Her British Bard

Her British Bard

Darci Balogh · Completed · 65.7k Words

677
Hot
827
Views
203
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

She knows he’s all wrong for her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t agree. Sofia has always had serious plans for her future. Big plans. In fact, she has just gotten her PhD and is ready to take on the world. Or is she? Plagued by perfectionism, frozen by the fear of making a mistake, the newly anointed Dr. Sofia Venegas is floundering to create the future she has always dreamed about. When a fluke chance lands her an opportunity to work at a prestigious university in London, she can hardly pass it up. And when her new life in London is interrupted by Ian Law, a sexy, tattooed rock star, Sofia’s focus on her career is shattered.  Ian is funny, talented and a major distraction. Sofia can't seem to get her mind off of him and when he turns up the romance she simply can't resist. Will Sofia create the life she has always dreamed of by building the career she has worked so hard for all of her life? Or will Ian Law rock her world in a new direction? Feel good, uplifting Women’s Romance Fiction about a woman who follows her dreams and finds love along the way. Dream Come True Sweet Romance Series Five childhood friends vow to live the life of their dreams...without men to mess it all up. One-by-one they are confronted with the life they’ve always wanted wrapped up with a new love they cannot live without. Are they strong enough to face their fears in both life and love? Is real happiness just a fantasy or can their dreams really come true? Book 1 - Her Scottish Keep Book 2 - Her British Bard  Book 3 - Her Sheltered Cove  Book 4 - Her Secret Heart  Book 5 - Her One and Only

Chapter 1

CHAPTER

ONE

S

ofia desperately needed a few minutes to recover after successfully escaping the family barbecue .

Blinded by the glare of the sun, she came around the corner of her father's ancient garden shed and ran her manicured fingers along the outside wall. Rough and bumpy. Flakes of blue paint threatened to come off at her touch. Though the sunlight was bright in her eyes, it did not reflect off the windows of the small building. It couldn't. Years of dust had built up on the glass, leaving them dull and unresponsive to the driving rays of the late spring afternoon.

The smell of freshly cut grass and newly watered flowerbeds pushing yellow and red tulips into the world filled her nose. The spicy scent of herbs growing nearby blended with smoke from her father's outdoor cooker on the patio. She took a deep breath in through her nose then blew it out through pursed lips. Again. Deep, calming breaths.

Normally composed, sometimes to a fault, she had suffered shortness of breath and sharp pains in her chest when well-meaning family members had cornered her by the cake table.

"Are you dating anyone, yet?" Her Tia Maria had asked.

Sofia always hated this question. She shook her head 'no', because she wasn't. She hadn't dated anybody for a long time.

"Now that you're

Dr.

Venegas will you take a look at this rash on my neck?" Tio Francisco joked.

She forced a smile. Everyone in her family knew that she wasn't a medical doctor, but her uncle would not stop with the jokes.

"When will you start working in your office?" Her wide-eyed seven-year old niece, Olivia, asked.

"Shh, Olivia," her mother, Sofia's sister-in-law, Shayna, said. "She doesn't have a job yet." Shayna gave Sofia an apologetic smile. "Although I'm sure she will very soon."

That's when Sofia had started having trouble breathing. Her lungs felt tight, like they were already full of air, forcing her to take shallow, panting breaths.

Henry, her oldest brother's boy, lifted a giant corner piece of her graduation cake from the nearby table and plopped it onto a gold paper plate. The cake was slathered in maroon frosting with gold sprinkles, the colors of the University of Denver where she had graduated with her doctorate earlier in the day.

Being 14, Henry was a little more straight to the point than the others. "How much money are you gonna make when you get a job, Tia?"

"Hey!" Her father pointed at the boy with his barbecue tongs from across the patio. "Don't be rude."

Esteban Venegas, Sofia's father, was a good four inches shorter than his grandson. This did not take anything away from his powerful patriarchal demeanor. He had worked in construction his entire life to take care of his wife and four children and had the build to show for it. Though he had just turned 65, he looked decades younger and he always commanded respect from his children and grandchildren.

Henry slumped a little and looked sheepishly at Sofia. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

She tried to give her nephew a reassuring smile, but found it next to impossible, because she had started feeling tiny pricks of pain in her chest in addition to the shallow breathing. Was she about to have a heart attack smack dab in the middle of her graduation party?

Under the guise of getting some ice from inside, Sofia escaped her family's good-natured questions and ducked into her parent's house. She drifted to the quietest room, the formal dining room, which had a pair of French doors that looked out over the serene vegetable garden.

