Rising Dawn

I knew I'd see him again if I came but I didn't think it was anytime soon. I just don't get it. I can't fathom why exactly I'm drawn to him. Why I picture his hands on me. I'd never wanted to bite a man's lip before. Never imagined the scrape of stubble against my throat. Christ, now I couldn't stop. Even if I have only had one girlfriend before. I've been around different women….models. But none of them had ever made my skin tingle like this. Maybe I had it wrong. Maybe I liked guys. That would explain the weird feelings I had around Remy. I watched him walk away, back toward the bar. Not openly. Not with intent. *** Callum Kesington isn’t just a billionaire CEO. He doesn’t believe in love. He believes in control and power.But when his estranged brother resurfaces through a cryptic call, dragging him into a trail of files, threats, and old betrayals, everything he's built starts to crack. Remy Beckett, a rising star in the culinary world, is no strang to love but one man has him unraveled. A single dinner at Remy’s restaurant ignites an attraction that shakes Callum’s carefully guarded world. He’s never wanted a man before. Never craved the scrape of stubble against his skin or the heat of rough hands pinning him down. But Remy? He’s all Callum can think about. A shadowy attack leaves Remy bleeding in Callum’s arms, and suddenly, this isn’t about desire. It's about survival. Someone wants Remy dead, and Callum’s brother is at the center of it. Now, Callum must confront the ruthless empire he built, the family who betrayed him, and the truth he’s been denying.

“She tried to escape. I think she wants to go rogue.” The guard said.  Sabrina’s eyes snapped to me. A smirk curled on her lips as she walked forward. “Tried to escape, did we?” she said, her blue eyes slicing into mine. “Leave us.” The guards obeyed. She moved in, gaze sweeping over me. “Whatever made you think your scrawny little body could outrun two strong guards?” “Sabrina, you have to let me go. I don’t want to be your handmaid. Please. Let me go.” I begged.  Sabrina laughed, sharp and cold. “Oh, you’ll serve me whether you like it or not.” She leaned closer. “You won’t just serve me, Elowyn. You’ll mate with the Alpha and carry his child for us.” My breath caught. “What?” Her smile deepened, her voice soft and slow. “I can’t be the one who fulfills the prophecy that Kieran’s Luna will die in childbirth.” She stepped even closer. Her eyes locked on mine. “You will bear his child, Elowyn.” She said it with such certainty that my blood ran cold.  I stared at her, horror rising in my throat. “You want me to die instead of you?” Sabrina said nothing. She didn’t have to. Her smile said everything.

I set fire to my painting in front of the entire academy. Thunderous applause erupts from the crowd as everyone thinks it's some kind of performance art. Unlike them, Willow Laurent is distraught. She rushes up and grabs my hand, questioning in a shrill voice, "Cassidy Seymour, have you gone mad? This is your only chance to prove yourself!" I shake her hand off me coldly. My only chance? No… What she means is that it's her chance. In my past life, I created this masterpiece with all my heart and soul. But she stole it from me and submitted it as her entry first. Whether it was the composition, the colors, or even my original dot-stippling technique… She replicated every detail flawlessly. Then, she won the National Young Artists Gold Award, signed with a top gallery, and became a rising star. And what about me? I was condemned as a shameless plagiarist. Insults and curses gradually drowned me. "You shouldn't be an artist!" "Plagiarists are scum! They should just die!" Her fans stormed into my studio, smashed my art supplies, and broke my right hand. As I saw no end to the hell that I was living in, I jumped down from the top floor of my studio. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the very day she first accuses me of plagiarism.