Spilled Mercury

I was the neglected foster daughter of the wealthy Sterling family, treated like dirt while their real daughter was treated like a princess. Suddenly, they ordered me to take her place and marry the Dragon Lord, Gideon Carlisle. He was a fearsome, disfigured ruler confined to a wheelchair, rumored to have torn a handmaiden apart with his bare hands. They didn't want their precious daughter's future ruined by a crippled monster, so they threw me to the wolves. They expected me to cry, beg, and accept my tragic fate. On my wedding day, when I arrived at the Dragon Lord's palace, the steward pointed me to a narrow side entrance-a literal dog door. The guards and servants lined up to watch, snickering as they waited for the terrified country bride to disgrace herself. Did my foster parents really think I was just a pathetic, obedient pawn born to be sacrificed? Did this crippled tyrant think a closed door and some cheap humiliation could break my spirit? I didn't shed a single tear. Instead, after extorting 200,000 gold marks from the Sterlings as my survival fund, I walked right up to the palace. I ripped off my bridal veil, picked up a 500-pound stone gargoyle with my bare hands, and smashed his massive iron gate to pieces. "If he won't open the door for me, I'll open it myself."

I am the Dragonless Queen, married to the Dragon King for five years, trying to warm his icy heart. But on my twenty-fifth birthday, he canceled our private dinner to spend it with my half-sister, Lyra. Through the cracked door, I watched him smile at Lyra with a warmth he never gave me, praising her sacred dragonfire. "Auntie Lyra is amazing!" my four-year-old daughter squealed. "Mom never knows how to make these!" My husband didn't even look up when I finally entered, coldly telling me not to make an issue out of a quiet family evening. Looking at the three of them framed by the hearth-the formidable king, the holy maiden of flame, and the adoring royal daughter-they formed a picture of unassailable perfection. I was just a cold-blooded intruder in my own home, a decorative fixture tolerated only for political peace. Five years of silent endurance evaporated into a freezing void. Why did I bury my true self, believing devotion could fill the empty spaces? Why did I let them treat me like a shameful defect? I didn't scream or cry. I calmly drafted a formal Declaration of Severance, left it on his desk, and walked out of the palace forever. My husband assumed I was just throwing a domestic tantrum and would come crawling back once my coin ran out. He had no idea that his useless, Dragonless wife was actually the shadowy founder of Aether Forge-the premier military syndicate his entire empire desperately relied on to survive. Keep your throne, Kaelen. I am taking back my life.

On the day she was meant to marry, Madison uncovered her boyfriend's betrayal-five years of love reduced to a mere placeholder for another woman. She walked away without hesitation, determined to start over. But with a looming condition to marry before twenty-five or lose her inheritance completely, she had no choice but to accept a blind date. Fate played a cruel joke when she approached the wrong man, ending up married to her ex's greatest rival, the most formidable figure in town. Madison thought it was just a convenient arrangement. He thought otherwise-because from the start, he never planned to let her go.

I knelt on the cold stone of the Dragon God Altar, waiting to marry Lord Harper Carney. It was my only chance to escape the gilded cage of my family. But when Harper finally arrived, he wasn't alone. His arm was wrapped tightly around my cousin, Hettie. Right in front of the entire court, he coldly announced that our marriage was a mistake. Hettie leaned into his embrace, wearing a triumphant smile while playing the innocent victim. The assembled nobles openly jeered at me. They mocked my greatest failing—that I was a worthless "Dragonless" born without the inner fire. My own father was furious, not at them, but at me. He demanded I go to Hettie's estate and beg for her forgiveness. When I refused, he threatened to cut off all my funds and revoke my only job at the Royal Scribes' Office. I was publicly abandoned, stripped of my dignity, and left with absolutely nothing. I didn't cry, and I didn't scream. Why should I be the one to apologize when they were the ones who betrayed me? For years, I had endured their abuse, treated like a pawn to be sacrificed at will. But looking at their smug faces, my despair turned into cold resolve. I took off my betrothal coronet and dropped it at Harper's feet, publicly nullifying the contract myself. I thought I would have to face the ruin alone, until a mysterious, powerful man with burning golden eyes stepped out of the shadows. "Marry me," he said. "I will be your shield, and we will crush them together."

