
Forbidden Dance
Amber Kuhlman Thielman · Ongoing · 37.0k Words
Introduction
Chapter 1
The weather outside is frigid, matching my mood, as my stepmother Sadie runs a single manicured finger over the windowsill of my dorm room, lifting it to her face a moment later to inspect the dust that has settled on the tip of her perfect finger. She makes a face, shooting a glance over her shoulder at my father who has been standing awkwardly to the side as she tears apart every little thing about my room.
“It’s dirty,” she announces to no one in particular. My new roommate isn’t here yet, thank God, and I’m hoping she won’t show up until after my dad and step-monster finally leave me in peace.
“I don’t mind,” I say, trying to usher her along faster. “It just needs a little wipe down. I can do that.”
Sadie turns in my direction, her nostrils flaring like they do when she thinks I’ve said or done something stupid, which is almost always. “Your father and I aren’t paying for you to be here and clean,” she huffs. “That’s the school staff’s job.”
I bite my lip to keep myself from reminding her that whatever money is being paid into this institution for my schooling doesn’t come from her; not even a single drop of it. My father is funding this excursion, which is even worse because Sadie got to choose which college I enrolled in, and the only one I actually wanted, far away from her and far away from Seattle, wasn’t an option. But what Sadie says, goes. It’s been like that for years since my mother died and my father remarried a woman who, unbeknownst to me at the time, was his mistress.
Fucked up, right? Yeah, I think so too.
“I’d better get settled in,” I say to the room, hoping my dad will take the hint and guide Sadie out. I’m so tired of being under the scrutinizing gaze and thumb of my prude of a stepmother. Finally, I’m free, eighteen, and in college … and I still can’t get rid of her. Even now, sitting in my new dorm room, I’ve been forced to dress in what Sadie refers to as appropriate clothing. A knee-high skirt from the stone age, leggings so I don’t show too much skin and a sweatshirt that makes my skin itch uncomfortably against the itchy fabric. Even now I can’t get rid of her influence.
“Honey, Faith is right,” my dad says, finally finding his balls to speak up. It’s rare, but it has happened before. “Let’s go and let her get settled in.”
As Sadie considers this, the front door opens and a young woman who must be my assigned roommate poked her head in, flashing the three of us an awkward smile as she pulls a suitcase full of luggage in after her. I rise from the bed with a grin, holding out my hand, grateful for the distraction. Maybe now they’ll leave.
“Are you Tara?” I ask. “I’m Faith. It’s really nice to meet you.”
“Yes,” she’s beaming as she shakes my hand, and I’m silently filled with glee as I take in her ripped skinny jeans, tie-died tank top, black pixie cut, and nose and eyebrow piercing. This girl is the last sort of influence Sadie would have picked for my roommate, and that fact alone has me silently gloating. “Nice to meet you, too,” she says, and it’s impossible not to catch the way her eyes dart over my conservative, ridiculous outfit. Anything to appease the step-monster, I want to tell her. But we’ll get to that later.
“Darling,” my father says, trying to snag Sadie’s attention again. He’s bored, I can tell, and I don’t blame him. “Let’s leave the girls to get to know each other, shall we?”
Sadie tears her disapproving gaze away from Tara for a moment before she wheels on me again, hands poised on her hips like she’s preparing to scold a toddler. “Rules,” she says. “What are they?”
Heat rises to my neck and cheeks as anger boils in my chest, but I close my eyes and recite what she wants to hear. If I don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it, no matter how humiliating this is about to be.
“No drinking, no smoking, no parties, no boys,” I say, inwardly cringing as the words leave my mouth. From the corner of my eye, I see Tara’s jaw drop as she settles herself on the empty bed, but I can’t meet her gaze.
“And?” Sadie persists, her cold blue eyes boring into mine. As I meet her gaze again, my jaw locks, and I resist the urge to knock her flat on her ass.
“And no dance,” I mutter, dropping my gaze to the floor. I’m weak. I can never hold my own against her.
“That’s right,” Sadie says. “We’re paying a pretty penny for you to study economics at this school, and I refuse to sit by and watch you throw it all away for a chance to show off your half-naked body to a bunch of men.”
I grit my teeth without answering, wondering what Tara thinks of me now. With my luck, she’ll have requested a new roommate before Sadie even leaves campus.
“Time to go,” dad says, crossing the room to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Call if you need anything, Faith.”
Yeah, right.
“Sure, dad.”
“Behave,” Sadie says, not bothering to hug me goodbye as she follows my father to the door. Behind me, Tara waves cheerily at them.
“Nice to meet you,” she calls, but Sadie pretends like she’s heard nothing as she leaves the room, shutting the door forcefully behind her.
Finally, I can breathe.
A migraine is tugging at my skull as I turn around to look at Tara, embarrassed she’d heard the lecture. But she doesn’t look disgusted by me, not at all. In fact, she looks amused.
“Stepmom?” she asks as I cross the room and sit back down on the edge of the not-so-cozy bed. I don’t care that it’s not expensive or fancy. I’d sleep on a concrete floor before going back home and living under her roof.
“How did you know?” I ask, reaching for the outrageously tight clip in my hair to undo it, letting my golden blond curls escape from their prison and down my back.
“The dynamic between you two,” Tara says with a laugh. “The hate is real. She seems like a right bitch, that one.”
“She is.” I can’t defend her, not even a little. Sadie is beyond a bitch. Sadie is a fucking monster.
“You seem like a smart, well-rounded woman,” Tara continues, her bold brown eyes scanning me, sizing me up. “Why do you let her treat you like that?”
“It’s a long story,” I say with a sigh. “She might look like a bloodsucking demon from the outside, but on the inside, she’s so much worse. Trust me …you don’t want to tangle with her.”
