

A Throne for Sisters (Book One)
Morgan Rice · Completed · 64.1k Words
Introduction
Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Of all the things to hate in the House of the Unclaimed, the grinding wheel was the one Sophia dreaded most. She groaned as she pushed against an arm connected to the giant post that disappeared into the floor, while around her, the other orphans shoved against theirs. She ached and sweated as she pushed at it, her red hair matting with the work, her rough gray dress staining further with the sweat. Her dress was shorter than she wanted now, riding up with every stride to show the tattoo on her calf in the shape of a mask, marking her as what she was: an orphan, an owned thing.
The other girls there had things even worse. At seventeen, Sophia was at least one of the oldest and largest of them. The only person older in the room was Sister O’Venn. The nun of the Masked Goddess wore the jet black habit of her order, along with a lace mask that every orphan quickly learned she could see through, down to the smallest detail of failure. The sister held the leather strap that she used to dole out punishment, flexing it between her hands while she droned on in the background, uttering the words of the
Book of Masks
, homilies about the need to perfect abandoned souls such as them.
“In this place, you learn to be useful,” she intoned. “In this place, you learn to be valuable, as you were not to whatever fallen women gave birth to you. The Masked Goddess tells us that we must shape our place in the world through our efforts, and today your efforts turn the querns that grind the corn and—pay attention, Sophia!”
Sophia flinched as she felt the impact of her belt as it cracked out. She gritted her teeth. How many times had the sisters beaten her in her life? For doing the wrong thing, or for not doing the right thing quickly enough? For being pretty enough that it constituted a sin in and of itself? For having the flame red hair of a troublemaker?
If only they knew about her talent. She shuddered to think of it. For then, they would have beaten her to death.
“Are you ignoring me, you stupid girl?” the nun demanded. She struck out again, and again. “Kneel facing the wall, all of you!”
That was the worst part: it didn’t
matter
if you did everything right. The sisters would beat everyone for the failings of one girl.
“You need to be reminded,” Sister O’Venn snapped, as Sophia heard a girl cry out, “of what you are. Of
where
you are.” Another girl whimpered as the leather strap struck flesh. “You are the children no one wanted. You are the property of the Masked Goddess, given a home through her grace.”
She made her way around the room, and Sophia knew she would be last. The idea was to make her feel guilt for the pain of the others, and give them time to hate her for bringing this on them, before she got her beating.
The beating she was kneeling there waiting for.
When she could just leave.
That thought came to Sophia so unbidden that she had to check it wasn’t some kind of sending from her younger sister, or that she hadn’t picked it up from one of the others. That was the problem with a talent like hers: it came when it wanted, not when called. Yet it seemed that the thought really was hers—and more than that, it was true.
Better to risk death than to stay here one more day.
Of course, if she dared to walk away, the punishment would be worse. They always found a way to make it worse. Sophia had seen girls who had stolen or fought back starved for days, forced to keep kneeling, beaten when they tried to sleep.
But she didn’t care anymore. Something inside her had crossed a line. The fear couldn’t touch her, because it was swamped in the fear of what would happen soon anyway.
After all, she turned seventeen today.
She was now old enough to repay her debt of years of “care” at the hands of the nuns—to be indentured and sold like livestock. Sophia knew what happened to orphans who came of age. Compared to that, no beating mattered.
She had been turning it over in her mind for weeks, in fact. Dreading this day, her birthday.
And now it had arrived.
To her own shock, Sophia acted. She stood smoothly, looked around. The nun’s attention was on another girl, whipping her savagely, so it was but the work of a moment to slip over to the door in silence. Probably even the other girls didn’t notice, or if they did, they were too frightened to say anything.
Sophia stepped out into one of the plain white corridors of the orphanage, moving quietly, walking away from the workroom. There were other nuns out there, but so long as she moved with purpose, it might be enough to keep them from stopping her.
What had she just done?
Sophia kept walking through the House of the Unclaimed in a daze, barely able to believe that she was actually doing this. There were reasons they didn’t bother locking the front gates. The city beyond, just outside its gates, was a rough place—and rougher still for those who had started life as an orphan. Ashton had every city’s thieves and thugs—yet it also contained the hunters who recaptured the indentured who ran and the free folk who would spit on her simply for what she was.
