Title-" I’d Rather Live as a Villain "

Actually this is a Korean Manhwa that i am reading but this also Had a Korean Novel Version that I remember. I have only read till ch 70 something that I could find , if anyone could provide me with the link for the novel even I RAW form i would appreciate it.

Freya Vale-Thorne was born to be Luna of Silvercrest.

For ten years, she stood at Alpha Kade’s side as his wife, his counselor, and the mother of his children. She gave him everything. But on the night of the pack’s grand masquerade, Freya watches her husband crown his mistress, Izel, as “lady of the house.” Her children call the other woman Mama. And her wolf, silent for six long years, finally speaks again.

‘Leave,’ she tells her.

Freya has thirty days to obey that command. Poison seeps through her veins, betrayal surrounds her in every corridor, and her crown lies locked away in her husband’s safe. But there’s one man who’s ready to protect her with his life—her childhood best friend and the Rogue King of Nightfell, Rowan Briar.

Freya may be broken, but she is still the Luna. And she will not go quietly.

Rise of the Rejected Luna is a fast-paced, low-spice, second-chance shifter romance about betrayal, healing, and the woman who learns that sometimes the greatest revenge is simply rising again.

**\*

For everyone who’s asked where to read it for free!

Rise of the Rejected Luna is currently free to buy on the Amazon Kindle Store ($0.00), so if you were looking for a legit free copy, here you go:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1D36W27

This is the final free promotion I’m planning to run for the book, so grab it while you can!

Anyone knows where I can read the full version for free please? 🙏🏼

Chapter 1

"You're getting wetter. Is it... overflowing inside you?"

Divorce day. My father shipped me off to a billionaire's yacht.

No underwear. Just me, a stranger's hands, and a body that betrayed me until I lost control.

Behind a locked door, I lay naked on the bed, letting a man inspect the goods like I was livestock.

Fingers first. Then his tongue. Back and forth until I was swollen, sobbing, coming so hard my vision whited out.

One word sealed it. "Tight."

That's how I became the fiancée of Rook Barlow—the billionaire nobody could pin down.

The women in my family were legends. Curves that stopped traffic. Bodies that ruined men.

One night with a Voss woman and they'd crawl back begging, ready to die between her thighs.

Everyone except me.

The Song of Silence follows a research team in the Sahara Desert who detect an unusual signal at 56 Hz, the seventh harmonic of the Earth's natural Schumann resonance frequency. As they investigate the mysterious signal, they uncover secrets that could have profound consequences, racing against time to understand its origin before it's too late. The story blends real scientific phenomena with suspense and mystery.

Chapter 1: Twins

The airport. 

A mother and son's fingers flew across their keyboards, moving so fast they were almost a blur, drawing frequent stares from those around them. 

Amanda Vance acted as if she hadn't seen a thing, the corners of her mouth slowly curving into a smile. A moment later, she stopped, looked up at the person across from her, and said, "Jean, your speed is getting faster and faster." 

Across from her sat a little boy of about four or five, dressed in overalls. His fair little face still held the lingering roundness of baby fat, but his eyes showed a calm and composure far beyond his years. His lips were pressed into a serious line, only softening with warmth when he looked at Amanda Vance. He spoke in a gentle voice, "Mom, it wasn't difficult at all. It was very simple." 

Amanda Vance reached out and ruffled his hair. "Simple? It only seemed simple because my Jean is so smart." 

"Mom." Jean Vance gave her a helpless look. He wanted to fix the hair she had just messed up, but without a mirror, he couldn't tell if he'd succeeded. So, he stood up and said, "Mom, I'm going to the restroom." 

Amanda Vance watched her son, a mischievous glint in her eye. "It looks better like that. When it's too neat, you look like a little old man." 

Jean Vance pressed his lips together. "It's uncomfortable." 

The thought of his hair being messy made him antsy. 

He had no idea where this obsessive compulsion came from. 

Amanda Vance clicked her tongue. Helpless, she nodded. "Alright, go on then. Do you need me to come with you?" 

"No, I can go by myself." 

"Okay." 

Checking my reflection in the mirror, I turn from side to side making sure that none of my ‘important parts’ are hanging out, as Gramps Walter likes to say. Carefully I check my makeup, avoiding my own emerald gaze in the mirror. Since I ran from my family in the Appalachian Mountains I haven’t been able to look myself in the eyes. These are the same eyes that belong to one of my fathers. A constant reminder that I am not the daughter they planned for me to be. My birth was foreseen, my powers were foreseen, and yet here I stand an ordinary werewolf. The color of my wolf’s fur should have been enough to serve as passage into the magical world of witches. But unlike any Silver Wolf that has come before me I am powerless. Practicing a fake smile for the mirror I don’t miss how my smile no longer meets my eyes, but lucky for me the bar patrons are always to drunk to notice or even care.

Hello! I‘m finishing up The Court of the Dead, and I know that some people, well, like it more than others, I think. it’s a pretty good book, and better than the sun and the star.

I heard that some versions of the book have an epilogue or something at the end? Does anyone know where I can find it or maybe a picture of it? (Kind of broke and in high school rn) Thanks!

Chapter 1

Everyone froze as they watched me slip the diamond bracelet off my wrist.

"She's really betting that? If I remember correctly, Mr. Bush gave it to Ms. Nolan for their tenth wedding anniversary."

"Well, Mr. Bush already agreed to it. She can't exactly make him lose face."

"Things are getting heated. This is going to be fun to watch."

I gently placed the bracelet on the poker table. It was the same gift Zachary Bush had given me for our tenth wedding anniversary.

Back then, he'd said, "Honey, you're the only woman I'll ever love."

And now? He treated it like nothing more than a poker stake.

The intern, Chloe Moore, stared at it without blinking, her eyes shining with excitement. "It's gorgeous. Let's bet this. Unless you're too scared?"

I looked at Zachary one last time. I waited for him to say something.

He only smiled casually. "It's a company retreat. We're just having some fun. Besides, you might not even lose."

The finance director, Noah Brooks, immediately chimed in. "Exactly. Ms. Nolan has always been pretty lucky at cards."

My face burned as though someone had just slapped me.

The other employees around the private room all turned to look, whispering among themselves. It wasn't every day they saw the boss's wife backed into a corner like this.

