Yours, Until Needed - Chapter 148: Identity

[You have been abandoned by the human race and become a Fallen.][The Fallen System has been awakened.]'Ding!'[Quest Complete! Reward: Fallen Narakai Bloodline (3° Tier)]Sentenced to public execution at sixteen, falsely accused of being a monster and a genocidal maniac, Cairen Veyrith saw his family, his race, and the entire world turn their backs on him.As the executioner's axe descended upon his neck, Cairen fell… but something refused to let him go.Transported by the System to an unknown world, now bearing countless bloodlines. The legacy and fury of all the races that once fell.This time, will he find a place where he belongs…? Or will he be the one to abandon the world?

Born of a great family, world shaking genius.

When twenty-one-year-old horror novelist Arden Vale catches her boyfriend cheating with her sister Lira, she runs into the street and is killed by a mysterious bus. She awakens aboard Bus 000, trapped in The Deadline Game a deadly survival competition where 47 recently deceased souls must fight through seven nightmare stations for a chance at resurrection.Each station is based on Arden's own published horror novels, forcing her to survive the monsters she created. Partnered with Kael Draven, a dead soldier who looks exactly like the man she secretly loved and lost two years ago, Arden discovers she possesses The Codebook a mystical notebook where anything she writes becomes reality.But as players die and stations grow deadlier, Arden learns the horrifying truth: Kael isn't real he's a construct born from her guilt and grief. Her sister Lira orchestrated everything for revenge. And The Conductor running the Game is Arden herself from a future timeline, trapped in an endless loop of death and resurrection.To escape, Arden must sacrifice her memories, confront her darkest secrets, and make an impossible choice: rewrite reality and save Kael, or destroy the Game forever and condemn them both to oblivion.Some deadlines end in death. Hers became eternity.

[Mature Content:]Alaric was too close to Nicolette.Her mouth was just inches away from his.He could smell the lavender on her skin, the heat radiating from within her.But he held back, refusing to be carried away by her charm…“Mr. Allens…” she purred, and he looked down at her.Her eyes widened with desire, and he knew, in that moment, that if he wanted to kiss her, she would let him.The last thing he wanted was commitment. He knew that Nicolette didn’t want that either.But why was she this tempting?So willing?It was that willingness that confused him.She blinked, then swallowed as she pulled the jacket off her shoulders. His eyes lingered on her exposed neck.God.He just wanted to bury his mouth in that hollow spot.“Here,” Nicolette said calmly, extending the jacket to him.He took the jacket, his hand brushing hers just a second. She flinched, her face turning pink as she clutched the towel against her chest.His stomach flipped at the sight.If only that towel would give way to…Before he could stop himself, Alaric pressed his arousal against her stomach, pushing her against the wall, cornering her.She gasped at the sudden movement and for a moment, he lost his mind.“Cole…” he breathed, crushing himself against her.Her eyes gleamed with desire and a vulnerability that rocked him to his core.He would be foolish not to give in to this feeling.But he would also be a fool if he did.She had chosen to marry him.Not her boyfriend.And definitely not Lucian Crawford.Yet, he couldn't help it.She was only his for a year.But still…***************When her business and the gallery she inherited from her mother burn to the ground, Nicolette Voss is determined to rebuild—and get revenge on her father.She turned to her father’s rival, Alaric Allens, for an alliance.Alaric is willing to help, but on one condition—she must be his wife for a year.They called him Ruthless Alaric after an infamous incident 6 years ago. Alaric is back in town, and so are the crumbs of his past. But he is determined to change everything with a wife.He has his hidden agenda.She needs her revenge.But will this marriage between storm and steel survive the heat? And what will they do when deep secrets threatens to destroy them both?