Then there was her sister. Kate was only fifteen. Sophia didn’t want to drag her into something worse. Kate was tough, tougher even than her, yet she was still Sophia’s little sister.
Sophia wandered down toward the cloisters and the courtyard where they mixed with the boys from the orphanage next door, trying to work out where her sister would be. She couldn’t leave without her.
She was almost there when she heard a girl cry out.
Sophia headed toward the sound, half suspecting that her little sister had gotten herself into another fight. When she reached the yard, though, she didn’t find Kate at the center of a brawling mob, but another girl instead. This one was even younger, perhaps in her thirteenth year, and was being pushed and slapped by three boys who must have been almost old enough to sell off into apprenticeships or the army.
“Stop that!” Sophia cried out, surprising herself as much as she seemed to surprise the boys there. Normally the rule was that you walked past whatever was happening in the orphanage. You stayed quiet and remembered your place. Now, though, she stepped forward.
“Leave her be.”
The boys paused, but only to stare at her.
The oldest set his eyes upon her with a malicious grin.
“Well, well, boys,” he said, “looks like we have another one who isn’t where she should be.”
He had blunt features and the kind of dead look in his eyes that only came from years in the House of the Unclaimed.
He stepped forward, and before she could react, he grabbed Sophia’s arm. She went to slap him, but he was too quick, and he shoved her to the floor. It was in moments like this that Sophia wished she had her younger sister’s fighting skills, her ability to summon an instant brutality that Sophia, for all her cunning, just wasn’t capable of.
Going to be sold as a whore anyway
…
might as well have my turn.
Sophia was startled to hear his thoughts. These had an almost greasy feel to them, and she knew they were his. Her panic welled up.
She started to struggle, but he pinned her arms easily.
There was only one thing she could do. She screwed up her concentration, calling on her talent, hoping that this time it would work for her.
Kate,
she sent,
the courtyard! Help me!
“More elegantly, Kate!” the nun called. “More
elegantly
!”
Kate didn’t have a lot of time for elegance, but still, she made the effort as she poured water into a goblet held by the sister. Sister Yvaine regarded her critically from beneath her mask.
“No, you still haven’t got it. And I know you’re not clumsy, girl. I’ve seen you turning cartwheels in the yard.”
She hadn’t punished Kate for it, though, which suggested that Sister Yvaine wasn’t one of the worst of them. Kate tried again, her hand trembling.
She and the other girls with her were supposed to be learning to serve elegantly at noble tables, but the truth was that Kate wasn’t built for it. She was too short and too tightly muscled for the kind of graceful femininity the nuns had in mind. There was a reason she kept her red hair hacked short. In the ideal world, where she was free to choose, she yearned for an apprenticeship with a smith or perhaps one of the groups of players who worked in the city—or perhaps even a chance to go into the army as the boys did. This graceful pouring was the kind of lesson her big sister, with her dream of aristocracy, would have enjoyed—not her.
As if the thought summoned her, Kate suddenly snapped to as she heard her sister’s voice in her mind. She wondered, though; their talent wasn’t always that reliable.
But then it came again, and there, too, was the feeling behind it.
Kate, the courtyard! Help me!
Kate could feel the fear there.
She stepped away from the nun sharply, involuntarily, and in so doing she spilled her jug of water across the stone of the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I need to go.”
Sister Yvaine was still staring at the water.
“Kate, clean that up at once!”
But Kate was already running. She would probably find herself beaten for it later, but she’d been beaten before. It didn’t mean anything. Helping the one person in the world she cared about did.
She ran through the orphanage. She knew the way, because she’d learned every twist and turn of the place in the years since that awful night they dropped her here. She also, late at night, sneaked out from the ceaseless snoring and stench of the dormitory when she could, enjoying the place in the blackness when she was the only one up, when the tolling of the city’s bells was the only sound, and learning the feel of every nook in its walls. She sensed she would need it one day.
And now she did.
Kate could hear the sound of her sister, fighting and calling for help. On instinct, she ducked into a room, grabbing a poker from the fire grate and continuing on. What she would do with it, she didn’t know.
She burst into the courtyard, and her heart fell to see her sister being pinned down by two boys while another fumbled with her dress.
Kate knew exactly what to do.
