Heart At Knifepoint
Rejected By My Betrothed, Claimed By The Warlord Alpha
I was born a wolfless cripple in the Richmond Pack, but by royal decree, I was engaged to the kingdom's Champion Knight, Emory. During the winter banquet, my half-sister Dessie suddenly tilted backward into the royal ice pond, screaming that I pushed her. In my previous life, I reached out in panic to save her, only to be dragged down and framed for attempted murder. When Emory dove into the freezing water, he swam right past my sinking body to rescue her instead. Once ashore, my own father and my betrothed ignored my desperate pleas. They branded me a vicious, jealous traitor. Emory publicly broke our engagement to marry Dessie, while my father threw me to the executioner to wash away the family's shame with my blood. Until my head was on the chopping block, I didn't understand. Why did my own family want me dead just because I had no inner wolf? Why did the knight who swore to protect me conspire with my illegitimate sister to destroy my life? Opening my eyes again, I was back on the snow-dusted terrace, right as Dessie was setting up the exact same trap. "A wolfless cripple like you should crawl back to the gutter," she whispered, falling backward. This time, I didn't flinch or beg for help. Instead, my fingers shot out like iron clamps, grabbing her wrist, and I dragged her into the freezing depths with me.
Chapter 1
Kalea POV:
"Sister, Emory Lambert is destined to be mine," Dessie Richmond whispered, her voice a poisonous thread slipping through the frigid breeze of the Royal Lunar Garden. "A wolfless cripple like you should crawl back to the gutter where you belong."
Her amber eyes gleamed with malice.
Before I could even process the violent sting of the freezing air on my face, Dessie tilted her body backward, angling herself toward the black waters of the royal ice pond.
She was setting up the exact same trap from my past life.
She wanted the entire court to see her fall, to hear her screams, and to watch me take the blame for attempting to drown the favored younger daughter of the Richmond Pack.
In that past life, everything had favored her. I had screamed in panic and lunged to grab her, my fingers clamping hard around her wrist and leaving livid grip-bruises on her skin.
When we fell, I thrashed and begged Emory to save me, so when he swam straight past me to lift Dessie first, onlookers called it justice — the Champion saving the victim from her attacker.
The healers found my marks on her, and nothing of hers on me. That was enough for a charge of attempted murder.
Now, everything is different. The terrace is crowded with high-ranking nobles, and I know exactly where her nails will land.
I already saw through her act completely. I would play along — and turn her own trap against her.
I did not flinch. Instead, I calmly extended my left arm toward her, offering the loose silver-blue cuff at my wrist as if trying to catch her. Dessie, already falling backward to fake her accident, instinctively clawed out and seized my wrist hard to make it look real, her nails digging deep into my sleeve.
Dessie's smug grin instantly froze.
Her eyes widened in shock as she realized she had grabbed me first. Before she could let go, I stopped resisting. I leaned into her pull and let her own backward momentum drag us both off the marble edge together.
A chorus of shrill gasps erupted from the noble onlookers lining the snow-dusted terrace.
Then came the deafening crash of freezing water.
The shock of the sub-zero pond slammed into my chest, squeezing every drop of air from my lungs.
The weight of our velvet winter gowns pulled us straight into the dark depths.
Dessie thrashed wildly, her arms flailing like a dying bird as her silken skirts tangled around her legs.
Even as she thrashed, her right hand remained locked around my left wrist, her nails tearing frantically at my silk cuff.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream under the water, bubbles bursting around her terrified, contorted face.
Unlike my past self, I did not scream, did not beg, did not leave a single mark on her. I stared back at her through the murky blue, cold and completely still.
Pain tore through my limbs, but my mind was clearer than it had ever been in my two lifetimes.
Above the surface, muffled shouts vibrated through the water.
"Someone help! The Richmond ladies have fallen in!"
Through the rippling surface, a familiar silhouette tore off his heavy velvet cloak on the bank.
Emory Lambert.
The newly crowned Champion Knight of the Grand Royal Trials, and my betrothed.
He dove into the water with a clean, powerful slice.
His eyes scanned the depths, searching desperately.
He looked right past my sinking form.
Without a single glance in my direction, Emory swam furiously toward Dessie, wrapping his strong arms around her waist to haul her toward the light.
A bitter, silent laugh bubbled in my throat.
He was supposed to be my promised mate by royal decree, yet his body reacted purely on instinct to save my illegitimate half-sister.
I let my limbs go limp, allowing the darkness of the pond to drag me downward.
I needed this.
I needed every high-ranking noble on that terrace to see him choose her over me.
Darkness began to creep into the edges of my vision.
My lungs burned for oxygen.
Then, the water exploded behind me.
A massive shockwave ripped through the freezing depths, stirring a violent current that pushed the weeds aside.
A shadow moved with terrifying, predatory speed.
Before I could even register the beast-like force tearing through the water, a pair of scalding, calloused hands locked onto my waist.
The grip was unyielding, made of pure steel.
I was yanked violently against a broad, rock-hard chest.
Even submerged in ice, the overwhelming scent of crushing cedar and raw, wild musk flooded my senses, piercing straight through the freezing haze in my mind.
It was the aura of a dominant, top-tier Alpha.
Yet the moment his skin touched mine, the suffocating pressure of his command miraculously softened, wrapping around my freezing body like an invisible shield.
I forced my heavy eyelids open.
Through the distorted water, I looked directly into a pair of piercing, golden-amber wolf eyes.
