Valkyrie's Shadow - Chapter 4Before the Storm: Act 11,

Lucinda Perry, a social recluse and a workaholic, makes a pledge to herself to go all wild on her twenty-fifth birthday and even score a one night stand if she gets her long deserved promotion at work. Few days to her twenty-fifth birthday, she gets promoted to not just a higher position but to the head office in a different city.

Having to spend her birthday night in a new city, she goes to the club where she meets a very handsome stranger, Thomas Hank, who offers to be her one night stand after catching a glimpse of her dare-to-do list, which included having a one night stand.

Thomas Hank, after having been used by several ladies in the past, is bent on getting the lady of his dreams who would love him for himself and not his wealth. So when he meets the cute and naive Lucinda Perry at the club, he decides to keep his true identity from her and find out if she was worth keeping.

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***Excerpt***

“What are you doing here?” Lucy asked in alarm when she walked into her boss' office and saw Tom standing by the window,

“Who let you in here? Come with me, you should leave now before he comes in and sees you here. He can be really mean.” Lucy said reaching out to grab his hand, but he made no move to reach for her hand, and just kept staring at her with a slightly amused expression.

“I came to fulfill your fantasy.” Tom said looking into her eyes with an unreadable expression.

“Fantasy? What fantasy?” She asked with a frown as she hurried to the door to shut it so her boss wouldn't walk in on them.

“You've forgotten? You said you would love to have sex with me on your boss' table. I want to make it happen.” Tom said making her heart skip a beat.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” She half yelled as she took his hands and tried to drag him to the door, “I could lose my job if my boss finds you in here.” She snapped at him.

“Nevermind about that. Tell me the thought of this doesn't turn you on? I'm here, you're here, and the table is right here. I could have you on your back in a second and you'd be crying out my name...” Before Tom could finish, the office door was pushed open.

“Sup Tom? Can I talk to you for a sec?” Harry asked as he walked in, his eyes on the documents in his hand. He stopped when he raised his head and realized Lucy was in the office. He almost kicked himself when he saw the frown on Lucy's face, “Shit!” Harry muttered, and gave Tom an apologetic glance when he realized he had just screwed up.

“I thought you were going out?” he asked her with an awkward smile.

“Tom? You know him? I mean... other than him being my driver?” She asked both men, looking from one to the other when she noticed Harry didn't look surprised to see Tom in the office.

What was going on here? What was she missing? Lucy asked herself as her gaze shifted from Harry to Tom who was glaring at Harry. There was no way Tom could be her boss, right? All the pieces of the puzzle was beginning to fit now. It was all beginning to make sense now, she thought as she glanced at Tom one more time before walking out of the office.

There are a lot of things wrong with Liv Brodbeck. She’s too small, for one thing. When she works in the castle kitchens with her mother, she can’t carry a sack of flour or roll a keg of ale. Baron Summerset’s chirurgeon says that she has brittle bones, so she isn’t allowed to wrestle or sword fight with the other children. Even sledding downhill in the winter brings the risk of breaking an arm or a leg if she falls. Everyone says that she ruined her mother’s life when she was born. Not when they think Liv is in the room, of course, but she overhears all the same. In the kitchen of a less kind lord, a cook bearing a bastard child would have been more than cause enough for both of them to be out on the street. No, a child like Liv doesn’t have much hope. But when she accidentally unleashes a surge of wild magic, she takes her first step on a journey which will lead her from the kitchens of Castle Whitehill, to the cold palaces of the Eld, and beyond, to the graves of gods... What to Expect: - MC starts off very weak, with a lot disadvantages - not just physically weak, but also vulnerable in a socio-economic sense. She has talents, but it is going to take time to develop them. I want to give this process room to breathe, so I hope you enjoy long-term progression. - The MC begins the story as a child. As she grows up, she will have relationships that I intend to be appropriate for her stages of life, BUT THERE WILL BE NO SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS UNTIL SHE IS AN ADULT. Expect eventual teenage drama progressing into more adult relationships. - There is action, but it is not constant action, and it will again be appropriate for the MCs development. As a child, she will be challenged by child things, and as she grows into power the scale of threats will increase.

As tragedy befalls Xin Siyue, she soon finds herself transmigrated into a novel world as a character. To her disappointment, she became the villainess who obsessively chased after the male protagonist while scheming to tear apart his relationship with his beloved.

To avoid her death route, Xin Siyue carefully avoided the male and female protagonists at every turn. Instead, she went off on her own to enjoy life. But somewhere along the way, she made a mistake– the male protagonist took notice of her!

Xin Siyue’s eyes teared up as she was being kissed in Chen Sinan’s arms. ‘No! This wasn’t in the plot!’

What life is left for a warrior when there is no more enemy to fight?

…He knelt before her in the posture of a soldier giving honor to their Queen. And she didn’t even know it.

“Harth,” he rasped, “I come empty-handed. I bring no weapon. Because I swear to you, I will never choose to harm you. Never draw your blood—in anger, or in fear. I bring no shield. Because I vow I will never defend myself from your eyes, your hands, your mind. I am yours.”

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After a year of peace in Anima, Tarkyn finds himself… lonely. As the Captain of the Queen’s Guard and a lion-shifter, he has met every female in the tribes, but never found his mate. Certain he must have overlooked someone, Tarkyn undertakes a grueling ritual, pleading with the Creator to reveal her. But the ritual presses him to the end of even his formidable strength.

Yet, the Creator heard his cry…

Discovered on the brink of death by his mate, Harth, and nursed back to health, Tarkyn now faces the most difficult battle of his life. Because Harth isn’t just a stranger to the Anima, she is a weapon of the humans who tried to destroy them.

Can the love of a warrior and his enemy bring peace to Anima? Or will they be torn apart forever by war between their peoples?

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STANDALONE STORY: While Tarkyn’s story is a part of the Anima world and fans will be reunited with some of their favorites as side-characters, Tarkyn and Harth are new POV characters and their story is a new plot arc, so their story can be enjoyed without reading the previous books! But please add Falling in Love with the King of Beasts, and Taming the Queen of Beasts to your library to enjoy later!