Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 44: Stepping Stones (3)

A wicked mother one day brought home a girl. The child was the hidden legitimate daughter of the duke, the heroine of [The Duke’s House Has Three Sons and One Daughter] Loretta. I was Melody, the villainous girl who tormented her and was condemned along with my mother. Not wanting to die like that, I decided to start treating her well now. I personally fed Loretta, put her to bed, and played with her. And then her reaction was…? “I want Melody to marry me!” Caught off guard by her endless affection, I too ended up entering the duke’s family, “I’ll stick right by Miss Melody’s side.” And there, it seems I’ve met a young lord who’s an even bigger ‘Melody fool’? All I did was be kind to survive, but why am I being loved…?!

#WARNINGVivid descriptions of abuse scenes.Readers discretion is advised.They call it an honor, but everyone knows the truth.Every year, the Lycans choose one werewolf from the Feral Packs to attend Lunar Crest Academy. A place of wealth, power, and deadly secrets. A place no Feral has ever returned from.This year, that sacrifice is Lorraine AndersonBranded as the outcast of the ShadowFang Pack, she has endured years of torment at the hands of those who once called her family. Beaten, broken, and betrayed, she is now being handed over to the monsters that rule them all. The Lycans.She knows what awaits her.....death.But when she arrives at Lunar Crest Academy, she finds something even worse than death. A game.One where she is the lowest-ranked player.One where survival is impossible.And at the center of it all stands him.The Lycan prince. Cold. Ruthless. Dangerous. His red eyes seem to follow her every move, his presence a constant, suffocating force. She should fear him like everyone else. She should cower under his gaze.But she doesn’t.Because beneath his terrifying exterior, there’s something else. Something dark and possessive. Something that makes her heart pound in a way it never should.In a world where strength is everything and weakness means death, Lorraine has only one choice.... to fight.Even if it means challenging the very monsters that want to destroy her.Even if it means becoming something far more terrifying than anyone ever expected.Because one thing is certain…She will not die quietly.

She is one the most famous thieves of the twenty-first century and the legendary racing queen who is unrivalled in the underworld.

She is a carefree girl who comes and goes as she pleases like the wind.

He is a powerful underworld boss, known to be cruel and merciless.

***

He didn’t think that someone would dare to provoke him by touching what belonged to him. Since they had shown him enmity, then he would return it in her stead.

Passion. Love. Hate. Pain.

It was all impossible to unravel.

- Description from Novelupdates

Each stroke of good luck is a triumph over someone else’s misfortune.Jack Grim, the son of two legendary assassins, was born and raised on nothing but coldness, and the skills to spill blood.At seventeen, Jack received his final task as an assassin apprentice under his parents.“Succeed, and you’ll run your own organization — live the life you’ve always dreamed of.”For Jack, it was everything he had ever wanted: the chance to finally become the professional assassin he was born to be.He struck his target at midnight, succeeded, and received everything his parents had promised.But in the wake of victory came a pounding headache, a relentless fever—and then… transmigration.Jack now found himself in Raiden’s body, the keeper of the Book of Ashes, the heart of the Devourer, and the very book the coward Raiden had died protecting with his life.Jack had no desire to live in another world, magic or not. He simply wanted to return to his life as an assassin.But duty had other plans. The balance of this world now rested on his ability to protect the book, and like it or not, the responsibility was his to bear.