Faustus Blackwood Novels & Stories

Retribution was coming. The full extraction wrapped in under ten minutes of pure, controlled chaos. Non-lethal force had minimized unnecessary deaths, but several Blackwood guards lay tranqed or critically wounded on the floors above. The financial war continued raging outside the gates Blackwood stocks still in freefall, the media frenzy exploding as first reports of an “armed incident at the Blackwood estate” hit every wire service in the country.

He was a man built of stone and disappointment, and currently, his disappointment was focused entirely on the man standing before him. Silas Blackwood stood in the center of the archive room, the gold-and-sapphire scars on his skin pulsing with a rhythmic, anxious light. He had come to tell his father about the formal recognition of Kaelen, but he hadn't expected the wall of "Scorn" that met him.

“I’d like to announce that our greatest competitor in the business has been arrested.” His hazel eyes shift to mine, “Azure Blackwood is being charged with thirteen counts of murder after a failed mission overseas revealed that his product was misrepresented and unsafe for military use.”

He yawns in response, stretching luxuriously before settling back into his self-appointed position as store guardian. I flip the sign to OPEN and start my morning routine—dusting shelves, rearranging displays, processing the new shipment that arrived last night. The methodical work usually calms me, but today my hands keep fumbling with book covers, my mind circling back to the man with no aura. Cain Blackwood. The name itches at the back of my brain. The Blackwoods were Moonhaven's unofficial aristocracy until they abruptly left town a decade ago. I would have been thirteen then, still learning to control my "gift," still believing my parents when they said I was special rather than cursed.

“Blackwood Global controls half the industries this family touches. Do you understand what that debt has cost us in leverage for thirty years? Richard Blackwood is offering to erase it. All you have to do is sign.” “All I have to do.” I picked up the folder despite myself, because some numb, obedient part of me still hadn’t learned to say no to them. My fingers found the first page. Damian Blackwood’s name sat there in dense black print, cold and unfamiliar, a man I’d only ever seen in tabloid photographs, always in shadow, always described in the same three words. *Cold. Ruthless. Untouchable.* “They say he’s never even been photographed smiling,” I said quietly.

Lyra wished, with exhausted bitterness, that they would both disappear. "Sit down," came a voice from the dining table. Adam Blackwood sat at the head of the long table. Recently returned from a health retreat abroad, the gray at his temples gave him a stern, aged authority. His expression, however, was anything but calm. The incident at the dinner party had disgraced the Blackwood name. What angered him even more was Cassius's stupidity. He set down his cutlery. "I hear Cassius has been trying to win Estelle back," he said evenly. "Arrange a dinner. Have her come back."

my father’s voice interrupted my thoughts, "let us welcome the man who will help lead us into this new era. The future Alpha of the United Pack... Adrian Blackwood." The massive oak doors at the end of the hall swung wide with a bang that echoed like a gunshot. Then, he stepped in. Adrian Blackwood walked in like he owned the air in the room. He was young, probably late-twenties, but he carried a darkness that made him look a thousand years old. He was tall, built like a tank but moved with the grace of a jungle cat. He wore a black-on-black suit that probably cost more than a house, but it couldn't hide the raw, lethal power rolling off him in waves. His face was all sharp angles—a jawline

With love so loud it drowned out every ghost from that stupid manor. The Blackwood family had its monsters. But Reese had me. And together, we’d burn every last one of them down. Those monsters haven't met this monster…

Roland said. Zeke got to the remote before I did and the images that flashed across the screen were shocking and they caught us by surprise. They showed a desolate scene on a quiet residential street, yellow tape everywhere, and reporters struggling to maintain composure. The breaking story: Gordon Blackwood—patriarch of the Blackwood Dynasty, had been found dead in a gruesome murder case. Authorities have asked anyone with information to come forward.

Destroyed by my grandfather in 1987. I dug deeper. Blackwood Technologies, Revolutionary software, about to go public. Worth hundreds of millions. Then Marcus Chen moved. Hostile takeover, forced sale at a fraction of value. The articles from that time told the rest. Thomas Blackwood was found dead six months later. Pills and alcohol. Suicide note blaming Marcus Vaughn for destroying everything. Harrison was eighteen. He found the body and read that note. Forty years ago. Forty years of planning revenge. "Jesus Christ." Lena appeared in the doorway. Dark circles under her eyes. I couldn't sleep either.