*Mature Content* Forced to flee from their home, King Taius and Akara are fighting to survive while rebels strive to hunt them down. But not just any rebel - a Hunter. Marek. With her past lover haunting her, Akara battles new feelings for the King and the reality that a lot of people want her dead. Together, Akara and Tai fight to get the throne back, but not without revealing many dark pasts, and hidden motives that change everything. But who will Akara choose? The mysterious hunter who she can't escape, or the powerful King with his own dark secrets? *Book Two in the King's Possession series - Read Book One (King's Possession) before proceeding with this novel!*
Four Months Since the Rebel Overthrow.
Irritated, I stare down upon my hands, silently cursing the stain so deeply embedded into the cotton, no amount of scrubbing will remove it. Blowing a stray curl from my face, I let the yellow bar of soap glide from my grip and into the sudsy water.
This client expects his white shirt to be spotless by tomorrow, and the store is only minutes away from closing. I eye the few lone coins at the bottom of my glass tip jar, knowing this is going to be another hard week. All of Tai and I's savings are hidden in a small box at the very back of one of our cupboards. It still feels strange referring to the space as ours, despite the fact that it's been months since we arrived at our little cabin the Azure Province, fleeing from Marek and the rebel presence back in the Jade Province.
We haven't moved. We haven't had any suspicion that they know where we are. . The bell above the door in the storefront suddenly jingles. Drawing my hands from the tub of water, I quickly dry my hands, no longer wincing at the feeling of the rough fabric against my once sensitive fingertips. Now, they are hardened and resistant to even the harshest fabrics and cleaning agents. Working at this little laundry store is all that keeps me sane, aside from Tai. Leaning through the archway, I look out at the door, noting the man brushing snow from his dark locks.
My heart falters. The sweep of his hand pulls bronze strands back from his forehead, tinted with the faintest hint of a Summoner's marking. The breath quickly departs from my lungs as his icy blue eyes focus on me, leaving me scrambling amongst the fright that paralyses me. After a long moment, I blink, realising I'm not staring at Marek. This man is nothing but a stranger. A Summoner, yes, but definitely not the hunter I saw at first glance. Summoners are rare, but I've seen plenty in my time here in the Azure Province.
Almost none have had markings, but this man's is so faint, unlike what I remember Marek's to have been like. Marek has power, and it's evident this man has almost none.
"Excuse me ma'am?" He says uneasily, breaking the heavy silence tainting the room. "Is everything okay?"
The relief is so dizzying I have to brace myself against the archway. Now that I look, this man looks nothing like Marek. He has the basic features, but this man's eyes are darker than I first thought, and his nose is slightly bent out of shape, eyes far too close together. I let out a long, slow breath.
"Sorry, you look like someone I know." With a thudding heart, I approach the counter, resting my palms against the surface. The one light in the middle of the ceiling does little to aid me, the trick of shadows and fear showing me what was never there in the first place.
"I have laundry," he comments awkwardly, motioning to the weaved basket of clothes he has propped on his hip. I nod numbly, patting the counter for him to set it on.
"Great, it will be done by tomorrow," I tell him, giving him a tight lipped smile. He gives me his name and address before leaving. I hadn't realised the thought of Marek had been haunting me so much.
Everyday I think of him, of where he is and what he is doing. I never speak to Tai about it, knowing he feels nothing but anger toward the Hunter. I may share the same resentment, but it's also mingled with fear...I'm afraid of what he may do when he finds me. Watching the stranger leave through the door again, tracking through the snow and into darkness, I silently curse myself for my reaction. What would I have done if that was truly Marek?
"Why so jumpy?" I flinch, whirling around to see my coworker and friend leaning against the back room door frame, dark eyebrow raised. I use the term friend lightly, knowing I don't have the luxury of attaining friends. Soon, Tai and I will have to leave and make the dangerous journey to the Jade Province to find his father. When that will be, we don't know, but it's inevitable. If Marek doesn't get us first.
"Huh?" I breathe tightening my ponytail. "Oh, I just thought he looked like a guy I once knew."
Noa steps into the room, her apron as stained as mine, shoulder-length black hair tied back behind her. She has been the kindness, yet most curious person I have met since being here. My silence on my life bothers her, which is why I have aimed to keep my distance, although it hasn't exactly worked.
