
Introduction
stuck in the gears of a failing industrial city. That changes when he interfaces with The
Architect, a cryptic, neural-linked system that provides blueprints for technology that
shouldn't exist for another century.
Chapter 1
The bright hum of the Neo-Tech Industrial complex had been the soundtrack of Elias Thorne’s life for fifteen years.
As the heavy automatic doors hissed shut behind him for the last time, the silence of the evening felt like a physical blow to the chest.
He stood on the slippery pavement, clutching a single cardboard box that contained the pathetic remains of a brilliant career: a cracked mug, a few hand-drawn schematics the company didn't technically own yet, and a framed photograph of his late parents.
The termination had been painful and cruel.
Marcus, a mid-level manager with a spray tan and a degree in "Optimization" who hadn't been with the firm for even a month, had called him into the glass-walled office that morning.
There was no talk of the patents Elias had secured or the cooling systems he had pioneered that saved the company millions. There was only a cold statement about "cultural misalignment" and a stack of legal documents.
By noon, his keycard was deactivated. By two o'clock, a company-owned towing service had repossessed the sedan he was still paying off.
By four, he had received a notification that his corporate-leased apartment had been remotely locked, his personal belongings already being transitioned to a holding warehouse due to a "contractual breach" clause he had never noticed in the fine print.
Elias walked.
He didn't have a destination, so he simply followed the downward slope of the city. The towering skyscrapers of the financial district, glowing with an amber light, eventually gave way to the grey concrete of the industrial outskirts.
His legs ached, but the numbness in his mind was far worse. He was a senior engineer, a man who understood the skeletal structure of the modern world, yet he had been dismantled as easily as a faulty circuit.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the smoggy sky in bruised purples, Elias stopped at a roadside diner that smelled of burnt grease and desperation.
He counted the crumpled bills in his pocket... his last physical currency, as his digital accounts had been frozen for audit by the company’s legal team.
He bought a lukewarm bowl of synthetic stew and a bottle of water. It was the most expensive meal of his life because it represented the end of his resources.
The night air turned sharp and biting. With no home to return to and no power to talk his way into a hotel, Elias found himself journeying toward the underside of the Blackwood Bridge.
It was a massive, rusted span of steel that vibrated with the constant rhythm of the wealthy driving overhead. He found a relatively dry patch of dirt shielded by a concrete pillar and sat down, pulling his thin coat tight around his shoulders.
The irony wasn't lost on him. He had designed the automated maintenance drones that crawled along the very girders above his head, yet here he was, treated like refuse by the system he helped build.
He leaned his head back against the cold concrete, closing his eyes to shut out the world. The sounds of the city, the distant sirens, the hiss of tires on wet asphalt, the scurrying of rats in the nearby weeds... began to blur into a singular, low-frequency buzz.
He was drifting into sleep when a sharp, rhythmic, pulsing light began to bleed through his eyelids.
It wasn't the sweeping searchlight of a police cruiser or the flicker of a dying streetlamp. This was a deep, resonant gold, flashing with the precision of a heartbeat.
Elias snapped his eyes open. He winced, his vision swimming for a moment before focusing on an object resting in the dirt just three feet away from his boots.
It was a small, matte-black sphere, no larger than a grapefruit, half-buried in the mud and trash. It looked like a piece of high-end aerospace debris, but it was behaving like something organic.
Cracks of brilliant, molten light across its surface. As Elias stared, fascinated despite his exhaustion, the pulsing grew faster, syncing perfectly with the thud of his own heart in his ears.
He should have run. A rational man, an engineer trained in safety protocols, would have suspected an unexploded battery or a volatile chemical casing. But Elias was a man who had lost everything; his fear had been burned away by twelve hours of pure, concentrated humiliation.
"What are you?" he whispered, his voice rasping from the cold.
He reached out. His fingers trembled, the skin of his hand pale and dirty. As his index finger brushed the surface of the sphere, the vibration didn't just stay in his hand... it shot up his arm like a high-voltage current, snapping his spine straight.
The cold of the bridge disappeared, replaced by a searing, white-hot heat that centered right behind his eyes.
He tried to scream, but his lungs felt like they were filled with liquid gold. The sphere didn't just break; it dissolved, the black shards turning into a fine mist that was inhaled through his pores.
Suddenly, the darkness of the bridge was gone. His entire field of vision was overtaken by a high-definition interface that seemed to be projected directly onto his retinas.
Lines of code, more elegant and complex than any language he had ever studied, scrolled downward at a dizzying speed.
[INITIALIZING ARCHITECT PROTOCOL...]
[BIOMETRIC SYNC: 12%... 45%... 89%...]
[HOST IDENTIFIED: ELIAS THORNE]
[STATUS: CRITICAL MALNUTRITION / EXTREME PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS]
[OPTIMIZATION REQUIRED]
Elias collapsed backward, his head hitting the concrete with a dull thud, but he felt no pain. Instead, he felt a strange, terrifying clarity.