In the cool silence of the dining room she put her hand over the pains in her chest. She was too young to have a heart attack. This must be a panic attack. Years of hard work and the successful fulfillment of her own, and her parent's, dreams were now behind her forever. She was Dr. Sofia Venegas with a PhD in Computer Science from a prestigious private university. But she still didn't have a job.

What she did have was a void that she had always filled with academic pursuits. She also had a mountain of student loan debt and a sense of uncertainty about her future that had never before seemed so bleak.

That's when her eyes had fallen on the garden shed.

Sofia unlatched the rickety double doors of the shed and pulled them open with a squeak. The smell of potting soil, dried mud on old tools, and organic fertilizer washed over her. They took her back to all the times she and her friends had pretended this place was a house or a restaurant or a castle.

Walking across the uneven floor the rough wooden planks grabbed at her navy blue stiletto heels. She sat on her father's stool, careful to arrange her matching navy blue graduation dress so no dirt would get on it from the nearby potting table. There was no electricity in the garden shed, because it was almost exclusively used in daylight. That was okay. The meager sunshine that made it through the dirty windows matched her mood. Sofia sat in reminiscent silence, trying not to think about her future.

It wasn't like her to not have a plan. Since she was a young girl she had known she wanted to go to college. That dream had expanded into wanting to be called Dr. Venegas more than anything in the world. This morning that goal had been achieved. Now what?

Sofia suffered from perfectionism. Everything from the way she wore her long, black hair and chose the perfect eyeshadow to complement her green eyes, to her color coordinated outfits and the decor she chose for her apartment, to the way she budgeted her money and kept track of her schedule, all of it was meticulously planned. Even knowing that, she had not been prepared for the rollercoaster of her last semester at school. The coursework, the fear of what would come next, the colossal loan payments she faced, all caused her tremendous stress. Suffering through a panic attack in her father's garden shed she had to admit that while pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor, she had sort of turned into a total basket case.

Over the last year she had tried countless times to write letters of interest to possible employers, apply to open positions, network with colleagues, all to no avail. She always seemed to freeze up at the last moment, overcome with doubt and fear.

"Now what do I do?" she wondered out loud. The empty clay pots and gardening tools on the potting table did not respond.

She sighed.

"Knock, knock," a familiar voice sing-songed just outside the door.

Her cousin, Luna, poked her head around the door followed quickly by the unmistakable blonde head of their friend, Bridget, the owner of the voice.

"Anyone home?" Bridget continued her bright one-sided conversation.

Sofia cringed a little at being found hiding out in the garden shed. But if she was going to be discovered by anybody, these two were on her short list of preferred friends.

"Hi," Sofia smiled and tried to look composed. It didn't work.

Luna and Bridget stepped into the small, sagging building.

"What are you doing in here?" Luna asked, though Sofia was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She and Luna had hidden here to get away from family gatherings since they were little kids. In elementary school Bridget and their other friends, Angie, Tawnyetta, and Thomas, had joined them more often than not.

"This place hasn't changed one iota," Bridget exclaimed, picking up a dusty mason jar that held half used packets of vegetable seeds.

Sofia and Luna nodded in agreement. Luna pulled two more stools away from the wall and placed them on either side of Sofia before perching on one of them. She wore a flowing light blue dress with fluttery sleeves. The blue complimented her pale brown skin and darker brown hair. She cocked her head at her cousin, concern playing in her eyes.

"You okay?"

Sofia let out a loud sigh as her answer.

"Don't worry, we sent Angie to get drinks...and find Tawnyetta," Bridget told her as she carefully maneuvered her elegant sundress so she could position herself on the other stool and not get dirty. Bridget was a vision in a low cut, pale yellow linen dress. She had picked up a little bit of a tan while on vacation last month and wore it perfectly, as she wore everything.

Sofia smiled gratefully. She wasn't good at asking for help, but her best friends in the world always seemed to be there when she needed them most. As if on cue, Angie appeared in the open door holding two wine bottles. She wore a flower print cotton skirt that fell all the way to her ankles. A light green crocheted tank top went beautifully with it and helped show off her red curly tresses.

"Anyone thirsty?" Tawnyetta's slender frame came into view. The only married woman in the group, she had come back to Colorado from her new home in Scotland specifically to celebrate Sofia's graduation. Married life was treating her well. She looked healthy and happy, wrapped in a tangerine silk kimono style dress that showed off her athletic figure and short, spunky hairdo.

