Challenge Bloodlines

WOUNDED HEARTS Marcus Ace Thompson is a well-known businessman at his own rights. Marami na siyang naabot at napatunayan sa larangan ng negosyo. He is also a well-known womanizer. Walang babae na nakakatanggi sa karisma niya pero wala din siyang sineseryoso. Luhaan ang babae kapag iniwan niya pero wala siyang pakialam sa bagay na yon. Hanggang sa makilala niya si Blanca dela Riva. Ang kaisa-isang babaeng ni hindi man lang siya tinapunan ng tingin. Para sa kanya ay challenge ang babaeng ito at sampal sa kanyang ego kaya pinilit niya itong hanapin. But things happened at nahulog ang loob niya dito. Hindi niya alam na may malalalim na dahilan ang pagtatagpo nila ni Blanca. Makuha kayang hilumin ng pag-ibig na nararamdaman nila para sa isa’t-isa ang mga sugat ng nakaraan?

My adopted sister won the Elixir Challenge by stealing my potion. To her shock, she was informed that the event was a selection event for the future wife of the Serpentkins' future head—the same heir who was infamously impotent, barbaric, and hideous. When the Serpentkins sent over a proposal letter, demanding her hand in marriage, my fiance panicked and promptly took my adopted sister away for a quick marriage and even consummated. Once the deed was done, she returned triumphantly, showing off the mark on her lower back. "Well, what are you going to do now, Winnie?" she gloated. "Your fiance is mine now, and you'll be twenty-five in three days. If no one comes to pick you up, you'll just be dumped into the hands of some wife-beating Rogue who is ageing and unwanted…" Actually, she was wrong—I had a choice. I went to the parlor where my parents—who were busy fixing the mess my adopted sister made—were, announcing, "If she refuses to marry the future head of the Serpentkins, I will!"

"I didn’t know I was marrying two people. He wore the suit, but she pulled the strings. The day I walked down the aisle, eyes locked with the man I loved, I thought I had found peace. I thought I was finally leaving behind the noise of my childhood, the ache of loneliness, and the years I spent praying for a love that would choose me, only me. But no one told me that some men never truly leave their mothers. They marry, yes,but their hearts remain tangled in an invisible umbilical cord, one that stretches past vows, past bedrooms, past boundaries. I moved into our new home, only to find that the walls had ears, hers. We lived in separate flats, but it never truly felt like my space. My marriage was a room she walked into, uninvited but ever present. Her opinions dripped into our arguments, her eyes followed me from behind lace curtains, and her voice echoed in decisions that should have belonged to me and my husband. At first, I kept quiet. I told myself it was cultural. Respect. Family. Then I told myself it was temporary. Then I stopped telling myself anything at all, because nothing I said made a difference. This is not a story of hate. It’s a story of love, tested by bloodlines, boundaries, and a battle I never asked to fight. This is my truth. The marriage I thought was mine. The home that never really felt like home. And the rules I never agreed to, but had to live by, simply because… I was under her roof".

I stood in the shadows, the scent of pine and frost heavy in the air, watching my mate, Ethan, smile—truly smile—for the first time in years. But not at me. At her. My cousin, Isla. His first love. She sat beside him, warm and glowing, with our pups, Lucas and Mia, curled up against her like she was their real mother. They were laughing, sharing bites of ice-cream cake, the kind Lucas once said made his stomach hurt. I was never meant to be here. I wasn't his choice. He didn't fall in love with me—he was assigned to me. To him, our bond was never about love. It was a political arrangement—an alliance between two packs: his power, my father’s ambition. A tie forged not by hearts, but by bloodlines and borders. He never touched me unless required. He never looked at me like I was his Luna. In that moment, as their laughter echoed under the full moon, I felt the mate bond falter—thin, fading, like breath in winter. And I knew. I had played my part long enough. So I turned away. It was time to severe the bond that was never truly mine. But when he sensed I was really leaving, when the tether between us began to snap, he broke. Dropped to his knees, clutching the pups like lifelines, his voice raw. "Please," he whispered, "don't leave me." Even the pups cried, reaching for me with shaking hands. "Mom, we’re sorry… We didn't mean it. Please don't go."

