The Shadowx - Chapter 4: Episode :Stroke of Ashes

“P-please let me go..” I stammered and before I knew it, I was word vomiting while crying. “—I won’t return. You won’t ever see me again. I know you don’t want me as a mate. You hate me, so please let me go.” I cried out.Cain’s jaw tightened with each word that left my lips “What gave you the idea that you have the power to choose what you want?” His voice was low, “You don’t get to decide what, how, and when you leave. Only I get to do that. You don’t get to leave me, you don’t get to run! You only leave when I want you to.”“I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered, trembling. “I didn’t ask to be your mate.”Cain stepped back, “Neither did I,” he muttered under his breath. “But the bond doesn’t give us a choice, does it?”~~~~As the only child of her late Alpha father, Avery Jae was meant to inherit her family’s legacy. But on the day of her arranged marriage to Alpha Lucian, her world crumbles. Rejected, humiliated, and cast aside for her own cousin, Avery barely escapes with her life only to find out a much deeper secret. One that changes everything.When Avery awakens, she finds herself in a foreign land, caught by the ruthless guards of the Vehiron pack, led by the infamous Alpha Cain. Tall, broad and as dangerous as the army he commands.Alpha Cain has a reputation that sends chills down the spine of even the most dangerous warriors. Haunted by his dark past, he has vowed never to take a mate, yet the moment he lays eyes on Avery, everything changes.With a single word, Avery is bound to Cain—whether he wants it or not. In a world where betrayal runs deep, can Avery ever trust the alpha who might just be her worst enemy.

A silhouette of a man standing upon a boulder with the crescent of the moon shining behind him.

A kukri dripping with blood in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The image of burning flames surrounding him.

The countless mercenaries screamed as they saw this scene.

“It’s a demon!”

Reincarnated as the first prince of the Jing Dynasty, Jiang Changsheng was transferred by a traitor as soon as he was born, and then he was sent to a temple to become an ordinary little Taoist priest.

From the prince to the little Taoist priest who no one cares about, his life has fallen. Fortunately, Jiang Changsheng has activated the survival system and has an infinite lifespan. As long as he survives the hardships of life, he can get a survival reward.

He was almost killed by his brother while practicing martial arts, but survived by luck and got the leg of the gods.

Encountered an earthquake, was nearly killed by the beam of the house, and obtained the Nine Searching Heavenly Dragon Step.

The demons roamed the capital, passed it safely, and obtained the magic weapon to conquer the demon pestle.

…

There are many dynasties, demons are rampant, and martial arts rule the world. This is a world without immortals and gods, and Taoism is hidden in the halls and mountains.

Three hundred years later.

When the Jing Dynasty was prosperous, it ushered in decline, the princes rose together, the emperor became a puppet in the hands of the heroes, split the dynasty, and fought for decades.

The puppet emperor Jiang Xuanzhen came to the Taoist temple and knelt down and cried, “My descendants are not filial and unable to return to heaven, please ask our ancestors to ascend the throne and continue my grand scene for another 300 years!”

- Description from novelbuddy

Betrayed by his own werewolf clan and left to die in a forbidden vampire crypt, Lucien Drake awakens something ancient—something monstrous.His blood ignites the Crimson System, binding him to a long-lost vampire bloodline rumored to be more powerful than the vampire lords and deadlier than any alpha.Now reborn as a hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Lucien gains powers no being should wield. The System whispers, hungers, and rewards him for one thing: domination—of bloodlines, enemies, and women.With every kill, he evolves. With every seduction, his power multiplies. And with every conquest, the world bends closer to its knees.But ancient forces stir. Vampire princesses, werewolf queens, and dark priestesses all want him… dead, bound, or in their bed.In a world where the strong rule by blood, Lucien is rewriting the laws of nature—and he'll either claim the throne of night...Or drown the world in crimson fire.> “You think I'm a monster? You haven't even seen what I become when I climax with your queen.”