Of Human Bondage Goodreads Novels & Stories

"How to Win and Argument Without Throwing a Punch." I exhaled through my nose hard. "He never finished that one..." She slid her finger to the next. "Betting against Rowan Pierce: A Historical Account of Poor Decisions." "That one..." I said, rolling my eyes, "He actually wrote..." "Of course he did." Savannah flashed a grin and kept scanning, "The Alpha's Bad Moods and How to Survive Them." I stared at her, my eyes flicking to the shelf. "That book doesn't exist." Savannah pulled it out, tapping the cover.

Why should I bond with a fucking human? But who ever questions the goddess? “We bonded?” Zeus' voice is quieter now. Weaker. Disbelief threads through every word. I finally turn to him. Realizing he is right here beside me. “Yes.” My voice comes out small. Silence. He looks stunned. He only watches me. “But I'm human. And we're... we're different. Such a bond between us is... forbidden. Ever since...” “Ever since your kind stole the pyramid.” I finish for him.

“Why would you want to be bonded with such weakness?” Arthur growled, low. “Watch your mouth, Drogo.” Drogo stepped closer to Arthur, his voice smooth and taunting. “Tell me, Arthur, what do you stand to gain from this? No strength, no future. You’ll bleed for her and then what?” Silver watched the scene unravel. He reached caught her chest, his eyes wide with anticipation of whether Arthur’s mind would change; shame was written all over her face. Arthur sighed loudly. His voice was cold. “ A broken wolf is far better than a monster who sold his soul. You will not touch her.”

The baby's glow pulsed softly, a small sun beneath her coat. I have been scared my whole life, Sasha said. Scared of my father. Scared of the Council. Scared of never being good enough. Scared of being forgotten. He looked at her, and his gray eyes were soft, almost sad. When the bond transferred to me, I thought I had found something that would make me matter. I thought if I could keep you, if I could make you mine, then I would finally be someone. But I was wrong. The bond did not make me matter. It just made me more lost.

I was out of the sheets before I had consciously decided to move, my feet finding the cold floor, my eyes already on the shelves. My thighs felt slippery with my slick, but I ignored it. I had read the dark-spined book last night. What I needed now was something different—something broader. Something that told me not just about bloodlines and goddesses but about the system itself. The architecture of it. How it had been built and by whom and why. Why were humans subjected to being bred. I moved along the shelves quickly, reading spines. Most were the same administrative texts I had catalogued before. But on the lower shelf, pushed toward the back like something filed away rather than stored,

We didn't bother with the bed; we sank onto the carpet, surrounded by the junk from my former life—the clothes I’d bought for parties I never wanted to attend, the books I’d stopped reading, the remnants of a girl who had been far too easy to manipulate. "I hate them," Clyde hissed, her voice suddenly gaining a jagged, scary strength. "I hate the way they look at us. I hate the way they talk about 'bloodlines' and 'bonds' as if we’re just... livestock. I’m a human, Vine. I have a life. I have a brain. Why does it feel like they’re the only ones allowed to use theirs?"

Toasted the empty air. "Thank you, by the way. For being underground. For giving me time. For being so confident in your mate bond that you didn't realize—she's not as unbreakable as you thought. She's human. Lonely. Desperate for touch. And I gave her everything you couldn't." The corruption was nearly complete. I could feel it. Sense it. Just a little more. Just a little longer.

the bloodline I had set free: “I am human. I am free. I set the book down and struck a match. The flame flickered to life, small and fragile at first, and then I pressed it to the edge of the page. It caught, curling, blackening, and I whispered softly as the fire danced: “All that binds me, all that claims, Leave this world, return your flames.” Smoke spiraled upward, carrying the words with it, and I moved to the next book. One by one, I let the fire take them, letting the flames consume every page, every line, every trace of power I never wanted. The smell of burning paper filled the room, sharp and earthy, but I welcomed it. By the time the last book was ash, I sank to the floor, hands t

If the soulmate bond did not grant that eternal and precious connection described in the book, then surely the rest of the chapters must also be false. Now, I realize I was wrong again. The books of my childhood were right. This bond does exist… and at this very moment, it is consuming me , and terrifying me. The massive black wolf before me slowly takes on human form. I don’t dare look down, afraid to see him in his most natural state. Our eyes remain locked , not for a single moment do they part. His gaze grows darker, a sign that his wolf is satisfied and surrendering control to his human side.

were even older myths and traditions that traced the origins of our species' emergence from the human shadows. Before, I had never been a big reader. It's interesting how a person's habits can change while in captivity. I picked out an old leather-bound book with yellowed pages. The book felt substantial in my hands, heavier than most things these days. Even the familiar lines were preferable than the never-ending cycle of my own thoughts in the dismal boredom of my incarceration, even if I had already read it twice. The bed creaked as I lowered myself onto it, carefully arranging the chain so it wouldn't pull when I settled back against the headboard. Small accommodations I'd learned to ma