The Guardian

The Guardian

A.M. Mahler · Completed · 93.2k Words

245
Hot
245
Views
100
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

“No, you need to leave,”
“You will find a Warrior ten years after that who will protect you in your quest. Do not guard your heart against him, for he is your mate. ”


A stone that grants eternal life. It's her job to keep it safe. It's his job to protect her at all costs.

Jack Justice didn’t believe in love or the power of the human spirit and was fresh out of faith. But that all changed when he saved Lady Nora from bandits and discovered she was the Guardian of a Philosopher’s Stone. He had never met her before, but she haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember.

With the gift of eternal life, Nora has been searching for a hundred years for the Scholar, the Healer, and the Fox, so together, they may use the stone for good and keep it away from evil intent. She is convinced that Jack is her Warrior and will protect her in her journey. All she has to do is teach him it’s safe to love, trust someone else, and depend on them to help you achieve your goal. Can Nora restore Jack’s faith in love? Will Jack give up all he knows for a dangerous adventure?

Chapter 1

THE WARRIOR THRASHED about on the bed, sweat breaking out all over his body. He was trapped again in a battle that he hadn’t fought—a war that wasn’t his own. He was an observer, and though he’d had the dream before and knew what was to come, he couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t intervene and change any-thing. He couldn’t help the girl.

And he wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to just once jump in front of her and slay her attackers for her.

She was tired; he could feel it. He knew her physical strength drained as the fight went on.

He ran along behind her as she fought her way through the corridors of the manor, frustrated as she sustained injuries he could do nothing to stop. Suddenly, she screamed as she was violently jerked into a room. The heavy wooden door slammed shut and was barred against intruders.

“Fox!” she cried out in recognition to the man in the room. “We have to leave, Fox. We have to flee now. There are too many men to fight.”

“No, you need to leave,” the man said. “You need to get as far away from here as you can. Take the stone with you. Pro-tect it at all costs. He will not rest until it is his.

Everyone needs to split up and go their separate ways. If we aren’t together, we can divide his resources. It will confuse him for a while. He will need to regroup, form a new plan, before he can come after any of us.”

“Split up?” she asked, shaking her head. “You can’t be serious. The Healer and the Scholar—”

“He doesn’t want them as badly as he wants you and the stone. You are the Guardian. You will find an inventor and sci-entist in the American Colonies in the year 1763 who will be sympathetic to your plight. He will be a great asset to you. You will find a Warrior ten years after that who will protect you in your quest. Do not guard your heart against him, for he is your mate. He will know things, like I do. Trust in what he says. He will be marked, and not like others.”

The girl desperately grabbed Fox’s coat sleeve. “What is a Guardian without the Healer and the Scholar? What is she without the Fox? We need each other. I do not know the stone as well as the others.”

“You don’t need to know it any better than you do,” Fox said. “You just need to protect it. We will all meet again. Grad-ually, you will find us—one by one. It won’t happen for centuries, but when the time is right, we will be reunited for the final fight.”

“Your visions are vague, Fox.”

“This one is specific.”

“Only to you. You aren’t telling me all of it.”

“No, I am keeping some to myself. I am only telling you what you need to know. It doesn’t all pertain to you,” he said, gently removing her hand.

A banging on the door rang out through the room. Fox moved to a bookcase and shoved it aside, revealing a small wooden door. “Go now. I’ll seal the passage behind you. Head for the forest. In the ruins of the chapel, there is money hidden in the altar for you. Take it and go straight to London, and secure passage on the first ship to France. You can head to the Colo-nies from there. Your inventor isn’t born yet, nor your Warrior. Make sure you are in the Colonies by the year 1763. You’ll meet the inventor in a city named Philadelphia. The Warrior will come ten years later. Now, go! Go!”