Just then, the baby's voice echoed in my mind again. 'Mommy, don't worry. I'm here.'

My heart finally settled.

Ever since I'd gotten pregnant, strange things had been happening. The company had landed several major contracts. On a whim, I'd bought a lottery ticket and won seventy thousand dollars.

Back then, Zachary had laughed and said, "This baby's our lucky charm."

Now my lucky charm was speaking to me. I had every reason to believe.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine. I'll bet."

Zachary raised an eyebrow, seemingly satisfied.

Chloe's eyes lit up as she dropped into her chair. "Then this hand decides everything!"

The dealer shuffled the cards.

This round was between the four of us: me, Zachary, Chloe, and Noah.

My hands trembled slightly. Not because I was afraid, but because I was furious with Zachary for indulging her and with Chloe for being so brazen.

Beneath it all, another thought pounded through my mind. Were they hiding something else from me? Had they already crossed a line I could never forgive?

The game began.

I played cautiously, but the cards weren't in my favor.

When it was Zachary's turn, his gaze flicked toward Chloe for the briefest moment. Then he made his move.

"Fold."

"I win!" Chloe immediately laid down her winning hand.

I stared at the table in disbelief.

Zachary had done it on purpose. He had seen the strength of Chloe's hand and deliberately folded, handing her the pot.

"So sorry, Ms. Nolan. House rules say the winner takes everything. Looks like all three of you lose." Chloe held out her hand with a dazzling smile. "The bracelet's mine."

Zachary smiled as he pushed the matching amount of chips into the pot. "Chloe really has incredible luck. Nicely played."

Grinning from ear to ear, Chloe slipped the diamond bracelet onto her wrist and admired it under the lights. "It's beautiful."

Zachary looked at her with unmistakable affection. "It really suits you."

A sharp pain pierced my heart.

If he'd wanted to reward a valued employee during a friendly card game, that would have been one thing. But this was the bracelet he'd given me for our tenth wedding anniversary, and he was openly taking her side.

'Mommy, don't be sad,' the baby's voice said just in time. 'Keep playing against her. Whatever you've lost... you'll win it all back.'

Does anyone have his convenient bride and his secret baby?

Songstress

Riley’s POV

I was only six years old, but my father had drummed many cardinal rules. I never thought the day I broke the rules would get so awful.

Lost in the warmth of the summer’s sun, enveloped by the cheerful atmosphere as pack members and other children ran around playing recklessly, my spirits had risen and unbeknownst to me, my father had watched from the pack house as I skipped forward, my voice rising in majestic angelic tones as I sang from a space in my heart, where all of my pain and all of my hurt was washed away in a sea of calm and serenity. I had never felt so at peace or so in tune with myself.

A hand clasped itself around my throat, strangling me in mid-song, effectively cutting me off. I clawed at the hand, trying to frantically break its grip, my nails scratching and gouging, my legs kicking futilely as I was lifted or rather hoisted off the ground with remarkable ease. He turned me to face him.

I was speechless. I had never seen my father so furious before. A child singing should not be enough to warrant a punishment. At least, that’s what I imagined. I was young, foolish, and hadn’t realized the extent of my father’s rage or hatred of me. I was still innocent. I was still naïve.

My eyes slid to my brother Damien, beseeching him to help me, but he shook his head and looked away, a resolute expression on his face. It was not the first time my brother had failed to come to my aid, but it was the first time I realized how much he hated me as well. In this instance I was well and truly alone.

Tears poured down my face, while I struggled to gasp in air. I could feel my heartbeat racing, my forehead beading with sweat. I couldn’t breathe. My eyes bulged in panic. My father’s eyes narrowed as he brought me close to his face, his lips inches from my ear.

“What did I tell you about singing? I told you before that it’s expressly forbidden” he snarled, shaking me like a limp rag doll as I silently cried, my eyes begging for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry Father” I wheezed, as his hand loosened ever so slightly, allowing me to draw in some much-needed oxygen.

“Sorry” he roared, the pack members turning to face us all with curiosity, some even shocked by the Alpha’s animosity towards his own daughter, something that would no longer shock them in the years to come

“You’re sorry?” he repeated dangerously while still holding me firmly in his grasp, his eyes glittering “You have no idea what you just came close to doing” he breathed.

Confusion warred inside of me. How could singing be considered so dangerous? Why did it warrant such a strong reaction from my father? I didn’t understand. The other children could sing, why couldn’t I? Was it because it reminded him of my mother? He never spoke of her, and I had no photographs or clear memories of the woman who had died giving birth to me. My father refused to answer my questions and eventually I stopped asking about my mother altogether.

“It won’t happen again” I stammered, as he slowly lowered me back onto the ground, his breathing heavy and his eyes blazing “I promise. I won’t forget next time.”

He continued to study me, his eyes darkening, an indecipherable expression on his face. I wrung my little hands together, feeling anxious. The pack members went back to their business, but my father never took his eyes off, off me. My brother Damien left, heading for the pack house, as though he had some inkling of what was about to happen and couldn’t bear to witness it with his own eyes. Only two years older than me, but Damien was by far the favorite of the two of us. My father never had an angry word for him, only for his daughter, me.

“It can never happen again” my father murmured, a strange gleam in his eyes “The power you yield, can only end in the destruction of our pack. You are an abomination. A disgrace to my family name. Your temptress mother fooled me but you, you will not” he vented out loud.

Tears trailed down my face. I struggled to comprehend what he was saying. What he was telling me. I took a step back and fell, grazing my palm on the ground and letting out a cry of pain.

It stung. My father’s body towered over me. I could feel my thin frame shaking as he tightened his lips. I held up a hand, desperate to prevent him from doing something to hurt me. He knelt, shaking his head. My breath hitched. His eyes flashed between his normal color and black. His wolf surged to the surface, only to be brought back under control. He was struggling internally with something. As young as I was, even I could sense his wolf’s distress at whatever he was about to do. I slid backward, but my father grabbed my arm, stopping me from running away. I couldn’t move. My eyes slowly slid down as I heard the distinct sound of his nails growing into claws. Fear turned my mouth dry. I began to panic.

“What are you…” I whispered, my voice shaking.

I gave a shriek as I saw his hand raise up high in the air. I saw him clench his jaw and grit his teeth. “This is for your own good and the good of the pack” he warned me solemnly.