"Where's Mister?" Bridget asked. That was her nickname for the only guy friend in their group, Thomas.

"He's not here yet," Angie informed her. Bridget stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, annoyed at Thomas once again.

"Then he's gonna miss the toast!" Tawnyetta held up six empty wine glasses, three in each hand.

"We brought your Mom's homemade sangria," Angie told Sofia as she placed the two wine bottles on the table. They were still dripping from sitting in ice. A mixture of citrus and red wines, her mother made the deliciously potent sangria then poured it back into wine bottles to chill.

Sofia felt her cell phone vibrate inside her bra where she'd tucked it away before the graduation since she wouldn't have her purse. The other women's cell phones vibrated or rang in quick succession. They all fished their phones out from somewhere in their cleavage.

"Thomas," Luna said. She had been the first to retrieve her phone. "He just got here."

Bridget scoffed. She was always mildly irritated at Thomas when he wasn't exactly in tune with their social activities.

Sofia clicked her manicured nails quickly on the face of her phone and typed in 'garden shed'. He would know where to find them.

Minutes later Thomas arrived with a platter of her mother's tamales. "Your Mom gave me these for us," he explained.

"It's about time," Bridget complained at him.

Thomas wiggled his eyebrows up and down at her. "Hi, Bridge," he said with his most charming smile. He was still wearing the grey suit he'd worn to the graduation ceremony, minus the jacket.

"Where's Michael?" Thomas asked Tawnyetta. He had built up a friendship with her new husband, who happened to be the Lord of his very own castle in Scotland, when they had all met while on vacation there.

"He's learning about the Guatemalan heritage of Sofia's family from her Grandma," Tawnyetta answered with an amused smile.

Soon they were all sipping sangria and digging into the spicy steamed tamales with gusto. As Sofia chewed she looked around at her best friends, all dressed up and squeezed into the garden shed. They had made use of the various benches, barrels and wooden crates for seating and were eating and chatting with the kind of camaraderie that happens only after knowing one another since childhood.

Maybe it was the sangria, maybe it was the calming nature of the garden shed, or maybe it was being with her friends, Sofia didn't know why exactly, but she felt significantly more relaxed than she had earlier. Not totally anxiety free, but better.

"So," Thomas finished chewing and swallowing as he looked at each of them in turn. "Why are we here and not at the party?"

All eyes turned to Sofia whose pulse quickened again. She was in the middle of taking a drink and almost choked as she swallowed.

Luna took over for her. "Family," she said.

They all nodded knowingly and mumbled their condolences.

"But it's not just that, is it?" Angie asked in that half psychic way Angie sometimes possessed. Her deep brown, almost black, eyes watched Sofia with love.

Sofia shifted uncomfortably on her seat. No words came to her, just a hot lump at the back of her throat that threatened to turn into tears.

"Fifi, are you going to miss being in school?" Bridget guessed at the problem.

Sofia lifted one shoulder and let it drop as she shook her head. "Yes and no," she managed.

"I hope you're proud of yourself," Tawnyetta chimed in. "I know I'm proud of you." She looked at the others for support.

"Yeah, Sofia," Thomas said. "We're all proud of you!"

Luna reached over and threw her arm around her cousin's shoulders. "You're a doctor, girl! That's amazing!"

"I'm a doctor of nothing," Sofia blurted out.

There was a pause, then Thomas said, "I don't think they give those kind of doctorates out."

Sofia laughed, snorted more like it, and they all cracked up. Thomas stood and moved toward her, bending down to give her a sheepish smile and kiss her on top of her head.

Sofia wiped tears of sadness and laughter from her eyes and took a deep breath before admitting, "I don't have a job lined up. I haven't even looked for one...not really."

Her five best friends in the world looked at her, stunned.

"I tried to look for one. I sent out letters...well, some letters." She put her glass heavily down on the potting table. Rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers she said, "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Her friends exchanged worried glances, but none of them had a great idea to throw in her direction. It helped that they were emotionally supporting her with sympathetic silence, but a great job prospect would also have been nice.

A soft knock on the side of the shed brought her out of her miserable reverie. Her mother, soft and round, peeked around the doorway. Her long, greying hair was swept into a stylish bun and a few loose tendrils of it fell sideways as her head stayed tilted to the side. She smiled at them.

"Hija," she said as she looked at Sofia warmly. "Everything okay?"

Sofia nodded assuredly. "Yes, Mama." Again her friends shared glances, but not so much that her mother could see.

