"I, Miyo Sinclair, reject you, Reiner Beaumont, Prince of Celestia, as my mate." My heart was pounding uncontrollably, hard, painfully, loudly, as I stared at Reiner in front of me, wide-eyed and with an indescribable expression. ~ Miyo Sinclair is an astute and intelligent young woman who is accepted into the Raven Shadow 's College Academy. After spending years studying at home, due to her parents' overprotection, she finally gets the chance to explore her life. However, Miyo realizes that freedom doesn't taste so sweet when she crosses the path of the Beaumont brothers, princes of Celestia, and gets involved in more than she bargained for.
It's my first day at Raven Shadow's Academy.
Actually, my first night. It's at least seven in the evening now as I gaze at the academy's facade, ecstatic, in awe, and undoubtedly too anxious to begin a new journey in this new place.
The academy's facade was imposing and majestic. The dark stone walls were adorned with intricate details that seemed to unfold like the pages of an ancient book. The windows were tall and framed by heavy dark velvet curtains, giving the academy an air of mystery.
A black marble staircase led to the main entrance, where a carved wooden door stood tall and imposing. I felt small and humble before the grandeur of the building. A path of dark stones stretched to the left and right of the building, illuminated by several iron posts along the entire road. Some benches decorated the path, leading to the end where I knew the dormitories were located.
"Are you sure about this?" I was pulled from my thoughts when my mother's hand rested on my shoulder, her sweet and worried gaze fixed on me. "The people here are..."
"Mom," I cut her off before she could tell me once again how horrible the people studying here were. Rich, spoiled, and powerful kids who don't like being contradicted, or any other insult she wanted to add. She had already warned me about it a million times since I received the admission letter. "It's going to be fine."
She sighed in defeat, pulling me into a suffocating hug, enveloping me in her lavender scent, sniffling once more. She had spent the entire trip whining and saying she didn't want to lose her precious little girl.
"Oh Blair, let the girl go." My father murmured, setting my bags down. "She's an extraordinary girl and will be just fine here."
I looked at my father over my shoulder and gave him a smile, which he returned with a wink. "We can't go any further from here."
"It's okay, I think I can manage." I pulled away from my mother and wiped a solitary tear from her cheek.
"If anything happens, please call us, okay?" she demanded, and I just smiled and nodded. "Anything at all."
"Mom."
"All right, we're leaving." She wiped her hands on her gray dress, trying to hide her nervousness. She was more anxious than I was, but for entirely different reasons.
My father came closer, and I threw myself into his arms, hugging him. "We'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too," I murmured against his neck, trying to hold back my tears. We'd be apart for a long time, and that had never happened before.
I had always stayed at home with them, for as long as I could remember. I had gone out a few times to explore, but after I turned 16, going out was the last thing they let me do. That was the age when my wolf was supposed to awaken, just like the rest of the kids, but that didn't happen. There was nothing, no stronger sense of smell, no better hearing, no sharper vision-things that would have come with my wolf's awakening.
My parents became worried and even thought I was sick, but as the months passed, they realized it wasn't going to change. So they decided it was best for me to study at home, afraid that someone from the outside might start saying things to me or about me that could hurt.
I never cared about what people thought, but for my parents' sake, I did what they wanted. However, I applied to Raven Shadow's College years later after discovering that it was where they had studied, and it was a huge surprise when the admission letter arrived.
I didn't expect it, and I can say my parents didn't either. They supported me after much discussion, and here I was: a seventeen-year-old girl without a wolf, going to study at an elite academy meant for royalty, nobles, the powerful, and the few intelligent and brave enough.
I said goodbye to my parents and walked toward the main building to head to the office. I wasn't the only student arriving; it was the beginning of the season, and all the students who had been home were returning for classes, and it was exciting.
There were people everywhere.
Though I was eager to make friends, I knew I needed to go to the office to announce my arrival and get the information I needed. This was the beginning of a new story I was writing for myself, and I was happy about it.