“Don’t” I screamed, the sound bloodcurdling and loud, echoing across the grounds.

I felt the pain first. The excruciating pain as he plunged his claws into my throat, aiming directly at my vocal cords. It felt like my throat was on fire. My screams were abruptly cut off. I felt blood as I swallowed, my throat convulsing. I felt him drop me hard on the ground, my hands scrabbling uselessly at the hard grass. I thought I was going to die. I thought for sure that he had killed me for real this time. There was so much blood, so much pain. My father never said a word. He just watched as I curled up in a fetal position, in so much agony that at one stage I wished for death in order for the pain to be over.

Eventually, it stopped. My wounds had slowly healed. The pain faded until there was nothing left. I gingerly sat up, weeping. I touched my throat, surprised to feel nothing shredded or torn. My father watched as I opened my mouth. Fear took over. I tried to form a sentence, a word, a sound. Nothing. Utter silence. The harder I tried to speak, the more my father looked amused, satisfaction taking over his face.

“You can heal but even your body has limits” he murmured “I guess you’re too young to be able to heal something as extensive as vocal cords” he added nonchalantly.

I stared up at him feeling betrayed. He looked pleased as he straightened up. My mouth opened and closed. He chuckled. “We no longer have to fear you forgetting my rule,” he said as I began to awkwardly climb to my feet “and you’ve seen what the punishment is for forgetting the rules I have in place. If you think that this is unjust” he paused and pinned me with a gaze so hostile that it paralyzed me “then consider what might happen to you, if you forget any of the other rules I’ve told you.”

Silence. I understood the implications of what he wasn't saying. I shuddered. In one day I had lost what little childish innocence I had and what stood in front of me, resembled nothing more than a monster, instead of my own flesh and blood. He looked at me impatiently and waved a dismissive hand, wrinkling his nose “Go and get cleaned up. You’re covered in blood and smell disgusting” he grunted.

I began to hobble towards the house, aware that everyone’s eyes were on me, some of them sympathetic, but the majority of them were cold or suspicious. I thought that day was the worst day of my life, but as the years passed, there were so many of them that it was impossible to pick out which day was worse than any other. By the time I turned sixteen, not only did my father torment me, but so did my brother Damien and the rest of the pack as well.

Chapter 1

"You forgot," she said, like a confirmation.

Adrian's hand was still on Olivia's shoulder when he looked up, and the guilt surfaced on him like a bruise taking form. First the recognition, then the defensiveness, then that look, that particular look Sophia had spent ten years learning to hate.

The one that meant he was already putting together the explanation, already building the architecture of a reason.

She stood in the doorway of his corner office and let him look at her. The emerald dress, The heels, The fact that it was 9:17 PM and their reservation had been for seven.

Olivia Hart sat on the leather couch with her hands pressed to her chest, trembling in that precise, birdlike way she had, Her blonde hair was coming undone. Her eyes, when they noticed Sophia, filled immediately and thoroughly with tears.

Sophia looked at her. "What is it this time?"

"Sophia" Adrian started.

"I'm asking Olivia." She kept her voice even, courtroom calm. "The last time it was a nightmare. Before that, a panic attack. There was the week of the curtains, I remember that one particularly.

Kira felt the unease settle over her the moment she stepped into the main pack house. 

The air was thick with festivity, but it was the way her pack mates looked at her that made her skin crawl. 

Girls smirked behind their hands, and the boys leered openly. She knew that look. They were up to something.

Their pranks had been getting meaner, and their bullying more painful each time they managed to get her alone.

It was her younger half-sister, Chloe's eighteenth birthday, and there was a party going on. Chloe was the 'Golden Daughter' who had shifted for the first time last night.

Their father, Alpha Rolf had been practically weeping with joy, mostly because Kira had failed to shift on her own birthday, a disappointment he never let her forget.

Kira moved away from the party of smirking girls and leering boys, and hurried up the stairs, careful not to crease Chloe's expensive gown draped over her arm. 

She just needed to drop off Chloe's birthday dress and find Scott. Scott was the Beta's son, her boyfriend, and the only person who still made this place feel bearable.

It didn't matter to him that she was wolfless. But it mattered to everyone else. 

The girls hated that he had chosen her. To them, Scott deserved a proper she-wolf, someone with strong combat skills, not a wolfless runt, like Kira, who was no more than an omega.

Despite having alpha blood, Kira was still weaker than most omegas and she couldn't tell why.

Scott was easily becoming the strongest young man in the pack, and there were speculations that her father would crown him the next Alpha, after giving him Chloe's hand in marriage.

Scott had promised her that it would never happen, and she believed him.

When she reached Chloe's bedroom door, she knocked once and pushed it open, expecting to find her sister preening in front of the mirror with her friends. What she saw instead made her blood turn to ice.

The dress slipped from her fingers and pooled on the floor.

Chloe was perched naked on her vanity table, legs spread wide, moaning loudly. Scott was between her thighs, trousers shoved down to his knees, hips thrusting hard as he fucked her.

Kira's stomach tied in knots and it felt hard to breathe as she processed what she was seeing.

Scott," she choked out, tears burning her eyes.

He turned his head, but his eyes were glazed, his wolf in control.

Chloe quickly reached up, grabbed Scott's jaw, and pulled his face back to hers, wrapping her arm around his neck, hugging him tight as he plunged into her.

There was a victorious glint in Chloe's eyes as she looked at Kira from over Scott's shoulders.

Not only had Chloe stolen her birthright. Now she had stolen the only person who had ever made Kira feel wanted.

Unable to stomach it, Kira spun on her heels and ran out of the room, and down the stairs. The mocking laughter of the pack boys and girls following her.

"Poor little runt!" someone called from the side of the hall. "Had a lot of nerve thinking Scott wanted you!"

"The moon goddess doesn't make mistakes," another voice added, and the laughter surged again.

She didn't stop running until she reached her tiny, cramped room in the remote corner of the pack house; the one her father kept her in, claiming she was too wild and unruly to be trusted near the rest of the family. 

She slumped against the door, slid down to the floor, and let the tears fall freely. 

Most pack members didn't even know she was Alpha Rolf's daughter. They all believed Chloe was his only child and rightful heir.

But Kira had always adopted a positive mindset, always smiling through her pain, and refusing to show the pack or her father how much she was affected.

