
Introduction
Elena's act of mercy sparks an ancient vampire bond—the Life Debt—binding their fates together. But what she doesn't know is that Lucian knowingly orchestrated their meeting, and she's a pawn in a dangerous game spanning centuries.
As Elena develops unexpected abilities and learns her own supernatural lineage, she's drawn deeper into Lucian's world of ancient feuds, forbidden magic, and deadly politics. With vampire hunters closing in and secret enemies within the supernatural community, Elena must question everything—including her growing feelings for Lucian.
For in the world of immortals, nothing is as it seems, and the truth behind the Life Debt is darker than Elena could ever think. Will she accept the darkness within herself to save them both, or will Lucian's secrets destroy them?
Chapter 1
Elena stood frozen in the doorway, her champagne glass slipping from her fingers. The crash barely registered as she stared at the scene before her.
Marcus—her boyfriend of two years—had Izzy pressed against the wall of his bedroom. Her best friend since college. The two people she trusted most in the world.
"Elena!" Izzy gasped, pushing Marcus away. Her lipstick was smeared across her mouth. Across his.
Time seemed to slow. The party music from downstairs became a faraway thud as blood rushed in Elena's ears.
"How long?" she whispered, her voice so quiet she could barely hear herself over the rain raging outside the window.
Marcus stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Elena, please—"
"How. Long." Her words came out sharper now, cutting through the air between them.
The guilty look they exchanged told her everything. This wasn't the first time.
Elena backed away, bumping into the door frame. The pain barely registered compared to the heavy weight in her chest. She turned and fled down the hallway, ignoring their calls behind her.
She pushed through the busy living room, past laughing strangers celebrating Marcus's gallery opening. Nobody noticed the tears beginning to form in her eyes. Nobody ever did.
Outside, rain poured from a black sky. Elena didn't care. She stepped into the downpour without pause, glad the rain would hide her tears. Her designer dress—bought especially for tonight—clung to her skin as she walked randomly through the streets of Ravenshore City.
Her phone buzzed repeatedly in her bag. Marcus. Izzy. Their excuses wouldn't matter now. Nothing they could say would fix this hole in her chest.
Elena had always been the one who fixed things. Who survived. After losing her parents at eight years old, she'd bounced between foster homes, learning early that depending on others only led to failure. She'd built walls to protect herself, but somehow, Marcus and Izzy had slipped through.
"Never again," she mumbled to the empty street as rain streamed down her face.
The city lights blurred through her tears, changing streetlamps into hazy stars. She hugged herself against the chill, her soaked dress giving no protection from the wind that cut through Ravenshore's narrow streets.
As she walked, a strange tingling feeling spread from the birthmark on her inner wrist—a spiral pattern she'd had since birth. The mark warmed against her skin, a sharp contrast to the cold rain.
Elena rubbed at it, confused. This had happened before during times of extreme stress—like when her third foster family told her they were sending her away, or when she'd nearly failed her final art exam in college. Those times, she'd experienced what her doctors called "dissociative episodes"—blackouts where minutes or hours disappeared from her memory.
She felt that familiar feeling now—the tunnel vision, the disconnection from her body. The world seemed to fade around the edges.
"Not now," she mumbled, leaning against a brick wall. "Please not now."
The spiral birthmark burned hotter, almost glowing beneath her skin. Elena's vision narrowed further until darkness claimed her fully.
When awareness returned, the rain had stopped.
Elena blinked, confused. She stood in an unfamiliar alley with no knowledge of how she'd gotten there. The small passage between buildings was eerily quiet, as if the entire city held its breath.
Her dress had dried somewhat. How long had she been walking? She checked her phone: 2:37 AM. Nearly three hours since she'd left the party.
"What's happening to me?" she whispered to the empty lane.
That's when she heard it—a painful groan from the shadows ahead.
Common sense screamed at her to turn around, to run back to the safety of streetlights and latenight coffee shops. But something pulled her forward instead, a force she couldn't explain.
A man lay crushed against the brick wall, halfhidden behind a dumpster. Blood pooled beneath him, black in the dim light.
"Hello?" Elena called, her voice echoing against the tight walls. "Are you okay?"
She inched closer, struggling for her phone's flashlight. The beam illuminated the stranger, and Elena gasped.
Despite the blood and dirt, he was incredibly beautiful—sharp cheekbones, ravenblack hair, and eyes that seemed to swallow the darkness around them. His expensive suit was torn, showing deep gashes across his chest and arms.
"Don't... touch me," he warned, his voice a seductive baritone despite his obvious pain. "Just go."