Silvia Venegas stepped into the garden shed, effectively filling the only empty space in the center of the crowded little building. "You're all so grown up," she said, fluttering her hand at her throat as if to wave away any emotion that hovered there.

"Oh, Mama," Sofia went to her and gave her a hug. "We're just taking a break from the party. We'll be back out in a minute."

Her mother waved her hand again, but this time in the air as if shooing a pesky fly. "No, no, no, you have fun with your friends. You deserve it." She stood on her tiptoes and gave Sofia a kiss on the cheek. "But I forgot something," she said as she fished around in the wide pocket of her skirt.

"What is it?" Sofia asked.

Her mother pressed a thick envelope into Sofia's hand. For a moment Sofia was afraid it was money and started to refuse. There was no way she was taking any more money from her parents. She stopped short of speaking when she saw that this envelope had been stamped and mailed and was formally addressed to Miss Sofia Venegas. The return address was the official stationary of King's College in London, England.

"It came yesterday and I forgot to give it to you with all of the excitement." Her mother squeezed Sofia's hand. "It looks important."

As she stared at the envelope the heavy oppressive feeling that had wrapped around Sofia for months shifted into something else–a quivering sensation deep in the pit of her stomach, like when she was about to jump off of a diving board, or throw up.

"What's it for?" Luna asked.

"I don't know," Sofia answered.

"Open it," Bridget suggested. "Maybe it's good news."

Everything around her faded into a blurry background as Sofia slipped her nail under the back flap of the envelope. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled a fat packet of papers printed on expensive stationary from the envelope and opened them. A hushed silence hung in the air as she read through the first paragraph once, then twice, to be sure she had read it correctly.

"What is it?" Thomas finally asked for the group, who were all waiting impatiently for what appeared to be big news.

She looked up at them in disbelief. Gripping the letter tightly to make sure she didn't drop it or, worse, allow it to disappear into thin air, she answered, "It's a job offer."

As her friends erupted into congratulations around her, Sofia's nerves peaked again. The letter felt like more than just a job. It felt like a turning point. The problem was, Sofia didn't know what direction it would take her, and if it was the direction she really wanted.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Avery and the Cursed Alpha

Avery and the Cursed Alpha

3.6k Views · Completed · Lyra Lupine
After losing her mother to cancer and drowning in crushing debt, Avery Wellesley is running out of options. Her house is about to be seized, her job is hanging by a thread, and every door she knocks on seems to slam shut in her face.

Then a mysterious billionaire offers her a deal that sounds too good to be true.

Alexander Ravenswood is powerful, wealthy, and feared throughout Tenebrous City. Behind his perfect public image lies a deadly secret. He is the Alpha of the Nocturne Pack, cursed by an ancient bloodline that is slowly driving him toward madness and death. His only hope lies in finding the legendary Aethon Orb—or the prophesied mate destined to save him.

When Alex discovers that Avery can draw symbols connected to the long-lost artifact, he offers her a contract she cannot refuse: become his fake fiancée for six months in exchange for enough money to erase her debts and save her home.

What begins as a business arrangement quickly becomes something far more dangerous.

As they search for the missing Orb, Avery is drawn into a hidden world of werewolves, ancient prophecies, and deadly pack rivalries. Powerful enemies want Alex's throne. A jealous Alpha heiress wants Avery gone. And a ruthless rival Alpha will stop at nothing to claim the Orb for himself.

But the greatest secret of all may be Avery herself.

Because the closer she gets to Alex, the more impossible truths begin to surface about her past, her strange abilities, and the destiny that has been waiting for her all along.

With a curse threatening Alex's life, enemies closing in from every side, and a forbidden bond growing stronger by the day, Avery must decide whether to walk away from the dangerous Alpha who needs her—or risk everything for a love written by fate itself.