The bridge around him began to change. He wasn't just seeing the rust and the dirt anymore. Overlaying the physical world were glowing green wireframes. He could see the structural stress points in the bridge's steel; he could see the chemical composition of the polluted water in the distance; he could see the exact trajectory of a loose bolt falling from a car overhead.
A new window snapped into the center of his vision, glowing with a soft, authoritative gold light.
[TASK ASSIGNED: THE FOUNDATION]
[OBJECTIVE: CONSTRUCT A HIGH-DENSITY NANO-BATTERY USING AVAILABLE LOCAL TRASH.]
[TIME LIMIT: 04:59:59]
[REWARD: NEURAL MAPPING LEVEL 1 / 5,000 CREDITS (UNTRACEABLE)]
[FAILURE: PERMANENT SYSTEM REJECTION / CARDIAC ARREST]
Elias gasped for air, his hands clutching at the dirt. His mind was suddenly flooded with a blueprint... a design for a power source that violated three different laws of thermodynamics he had spent his life teaching. It was impossible. It was beautiful.
But as the timer in the corner of his eye began to tick down in ruthless red numbers... 04:59:58... a much more immediate problem made itself known.
From the shadows of the bridge’s far pillars, three figures emerged. They weren't engineers or corporate scouts. They were thugs, the violent bottom-feeders of the city, and they had seen the golden light.
They were carrying jagged pipes and rusted knives, and their eyes were fixed on the man who looked like an easy mark.
Last Chapters
#38 Chapter 38 PRESENCE OF NEO-TECH
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#37 Chapter 37 A NEW PROBLEM
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#36 Chapter 36 BIOMETRIC OVERRIDE
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#35 Chapter 35 PLAN THE TRIP
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#34 Chapter 34 TIME TO PLAN
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#33 Chapter 33 EXECUTION BEGINS
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#32 Chapter 32 TIME TO REASON
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#31 Chapter 31 TIME FOR REVENGE
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#30 Chapter 30 A GHOST HUMAN
Last Updated: 6/6/2026#29 Chapter 29 GET A NEW IDENTITY
Last Updated: 6/6/2026
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The Alpha's Stripper Mate
"What?" It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I did not wait for him to answer me, I walked toward him.
"Dance on my lap."
My head screamed at me to turn around and run. But my whole body responded to his command.
"Yes, Alpha," I pulled my dress over my body, it dropped over my head and fell to the ground behind me. I was left in nothing but my matching bra and thong. My hands covered my chest on reflex.
"Let me see."
My hands dropped to my sides.
I lowered myself into his lap, facing him. His eyes peered into mine, and I could feel his hot breath fan my face. His dick responded to all my moves, hardening against my now-moist vagina. I swallowed hard, allowing my lips to part in a ragged breath. His hands trailed up to my waist.
"No touching."
At the tender age of eleven, JoJo Wyatt was forced to grow up far sooner than she should have. Born to a cruel father and a weak mother, she quickly realized she had to become the breadwinner for herself and her sister. Nothing else mattered to her, not even the hottest men. In fact, she despised them. After one horrific night, she swore never to have any contact with the male species again. That was, until she started working for him as his stripper.
Meanwhile, Alpha Lake Rush, thirty, was the most feared Alpha in the country. Burdened by his own share of life's struggles, he had learned only to be cruel and reckless, rejecting not one but two mates. But what happens when he discovers yet another mate, and she turns out to be his stripper?
Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond
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.
The CEO's Unspoken Love
Before I could answer, he moved closer, suddenly looming over me, his face inches from mine. I felt my breath caught, my lips parting in surprise.
"Then this is the price for speaking ill of me to others," he murmured, nipping my lower lip before claiming my mouth in a real kiss. It began as punishment but quickly transformed into something else entirely as I responded, my initial rigidity melting into compliance, then active participation.
My breathing accelerated, small sounds escaping my throat as he explored my body. His touches were both punishment and pleasure, drawing shudders from me that I thought he felt reverberating through his own body.
My nightgown had ridden up, his hands discovering more of mine with each caress. We were both lost in sensation, rational thought receding with each passing second...
Three years ago, to fulfill the wish of his grandmother, I was forced to marry Derek Wells, the second son of the family that had adopted me for ten years. He didn't love me, but I had secretly loved him all along.
Now, the three-year contractual marriage is about to end, but I feel that some kind of sentiment has developed between Derek and me that neither of us is willing to admit. I'm not sure if my feelings are right, but I know that we can't resist each other physically...
The Hunter and The Hunted
Mihai’s hand slowly slides up my stomach, his fingers wrapping around my neck as he cuts of my ability to breathe, black spots clouding my vision, and yet, I am not afraid. I want more. I want everything that he can give to me.
He slowly inserts a third finger, the intense fullness that I feel teetering me over the edge of a cliff I cannot even see, and then he sucks and pulls at my clit. Sparks erupt throughout my body, the orgasm shaking my soul, and destroying what was left of my resistance.
