Fire Shrouding Cracked Tear

Rowan Crestfall always thought she was just a normal girl—quiet, ordinary, and invisible in a world of magic. But everything changes the day fire bursts from her hands in gym class, setting Arcadia Academy into chaos and uncovering a truth no one saw coming. Kai Stormrider, heir to the fire dragons and cursed by a deadly legacy, sees what she is before anyone else: the Dragonheart—born once in a thousand years, with the power to either awaken or destroy dragonkind. But Rowan’s fire is wild and unpredictable, tied to a history even older and darker than the prophecy. As her power grows, enemies close in, secrets unravel, and the one person she might need to trust… is the dragon prince destined to burn with her. In a world where fire decides fate, can they survive the bond fate has written for them? Or will their hearts be what burns everything down?

Before my crazy grandmother died, she gave me three walnuts. According to her last wish, I cracked open the first walnut on my twenty-fifth birthday. Inside the walnut was a slip of paper. 'Go to the skybridge and grovel at the first beggar you meet' was the instruction written on it. When I looked at the note, I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Still, I did as told. To my surprise, the beggar turned out to be an undercover cop. Only later did I learn that I had long been targeted by human traffickers, and the bow had saved my life. As for the second walnut, my grandmother told me to crack it open before I got married. When I put on my wedding dress, ready to marry the policeman who saved me, I happily opened it. This time, there was a crumpled old photograph inside. In the photo, my fiancé was smiling as he strangled another bride.

By year's end, I'd closed a huge deal and snagged a $2.5 million bonus. The company even sent me on early maternity leave—nice perk for being eight months pregnant. Pauline found me lounging on the couch. "Why aren't you at work?" I cracked a joke. "Got fired. Guess I'll be stuck here playing housewife." Her response? A slap across my back. "Then get off and do the laundry! You're having a girl, not a son, and you think you can sit around like some princess?" My husband, Logan, walked in right then. He just pulled her into the nursery. Feeling hurt, I switched on the hidden cameras I'd secretly installed. I thought maybe he'd defend me. Yeah, no. What I uncovered? It was so much worse. Twisted secret after twisted secret.

"She is betrayed, left broken and then reborn." Kaelis Veylaris thought she had everything. Well, until the night her husband pushed her from a tower. She is the only daughter to the Alpha of the Ashfang Pack and destined to be the first female Alpha in years. When her rule is objected to, she agrees to get married to Valrik Dreadmoor, a warrior in her pack. She helped him rise, helped him soar, and what she got in return was a cheating man because she was unable to conceive. Then he chose to toss her over the window when she confronts him. She awakens in the territory of the enemy with no memory, chained and imprisoned. There she discovers that she's not just any wolf. She is a hybrid, burning with the fire of veganance and possessed by two spirits. Now she is caught between two men: Orin, the fierce biker who saved her, and Draven, the powerful rival who once tormented her. Both want her heart. Both could destroy her. Kaelis is confused on which choice to make just as an ancient prophecy rises. The seer tells her that her heart can not serve two masters. One will fall. And if she fails to choose, all of them will fall with her. In a world where power is survival and love is a battlefield, the first female alpha must make a decision. Will she reclaim her throne? Or will the fractured spirits within her tear everything -and everyone- apart?

Three days before my marking ceremony, someone set fire to the bridal shop while I was inside trying on my ceremonial dress. Alpha Marcus threw the arsonist into the pack prison, sentencing them to the harshest punishment our laws allowed. I lay in the hospital bed, my body covered in third-degree burns, refusing to wake fully as the reality of my disfigurement sank in. In my semi-conscious state, I heard Marcus speaking with the pack's healing witch. "Alpha, we can still heal her completely with the ancient magic. If we wait any longer, Sarah will bear these scars for life! You just want Miss Rachel to be your Luna at the marking ceremony. This is cruel beyond measure!" "Let her keep the scars. I'll provide for her for the rest of her life, but if she's healed, she'll definitely cause trouble at the marking ceremony." "I promised Rachel that her pup would be welcomed into the pack with full honors. Only when Sarah is completely disfigured will she be grateful enough to raise Rachel's child as her own. The scars are necessary - at least this way, she won't dare mistreat the pup." In the corner of the room, where no one was watching, a tear slid down my burned cheek. So this was the truth. The marking ceremony I'd dreamed of was nothing but a lie. The mate bond I longed for would be my death sentence. If that's how it had to be, I would give him what he wanted.