"That's the first real hint I've gotten about you," she jokes. I'm used to her jabs, her subtle ways of probing for answers. It's fascinating to her, having a foreigner with Golden Province looks and a Jade Province accent in her small, remote hole town. I would be curious too, especially since she knows nothing more than Tai and I's rehearsed backstory.
"I told you, I'm not that interesting," I say with the shrug, taking one last glance toward the glass door and to the snow backed high outside that the stranger just tracked through before turning around, walking back into the back room.
"No one believes you actually came here from the Jade Province because you're poor," she notes as I brush past her. Noa's the only person who has taken an interest in me since I arrived, since she is the only one bothered by my silence. I hate myself for liking her so much. I'm supposed to be more inconspicuous.
"I told you, my mother kicked me from my home," I tell him hurriedly. It's been getting harder adhering to the same story, but the least she knows about me the less likely it is Marek will track me down. "My husband knows people up here, so I came along."
Here, Tai is known as my husband. Months ago that technically nearly became true.
"Yes, I know. You're just fascinating, you know?" Noa says, staying in the doorway with her bag slung over her shoulders, ready to leave. As per her usual routine, she hangs back to talk to me, despite most of our conversations being empty and void of any meaning. It's the consequence of not being able to talk about myself. I go back to the shirt I was struggling to get the stain out of, deciding it's useless to even try anymore.
"You need a hobby Noa." Contrary to my words, Noa comes to lean over my work counter.
"What's your husband like?" I pause. I'm still not used to referring to Tai as my husband, even if I don't need to within our own home. Tai and I have been getting along well these past months. Only recently has the stress and betrayal reduced enough for us to finally smile and laugh with each other like old friends. We have been getting closer, admittedly, which is a frightening thought, since the last time I was close with another man, he completely betrayed me.
"Nice, I suppose," I say uneasily, not wanting to impart much information about Tai. We haven't been seen together, since we are always working, and when we aren't, Tai is the one who goes into town to collect anything we need.
"He cuts trees for a living." Noa's eyes gleams, the mischievous side of her coming out, which is a consequence of her being bored. I can't blame her, this small town gets boring rather quickly.
"Is he hot?"
"I mean, I married him, didn't I?" I say, forcing a smile onto my face. If only she knew the real reason why Tai and I were supposed to marry...but those people, Akara and Tai don't exist here.
"He's like a King to me." Noa doesn't flinch at that, instead resting her elbows on the counter as I tip the soapy water from my bucket down the sink. I'm not sure how much longer I will be in this Province, or more specifically, this village to entertain Noa's obsession with finding out more about me, but I doubt it will be much longer. If she so much as senses something is off, and Marek shows up to ask questions...It would be detrimental.
"That's so romantic," Noa sighs. "Is he coming with you to the end of year party?"
"Oh, I don't even know if I will," I admit, knowing I often turn away from the idea of out of work events, since that gives people an excuse to start asking questions they don't know they don't want the answers to. Noa shakes her head at me as I begin squeezing out the shirt I was working on.
"What, you have to. Everyone is going." "I know, but I don't drink and parties aren't my thing," I admit uneasily. At least that part isn't a lie. Once I'm done with the shirt, I hang it with pegs before glancing back out into the store front. The man is long gone, although his resemblance with Marek is burned into my mind. I'm going to have nightmares about the Summoner tonight, about our last conversation. There isn't a day where I haven't poured over each word, wondering what his intentions were.
"You don't need to drink," Noa assures me, brushing up against my shoulder with hers as she comes to stand next to me. We both look out toward the outside world, darkness smothering the nearby mountains, the snow falling lazily in fluffy heaps against the exterior of the building.
"Please. If you don't go, people are going to think you're weird." I shrug.
"Maybe I am." Before I can go to walk out back again to grab my belongings, Noa grasps my arm, all amusement having vanished from her expression as she regards me seriously.
"What's really going on with you? Who are you, Cara?" I release a long breath, hating that fake name. I wanted something close enough to my name so I would react when called, but something that wouldn't be as easy to track as my real name. I'm not sure why we bother with any of it, as it seems Marek would have no issue finding us if he decided to look into the Azure Province. It's only a matter of time, and that's why we have to keep moving. It's also a matter of time before we are caught...This life running isn't forever.