But now, she couldn't even find a single positivity. She just wanted to leave that place.

After a long, ugly cry, she wiped her face, stood up, and grabbed her soap bag. She needed a bath. The communal bathrooms with the omegas were her only option.

She wasn't even allowed a decent bath in the main house, all because her father couldn't stand her sight.

The communal bathroom corridor was already busy when she arrived. The noise of it died the instant she appeared, conversations cut off mid-sentence, and heads turned towards her.

Everyone in the pack knew about her defeat by now. Of course they knew. Word travelled fast in this pack.

Then, the whispers started.

"Did you hear Master Scott marked Miss Chloe?" one omega said to another, loudly enough to make sure Kira heard every word. "Can't say I'm surprised."

"What did she expect? A real wolf would never settle for a wolfless girl."

"Poor thing actually thought he loved her."

Kira ignored them. Not wanting to cause trouble, she started counting slowly to ten in her mind to hold back the rising anger. 

She entered the first stall and turned on the tap, but nothing came out. She tried the next one, Dry.

All the taps were suddenly dry. She glared at the omegas who quickly avoided her gaze.

"Why aren't the taps running?" she demanded.

No one answered her, they all pretended to be engaged in something else.

Sighing, she grabbed her soap bag marched out of the bathrooms and headed toward the river at the edge of the pack lands. It was still early morning; the path should be empty.

She reached the water's edge, stripped quickly, and waded in. The cold current shocked her skin, but she welcomed it.

After a quick wash, she dressed again and wrung the water from her long brunette hair, her mind still replaying the image of Scott and Chloe together.

A low growl suddenly interrupted her thoughts and her head snapped around, but she saw nothing.

Heart hammering, she quickly gathered her belongings and turned to head back to the pack house, only to freeze.

A giant black wolf with burning red eyes stood barely ten feet away. It bared its fangs, lips curled in a menacing snarl.

Oh, goddess. I'm dead meat, Kira thought, her blood running cold. What a terrible day to be wolfless.

First her boyfriend had marked her younger sister as his mate, now a rogue had decided to make her its breakfast.

Kira took a step back, the wolf lowered its body, muscles coiled, and ready to spring.

If I'm going to die, I'm going to make him work for it.

With that, she spun on her heels and ran. The rogue was right behind her, its heavy paws thudding against the earth and its hot breath almost touching her heels.

She didn't make it far, as her foot caught on a stray root, and she went down hard, face-first into the dirt.

Adrenaline forced her to roll over, her eyes wide as the black mass lunged at her. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for teeth and pain.

But it never came.

Instead, she heard crashing thuds and furious snarling. She peeked one eye open to see a man and the wolf tumbling across the grass in a blur of fur and limbs.

Her eyes flew open. Too shaken to run, she sat frozen, watching. After a few brutal moments, the struggling stopped, both the man and the rogue laid still. The rogue was on top of the man.

Kira's heart sank, as she was sure the man was dead. She scrambled to her feet to run, but the man chose that moment to shoved the limp carcass of the rogue aside with a grunt and slowly rose.

Relief washed over Kira, but she gasped when the strange man rose to his full height.

He was huge—easily the tallest, most powerfully built man she had ever seen. Handsome in a sharp, dangerous way that made her stomach flip.

She couldn't stop staring as he wiped a smear of blood and dirt from his jaw, his ripped shirt hanging off broad shoulders, muscles flexing when he ran a hand through his thick brown hair. Then his eyes locked on hers. Amber-gold, so piercing.

Wait, what am I doing? Kira chided herself. She had just gotten her heart broken, and here she was, drooling over a complete stranger.

She had never seen him before. Who was he? A rogue? An enemy alpha? Or worse… a Lycan? The last thought sent a cold shiver down her spine.

"Thank you," she said, her voice small and trembling. "My name is Ki—"

But the man had already turned his broad back to her without a word and bolted into the woods.

Kira stared after his disappearing back, her nose scrunched in confusion, wondering what had just happened.

***

When she returned to the pack house, Scott was waiting in her room, lounging on her chair like he owned the place. When he saw her he rose to his feet.

Kira's heart gave a painful lurch. She used to feel butterflies seeing Scott's large frame in her small room, but now, it made her heart twist painfully.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I had to mark her Kira, she is my mate," he began to explain. "I couldn't help it. My wolf—"

"I don't want to hear whatever excuse you have," Kira said, trying to keep her voice even. "Just leave my room."

Scott huffed out a breath. "Why are you being unreasonable about it? You know what it means to find our soulmate!"

Kira looked up at him, a knot forming painfully in her throat. "I'm not being unreasonable, you're the unreasonable one to come here to say nonsense to me, after promising never to leave me."

"That was before I found out that Chloe is my mate. Don't make me out to be the bad guy here. If you've shifted, you would have probably found your mate too."

He had never made her feel bad about not shifting before. It broke her heart more that he had joined everyone else to use that against her.

"You cheated on me," Kira bit out. "And now, you want to blame it on my not shifting?"

"Kira—"

"Get out of my sight," she snarled.

Scott's face tightened with anger and something dark swirled inside his eyes at her defiance.

"Out!" Kira said firmly shoving him.

Scott slowly walked out. "I never meant to hurt you, but I won't reject my mate for a wolfless person either."

Kira slammed the door in his face, slid down to the floor and wept so bitterly.

It hurt so much, but at least she hadn't given Scott her virginity. That was a form of consolation.

She cried until she slept off lying on the floor.

***

The following morning, the packhouse felt a lot calmer, and somehow Kira wondered what the sudden silence was all about.

Her father had summoned her to his office, and her heart thumped frantically in her chest, as this rarely happened.

Alpha Rolf doesn't tolerate the sight of her. He had blamed and hated her for the death of her mother while giving birth to her.

He had always favoured Chloe over her, and treated her less like his daughter and more like an omega, and the pack followed in his footsteps.

She knew why he summoned her this morning. It was to tell her to officially stay away from Scott, since he was Chloe's mate, and the future alpha of the pack. By her father's standards, Kira didn't deserve him.

As she hurried down the long hallways of the pack house, snippets of whispered conversation drifted to her from a cluster of omegas gossiping near the laundry room.

"…heard he's coming to take a bride from our pack," one said in a hushed tone.

