From Cursed Widow to the Serpent King's Obsession
Fuzzy Melissa · Completed · 9.4k Words
Introduction
In that precarious moment, it was I who held the throne together, heartbroken yet unyielding.
I depleted my magic without reservation to repair the realm's protective barriers, working through endless nights to brew life-sustaining elixirs for the Queen.
Yet when the Dragon Legion finally drove back the abyssal demons, what awaited me wasn't victory—it was a fatal blade.
My magic was shredded apart. The soul core in my chest was ripped out by a pair of familiar hands.
In my final moments, I saw the face of the one holding the knife.
My newly wedded husband, Drystan.
And beside him, pulled tight against his chest, was my half-sister Vespera.
"You're brilliant, Vespera." Drystan turned the faintly glowing core over in his palm. "A single forged love letter, and this fool willingly died defending our dying realm. Now even her core is mine."
Vespera nestled against him, emerald eyes glittering with greed. "Once you absorb this power, we'll return to the throne together. You'll still be the Empire's Crown Prince, and I'll wear the Crown Princess's coronet. As is only right."
Amid this sickening pledge of betrayal, I drew my last breath.
When I opened my eyes again, cold gray stone vaulting stared back at me.
I had returned to the day news of Drystan's death in battle reached the capital.
One glance toward the corner of the great hall told me everything.
That man stood there wearing a cold iron mask, posing as my dear sister Vespera's sworn personal knight.
You want to drain me dry? Steal my soul core?
Dream on.
Chapter 1
Ever since Her Majesty the Queen fell gravely ill, the entire dragon realm had been teetering on the brink of collapse.
In that precarious moment, it was I who held the throne together, heartbroken yet unyielding.
I depleted my magic without reservation to repair the realm's protective barriers, working through endless nights to brew life-sustaining elixirs for the Queen.
Yet when the Dragon Legion finally drove back the abyssal demons, what awaited me wasn't victory—it was a fatal blade.
My magic was shredded apart. The soul core in my chest was ripped out by a pair of familiar hands.
In my final moments, I saw the face of the one holding the knife.
My newly wedded husband, Drystan.
And beside him, pulled tight against his chest, was my half-sister Vespera.
"You're brilliant, Vespera." Drystan turned the faintly glowing core over in his palm. "A single forged love letter, and this fool willingly died defending our dying realm. Now even her core is mine."
Vespera nestled against him, emerald eyes glittering with greed. "Once you absorb this power, we'll return to the throne together. You'll still be the Empire's Crown Prince, and I'll wear the Crown Princess's coronet. As is only right."
Amid this sickening pledge of betrayal, I drew my last breath.
When I opened my eyes again, cold gray stone vaulting stared back at me.
I had returned to the day news of Drystan's death in battle reached the capital.
One glance toward the corner of the great hall told me everything.
That man stood there wearing a cold iron mask, posing as my dear sister Vespera's sworn personal knight.
You want to drain me dry? Steal my soul core?
Dream on.
"Nymeria, this is Drystan's final letter to you." The King placed a blood-stained parchment before me.
This once-formidable monarch trembled now, unable to control his shaking hands. Tears carved paths down his weathered face.
His gaze fixed on the heavy obsidian coffin dominating the center of the hall, as though all life had been drained from him overnight.
The ancient dragon bloodline had always suffered under a cruel curse of infertility. Even seated on the throne, he'd managed only this one son.
And now that sole heir had not only left after the wedding a few days ago, but this aging father would bury his own son.
I stood motionless on the marble steps.
I stared at the parchment, ice in my eyes and hidden triumph in my heart.
I knew better than anyone what those words said.
Drystan had written in blood, with twisted, trembling strokes: [I swore to grow old with you, and I have broken that vow. If souls have an afterlife, I will cross the River of the Dead to be with you forever.]
In my previous life, this poignant declaration had shattered me completely. I'd swallowed every bitter tear and shouldered the collapsing realm alone.
Until my dying moment, when brutal truth finally emerged—Vespera had stood behind him, guiding his wrist, dictating every word.
"I know Nymeria too well." Her smug voice still echoed in my memory. "No woman can resist a tragic hero's deathbed vow. One letter, and she'll guard your throne like a loyal hound."
Now, facing this performance of dual betrayal once more, cold nausea churned in my gut.
My gaze sliced toward the tall, silent shadow behind Vespera.
Everyone in the hall saw him as merely a faceless knight accompanying my sister.
But I knew. Beneath that cold mask stood Crown Prince Drystan himself, the man who should be lying in that coffin.
He'd faked his death to escape, lurking like a rat in Vespera's shadow, carrying on an affair with his sister-in-law while the Empire crumbled.
Now he watched the hall's grief like a bystander, cold and detached.
"Nymeria." Vespera lifted her skirts and approached, emerald eyes brimming with fake tears. "Please, open it. Drystan thought only of you in his final moments. Let us hear his devotion, so Her Majesty may know her son departed without regret."
