Why Does Rand Lose Control In 'The Path Of Daggers'?

Zephyr Khan, the King of Alchemy, was reborn in his youth. He took the Ancient Draconic Way to refine his body and cultivate supreme sword skills! In this life, he was destined to ascend to the top of martial arts, Even the most gifted one was inferior to him!

"If you can't satisfy me with your mouth, then you'll have to satisfy me some other way." In one swift motion, he tore off her flimsy top and skirt, tossing the shredded fabric aside. The implications of his actions became quite clear to Visenya. "Please, let me try again... with my mouth. I believe I can..." "Quiet!" Lucian's voice reverberated off the walls of his bedchamber, instantly silencing her. This was not the way she had envisioned her first time. She had imagined passionate kisses and tender caresses from a man who loved and cherished her. But Lucian was not capable of love, and he certainly didn't cherish her. Instead, she was cursed with a mate consumed by vengeance, and wanted nothing more than to watch her suffer. ——— Ten years had passed since dragons ruled over the world, and Visenya had taken her rightful place as the Lycan Queen. Vampires were forced into the shadows, as hunting and enslaving humans became punishable by death. Finally, the world found peace. However, everything changed when Dragon Lord Lucian emerged from his induced slumber, only to discover the annihilation of his entire race at the hands of Visenya's father. Stripped of her kingdom, Visenya was condemned to a life of servitude as Lucian's slave. The cruelest twist of fate awaited her when she learned that her long-awaited mate was none other than the vengeful Dragon Lord himself. Consumed by their mutual hatred, will they be able to resist the powerful bond between mates? Or will Lucian push Visenya to her limits, only to regret it in the end? WARNING: This story may contain content that some may find disturbing.

The Empire rules on the wings of dragons. Riders are hand-selected for training from childhood, and Anzi is one of the rare few who wait to hatch theirs this year. Until she discovers the terrible truth that the dragon riders are not partners with their dragons: they're slavers. The dragons are bred in captivity and enslaved from within the egg, and they are nothing but mindless shadows of what their once-noble species used to be. After two hundred years, the surviving dragons in the wild are coming back to rescue their brethren. How they survived the Purge, no one knows, but they are angry and they are coming, in fire and in storm. And as she struggles to come to terms with the realization that the nation she loves so much that she would give her life for it may be nothing more than propaganda and illusion, she discovers something else: The dragons who survived the Purge are shifters, able to hide in human form. And Anzi has met one of them already. Her mate.

"Azel, you walked away from the highest bloodline in the continent, but you cannot outrun the primal pull of a true apex predator." "Are you threatening my independent status, Ronan? Or are you just desperate to see how a rogue handles your collar?" "I don't want your submission, little wolf. I want your teeth against my throat while the entire continent watches our boundaries burn." I spent my previous life trying to please the elite Whitmore pack, only to be left for dead in the silver-fires of the Shadowfang Ruins while they saved their precious adopted omega. But the moon granted me a second sunrise. Now, reborn with a cold heart and an independent rogue scout license, I’ve broken my bloodline covenant and turned my back on the family who abandoned me. Running wild in the cutthroat Bloodmoon Trials Arena, the corporate lords of the Lunar Veil Dominion vow to crush my name. My treacherous ex-mate tries to anchor me to his past, while my former brothers try to starve my inner wolf into submission. They think an unbonded male cannot survive the winter circuit alone. They are completely wrong. I am building my own sanctuary from the dirt up at Frostclaw Hollow. But I didn't count on the wildcard entry. Enter Ronan Nightcrest—the arrogant esports gaming legend known as 'Zeus.' Backed by the continent's most powerful lineage, he is fierce, biting, and entirely immune to the pack’s deceit. While the MoonNet Circle explodes with corporate smear campaigns, Ronan doesn't want my compliance—he wants my raw, untamed fire. In a high-stakes urban fantasy world driven purely by power, survival, and forbidden heat, can a solitary rogue claim absolute dominance, or will an elite alpha's possessive bite ruin my hard-won freedom forever?

*She was banished to die. He saved her to possess her. Now three kings want to claim her… and the secret she carries could shatter kingdoms.* Elysia Belrose has spent her entire life as nothing—scentless, powerless, invisible. The night her mother dies, she drowns her grief in the arms of a brutal stranger who makes her feel wanted for one perfect moment… before shattering her: *“Don’t get the wrong idea. This didn’t mean anything.”* Two years later, she finally finds hope when Killian, the Alpha’s son, claims her as his mate. She tells herself she can earn his love. She’s wrong. When she discovers him in bed with the Alpha King’s daughter, her rejection provokes his rage. Beaten bloody and accused of seduction, Elysia is banished to the Wildlands for 100 days—a death sentence wrapped in mercy. But the man who saves her is the same stranger from that night. The one who broke her. Rhaegar Draven. The Alpha King. He doesn’t want her. He doesn’t believe in second chances. But when she begs for 99 days of protection, he agrees to one condition: she stays silent, obedient, and out of his way. Except Elysia is hiding something that pulses beneath her skin, growing stronger with each passing moon. A forbidden bloodline. A secret pregnancy. And a truth that makes her the most dangerous woman alive. Three men are hunting her—one who wants to reclaim her, one who wants to breed her, and one who’s trying to convince himself he doesn’t want to burn the world down to keep her. But Rhaegar’s wolf knows what he refuses to admit: she’s his. His mate. His queen. His salvation and his ruin. In 99 moons, everything will change.

The first waves of attacks have finally subsided, and both the Independent States and the kingdom outside the walls are recovering from their devastating losses. In the meantime, another battle is about to begin without their knowledge; will they succumb to their foes' godly nature, or will they rise above their fate and conquer their future? THIS IS THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF THE BOOK SERIES: MAGE WARS