**
It took longer than I expected, but in the end, I made it. A map, a key, and a dream. That was all I had. They told me to come back tomorrow to pick up my schedule. All I had to do was head to the dormitory and settle in.
I left the main building the same way I entered and noticed that many students were still arriving along the main road. I took a deep breath.
The academy was located in the middle of the capital's forest, a more isolated place away from the rest of the city. We were surrounded by large trees and grass around the main building and dormitories, but there was also a huge wall a few kilometers away at the first entrance. Big enough to prevent anyone from entering-or even leaving.
I followed the path to the left, where the map indicated the dormitories were, holding my bag over my shoulder and getting used to the place. I wasn't sure if it was because night was falling or if the forest was really that sinister at this hour, but I couldn't feel at ease walking beside that darkness, even though there were a few people around as well.
I quickened my pace, turning right and finally seeing the dormitories.
The sense of comfort that place gave me was impressive. There were three buildings, one in the middle, facing the entrance, one on the left side facing the one on the right. Each trio of dormitories had a name: Orion, Ursa, Aquila, and Lyra for the girls. Draco, Hydra, Perseus, and Phoenix for the boys. There was also a building called Pegasus. The map didn't say if it was a girls' or boys' dormitory or what, but I didn't care since mine was the Orion building, the fourth set along the road, and I had no reason to look elsewhere.
In the center, there was a fountain, and along the buildings were flower beds and white flowers everywhere, with two benches in front of each. Each dormitory had at least five floors, and the entrance had a tall wooden door and a small staircase. Between the buildings, there was a narrow space leading to the forest at the back; no doubt it was used as a trail into that place.
Did the students usually walk there? It seemed so.
Orion was the last set of female dormitories. After that, there was a large courtyard with benches and even kiosks for relaxation or whatever the students might do. The kiosks were on the edge of the forest, and without a doubt, you could sit there and enjoy the view from that spot.
My steps became a bit more confident as I resumed walking, eager to see my dorm. The central building was the one I belonged to. I approached slowly, trying to savor every second of this moment, immediately regretting that decision.
"Damn, Reiner, yes, like that!"
I stopped abruptly when I heard more than I should have, my overly curious eyes flying to the side of the dorm to find an unwelcome scene, my smile vanishing from my face.
Not very hidden, a couple stood between the left and central buildings. The girl was pressed against the wall, her face pushed into the red bricks as she moaned, completely unconcerned if anyone could hear. Behind her was a boy, taller than her, one hand on her waist and the other tangled in her dark hair as he moved in and out of her with a certain brutality that made my stomach churn.
It didn't take much intelligence to figure out what they were doing.
I was a little shocked by the scene, barely blinking, dazed. Were they really doing that here?
As if sensing someone was watching, the boy looked in my direction without stopping what he was doing, and I felt my heart race, startled when a malicious smile appeared on his lips as our eyes met. I shuddered.
Was he enjoying being watched?
Did he not care about the other people passing by all the time? Or worse, did the people around me, entering and leaving the dorm, not care about what they were doing?
I quickly averted my gaze before my stomach betrayed me. I didn't want people to think I was looking because I liked watching that...
Just a few hours inside the academy, and I had already seen more than I should have. Not a great way to start.
"Hey, wait!" Klaus tried to stop Athena from watching the scene he had just seen, but he wasn't quick enough to stop her from seeing her boyfriend kissing her half-sister. ________ Athena had always been a simple and lovely girl, even when people hurt her heart. All that changed when she discovered that her boyfriend, Marcel, was cheating on her with her half-sister, Selena.
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
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."
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!
Elin spent twenty years deeply loving her husband, finally marrying him just as she'd always dreamed. But reality shattered her illusions—he wasn't the man she believed. Instead, he callously destroyed her family, crushing her heart beyond repair. At her lowest point, Ruben, equally betrayed that night, approached her steadily. "Marry me, Elin. I'll help you take revenge." Yet, after their wedding, she quickly discovered he was dangerously unpredictable. "I made a mistake. Let's divorce..." Ruben slid his arm possessively around her waist, whispering a chilling promise, "Only in death."
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."