
Introduction
I didn't cry when my own mother branded a death pact into my chest.
I didn't fight back when my brother kicked me into the mud using the very leg I gave my life force to heal.
But when I opened my bedroom door to find my husband thrashing in our bed with another woman—and he smashed my bleeding head against the floor just to shut me up—something inside me finally snapped.
With 12 hours left, my in-laws shatter my bones.
With 3 hours left, my husband hands me a poisoned drink.
They think they are getting rid of a useless burden by tossing me into the World Rift.
They have no idea they are sending me to the very place where my powers will awaken.
And when I return, hell is coming with me.
Chapter 1
[My remaining lifespan: 36 Hours]
I didn't cry when my own mother branded a death pact into my chest.
I didn't fight back when my brother kicked me into the mud using the very leg I gave my life force to heal.
But when I opened my bedroom door to find my husband thrashing in our bed with another woman—and he smashed my bleeding head against the floor just to shut me up—something inside me finally snapped.
With 12 hours left, my in-laws shatter my bones.
With 3 hours left, my husband hands me a poisoned drink.
They think they are getting rid of a useless burden by tossing me into the World Rift.
They have no idea they are sending me to the very place where my powers will awaken.
And when I return, hell is coming with me.
Agony.
Pain that rips my soul apart spreads outward from my collarbone.
The metallic tang of iron mixes with the stench of scorched flesh, flooding straight into my nostrils.
I am pinned hard against a rough, cold oak table. Thick hemp ropes dig into my wrists, drawing fresh blood.
“Hold her still! Arthur, don’t let her thrash! If the brand slips, the Elderwood won’t recognize the bargain!”
My mother Martha’s shrill voice echoes through the cramped room. There is not an ounce of mercy for her own daughter in that tone—only ravenous greed.
“Damn it, this brat’s stronger than she looks!” My brother, Arthur, snarls. His burly arm locks my shoulders like an iron vice. He plants one leg firmly on the floor, muscles coiling as he bears down.
That leg—the same leg I traded a Heartbeat Petal to the Elderwood to repair when gangsters broke his bones at twelve.
Now he stands on that leg I saved, shoving me toward my doom.
“Please… Mom, I beg you… Brother, let me go…” I sob hoarsely. Tears and cold sweat splash onto the tabletop.
Sizzle—
The scorching dark-red branding iron slams unannounced against my left chest, directly above my heart.
“AAAAHH—!!”
A piercing scream tears out of my throat. My body thrashes like a fish gasping for air out of water. This is no ordinary branding iron.
It is a Covenant Seal, forged from black muck from the edge of the World Rift mixed with the ashes of the dead.
When the iron pulls away, a charred mark shaped like a withered tree is burned into my chest.
The instant the brand settles, a hollow, emotionless voice, as if rising from the bottomless abyss, booms inside my skull.
【Sacrifice Subject Detected. Covenant Established.】
【Target Requirement: One Heartbeat Petal, to cure Lily Campbell’s organ failure.】
【Bloom Grace Period Activated. Countdown: 48 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds.】
【Warning: If the petal is not surrendered before the countdown hits zero, the sacrificial subject will be consumed by Elderwood Black Vines. Your soul will become fertilizer.】
I slump limply over the table, gasping raggedly. My whole body burns with icy cold, as if submerged in glacial water.
Why?
Why me?
I drag my eyes sideways to stare at Lily, my younger sister, standing in the corner. Clad in a pale white nightgown, she presses a handkerchief to her mouth and weeps softly. She is Mother’s treasure, the apple of my family’s eye.
Yesterday, the doctor said her rare organ failure would kill her within three months.
Just one week after Father died in a car crash, Mother and Brother wasted no time tying me down and forcing me to strike a death bargain with the ravenous Elderwood.
“Quit sniveling! It’s an honor for you to sacrifice yourself for Lily!” Mother strides over and wipes her hands disgustedly on a tattered rag. “Your father’s gone. No one’s left to protect you. You’d better grow that petal fast. Lily doesn’t have time to wait!”
I stare at her cold face, and abruptly break into wild, hysterical laughter.
I laugh until tears stream down my cheeks, until the brand on my chest screams with every movement.
“What are you cackling about? Have you lost your mind?” Brother frowns and kicks me hard in the stomach.
I curl into a ball, coughing up blood-flecked saliva.
