They called him evil, ruthless, cruel, incapable of mercy. Colder than anything in the realm of winter. Dark as the night sky in the realm of eternal darkness. He was unforgiving, forsaken and long past the point of redemption. He was real and he was here. Iyra couldn't believe the tales were true even after accounts of so many saying he was the one attacking cities and killing so many fae. She couldn't believe, didn't believe it. Sticking to the idea it was rebels disguising themselves and spreading rumors. She was forced to believe it when he attacked her home. The heart of the winter realm. Doing away with the King and most of the court and royal fold. Forced to believe and live with the bond that exists between them. Since his takeover, things have somewhat returned to a sense of normalcy within the realm after a long period of chaos. He knows beneath it is another rebellion, one fueling fire to topple him and tensions are rising. The last thing he needs is a stubborn weakness. Iyra holds many secrets, some she wishes she never knew, never had to keep. Some that keep her awake all night, crying and feeling sorry for herself. But emotional turmoil is not all she has to deal with. More secrets and puzzles are coming her way, each one with higher stakes than the last. She not only has to carry secrets but lives, bonds and a crown. Can she do it?
Copyright © 2018 by Uzomah Chelsea. N.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and publisher.
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
All names, characters and events are fictional and have no relation with persons living or Dead, any resemblance is purely coincidental.
All offenders are liable by law.
CHAPTER ONE
Today was the day. The day she had once looked forward to for so long. A day that she had looked forward to with hope and promise every year since she had come of age.
A day she wished would completely disappear from history. A day she wished she could forget. Today was Páliükez, a special day when each fae who was of age could find their chosen. There would be a three day celebration afterwards to celebrate the newly found soulmates and their bond.
The excitement of the day began two days before. The happiness, the cheer, the preparation, the hope, laughter and joy. She hated it. Hated it with everything inside her. Hated how some who had not found their chosen were twittering on about it and could not seem to stop. Hated seeing the hope in their eyes, sensing their expectation.
She hated most of all how those who had already found their chosen were more lovey dovey and cozy during this time, more than usual. Holding hands and looking at each other with so much love and complete adoration.
Today, vows would be made and renewed. Promises to care for each other, protect them with everything including their lives, love them for the rest of their lives, cherish them and to do say again in paradise and in their next lives. It was all disgusting.
She would never tell anyone else but herself. She was bitter. Badly so, because she wanted for herself what she saw today and had wanted it for such a long time. Because she couldn't have it because she wouldn't allow herself to. Because who ever was in charge of her fate played a cruel prank on her and decided to keep it that way. Because she refused to get her heart broken like before.
It was nearly midday and fae were already gathering. Elves, fairies, sprites, nymphs, , goblins, gnomes, pixies, dwarves, even weres. Some would've already found their chosen by now. She walked past them, away from the city, the town and into the forest.
Everything, as usual in the winter realm, was covered in white. In snow, ice and frost. The only natural colours in the forest were white, the brown and black of bark, stone and fur, green of the trees and plants covered in frost and the blue of ice.
She preferred to be away from everyfae right now. In a place where it was just her and her thoughts alone. In a place where she could cry, scream and stew in peace before she went back to face more disgusting torture. She was already going through enough.
There were still fae around but scarcely. She could deal with that. She just needed to go deeper. Along the way, she saw a pixie girl, she had short black hair that met her neck in an inward curl.
She was wearing a cool blue sleeveless dress that complimented her skin. She was just standing there, her eyes seemed to be somewhere else. Her wings alight. She knew what that meant. The girl had just felt the connection between herself and her chosen for the first time.
No sooner than the thought crossed her mind did her chosen appear. He was a fairy. The pixie girl turned, her eyes meeting his. He had blond hair that met his shoulders and he was lanky even in his dark green shirt and pants, his own wings alight.
From her vantage point she couldn't tell the colour of their eyes. But she could sense the emotions coming off of them, knew them too. She walked on. She hated it.
A part of her heart was happy for them, they would be happy together and a part of her heart despised it, because they clearly had what she wished to have.
She hadn't gone much deeper when another scene met her eyes. She felt angry, hurt, she felt like crying.
There was a couple in front of her. The one couple that she had been avoiding all week. The one couple she didn't want to see today. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. Shanire and Reyim.
Shanire was in Reyim's lap. They were sharing a kiss. She left. It didn't look like they would be out of it anytime soon.
It was exactly five years today that they found each other. She could remember it clearly.
