Bound By Shadow Saved By Light

Bound By Shadow Saved By Light

Audrey Richard · Completed · 111.3k Words

907
Hot
907
Views
272
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

In a kingdom filled with power, mystery, and old secrets, King Alden and Elara, an ordinary woman, find themselves in an unexpected fight. When a scary force rises from the darkness, threatening to ruin everything Alden has worked for, they must face a powerful enemy that they can't fully understand. Elara has the key to saving the kingdom, and Alden must keep her safe while his feelings for her grow. However, the danger is getting closer, and it becomes hard to tell who is a friend and who is an enemy. The future of the kingdom, their love, and their lives depend on something neither of them is ready for. As they face a major challenge, they need to uncover Elara’s past before it’s too late. Will they overcome the darkness, or will it consume them?

Chapter 1

Elara's Pov

“Be careful, girl,” hissed Master Rolan, the head steward, his face always frowning. “That’s not just any burn mark; it’s from his claws. Handle it with care.”

The Kingdom of Emberfire buzzed with light and sound as the annual Dragon Festival kicked off. Bright banners hung from the city streets, colorful flames lit up the sky, and dragons of all sizes flew gracefully above. But inside the royal palace, I focused on scrubbing the last burn mark from the floor near Ignis’s enclosure, my back sore from all the work.

I held back a response and kept scrubbing. Ignis, the royal dragon, was the king’s pride, symbolizing Emberfire’s strength and unity. However, to me, he was a cranky creature who always craved attention and cooked meat. Even though I secretly liked him, I still didn’t enjoy cleaning up after him.

Once the floor was clean, I straightened up, my hands red and sore. A low growl came from Ignis’s chamber. I looked back at the heavy iron gate. Dragons were meant to be loyal, but Ignis often got into trouble, even as a royal dragon.

“Stay out of trouble, okay?” I whispered as I set aside my cleaning tools.

As night fell, I headed to my small room. The festival sounds echoed faintly through the stone walls, reminding me of a world I could only watch from afar. As a maid for the royalty, I saw the palace's beauty but never truly belonged.

A sudden, distant roar made me stop.

My stomach tightened. Dragons could be loud, but this roar was different—wild, feral, and completely wrong. I dashed down the slick floors. The roar came again, louder and sharper. It came from Ignis’s chamber.

When I arrived, chaos was everywhere. Guards were gathered near the enclosure, shouting and pointing at the wide open iron gate. Inside, the chamber was empty. Ignis was gone.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice shaky.

Master Rolan’s face was pale. “He’s gone,” he stammered. “The beast has vanished. This is treason.”

I stepped into the enclosure, looking at the mess. Deep claw marks were carved into the stone floor, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Something shiny at the back of the chamber caught my eye. I crouched down and picked up a dragon scale, shiny and colorful, but not like Ignis’s deep red color.

“What’s this?” I asked softly, holding it up.

Rolan took it from me quickly, narrowing his eyes. “This doesn’t belong here.”

“It’s not Ignis’s,” I said. “But how—”

Before I could finish, the sound of armored boots echoed down the hallway. King Alden appeared, his green cloak flowing behind him. His presence hushed the room. Young, stern, and commanding, Alden was exactly the ruler his kingdom needed, yet I noticed a hint of doubt in his eyes.

“What’s going on, what did you do?” he asked, his voice colder than a winter night.

“Your Majesty,” Master Rolan bowed, stuttering, “Ignis... has been stolen. We are still figuring out the details...”

“Stolen? From this palace?” Alden’s eyes narrowed. “How could a dragon like Ignis disappear from the heart of the palace without anyone noticing?”

Rolan stumbled over his words. Holding the cleaning rag tightly, I took a step forward before I thought better of it.

“I found this,” I said, showing the scale.

Alden quickly looked at her, clearly evaluating. He took the scale, his fingers lightly touching mine, which sent a shock through me, but his face showed no emotion.

"This isn't Ignis's," he said, turning the scale in his hand. "Whose is it?" Before anyone could respond, a guard rushed into the room.

"Your Majesty, we found tracks leading to the eastern gate. They were burned away, but not perfectly." Alden tensed. "Burned away? Someone tried to hide their escape." He looked at Rolan. "Increase the guards at every entrance. Lock down the palace. No one leaves until we find Ignis."

"Yes, Your Majesty." As the guards began to follow orders, Alden looked at me again. "You," he said.

My breath caught. "Me?"

"You were here last. Did you notice anything?" "No, Your Majesty. I finished cleaning and left." He examined me for a moment more, then nodded. "You’ll come with me tomorrow to inspect these tracks." "Me?" I said, surprised.

"You found this scale," he said, holding it up. "That makes you part of this now."

Before I could argue, he left the room, his cloak a blur of green and gold. The room emptied quickly, leaving me alone in the wreckage of Ignis's chamber. My heart raced as I looked at the empty spot where the dragon should be. Suddenly, the scale in my hand started to glow softly, a gentle hum coming from it. I froze. The sound was only loud enough for me, deep in my chest like a call. Before I could think more, a chilling voice echoed from the shadows.

As I turned to leave, something cold rushed past me, even though the chamber had no windows. The torches flickered, and for a moment, I thought I heard a voice calling my name.

"Elara." "You shouldn’t have seen that."

