecting the a
Damien’s heavy, footsteps disappeared down the long hallway and the double mahogany doors slammed shut with a deafening metallic click that officially sealed the biometric locks and trapped me entirely inside his gilded cage. Elias ignored my presence on the bed and violently dragged the sobbing, bleeding lawyer out of the master bedroom by his ruined collar, hauling him forcefully into the sprawling main living room to physically interrogate him about the exact layout of the Volkov syndicate's downtown warehouse. I absolutely refused to sit helplessly on this expensive mattress and passively wait for my psychotic, murderous husband to drag my older brother's bleeding corpse into the penthouse just to execute him directly in front of my eyes. I violently tore the remaining shreds of the ruined red silk gown completely off my trembling body and threw the expensive fabric onto the floor before I marched entirely bare into Damien’s massive, aggressively masculine walk-in closet to find
I clutched the violently torn pieces of my red silk dress tightly against my exposed chest and stared into the ruthless golden eyes of the man who just legally bought my entire life. Damien Sterling did not flinch and he did not scramble to deny the horrifying accusation Vanessa Croft just screamed into the quiet master bedroom before his guards dragged her away. He took a slow, heavy step toward the edge of the mattress and looked down at me with an absolutely terrifying lack of remorse while the thick muscles in his jaw tightly clenched under his scarred skin. "Did you kill my father?" I demanded in a raw, broken voice while my fingernails dug so deeply into my bare arms that I almost drew blood to keep myself from completely falling apart. "Did you intentionally orchestrate the fatal car crash three years ago just to force my brother to take over the company so you could systematically destroy my family and force me into your bed?"Damien opened his mouth to answer me but the heav
I lay flat on the cold mahogany desk for a long second while the thick legal contract rested heavily on my chest and Damien Sterling adjusted the gold cuffs of his suit jacket with an infuriatingly calm expression. My breathing was ragged from the sudden, violent loss of his physical touch and the
I stared up into his dark eyes and tried to find a single trace of humanity or mercy but Damien Sterling was completely hollow and entirely focused on consuming me. My breathing turned into shallow gasps while his rough thumb dragged back and forth over the sensitive skin of my inner thigh right at
The heavy oak door of the private study clicked shut behind me. I did not even have time to turn around before a massive hand clamped forcefully over my mouth and a solid, muscular chest pressed flush against my back. "You are exactly where you are not supposed to be, Chloe," a deep, gravelly voic
Damien carried me entirely down the long, dark hallway of his massive penthouse while my fists beat uselessly against his broad shoulders and my high heels kicked desperately at the empty air. He completely ignored my frantic struggles and kicked the heavy double mahogany doors of his master bedroo






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