As It Seems By Lily Kershaw Novels & Stories

She was the lowest among them, an omega meant to serve, to obey, to be forgotten. Until the Alpha touched her. Until he marked her with words that felt like a promise... and shoved her off a cliff like she was nothing. Ayla thought betrayal had a name, a face, a heartbeat she once trusted. She thought the crashing water would be her grave. But death didn’t claim her. The dragon did. She awakens not in darkness, but in silk sheets soaked with sweat, her body wracked with fire, strangers calling her Queen Liliana. The child they beg her to bring into the world is no wolf pup, it’s something older, deeper… and hers. Now fire sings in her veins. Scales burn beneath her skin. She remembers being Ayla. But they swear she is a queen, reborn through flame and fury, the last of the dragon-blooded line. Torn between two lives, two names, two fates… Was she reborn by fate’s hand, or was she always meant to rise? Because if this isn’t death, then it must be the beginning… of the Dragon Queen.

In her first life, Saera was a kind-hearted woman who inherited a massive fortune from her grandfather—a gift that quickly turned into a nightmare. Driven by greed, the people she wanted to treat her as family pushed her into a cold, dark void just to steal her money. As she fell toward the jagged rocks, she didn’t beg for her life. Instead, she made a terrifying promise: "I will come back as a witch to punish you all." ​However, fate had an even bigger plan for her. ​Saera wakes up reborn as the Alpha Luna—the most powerful queen in the world of werewolves. Now, she possesses the fierce strength of a wolf leader and the ancient magic of a witch. She is more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. ​Her chance for revenge comes sooner than she thought. She discovers that the people who killed her have also been reborn... as wolves. They are now the enemies of her new husband, Kilian, and are plotting to steal his throne. They think they are just fighting for power, but they have no idea who she really is. They have walked straight into her trap, and this time, Saera has the claws and the magic to make them pay for everything they did.

Blurb Smoke. The same scent that long to the bed sheets the night I died, only this time when I opened my eyes the smoke wasn't from fire but from the Alpha's cigar and the reflection in the mirror wasn't mine. Pale skin and golden eyes, a frail Omega trembling under the dim light of the room stared back at me. “Lyra?” A voice snarled. “You still exist?” His hatred sliced through my soul and I winced and touched my stomach. I had died carrying a child once, I won't die again.

"If you force yourself on me, I will never forgive you. You'll have to take me kicking and screaming," I warned. At my words, his face became grave then he looked at me, making me feel a little more intimidated than I'm used to. "Whether silent or screaming, I will fuck you. You my mate and you will carry my heir, that's your role" He used his Alpha tone on me. It hurt. Not physically, but emotionally it did. He was ordering his own mate around like I was just another pack member. Why would he treat me any different? That was a silly thing to expect from him. He took his duty very seriously. His job came first before any thing else

Before I could shove my wife, Cheryl Craig, into the ocean, I turned myself in. The security guard frowned. "What? Are you saying that you're going to kill someone on this cruise?" I nodded. "It's 5:05 p.m. right now. In 20 minutes, I'll push my wife off this cruise ship. You need to arrest me, now." He stared at me like I had lost my mind. "You've got to be kidding! I've never seen anyone confess before the crime." He waved me off and started to walk away, so I had no choice but to start smashing things in the lobby. Only when the cuffs snapped around my wrists did I finally breathe again. In my last life, Cheryl was pushed off this very ship and fell into the ocean. Before I could even finish arranging her funeral, the police came for me. The ship's security footage clearly showed me pushing her overboard, but at that exact time, I was in a room with my father. There was no way I could've done it. I asked my father to testify for me, but he said I had already been planning to kill Cheryl for the insurance money because my company was falling apart. In the end, I was sentenced to death for murder. Even as I faced execution, I still couldn't understand it. I didn't do it, so why did everyone insist that I had? When I opened my eyes again, I was back to before Cheryl fell into the ocean.

Days before Christmas, my girlfriend, Tessa Coleman, decides to take her assistant to the beach for the holiday. I don't argue or make a scene. I even help her pack her bags. But she sneers at me, mocking me for finally learning how to be sensible now that my legs are useless. As soon as she leaves, I reach out to her sworn enemy. In my last life, when I tried to stop her with my crippled legs, her assistant ended up brutally murdered at the beach. Tessa had acted like nothing had happened, but once I recovered, she hacked off my legs and killed me mercilessly. That was when I finally realized that she had hated me all along. This time around, I'll make sure she loses everything.