A primal rage overcame her, one she could not control if she wished, and Kate rushed forward with a roar, swinging the poker at the first boy’s head. He turned as Kate struck, so it didn’t hit him as well as she wanted, but it was still enough to send him sprawling, clutching at the spot she’d hit.
She lashed out at another, catching him across the knee as he stood, making him tumble. She struck the third in the stomach, until he keeled over.
She kept hitting, not wanting to give the boys any time to recover. She’d been in plenty of fights in her years at the orphanage, and she knew that she couldn’t rely on size or strength. Fury was the only thing she had to carry her through. And thankfully, Kate had plenty of that.
She struck and she struck, until the boys fell back. They might have been prepared to join the army, but the Masked Brothers on their side didn’t teach them to fight. That would have made them too hard to control. Kate struck one of the boys in the face, then spun back to hit another’s elbow with a crack of iron on bone.
“Stand up,” she said to her sister, holding out her hand. “Stand
up
!”
Her sister stood numbly, taking Kate’s hand as though she were the younger sister for once.
Kate set off running, and her sister ran with her. Sophia appeared to come back to herself as they ran, some of the old certainty seeming to return as they raced along the corridors of the orphanage.
Behind them, Kate could hear shouting, from boys or sisters or both. She didn’t care. She knew there was no way but out.
“We can’t go back,” Sophia said. “We have to leave the orphanage.”
Kate nodded. Something like this wouldn’t earn just a beating as punishment. But then Kate remembered.
“Then we go,” Kate replied, running. “First I just need to—”
“No,” Sophia said. “There’s no time. Leave everything. We need to
go
.”
Kate shook her head. There were some things she couldn’t leave behind.
So instead, she raced in the direction of her dormitory, keeping hold of Sophia’s arm so that she would follow.
The dormitory was a bleak place, with beds that were little more than wooden slats sticking out from the wall like shelves. Kate wasn’t stupid enough to put anything that mattered in the small chest at the foot of her bed, where anyone could steal it. Instead, she went to a crack between two floorboards, worrying at it with her fingers until one lifted.
“Kate,” Sophia huffed and puffed, catching her breath, “there’s no time.”
Kate shook her head.
“I won’t leave it behind.”
Sophia had to know what she’d come for; the one memento she had from that night, from their old life.
Finally, Kate’s finger’s fastened around metal, and she lifted the locket clear to shine in the dim light.
When she was a child, she’d been sure that it was real gold; a fortune waiting to be spent. As she’d gotten older, she’d come to see that it was some cheaper alloy, but by then, it had come to be worth far more than gold to her anyway. The miniature inside, of a woman smiling while a man had his hand on her shoulder, was the closest thing to a memory of her parents she had.
Kate normally didn’t wear it for fear that one of the other children, or the nuns, would take it from her. Now, she tucked it inside her dress.
“Let’s go,” she said.
They ran for the door to the orphanage, supposedly always open because the Masked Goddess had found doors closed to her when she visited the world and had condemned those within. Kate and Sophia ran down the twists and turns of the corridors, coming out to the hallway, looking around for any pursuers.
Kate could hear them, but right then, there was only the usual sister beside the door: a fat woman who moved to block the way even as the two of them approached. Kate flushed red as she immediately recalled all the years of beatings she’d taken by her hands.
“There you are,” she said in a stern tone. “You’ve both been very disobedient, and—”
Kate didn’t pause; she hit her in the stomach with the poker, hard enough to double her up. Right then, she wished it were one of the elegant swords that courtiers wore, or maybe an axe. As it was, she had to settle for merely stunning the woman long enough for her and Sophia to run past.
But then, as Kate passed through the doors, she stopped.
“Kate!” Sophia yelled, panic in her voice. “Let’s go! What are you doing?!”
But Kate couldn’t control it. Even with the shouts of those in hot pursuit. Even knowing it was risking both of their freedom.
She took two steps forward, raised the poker high, and smashed the nun again and again across her back.
The nun grunted and cried with each blow, and each sound was music to Kate’s ears.
“Kate!” Sophia pleaded, on the verge of tears.
Kate stared at the nun for a long time, too long, needing to ingrain that picture of vengeance, of justice, into her mind. It would sustain her, she knew, for whatever horrific beatings might follow.