It was Páliükez again. She had come of age two years ago and she still had not found her chosen. She had dreams about him, never seeing him clearly. Maybe he would come or maybe that was just her.
She liked a particular fairy for as long as she could remember. He had returned from his four year training and she had her hopes high that it would be him. Reyim. They had been good friends, that night she hoped they would be more.
She had dressed up in her best favorite. A pale purple long sleeved dress and left for the ceremony. She went with her parents. They would renew their vows for the two hundreth time.
The ceremony went wonderfully, there was music, dance and food. Even when the ceremony was over she still had hope. Many found their chosen at night, long after the ceremony was over.
She hadn't seen Reyim at all, even asked around. No one knew where he was, so she went to look for him. He never liked such large gatherings, he preferred smaller ones and there were a few places she knew he would go. She had already gone to three of them. 'Oh well' she thought. 'Three more to go.'
She went into the woods, not calling out since there was only one place he would go. She headed there. Ready to give him a lecture about leaving without telling anyone, only to find him with Shanire, a fairy girl who never liked her for some reason and a few years ago she decided the feeling was mutual, both their wings alight. Her hands in his black hair, his hands cupping her face, her dark hair in a mess as they shared their vows and a kiss.
Her heart broke into a million tiny fragments that day and broke a bit more as she remembered. The tears welling up in her eyes finally started falling. She started running. Screaming in her head how it wasn't fair.
It would be another year before she would meet her chosen and he didn't even acknowledge her, even when she was dreaming. Constantly rejecting her. Shattering what was left of her already broken heart, making it bleed more than it ever had. It wasn't fair.
She ran and kept running till she ended up on the other side of the forest. Even at that she kept running. Her white hair billowing behind her, as white as the fast spreading frost she left behind. She wished she could fly, fly till she couldn't breathe and fall to the ground and end it all. Maybe that pain would distract her from this pain.
Her father was a fairy but her mother was an elf. She looked alot like her father, a fairy, but without the wings that graced his or any other fairy's back. She inherited her mother's stature. Her long legs and wide hips. She got the speed and reflexes of an elf and the magick that came with both.
She wished she could keep running, stay away till this damn day and the days after would be over but she couldn't. She only had two hours to herself and then she had to go back. She had work to do. She sighed. Even that like everyday was torture and even more so today.
It had been more than three years since she laid eyes on him, after that she resolved never to fall in love again. She would work her way up and build up her way up to show she needed no man. In family or in buisness. That was the plan until some goddamned unknown forces in the universe decided to bring him back into her life. Rita was a young woman with a good sense of who she was and prided herself on her decision making skills but here's the thing, to make good decisions you have got to have made bad ones sometime in the past. Well he was hers. Samuel was not the type of man to leave his plans high and dry. When he sets his mind on something he gets it done no matter the cost. Turns out that also applies to humans that intrigue him and none moreso than Rita. Rita wants nothing to do with werewolves of his caliber, once will always be enough. If she could wash her hands clean of the supernatural world she would. That's kinda hard to do when they are just as out and about as the rest of the not so super natural world. She just wants to get over the last hurdle in to achieve her goal. He isn't letting that happen until he achieves his goal. Put in a great helping of will to succeed, a dash of rivalry and paranorma normal, a pound of unresolved issues, a healthy sprinkling of revenge and hatred, a spoon of animal attraction and just a tiny–who am I kidding?– a really generous helping of scandalous advances. All in a bowl of strength of resolve. Mix well and put in a luxuriously lavish office. We will see what happens in a year or so. *Wink*
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
When Corynn mustered up the courage to tell Elliot about her pregnancy, she unexpectedly found him gallantly helping another woman from his car. Her heart sank as three years of effort to secure his love crumbled before her eyes, compelling her to leave him behind. Three years later, life had taken Corynn down a new path with someone else, while Elliot was left grappling with regret. Seizing a moment of vulnerability, he pleaded, "Corynn, let's get married." Shaking her head with a faint smile, Corynn gently replied, "Sorry, I'm already engaged."
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
WARNING: This Book Contains Explicit scenes And Adult Languages 🔞 Do you like reading steamy, naughty, dirty, and filthy romances?? If your answer is yes, get ready for the ultimate erotic excitement that will get your blood pumping and your ovaries twitching. This novel is a collection of short erotic stories. It contains all manner of sexual explicit including friends with benefits StepSister And Brother, Stepdaddy, Office, Stepmother, Lesbian, Teacher and student, Doctor and patient, domination Etc. If you are under 18yrs, this book is not for you.