Lillian woke in a werecreature universe as a total loser. Good news was that women ruled here and could take multiple mates, yet she still ended up as the one everyone looked down on. Compared to her talented sister at every turn, she watched her first match get stolen and her next four mates reject her without mercy. The first mate was the King of Succubine himself. On their very first meeting, he warned Lillian that he was only staying long enough to recover from his injuries-and that there could never be anything between them. The second mate was a merman. He took one look at her and said he had no interest in a loser like her, tossing her some cash so she could break off their bond herself. The third mate was the progenitor vampire-over a thousand years old. He admitted to admiring her sister instead and made it clear he had no interest in a layabout like Lillian. Lillian cut every bond and chose her own path instead. But as she rose higher and higher, those same men returned, full of regret and begging her to look at them again. The fourth mate was a werewolf Lillian had rescued from an underground fighting ring. She thought he might actually stay-until he revealed himself as royalty. And of course, he wanted to break their bond for more power.

After dying from overwork, Rena woke in a werecreature world as its weakest female. Instead of accepting a pampered life, she chose battle and bonded with the Enchantress System, which rewarded her for winning males' favor. Soon, she was matched with five elite males: a stoic commander, a gentle healer, a cunning tycoon, an aloof scientist, and an underworld king. But while others chased romance, Rena built an empire and rose from F-rank weakling to SSS-rank war goddess. Then the males she was meant to charm started chasing her instead. "So, what are we to you?" they asked eagerly. Rena shrugged. "Just friends, babes."

In the final days before the world collapsed, Ivy Brooks died... betrayed by the very people she trusted most. She had fought, struggled, and sacrificed everything just to survive the apocalypse only to be pushed into death along with her three daughters at the very end by her own husband. With her last breath, Ivy made a vow. If she could turn back time...she would never be weak again and of course protect her daughters. This time, she would stand at the top. When Ivy opened her eyes, she found herself back in time with her still rounded belly of her third baby.... Twenty days before the apocalypse. Armed with memories of the future and a mysterious system in her mind, Ivy moved without hesitation. She hoarded supplies, secured weapons, and took control of every resource she could get her hands on. While others laughed, doubted, and wasted time... Ivy was building her empire along with her daughters. In this life, she would not be prey but will be an hunter. With danger closing in and only twenty days to prepare, Ivy must outplay enemies both old and new, uncover the truth behind the system, and carve out her own kingdom in a collapsing world. Because this time...she wasn't just going to survive the apocalypse. She was going to rule it along with a man, a love interest from the past before her marriage collapse. He provided everything Ivy needed. Money especially in change of a marriage with her and when the apocalypse started too....he ruled it with her as well as her daughters.

"Do you take me for an escort? Or a casual pheromone dispenser?" Quinn Sterling had made the biggest mistake of her life. Climbing into the wrong car was bad enough. Tearing open the bespoke shirt of her ice-cold CEO and triggering his untamed Alpha rut was catastrophic. She thought Winston would demand a non-disclosure agreement. Instead, Manhattan's most terrifying luxury titan handed her a marriage proposal. "Kensington family honor dictates that I do not abandon a mate carrying my scent. I will take full responsibility for you." As an illegitimate daughter battling a betrayal from a two-timing fiancé, Quinn has no desire to play Cinderella in the billionaire's high-society world. She rejects him, draws the line, and dives back into her designs. But Winston Kensington doesn't take 'no' for an answer. When her ex comes crawling back, and corporate rivals circle in the dark, the ruthless CEO steps out of the shadows. "Touch her," Winston growls, his icy aura suffocating the entire room, "and you answer to me."

I was the neglected foster daughter of the wealthy Sterling family, treated like dirt while their real daughter was treated like a princess. Suddenly, they ordered me to take her place and marry the Dragon Lord, Gideon Carlisle. He was a fearsome, disfigured ruler confined to a wheelchair, rumored to have torn a handmaiden apart with his bare hands. They didn't want their precious daughter's future ruined by a crippled monster, so they threw me to the wolves. They expected me to cry, beg, and accept my tragic fate. On my wedding day, when I arrived at the Dragon Lord's palace, the steward pointed me to a narrow side entrance-a literal dog door. The guards and servants lined up to watch, snickering as they waited for the terrified country bride to disgrace herself. Did my foster parents really think I was just a pathetic, obedient pawn born to be sacrificed? Did this crippled tyrant think a closed door and some cheap humiliation could break my spirit? I didn't shed a single tear. Instead, after extorting 200,000 gold marks from the Sterlings as my survival fund, I walked right up to the palace. I ripped off my bridal veil, picked up a 500-pound stone gargoyle with my bare hands, and smashed his massive iron gate to pieces. "If he won't open the door for me, I'll open it myself."

