
Introduction
Yael swore she’d keep her distance. Her brother’s rival is a walking problem—inked arms, reckless smirk, and a reputation that makes parents pray. But every accidental brush, every stolen look, pulls her closer to the boy she’s supposed to hate. Knox doesn’t play by rules, and Yael’s resolve begins to crumble under his magnetic charm. Rivalry turns to obsession, and soon, staying away isn’t just impossible—it’s the last thing she wants.
Some flames are meant to burn.
Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
YAEL
“Yeah, just—drop that box over there. No, not on the bed. Over there. Thank you.”
The mover gives me that look. You know, the one that says she’s bossy but kinda cute so I’ll let it slide. He sets the box down with a grunt and wipes his forehead dramatically, like he just finished building the pyramids.
I clap my hands together. “Perfect. You’ve done your country proud.”
He snorts but doesn’t say anything. His partner wheels in the last suitcase, and within seconds, my single dorm room officially looks like a storage unit.
Hartwell University.
Co-ed dorms.
New chapter of my life.
And somehow, Aaron actually pulled enough strings to get me a single room. Do you know how rare that is? I’d seen people online practically auctioning kidneys for this kind of privacy.
“Yael.”
I turn, and there he is—my big brother, Aaron Levi, in all his overprotective, broad-shouldered, six-foot-two glory. His brows are drawn together like he’s inspecting the room for hidden sniper rifles.
“You like it?” he asks, crossing his arms.
“I love it.” I grin, spinning around once. “It’s quiet. It’s mine. And no weird roommates who’ll eat my yogurt at 3 a.m.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You say that like you’re not the weird roommate in other scenarios.”
“First of all, I’m delightful.” I point at him with mock offense. “Second of all, this is perfect. Seriously, thank you.”
I walk over and hug him tight. Aaron’s arms come around me, solid and familiar. For a second, it hits me — this is real. I’m in college. Away from home. Away from the bubble.
Then he pulls back and launches into full big brother mode.
“Yael, listen. Co-ed dorm means you’re sharing a building with guys. Guys.” He says it like it’s a disease. “If anyone tries anything, you call me. Immediately. I don’t care if it’s 3 a.m. or if I’m in the middle of—”
“Okay, Liam Neeson.” I roll my eyes. “Got it. You’ll find them, you’ll kill them. Very macho. Very intimidating. But I’m a big girl.”
He doesn’t look convinced. “Yael.”
I mimic his voice, “Aaron.”
He narrows his eyes. I grin wider. This is our thing — him being a drama king, me making him twitch.
“Seriously,” he mutters. “Don’t talk to random guys. Don’t give your number to anyone. Don’t—”
I cover his mouth with my hand. “I got it. No boys. No trouble. Just me, my books, and my single room. You can stop sweating.”
He mumbles something against my palm, and I step back, laughing.
Aaron sighs and rubs his temple. “You’re going to give me gray hair before I graduate.”
“Good,” I say cheerfully. “Then people will finally believe you’re the boring sibling.”
His scandalized face is everything. “Excuse me?”
I hug Aaron again, squeezing like I can trap him here a little longer.
He pats my head like I’m twelve. “Alright, rugrat. I gotta bounce. Coach wants us back for conditioning. You set this place up. Don’t make it look like a tornado hit it, okay?”
I roll my eyes. “Please, I’m aesthetic. You should be thanking me for bringing class to this dorm.”
He snorts. “Yeah, sure. Just remember the rules—”
“Yes, yes. No boys, no parties, no summoning demons in my single room. Got it.”
“Yael—” His warning tone kicks in. I grin wider.
“Go, Aaron. Before your team starts crying because their captain’s too busy being my bodyguard.”
He shakes his head, muttering something about me being a menace, and heads down the hallway. He gives me one last look before disappearing around the corner.
The second the door closes behind me, the silence is so peaceful I could cry. Just me. No roommate. No noise. No—
Thud.
I freeze.
Another thud. Louder. Then muffled shouting.
“What the—”
I abandon my half-opened suitcase and bolt to the door barefoot, yanking it open.
Down by the stairwell, a crowd has formed. Phones are up, students buzzing with oh my god, a fight energy. And right in the center?
Aaron.