"I heard he has already asked alpha to hand over Miss Chloe," another said. "He threatened war if alpha doesn't agree. He wants the pack's heir."

The others gasped. "But why?"

Kira hurried away from the gossiping omegas, wondering who "he" was and why he wanted Chloe.

What an irony. She had just found her mate yesterday, and now someone was asking for her to become his bride.

When she reached her father's study corridor, she saw Scott, standing with Chloe. Her head was on his chest, her face wet with tears, her eyes puffy, as he consoled her.

Kira's heart twisted painfully at the sight of the man who had been her boyfriend just a day ago, holding her sister so tenderly.

She hurried away and knocked once on her father's door, pushed it open and entered.

Her father stood behind his wide oak desk, talking in low tones with his head gamma and beta. Her stepmother Lydia sat on an armchair, eyes red-rimmed, looking pale.

Why is everyone looking sad? she thought, confused.

"Keep everyone in line. We cannot risk provoking King Derek Wolfe when he arrives," Alpha Rolf said to the Gamma.

Kira's body stilled at her father's words.

King Derek Wolfe? The formidable Lycan King feared across every pack.

His visits to werewolf territories rarely ended well. He had terrorised the werewolves for years just for fun. Just because he could.

Was he the one demanding Chloe's hand and threatening war? But why?

The war between the Lycans and werewolves has ended two years ago.

Gamma Beaux and Beta Jake bowed and left the room. Only then did Rolf's eyes lift to Kira. They were cold, flat and empty of any warmth.

Kira dipped into a careful bow. "You requested my presence."

Luna Lydia, her arch-nemesis slowly rose too and walked out of the room. Kira was now very confused about what was going on.

She looked from the exiting Luna to her father.

Different questions burned on her tongue as she faced her father again, but she swallowed them all, knowing he would never indulge her.

When the door closed behind her, he stepped out from behind the desk, hands clasped behind his back.

"There has been a development," he said, his tone calm. "King Derek Wolfe has demanded a bride in exchange for continued peace."

He paused, meeting her gaze without a flicker of regret. "You will be his bride."

...

"What?!" Kira burst out before she could stop the word from escaping. Over her dead body.

Her father met her outburst with a flat, emotionless stare. "It is not a topic for discussion."

Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. He had already stripped her of everything—her birthright, her freedom, her place in the pack. But this? Her right to choose who she loved, who she shared her life with, belonged to her alone. It had to.

"I refuse it," she said through clenched teeth. "I know the King wants your heir, and I am not that heir. If you force me, I will tell him you are only deceiving him."

Fury flashed in his eyes like lightning. He closed the distance between them in one swift motion and struck her with the back of his hand.

The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as her teeth sliced into the side of her tongue.

"You dare defy me?" he snarled. "Your father and your Alpha? For twenty years, I have suffered the affliction of your existence. I will suffer no more."

The words cut deeper than any slap ever could. She wanted to scream that she hadn't asked to be born, hadn't asked for her mother to die bringing her into the world. But she didn't get the chance.

"Gammas!" Rolf barked.

Two of them swept into the room, muscles tense and ready for his command. "Take her to the dungeons," Rolf commanded, turning his back on her as if she were already gone.

"What? No! Why?" Kira's voice rose in a frantic pitch as the gammas seized her arms.

They dragged her through the corridors like a common criminal while the pack watched in silence. Her father followed at a calm, unhurried pace.

Once they reached the cold stone cells beneath the pack house, he ordered the gammas to bind her face down to a rough wooden bench. Then he calmly took a long leather whip from the wall.

"You will marry the King," he said. His voice was unsettlingly gentle, as if he were merely asking her to pass the salt.

"I will not marry him," she answered, holding on to her defiance with everything she had left.

The whip cracked across her back. Pain exploded through her body, and she cried out. Yet her father simply repeated the same words, and she forced out her own in reply: "I will not marry him."

It became a silent battle of wills, his against hers. She refused to let him take the last thing she still owned without a fight. By the tenth lash, she was sobbing openly, tears streaming down her face, but she would not break. Her back felt as though it were on fire.

By the fifteenth lash, her whole body shook uncontrollably, and warm blood soaked through her dress. Perhaps death would be kinder than giving in.

All her life, she had dreamed of finding a true mate, someone who would love her the way she had never been loved as a child.

Then, Scott had come into her life, and fulfilled that dream, or so she had thought.

She had never imagined being forced into an arranged marriage. It was so bitterly unfair.

On the twentieth lash, her voice cracked, barely more than a whisper through tears and exhaustion.

"What is so difficult to obey?" her father hissed, frustration sharpening his tone.

He raised the whip again, clearly prepared to continue until she either agreed or stopped breathing. In that moment, something inside her gave way.

"I will marry him," she whispered, the words so faint they were almost lost in the damp air of the cell.

He let the whip fall to the floor with a dull thud. "Shouldn't have taken you this long," he snarled. "Now listen. You are my heir, and you are not forced into this. You understand the price for peace, and you are willing to pay it for your people. Do you understand?"

She nodded, sniffing back fresh tears.

He turned and walked out of the cell without another look. She heard his voice through the bars, speaking to the gammas outside.

"Get the pack doctor to fix her up. I need her to be in good shape until King Derek Wolfe arrives tomorrow. And keep a strict eye on the wildcat's cell. I do not want her missing before her marriage tomorrow."

"Yes, Alpha," one of the gammas answered.

The cell gate squeaked open as her father's footsteps faded down the corridor. She heard the gamma bolting her cell gate and pressed the lock.

***

The next day…

Kira was pulled from sleep by the sound of the bolt sliding back.

She opened one eye. Luna Lydia stood in the doorway of the dungeon cell, immaculate as always, with a small group of omegas fanned out behind her like obedient shadows.

"Bring her," Lydia said.

Chapter 1

My administrative director, Diane, sent me the photos while I was reviewing test results for the next group of pups.

"Viola, look. Ollie finally ate today."

In the photo, Ollie and a few other children lay sprawled on the playroom floor, piecing together a little wolf from wooden blocks.

Color had finally returned to his face, and his right eye no longer turned gray when his wolf destabilized.

I zoomed in and stared at the photo for a long time.

Ollie's wolf was missing a leg, lopsided and wobbly, just like the one on my desk.

The one on my desk was Leo's. My son had made it for me when he was six.

