Foes to Flames

Foes to Flames

David livinus · Ongoing · 109.6k Words

951
Hot
1k
Views
285
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Blurb:

Under a starry summer sky eight years ago, Benjamin whispered a promise, “I will love you forever, my green-eyed boy.” The kiss that followed stole my heart, sealing our bond in one unforgettable moment.

But when our secret was exposed, that love crumbled. Driven by fear, Benjamin denied me before everyone, even striking me to silence our truth.

Two fourteen-year-old boys in love? Impossible. We were expelled, my family uprooted in shame over their pastor son’s “sin.” The pain of rejection and betrayal carved scars that still haunt me.

Now, in university, I hide the wounds, the true me buried under a decade of fear and silence. Then rumors start, whispers of a new student with a dark, powerful family. A name I know too well: Benjamin Rufus.

In the years since, he’s become an heir to a ruthless mafia empire, while I’ve remained the pastor’s son. He walks past me, cold and indifferent, as if our history never mattered.

But our families’ pasts have other plans. When dark secrets emerge, linking my father’s violent history with Benjamin’s family, we were thrust back together in a dangerous game of love and vengeance.

Bound by legacies of betrayal, forced to confront old wounds, and trapped between love and duty, we’re caught in a war that tests the flame of our hidden love. Can we break free of fate, or will the sins of our families keep us enemies forever?or would our love shine brighter amidst the Flames?.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Through the Flames

AUTHOR'S POV

The hum of my car's engine vibrated beneath me, a soft undercurrent to the restless drumming of my fingers on the leather steering wheel. Outside, the streetlights sliced through the dark, their cold glow spilling across the dashboard. The clock’s hands inched toward 6:30 p.m., and my chest tightened.

I glanced at the grand auditorium ahead, its neon marquee glaring: Book Tour - Daniel Thompson: Author of Foes to Flames.

My first tour. My first crowd.

A bitter laugh escaped me. How had it come to this? Me—a pastor’s son, a boy who’d once flinched at the label “gay,” now seated in this car, preparing to face hundreds of people. Preparing to share the truth I’d spent years running from.

My phone buzzed. A message from Benjamin. Just a single heart emoji. Typical. Yet somehow, that tiny symbol was a lifeline, tethering me to the moment.

“Time to face the fire,” I murmured, straightening my jacket.

The evening air bit at my skin as I stepped out, pulling the door shut behind me. The auditorium loomed, larger than life, and I pushed through the heavy glass doors.

Inside, the noise hit me like a wave. The place was packed—every seat taken, people standing shoulder-to-shoulder along the walls. The low hum of chatter swelled, mingled with shuffling feet and the occasional burst of laughter.

I froze. My heart pounded against my ribcage, and for a second, I wanted to run. But then I saw their faces. The nervous energy. The tension hidden behind polite smiles. The quiet pain in their eyes, so much like my own once was.

This wasn’t just a crowd. These were my people.

“Daniel!” My manager waved me forward, pulling me out of my daze. She nodded toward the front row, where my name sat in neat block letters on a reserved placard.

I took the seat, gripping the arms of the chair as if it might steady me.

The next few minutes passed in a blur. My manager’s voice filled the room, introducing me with a flourish. Applause erupted, and suddenly, I was on my feet, climbing the stage.

The lights blinded me, but I forced myself to stand tall, the microphone cool and solid in my trembling hand.

“Wow,” I said, my voice breaking the heavy silence. I cleared my throat, chuckling awkwardly. “I never expected… this.”

A ripple of laughter swept through the crowd, loosening my chest.

“I’m not going to lie,” I continued, finding my rhythm. “Standing here feels… surreal. For so long, I didn’t think I’d have a voice, let alone an audience willing to listen. Fear kept me silent. Fear of judgment. Fear of rejection.”

The room stilled, their eyes locked on me. I felt the weight of their attention but also their understanding.

“And that fear… it almost destroyed me,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “But I learned something. Fear isn’t the end of the story. It’s just the beginning.”

The crowd leaned in, their collective energy buzzing like static in the air.

“That’s what Foes to Flames is about,” I said, my voice steady now. “It’s not just a book. It’s my life. A pastor’s son, confused and angry, battling shame and the world’s expectations. A boy who fought to survive, to love, to live authentically.”