Then she turned and burst out with her sister from the House of the Unclaimed, like two fugitives from a sinking ship. The stink and noise and bustle of the city hit Kate, but this time she didn’t slow.
She held her sister’s hand and ran.
And ran.
And ran.
And despite it all, she took a deep breath and smiled wide.
However short it might be, they had found freedom.
Last Chapters
#27 Chapter 27
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#26 Chapter 26
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#25 Chapter 25
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#24 Chapter 24
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#23 Chapter 23
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#22 Chapter 22
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#21 Chapter 21
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#20 Chapter 20
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#19 Chapter 19
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#18 Chapter 18
Last Updated: 3/3/2025
You Might Like 😍
Second Chances
When lover found their way back. I was pregnant 12 years ago but I vanished from is life. As my daughter grows and resembles him more, my longing deepens now at a gala, I unexpectedly see him again now a charming CEO.
I loved Nicolas with all my heart for years while we where in Uni but one night I got pregnant the only night we didn't use any protection. I had to run away from him he had a bright future ahead of him he had a business he was groomed to do since he was a child I couldn't get in the way of that I couldn't destroy his hope and dreams like the pregnancy will destroy mine so I had to run and I had to run where he wouldn't look for me. 12 years later I'm a nurse which was not my dream at all but it put food on the table and that is what was important. One of my colleagues gave me tickets to go to a Christmas Ball and who do I run into, the love of my life the man I ran away from the man who my daughter looks like and on his arm was off course the most beautiful model. Since I've left him I made sure to follow him on social media and the papers obviously I used a other name on social media and he always had a model on his arm always. The thing is not one of them looked like me which made me realized he was over me. Seeing him in real life and not just on my phone or in the papers ripped my heart right out of my chest especially with the model by his side.
V for Virgin!
Yes, I'm that girl.
That weird girl that always asks for the impossible and just happens to be secretly in love with her oblivious--rightfully so--best friend. Woe isn't my name though. It's Cassie.
And with my impromptu agreement to be a surrogate mother due to financial instability, I'm in a bind. Losing my virginity to a baby is not my cherry-picking dream. I have maybe a month to get him to agree before the in vitro process starts. Of course, he and his boyfriend know absolutely none of this. [M/F/M]
Up North
My hands move from his jaw to his hair, tagging at its ends. His hands travel down my body and pull the material from my shirt up my body, he places a wet kiss right beside my belly button. I tense as I let out a gasp. He makes his way up, showering my stomach with slow kisses, studying my body as he goes until the shirt is completely off and his mouth is on my neck.
Aelin has been mistreated by her pack for as long as she can remember, but as the threats of the Vampire Kingdom becomes more and more palpable, her pack has to call the Northerners to help them train and prepare for the Vampire Kingdom. What happens when the Northern Alpha takes a liking to Aelin?
Fake Dating Alpha Hockey Captain
When you're being pestered by your ex to get back together, he shows up and tells your ex to fuck off.
Your ex says, I know this is just a deal and you can't possibly like her.
Him (kisses you in front of everyone): A deal, Like this?
A pack of their own
Rejected Protector
Heartsong
I looked strong, and my wolf was absolutely gorgeous.
I looked to where my sister is sitting and her and the rest of her posse have jealous fury on their faces. I then look up to where my parents are and they're glaring at my picture, if looks alone could set shit on fire.
I smirk at them then I turn away to face my opponent, everything else falling away but what was here on this platform. I take my skirt and cardigan off. Standing in just my tank and capris, I move into a fighting position and wait for the signal to start -- To fight, to prove, and not hide myself anymore.
This was going to be fun. I thought, a grin on my face.
This book ”Heartsong” contains two books “Werewolf’s Heartsong” and “Witch’s Heartsong”
Mature Audience Only: Contains mature luangege, sex, abuse and violence
The Moon's Descendant
“You think I’m going to let my daughter sleep with whoever she wants” he spat. He kicked me in the ribs, sending me flying back across the floor.
“I didn’t” I coughed, gasping for air.
I felt as though my chest had caved in. I thought I was about to vomit when Hank grabbed my hair and lifted my head. CRACK. It was like my eye had exploded inside my skull when he punched me in the face. I landed on the cold concrete and pressed my face onto the floor. He used his foot to roll me over so that I was on my back.
