Shadow of the Abyss - Chapter 9: Mana

Tang Qiu was a substitute bride–forced to take her half-sister’s place and marry the young master of the Jiang family, a deformed cripple with less than 6 months left to live.

“Who would have thought that even a sickly whelp like Jiang Shaocheng would find himself a bride?”

“I hear that he’s practically on his deathbed and he’s only marrying the Fengs’ daughter to improve his lifespan.”

Tang Qiu ignored the whispers around her and focused on her husband-to-be, who coughed violently in his wheelchair. At the altar, after they had said their vows, she lifted her veil and knelt in front of Jiang Shaocheng, pressing a hesitant kiss to his lips.

The marriage contract was signed. No matter his physical deformities, he was now her husband.

She wasn’t afraid of the scars that marked his face, nor was she repulsed by him being confined to a wheelchair. Every morning, she made him breakfast, attended to his needs, and thought of little else beyond her duties as a wife.

“Young Master Jiang is a cripple who can’t get it up,” her best friend argued. “When he dies, you’ll still be untouched. You should set your sights higher.”

“A sickly invalid like Jiang Shaocheng can’t give you happiness,” her ex-boyfriend insisted. “I’ll wait for you.”

But Young Master Jiang only scoffed. “I have plenty of time left to be with her.”

Later in their marriage, Jiang Shaocheng wanted to enjoy his little wife in all ways–the press of her lips against his, the brush of skin on skin; the way a husband and wife were supposed to. But Tang Qiu refused him, blushing. “No, we can’t. The doctor says you can’t exert yourself.”

Jiang Shaocheng’s desire was surging through him, a heat in his core that demanded to be satiated. He cursed, I should have gotten rid of that doctor and the wheelchair long ago.

But he yearned to make love to his little wife, and so he revealed his true identity. In the blink of an eye, the deformed cripple transformed into a powerful businessman–tall, dark, and handsome. He quieted Tang Qiu’s protests, his body positioned over hers, his arms caging her as she lay on the bed. His voice was low when he asked, “What about now?”

Cloud raising is an emerging form of entertainment.It generally refers to people who are unable due to certain restrictions to raise cats, dogs, or other pets; instead, they engage in taking care of these pets remotely through the internet, thereby deriving psychological pleasure.During this nurturing process, they also feed or tip the pets, participating as though they truly owned the pet.However, professional player Chen Yan unwittingly played a game called 'Cloud Girlfriend Raising'.By feeding the cloud girlfriend or splurging on purchases, one could receive a 'tenfold cashback'.By raising affection levels, one could obtain various 'magical items' and even 'meet in reality'?It was supposed to be a lovely 'romance game', but... the unconventional Chen Yan turned it into a money-making game to fuel his business ventures.Chen Yan says, 'What's so good about having a girlfriend? Do they smell nice or are they soft to hug? How could that be more interesting than making money!'Meanwhile, the cloud girlfriend thinks...'He put so much thought and so much money into surprising me; he must love me a lot...'

A wise man once said all roads lead to Rome. He didn’t know how right he was.Ripped away from the battlefield, Tiberius and his six thousand Roman Legionnaires unexpectedly find themselves stranded in a foreign land of magic and witchcraft. With no way home, their path forward is obvious: conquer everything in sight.Much to the chagrin of Marcus—the poor, unsuspecting bard who summoned them.But taking over the world is not so easy. In order to stake their claim, the Legion will need to learn how to navigate the strange magics and abilities this new world has granted them. Abilities which, upon closer inspection, may prove the seed for a legend in the making…The dawn of a new empire looms on the horizon. Rome will rise anew as they seize cities, battle armies, and expand their territory across this strange and fantastical world. All the while, Marcus will need to figure out how to mitigate the force of nature he's unleashed upon his woefully unprepared world. That, or simply enjoy the front row seat to an epic in the making. Someone will need to tell the story, and who better aside from him?The die has been cast. The aqueducts are being built. And Rome will once more see glory.

Being the pack defect is bad enough. Getting REJECTED? By your own fated mate?Yeah. THAT is a whole new level of low.Ava Grey is the pack defect, a wolfless shifter. She struggles through life with the vague dream of freedom. Her opportunity comes when she's suddenly informed that she will be attending the Lunar Gala, an annual ball for young adult shifters to find their fated mates.And she finds him. He's beautiful and intense, and his kisses send desire through her veins like a drug.Until he REJECTS her.Ava isn't about to go back to her dreary life. She escapes and forges a new identity far from her pack, and far from her alpha mate. She makes new friends and is even forcefully adopted by a hilarious husky.But just as she settles in and finds happiness, strange things begin to happen...Her husky has been holding secrets.She's hearing whispers that shifter packs all over are looking for her.And she can smell a familiar scent in her apartment, which makes no sense at all... because the man it belongs to rejected her.DECEMBER 2024 NOTE-- Author has a broken hand and updates are slower than normal. Deepest apologies. Trying to get updates more normalized again!!---------This is a wolf shifter romance with multiple triggers that like to waltz hand in hand with all the dark themes through a meadow of dead flowers. In this book you will find the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Laugh, cry, rage; you can do them all as you follow Ava in the rather perilous journey of being a wolf shifter in this generation of werewolf romance.There are R18 scenes sprinkled throughout this book like candy popping out of a pinata. Please read responsibly.-------