Void Century

I have known since childhood that I was destined to marry Kaden, the Alpha heir of the Moonstone pack. As the only one with the Moon-Blessed bloodline, I am the only person capable of breaking the curse that has haunted the Moonstone Alpha lineage for generations. A century ago, the Moonstone ancestor publicly insulted a fallen female Alpha during her funeral. He mocked her, saying, "She’s just a she-wolf. Why such an extravagant funeral? How could a woman ever protect our kind? She probably slept her way to the top." Goddess Selene was enraged. She cast a perpetual curse: every direct Alpha heir of the Moonstone pack would develop female traits on their eighteenth birthday, regressing into a lowly Omega. Only by mating with a Moon-Blessed wolf can the curse be lifted. I had been in love with Kaden for years and wanted nothing more than to save him. Maya claimed she also possessed the Moon-Blessed bloodline. Kaden tried to marry her, but I exposed her lie and stopped him. Forced by his parents, Kaden finally made me his Luna. After he marked me, Kaden didn’t regress into an Omega, but he didn't awaken his Alpha King bloodline either. That same night, a heartbroken Maya went for a walk in the woods alone, where she was cornered by a group of rogues and torn to pieces. My parents and Kaden hated me for it. They claimed I was a fraud whose bloodline was impure, which was why Kaden never truly ascended. They were convinced Maya was the real Moon-Blessed one. They believed my jealousy and lies had killed her and robbed Kaden of his chance to become the Alpha King. On a night of the full moon, Kaden tore my throat out in front of the entire pack. He tossed my body into a silver pool to let it corrode. The last thing I heard was his roar: "You lying bitch! Maya’s death is on your hands!" When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Kaden arrived at the Silver Moon pack to propose.

I stood at the edge of Ironwood territory, boots sinking into mud as cold seeped through my coat. I hated being this close to their land. It smelled like wet dog, testosterone, and trouble. “You’re late, witch.” The voice hit low and deep, vibrating through the ground before it reached my ears. I didn’t flinch. I refused to give him that. I turned slowly, amethyst eyes narrowing as I found him at the tree line. Guilermo Santander. He stepped into the gray light, rain sliding off his broad frame. Six-foot-five of pure menace. Dark hair plastered to his forehead, silver streaks catching the gloom, and those amber eyes—burning straight through me. “I’m not late,” I said calmly, though my pulse spiked. “You wolves just don’t understand patience.” He stopped three feet away. My skin prickled as the runes along my ribs flared hot, reacting to the dense magic rolling off him. Suffocating. Intoxicating. “And you witches don’t understand territory,” Guilermo said. He didn’t sound feral. He sounded tired—like a man carrying a century of weight on deceptively young shoulders. He leaned in and sniffed near my neck. I stiffened. “You smell like sage and burnt sugar,” he murmured, voice dropping, darker now. “It’s giving me a headache.” “Then stop breathing,” I snapped. One corner of his mouth lifted, a flash of sharp canine. “Make me.” The air between us snapped tight. My magic stirred, violet haze curling from my fingertips without permission, brushing the leather of his jacket. He didn’t pull away. He leaned closer. And standing there in the freezing rain with a man who could tear my throat out, I realized two things: Elder Sibal was wrong—Guilermo wasn’t a monster to be chained. And I was in serious trouble.