In a city where secrets kill and destiny cannot be escaped, can a fake engagement become a love powerful enough to change the future?
Alpha VS Omega' Twin VS Twin (A Dark Werewolf Romance)

Alpha VS Omega' Twin VS Twin (A Dark Werewolf Romance)

1.1k Views · Ongoing · June Calva
Callum Brennan was born to lead London's most powerful werewolf pack. Then his twin brother framed him for murder.
Stripped of everything, Callum is thrown into the Rookeries, where packless wolves go to die. But he survives. He builds a pack from the broken and the damned. He falls in love with Valentina, a dhampir hunted by the same vampire Parliament that destroyed his life.
In a city ruled by immortal aristocrats and controlled by ancient dragons, Callum learns the hardest truth: individual virtue cannot defeat systemic evil. But small victories matter. And some fights are worth losing everything
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

1.5m Views · Ongoing · Louisa
Dear readers, this novel is coming to an end soon. I highly recommend another fantastic story of the same genre:


I’d appreciate all your support, thank you so much!
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
The Dragon's Last Fae Queen

The Dragon's Last Fae Queen

6.6k Views · Ongoing · Sylvia Sylvester
Hidden all her life in the slums of Emberveil, Aerith has one rule: never let the dragons see her eyes. Fae are extinct, hunted, burned, and erased from the kingdom. Or so everyone believes. But on the night of her eighteenth birthday, when her forbidden magic stirs awake and her grandmother falls deathly ill, Aerith breaks the one rule meant to keep her safe. She enters the royal dragon pharmacy… and collides with a werewolf princess who drags her straight to the dungeon. There, in the deepest shadows of the palace, the youngest dragon prince sees her glowing eyes and instantly knows what she is. A fae. A secret the entire kingdom would kill for. What would be her fate? Another dead Fae? Or the Last Dragon's Fae Queen?

“Prince? Dickhead? Asshole? Or stalker?” A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Maybe I should show you the one title I want you to use.” Before I could react, his hand closed around my chin, tilting my face up. His lips crashed into mine, hard, claiming, breath-stealing. When he finally pulled back, his voice was a rough whisper against my lips. “You could call me yours… because you are mine.”
Tempted By The Enemy

Tempted By The Enemy

3.9k Views · Completed · rituparna darolia
Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Van Every is in a dilemma. Her close friend, Sienna, is marrying billionaire, Lucas Donnelly who, along with his brothers, happens to be her older brother, Alex's sworn enemy.
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
Where The Ice Gives Way

Where The Ice Gives Way

28.9k Views · Ongoing · Sheridan Hartin
Charlotte Pierce is used to surviving in motion. New towns, new schools, the same old house on the edge of nowhere, and the same rule that keeps her standing. Keep her twin brother, Charlie safe. Keep his hockey dream alive. Keep her own needs quiet. She works too much, sleeps too little, and saves the one thing that still feels like hers for the middle of the night, when she can lace up her worn skates and carve freedom into dangerous frozen ice. Charlotte and Charlie shifted once, years ago, and never understood what it meant. They had no pack, no guidance and no protection. Just two twins clinging to each other and pretending the voice in their heads was stress, imagination, or loneliness. Then they move to Wellington.
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)

Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Rise of the Banished She-Wolf

Rise of the Banished She-Wolf

418.2k Views · Completed · Lily
"White wolf! Kill that monster!"
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.
From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession

From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession

2.7k Views · Completed · Ellis Carter
"Ten years of atonement, and you flee?"

His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.

"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.

"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."

I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.

"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."

On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.

Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.

From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.

Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.

Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

51.4k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
As a wolfless orphan, Joanne had been abused by Alpha Anthony ever since she was a child. She devoted her entire life to surviving in his pack—until one day, she returned home to find an injured vampire lying in her house, his whole existence luring her in. Taking the risk of bringing him in, Joanne never expected Alpha Anthony to discover it the very next day and finally seize the chance to kill her. Just as Joanne was about to be executed, the vampire she had saved arrived, with his army. And Joanne realized that he was the Prince Alexander, heir to the vampire throne…..
What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)

What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)

3.2k Views · Ongoing · FM Publishing
Loving him will cost them everything…

Not loving him will cost more.

Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.

As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.

Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.

Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.

So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?

Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.

But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.

As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.

Because the heart wants what it wants….

And it never asks permission.

TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior
The Deadly Mafia Princess

The Deadly Mafia Princess

8.7k Views · Ongoing · Tonje Unosen
Ro was taken from her real family when she was 1 year old. Those she believed is her parents have been abusive towards her do years. Despite she being a very feared gang leader of a well known gang, she can’t find it in her to stand up against what she think is her parents. The little girl in her wants their love which she never will get.
Her gang take the matter in their own hands, to try to save their leader from the horror of her home. What none of them know, they wasn’t her real parents, and now Ro will be sent away to live with her real family. That makes her closest members in her gang pack up and move as well. They don’t want to be far away from their leader.
The Spy Who Left

The Spy Who Left

1.3k Views · Completed · Orion Vale
"She's naive. A pretty little socialite who got lucky marrying above her station."
"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.