Before the Crown Falls

Ivy's POV She smiled like a child giving a list of presents. “I want them executed. But first…I want her.” Her finger stabbed at me with a sweetness that made my blood turn to tar. “I want her arms chopped off before she’s killed. I want to watch it happen.”The words landed like a strike. The king’s voice was soft, flat as a blade. “You heard the queen.”Ezra screamed, a sound ripped from the bones. “My king—”He was already turning, Lila tucked into him like an offering. “Have them executed as a present for the queen at her coronation tomorrow,” Leo growled, his tone a slow thing that promised ruin as he began to leave.I could not breathe in the right sequence. Sounds blurred. Daniel’s hands found my wrist, pulling me into his solidness as the guards closed in, pushing us toward the dungeon mouth that yawned like a hungry thing. The Betas’ cry, the scrape of armor, the distant clatter of a crown being set…all faded into a single, hot pulse.Lila’s eyes found mine as we were hauled

Last Updated : 2025-09-22

Seduction or Doom

Ivy’s POV“Just hold on,” I repeated, and they all froze and turned to me.“You mean y’all want me to go meet him?” I asked, letting disbelief lace each word. Daniel nodded, jaw set hard like he’d carved his decision into stone.“Which means that I’ll be locked up in his chambers alone with him?! Dressed like a workaholic?!” I shrieked, the sound ricocheting off the dungeon stone, loud and ridiculous against the concerned expression of the others. I jabbed a finger at my corporate pants and button-up…my office uniform that read ‘Just a simple office worker’ louder than anything else.Daniel rolled his eyes and groaned. “Oh princess, for the love of God, this is a serious issue! Why are you trying to be funny?” He rubbed his hands through his hair like I’m not making sense, and I’m just being unreasonable.He thinks I’m trying to be funny?Around me faces shifted…the half-hardened masks of people who’d been stewing in fear too long: hope stretched thin, anger raw. They’d been arguing

Last Updated : 2025-09-24

Face to Face With Leo Ashton

IVY’S POV“Can you stop pacing around already?” I snapped at Daniel, the agitation in my voice barely masking the nervous flutter twisting in my stomach. “You’re making me nervous.”He stopped mid-step, his jaw tightening in a way I hadn’t seen before, the kind of controlled tension that made my chest clench. “You don’t understand. I’m not supposed to be locked in here. I have things to do,” he said, pacing again, each footstep a drumbeat that seemed to echo against the stone walls of our cell.Daniel…the joker, the one who could defuse any tension with a quip or sarcastic grin…was serious. Deadly serious. And now I was starting to feel a chill creep up my spine. Whatever was going on is making him this way, has to be very important.I idly rubbed my chin, pretending to think as I studied him. “Hmmm… weird that you will get serious about something. You’re always the one to throw jokes when things get rough. And now…this? Should I be scared?”His eyes caught mine, sharp and serious. He

Last Updated : 2025-09-25

Memories

IVY’S POVThe moment those words left his mouth, fear gripped me like icy chains winding around my chest. My breath stuttered, shallow and uneven, as old nightmares clawed their way out of the shadows of my mind. Every dream, every terror that had haunted me for weeks…all of them ended with him. With Leo.The hollow, shadowed eyes that drained me until I was nothing. The faceless darkness pressing me down until I was gasping, helpless.My hands trembled as I forced air into my lungs. No. It’s not real. Calm down, Ivy.The sorceress’s voice laced steady steel into my spiraling thoughts. It’s a projection. They twisted your dreams to keep you away from him. Don’t let it fool you.I tried to cling to her certainty, but my pulse hammered like war drums, drowning out reason. Wait…where did he go?One moment he stood before me…imposing, terrifying…then in a blink, he was gone. My heart lurched, my body stiffening. I didn’t need to search with my eyes.I could still smell him nearby.That

Last Updated : 2025-09-25

The King is Mine

Ivy’s POVWhen my eyes fluttered open, I realized I was on a bed. My neck throbbed but it didn’t hurt anymore. The ache wasn’t pain…it pulsed, almost alive, like something beneath my skin had been rewritten.I slowly began getting up, but froze immediately when I felt them.Red, glowing eyes burned from the corner of the room, watching me.My breath hitched.What now?! Is the curse not broken yet? After all the blood he sucked, shouldn’t it have ended? Shouldn’t he have been freed?But strangely, I didn’t feel drained at all. No weakness, no dizziness… nothing like what death would feel like.Instead, I felt more alive.Every nerve, every muscle, every beat of my heart thudded with new force. The air smelled sharper, richer…even the shadows seemed to have shape and breath. My whole body vibrated with a strength I’d never known.And then, just as I tried to make sense of it, I staggered, clutching the side of the bed.A dizzy rush slammed into me, and then…Memories.All of them.Like

Last Updated : 2025-09-27

Put Me on A Leash

Ivy’s POVHis arms were still wrapped around me, our chests rising and falling together, skin slick, hearts trying to catch up with what just happened. My cheek rested against the solid wall of his chest, the sound of his heartbeat thundering like a drum that refused to quiet.For a long moment, we just breathed. Nothing else. Just being.Then his hand came up, trembling slightly, and stroked my hair. His voice was rough when it finally broke the silence.“I’ve been searching for you,” he whispered, the words jagged, as if they cut his throat to say them. “Gods, Ivy… I’ve been so scared. I tried to break out of the darkness, but I couldn’t do that without you.”I lifted my head, meeting his eyes. He looked broken and beautiful all at once, his gaze wild but clear now, and shining with tears.“While I was trying to find you, I lost myself,” he said, his voice breaking under the weight of his own words. His jaw tightened, but his lips trembled, betraying the storm inside him. “I don’t r