Gaines Moss.
The notorious young lord of the Moss Pack, heir to the northern iron legions, and widely feared across the capital as an uncontrollable, violent rogue Alpha.
There was no cruelty in his gaze.
Only a dark, frantic intensity that bordered on madness.
The moment my wet shoulder pressed against his collarbone, a sharp, electric jolt surged from his palm straight down my spine.
My frozen muscles trembled beneath the sheer heat of his touch.
Gaines's jaw tightened.
His arm banded around my waist with possessive force, pulling me flush against him as his powerful legs kicked against the current, launching us toward the surface like an arrow.
On the other side of the pond, Emory was already breaking through the surface with Dessie clutched tightly against his chest.
The freezing air hit my face in a violent rush as Gaines hauled me out of the water, his long fingers instinctively cradling the back of my head to shield me from the jagged marble edge.
The deafening roar of the royal court swept over us in an instant.
Heart at War
In the lands of Midyat, where pride and vengeance intertwine with family secrets, Bahar Asian is trapped between her heart and her duty. The illegitimate daughter of a ruthless patriarch, she has grown up under the shadow of her grandfather Nasuh's disdain. But her life will change when a mysterious
DEAD AT HEART
Terminally ill. Betrayed by her husband. Abandoned by the only family she had. Ariel died with nothing... and no one. But fate gives her a second chance. Reborn three years before her death, she walks away from the man who ruined her life-and takes back everything they stole. Her love. Her ident
Isolation at the Heart of Marriage
There stood the most gorgeous man in Erica Ferguson's eyes, her groom, Arnold Binder. Tall, handsome, with a smile that could melt even the coldest heart, he had been the man of her dreams, or so she thought. The wedding had been nothing short of a fairy tale, and the love he had shown her before th
At the Heart of the Mafia
Under the gaze of a fallen mafia, Elvie, a young woman with a troubled past and victim of a brutal ex, seeks to rebuild her life. Working as an assistant in the villa of the Corleone, an influential crime family, she tries to avoid conflict with the three Corleone brothers, all as dangerous as each
At Crossroads
Follow the story of Gray and his friends, a bunch of high school kids as they grow up, fall in love, fall out of love and learn about life's ups and downs.
At Agincourt
The long and bloody feud between the houses of Orleans and Burgundy - which for many years devastated France, caused a prodigious destruction of life and property, and was not even relaxed in the presence of a common enemy - is very fully recorded in the pages of Monstrellet and other contemporary
AT LAST
Meet Linda, a young widow whose billionaire husband died in a fire accident. He willed all of his properties to her before the accident, making her splendidly rich. After the death of her husband, she became sad and indifferent because he was the only person who cherished her - He took her from t
AT Moonlight
Lyra, a young Omega, loses everything when her village is ravaged by the ruthless Lycan King of Duson's Pack. Orphaned and sold into the Crimson Pack-where Omegas are seen as harbingers of misfortune-she struggles to conceal her identity, but secrets have a way of unraveling. Fate deals her a cruel
AT SUNSET
She is the heir to Hades' throne, forged in unholy fire and bound to the underworld. For 365 days, she walks the earth, half-demon and half-human, caught in a tempest of forbidden love and dark destiny. Torn between two lovers-a fragile mortal who stirs her hidden heart and a powerful demon who prom
Maria's Heart
Maria Moretti is a young woman who has always lived a quiet, ordinary life, far removed from the dangerous world of organized crime. A promising career as a lawyer and a tight-knit family keep her grounded, but everything changes when she crosses paths with Luca DeLuca, the ruthless and enigmatic le
Vampire heart
The Vampire's Heart is a queer fantasy epic about memory, love, and the cost of holding history inside the body. At the center of the tale is Rehema, a reluctant seer whose bloodline binds her to the ancient Grove of Echoes-a sentient forest that records the pain and power of the world through memo
Stinging heart
Nicole was the only one she knew that had the guts to call Jordan at this hour. The sound of the water in the bathroom stopped. Jordan came out wrapped in a bath towel. He wiped his hand and picked up the phone. Ivelle didn't know what the person from the other end of the phone said. She saw Jordan
Billionaire's Heart
Summary of Billionaire's Heart Emma Dawson, a hardworking and dedicated secretary, works for the enigmatic billionaire Alexander Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises. Known for his perfectionism and aloof demeanor, Alexander commands respect and fear in equal measure. Emma, despite the challenges of work
Heart Speaks
Heart Speaks is a story about Sophia. She and her younger sister, Erica, the talented musical attended the same Music High School. Henry want to date Sophia. While Benjamin want Erica, his ex girlfriend back, after breaking her heart for many times. Would Sophia accept Henry? Would Erica accept Ben
Heart chase
Carly is a crazy 22 year old girl, who believes in enjoying her life to the fullest with her best friend Racheal. However fate seemed to have something else in store for her when she met the wright's twin brothers by accident after she was drunk to a stupor. The wright's family were known as the m
THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS
A young Master's Journey to love.... Rolph, the appointed future heir of a Mafia family had everything he wanted except love. Not that nobody loves him, but he doesn't know how to love. Or should we say, the ones that fell in love with him always felt wrong for him. Like his true love is out the
BENNY'S HEART
Benny has known struggle her whole life. Growing up in extreme poverty, she has carried the weight of her family's financial burdens since childhood. At just five years old, she learned that dreams meant nothing without money. By the time she turns twenty, she's exhausted mentally, emotionally