At the afterparty, my daughter, Mia Volpe, suffers from a sudden asthma attack. She collapses to the carpeted floor and goes through a seizure on the spot. But my Capo husband, Lorenzo Volpe, wraps an arm around his secretary, Sophia Bianchi, while watching Mia suffer before his eyes. Sophia had once shown him a forged paternity test of Mia and him. As such, he firmly believes that Mia is the bastard child of me and a Soldato. When Mia tries to reach out for Lorenzo, her complexion already bluish-purple from suffocation, he merely averts his gaze with a disgusted look on his face. "Daddy… S-Save… me…" I look everywhere for Mia's inhaler like a madwoman, only to realize that it's already empty. Sophia covers her mouth while tittering softly. "Dear me, Mia sure has an affinity for acting! Elena, I can't believe you and your daughter are willing to go to such lengths just to get Lorenzo to pay attention to you! "Since Mia likes acting that much, she might as well make the performance perfect." She lifts a high-heeled foot before crushing Mia's fingers, which were attempting to curl around Lorenzo's pant leg. Poor Mia was in so much pain, yet she couldn't let out a single sound. All she could do was scream silently into the void with her mouth wide open. I kneeled on the floor, my forehead already bleeding from smashing it against the floor repeatedly. "Lorenzo Volpe, Mia is your flesh and blood! Please, I'm begging you! Give me some medicine or call a doctor!" But Lorenzo just looks at me coldly, as though he's looking at trash. "A bastard like her is better off dead. Elena Corleone, stop using such underhanded methods to spoil everyone's mood." At that moment, what little love I still harbor for this man completely dissipates as I feel Mia's heartbeat gradually weaken. I no longer beg him for help. With trembling hands, I press the button on the emergency transmitter that I've sworn I'd never touch. That transmitter is the direct line to the highest authority in Smeraldia—my father, Don Vito Corleone.

The Clan Healer told me that without the vial of Progenitor's Blood, the Blood Blight afflicting me meant I had only seventy-two hours to live. But my husband, Miles, the new Duke of our world, gave the only vial of the precious cure to my adopted sister, Vivienne, the woman I had turned three years ago. "She's in agony from the rejection, Isolde. It's a pain you can't possibly understand." His tone was self-righteous, devoid of any concern for the patch of skin on my collarbone already turning to stone. I nodded, watching as the life-saving, dark red liquid slid down another woman's throat. I accomplished a great deal in the time I had left. As I signed the documents, the lawyer's hand trembled. "Are you certain you want to transfer everything, Your Grace? The territorial rights of a thousand-year-old clan..." I didn't hesitate. "Yes. To Vivienne." My adopted daughter, Lily, the girl I had risked everything to save, who was now forever frozen at the age of eight, cowered in Vivienne's arms, pointing at me and screaming, "Aunt Vivienne is my real mommy! You're the witch who turned us into monsters!" I offered no defense. "Yes, that's right. Be a good girl and listen to your new mother now." The Progenitor's Ring, the symbol of the clan's supreme authority, now rested on Vivienne's hand. "Oh, sister, you're too kind," she sobbed, her sobs a practiced performance. "I'll be sure to protect the family in your stead." I nodded. "You'll run things better than I ever did." I even signed away my control over the Elder Council, a council sustained by my own blood. For the first time in a century, a shadow of complex emotion crossed Miles's face. He stared at me,"Isolde, stop fighting. It's better this way. You need to rest." Yes. On my deathbed, I had finally become the perfect, submissive Isolde they always wanted. An Isolde who was about to turn to dust. The seventy-two-hour countdown had begun. I wondered, when I finally turned to ash,

Caitlin Paine wakes to discover herself back in time. There, she learns of her destiny and her mission: to find her father and the ancient vampire Shield needed to save mankind.

But Caitlin’s heart still pines for her lost love: Caleb. She desperately needs to know if he has survived their trip back in time. She learns that her mission requires her to go to Florence, but if she wants to pursue matters of the heart, she must go to Venice. She chooses Venice.

Caitlin is overwhelmed at what she finds. Venice of the eighteenth century is a surreal place, men and women dressed in elaborate costumes and masks, celebrating an endless, lavish party. She is thrilled to discover and reunite with some of her close friends, and to be welcomed back into their coven. And she is excited to join them in Venice’s Grand Ball, the most important costume dance of the year, where she hopes, once again, to find Caleb.

But Caitlin is not the only one who can travel back in time: Kyle soon arrives, too, and is determined to hunt her down and kill her once and for all. Sam, too, arrives, determined to save his sister before it is too late.

At the Ball, Caitlin searches everywhere, and finds no sign of Caleb. That is, until the very last dance. She dances with a masked man who takes her heart away, and she feels certain that it is him. But as the partners change, she loses him again. Or does she?

Caitlin soon finds herself torn between the two loves of her life, and discovers that she has to be careful what she wishes for. Her joy at finding what she wants might just come mixed with tragedy and heartbreak.