Instantly, every noble's gaze converged on me.
Crystal clear. Vespera was backing me into a corner, weaponizing the entire court against me.
Once the High Council saw this letter, they'd believe Drystan had loved me deeply.
If I abandoned my marriage vows under these circumstances, I'd become the realm's most heartless monster, bringing eternal disgrace upon my family.
The Queen's lips parted, but no words came. This powerful woman desperately wanted to see her son's final message.
In the suffocating silence, a garrison commander burst through the doors.
Mud-covered and disheveled, he dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty! The realm garrison heard of the Crown Prince's death. With demons massing at our borders, panic is spreading. Hundreds have already deserted."
The King shot to his feet, armor clanging.
The Queen shook with rage. "My son just died for this kingdom, and these cowards are already running? Traitors—every damned one belongs on the scaffold!"
The King waved the ashen-faced commander away, then turned his clouded but authoritative gaze to the assembled court.
"No matter how dire things become, I will be this realm's last line of defense."
"If demons breach our gates, I'll send you through the tunnels. But I will burn my last drop of blood taking them down with me."
Anxious whispers rippled through the hall.
And I saw it clearly—when the King spoke of dying sword in hand, the tall attendant in Vespera's shadow shifted his boot.
Just slightly. His armor scraped with a stiff, almost imperceptible sound.
Your own father is about to bleed out for the mess you abandoned, Drystan. How does that feel?
The King's gaze returned to me, mournful yet gentle.
"Nymeria, you exchanged vows with Drystan only days ago. Today you're separated by death itself. Perhaps the gods are cruel..."
He sighed heavily. "What will you do now?"
Deathly silence. Everyone waited for me to pledge tearful loyalty, to willingly don the shackles of sacrifice.
I raised my head, meeting the throne's sorrowful gaze. Even with Vespera's barely suppressed triumph lurking at the edge of my vision.
Ignoring the blood-stained parchment, I met every watching eye with iron certainty.
"I'm going to remarry."
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.
I’m not even sure I want to.
Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.
She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.
The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.
I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.
I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.
3/ Rags and Ritches-
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
The Spy Who Left
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
The mafia princess return
The Hockey Alpha's Fake Girlfriend
Then there’s Rafael. Dark. Untouchable. The boy everyone talks about but no one really knows. He should be the last person Vivienne gets close to, yet she can’t look away. He pulls her in with a kind of danger that feels both terrifying and safe, like he sees the parts of her no one else can.
But Rafael carries secrets—secrets that could destroy them both. And the closer Vivienne gets, the harder it is to tell if he’s her way out… or the reason she never escapes.
Timeless Us
The world she knew is gone.
Her husband, Nathan, is no longer the young man she left behind—he’s successful, respected, and living with a new family.
But when the woman who disappeared twenty-three years ago suddenly returns…
can love survive the years that were lost?
Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond
BROKEN TRUST
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
Aphrodite and the Cursed Mate Bond
She finds truth.
Aphrodite is not human at all. She is a rare white wolf, descended from an ancient Direwolf bloodline long believed extinct. The ritual meant to sever her ties awakens her wolf instead and with it comes the scent of five mates bound to her by fate.
The Alpha twins who once scorned her now cannot stay away. A human hunter walks beside her and proves that strength is not born of fangs or dominance. A cursed Wolf King holds the key to her past and her father’s imprisonment. And watching from the shadows is one who was never meant to interfere at all.
As gods fall, packs fracture, and war reshapes the world, Aphrodite must decide what destiny truly means. Is it submission to fate or the courage to choose her own path.
Love does not come in one form. Neither does power.
In a world ruled by gods and wolves, Aphrodite will become something neither ever expected.
Not a queen.
But the axis upon which the world turns.
Bound by the Dragon Mafia
The head chef looked like he was silently praying for death.
I rushed forward. “Amara. Stop traumatizing these poor people.”
She spun around, delighted. “Sera! Good, you’re here. Taste this. It’s missing despair.”
The chef’s face morphed into existential crisis.
I grabbed her arm. “Put the spatula down.”
“But—”
“Down.”
With exaggerated offense, she dropped the spatula and muttered, “Fine. But if no one here has artistic vision, that’s not my fault.”
She went undercover to expose a mafia empire.
He offered her thirty nights to save her life.
When investigative journalist Seraphine Vale steps into the glittering underworld ruled by billionaire crime lord Dante Vescari, she thinks she’s chasing a story about missing women and corruption.
Instead, she uncovers a secret older than blood—an empire built on fire, sin, and dragons.
Bound to Dante by a forbidden pact, Seraphine finds herself caught between fear and desire, truth and temptation.
Each night pulls her deeper into his world of power, passion, and danger…
and closer to the monster hiding beneath his perfect skin.
Thirty nights. One bond.
And a love that might just burn the world to ash.
Bound By Power, Torn By Love
She regards him as her only salvation, but he regards her as a pawn for revenge. When two enemies dance on the sharp knife, what will be the final outcome?