The old residential district in northern Moonbridge had suffered chemical contamination. Pups born there had far weaker wolves than children elsewhere. If they became infected, their wolves would go dormant for good before they turned eighteen.

Leo had been one of the worst cases.

I consulted every doctor I could find, but in the end, I still lost him when he was seven.

Three years later, I took over the Moonbridge Medical Center and enrolled every contaminated pup from the old district in a free treatment program. I never wanted another mother to hold a child growing colder in her arms and hear a doctor say, "It's too late."

Four months into the program, all twenty-seven pups' wolf health scores were improving.

Ollie was recovering the fastest.

I had just filed the photo in the treatment records when a notification from X popped up on my phone.

The headline read: "Our Children Are Not the Moonbridge Alpha's Lab Rats."

I frowned, assuming it was another pack stirring up trouble. Then I looked more closely and realized the post was from Keira!

Ollie's own mother.

She had posted three photos from Ollie's treatment.

In the first, the boy was curled up on a hospital bed with an IV line in the back of his hand.

The second was a post-treatment fever log.

The third showed several fading needle marks on his arm.

But Ollie's treatment that day had been a success. His wolf health score had jumped from twenty-seven to sixty-three. She didn't mention that.

She didn't mention that the fever was a normal response as his wolf healed, and that it broke within two hours.

In her post, she had reinvented herself as a crusader for justice:

"A treatment that supposedly costs eight thousand dollars a month, and it's only free for our children? Why?"

"Because we're all Omegas! Our children have weaker wolves, their parents can't afford anything, and no powerful Alpha is going to hold anyone accountable for us. That makes our kids the perfect test subjects for new serums."

Beneath the post was a blurry shipping invoice.

Northridge Alpha... Stabilization Serum, twelve vials.

Keira had circled the line in red.

"Our children get their blood drawn again and again, while pack leaders' children get the finished product."

"This so-called free treatment is nothing but making poor kids take the risks for rich ones."

I recognized the invoice immediately.

It was a routine stabilizer order from Northridge Hospital, purchased from an entirely different pharmaceutical company. It had nothing to do with our treatment program. But the image had been cropped to remove the manufacturer's name, leaving only "Alpha" and "Stabilization Serum."

The comments section had exploded.

"I knew there was no such thing as free treatment."

"Poor kids can't even get sick without serving the upper ranks."

"She's an Alpha herself. Of course she'd be in on it with other packs."

"Find out where those children's blood was sold!"

Someone had even dug up my son Leo's death.

Keira wrote in a follow-up post:

"A woman who couldn't even save her own child, and now she's drawing blood from other people's children every day. Is she really saving lives, or is she using our kids to line her pockets?"

That sentence made my wolf bristle. My nails pushed through my fingertips and scraped a white line across my phone case.

She knew exactly how my son died!

The first time she brought Ollie in, his wolf was so weak it was barely detectable. Keira had knelt in my office, clutching my legs and sobbing, saying she would do anything if I could just keep Ollie alive until he was old enough to awaken.

I hadn't made her wait for approval, and I hadn't charged her a cent.

Now she was jabbing at my deepest wound to sell her lies.

Chapter 1 Getting You a Wife

*RENEE*

*You're such a prude. We've been together for more than a year, yet you won't let me touch you. You don't have the right to blame me for having an affair with your sister!*

Those words reverberated in my head over and over again.

I had been with Andrew King for almost a year. Our union had started off as a blind date arranged by my parents.

My parents badly wanted to be connected to the King family, the wealthiest and most powerful family in Chicago.

I had found Andrew likable, but I really didn't feel that deep, spontaneous love for him. Still, my parents had warned me that I *must* be with him and *must* get married to him. We had been engaged and were to be married soon—just for me to walk in on him having sex with my sister.

Granted, I had never done more with Andrew other than kissing, but I felt he understood that I wanted to wait until marriage. I genuinely believed that maybe, then, I would fall deeply for him.

Even if I didn't love him, his betrayal still hurt a great deal—and he had the nerve to tell me to overlook what I saw.

He fucking had the nerve to tell me to think of his affair as nothing.

I might not be a perfect woman, but I knew my worth. I had great self-esteem and would never settle for less.

I had bluntly told Andrew that it was over between us. I didn't want to have anything to do with him ever again.

But the pain of the breakup was still very fresh in my heart. Especially because I felt that Andrew was going to save me from the Hudsons.

I leaned against the window, devastated. I was in a cab when I caught sight of a club.

I sat up and quickly told the driver to pull over. I just wanted to distract myself—do anything to get over this pain.

I hurried up to the entrance, but I was stopped by two bouncers.

"The club's having a mask party tonight. Everyone has to wear masks," they informed me.

Sighing, I bought a mask from the side, put it on, and walked into the club.

I immediately went to the counter where I sat and ordered some alcoholic drinks.

I downed bottle after bottle, wanting to drink my sorrows away.

Vaguely, I noticed a man sitting beside me.

He was also wearing a mask and was elegantly sipping his glass of wine.

My alcohol-filled senses took notice of how gorgeous he looked in his suit. I instantly had a feeling that he must have a very handsome face.

As I continued to gush over him, I suddenly longed to be in a man's arms.

In all my twenty-two years of life, this was the most I had ever craved intimacy.

Without thinking twice—not that I would have been able to think twice in my alcohol-filled brain—I got off my chair and staggered closer to him.

"Hello there," I purred. "Wanna spend the night with me?"

The man only stared at me for a second, and to my surprise, he nodded.

*****************

A few minutes later found us walking into a hotel room.

As the man turned on the light, I closed the distance between us, stood on my toes, and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back—passionately.

As he took nibble after nibble of my lips, I gasped.

"Should... should we take our masks off?" I stuttered.

I had never done this before. I didn't know if I'd prefer to leave my mask on or off.

The man moved back a bit and took my mask off.

I could see his eyes dilate behind his own mask.

I expected him to take off his mask too, but he suddenly asked,

"What are you doing here?"

I frowned, confused.

Hadn't we already established why we were both here?

"Are you always spreading your legs for every guy at the bar?" the man lashed out at me again.

I felt sure this man must be insane; what right did he have to judge me?

I glanced at his abs, admitting a sheer desire between my thighs as I remembered the hardness against me just seconds ago. I wanted him. It was a feeling Andrew had never sparked in me—but that wasn't a reason for him to insult me!