She was the Daughter of a Hunter, he was one of the creatures that her family had sworn to destroy, what could possibly go wrong?
When their worlds collide, who will be left standing, will it be the hunter or the hunted, and which is which?
Avery and the Cursed Alpha
Then a mysterious billionaire offers her a deal that sounds too good to be true.
Alexander Ravenswood is powerful, wealthy, and feared throughout Tenebrous City. Behind his perfect public image lies a deadly secret. He is the Alpha of the Nocturne Pack, cursed by an ancient bloodline that is slowly driving him toward madness and death. His only hope lies in finding the legendary Aethon Orb—or the prophesied mate destined to save him.
When Alex discovers that Avery can draw symbols connected to the long-lost artifact, he offers her a contract she cannot refuse: become his fake fiancée for six months in exchange for enough money to erase her debts and save her home.
What begins as a business arrangement quickly becomes something far more dangerous.
As they search for the missing Orb, Avery is drawn into a hidden world of werewolves, ancient prophecies, and deadly pack rivalries. Powerful enemies want Alex's throne. A jealous Alpha heiress wants Avery gone. And a ruthless rival Alpha will stop at nothing to claim the Orb for himself.
But the greatest secret of all may be Avery herself.
Because the closer she gets to Alex, the more impossible truths begin to surface about her past, her strange abilities, and the destiny that has been waiting for her all along.
With a curse threatening Alex's life, enemies closing in from every side, and a forbidden bond growing stronger by the day, Avery must decide whether to walk away from the dangerous Alpha who needs her—or risk everything for a love written by fate itself.
In a city where secrets kill and destiny cannot be escaped, can a fake engagement become a love powerful enough to change the future?
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
Ruined : You will always be mine.
“Fuckkk”, I couldn’t help but scream.
“You need to learn to be obedient” he said as he kept thrusting into me. When I felt his hands on my clit my body shook.
“Asher please, it’s too much”.
“No. if I really wanted to punish you, I would give you all of me”, he said against my ears and my entire body froze. Suddenly he moved and I was standing again. This man was insane.
I felt him behind me. “Ten Lashes for your disobedience”, he said
“Asher please”,
“No”. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.
Asher was what I wanted , what I truly craved until it was too late. An orphan should never fall in love with someone out of their reach. I thought loving him was the right thing to do until he revealed his true identity and Ruined me. I was ruined for everyone one else . I could still feel his touch, it was as if it was etched into my skin. I tired to avoid him but fate wouldn't let it happen.
The Sterling's were the most powerful in Havenwood and Dorian Sterling was off limits.
As an orphan finding out you still have people looking for you is hard to take but when it turns out to be people of wealth and standing I took the other road and ran, but running led me right back to the place I was avoiding and the person I was avoiding.
Asher and Dorling Sterling one and the same. When his first love shows up and along with everyone that has set out to ruin me, I prayed that he could protect me.
Vengeance of the Forsaken Luna
"Bella." Ethan's tone shifted, taking on that warning edge I knew too well. "Faye is vulnerable right now. She's terrified you'll resent her, that this will divide the pack. The last thing she wants is for this baby to come between us."
"Then you shouldn't have done it." I met his eyes squarely, letting him see the ice in mine. "Go back to your son."
"For fuck's sake." He dragged a hand through his hair. "How many times—it was artificial insemination. They used my sperm, yes, but Faye and I never—"
Bella let out a cold snort. Such brazen lies. Her mate had an affair with his brother's partner, and his entire family helped force her out with nothing, all to make way for the mistress to take her rightful position. Poor fool—he thought she was just an unwanted adopted daughter, easy to dismiss and control. He never knew the computer genius he'd been searching for was his own Luna.
Since he'd tainted himself, Bella was done. She rejected him and reclaimed what was hers, rising to the top with help from Victor, who'd been secretly in love with her for years.
When Ethan tried winning her back: "You don't want our child growing up fatherless."
Bella smiled mockingly. "The child's father isn't you."
Aphrodite and the Cursed Mate Bond
She finds truth.
Aphrodite is not human at all. She is a rare white wolf, descended from an ancient Direwolf bloodline long believed extinct. The ritual meant to sever her ties awakens her wolf instead and with it comes the scent of five mates bound to her by fate.
The Alpha twins who once scorned her now cannot stay away. A human hunter walks beside her and proves that strength is not born of fangs or dominance. A cursed Wolf King holds the key to her past and her father’s imprisonment. And watching from the shadows is one who was never meant to interfere at all.
As gods fall, packs fracture, and war reshapes the world, Aphrodite must decide what destiny truly means. Is it submission to fate or the courage to choose her own path.
Love does not come in one form. Neither does power.
In a world ruled by gods and wolves, Aphrodite will become something neither ever expected.
Not a queen.
But the axis upon which the world turns.
To protect what’s mine
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.












