The Beautiful Monster - Chapter 182 - Shadows

A literal ‘red flag’ in a world that sees her as a threat.Excerpt:“You shouldn’t be here,” Zenon growled, his voice low, eyes dark with conflict as he leaned away.Elira looked up at him, lips parted and swollen. “Then why did you kiss me?”“I couldn’t resist you.” His arms tightened around her waist instead of letting go.“Then don’t,” she said, without breaking the gaze.“Remember, you asked for it.” Zenon’s eyes darkened with desire as his lips found the perfect spot on her neck.---Elira Shaw was never meant to shine.Born an omega to a once-respected Beta bloodline, she’s lived as a ghost in her uncle's home, the acting Beta of the Ashfang Pack.After her parents' mysterious deaths when she was thirteen, Elira became little more than a servant to her aunt and cousin, Regina, the flawless Luna-to-be, groomed to marry one of the Alpha's sons.With no rank, no power, and no name worth remembering, Elira has long accepted her fate.But her fate transforms on her 18th birthday — the night of the grand mating ceremony.Not one, but the wolves of all three of Alpha Cyprus Ashford’s sons recognize her as their mate.The pack erupts into chaos. Regina's engagement plans crumble in fury. And Elira, the despised orphan, is suddenly the most important wolf alive.

Book I: Lost ThingsTristan Abrascal is a thief, one of many making their living under the perpetual twilight of the greatest city in all of Vesper. Quick wit and a contract with a capricious goddess have always kept him one step ahead, until one night he crosses a line by accident that burns all the bridges he had left. But not all is lost, as his mentor offers a way out of peril that turns out to be more than a simple escape.It is also an opportunity to get even with the infanzones, the nobles he’s lived under all his life, and it so happens that Tristan has a full ledger’s worth of scores to settle with them.Lady Angharad Tredegar has fled halfway across the world, leaving behind a ruin of a life: her family butchered by a ruthless enemy, their estate torched and their nobility revoked. Yet no matter how far she flees the blades of assassins follow, and she finds herself growing desperate for any protection. She has one relative left to call on, her estranged uncle, but she finds that the safety he offers comes at a cost.Angharad has sworn revenge, however, and her honour will allow for no compromise. She will do what she must to survive so that one day bloody vengeance can be visited upon her enemies.The paths of the two take them to the doorstep of the Watch, but for desperate souls like them enrolment is a lost cause. They will have to do it the hard way instead, by surviving the trials on the isle known as the Dominion of Lost Things.Where every year many go, and few return.Book II: Good TreasonsThe trials of the Dominion are over.The four survivors have become students of Scholomance, enrolling together as a cabal, yet even on those infamous grounds they soon learn none are beyond the reach of their pasts.Angharad Tredegar is returned to a semblance of the world she left behind, but finds her honor sorely tested by bargains offered - every bit as tempting as in the stories and even deadlier.Tristan Abrascal needs answers. Mysterious enemies keep trying to abduct him, his classroom does not exist and he’s now had several conversations with dead people. Worst of all, his carrots keep dying.Maryam Khaimov is going mad, which would worry her less if it were happening on schedule. More frightening yet is the possibility that she is not, and there truly is someone else going around wearing her face.Song Ren must forge the others into a functional unit, all the while fending off enemies on all sides: rival cabals, vengeful countrymen and the deluge of implacable foes her companions simply cannot seem to stop attracting.Failure is not an option, for Song must bring back honor to her family’s name whatever the cost: it is the only way to keep their disgrace from literally eating them all alive.And as the four chase shadows in Scholomance, in the distance looms the greater test awaiting them in the Asphodel Rectorate. Asphodel is a faded power, the rotten carcass of what it once was, but under that rot looms darker things - of which monsters might just be the least dangerous.Besides, is treason really such an evil when you have the best of reasons for it?

This book is about the rise of a Beast-controlling Sect disciple. There are a thousand kinds of demonic beasts, all kinds of divine arts, countless worlds, and endless Great Dao.Here, you can see the Beast-controlling Sect disciples riding Western dragons and Behemoths. You can also see the sect disciples controlling Golden-armored Zombies, Flying Yakshas, and fighting Necromancers. One by one, the different worlds will gradually unveil their mysterious veil, revealing their enchanting appearance…

As a human, I should be miles away from any large shifter event. Especially the annual Mate Hunt.A hunt for mates. Doesn't that sound barbaric? Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds.Several packs in the area gather as their newly minted adult wolves shift. Females are let into the woods first and are given an hour's head start, just before sundown. Then it's time for the males, ostensibly thrown out to hunt down the scent of their fated (or chosen) mates.It isn't an event for the faint of heart, and it's definitely no place for someone who can't shift. So why the fuck am I here, running my little human heart out, chased by what sounds like an entire pack of wolves? Great question. I don't know, either.But I'm here.Surrounded by howls fueled by the thrill of the hunt.Feet bleeding. Lungs freezing.I am so fucked.----R18. Dark themes, including but not limited to: Murder, attempted murder, a stack of dead bodies, betrayal, mild sociopathy, an ML who appears to bathe in red flags despite his favorite color being green, an unwarranted hatred of blueberry muffins, and pillow thievery.