Tara shrugs as she lifts her suitcase onto her empty bed and unzips it to begin unpacking. I watch her for a moment, smitten with this girl already. She’s unabashedly her, and I like that in a person. It’s been a long time since I could be unapologetically me, too.
As Tara unpacks, humming silently under her breath, I figured I should do the same. I unzip my bag and pull out all the shitty, conservative garments Sadie had bought and packed for me. More long skirts, more leggings to go under said skirts, and too many sweaters to count. As I’m folding these things and stuffing them into a tiny drawer on my side of the room, I notice that Tara is watching me.
“Is that all you have?” she asks. “Sweaters and pioneer skirts?”
I laugh, although it’s not funny, and shake my head. “The majority of it, yes,” I say, shoving a pair of stockings into the top drawer before slamming it shut. “But it’s not everything.” Nibbling my lip, I pull out the remainder of my clothes, the ones that had been safely hidden beneath Sadie’s mess of crap. A glittery, spaghetti strap top with the word Dance scrolled across the front, as well as a pair of fishnet stockings, frayed denim shorts that make my ass look good, and a pair of ballet flats that would have given Sadie a stroke if she’d seen them. As I drape my outfit over the bed, Tara’s eyes light up.
“Damn girl,” she says. “Maybe you’re not the lost cause I thought you were.”
“I haven’t always been like this,” I say, glancing down with disgust at my current outfit. “This is all Sadie’s doing. But …Sadie’s not here now, is she?”
Tara beams. I have a feeling I’ve made my first real friend here.
“No, she’s not,” she confirms. “So how about you throw that spicy little number on, and we can take a tour of the campus.”
I run a hand through my loose curls and lean into my suitcase for one last thing; a small bag of hidden makeup that Sadie never knew about. I hold it up and grin at Tara. “Give me five minutes.”
Last Chapters
#25 Mark
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#24 Danny
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#23 Faith
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#22 Theo
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#21 Faith
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#20 Mark
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#19 Mark
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#18 Danny
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#17 Faith
Last Updated: 1/14/2026#16 Theo
Last Updated: 1/14/2026
You Might Like 😍
Omega Bound
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
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
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?
How Not To Fall For A Dragon
Which is why it was more than a little confusing when a letter arrived with my name already printed on a schedule, a dorm waiting, and classes picked out as if someone knew me better than I knew myself. Everyone knows the Academy, it’s where witches sharpen their spells, shifters master their forms, and every kind of magical creature learns to control their gifts.
Everyone except me.
I don’t even know what I am. No shifting, no magic tricks, nothing. Just a girl surrounded by people who can fly, conjure fire, or heal with a touch. So I sit through classes pretending I belong, and I listen hard for any clue that might tell me what’s hidden in my blood.
The only person more curious than me is Blake Nyvas, tall, golden-eyed, and very much a Dragon. People whisper that he’s dangerous, warn me to keep my distance. But Blake seems determined to solve the mystery of me, and somehow I trust him more than anyone else.
Maybe it’s reckless. Maybe it’s dangerous.
But when everyone else looks at me like I don’t belong, Blake looks at me like I’m a riddle worth solving.
Goddess Of The Underworld
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 armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. 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.
A pack of their own
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
The Human Among Wolves
My stomach twisted, but he wasn’t finished.
"You're just a pathetic little human," Zayn said, his words deliberate, each one hitting like a slap. "Spreading your legs for the first guy who bothers to notice you."
Heat rushed to my face, burning with humiliation. My chest ached — not from his words alone, but from the sick realization that I had trusted him. That I had let myself believe he was different.
I was so, so stupid.
——————————————————
When eigteen-year-old Aurora Wells moves to a sleepy town with her parents, the last thing she expects is to be enrolled in a secret academy for werewolves.
Moonbound Academy is no ordinary school. It's here young Lycans, Betas and Alphas train in shifting, elemental magic, and ancient pack laws. But Aurora? She's just...human. a mistake. The new receptionist forgot to check her species - and now she's surrounded by predators who sense she doesn't belong.
Determined to stay under the radar, Aurora plans to survive the year unnoticed. But when she catches the attention of Zayn, a brooding and infuriatingly powerful Lycan prince, her life gets a lot more complicated. Zayn already has a mate. He already has enemies. And he definitely doesn't want anything to do with a clueless human.
But secrets run deeper than bloodlines at Moonbound. as Aurora unravels the truth about the academy - and herself - she begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Including the reason she was brought here at all.
Enemies will rise. Loyalties will shift. And the girl with no place in their world...might be the key to saving it.
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Rise of the Banished She-Wolf
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.
Invisible To Her Bully
Falling For The Biker: The Vice President's Girl
His eyes darken, flicking to my mouth.
"It's wrong. Your brother would slit my throat for just standing this close. But tell me, little bird" his breath ghosts my skin, "are you trembling because you hate me… or because you've wanted this just as much as I have?"
Wren thought she'd buried the chaos of New Orleans for good—the clubs, the blood-soaked loyalties, the men who lived and died by their kuttes. Seattle gave her everything she ever wanted: freedom, love, a future.
But one betrayal shatters it all.
Dragged home by tragedy, Wren finds herself under the watchful eye of Ezra Jax—the Raven Reapers MC's vice president and her brother's best friend. He's infuriating, dangerous, and far too tempting for a man she should never touch.
And the deeper Wren is pulled back into his world, the more she realizes nothing about her past—or about Ezra—is what she believed.
In the chaos of gang wars, mounting debts, and old betrayals, he becomes the one constant. The more she fights him, the harder she falls. And the more he pushes her away, the more lethal his pull becomes.
Because in this world, love isn't sweet.
It's brutal. Bloody.
And it's bound to break them both.
When loyalty is everything and love can cost your life, will Wren risk her heart on the one man she was never meant to love?