“Look at you, you disgusting c**t” he huffed as he crouched down beside me and wiped the hair from my face. He smiled, a terrifying evil smile.
“I have something extra special for you tonight” he whispered.
Hidden in the dark forest, on Cape Breton Island, lives a small community of Weres. For generations they remained hidden from the humans and maintained a peaceful existence. That is until one small woman joins their pack and throws their world upside down.
Gunner the future Alpha, serving as a knight in shining armour saves the young woman from certain death. Bringing with her a mysterious past and possibilities that many had long since forgotten, Zelena is the light they didn’t know they needed.
With new hope, comes new dangers. A clan of hunters want back what they believe the pack has stolen from them, Zelena.
With her new powers, new friends and new family, they all fight to protect their homeland and the gift that the Moon Goddess has bestowed upon them, the Triple Goddess.
Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother
The problem is, he's the brother of my ex-boyfriend Bradley.
As a lowly Omega werewolf, I have no right to desire a union with a superior wolf, especially this Alpha leader. Derek Stone isn't just the leader of the Darkwood Pack; he's also a formidable business tycoon. His reputation for ruthlessness makes other packs tremble.
But the ancient werewolf law is clear: if a Pack Alpha rejects his Soul Bond, a curse will descend upon us both.
When Derek suddenly hires me as his assistant secretary, I find myself in a dangerous game. Daily close contact makes the wolf inside me excited, while his cold attitude breaks my heart. Is he deliberately torturing me, or is there something more complex hidden beneath his icy exterior?
As the attraction between us grows stronger, I must make a choice: continue to endure this painful connection, find a way to break the Soul Bond, or make the Pack Alpha fall in love with me and accept me as his Soul Bond.
Strings of Fate
Like all children, I was tested for magic when I was only a few days old. Since my specific bloodline is unknown and my magic is unidentifiable, I was marked with a delicate swirling pattern around my upper right arm.
I do have magic, just as the tests showed, but it has never lined up with any known Magic species.
I can't breathe fire like a dragon Shifter, or hex people who piss me off like Witches. I can't make potions like an Alchemist or seduce people like a Succubus. Now I don't mean to be unappreciative of the power I do have, it's interesting and all, but it just really doesn't pack much of a punch and most of the time it is just pretty much useless. My special magical skill is the ability to see threads of fate.
Most of life is annoying enough for me, and what never occurred to me is that my mate is a rude, pompous nuisance. He's an Alpha and my friend's twin brother.
“What are you doing? This is my home, you can't just let yourself in!” I try and keep my voice firm but when he turns and fixes me with his golden eyes I shrink back. The look he gives me is imperious and I automatically drop my eyes to the floor as is my habit. Then I force myself to look back up again. He doesn't notice me looking up because he's already looked away from me. He's being rude, I refuse to show that he's scaring me, even though he most definitely is. He glances around and after realising that the only place to sit is the little table with its two chairs he points to it.
“Sit.” he orders. I glare at him. Who is he to order me around like this? How can someone this obnoxious possibly be my soul mate? Maybe I'm still asleep. I pinch my arm and my eyes water a little from the sting of pain.
Nanny and Her Four Alpha Bullies
The Last Spirit Wolf
“LYCANS?! Did you just say LYCANS?!
“Yes Vera!They are coming! Get your people ready.”
I couldn’t believe we actually have Lycans tonight.
I was told growing up that lycans and wolves were mortal enemies.
Rumors also said in order to protect their pureblood, Lycans were not allowed to marry wolves in generations.
I was still surprised but I couldn’t let my mind wander anymore. I’m a doctor.
A badly injured werewolf comes barging in through the E.R door, holding an unconscious wolf. I rush to them and the nurses that were already in their dresses and heels come to their aid.
What the hell happened?
I turn my full attention to the severely injured lycan and for a moment, it’s as if I can feel his slowing heart beat in my own chest. I check his vitals as a nurse reluctantly hooks him to all the machines. As I put my hand on his head to lift his eyelid and check for pupil response, I feel electricity run below my fingertips. What the…?
Without warning, his eyes shoot open startling me and sending both our heart rates through the roof. He looks at me intently; I would never think those eyes are of a man who is barely alive.
He whispers something too low for me to hear. I get closer and as he whispers again; he flat lines and my head is reeling.
Did he just whisper… mate?