That was all I caught as I tried to move toward the exit, my heart pounding loudly. I rushed into the corridor, desperate for light and safety from the guards. But the corridor felt like a wall, just as I was about to shout for a guard. But I was hit with something I can't seem to describe.I felt a sudden pain at the back of my head and then blacked out.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

The Biker's Fate

The Biker's Fate

1.1m Views · Completed · Piper Davenport
"You are absolutely my fucking woman, Dani. Got me?"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
The Prison Project

The Prison Project

561.9k Views · Ongoing · Bethany Donaghy
The government's newest experiment in criminal rehabilitation - sending thousands of young women to live alongside some of the most dangerous men held behind bars...

Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?

Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.

Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.

Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...

At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…

Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?

Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?

What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…

A temperamental romance novel.
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

249.6k Views · Completed · Jessica C. Dolan
Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
Badass in Disguise

Badass in Disguise

380.8k Views · Completed · Sherry
"Everyone out," I commanded through gritted teeth. "Now."
"Jade, I need to check your—" the nurse began.
"OUT!" I snarled with enough force that both women backed toward the door.
Once feared by Shadow Organization that drugged me to replicate my abilities into a more controllable version, I had escaped my restraints and detonated their entire facility, ready to die alongside my captors.
Instead, I woke up in a school infirmary with women arguing around me, their voices piercing my skull. My outburst froze them in shock—clearly they hadn't expected such a reaction. One woman threatened as she left, "We'll discuss this attitude when you get home."
The bitter truth? I've been reborn into the body of an overweight, weak, and supposedly dim-witted high school girl. Her life is filled with bullies and tormentors who've made her existence miserable.
But they have no idea who they're dealing with now.
I didn't survive as the world's deadliest assassin by allowing anyone to push me around. And I certainly won't start now.
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

429.3k Views · Ongoing · Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

697.1k Views · Completed · Veejay
"No... You can't do this to me..." I almost squeezed the words through my teeth, my voice trembling.
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

489k Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Mr. Ryan

Mr. Ryan

248.8k Views · Completed · Mary D. Sant
"What things are not under your control tonight?" I gave my best smile, leaning against the wall.
He came closer with a dark and hungry expression,
so close,
his hands reached for my face, and he pressed his body against mine.
His mouth took mine eagerly, a little rudely.
His tongue left me breathless.
“If you don't go with me, I'll fuck you right here.” He whispered.


Katherine kept her virginity for years even after she turned 18. But one day, she met an extremely sexual man Nathan Ryan in the club. He had the most seductive blue eyes she has ever seen, a well-defined chin, almost golden blonde hair, full lips, perfectly drawn, and the most amazing smile, with perfect teeth and those damn dimples. Incredibly sexy.

She and he had a beautiful and hot one-night stand...
Katherine thought she might not meet the man again.
But fate has another plan

Katherine is about to take on the job of assistant to a billionaire who owns one of the biggest companies in the country and is known to be a conquering, authoritative and completely irresistible man. He is Nathan Ryan!

Will Kate be able to resist the charms of this attractive, powerful and seductive man?
Read to know a relationship torn between anger and the uncontrollable desire for pleasure.

Warning: R18+, Only for mature readers.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

115.3k Views · Ongoing · Becky j
"Mate is here!"
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Mated by Contract to the Alpha

Mated by Contract to the Alpha

276.2k Views · Completed · CalebWhite
My perfect life shattered in a single heartbeat.
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
The Son of Red Fang

The Son of Red Fang

177.4k Views · Completed · Diana Sockriter
Alpha werewolves should be cruel and merciless with unquestionable strength and authority, at least that’s what Alpha Charles Redmen believes and he doesn’t hesitate to raise his kids to be the same way.
Alpha Cole Redmen is the youngest of six born to Alpha Charles and Luna Sara Mae, leaders of the Red Fang pack. Born prematurely, Alpha Charles rejected him without hesitation as weak and undeserving of his very life. He is reminded daily of his father’s hatred for him paving the way for the rest of his family to become the same.
By adulthood, his father’s hatred and abuse towards him has spilled over into the rest of the pack making him the scapegoat for those with the sadistic need to see him suffer. The rest are simply too afraid to even look his way leaving him little in the way of friends or family to turn to.
Alpha Demetri Black is the leader of a sanctuary pack known as Crimson Dawn. It’s been years since a wolf has made their way to his pack via the warrior’s prospect program but that doesn’t mean he’s not looking for the tell tale signs of a wolf in need of help.
Malnourished and injured upon his arrival, Cole’s anxious and overly submissive demeanor lands him in the very situation he’s desperate to avoid, in the attention of an unknown alpha.
Yet somehow through the darkness of severe illness and injury he runs into the very person he’s been desperate to find since he turned eighteen, his Luna. His one way ticket out of the hell he’s been born into.
Will Cole find the courage needed to leave his pack once and for all, to seek the love and acceptance he’s never had?

Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of mental, physical and sexual abuse that may trigger sensitive readers. This book is intended for adult readers only.
Goddess Of The Underworld.

Goddess Of The Underworld.

325.2k Views · Completed · sheridan.hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her. Then finally into lycan princess, stronger, faster, the moon finally answering back, giving her exactly what she needs to protect her family.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armor, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of a border pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to stay; of cake, iron, and daylight negotiations. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.