The Substitute Bride - Chapter 18

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Claimed to be the greatest team in the history of the card film industry — “Mu Lei” is born. With even the elites of the academic world unable to decipher these cards’ structure, his powerful cards were able to unnerve even the federation, causing the greatest Card Creators and Card Fighters to grow frantic, triggering open battles and covert maneuvers among various interest groups — all behind the silhouette of Chen Mu. Although he was not the originator of the federation’s unrest, he was definitely the number one reason for continuously escalating it.

[Time Travel + Online Shopping Mall + Sweet Petting + Sudden Wealth + Strong Female Lead + Abusive Scum Male Lead]

An Zhi Xia was born and immediately had her identity swapped out. She was harmed by the fake rich miss and her foster parents until no bones remained.

After drifting for a hundred years as a ghost, she watched with her own eyes as the fake rich miss assumed her identity to marry into a prestigious family, achieving success in both career and love. The fake rich miss also angered An Zhi Xia’s birth parents to death, and left her four brothers either dead or disabled.

Upon returning to the 1970s when she was harmed, the hundred-year-old ghost An Zhi Xia decisively counterattacked. She acknowledged her birth parents, drove away the fake rich miss, and sent her foster parents to prison.

Did you think she wanted familial love?

No, she only wanted the villains to pay the price.

But things often go beyond one’s expectations. An Zhi Xia’s big brother doted on her, second brother cherished her, third brother loved her, fourth brother protected her. As for her mother, she was always worried about the fake rich miss, but that no longer mattered. Her grandparents still made the decisions at home and could not be swayed.

In this life, An Zhi Xia wanted to live for herself, make money, and pursue her career. Yet she was secretly being watched by someone.

Pei Jing had a irritable personality but was handsome. After an accident where he was taken advantage of by an ugly woman, he thought he would hate her gritting his teeth. But instead, he unexpectedly fell deeply in love with her, doting on and cherishing her for life.