I paused, the image of Benjamin flashing in my mind. “And yes, it’s also about love. About finding someone who sees you even when you can’t see yourself. Benjamin, my husband, did that for me. But it wasn’t easy. We were enemies before we were lovers.”

A murmur of intrigue rippled through the room.

“Enemies who had to fight through flames—of hatred, confusion, and doubt—to find each other.”

I spotted a few teenagers in the back and smirked. “Fair warning, though: if you’re under 18, you might want to skip a few chapters. Some scenes are… let’s just say, not safe for church.”

The crowd erupted in laughter, and the tension broke like a dam.

“But seriously,” I said, my tone softening. “This isn’t just a love story. It’s a story about finding yourself. About standing tall, even when the world tries to crush you. And if my words can help even one person here tonight, then every painful moment was worth it.”

The room fell silent again, the air heavy with shared emotion.

I glanced at the book in my hands, its weight grounding me. “So, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to take you on a journey. Through my life. Through the flames. And I hope, by the end, you’ll see what I see now: the flames didn’t destroy me. They forged me.”

Applause thundered through the auditorium, shaking the walls.

I opened the first page, my voice steady as I began to read. This was more than a book tour. This was my story. My truth. And tonight, I wasn’t afraid of the flames.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Omega Bound

Omega Bound

197k Views · Ongoing · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Violent Little Thing.

Violent Little Thing.

266.6k Views · Completed · sheridan.hartin
Fuck off? I lent over to her side of the car, grabbed her hips and ripped her over to straddle my lap. This girl was something else, I knew it from the start. Now I needed her to know just who I am and what I am capable of. I held one hand firmly on her waist and the other to her throat. It wasn’t tight enough to hurt her, but it would keep her in place for now.
“Angel, you have a filthy fucking mouth”, I whispered low into her ear.
“Luciano…” Finally, an expression on her face. A real one she wasn’t hiding from me. It wasn’t fear though. It was lust. My girl likes this. I pulled her down further so she could feel just how much I was liking it too and the most enchanting gasp came from her mouth while her eyes rolled back for a moment.
————————————————
Do you enjoy a damsel in distress and a knight in shining armour? If so, then this book is not for you. This five foot nothing, FMC, Ariana Salvatore is a ruthless assassin, trained and tortured to be the most deadly weapon. She's got a heart of gold, a filthy mouth and a will to survive. She's on the run from her father's heavy hand and deadly demands. What happens when not one but three powerful mafia men pine for her? Will they be able to share? Will her past catch up to her? And what about her ex fiance? The ruthless, beast of a man her father had arranged for her to marry? This book is a whirlwind of events, violent, spicy and not for the faint hearted.
The Ex-Wife's Redemption: A Love Reborn

The Ex-Wife's Redemption: A Love Reborn

140.3k Views · Completed · Emma Blackwood
When my son was hospitalized with a high fever, Henry Harding was with his ex-lover—a final betrayal that shattered what little remained of our marriage.
The pain of my unwed pregnancy is a wound I can never speak of, as the child's father vanished without a trace. Just as I was about to take my own life, Henry swooped in, offering me a home and vowing to treat my fatherless child as his own.
I've always been grateful to him for saving me that day, which is why I've endured the humiliation of this lopsided marriage for so long.
But everything changed when his former flame, Isabella Scott, returned.
Now, I'm ready to sign the divorce papers, but Henry demands ten million dollars as the price of my freedom—a sum I could never hope to scrape together.
I looked him in the eye and said coldly, "Ten million dollars to buy your heart."
Henry, the most powerful heir on Wall Street, is a former heart patient. He'll never suspect that his so-called shameful ex-wife orchestrated the heart beating in his chest.
You Rejected A Silver Wolf

You Rejected A Silver Wolf

176.8k Views · Completed · Princess Treasure Chuks
After being hated and rejected her entire life, for a mistake she made in the past, Lady Rihanna, daughter of the Beta decided to leave Black Hills.
Wandering off as a rogue, she heightened her powers and became the fearsome dread called Your Silver.
Accompanied by her silver wolf, she was ready to unleash hell on all who rejected her but then she meets her second chance mate, Alpha of Black Rose, who she couldn’t refuse.
An evil is rising that'd need the blood of the silver wolf to succeed. Would Rihanna forsake her pain and work with her mates, old and new?
Or would she charge head-on to the evil risking her own life? Enjoy this enthralling read!!
The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King

