Nightfall - Chapter 114: The Horse Carriage in Crisscrossed Streets

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Xu Ke, the live-in son-in-law who had always been humiliated in the Lin Family, suffered countless indignities in this prestigious household.But who would have known that he was actually the heir of a top-tier wealthy family in the capital? When he inherits the family business, those who once scorned him can only look up to him.

Damon’s lips twisted into something between a smirk and a sneer. “Sisters or not, I kept them alive so you could watch me rip off their heads one by one. That’s the only reason they’re still breathing.”My jaw tightened. “You wouldn’t.”He leaned closer, his voice lower. “Wouldn’t I?”“You kept them alive?” I repeated his words slowly, my voice cracking with disbelief. “Just so I can watch you kill them?”Damon stood tall, his eyes twirled with something sinister, his expression was like a carved stone. “Yes,” he said flatly. “You cared enough to protect them. Now you’ll watch as I end them.”My chest tightened. The air grew too thick to breathe. “You’re cruel.”“I’m Alpha,” he replied, his tone cold, without a shred of mercy. “Mercy gets people killed.”‘Psychotic bastard. I wish I could drive a knife into your chest right now!’~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When Ember opened her eyes, she was no longer the powerful, independent woman she once was.Instead, she woke up in the fragile, abused body of a lowly Omega—destined to be nothing but a breeder for the Alphas.Her escape attempt didn’t get her far. Instead, it led her straight into the path of Damon Blackthorn—the ruthless Lycan King feared by all.Sold like a slave by her own father, Ember becomes the property of a man with a frozen heart and a violent temper. But beneath her submissive mask lies something more: a cunning mind and a will that refuses to break.Now, in a world ruled by dominance, power, and ancient bloodlines, Ember must do more than just survive.She must outsmart a king.She must earn the loyalty of the very people who scorn her.And maybe—just maybe—she’ll bring the Alpha to his knees.

TW: DARK ROMANCE FANTASY

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He was Chaos, the shattering soul that was deemed to wreak havoc and the cause of thousands of deaths.

Fear was a cloak that engulfed his existence.

He didn’t want anything except to find every piece of his damn soul, until the little white wolf entered his life. He wanted her.

Chaos didn’t care if he had to spill blood more than necessary, still he wanted her.

“You will put yourself in a battle against them,” He said begrudgingly. “Give up the girl.”

Yet, he stared into his eyes and he knew he wouldn’t be able to change his decision, as if it was already written on the stone.

“The girl stays. Touch her and I will show them what Chaos is.”

.....