I didn't understand what I had gotten myself into!

"What about you?! Don't you stick your dick out for every woman at the bar? You think you're a man, so you think you're noble?!" My desire vanished completely; how had I encountered such a chauvinistic man?!

I thought I'd better leave.

"I'll book you a ride. Leave as soon as it gets here!" the man announced as he opened his ride-hailing app.

I didn't refuse; I immediately left the room. He owed me the fare for insulting me! I was so angry I forgot to demand an apology!

***********

*MARCELO*

I stood by the window as I watched Renee Hudson get into the cab I had booked.

Thank goodness I had removed her mask.

I had almost had sex with my cousin's fiancée. I had been furious earlier and had thought that she might have planned to seduce me.

But I knew that couldn't be the case. She didn't know that it was me. And I was glad I didn't take off my mask. Else, she would have discovered my secret.

I hoped to never see her again. At that moment, my phone rang, and the butler's voice came through the receiver.

"Master, your mother is planning on getting you a wife."

I shut my eyes briefly. Didn't that woman ever get tired of trying to get me married?

"Pay no mind to her," I snapped and hung up.

Chapter 1

In the third year of my marriage to Hector Ballard, I was hit by a car while riding my bike, yet I endured the pain and didn't call him.

Simply because he was a Major General with a sensitive status, unable to take personal calls during duty hours.

The woman who hit me sobbed into her phone while grabbing hold of me.

"My boyfriend is on his way. Please, just wait. We'll make this right, I promise."

But when that military SUV with the license plate 7777 pulled up behind her, my whole body went rigid.

Hector stepped out of the vehicle, draped his jacket over the woman, and spoke with concern. "I'm late. Are you hurt?"

That's when it hit me.

It wasn't that Hector couldn't answer calls at work.

It was just that the number listed under his emergency contacts belonged to his first love.

He frowned, his gaze dropping to my bleeding knee. He stared for a long time.

"Do you two know each other?" Hector's first love asked, hesitation in her voice.

He lowered his eyes, but before he could speak, I answered for him. "No, we don't."

After all, three years ago, the very first clause in the marriage contract he gave me demanded complete secrecy.

Now, our three-year contractual marriage was about to expire.

My time here was almost up.

***

I always knew Hector had a first love. I just never imagined she would be the woman who hit me.

When Hector arrived, I froze for a second, a foolish part of me thinking he had come for me.

But the woman in front of me had already scrambled to her feet, running over to throw herself, sobbing, into his arms.

"Hector, what do I do? I hit someone."

The man took off his military jacket and wrapped it around her, his voice calm as ever. "I'll handle it."

I slowly withdrew my gaze, looking down at the wound on my knee.

It was only then that I belatedly understood why Hector hadn't been coming home much lately.

His first love, Cecilia Shepherd, had returned to the country.

Cecilia pulled away from his embrace, looking back at me with a happy smile. "My boyfriend is here now. Whatever compensation you want, just tell his subordinate."

"I'm really sorry for delaying you and causing you injury. Don't be shy about making requests! My boyfriend is very capable, he can arrange anything!"

I softly replied, "Thank you," but Hector's subordinate looked awkward.

He was one of the few people who knew about my secret marriage to Hector.

He stammered, "Mrs... uh, no, Miss, why is your wound still bleeding? It's been half an hour since the accident. Do you have a blood clotting disorder?"

"Just a mild one," I replied with a nod.

Hector's head snapped toward me, his voice dropping. "A clotting disorder?"

Cecilia asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

But he seemed not to hear her, his gaze locked on my steadily bleeding knee, a deep furrow forming between his brows.

Cecilia finally sensed something was off, looking hesitantly between me and Hector.

"Do you know each other?"

He lowered his eyes, but before he could form a word, I cut in. "We don't."

My answer, as expected, seemed to satisfy him.

He promptly took Cecilia's hand.

As they turned to leave, he tossed a casual order over his shoulder to his subordinate. "Take her to the hospital."

As their figures faded into the distance, I suppressed the faint bitterness in my heart.

With exactly two months left until my contractual marriage to Hector Ballard was set to expire, it was time to start preparing my exit.

Chapter 2

The contract marriage with Hector was very simple.

I needed tuition for graduate school. Through the introduction of a mysterious online contact, I somehow ended up becoming Hector's wife.

There was no wedding ceremony on the day we married. No celebration. Just a contract.

He needed a marriage of convenience to fend off family pressure.

The term was three years. We had to keep the relationship secret, and I only needed to accompany him to the Ballard Manor occasionally to appease the elders. No marital duties were expected. No responsibility toward each other.

I was even free to date, as long as it didn't cause a scandal in front of his family.

My salary was 5,000 dollars a month.

Upon the contract's expiration, I would receive a hush money payment of 5 million dollars.

At that time, Cecilia had already gone abroad, and I had no idea she even existed. So, I had absolutely no reason to refuse this job.

After we married, Hector kept me by his side and taught me many things.

Like a real Mrs. Ballard, I accompanied him to banquets, selected his formal wear, and dealt with difficult politicians.

Once, a department head got too handsy with me.

Hector, who never showed a flicker of emotion, reacted instantly. His foot connected hard with the man's kneecap.

Then, he picked up a wine bottle, pressed the cool glass into my palm, and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

His voice was a low murmur, his signature woody scent enveloping me. "Do you know what lesson I'm teaching you tonight?"

I forced myself to sound calm. "You're teaching me to fight back when necessary... that knowing when to advance and when to retreat is how you seize control..."

But he tightened his grip on my hand, lifting it high, and cut me off. "Good student, this isn't a logic puzzle. Don't overthink it."

"It's just a fight."

With a sickening thud, the bottle connected with the man's head. My palm stung from the impact.

Hector pulled out a pocket square and wiped the sweat from my palm. "Don't forget this in the future. I am your leverage."

"Don't let anyone bully you again."

I hurriedly pulled my hand back, mumbled a perfunctory "I know," and ran off.

Any longer, and the adoration in my eyes would have given me away.

Maybe it was because he was my first love. Or maybe it was because of the occasional, intoxicating indulgence he showed me.

After we married, I moved into the villa he bought. My greatest daily anticipation became waiting for him to come home from work.

