Kratos Before Ashes

Six years ago, Elena Romano was the cherished daughter of one of the most powerful business families in New York. She had wealth, status, and the love of Killian Graves, the man who promised to stand by her forever. But everything changed the night her family was framed for embezzlement and murder, their empire burned to the ground. Betrayed, hunted, and left with nothing, Elena disappeared—presumed dead. Now, she’s back. Not as the naive heiress she once was, but as Raven Black, the mysterious self-made billionaire who built an empire from the ashes of her past. Ruthless, untouchable, and dangerous, she has only one goal: revenge. Her first target? Killian Graves—the man she once loved, and the man she believes destroyed her family. But Killian is not the same man she left behind. Cold, powerful, and feared by all, he rules the corporate world with an iron fist. When Elena crosses his path again, he sees right through her disguise. But instead of exposing her, he makes a shocking offer Forced into a high-stakes game of seduction and power, Elena plays along, waiting for the perfect moment to destroy him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes—everything she believed was a lie. ⚠️ Killian didn’t betray her—someone else did. ⚠️ The real enemy has been hiding in the shadows all along. ⚠️ And the man she swore to ruin… never stopped loving her. As hidden secrets unravel and deadly enemies close in, Elena finds herself caught between vengeance and passion, lies and truth, love and hate. But when the past comes back to finish what it started, she must decide: Will she destroy Killian once and for all? Or will she risk everything… and let him own her completely?

Life can be cruel. One moment you’re on the verge of reaching the peak of your career, your sweetheart of five years finally down on one knee, promising forever. The next, your world burns to ashes—literally. Now, I’m not just a prisoner; I’m the plaything of the most feared man in the country. I told myself I hated him, that I’d never break. But what kind of woman starts to crave the way he owns her body, the way his touch sets her on fire? How do you survive when the man who owns you is as ruthless as he is captivating? How do you escape a man who makes you question everything, even your sanity? ~~ When her father’s PTSD causes a catastrophic accident, Lucia Castellano finds herself at the mercy of Dante Romano, a man whose name strikes fear into the heart of Chicago’s criminal underworld. Taken as a slave to pay for her father’s alleged crime, Lucia is thrown into a world of power, control and dangerous seduction. Dante’s control is absolute, his touch both punishing and addictive. What starts as a fight for survival turns into a dangerous game of submission and trust. But as the lines blur between captor and captive, Lucia begins to unravel a dark truth: Dante is haunted by a past that binds them more deeply than she ever expected. Together, they must uncover a web of lies to uncover the truth behind the fire that changed both their lives forever. Author’s Note: This book contains explicit content, strong language, violence, and other adult themes that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

My twin sister, wanting to be with her thug boyfriend, secretly planned to apply for a junior college. When I could not talk her out of it, I told our parents and managed to stop her. However, just a month into the new semester, her thug boyfriend cheated on her. She left a suicide note, blaming it all on the long distance between them. She wrote that if she had gone to that junior college, her boyfriend would never have cheated. Grief‑stricken, my parents turned all their rage on me. "You wretched girl, this is all your fault for meddling! What business was it of yours which school your sister went to? Even if she didn't go to college, we could still support her. We didn't need your big mouth!" "If it weren't for your spiteful tongue, your sister wouldn't be dead!" "We were cursed to have a vicious, unfilial daughter like you!" They locked me in her room, ordering me to repent. Then they took her ashes on a trip, saying they wanted her to see the beautiful mountains and rivers she never got to visit in life. A month later, they returned from their travels to find me long dead, starved to a withered husk in front of my sister's photo. Their eyes held no grief, no guilt, only a faint, scornful curl of the lips. In their eyes, my death was nothing more than justice served. My broken soul saw their icy expressions, and despairing tears burned my eyes. Then my sister's familiar voice rang out again: "What business is it of yours which school I go to? You're just jealous that I have a boyfriend, aren't you?"

‎ ‎He was born in blood, forged in betrayal, and crowned in darkness. She was broken, discarded, and ready to disappear. But when Kane Salvatore, the demon of Beltforte Dominia, drags Castelle Quinn back from the edge, their collision sparks a war. In his arms, she finds her prayers answered—brutal salvation. At her side, he finds freedom from his curse—the peace his demons never let him taste. For Castelle her heart craves darkness, and the demon—Kane— tastes like salvation. ‎Together, they will burn the world that tried to destroy them — and rise from the ashes, king and queen of ruin. ‎ ‎The only woman he has ever craved to own and possess. The Queen of his heart that satisfies his every need. ‎ ‎"Beautiful," he murmurs. The sight of her—bent over, wrists tied, ass raised, trembling—was a masterpiece.  ‎ ‎He nudges her legs further apart, admiring the way she opens for him. She's on full display—raw, submissive, exquisite. He pinched her inner thighs, watching her squirm, feeding on her whimpers.  ‎ ‎Then, he strikes.  ‎A sharp slap directly to her swollen clit making her scream. The sound alone could make him cum.  ‎ ‎He chuckles darkly. It unsettles her—and that’s exactly the point.  ‎He grabbed the flogger, trailing its strands over her back, down to her legs. With a swift motion, I bring it down hard. The crack fills the room. Her body jolts, red lines blossoming instantly on her skin.  ‎ ‎Again on her ass. Again on her clit.  ‎She shatters. 

