Aiden, a half-human, half-Serakyn, has spent his life hiding his true identity. But when his power-hungry half-sister Zara seeks to destroy him, he must confront the dark truth about his bloodline and fight for his survival against a family torn apart by betrayal and ambition.
Aiden's POV
The wind whipped against me as I stood on the edge of the cliff, staring out over the landscape as the twin moons cast an ethereal glow over the barren ground below. This world was my prison and my heritage, and somewhere in the sky above was the human side of me I tried so hard to bury.
I was half-human, half-Serakyn, a creature caught between two worlds, and accepted by neither. Always hiding, always feared.
The Serakyns, with their silver blood and unyielding strength, ruled this world with an iron grip, ancient and bound by tradition. Full-blooded Serakyns were known for their purity and power. But I wasn't fully one of them. I was a Nyren, a half-breed.
My Serakyn blood gave me unnatural strength, speed and body built for survival. My human side, however, hidden and despised among the Serakyns. I looked back at how I had struggled to hide this humanity, moments where my compassion and empathy nearly exposed me. They were feelings I could never fully shake, qualities my kind considered weaknesses. I had led a precarious life, always wary of who might discover my human origins and turn against me. My father ensured that my human side was buried, for my survival, he said. But as I look out now, alone in this world, I wonder if it was worth it.
I'd learned to build walls that made me seem untouchable, unbreakable. And I suppose that's what they saw in me. The power and the coldness, the force and the fear. It made me strong, yes. But it also made me a monster in their eyes.
They didn't know how I had to keep that human side hidden, even as a child. I learned young that there were questions you could never answer and truths you could never speak. One wrong word could have ended me. So, I closed off parts of myself. And maybe it worked too well...because now, when I look inside, it's all walls and silence.
But Zara.... Zara was different. A faint smile touched my lips at the thought of her, a rare feeling of warmth thawing the icy fortress I kept around my heart. She was my half-sister, but it was more than that. She was the one person who saw me as something beyond strength and fear. When we were younger, we'd spend hours together, lost in stories and laughter, as if we were the only souls in the universe. For a few moments, I almost felt...whole. Almost believed I could belong. With her, I didn't feel the heavy weight of my secret. I didn't have to be Aiden the Serakyn, or Aiden the human. I could just be.
Yet, there was an uneasy feeling, I always worried that my affection for her could cost me everything. She brought out a gentler side of me, allowed me to be vulnerable, and showed warmth that I concealed from everyone else.
But even Zara didn't know the whole truth. She didn't know what I was, what I carried in my veins. My human side, the side that could destroy me. I knew if she ever discovered it, that bond we shared would snap, fragile as glass. A part of me wanted to believe she'd still look at me the same, that she'd still see the brother she cared for. But another part...the part that kept me alive all these years, knew better.
The sky was restless tonight. Something shifted in the air, dark and foreboding, like the calm before a storm. A faint sound...a distant rumble, or maybe it was just my imagination, echoed through the mountains. My fingers clenched, my muscles tensing, ready. Maybe I'd stood on this cliff long enough. A cold resolve settled in my chest. Whatever came, I'd face it. Alone, if that's what it took.
I took one last look over the landscape, the twin moons casting their ghostly light on the jagged rocks. I belonged to no world and yet, maybe I was meant to protect both. The silence broke only by the faint howl of the wind as I turned my back on the cliff, ready to meet the darkness ahead.
"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?"
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
For ten years, Daniela showered her ex-husband with unwavering devotion, only to discover she was just his biggest joke. Feeling humiliated yet determined, she finally divorced him. Three months later, Daniela returned in grand style. She was now the hidden CEO of a leading brand, a sought-after designer, and a wealthy mining mogul—her success unveiled at her triumphant comeback. Her ex-husband’s entire family rushed over, desperate to beg for forgiveness and plead for another chance. Yet Daniela, now cherished by the famed Mr. Phillips, regarded them with icy disdain. "I’m out of your league."
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!"
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
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?”