Shadow of the Abyss - Chapter 9: Mana

When Jasmine’s fated mate Elliot rejects her for the Lycan Chairman’s daughter, she is left broken, humiliated and alone. To make matters worse, her father gets arrested for embezzlement, and Jasmine needs to raise ten million to release him.Desperate to save her father from a wrongful conviction, Jasmine takes the only job she can find—tutoring the bratty daughter of a rich werewolf family.But she never expected her employer to be the Lycan chairman himself: Gareth Laken. He is ruthless, dominant… and her ex-mate’s future father-in-law.Gareth thinks she’s a threat. A bitter ex-girlfriend out for revenge, waiting to harm his own daughter. But the more he watches her, the more he sees a woman refusing to be shattered by the world that betrayed her. A woman he can’t stop wanting, despite the huge age difference.Now, Jasmine is caught between two powerful men—one who destroyed her, and one who might destroy everything she has left to protect.Excerpt“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Gareth said, voice low, his towering frame just inches from mine.“I didn’t come here to play,” I shot back, even as my heart pounded. “But you should be asking Elliot why he keeps showing up at my door. I’m not the one chasing ghosts.”His eyes darkened, his gaze dropping to my lips. “He’s not the only one haunted by you.”I froze.I should have walked away.Instead, I whispered, “Then why do you look at me like you want to hate me and kiss me at the same time?”He didn’t answer.But his silence spoke louder than any lie.

World: You're a trash mixed Spiritual root. How come you cultivate faster than the top genius of the Holy land.Fang Hong: I am a trash mixed Spiritual root... And who decided that?I cannot cultivate beyond qi refining realm... And who decided that?The only one who gets to decide such things... IS ME.World:....

[From the Author of Author's POV...]

Emotions are like a drug to us.

The more we experience them, the more we become addicted.

The hardest part is not letting them consume us.

But it's already too late for me.

I've already been swallowed whole.

***

I had no knowledge of the game.

I was meant to have died.

And yet, I found myself in this situation.

A game I had never played before. A character I was unfamiliar with, and... A world that seemed to want to swallow me whole with every move I made.

What the hell is going on?

...and who am I?

……………………………………………………………

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