My idiot, overprotective, hot-headed brother.
He’s got someone pinned against the wall by the collar, punching like he’s auditioning for a boxing match. The other guy doesn’t look weak either—he’s shoving back, lips already split, but grinning.
“Are you insane?!” I scream, shoving through the crowd.
“Yael, stay back,” Aaron grunts without looking at me, throwing another punch.
“No!” I wedge myself between them, palms braced against Aaron’s chest. It’s like trying to stop a moving car. “Stop it! Aaron, stop!”
The other guy laughs—low, rough, like this is fun for him. “What’s wrong, captain? Need your little sister to bail you out?”
My head snaps toward him and—holy. Hell.
He’s leaning back against the wall, blood on his lip, hair tousled in that careless, I woke up like this and ruined lives before breakfast kind of way. His T-shirt clings to his chest, ink peeking from under the sleeve.
And those eyes. Stormy grey, sharp, and locked on me like I’m something worth memorizing.
Oh no. No no no.
He smirks. “Well. Didn’t expect this kind of welcome.”
My brain forgets English for a second.
Aaron lunges. I shove him back harder. “Aaron! I swear, if you get suspended before I unpack—”
“He threatened you” Aaron growls, jabbing a finger at the guy.
I blink. “What?”
The guy tilts his head lazily. “That’s a new one. Usually people hit me after I open my mouth.”
Aaron glares. “Knox Hale. Of course.”
The name clicks somewhere in my head. Football. Business major. Bad reputation. Girls whispering in the dining hall about him like he’s both a warning and a fantasy.
Knox wipes his lip with his thumb, eyes still on me. “So, princess, you got a name or should I keep calling you trouble?”
I stare. “Princess?”
“Yeah.” His grin widens, slow and dangerous. “Fits.”
My pulse trips over itself. “You’re bleeding. And weird.”
Aaron shoves my shoulder lightly. “Yael, move.”
“No! You’re not murdering people on my first day.”
“I’m not murdering him.”
Knox hums. “Could’ve fooled me.”
The tension crackles, loud enough you can practically taste it. The crowd eats it up, whispering, recording. Fantastic. My first day and I’m already trending on DormTok.
I step closer to Aaron and hiss under my breath, “You’re embarrassing me.”
“I’m protecting you.”
“From what? His face?”
Aaron’s jaw tightens. “Exactly.”
Knox’s laugh slides over my skin like smoke. “Wow. He’s got jokes and paranoia.”
Aaron lunges again. I slam my hand against his chest. “Aaron!”
He freezes. I give him my I will snitch to Mom glare.
Finally, he throws up his hands. “Fine. But I’m not apologizing.”
Knox whistles low. “Chivalry’s alive. Sort of.”
Aaron glares at him like he’s mentally setting him on fire, then turns and grabs my wrist. “Come on. Before this idiot tries anything else.”
I stumble after him, shooting Knox a glare over my shoulder.
He’s watching us go. Not the fight, not Aaron. Me.
And his smile isn’t mocking now. It’s sharper. Unreadable. Like he’s found something interesting and plans to take it apart slowly.
Something twists in my stomach.
Back in my room, Aaron slams the door. “Stay away from him,” he says, voice hard.
I flop on my bed. “Who even is he?”
“Knox Hale,” Aaron practically spits the name. “Quarterback. Arrogant. A walking problem. He’s my rival. And he’s not coming anywhere near you.”
I bite back a grin. “Sounds like someone’s jealous.”
“Yael.”
“Okay, okay.” I hold my hands up. “I’ll stay away. Promise.”
I don’t promise. I just say it.
He gives me one last warning look before leaving for real this time, still muttering curses about Knox.
The moment the door clicks shut, the room feels bigger. Too quiet.
I lean back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
I should be thinking about classes. Decorating. Laundry.
Instead, all I can see is that stupid grin. The way his lip curled when he called me princess. Those storm-cloud eyes that made i
t hard to breathe for a second.
I groan, dragging a pillow over my face. “Nope. Not happening. I’m not that girl.”
But his voice lingers in my head anyway.
See you around, princess.
