When Morana wakes up in a world that is not her own with a man she doesn't know, she must do everything she can to stay alive. Including learning about the new abilities she has attained upon arrival. But when her memories begin to resurface, and when she recognizes Luca as more than the hot-tempered man she's come to know, things start to take a deadly turn. Luca must learn to control the flame both within and without. When he wakes up on a spaceship, fire and rage are all he knows. But as he begins to delve into the mystery of why they were sent to Colarus, he only finds more questions than he does answers.
Everything is frozen.
My body refuses to move as I begin to wake up, slowly and painfully, shaking uncontrollably from the ice that seems to move through my veins. My eyelids begin to open, and then shut, open, and then close. My breath vapors as it leaves my body in huffs. When I get the strength to lift my head, everything I see around me doesn't make sense.
I'm in an enclosed space, tight quarters, and the only source of light is a white light that lines the bottom of whatever enclosure I'm in. Metal bindings hold me to the wall, the edges cutting into my chest. Tubes run out of my arm as do other electrical wires and nodes that are stuck to my skin. I try to move, but nothing budges. My heart hammers as I realize that I'm trapped.
Wires are running from my skin.
Tubes are pumping into my stomach.
Nodes are attached to my neck.
And why does it feel like I'm floating?
I pull at my arms, shake my body, try to move my legs, but nothing seems to work.
A rough shake of the enclosure has my head snapping in all directions, trying to figure out what is going on.
And that's when I notice the man across from me.
I try to calm my breath as I realize I'm not alone. The man seems to be in a similar situation; metal bands hold him against the opposite wall, tubes running from his arms and stomach, and a strange device hovering in front of his face that seems to be helping him breathe. The only difference is that the man seems to be sweating.
A lot.
"Hey," I whisper, my voice coming out in a quiet croak. It feels as if I haven't talked in years. Everything in me feels cold and dry as if my body is thawing from the inside out.
I need water.
Just as the thought enters my mind, there is a hissing sound and one of the tubes funnels water directly into my stomach. I don't dare move for fear of there being pain from the tubes that protruded from my body.
I look back up at the man, trying to keep my panic down.
"Hey," I say with more force, my voice still dry. "Hey, wake up!"
He doesn't move. His head lulls to the side, a wave of dark brown hair coming into view, the machine moving with him. I struggle again, trying to get out of the bands.
The enclosure jumps, my stomach rising into my throat, everything turning weightless. I scream, my voice feeling as if it's ripping to shreds.
"Commencing landing sequence," a woman's voice speaks over the pounding in my ears. "Prepare for landing."
Everything shakes around me and this time, I do lose the contents of my stomach. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to control my breathing, trying to control the rush of adrenaline and the overwhelming panic.
I must have lost consciousness because when I open my eyes again, everything has stopped moving. The tubes are gone from my stomach and in their place are bandages. The bands are still there keeping me in place, but when I try to move, they retract back into the walls. I fall to the ground and collapse into a pile of sick.
I groan, everything in me feeling tight and loose all at once.
The guy still hangs from the wall, but the tubes and machine are gone from his body as well. I stand, my legs are shaking and weak. I reach out to touch him,
"Hey, wake -" I scream in pain as my hand comes into contact with his arm. A loud hiss sounds as I pull my hand away, steam filling the air around us. I look at my hand, the burning sensation almost too strong to bear. The palm of my hand is a blistering red color, the skin looking as if I had just burned it.
Did he just...burn me?' I look up at him, confused and disoriented. His chin almost touches his chest, but from my viewpoint, it's a bit easier to see that this guy is roughly the same age as me. He seems to be in his twenties, his features sharp and straight. Sweat drips from his straight nose, which looks crooked in a few places. There are small scars that cover his cheeks and jaw. I glance down at the rest of him, finding that he was missing a shirt and wearing gray cotton pants.
Scars also covered his chest and stomach, small ones that were predominantly located at sharp angles; his sharp collar bone, his shoulders, and even a few along his ribs. Sweat caused his gently tanned skin to glow in the red lights that flashed around us. I reach out again, being mindful of the burn in my palm, and halt a few inches from his skin.
Steam hissed.
I ripped my hand away.
The man was burning up, yet I was shivering with cold.
I take a step back from him, looking around the small space, keeping my burned hand close and trying desperately not to cry. Now that I was standing and not strapped to the wall, it was easier to get a look around. The space we were in was a small square, not much bigger than a bathroom. The only things on the wall were the metal bands and the compartment where we were hanging. Red lights flashed along the top of the walls, making my head pound along with each blare of light.
I place my good hand on the walls, trying to find a way out of the area that was steadily starting to smell like my stomach. I feel around the walls, not finding any kind of button or lever or anything to open the door.
If there even was a door.
I begin to pound on the walls, kicking and even throwing my shoulder into the walls.
"I want out of here," I say scream, pounding against the door. "Let me out of here!"
"Opening portal," the woman's voice says.
A rush of air and a flash of bright light had me shielding my eyes and falling to the floor. After my eyes adjusted, my heart stopped, my mind not wanting to believe what my eyes were seeing.
For miles, everything was sand. No roads, no cars, no people, no buildings, nothing.
Nothing but an eternity of sand and a blazing sun.
I took a few tentative steps outside, the air hot and sticky against my cold skin.
I turn around, looking at the thing that I just came out of.
It was a circular ship with a hatch that led to where the unconscious guy still hung.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say the thing looked like a spaceship.
A freaking spaceship.
The memories of the white coats rushed back to me.
"No," I whisper, looking from the spaceship thing to the barren desert. "No, that's impossible."
The landscape was barren, yes. There was sand everywhere, and if I didn't know better, I would say this was a large desert we managed to land in.
But directly in front of me, hovering low on the horizon, was the largest moon I had ever seen. And around that moon were two other small moons that peeked out from behind it, one tucked back behind the other.
I shield my eyes and dared a glance up at the sun.
Or rather, the three suns that seemed to blare down.
My hands began to shake as I looked down at the sand, and realized it wasn't sand at all. Instead of small granules of sand, there were very small, very smooth rocks that were all a reddish color. Each was about the size of my pinkie nail.
"No," I say as tears stream down my cheeks, the rocks falling from my hand. "No, no, no, no..."
"What the hell..."
I spin on my heel finding the guy leaning heavily against the side of the spaceship, his hand wiping at the sweat that's on his brow. His dark brown eyes take in the landscape, his eyes slowly scanning his surroundings.
"Where are we," he asks, not even seeming to care I'm a stranger. I look back at the foreign landscape.
"A long way from home."
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
She was a diamond covered by ashes.... King Dakota was known as the most Powerful Alpha King of all times - more powerful than any other King that had ruled from his lineage. He was cold hearted, introverted and dangerous in anger. Cursed by the Moon goddess, King Dakota had to get married to three wives all in search of a male child that would become his heir, but it was impossible as the curse would only let his wives bear she -wolves. But on a different day, the King meets a lady who offends him and as a punishment, he took her home as his fourth wife. Her name was Shilah. Shilah was a powerless wolf and as a result, was disregarded and intimidated by all. But, when she begins to do things that the King had never felt for years, he began to wonder who she really was. Slowly, she crawled her way into his icy heart and turned out to be something nobody ever expected - a storm.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”