“A petal?” I wheeze, my voice thin as a ghost’s whisper. “Do you honestly think… I still have one left?”
I only have three Heartbeat Petals in my lifetime. These crystalline fragments of life form from a mother’s love, a father’s devotion, and pure, selfless kindness at the moment of birth.
When I was eight, Mother was diagnosed with end-stage breast cancer. I snuck alone to the Rift, cut open my young chest, and traded my first petal to save her life.
When Brother turned twelve, gangsters shattered both his legs, leaving him facing amputation. I gave up my second petal to give him his working legs back.
My final petal went to Chloe, my husband David’s disabled infant sister born with cerebral palsy, three years ago.
My Heart Seed is long drained, nothing but barren wasteland inside me now.
“Don’t play helpless!” Mother grabs fistfuls of my hair and yanks my head upward. “Your father and I loved you when you were born! You must still have petals! You’re just selfish. You want to watch your sister die!”
“I’m not lying to you…” I gaze at her in utter despair. “Mother, I truly have none left. If you force this offering, the Elderwood will tear me apart.”
“Then die!” Brother cuts me off coldly. “Your worthless life is a fair trade for Lily’s.”
【Countdown: 47 Hours 55 Minutes.】
The voice rings inside my head again, paired with a sharp, stabbing cramp in my heart. I can feel the Elderwood’s curse creeping through the brand into my veins, cold worms writhing beneath my skin.
I have to save myself.
One slim loophole exists within the Elderwood’s rules. During the Bloom Grace Period, if the sacrifice receives sincere, genuine care and affection from blood kin or a beloved, the drained Heart Seed stands a minuscule chance to sprout a new petal.
If I gain even one petal, I survive. Or at the very least, I can calm the Elderwood’s wrath.
I stagger upright from the table, ignoring my torn, ragged clothes, and stumble toward the doorway.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” Mother snaps sharply.
“I’m going to find love…” I murmur, eyes hollow. “I’ll grow a petal… I’ll give you the petal…”
As long as I live, as long as this soul-rending agony stops, I will do anything.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
The Spy Who Left
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
My Benchwarmer Boyfriend's Secret
As the team's benchwarmer, Marco practices harder than anyone, though few seems to notice. There's something about his quiet determination that draws me in, and I find myself falling for the underdog.
But when Marco's true story starts unraveling—about that first night, about who he really is, about the future he's destined for—I realize I might have gotten in way over my head.
And there's another problem: this was always meant to be temporary. His training program has an end date, and we're both fighting against a reality that seems determined to pull us apart.
When everything is on the line, how far are we willing to go for love?
Tango with the Alpha's Heart
“He met her at the Alpha training camp,” he said. “She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice.”
My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks.
Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna.
Emily became the laughingstock of the pack on her 18th birthday and never expected the Alpha's son to be her mate.
After a night of passionate love, Emily finds out that her mate has taken a chosen mate. Heartbroken and humiliated, she disappears from the pack.
Now, five years later, Emily is a respected high-ranking warrior in King Alpha’s army.
When her best friend invites her to a night of music and laughter, she never expects to run into her mate.
Will her mate figure out it is her?
Will he chase after her, and most of all, will Emily be able to keep her secrets safe?
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
Oops. My Boss Was Seventeen
The Execution: Perfect. I brought him coffee, cheered at his games, and basically operated as his unpaid teenage executive assistant. He’s totally buying it.
The Problem: I was trying to network my way into the C-suite. I think I just networked my way into his bed.
Kaged In
Follow Kage's journey as he tries to heal, falls in love and faces his inner turmoil.
Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon
Four years ago, the Bailey family faced a devastating financial crisis.
Just when bankruptcy seemed inevitable, a mysterious benefactor emerged, offering salvation with one condition: a contract marriage.
Rumors swirled about this enigmatic man—whispers claimed he was hideously ugly and too ashamed to show his face, possibly harboring dark, twisted obsessions.
Without hesitation, the Baileys sacrificed me to protect their precious biological daughter, forcing me to take her place as a pawn in this cold, calculated arrangement.
Luckily, in those four years, the mysterious husband never asked to meet in person.
Now, in the final year of our arrangement, the husband I've never met is demanding we meet face to face.