In a climactic, action-packed ending, Caitlin finds herself up against true evil, Rome’s ancient vampire coven, and the most powerful vampire coven that ever existed. Surviving will demand all her skills, as she finds herself battling for her very life. She will have to sacrifice more than ever, if she is to save the one she loves….

When I was 18 years old, Luigi Conti, the craziest heir of the Conti family, pulled out a gun at an auction and executed the Don of the Serra family. That man happened to be my foster father, also the one who had me auctioned away as though I were a slave. When he was being dragged toward the armored car by the military police, he kept laughing like mad despite having blood streaking down his face. "Why must I atone for my sins? Since God refuses to save you, let me be your savior! From now on, no one in Sandalay has the guts to clip your wings anymore, my darling Isabella!" Seven years later, Luigi gets released from prison. He looks at me as I wash dishes for a living in the slums before snuffing out the cigar trapped between his fingers. That night, Luigi returns to his family and steals the position of the Don. After we get married, I'm the only person who has the highest access over the vaults under the Conti family. Luigi even forcibly expands the ring that signifies ultimate authority—which has been passed down from generation to generation for a century—and slides it onto my ring finger. He buys half of Sandalay's estates just so he can fill the vineyards with the white grapes I've mentioned in passing. He tells me that his turf is called Isabella. But everything changes when I discover a photo album stashed in a hidden compartment in Luigi's study. All 2,000 photos feature a young woman in a white dress who is reading in the library. That is the female assassin he's planning on training. The woman looks very pure and innocent. She's most suited to conquer certain bigwigs' hearts. But now, it seems that Luigi's the one being conquered by her. When Luigi finds out about my discovery, he throws the photo album into the fireplace and watches it burn in the fire with a stony expression. "I'm just repackaging her so that she can aid me in money laundering. Just pretend you never saw the photo album." I push the signed divorce agreement over to Luigi. "I said, sign the agreement." Frustrated, Luigi pins the divorce agreement on the table with a knife, his expression insanely dark. "Isabella Serra, have you forgotten about the Conti family's rules? There's no such thing as divorce. We can only be widowed."

Don't fall in love with the Superior. That's the only one forbidden Rule! If you don't want the contract to be void; and in order to survive, build a strong wall and don't let your heart fall. __ Arissa Paige is the bread winner in the family. S'ya na lang kasi ang inaasahan ng dalawang nakababatang kapatid. Their parents died in a car accident 3 years ago, kaya naman napikitan si Arissa na pagsabayin ang pag-aaral ng kolehiyo pati na ang pagtatrabaho. Halos gawin na nga n'ya na araw ang gabi, kumita lang ng perang ipangtutustos sa kanilang pag-aaral at pangangailangan sa araw-araw. Ngunit dahil sa kakarampot na kinikita ay kinailangan pa n'yang maghanap ng ibang mapagkakakitaan, may ipandagdag lang sa kanilang gastusin sa bahay at paaralan. Hanggang sa... Isang site sa internet ang inirekomenda ng katrabaho, na naghahanap ng bagong sekretarya ang isang mayamang negosyante. Dahil sa malaking sahod, hindi nagdalawang isip si Arissa na mag apply sa nasabing job fair. At parang isang malaking milagro ang nangyari, dahil sa isandaang libong aplikante, si Arissa lang ang bukod tanging nakapasa. But what if sa pagpasok ni Arissa sa kontratang tinanggap, matuklasan din n'ya ang tunay na katauhan ng pamilyang kanyang pagtatrabahuhan. Handa kaya s'ya sa misteryo na matutuklasan? Magawa kaya n'yang makatagal sa puder ng masungit na Young Master? O, ito pa lang ang simula ng bagong dagok sa buhay ni Arissa? Dahil sa pagpirma pa lang n'ya sa kontrata, binigyan na rin n'ya ng pagkakataon ang puso na labagin ang ipinagbabawal na utos. At iyon ay huwag mahulog sa kanyang boss... ... na isa palang bampira? Ngunit sadyang mapaglaro ang tadhana, dahil isang sumpa ng katauhan ng nakaraan ang pilit na humahadlang sa kasalukuyan. Kanila ba itong malalampasan? O isang disesyon ang tatapos sa kontratang nasimulan? ___ HANDA KA NA BANG MAGPAKAGAT?