She's sin wrapped in a nun habit. He is the devil who makes her want to confess. Luciano Moretti, the mafia's most feared enforcer, kills without hesitation, prays to no god, and bleeds for the Cosa Nostra. Sister Elizabeth has spent her life behind church walls, burying her desires under layers of penance and prayer. She is supposed to be untouchable—a quiet, secluded nun devoted to faith. But when she finds him bleeding on the altar one night, their worlds collide in a sin neither heaven nor hell can cleanse. He's meant to marry her sister to seal a deal between two mafia empires. She's meant to keep her vows and distance. But temptation has a cruel sense of humour... Because he's the last man she should want. She's the only woman he can't have. But one touch, one look, and everything sacred begins to crumble. Luciano does not seek salvation. Instead, he lures her into a dangerous path, one that includes everything she is meant to avoid, and everytime she whispers "forgive me, Father," her soul sinks deeper into him. As bloodlines clash and loyalty turns to betrayal, Elizabeth learns that the war outside the chapel isn't the only one she must survive. Because Luciano's world is built on violence and secrets, one of which binds her fate to his in ways neither of them saw coming. Desire clashes with devotion. Duty turns to betrayal. And when they're both drowning in a love so forbidden, not even God can save them.

On the day of my birthday party, I wait for my boyfriend to arrive so we can start the celebrations. To my surprise, all I get is a challenge from his true love. "I'm sorry that Harv can't be with you today, Sammy. He's getting engaged to me! Don't worry, though. It's just a formality—this is the 100th wish he's helping me fulfill. I hope you don't mind!" Tiana Lowe sends me a video along with that voice message. My boyfriend exchanges rings with her before kissing her passionately. I immediately call him and snap, "What the hell do you mean by that, Harvey Linton?" He gets angry. "Can you stop being so jealous all the time? I can celebrate your birthday with you every year, but Tiana only has 100 wishes. I have to help her fulfill them!" I snap, "Fine, then. I wish you two will be together forever!"

A once peaceful kingdom "Omaha" whose inhabitants enjoyed the reign of their king ( George Ortiz) soon ends up in mayhem and despair, shortly after the demise of the king. The situation of things exacerbates when the first son of the late king, Miller – whose coronation was just a few days away – disappears all of a sudden. The people must be saved from the hands of Miller's junior brother (Rico) – a werewolf – who ascends the throne in his missing brother's stead. He is so obsessed with ruling that he starts turning people into werewolves by infecting them, to be able to control them since they don't like him. Omaha becomes filled with werewolves, wreaking havoc and causing untold death In the kingdom. Beverly, the daughter of Miller, soon discovers her supernatural powers that have been latent all along. She takes up the challenge to wipe out all the werewolves in Omaha for her missing father's sake. Her quest to eliminate the werewolves led her to the discovery of a shocking truth and another situation that beats her imagination.

One reckless kiss. One lethal secret. One Boss from Hell! Ariana Vale had a plan: wear a red power suit, ruin her cheating ex’s night, and kiss a gorgeous stranger to prove she’s moved on. It was the perfect performance. Until she walked into work the next morning. The stranger she borrowed isn't just her new CEO, he’s Lucien Blackthorne, an Alpha King with a silver heart and a predatory streak. He’s cold, he’s possessive, and thanks to a viral family group chat, he’s officially "taken" by the girl in the red suit. Now, Ariana is trapped in a corporate empire built on blood and moonlit secrets. Between a vengeful arranged bride and a boss who watches her like his next meal, she has one goal: Survival. But in Lucien’s world, "No" is just a challenge, and "Mine" is a death warrant. She prayed to be too bitter to eat. He decided he liked the taste.

William Parker is a mafia boss. Everyone knows that I'm his weak spot. When I was abducted back in the day, he gave everything he had—including his gun—and ran the risk of being shot to get me back. To keep me from being bullied or mistreated, he's constantly toeing the line between the authorities and the underworld. After I fall pregnant, he's by my side around the clock and doesn't even let my feet touch the ground. Rumor has it that he has a secret lover that he dotes on to no end, but I've never believed it… until she appears before me to challenge me. William slices one of his fingers off to beg for my forgiveness. The very next day, his secret lover throws a pregnancy test in my face. "Will's so desperate to knock me up that he can't keep his hands off me—I can't take it anymore!"

Valerie Ravenwood has led an inferior life for the past 4 years, being a useless hybrid — wolfless and a namesake mage. Desperate to prove her worth as a mage, she runs away from home after being denied to join the Medeis Challenge, an annual competition held exclusively for mages, and judged by dragons. She follows her elder sister, who has been chosen to take part but loses her way and stumbles, literally, into the territory of the last Dragon King, Clyde Basilisk. Clyde Basilisk has sworn off finding his mate after he witnessed his brother's destruction— physical, mental and emotional, and the betrayal he himself faced when the woman he loved deserted him as well after their lives took an ugly turn. However, when the youngest daughter of the Alpha King steps into his territory, he clambers with his emotions as his heart and mind rage into an internal war. [Book 3 in Mage's Mate series, can be read as a stand-alone or as a part of the series]