The day we were meant to be mated, my Alpha, Ford, was ambushed. Silver bullets shredded his car, sending it plunging off a bridge and into the river below. He was pronounced dead. Drowned. I was left pregnant with his heir, shattered by the raw agony of our severed mate bond. Then Ford's twin, Aiden, returned from abroad with his mate, Kyra. His identical face and a scent so similar to my mate's nearly drove me mad. A desperate part of me swore Ford was still alive. I told myself it was just grief. A widow's delusion. Until I overheard a hushed conversation and the horrifying truth slammed into me: the man pretending to be Aiden was Ford. He had faked his death. He'd let his own brother die in his place, all for Kyra—the other woman carrying his child. The grief that had crippled me instantly morphed into a cold, sharp rage. Ford didn't just break our bond; he shattered it. And I would make him pay. I wiped my tears and sent a single message to my brother, Billy, the Alpha of the Winterstone Pack. "Brother, I need a plane crash. He loves faking his death? Fine. Let him feel what it's like to truly lose a mate." Only when the news of my "death" spread did Ford reclaim his name. He knelt for seven days and nights in the ashes of the home we once shared, consumed by a grief of his own making.

Flameheart or the Formidable Phoenix to those who know him is a twenty-seven-year-old billionaire. To many, he is cold, ruthless, and goal driven but to the few who know him, they only see determination and strong willpower. What no one knows is how he was once a poor orphan roaming the streets, barely having any food. How someone targeted him and used him as a pawn in their evil plan to bring down the country's beauty queen. The daughter of the richest merchant the great Sunshine City.Those who targeted him knew very well that he was just an orphan who no one would miss if he were to disappear but neither him nor they had any knowledge of his other identity. He is actually an orphaned werewolf who turned out to be a late bloomer. Athena Milano was not only the most sort after bachelorette of the city but the most intelligent belle in the whole country. The unsuspecting young lady was abducted and drugged and left locked up in a rundown downtown inn with a scrawny-looking young fellow. The two of them under the effects of the drug were left with no choice but to rely on each other to ease their discomfort. Flameheart, then known as Dale Flemming, vowed never to be weak again and to one day look for this great beauty and protect her. Whereas Athena wanted nothing but to forget this ordeal and this rugged, hungry-looking young man. She vowed to hunt down everyone involved and exact her revenge. Follow these diverse characters as they journey through life. One driven by the need for revenge and one driven by the desire for strength and reaching greater heights. One rises from the ashes like a Phoenix whereas one forges her own identity after being disowned.

I throw myself into cryogenic research so I can keep my only family on this Earth. However, halfway through it, my fiancé embezzles all the funds to propose to Sophia Kensington, his true love. I panic when I see the ice in Mom's brain start to melt. I have no money to continue with the research. I'm in utter despair when Leonard Shaw, a rising star in the biomedical field, comes to me with millions of dollars in funding. The research can continue. Just three days later, something goes wrong with the experiment. Mom explodes in cryogenic chamber. I'm shattered by this, but Leonard stays by my side throughout it all. He helps me move past this and continue with my research. I think he's the light of my life until I overhear his conversation with his secretary. "Is it worth it marrying someone you don't love for Ms. Kensington's sake, Mr. Shaw?" "Sophia is my life. I'm willing to do anything as long as she's healthy and happy." "But will Mrs. Shaw still continue helping Ms. Kensington if she learns you tampered with the data and killed her mother?" "She'll never find out. Besides, I'm already using the rest of my life to make it up to her. That's more than enough…" It turns out Leonard's love is just a conspiracy. My heart turns to ashes in that moment. I sign an agreement to seal my body cryogenically. He'll never find me ever again.

After the broken engagement, they need to search for the relics and find it before the demons lay a hand on the sacred relics. Adventure and monsters awaits. Secrets and mysteries is about to unfold. Immortal's Fire.

A man breathless, standing valiantly before all his enemies. He was called Chyou Chen, a swordsman who earned an unrivaled title. After being trained by nine demon swordsmen.

From birth, I was rumored to be a witch who possesses an unknown power. And on getting to the world, I could tell you the exact time my life began to fall apart!. Luck in which I was told to have, ran out on me immediately, and life showed me nothing but how cruel it could be to me. Becoming a slave in your parent's house is not what you could pray for or even wish your enemy. Why it is so is still unraveled. "Come back here, Lucia!"My mother shouted, trudging after me as I ran far into the woods in escape. Fear filled my heart and I pray earnestly it won't kill me before the real death chasing me right now would come. "Run away, run away!"that was what my wolf kept chanting as it stirred unhappily inside of me. And I noted it to myself the dire need to escape from this death. It remains two more steps; just two more for me to cross the border to a new pack when I hit my legs on an unforseen stone that stood as a hinderance on the way.And before I knew it, I was in the air and almost reaching the floor. And when I finally did, it was with a thud!. "Arrgh....."I cussed out in groans and before I could attempt to move from the ground and take to my heels, she appeared- right before me. Then with blood-shot eyes,"Have always knew you aren't meant to be my daughter, Get up now, run into that house and pick out my favourite whip.....Lay on the bed unclad and wait just a second for me, for your usual punishment!"she ordered viciously. And at once; I knew I was a dead meat.