Sophia Hayes is thrilled when she wins a ticket for the exclusive boat cruise she's dreamed of all her life. But her excitement is dampened by a rumor from a trusted source: her millionaire ex-boyfriend, Charles, will also be attending. Determined to avoid the humiliation of facing him single, Sophia convinces her high school friend Robert, a wealthy playboy, to pose as her boyfriend. Robert agrees, eager to shed his notorious reputation and fend off gold diggers, while also seeking to placate his meddling family. On the lavish cruise, Sophia and Robert's convincing act as a couple quickly captures the attention of social media and the city's gossip columns. However, things take a turn when Robert detects Sophia's lingering feelings for Charles, and Sophia realizes Robert might never give up his playboy ways. A misunderstanding leads Robert into a one-night stand, while Sophia finds herself dancing with Charles. When Charles publicly declares his love for Sophia, she humiliates him, igniting his desire for revenge. After the cruise, Sophia and Robert must continue their fake relationship to maintain appearances. The situation becomes increasingly toxic as an anonymous threat promises to expose their charade and Robert's one-night stand results in a pregnancy scare. Forced to take a family vacation together, Sophia and Robert must navigate their fake relationship in close quarters. As they act intimately to maintain the facade, they begin to confront their true feelings for one another.

The day before the holiday, I gave the household staff the week off. Agnes was still in the kitchen before she left, packing desserts into a bag while talking to herself with a smile. "Miss Vanessa finally got what she wanted this time. Mr. Moretti even booked that seaside villa in Amalfi." I was texting Vanessa, asking her to come over later to try on the bridesmaid dress. Without thinking much of it, I asked, "Got what?" "The wedding," Agnes said naturally. "Isn't Mr. Moretti taking Miss Vanessa to Italy?" My fingers froze above the screen. Two seconds passed before I looked up at her. "Whose wedding?" The smile on Agnes's face slowly froze. She looked at me as if she had only just realized something was wrong. "You... didn't know?" For a moment, I almost laughed at how absurd it sounded. "Agnes, Luca and I signed the family marriage registry three years ago. Next week is only supposed to be the ceremony." The kitchen fell silent. Agnes opened her mouth, embarrassment spreading across her face. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought you knew." She hesitated, then lowered her voice. "A while ago, when I was cleaning the study, I heard Mr. Moretti mention it to his lawyer. He said the marriage registry in your hands was never officially submitted to the family council." My heart sank. Three years ago, Luca had handed that document to me himself. He said the Moretti family was unstable, that we could not announce the marriage yet. Once he entered the inner circle of the Five Families, he would hold a proper wedding. So for all these years, I never pushed him. I even turned against the Castellano family for him. Thinking back now, maybe he had never planned to truly let me through the doors of the Moretti family in the first place.

Someone pushes me off a cliff when I'm eight months pregnant before taking their life on the spot. Meanwhile, blood pools underneath me as I'm rushed to the hospital. As despair washes over me, I hear Jacob Langley's voice come from outside my hospital ward. "Are you sure it'll work this time?" "Yes, Mr. Langley. Mrs. Langley has taken good care of herself during her pregnancy, but the branch pierced her belly. There's no chance of the baby surviving this, and she won't ever be able to conceive again." "Good. Make sure the culprit's family has been sent away. I won't let anything go wrong before the Adkins agree to adopt Clara." "Yes, sir. Still… why did you need to push Mrs. Langley off a cliff if you wanted to adopt Ms. Jennings' daughter? Mrs. Langley is kind; I'm sure she would've treated the child well." Jacob snorts. "What do you know? Why would Selene agree to adopt Clara if she had her own child? She'll only treat Clara as her own once she can't have children and leave everything she has to Clara. I couldn't marry Kaia back then; this is all I can do to make it up to her." The voices slowly fade away, but they reverberate loud and clear in my mind. I've spent six years by Jacob's side, yet all I've gotten in return are lies and betrayal. His so-called love for me is nothing but a trick to steal my inheritance for someone else. Since this is what he wants, I'll make his wish come true.

"Doesn't it bother you?" I blurted out right there and then, having been asking myself that question since the night we slept together. I was curious, but I'd been obviously avoiding him. "What? That you're the heir to the Siren-" "That I'm trans," I said. I could care less about what he think of me being a Sirenio by blood. "T-That I'm a trans...man," "Does it bother you that I'm bisexual?" he asked me. I hadn't expected that response. Not when I'm having mixed feelings about all of this. "Does it?" he probed, closing what's left of the space between. His scent and warmth envelopes me as I'm caged between him and the sink. I shook my head. "Use your words, Miles," he said running his finger over my bottom lip. I shuddered at the sensation it brought to my body. "You were so good with those, that night," I sucked in a sharp breath. I looked away, and his touch disappeared immediately. "It was a mistake," I whispered, my heart racing. "What...happened was a-" "I don't do mistakes, Miles," Mr Stark said guiding my eyes back to his. "You should know that by now," I let out a shaky breath when his thumb found my bottom lip again. "Does it bother you that I want to fuck you right now?"