Last Chapters
#159 Chapter 159 CHAPTER 160
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#158 Chapter 158 CHAPTER 159
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#157 Chapter 157 CHAPTER 158
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#156 Chapter 156 CHAPTER 157
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#155 Chapter 155 CHAPTER 156
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#154 Chapter 154 CHAPTER 155
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#153 Chapter 153 CHAPTER 154
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#152 Chapter 152 CHAPTER 153
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#151 Chapter 151 CHAPTER 152
Last Updated: 5/31/2026#150 Chapter 150 CHAPTER 151
Last Updated: 5/31/2026
You Might Like 😍
Mated to Her Alpha Instructor
Weeks later, our new Alpha combat instructor walks in. Regis. The guy from the woods. His eyes lock on mine, and I know he recognizes me. Then the secret I've been hiding hits me like a punch: I'm pregnant.
He has an offer that binds us tighter than ever. Protection… or a cage? Whispers turn ugly, darkness closes in. Why am I the one without a wolf? Is he my salvation… or will he drag me to ruin?
Reborn: My Biased Brothers Beg Me To Come Back
She genuinely took in Regina, the butler's daughter, only to be constantly manipulated by this cunning and manipulative woman.
Regina gradually stole the love from her three brothers.
Arabella was forced to give Regina blood transfusions time and again, her weight plummeting to a mere eighty-eight pounds.
Ultimately, under the relentless pressure from her brothers, she jumped out of a window in despair and died. Her last words were,
"What about Regina's blood transfusions?"
When she opened her eyes again, Arabella found herself reborn three years earlier—the very day Regina appeared at her doorstep crying, begging for help.
Looking at the pitiful, tearful girl before her, Arabella smiled.
No more soft-heartedness.
No more groveling.
Instead, she "kindly" arranged for Regina to move into the servants' quarters, to earn her own living through honest labor.
Faced with her brothers who sided with her, she no longer bothered to please them.
And towards her former fiancé, Theodore, whom she had once fawned over, she remained cold, distant, and indifferent.
Moreover, in this life, they would discover that her identity was far more than just the eldest daughter of the Oberon family.
BROKEN TRUST
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
First Taste in a Century
But Lysander’s arrival spells disaster. In a clumsy accident, he doesn't just ruin dinner; he obliterates her state-of-the-art scientific instruments. With her life’s work destroyed and her synthetic supply cut off, the scent of his living blood overwhelms her engineered senses. Forced to break a century-long abstinence, she takes what she needs, only to find herself addicted not just to his taste, but to the man himself.
Using the equipment as a flimsy excuse to lure him back, Vivienne battles a terrifying new obsession. She craves his body despite believing he’s taken, despising her own weakness. Meanwhile, Lysander’s initial terror curdles into a forbidden fascination. Can a relationship survive when one person feels everything, and the other only hungers?
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)
For centuries, she has been on the run, helping the supernatural community under the cloak of anonymity while she works to clear her name and save the very people after her from destruction.
Enemies are closing in, but an unexpected complication befalls her when she realises she’s been fated to someone who wants her species exterminated. After all, an evil chance seldom comes alone.
A Queen Among Darkness is the 4th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.
Books in the series in order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Generation Coming Soon)
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Tempted By The Enemy
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
Goddess Of The Underworld
When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
The Dark Witch & The Alpha Book 2
The vampire queen (Ambrosia) and Pythia will become close and discover the true origins of their pasts. They rely on each other when their mates are not around. New family is discovered and it is time they all come together to face one of the toughest moments in the dark witches history.
Where The Ice Gives Way
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)
Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
The Ice Between Us.
Then comes Jax Miller.
Jax is a hotheaded rookie with a lightning-fast puck and a reputation for burning bridges. He doesn't follow playbooks, he doesn't respect authority, and he’s determined to melt Julian’s icy composure. When a viral video of their on-ice collision threatens to bankrupt the program, Coach Clain delivers an ultimatum that feels like a death sentence: they must live together in a cramped, two-bed dorm for the duration of the season.
Forced to navigate the high-stakes world of sports fame, "forbidden" locker-room tension, and the mysterious blackmailer who caught their first mistake on camera, Julian and Jax must decide what’s more dangerous: losing their careers, or losing themselves to the person they were supposed to hate.