"I am someone who really needs to be getting home before dark," I tell her, grabbing my coat off it's hook, shrugging it onto my shoulders. I'm not excited about stepping into the snow, as gentle as it is falling. Noa sighs, also grabbing her belongings.
"Sure."
"I like being your friend, Noa. I mean that," I say softly. She gives me a tight smile, tossing the keys at me to lock up, leaving through he front door.
I watch her go, disappearing into the darkness. I feel bad for all I keep to myself. But the moment Marek finds me, is the moment my life may be over.
Sienna has been in love with her Alpha since she could remember. He's rough, dangerous and the epitome of raw sex appeal. The problem is, he is her best friend, and strictly off limits. Tradition mandates he marry a woman of noble birth, and that is not her. She knows this is for the best, until she becomes his mistress, and things start to change. As she falls for her best friend, she must reconcile a deadly secret she has been keeping from him for years, that could change everything. Onyx has sacrificed everything to become Alpha. So, not marrying for love shouldn't be such an issue. His entire life he has denied his feelings for his best friend, until he is forced to take her as his mistress to grant her protection. With threats growing against them, and when his prospective wife candidates start showing up murdered, he make some difficult decisions.
On a quiet Spring morning, Avila awoke, six months after her death. By some miracle, she was suddenly alive, with no memory of her life. Confused, Avila is thrust into a world of where she is a Princess with a secretive family who battles a vicious rebellion. And, she is engaged to a wealthy, handsome Prince who couldn't stand who she was before she died. Avila is forced to piece together her previous life while making sense of her current one, but with a rebellion member who is in love with her, and the attraction growing between her and the Prince, things are only getting more complicated.
"I can't tell what is real and what is a dream," I murmur, looking up to his silver eyes, glistening mist swirling within his irises. "But I know I can't hold myself back from you any longer. Luella has been having the same dreams every night involving two silver eyed men, who remain elusive during the day, but come alive from the shadows by night. After visiting a therapist who tips Luella off on what could be the cause of these dreams, the start to become more frequent, to the point she can no long tell the difference between dream and reality. Who are these silver eyed men? One wants her desperately until he doesn't, while the other is always there when she needs him, until he is not. That is, until she swears she is seeing them in her waking life. And suddenly, her dreams might just be coming to life.
Having survived the River, Akara wakes alone, and with a decision to make. Find Marek, the mysterious hunter who saved her life through deception and lies? Or find Taius, the King, who's lies are coming to the surface. And through the decision on who to trust, Akara must battle through her emerging powers, and her torn feelings between Marek and Tai. And her decision will reveal a connection far deeper than what she ever thought she was capable of.
“I...I’ve never had an orgasm before!” I blurt out, backing away a few steps. He sits up, dark hair ruffled and messy from the fingers I ran through it. His eyes, once wide, slowly darken. “You what?” He breathes. *** Running from a dark past, a girl stumbles into a territory ran by a notorious Alpha. He's cold, dangerous and poisons her, forcing her into his proximity. But she harbours a dark secret, which when revealed to the wrong people, causes her to become tied to the Alpha in an arranged marriage that reveals more about them than anticipated... Including the bond they share when they touch. And the Alpha too has a secret, an obsession. For her. __ Themes: Fated Mates, Forced Proximity, Arranaged Marriage, Werewolf (Alpha), Romance, Smut, Dominance. (18+)
"So you're a virgin, then." He says it so blatantly it rattles me to the core. "No! I mean, would it matter if I were?" "I suppose not," he muses, his gaze shifting back to me. "But when I look at you, I want to violently fuck you until you cannot move for days." ---- On a hiking trip with a friend, Meara accidently breaks an ancient curse, releasing a powerful Alpha from another time. He wants revenge from who imprisoned him as much as he wants her, and Meara may be the only one who can stop him. But she has a life she isn't ready to give up. And yet, there is no escaping a seductive Alpha and a deadly curse that has been unleashed across her Pack that threatens her life.
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
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!"
Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins—a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. “It's time to reveal your true identity, darling.”
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"