Hollow Ascension - Chapter 23: The Looming Threats

Two centuries after the Great War, peace between humans and werewolves was finally achieved, or so everyone believes. Werewolves reign like gods, and humans remain blissfully unaware of their true place in the new world order.To maintain this fragile balance, each year, a handful of “lucky” humans are selected from various districts to attend Lunaris Academy, a prestigious institution that promises glory, status, and a chance to mingle with the elite. Those chosen are hailed as the lucky few, destined to marry powerful alphas and rise as luna.This year, Violet Purple is among the chosen, much to everyone's surprise. For an orphaned girl adopted by a disgraced prostitute, this is a golden ticket to a better life or so she's told. But Lunaris Academy isn’t the paradise it’s painted to be.Everything Violet and her fellow humans have been taught is a lie. Humans are far from equal; they're pawns in a much larger game. The academy is nothing but a gilded cage, and the students are lambs led to slaughter, playthings for the alphas to toy with in their ruthless games.To make matters worse, Violet catches the attention of the most dangerous players in this game, the Terror Four: the Alpha of the North, Alpha of the South, Alpha of the East, and Alpha of the West. Each one is more dangerous, more twisted, and more powerful than the last. But even among themselves, the alphas are divided, each with their own deadly ambitions.Yet, they all have their eyes on her.They expect Violet to play along, to fall in line like the others who worship at their feet, to break under their games. But Violet isn’t like the others. She refuses to bow. She’ll defy them all.***********With a grin that made her uneasy, he handed the application to her. “Approve this one.”Principal Jameson’s curiosity got the better of her as she took the paper from him, her eyes scanning the text.Almost immediately, her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in disbelief. “What the...?”“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” Asher’s voice was almost gleeful.Fucking psychopath!Jameson could hardly believe what she was reading. “Mr. Nightshade, with all due respect, this applicant….this girl just admitted to—”She couldn’t even finish the sentence, still horrified at the explicit nature of the application.Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I’m sorry, but I cannot approve this.”“She’s issued me a challenge,” Archer said, a dark gleam in his eyes.“What?”“‘Wait till you see me in bed,’” he repeated the bold line from the application, his grin widening. “And I can’t wait to find out.”“Mr. Nightshade—”He stood up, cutting off her protest as he fixed her with an intense stare. “Approve the application. I won’t ask again.”Without waiting for her response, Asher strode out of the office, confident she would follow his orders. He always got what he wanted.Archer Nightshade walked down the hall, a spring in his step. For the first time in a long while, he felt alive, his blood pulsing with excitement.The other Cardinal Alphas had no idea what he was up to, but it would soon hit them.He’d just set the game in motion.And the target was Violet Purple.It was game on.

Melanie Collins was the perfect wife—caring, strong, and dependable. For the last few years, she had managed her husband’s messy family, and business alone while waiting for her husband to return from studying abroad. But when he finally came back, Melanie’s world fell apart—he wasn’t alone. Along with him was his 'best' friend.Broken and confused about the change in her husband, Melanie didn’t know where to turn. And then she stumbled into another cold reality. Everything she had believed was a lie.Seething with anger and humiliation, as she tried to come to terms with the betrayal, an unexpected person steps into the picture, intent on seducing her and conquering her.The only problem? The man was her ex brother in law...And against her better judgment, she is attracted to this bad boy...But as Melanie tried to make sense of the changes, she discovered there was more going on than she ever imagined. Had both brothers loved really fallen in love with her? Or was she just a pawn in a bigger game?excerptSince he had already been leaning against the table, he simply slid onto it, and with one swift motion, he hooked his boot around the leg of her chair and pulled it—pulled her—closer.The sudden movement made her jolt slightly, and when she looked up or rather when she looked ahead, she found herself staring directly at the zipper of his jeans... She looked up then and met his gaze.He caught her chin,“ Would you like to check if I am only pretending, sweet melon?”Melanie stiffened. And then pushed back her chair suddenly, so that Adam almost lost his balance, as she stood up.Before he could balance himself, she placed her hand on his shoulder, her fingers brushing against his neck. Adam stiffened, his eyes glittering as he waited to see what she would do next. And she, of course surprised him as her other hand, slowly settled on the inside of his thigh. And then, the hand on his shoulder started to move. Her fingers tracing the side of his neck before lifting as she shot a glance to the corner of his mouth. The little piece of metal glinting there. She flicked at it lightly, barely a touch, but Adam could feel the heat all over his body, as she leaned in close, her lips barely a few centimetres away...so that they could both feel each other's breaths…She smiled slowly then. “Careful, Adam,” she murmured, her voice playful, but carrying the unmistakable edge of a challenge. “Keep pushing, and I just might call your bluff.”

“World conquest was never part of the plan.”Yu Chen was just an ordinary programmer, slaving away at his desk, fixing bugs for a popular kingdom-building game.His life was a cycle of endless work, sleepless nights, and little appreciation. One fateful night, while struggling to fix a game-breaking bug that granted players an absurd amount of upgrade points, his exhausted heart gave out.But death wasn't the end for Yu Chen. He awoke in a world strangly familiar... he had transmigrated into the very game he had been working on, now inhabiting the body of a notorious tyrant emperor, Arkanos Bloodbane, whose empire was on the brink of destruction.Surrounded by enemies, with rebellions simmering within and war on every front, Yu Chen, now Arkanos, quickly realizes the gravity of his situation.But to his shock, he discovers that he still has access to the game's system interface—complete with the million upgrade points from the bug he had tried to fix!With his knowledge of game mechanics, strategic mind, and a wealth of upgrade points, Arkanos sets out to turn the crumbling empire into an unstoppable force. He begins by summoning legendary heroes, deploying advanced technologies never before seen in this world, and revolutionizing his military and infrastructure.As he pushes his empire to greatness, Arkanos must navigate the treacherous politics of the imperial court, fend off treacherous factions, and outmaneuver the rival nations that seek to destroy him. But with each victory, he realizes that this world is not just a game—it's his new reality. The stakes are higher, the dangers more real, and the consequences of failure more dire than ever.[Reminder, contented intended for mature audiences.]

My name is Lü Jincheng, there are quite a few who have seen my works, and they call me Boss Lü.Before he had time to properly say goodbye, the top player Boss Lü is reborn in 2014, back to his youth.Suddenly equipped with a masterful skill in wooing women, his career becomes effortlessly successful.In a hedonistic life, there remains only the desire to do as one pleases.This book is also known as 'How to Break Free from the Shackles of Intimate Relationships' and 'Boss Lü’s Life is Destined to be Without Regrets' among others.