I rejected my fated mate and didn't regret it for a second. Until now. Shipped off to Ravenscroft University, a graduate school for the supernatural elite, I have a lot to live up to. As the heir to America's most powerful pack, my life up to now has been spent in a gilded cage. But not for the reason you might think. I was locked away, not to be protected, but because I was born broken. A disappointment to them all. A wolf who couldn't shift. This is supposed to be my fresh start, but my past won't leave me alone. Not when he's here. The arrogant wolf shifter who ruined my life after I turned him down seven years ago. Now, I'm a pariah, followed by the rumors my rejected mate has spread, hated by my classmates, isolated again. From everyone but them. A vampire prince. A forbidden priest. A powerful demigod. A bully wolf. I'm playing a dangerous game, and the rules say I can't be with them. Then again, rules are made to be broken. And when every moment spent with them brings me closer to finding my wolf, how can I stay away?
Chapter
One
THORNE
It was a shame Sunday Fallon had to die tonight. And that I would be the one to kill her. But there was nothing I could do now that I'd caught her scent. Not after two solid days of her existing in my space.
Blackthorne Hall was my domain, the place I ruled without question because it bore my family name. Until now, I'd spent the last three years in complete control. Until her.
She called to me. Drew me to her with that irresistible, decadent scent.
Made me mad with hunger. Desperate with need. Obsessed.
My father told me stories of how mother had tempted him, how her blood had been like no other. I'd never experienced it until now. I was hunting her. Not because I wanted to. I had to. I had to sample this irresistible creature. To know if she could possibly taste as delicious as she smelled.
Each one of her rhythmic footfalls teased me as she jogged through the campus trails, her measured breaths and elevated heartbeat strong in my ears. It took everything in me not to rush to her and sink my fangs into her throat, just as it had each night as she went about her routine. Tonight, I was within arm's reach, ready to take her, but that would mean it was over almost before it began. The monster in me wanted to draw it out, to savor the chase, because once I had her, that would be it.
She slowed to a walk, hands on her hips as she stared up at the moon and sighed. "This is it. This is what you get for being different. You finished college but still ended up being shipped off to a glorified boarding school for the supernatural's elite to keep you out of trouble."
Her voice was smooth and silky with the barest rasp to it. Music to my ears. If I killed her, I'd never hear it again. Perhaps I'd turn her instead. Make her mine forever. The thought had merit. Except, of course, for the fact that she was the princess of the Fallon wolf pack. Something told me her family would take issue with a Blackthorne vampire draining her dry and then making her one of us. We didn't want to start a war now, did we?
Her sharp intake of breath had me slinking into the shadows as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction where I'd been standing. "Is someone there?"
I smirked. Someone was definitely there. A predator. A hunter. The creature who'd change her life irrevocably.
Not tonight, though. I'd keep myself on the edge of euphoria a little longer. It was more fun that way.
As she rounded the corner, I kept my distance, now following just to ensure my prey returned safely home. I couldn't risk someone else catching her. She was mine. Whether she knew it yet or not. Her dark hair swung back and forth in the high ponytail she wore, the ends brushing her shoulders and calling attention to her slender white neck. I wondered if her skin would change from porcelain to pink when she blushed and her blood rushed to the surface. Instinct took over, lengthening both my cock and my fangs. Arousal pulsed through me, eclipsed only by my hunger. I wanted her with every cell in my body.
"Everything all right there, Thorne?" The Irish lilt of Father Caleb Gallagher's voice stopped me mid-step.
"Priest." I acknowledged him with the barest tilt of my head.
His jaw clenched at the title, a reminder of his past life as a man of God before he'd been turned into one of my kind. "Leave her be, Mr. Blackthorne. She's not for you to toy with."
"My instinct says different."
"Do not think your family name will exempt you from consequences if you kill her. The war-"
I waved my hand. "Yes, I know. The Families are on thin ice as it is, a war will start, death, bloodshed, etcetera." We had shared a relative peace between the head Families of our supernatural kinds the last twenty-five years. Since my father took control of the Blackthorne vampire kingdom and created a sort of treaty with the remaining shifter packs and witch covens. The alliance was nothing short of fragile after our kind spent centuries trying to rule over every preternatural species in existence.
I sighed heavily into the darkness. "No blood was spilled." He arched one dark brow. "Yet."
"I will keep my distance."
"See that you do. You may be a prince, but I'm still in charge here." I scoffed. "You're a professor. You have no control over me."
"One call to your father and you'll spend a week in the well. You know as well as I that he won't hesitate to isolate you if you pose a risk to the stability of our world, Noah Blackthorne."
I shrugged, trying to play it cool, but I'd spent two days in the well back home once simply so I'd know to fear it. My father was still ruthless when he needed to be.