The Guardian plunged into the darkness of the corridor. She dared not light a flame to see by. She didn’t need to anyway. She knew these secret corridors better than the back of her own hand, as she had grown up running through their maze. Only her family could find her here. None of the servants or men-at-arms knew about them. So she ran through the darkness, guided by memory. She came out right near the stables, just as she had hoped. Quickly, she looked around her. Seeing the immediate area clear from soldiers, she plunged ahead to the barn and took the first horse she came upon, which happened to be her father’s prized stallion and the fastest in the herd. Pembroke—named for William Marshal, First Earl of Pembroke and Richard the Lion-heart’s most treasured knight—didn’t protest. He was used to his mistress’s impromptu and ill-advised jaunts into the night. She spurred him forward, not daring to look behind her as she made her way to the chapel ruins and the unknown life that now awaited her.


King of Prussia, Pennsylvania – 1773

JACK WOKE WITH a gasp. The dream was so real that the girl’s image lingered in the air before him. She called to him of that he was certain. But who she was, where she was, or what her real task might be remained ever a mystery. He had seen her in his dreams since he was a child. He knew her face as well as he knew his own. He knew all their faces.

Silently, Jack rose from the bed. There was a bottle of whisky still lodged in his hand from the night before, and he set it on the trunk at the foot of the bed. Moving around the small room with stealth, Jack gathered his weapons and few belong-ings, then left the room without waking his companion. It would be less awkward that way since he could not recall her name, or perhaps had never known it at all.

Once outside, Jack took to the shadows of the barn, bor-rowed a stallion with no intention of ever returning it, and tore off into the night. The horse appeared to know where to go, which was advantageous, as Jack did not have the first idea.

He rode through the early morning hours until daybreak, seeking answers for the eternal questions in his mind. The dream had come to him over and over for as long as he could remem-ber, always featuring her, and sometimes the others she had spo-ken of. A battle had separated them from each other and now she looked for a warrior. But who was she? Why did she need pro-tection? Rationally, he knew she must be a manifestation of his subconscious. He must have seen her in his travels and remem-bered her face, inserting it into his dreams.

But deep down in places of himself he was hesitant to explore, Jack knew that wasn’t the truth. These dreams of his had a way of becoming true in reality. When he was but a boy, he had dreamed of an Indian family, one he would consider his own. Then one day, his village had burned and left him the sole survivor. The same Indian family who had appeared to him in his dreams had taken him in and made him one of them.

“Olam-a-pies,” his Shawnee mother had named him. A story builder. She said he built these stories in his dreams. Now, he was their representative in the white world.

The sun was just rising, though he had been awake for hours. Finally spotting a deer, Jack dropped the horse’s reins and slid quietly from his saddle. Removing his bow from its case, he moved slyly through the brush, his unsuspecting prey in sight. Dinner would be venison today. If he could come across some salt for it, he would be in heaven.

Sliding through the tall grass, he stalked close to his quarry and nocked an arrow, preparing to shoot.

Jack cursed as his meal suddenly spooked and bolted into the forest. The thunder of horse hooves approaching surprised him, and he crouched down to avoid detection. His horse grazed far off the trail now, but the stallion did not appear fazed by the approaching animals.

A cloaked rider astride a white mare moved at a danger-ous speed through the forest. Four riders followed in close pur-suit. A rifle roared and the bullet struck the mare's flank, causing the horse to stumble and bring her rider tumbling down. The cry of fear and surprise that rang out was a woman's, closely fol-lowed by a bellow of outrage. Without a thought, Jack trans-ferred his concentration to the chasers closest to him. The ban-dits dismounted and viciously yanked the girl to her feet, the hood of her cloak covering her face.

Only cowards attacked a woman, and so, without need-ing to aim, Jack drew and released in one motion. The arrow pierced its target right through the heart. The woman screamed and the other three men scrambled to find their attacker. Nock-ing another arrow, he crouched low and moved quickly through the brush with stealth he had learned from his Shawnee surro-gate family. The next arrow passed by the man holding the woman and found its mark through the stomach of the second attacker.

Jack was soon only a few yards away, too close for ar-rows or a musket, so he dropped the bow to draw his knife and tomahawk and stepped out into the open.

“This is no business of yours, bumpkin.”

“Where I am from, striking a lady is a grave crime,” Jack seethed, circling the sneering outlaw as the fourth one held tight to the girl in question. “What is more, it is cowardice.

Fight someone equal to you, if you dare.”