The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King

252.7k Views · Completed · Amelia Rivers
Don't stop," I begged, my hips bucking against his touch, every nerve screaming for more. "Fuck, Jace, please…"

"Eyes on me," he growled, voice thick with lust, practically vibrating through me. "I wanna watch you lose it when I make you come."

My climax slammed into me, wild and unstoppable, as he rasped, "That's it, baby."

The next morning, my heart shattered into pieces. There was Scarlett—throwing herself into Jace's arms, her body pressed intimately against his chest, her hands possessively claiming what I thought was mine just hours ago.


Raised by werewolves, human Aria Silverbrook has always lived as an outsider. When her adoptive father flees with her to escape a dangerous Alpha's advances, they find sanctuary with the powerful Moon Shadow Pack. But Aria never expected the overwhelming connection she feels to the pack's mysterious Alpha, Jace Carter—or how his young daughter Aurora instantly claims a piece of her heart.

Jace's royal Primal bloodline makes him exceptional among Alphas, his wolf Phantom towering over others. When Aria enters his territory, something stirs within him. As the Blood Moon approaches, he debates revealing the truth: she is his destined mate who will unlock his full potential.

Near her eighteenth birthday, Aria notices disturbing changes. Her wounds heal unnaturally fast after saving Aurora from a rogue wolf. A strange voice whispers warnings of transformation, while her lifelong wolf-paw birthmark takes on new significance.

Is Aria truly human? What secrets will the Blood Moon reveal? And as she falls deeper for Jace despite jealous pack members threatening their bond, can she embrace a destiny beyond anything she imagined—becoming Luna to a Wolf King?
The Alpha King's Human Mate

The Alpha King's Human Mate

372.7k Views · Ongoing · HC Dolores
“You must understand something, little mate,” Griffin said, and his face softened,

“I have waited nine years for you. That’s nearly a decade since I’ve felt this emptiness inside me. Part of me began to wonder if you didn’t exist or you’d already died. And then I found you, right inside my own home.” 

He used one of his hands to stroke my cheek and tingles erupted everywhere. 

“I’ve spent enough time without you and I will not let anything else keep us apart. Not other wolves, not my drunken father who’s barely holding himself together the past twenty years, not your family  – and not even you.”


Clark Bellevue has spent her entire life as the only human in the wolf pack - literally. Eighteen years ago, Clark was the accidental result of a brief affair between one of the most powerful Alphas in the world and a human woman. Despite living with her father and her werewolf half-siblings, Clark has never felt like she really belonged in the werewolf world. But right as Clark plans to leave the werewolf world behind for good, her life gets flipped upside down by her mate: the next Alpha King, Griffin Bardot. Griffin has been waiting years for the chance to meet his mate, and he's not about to let her go anytime soon. It doesn't matter how far Clark tries to run from her destiny or her mate - Griffin intends to keep her, no matter what he has to do or who stands in his way.
My Husband Wants An Open Marriage

My Husband Wants An Open Marriage

186.5k Views · Completed · Elysian Sparrow
It’s true what they say about marriage: one partner’s always happier than the other.

Julie's world is shattered when her husband, Ryan, reveals that he wants an open marriage. His reason: he needs a child as they've been unable to have one. Julie reluctantly agrees to save her marriage.

The next day, Ryan returns home with his secretary, confirming Julie’s long-held suspicion that their affair was taking place behind her back.

Julie, heartbroken and enraged, seeks solace in a bar, where she meets a fascinating stranger named Luke, who changes the game. Julie confides in Luke over drinks, and he proposes a risky plan: he will act as her "boyfriend" to turn the tables on Ryan.

