The Sword and Heir of Shadows - Chapter 72: Sway through Way

[TRIGGER WARNING: Mature Content + Dark Themes]EXCERPT:“Axel, no. We… can’t do this!” I jolted back when he pulled up my skirt.As if to retaliate, he grabbed my wrist and yanked my body to his. “We can do whatever I say we can do, María José.”“I’m your brother’s reject. Do you even hear yourself right now? He didn’t want me, Axel. What does that make me to you?”“I don’t care about Álvaro’s foolishness. It's his loss for losing a woman like you.”“Okay, I must confess. I'm not worried about him either. It's Rosa… you're getting engaged to my sister in a month!”“Let me remind you, María José—I don’t give a fuck about that, either.”No matter how hard I jerked, he wasn’t letting me go. And part of me—so, so foolishly—didn’t want him to.______Having spent her life avoiding the spotlight, María Jośe never imagined she’d be the one to bring shame to her esteemed De la Vega family. With beauty as captivating as a field of lilies, she is the prized daughter of an ambitious father who cares more for his reputation than his children’s happiness.When Álvaro Montenegro, the arrogant heir to the Alpha title, sets his sights on her as his chosen Luna, María Jośe is desperate for a way out.But everything changes when the Moon Goddess answers her prayer in the most unexpected way: María Jośe discovers she is an Omega—wolfless and the lowest rank in the pack. Once held in awe, she is now shunned; a source of shame to her father and a target for ridicule in the pack.As her life turns upside down , María Jośe's hatred for the pack grows. The only solace she finds is in her growing, forbidden bond with Axel Montenegro—Álvaro’s older brother, who has turned his back on the pack to live as Beta.These two developed a love-hate friendship born from their shared disdain for the pack’s cruelty, which slowly evolves into a passionate, secret romance.But when Álvaro discovers Axel’s interest in María Jośe, jealousy ignites within him and he suddenly wants María Jośe as his own.Love, vengeance, and betrayal all brewed into a whirlwind of drama, desires, and deadly comebacks. Will María Jośe rise from the ashes of her former life, or will she be consumed by the power struggles of the pack she despises? Will she give in to the oldest brother who is scared of commitment or the younger one who fiercely seeks redemption?

‘The moment I faced its enormous eye, an unbearable headache struck me. Just by facing it, the amount of information exceeded what my brain could handle.’

Excerpt from ‘Things I Encountered in Space’ by Terra race space adventurer ‘Con Arche’.

…No, I was just looking out of curiosity…?

My younger brother died.And it happened inside the prestigious private school that I struggled so hard to get him into.As I was crying in despair in front of his grave,A strange man who claimed to be the student council president appeared and made an unbelievable offer.“Would you like to go back one year if you could?”He seemed like a swindler, but faced with sudden despair, I had no other choice.I grasped at this rotten lifeline and hastily made a deal with him.And surprisingly, I really did go back one year in time.Without wasting time, I immediately transferred to that problematic private school. To protect my younger brother who was still alive.But this school, the atmosphere is not right.Ghosts and spirits appear all over the school, and ‘ghost stories’ occur.Somehow, my brother seems to be connected to these strange phenomena.Will I, Melody Hastings, be able to safely solve the ghost story, protect my younger brother, and get out of this school?

“Power? I have enough of it to end a war before lunch and still make it back for a nap. The problem was never the power. The problem is that nothing has been interesting enough to use it on.”~~~Alistair Eldenberg liked his life the way he liked his mornings — quiet, horizontal, and entirely free of other people's ambitions. War Sovereign. Archmage. Spiritwright. Three cultivation systems at near-mythical levels, achieved by a man who considers genuine effort a personal failing.The kingdom exiled him north and gave him a wife.She was supposed to be the villain of the story.She isn't what the rumors said.Hm. Interesting.~~~