I woke up to the stench of rust and rotting flesh, no longer a master botanist who commanded life itself, but a D-class exile dumped on a wasteland planet. Memories that weren't mine flooded in. I was framed by my stepsister, betrayed by my fiancé, and banished by my own family to the Ashfall Peninsula to die. The original girl actually starved to death in despair. The moment I opened my eyes, a scavenger tried to smash my skull with a rusty pipe just to eat me. After I killed him to survive, I discovered a harsher truth: in this universe, plant seeds are classified as A-level strategic resources, completely monopolized by the Imperium. But the universe had a sick sense of humor. A mandatory background scan suddenly triggered a galactic broadcast: I, the exiled trash, was a perfect genetic match for the Imperium's top war hero, General Alexander Orr. The family that ruthlessly erased my existence instantly saw me as a golden ticket. My cheating ex-fiancé was dispatched to drag me back, furious that his "property" was matched with someone else. They all thought I was still that weak, naive girl they could manipulate. But as I held the pure, glowing Life Source Crystals I had secretly extracted from the scrap heap, a cold smile crept onto my face. "I didn't come here to die. I came here to build an empire." I turned my back on the galactic broadcast and stepped into the deadly wilderness.

Casey woke up with a throbbing skull in a glamorous dressing room, facing a public execution by an internet mob. Her wealthy family had thrown her away. Her hypocritical sister, Coralie, forced a holographic tablet into her hands, demanding she join a deadly survival reality show on a wasteland planet. "It's what Mommy wants. If you don't sign, you're dead to the Hendersons." The whole world wanted her dead. On the live broadcast, billions of viewers cursed her as a toxic stalker. The golden boy idol Kayson physically attacked her to defend Coralie's honor. Even the show's staff mocked her, deliberately leaving her with nothing but a torn, broken tent and a single bottle of water for the lethal alien wilderness. The universe was playing a cruel joke on her. She was framed as the villain of her sister's perfect story, banished to a wasteland where everyone expected her to cry, beg, and die on live television. But they didn't know she had already survived a decade in the ruins. Casey didn't shed a single tear. Instead, she invoked a hidden contract clause, demanding a full year on the planet instead of the standard month. "I'll survive for a year, and the planet becomes mine." She grabbed her broken tent, stepped onto the red alien dirt, and prepared to show the universe what a real predator looked like.

My engagement to Kile, the heir of House Golden, was witnessed by the Duke himself. I thought my days as a helpless orphan were over. But right before our wedding, he coldly informed me that my status was being revoked. I was to enter his family as a lesser consort. The title of primary wife was being given to his lover, Journey. She hid behind Kile, wearing a spotless white dress and trembling like a fragile lotus. "Cassie, please don't blame him, I can live without a title," she cried, playing the perfect victim. Kile shielded her, glaring at me with pure disgust, shouting that I was being completely unreasonable. The next day, the entire Elder Council cornered me in their grand hall. They told me that as a "Dragonless" nobody, I should be immensely grateful for any scrap they threw my way. They all stared at me, waiting for me to swallow my pride and accept a lifetime of humiliation. They thought I was entirely broken. They thought I had no backing and no choice but to bow down to their cruelty. Instead, I looked straight at the Chief Elder and smiled. "I refuse to be a lesser consort," I announced clearly, watching Kile's smug expression freeze. "But to preserve our families' dignity, I will fulfill the contract." I looked right into Kile's shocked eyes. "I will marry your dead older brother, Lord Ayden."

In a world where mutants are hunted and feared, a diverse group of extraordinary individuals band together to survive and protect each other. Fugitives from the ruthless Fanatics agents must navigate a treacherous path of danger, discovery, and destiny. As they uncover the depths of their powers and the meaning of family, they face a choice: embrace their gifts or remain on the run forever.