Late that night, I came across a post online. [I've been with my boyfriend for seven months. Out of nowhere, he dumped me, saying I got eliminated from the girlfriend selection. That's when I found out that in their rich social circle, it's normal to date a dozen girls at the same time, score them regularly, kick out the lowest, and pick the best one to marry.] It sounded so ridiculous. I couldn't help but jump into the comments and tear into the guy. Then I saw a reply from my boyfriend's secretary, Ayla Butler. [Well, considering his status, it's only fair. For high-value men like him, a selection process makes sense.] I rolled my eyes so hard that it almost hurt. I was just about to fire back when I heard the front door open. Fred Thompson and I had been together for five years. He had always been attentive, gentle, and endlessly patient. I had already made up my mind that the moment he proposed, I would tell him the truth about who I really was, the daughter of the richest man in the country. I never expected to catch a glimpse of his phone lighting up with a message. [You hooked up with Ayla again today? Gave her such a high score, too. Keep this up, and Hannah's gonna lose!]

My world ended when my mate’s brother died. Caspian, Alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack, took in the widow, Vivian. He said it was his duty to provide for both households. He sent her son to the elite Lunaris Academy. He sent my son to the toxic Grey Zone, called it "building resilience." He gifted her the Blackwood Manor, bought her armored vehicles. He called me wasteful. He said my child was a burden. He threw us into the Omega slums. My son died fighting for a moldy crust of silver-tainted bread. I died soon after. My skull was cracked open in a dark alley for a few coins. As my spirit faded, I finally saw the truth. Every step of our ruin was her design. I woke up gasping, back in my old bed at the Shadowmoon Packhouse. The moon was high. Tomorrow was my Binding Ceremony to Caspian. This time, I knew what to do.

This is book 2 in the Royal Wolf Of Zidiah series. This book can be read as part of the series or as a standalone. Sara believed she was human until one night five months ago when she transformed into a wolf. Sara kept the secret from her adoptive parents until one night, she shifted in front of them. After being thrown out of the family home, with no friends and nowhere to go, in Sara's mind there is only one option, to end it all. Leander is a powerful Romerian Alpha Prince, with abilities some would shy away from. Having known Sara was his mate for the past five months, he's yet to retrieve the girl. With all that went on with his sister Lilly, Leander had no choice but to stay away. However, Leander isn't about to let his mate get away from him. With secrets unfolding, will Sara be able to cope with this new life as a shifter? Will life with an Alpha Prince be all it's cracked up to be?

When I was trapped by large columns of fire alongside Reya, my firefighter husband appeared and chose to only rescue her. I got on my knees inside the sea of fire and begged him to save me, too. He jabbed a merciless kick at me. “You are evil through and through, Amaranth. Are you not going to give Reya a chance to live at least? I will never forgive you for starting this fire to kill her!” At this point, his forgiveness no longer mattered. After he rescued his former lover from the scene, I was burned to a crisp alongside the baby inside me.

Emily never imagined herself caught between not one, but three irresistible alphas. After Damon, her first love, broke her heart to protect his power, she swore off the dangerous, possessive world of werewolves. But when she’s forced back into his life, Emily finds herself tangled not just with him—but with two other powerful men who have their own dark reasons for wanting her by their side. Damon, the ruthless billionaire who rejected her but now won’t let her go, is determined to make her his. Then there’s Adrian, the brooding, enigmatic alpha who sees through her defenses and ignites a fire she can’t deny. And finally, there’s Lucas, the charming rogue with a deadly smile, who promises her freedom if only she’ll join his pack instead. Each man claims a piece of her heart, each drawing her into their own seductive, dangerous world. But Emily has a rule: no one owns her—not even the alphas who’d burn down their kingdoms to keep her. As rivalries, dark secrets, and brutal betrayals threaten to tear their world apart, Emily must decide: will she give herself to one, or will she defy every rule in the pack and choose them all? In a world of alphas, she’s about to prove that one woman’s heart is wild enough to conquer them all.