Rule 64

Nathaniel Lockwood is a fourth-year medical student at one of the top universities in the States. His plan is simple and clear: graduate with excellent grades, land a good job, and live a stable, peaceful life. Unfortunately, that plan goes straight to hell the moment he takes the wrong “job”—a job that drags him into the dark, dangerous underworld he never wanted to see. Nikolai Ricardo: star of the hockey team, rich, spoiled, and untouchable. In just sixty days, Nikolai makes it his mission to completely upend Nathaniel’s life, manipulating his tutor and orchestrating chaos in ways Nathaniel could never anticipate. Now, every step Nathaniel takes toward his perfect life is sabotaged, leaving him caught between danger, desire, and the shocking realization that he might not be able to escape Nikolai’s game. But the table turns, where Nikolai is only a pawn in a more even bigger game.

He grinned, getting up from where he was, and walked away from her. She could finally breathe. Her hands adjusted her black hair that had already stuck to her face as a result of the blood and sweat present on it, tucking it behind her ears. Her training clothes were messed up with dust, sweat, and a little bit of blood. She looked up at him again as he walked away from her, but suddenly stopped and turned to look at her. "The most important rule of them all. Rule number 6" he spoke. "NEVER FALL IN LOVE"

My sister was taken 32 years ago. I chased the van for three blocks, memorized the license plate, and then ran straight to the police station. The deputy chief on duty was leaning back with his feet on the desk, eating a bag of chips. He didn't even look up when he said, "That's a domestic matter. Come back after 24 hours." I was on my knees, pleading with him to send officers immediately. But he slammed his coffee mug on the desk and shoved his chair back. "Make another scene, and I'll lock you up!" Then, he had me thrown out. Three days later, my sister's body was found on the shoulder of a highway service road. She had jumped from the vehicle and was dragged hundreds of feet, shattering her skull. She even suffered severe beatings and sexual assault before she died. That deputy chief later got promoted to deputy chief of the city department and retired with full honors. Now, I'm a cop. One day, a woman in her 50s bursts into the detective division. She's sobbing, her voice raw, begging me for help. "My daughter's been taken by her ex-husband! You need to get someone out there now!" I glance at her face, and something cold settles in my chest. "Ma'am, we don't open cases on missing adults until the 24-hour mark. Go home and wait for our call."

Though we've been in love for six years, Arnold Porter, the Chief Legal Officer of the Werewolf Council, has canceled our marking ceremony 66 times. The first time he did so, he claimed that Erna Porter, his adoptive sister, was coughing blood in the middle of her heat. Decked in my gown, I stood in front of the Altar of the Full Moon alone until the moon had disappeared from the skies and everyone had left. The second time the ceremony gets canceled, it was because he suddenly received a message in the middle of the ceremony, saying that Erna was abducted by Rogues. He tore off his robes and shifted into his wolf instantly, rushing to save her, while I was forced to endure the laughter of our guests. Whenever we are to hold a ceremony, Erna will always get into trouble and then seek his help. Finally, when he cancels the ceremony for the 66th time, both my wolf and I give up. I break up with him and leave. Three days after I traverse the borders of the snowy plains riddled with powerful winds that conceal my trace, he seems to go crazy. He sends the elite guard of his pack on a mission just to find me.

When I'm on my break, I decide to help my neighbor, Yvonne Cook, fix the gas valve, which has been leaking gas. But she instantly lodges a report, saying that I've gone against the rules. She demands compensation for the shock that she's suffered as well. I don't bother defending myself. Instead, I just write a reflection report. After that, my squad leader sentences me to disciplinary confinement. Yvonne wastes no time gloating in the tenants' group chat. "It's time to teach these power-abusers a good lesson, anyway!" Three days later, a fire breaks out in Yvonne's apartment. Thick plumes of dark smoke keep rising from the burning apartment. Yvonne wails as she bangs on my door and pleads with me. "Please crack open the door and put out the fire!" I can only sigh from behind my front door. "I'm under disciplinary suspension right now, so I can't break protocol. You should wait for the fire truck instead."

I was in the office bathroom stall when I heard them trash-talking me. The intern I'd trained for three months whined, "She's a heartless witch—like a robot with zero brain cells." I was about to swing the door open when another voice jumped in, laughing. "Documents incomplete." "Receipts don't match." "No signature? Denied." "Seriously, we've all memorized the freaking rulebot's script!" Once they were gone, I headed back to my desk. The intern stormed in and slammed a fat stack of reimbursement forms in front of me. "Don't go on another power trip and block everyone's claims." I skimmed the obviously fake receipts. Normally, I'd tear into her. But this time, I just smiled. "My head's killing me. Can't read the fine print."