But Elena couldn't move away. Something about him pulled at her—the same unexplained force that had drawn her to this alley in the first place.
"You need help," she said, kneeling beside him. "I'm calling an ambulance."
His hand shot out with surprising strength, grabbing her wrist—right over her birthmark. "No hospitals," he growled.
When their skin touched, Elena's birthmark flared with searing heat. Images flashed through her mind: candlelit halls, old stone chambers, and blood—rivers of blood flowing across marble floors.
She jerked back, but not before spotting something strange. Where the man's fingers had touched her wrist, the spiral birthmark had darkened, its design more defined than ever before.
More troubling still, the wound on his arm—the one closest to where he'd grabbed her—had begun to close.
"What are you?" she whispered.
His dark eyes studied her face with great interest. "I could ask you the same question."
Elena should have been afraid. Every instinct told her to run. But tonight, she'd already lost everything that mattered. What else did she have to fear?
"My apartment is three blocks from here," she heard herself saying. "Can you walk?"
A flash of surprise crossed his features. "Why would you help a stranger?"
Elena thought of all the times she'd needed help—all the times no one had been there. "Because no one helped me when I needed it," she answered honestly.
With effort, she helped him to his feet. He was tall, looming over her fivefootsix frame, and heavier than his lean build suggested. He leaned against her as they stumbled toward the street, his breath ragged against her neck.
"What's your name?" she asked, trying to separate them both from the effort of walking.
He paused, as if weighing whether to tell her the truth. "Lucian," he finally answered. "Lucian Blackthorn."
"I'm Elena Carter."
"I know," he whispered, so quietly she barely heard him.
Before she could ask what he meant, they exited from the alley onto an empty street. The city remained strangely silent, not a car or person in sight. Even the constant fog that shrouded Ravenshore had lifted, showing a night sky dotted with stars.
"Something's wrong," Elena mumbled, the hairs on her arms rising. "The city's never this quiet."
Lucian straightened slightly, searching the darkness with predatory focus. "We need to move. Now."
As if triggered by his words, a low growl sounded from behind them. Elena turned to see a figure at the far end of the street—humanshaped but moving with an animal gait, closing the gap between them with unnatural speed.
"What is that?" she gasped.
Lucian pushed her behind him, despite his injuries. "The reason I was in that alley," he said sadly. "Run, Elena. Don't look back."
But when she turned to flee, two more figures blocked the way ahead, their eyes reflecting the street light like animals. They were trapped.
Lucian cursed under his breath. Then, with moves too fast for Elena to follow, he pulled her against his chest, one arm wrapped around her waist.
"Close your eyes," he ordered.
The world blurred around them. Elena felt a feeling like falling from a great height, the ground vanishing beneath her feet. Wind rushed past her ears, bringing whispers in a language she shouldn't understand but somehow did.
When the world stopped spinning, they stood in a different part of the city. Elena identified her own apartment building across the street.
"How did you—"
"There's no time," Lucian interrupted, his voice stressed. His cuts had reopened, fresh blood staining his suit. "Get inside. Lock your doors. Don't invite anyone in."
"But you're hurt—"
"I'll survive," he said, moving away from her. "I always do."
Elena reached for him, but Lucian was already fading into the shadows, his dark eyes fixed on her with an expression she couldn't read—something between hunger and sorrow.
"This isn't over, Elena Carter," he called softly. "It's only beginning."
Then he was gone, leaving Elena alone on the empty street with nothing but questions and the memory of his touch still burning against her wrist.
Last Chapters
#25 Izzy's Return
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#24 Blood Bond
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#23 Training Montage
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#22 New Allies
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#21 Shadow Council
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#20 Amara's Plan Revealed
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#19 First Kiss
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#18 Growing Powers
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#17 Family History
Last Updated: 3/25/2025#16 Three-Way Chase
Last Updated: 3/25/2025
You Might Like 😍
Surrendering to Destiny
Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.
From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.
Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
The Lycan Prince’s Puppy
“Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.”
—
When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition.
Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate.
Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell.
As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?
Rejected Protector
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate
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..."
Violent Little Thing.
“Angel, you have a filthy fucking mouth”, I whispered low into her ear.
“Luciano…” Finally, an expression on her face. A real one she wasn’t hiding from me. It wasn’t fear though. It was lust. My girl likes this. I pulled her down further so she could feel just how much I was liking it too and the most enchanting gasp came from her mouth while her eyes rolled back for a moment.