But disaster struck the night before my return—drunk and disoriented, I stumbled into the wrong hotel room and ended up sleeping with the legendary financial mogul, Caspar Thornton.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
The Billionaire's Mask (A Dark Steamy Romance)
The Blackthorn Saga: The Heir (Book 1 & 2)
Pulled into a hidden world he never knew existed, Kruz is forced to face the truth—he isn’t just different.
He’s a vampire.
The transformation is only the beginning. Thrust from a life of survival into one of power, wealth, and expectation, Kruz is given a position no one his age should hold: District Elder.
With it comes authority. Responsibility. And enemies he doesn’t yet understand.
And then there’s the bond.
Forced into a connection he didn’t choose, Kruz is tied to a girl—whether he wants it or not. She’s a complication. A problem. A constant reminder that his life is no longer his own.
Because the one person he wants… is the one he can’t have.
As pressure builds and danger closes in, Kruz is forced to walk a line few survive—between duty and desire, control and instinct, the life he had and the one being forced upon him.
Because in this world, power isn’t earned slowly.
It’s given.
And if you’re not ready for it—
It will destroy you.
After One Night with the Alpha
I thought I was waiting for love. Instead, I got fucked by a beast.
My world was supposed to bloom at the Moonshade Bay Full Moon Festival—champagne buzzing in my veins, a hotel room booked for Jason and me to finally cross that line after two years. I’d slipped into lacy lingerie, left the door unlocked, and lay on the bed, heart pounding with nervous excitement.
But the man who climbed into my bed wasn’t Jason.
In the pitch-black room, drowned in a heady, spicy scent that made my head spin, I felt hands—urgent, scorching—searing my skin. His thick, pulsing cock pressed against my dripping cunt, and before I could gasp, he thrust hard, tearing through my innocence with ruthless force. Pain burned, my walls clenching as I clawed at his iron shoulders, stifling sobs. Wet, slick sounds echoed with every brutal stroke, his body unrelenting until he shuddered, spilling hot and deep inside me.
"That was amazing, Jason," I managed to say.
"Who the fuck is Jason?"
My blood turned to ice. Light slashed across his face—Brad Rayne, Alpha of Moonshade Pack, a werewolf, not my boyfriend. Horror choked me as I realized what I’d done.
I ran away for my life!
But weeks later, I woke up pregnant with his heir!
They say my heterochromatic eyes mark me as a rare true mate. But I’m no wolf. I’m just Elle, a nobody from the human district, now trapped in Brad's world.
Brad’s cold gaze pins me: “You carry my blood. You’re mine.”
There is no other choice for me but to chose this cage. My body also betrays me, craving the beast who ruined me.
WARNING: Mature Readers Only
One Weekend with the Billionaire
I open my mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a staggered breath and a small sigh. He chuckles, a low, rough rumble and then leans down and kisses the middle of my back.
I feel the tip of him again at my entryway. He pushes in slightly, and my body comes to life again. My muscles react to his presence, contracting and loosening, as if my body is trying to suck him deep inside.
He's my husband's boss, so this is supposed to be wrong.
So why does it feel so right?
Braxton Merriweather always gets what he wants. Now, he wants her--Julia Thompson, the wife of one of his workers. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew he had to possess her in every way.
When Jeff Thompson takes him up on the bargain he proposes, Braxton is shocked. He's even more surprised when Mrs. Thompson agrees.
But now that he's had a taste of her, he wants more. How can he possess a woman who's already married to someone else?
Julia feels trapped by her marriage to her high school sweetheart. In the two years since they've been married, he's changed, and not for the better. When billionaire Braxton Merriweather shows interest in her, she's flattered. And intrigued. Is it possible that one of the richest men in the world could really want her?
And if so... what does she do about her husband?
One Weekend with the Billionaire is a sexy story for mature readers.
The Princess's Revenge
Alpha Logan is an illegitimate son whose mother disappeared when he was 10 years old. He grew up suffering from humiliation and lacking maternal love.
Alpha Logan saves Valencia at Marcus's funeral, which seems to be destined by fate—part of the Moon Goddess's grand plan.
As Valencia accidentally discovers prophecies in Logan's mother's diary that seem to be related to her, the truth gradually surfaces. Valencia appears to be merely a tool in a princess's revenge plot. How will Logan and Valencia navigate their path amid the national war and pack politics?