The man was probably no more than a common thug—all bluster, no substance. He drew his sword and made to close in with Jack. Jack’s right arm quickly swung up and then for-ward. The tomahawk flashed across the distance and buried its edge in the center of the brigand’s forehead, dropping him like a felled tree. Walking smoothly over to the corpse, Jack jerked the weapon free and then turned to the last pursuer.

The final scoundrel pushed the woman aside. Her hood fell away, revealing long hair the color of a chestnut. She clutched her stomach but did not look up.

“She belongs to Lord Rogan,” her would-be abductor announced, drawing his sword left-handed.

Jack and the last bandit began to circle each other. “It appears she is not of the same opinion,” he said pleasantly. He knew nothing of this Lord Rogan, only that he was about to crush the man's plans.

“She has something he wants,” the bandit hissed, reveal-ing quite a few missing teeth.

“The property is nothing to me. Only the girl's safety is my concern.”

“She is of no consequence to you.”

“Wrong.”

Jack couldn’t have said why his current opponent was wrong. While he had not seen the girl's face, he was reasonably sure he didn’t know her. He didn't know anyone in this region.

The ruffian lunged for Jack, who parried the blade away with his knife and chopped at his opponent’s sword-wrist with the tomahawk. The enemy swung back and upward to evade the hatchet and slashed at Jack’s belly. He, in turn, blocked. Their steel clashed over and over. They were evenly matched in skill with their own weapons, but not in dealing with those of their opponent’s. As clash after clash resulted in one nearly fatal close call after another, both realized that the fight could not go on much longer.

A motion off to the side caught Jack’s eye, and he saw the girl pick up a large branch. He didn't know what she planned to do with it, but he supposed it was better than no weapon at all. Just as his attention was diverted, his opponent launched a pow-erful slice at his shoulder. Jack was able to divert the sword just enough to keep the strike from being fatal, but it still struck deep into his right shoulder. As the bandit pulled the sword back, Jack saw his own chance. Knocking the sword aside with his toma-hawk, he lunged forward with his knife hand, driving the blade into the man’s chest. The last of the highway criminals dropped to his knees and fell forward, dead as a stone.

Panting for breath, Jack fell back against a tree, his vi-sion wavering. He could just make out the girl, branch still in her hand.

“You can drop your club,” he slurred. “I am no threat to you.”

“You killed them all.” She sounded astonished, her voice soft and song-like. She didn’t sound like a Colonist.

“Was I correct in assuming they were no friends of yours?”

“They were not.”

“With them all dead, there will be no one to report back to your Lord Rogan.”

Jack pressed his hand to his shoulder and winced. The in-jury to his shoulder oozed blood down his arm and chest at an alarming rate. Alone, save for the girl, this did not

bode well for him.

“He will know I was responsible,” the girl said.

“You weren’t responsible, I was.”

“It won’t make a difference to him.”

Still leaning against the tree, Jack dropped down and tried to look up at her. She was still out of focus. Not one easily soothed by a woman, he fell victim to the croon of her voice and found himself comforted.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“My lady, if you could save the inquisition for another time, I am going to lose consciousness now.”

Her image got darker and darker to him. As his head lolled to his shoulder, he felt her grab him by the ears and hold his head still for a moment before letting it go, where it cracked against the tree.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

2.4m Views · Ongoing · Harper Rivers
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother.

"What is wrong with me?

Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?

It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.

He’s my boyfirend’s brother.

This is Tyler’s family.

I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.

**

As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.

Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.

When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.

I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.

**

I hate girls like her.

Entitled.

Delicate.

And still—

Still.

The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.

Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.

I shouldn’t care.

I don’t care.

It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.

It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.

I’m not here to rescue anyone.

Especially not her.

Especially not someone like her.

She’s not my problem.

And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.