"Keep her away from me if you want to ensure she's safe." "You're hunting her."
I swallowed past a burning throat. Yes, I was. "I can control myself."
"Perhaps she'd be safer living in my quarters until you've found a new distraction."
A low snarl escaped before I could stop myself. The thought of Sunday spending any time in this man's home, sharing his space and his air, made unreasonable jealousy unfurl in my gut. Vampire or not, he was still a priest. A veritable eunuch, castrated by his faith and vow of celibacy. He couldn't have her, even if he wanted her. She was mine to claim.
"She's fine here. We're separated by three floors of concrete. I won't ravish her until she asks for it."
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, a wary expression on his face. "Goodnight, Thorne. Best get behind closed doors before you lose hold of your monster."
I shook my head before turning away and heading off in the direction Sunday had.
Which of the dorms in this hall was hers? My gaze swept over the doors, senses on high alert as I searched for her, but all I smelled now was a mixture of creatures, from vampire to shifter to witch. Until I caught it again as I stepped into my elevator. Sweet and rich with a darkness I couldn't name. Unlike anything else. Sunday Fallon called to me, begged me to claim her. To taste her. I palmed my aching cock as the doors to the top floor opened, and I strode to my suite.
I would have the beautiful little shifter if it was the last thing I did. And it just might be.
At my old school, I saw the effects of bullying firsthand; I felt them. I felt them in ways I can never forget, never erase. My heart begins to thunder in my chest, and my palms grow so sweaty I have to put down my fork. Heat rushes through my body, and it feels suddenly hot, like I should take off my jacket and loosen my tie. Tristan’s fixing the buttons on his white first year shirt as he makes his way over to me with long, confident strides, his hair glossy and raven-black, his mouth too dangerous to be tempting. My fingers curl tight around the side of my book bag and my heart races, sweat beading at my temples. Bullies don’t quit until circumstances force them to. It’s the nature of the beast, and humans are the worst animal of all. For the moment, I’m drawing a blank, but give me time, and I’ll work it out. There’s a reason I got chosen for this scholarship, and it wasn’t my ability to roll over and take it. No, I’m a fighter, always have been. I just think I’m going to have to fight harder than I ever have.
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!"
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." She stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You are not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked in a quivering voice. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She looked at me in the mirror. "You can't even look at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of looking at that face?" Heather Bailey had a surprise from her husband that night: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. But she was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman because that person was closest to her. Shortly after she put her signature on their divorce papers, shock waves caught her up. Her flower shop was severely burnt, beyond repair. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers who came from influential families, she started her action against Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted. But that was just the beginning.
"I'm going to tell you what I have in mind," he murmured. "First you're going to strip down until you're completely naked," he whispered against her ear. "Then I'm going to tie you up so you're completely powerless and subject to my every whim." "Mmm, sounds good so far," she murmured. "Then I'm going to insert a plug to prepare you for me. After that I'm going to spank that sweet ass of yours until it's rosy with my marks." She shivered uncontrollably, her mind exploding with the images he evoked. She let out a small whimper as he sucked the lobe of her ear into his mouth. God, she could cum with just his words. She was already aching with need. Her nipples tingled and hardened to painful points. Her clit pulsed and twitched between her legs until she clamped her thighs together to alleviate the burn. "And then I'm going to f**k your mouth. But I won't cum. Not yet. When I'm close, I'll flog you again until your ass is burning and you're on fire with the need for relief. And then I'm going to f**k that ass. I'm going to take you hard and rough, to the very limits of what you can withstand. I won't be gentle. Not tonight. I'm going to take you as roughly as you can stand. And then I'm going to cum all over your ass. Are you ready to be completely and utterly dominated?"
Daisy is the illegitimate daughter of Mr. Hubert. His company went bankrupt, so he asked for help from Drkov's house. They agreed to help Mr. Hubert but with one condition. One of his two daughters must marry their nephew - Atlas Drkov. Atlas Drkov is a billionaire but he is disabled and uses a wheelchair. Yaretzi - daughter of Mr. Hubert's official wife - does not accept marrying a disabled man. She and her parents made a plan. They kidnapped Daisy's mother, threatened her, and forced her to marry Atlas. To save her mother, she accepted. However, after getting married, she fell in love with this man, and so did he. Difficulties start from here.
After spending a night with a strange man on the day before her wedding, Arianna left the country to start her life afresh. The 22-year-old Arianna Jason lived her life pleasing those she loved the most, without knowing that she was simply a prey being nurtured for the day of her ruin. Her life has tasted the butter pill of betrayal. She wants to give back to the world what she's got but how can she change her good, innocent personality to fit into a cruel society and world? Can her sweet nature be contaminated, or will she make it through, paddling on the right path?