Julie agrees, setting off a chain of events that will challenge everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself.
Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha

Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha

241.6k Views · Ongoing · Alice Tumusiime
Warning 18+ ⚠️MATURE READERS ONLY⚠
"You want me to fuck you, I know it"
"As much as you don't like me, you're my mate and you can't deny it."
He stood up behind me, one hand holding my hip, and leaned down, his breath ragged against my neck, his voice was husky,
"You'll listen to your body... what it wants... and my body... what it needs. Only the pleasure that a small bite can bring."

At the age of 15, I was shocked to hear the ruthless Alpha claim that I was his mate.
To make matters worse, he killed my father, who was trying to protect me. At that time, I successfully ran away from him.
However, when I turned 18, I fell into his trap again.
I hated him and wanted revenge, but the moon goddess had a different plan for me.
I was his mate, and we were fated to be together. No matter the circumstances, my body couldn't resist him.
The Luna's Vampire Prince

The Luna's Vampire Prince

141.3k Views · Completed · Bella Moondragon
Prince Rafe leans over me, holding himself up on one elbow as he gazes at my face. I feel his eyes wandering over every surface from my brow to my eyes, down my nose, to my lips and chin, and then returning to hold my gaze for a second. The small smile at the corner of his mouth makes me think he likes what he sees.
His hand is cool when it brushes a loose curl from my cheek, but I don’t jerk away from him. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It seems like a lot of powerful people want me—dead or alive. And yet, all I can think about right now is how badly I want this vampire’s hands on my body.


I live in a desolate village on the edge of the Vampire King’s lands. This used to be wolf shifter territory, but now, we are just trying to survive.
When I mess up and find myself in a culling, I know I’m dead. No wolf shifters ever survive these events.
And after the stunt I pulled in the middle of the village, Prince Rafe probably wants me dead.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing when a vampire looks at you like you’re a snack?
Something tells me, once I reach the castle, I’ll be missing my miserable existence in the village.
But then—it turns out I have no freaking idea who I even am, and when the royals start referring to me as Princess Ainslee, I realize my life is about to take a turn—for better or worse.
Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings

Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings

97k Views · Completed · Jessica Hall
Caught in a deadly game, Zirah must outwit three savage Lycan Kings and their lethal pets to survive. But what happens when she finds herself in the heart of the maze, not just alive, but protected by the very beasts sent to kill her? It is supposed to be a game—a game of life and death. But what started with the maze trials ended in a prize that is more than Zirah bargained for. She never thought the prize would be for her to choose between the three Lycan Kings fighting for their father’s throne.

Upon meeting the three Lycan kings, Zirah learns that the Kings are no prince charmings. That this would be no fairy tale love story, but one where her life is constantly balanced on the sharp edge of a knife's blade. A knife that is poised to take her life or leave her horribly broken. The Kings want nothing to do with her or each other and plan to get rid of her.

What they don't expect is for Zirah to fight back, only she plays with something far more dangerous than weapons. She’ll play with their hearts.

Zirah has to pick one King, but secrets will be revealed, and the battle between the Kings will be for more than just the throne. They will battle for the queen that they tried to break. But there's just one issue: Zirah wants revenge, and what better revenge than taking away their precious throne?
Shattered Girl

Shattered Girl

390.9k Views · Completed · Brandi Rae
Jake's fingers danced across my nipples, squeezing gently and making me groan in pleasure. He lifted my shirt and stared at my hardened nipples through my bra. I tensed, and Jake sat up and moved back on the bed, giving me some space.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.

“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.


Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother

who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.

When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
Stuck With My Three Hottie Boss

Stuck With My Three Hottie Boss

150.6k Views · Completed · Oguike Queeneth
"Your pussy is dripping for us, begging for us to use it." His deep voice sent shivers down my spine.

"Do you want that, buttercup? Do you want us to give your little cunt what it craves?"

"Y…yes, sir." I breathed


Joanna Clover's hard work through university paid off when she got a secretary job offer to her dream company, Dangote Group of Industries. The company is owned by three mafia heirs, they don't only own a joint business, they are also lovers and had been together since their college days.

They are sexually attracted to one another but they share everything together including women and they change them like clothes. They are known as the world's most dangerous playboys.

They want to share her but will she accept the fact that they fuck each other?

Will she be able to navigate business and pleasure?

She has never been touched by a man before let alone three, all at the same time. Will she oblige?