But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

1.2m Views · Ongoing · Becky j
"Mate is here!"
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

1.9m Views · Completed · 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
The Human Among  Wolves

The Human Among Wolves

690.8k Views · Ongoing · ZWrites
"You actually thought I cared about you?" His smirk was sharp, almost cruel.
My stomach twisted, but he wasn’t finished.
"You're just a pathetic little human," Zayn said, his words deliberate, each one hitting like a slap. "Spreading your legs for the first guy who bothers to notice you."
Heat rushed to my face, burning with humiliation. My chest ached — not from his words alone, but from the sick realization that I had trusted him. That I had let myself believe he was different.
I was so, so stupid.
——————————————————
When eigteen-year-old Aurora Wells moves to a sleepy town with her parents, the last thing she expects is to be enrolled in a secret academy for werewolves.
Moonbound Academy is no ordinary school. It's here young Lycans, Betas and Alphas train in shifting, elemental magic, and ancient pack laws. But Aurora? She's just...human. a mistake. The new receptionist forgot to check her species - and now she's surrounded by predators who sense she doesn't belong.
Determined to stay under the radar, Aurora plans to survive the year unnoticed. But when she catches the attention of Zayn, a brooding and infuriatingly powerful Lycan prince, her life gets a lot more complicated. Zayn already has a mate. He already has enemies. And he definitely doesn't want anything to do with a clueless human.
But secrets run deeper than bloodlines at Moonbound. as Aurora unravels the truth about the academy - and herself - she begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Including the reason she was brought here at all.
Enemies will rise. Loyalties will shift. And the girl with no place in their world...might be the key to saving it.
Accardi

Accardi

903k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
A pack of their own

A pack of their own

1.8m Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.
Game of Destiny

Game of Destiny

1.2m Views · Completed · Dripping Creativity
Amie's wolf hasn't shown herself. But who cares? She has a good pack, best friends and a family who loves her. Everyone, including the Alpha, is telling her she is perfect just the way she is. That is until she finds her mate and he rejects her. Heartbroken Amie flees from everything and start over. No more werewolves, no more packs.

When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.

Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.

When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
Surrendering to Destiny

Surrendering to Destiny

739.6k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
Catherine is not only a rogue half-breed, she is also the result of mate-bond infidelity, was abandoned as a baby and, to top it off, she can only shift during the full moon. When Catherine left the only pack she'd ever known in order to escape the new alpha, the last thing she expected was to find her mate... let alone for him to be the mouth-watering, heavily tattooed, lead warrior of the most feared lycan pack on the continent.

Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.

From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.

Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
Shattered Girl

Shattered Girl

893.8k 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?
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

1.3m Views · Ongoing · Louisa
[Dear readers, if you loved this book, be sure to read my new recommended read: Cheating Husband, Vengeful Me.]
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
The Lycan Prince’s Puppy

The Lycan Prince’s Puppy

3.2m Views · Ongoing · chavontheauthor
“You’re mine, little puppy,” Kylan growled against my neck.
“Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.”


When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition.

Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate.

Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell.

As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?
Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully

Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully

254.5k Views · Completed · Xena Kessler
An original story by Xena Kessler
My back hit the desk. Pain exploded through my skull.
"Girls like you don't get to dream about guys like Kai." Bella's breath was hot on my face. "You don't get to write pathetic love letters."
She shoved me again. Harder.
"Maybe if you weren't such a desperate little—"
I fell. My head cracked against the corner.
Warmth trickled down my neck. Blood.
Their laughter turned to gasps.
The door slammed.
I tried to stand. Couldn't. The room was spinning, fading to black.
Someone... please...
Angelina, the most powerful Alpha who conquered forty-nine packs, dies in a yacht explosion—only to wake up as Aria Sterling, a fifteen-year-old Omega's daughter who just died from bullying.
The original Aria's life was a nightmare. Humiliated when golden boy Kai Matthews posted her love letter online, then shoved to death by his girlfriend Bella Morrison. But that's not all her family faces:
"You got until Monday," the tattooed gangster sneered at Aria's mother. "Ten grand cash. Or I'm taking collateral—your kids' organs fetch top dollar. That pretty daughter of yours? She could make us money another way too."
Now Angelina's lethal combat skills awaken in this fragile body. No more hiding. No more fear.
Armed with an Alpha's ruthlessness and a mysterious blood-red pendant, she'll dismantle everyone who hurt this family—one calculated move at a time.