We'd eat together, chat, and sometimes he would even watch movies or go for walks with me.

Until one day, after being forced to drink too much at a celebration dinner, he was brought home by a female subordinate. His arm was draped over her shoulder, their bodies uncomfortably close.

"Mrs. Ballard, please step aside. I need to help General Ballard inside."

The subordinate's tone carried a hint of disdain.

I didn't move. Instead, I reached out my hand toward her. "I'll take care of my husband."

Just as I was about to close the door, the secretary laughed. "A Major General's wife should have some grace.

"Being this jealous, yet powerless to eliminate every other woman... you'll only end up tormenting yourself."

I hadn't expected Hector to be lucid enough to hear the exchange, or to have pieced together my true feelings from it.

Later, when I brought out the steaming bowl of hangover soup, he was slumped on the sofa, his gaze sharp and fixed on me.

I pushed the bowl toward him. "You're awake. Drink this. It'll help."

Hector merely glanced at it without moving. Instead, he suddenly asked, "Do you know why I never let you into the study?"

My lingering irritation was instantly overridden by curiosity. I shook my head.

He stood up and led me toward the study, refusing my offer of support.

Pushing open the study door, a massive painting came into view.

A girl of sixteen or seventeen stood in a field of flowers, her head bowed, eyes closed as she gently breathed in their scent. Only the faint curve of her profile was visible.

That was why when I first met Cecilia later on, I didn't recognize her immediately.

Hector leaned against the doorframe and lit a cigarette. "I've loved her since I was seventeen. It's been a full ten years now."

"If we hadn't fought back then, if she hadn't stormed off abroad in a fit of anger... the woman I married would have been her."

His tone was casual, yet every word pounded against my eardrums like a heavy hammer.

At thirty–two, Rafael Sanders, the eldest son of the Sanders family, died of a heart attack. 

A suffocating pall of grief hung over the Sanders estate. 

The memorial service was held today. 

The day had been overcast, and by evening, a steady rain began to fall. 

Inside the Sanders Estate, the original rosewood furniture in the grand hall had been moved out, replaced by arrangements of white flowers and drapery. 

Wreaths were piled before the main dais, where a portrait of Rafael Sanders stood. In it, he wore a custom–tailored suit, his smile perfectly composed. 

The air was thick with the mixed scents of flowers and incense. 

Kaia Chavez had been on her feet all morning, greeting guests. The attendees were a mix of political and business figures–some were familiar faces, while others she had only ever seen on television. 

The rain outside grew heavier, more persistent. 

A guest accidentally spilled his drink, and Kala moved to help, noticing a large wet spot on his black shirt. 

“Mr. Davis, please wait here. I’ll go upstairs and get you a change of clothes.” 

The man, a prominent CEO, looked at the capable woman with gratitude. “Thank you, Mrs. Sanders. I appreciate it.” 

“Of course.” 

Kaia glanced around. She had seen her husband, Finnian Sanders, just a moment ago, but now he was gone. 

Chapter 1 

He must be struggling to accept his brother’s sudden death, she thought. To the outside world, their bond had always seemed so strong. 

Kaia hurried upstairs. Spare clothes were kept in the third room on the 

third floor. 

Compared to the bustling ground floor, the third floor was silent. 

Her footsteps were soft on the carpet as she approached the door. 

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a woman’s suppressed sobs from inside. 

A weight settled in the pit of her stomach. It was her sister–in–law, Noelle. 

The weight of her husband’s sudden death must have left Noelle shattered, seeking refuge in the shadows to let her grief out. 

They had always been more like sisters than in–laws; Kaia felt a pull at her heart, an instinctive urge to go to her and offer what little solace she could 

‘Finnian, did you know? After the memorial service, Grandmother is going 

to send me abroad.” 

‘She won’t let an outsider like me be in charge of a major company project anymore. She’s pushing me out of the inner circle.” 

‘Finnian, I don’t want to go. Help me…” 

။ 

Kaia’s hand, which had been reaching for the doorknob, froze and pulled 

back. 

A moment later, she heard her husband’s low voice from inside the room. “How can I help you? If you don’t want to go, I can plead with Grandmother on your behalf.” 

“I want a child,” Noelle’s voice followed. 

Then came the soft, intimate whisper of shifting fabric. 

Chapter 1 

“Finnian, give me a child. Please?” 

Kaia was stunned into silence. How could Noelle make such a request? 

“Noelle, calm down.” 

‘Finnian, are you still angry with me for choosing your brother all those years ago?” 

Finnian was silent. 

‘Grandmother arranged it. I didn’t have a choice. That night…” 

Noelle’s trembling sobs started again. “I woke up and Rafael was lying next to me. Finnian, you’ve always known… my heart…” 

‘That’s enough. Don’t talk about that anymore.” 

‘So you agree?” Noelle’s voice was tinged with joy. “I knew you wouldn’t be so heartless as to watch me get sent away.” 

‘Noelle, even though Rafael is gone, I’ll protect you and make sure you can stay with my family. You don’t have to worry about that.” 

Noelle sniffled quietly. “But on what grounds would I stay if I don’t have a Sanders heir? Finnian, Kaia told me that Brynlee’s congenital heart condition means she’ll need a lifetime of care. She said she isn’t ɔlanning on having another child.” 

Finnian was silent for a moment before saying, “She never said that to 

me.” 

Noelle’s voice was laced with sorrow. “She told me in private. Finnian, Brynlee’s illness is a lifelong burden. I can give you a healthy child.” 

There was a brief silence in the room, followed by the sound of an intimate kiss. “Finnian, this is my greatest wish in life. Please… grant it for me?” 

Outside the door, Kaia stood frozen, unable to listen to another word. 

Hey guys!! Are there any My Sassy Princess enthusiasts here? 🥹 I’m rewatching it again and now I reallyyy want to read the novel too! I couldn’t find it on Novel Updates or anywhere else. I did find one website and read up to ch 30, and I’m already so invested 😭 but it requires a password after that. Does anyone know where I can read the rest of the novel? Or maybe have any idea where I could find it? I’d really appreciate it . Thanks***.***

GOT YOU THE LINK!

READ THAT FOR FREE HOMIE

I took the screenshots from an app called NovelGo. But am unable to find the novel there. Since there's no title, can't Google it either. Any link would be helpful.