Misunderstanding Paranormal Web Novels & Stories

## **The Wicked Games We Play for Love** *Book One of The Wicked Series* Fourteen years ago, Dorian Vanderbilt abandoned Troy Summers in an orphanage. He locked her in a closet, walked away with his new wealthy family... and never came back. She spent fourteen years preparing for one thing. Revenge. Now twenty, Troy earns a place at an elite university where Dorian studies, armed with a simple plan: make him fall hopelessly in love with her, then destroy him piece by piece. Only Dorian isn't the boy she remembers. He is quiet. Calculating. Beautiful. Dangerous. A man with silver hair, ancient eyes, and a talent for seeing through every lie she tells. As Troy's carefully crafted seduction begins to work, her plan starts unraveling. The university hides violent secrets. Men fight like predators. Wolves roam the forests after dark. A lonely vampire mourns the loss of sunlight. Ancient druids guard magic that should no longer exist. And Dorian is not simply the heir to a powerful family... He is the nine-tailed fox. Bound by an ancient fae treaty that has stolen freedom from every supernatural race, Dorian has spent centuries manipulating allies and enemies alike in search of a way to break it. Troy was never supposed to become part of that plan. But the more they deceive each other, the more dangerous their game becomes. Every kiss is a test. Every touch is a lie. Every act of intimacy is another move in a ruthless battle between revenge and love. Until Troy discovers the truth. The boy she swore to destroy may be the only one capable of saving them all. And Dorian's greatest weakness has never been his enemies. It's the orphan girl he left behind.

On the night I came of age, I swore before the Moon. Stay pure. Stay silent. Surrender my soul and body to Her alone. Then a man stepped out of the darkness and shattered everything. "Happy eighteenth birthday, my bride." Dorian Valenti. The dreaded Vampire Lord. King of the dark underworld. His name alone was blasphemy against the Goddess. To defy him was death. I had no choice but to honor the betrothal, and walk into a darkness where the Moon's light could never reach. He was the predator, watching me walk into his trap one step at a time. He was the devil, dragging me toward the abyss of sinful desire. Goddess, if the Moon governs all fates, is there salvation left for me? "Pray to your Goddess all you like." He wiped the blood from my face, his voice soft. "By tonight, you'll only be praying to me."