————————————————
Do you enjoy a damsel in distress and a knight in shining armour? If so, then this book is not for you. This five foot nothing, FMC, Ariana Salvatore is a ruthless assassin, trained and tortured to be the most deadly weapon. She's got a heart of gold, a filthy mouth and a will to survive. She's on the run from her father's heavy hand and deadly demands. What happens when not one but three powerful mafia men pine for her? Will they be able to share? Will her past catch up to her? And what about her ex fiance? The ruthless, beast of a man her father had arranged for her to marry? This book is a whirlwind of events, violent, spicy and not for the faint hearted.
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.
Letting Go
That fateful night leads to Molly and her best friend Tom holding a secret close to their hearts but keeping this secret could also mean destroying any chance of a new future for Molly.
When Tom's oldest brother Christian meets Molly his dislike for her is instant and he puts little effort into hiding it. The problem is he's attracted to her just as much as he dislikes her and staying away from her starts to become a battle, a battle that he's not sure he can win.
When Molly's secret is revealed and she’s forced to face the pain from her past can she find the strength to stay and work through the pain or will she run away from everything she knows including the one man who gives her hope for a happy future? Hope that she never thought she would feel again.
The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King
"Eyes on me," he growled, voice thick with lust, practically vibrating through me. "I wanna watch you lose it when I make you come."
My climax slammed into me, wild and unstoppable, as he rasped, "That's it, baby."
The next morning, my heart shattered into pieces. There was Scarlett—throwing herself into Jace's arms, her body pressed intimately against his chest, her hands possessively claiming what I thought was mine just hours ago.
Raised by werewolves, human Aria Silverbrook has always lived as an outsider. When her adoptive father flees with her to escape a dangerous Alpha's advances, they find sanctuary with the powerful Moon Shadow Pack. But Aria never expected the overwhelming connection she feels to the pack's mysterious Alpha, Jace Carter—or how his young daughter Aurora instantly claims a piece of her heart.
Jace's royal Primal bloodline makes him exceptional among Alphas, his wolf Phantom towering over others. When Aria enters his territory, something stirs within him. As the Blood Moon approaches, he debates revealing the truth: she is his destined mate who will unlock his full potential.
Near her eighteenth birthday, Aria notices disturbing changes. Her wounds heal unnaturally fast after saving Aurora from a rogue wolf. A strange voice whispers warnings of transformation, while her lifelong wolf-paw birthmark takes on new significance.
Is Aria truly human? What secrets will the Blood Moon reveal? And as she falls deeper for Jace despite jealous pack members threatening their bond, can she embrace a destiny beyond anything she imagined—becoming Luna to a Wolf King?
My Husband Wants An Open Marriage
Julie's world is shattered when her husband, Ryan, reveals that he wants an open marriage. His reason: he needs a child as they've been unable to have one. Julie reluctantly agrees to save her marriage.
The next day, Ryan returns home with his secretary, confirming Julie’s long-held suspicion that their affair was taking place behind her back.
Julie, heartbroken and enraged, seeks solace in a bar, where she meets a fascinating stranger named Luke, who changes the game. Julie confides in Luke over drinks, and he proposes a risky plan: he will act as her "boyfriend" to turn the tables on Ryan.
Julie agrees, setting off a chain of events that will challenge everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself.
Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
"You want me to fuck you, I know it"
"As much as you don't like me, you're my mate and you can't deny it."
He stood up behind me, one hand holding my hip, and leaned down, his breath ragged against my neck, his voice was husky,
"You'll listen to your body... what it wants... and my body... what it needs. Only the pleasure that a small bite can bring."
At the age of 15, I was shocked to hear the ruthless Alpha claim that I was his mate.
To make matters worse, he killed my father, who was trying to protect me. At that time, I successfully ran away from him.
However, when I turned 18, I fell into his trap again.
I hated him and wanted revenge, but the moon goddess had a different plan for me.
I was his mate, and we were fated to be together. No matter the circumstances, my body couldn't resist him.
A pack of their own
The Luna's Vampire Prince
His hand is cool when it brushes a loose curl from my cheek, but I don’t jerk away from him. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It seems like a lot of powerful people want me—dead or alive. And yet, all I can think about right now is how badly I want this vampire’s hands on my body.
I live in a desolate village on the edge of the Vampire King’s lands. This used to be wolf shifter territory, but now, we are just trying to survive.
When I mess up and find myself in a culling, I know I’m dead. No wolf shifters ever survive these events.
And after the stunt I pulled in the middle of the village, Prince Rafe probably wants me dead.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing when a vampire looks at you like you’re a snack?
Something tells me, once I reach the castle, I’ll be missing my miserable existence in the village.
But then—it turns out I have no freaking idea who I even am, and when the royals start referring to me as Princess Ainslee, I realize my life is about to take a turn—for better or worse.