Katahane no Riku - Chapter 22.The encounter

"The boy has no powers," they claimed.

“Let the world burn… if that’s what it takes to keep them from stealing what’s mine.”William Knox, once hailed as the brightest inventor of the century, dies with his heart corroded by betrayal. His daughter and closest friend stripped him of everything—his legacy, his empire, his future. But death wasn’t the end… it was only the beginning.He awakens in a strange world, ruled not by science, but by magic. His body is no longer his own. His soul is bound by a dark contract, and his mind is still tethered to his past—thanks to a newborn AI and the last working prototype of his neural implant.“Will you make a contract with me?”Guided by the cold logic of his most innocent creation and the limitless power of arcane forces, William must survive among arcane kingdoms, ancient beings, and buried secrets that defy reality.To succeed, he’ll need to master this new world’s magical laws, manipulate those who inhabit it, and uncover why he was brought here… and by whom.Vengeance forged his soul.Magic will shape his destiny.And the truth… will destroy the world.A story of magic, vengeance, and the birth of a new god of nightmares begins here...----------------------Warning:-------------------------------Explicit sex scenes starting from chapter 19, in any case this story is not focused on R18 it is just an explicit series.

As a human, I should be miles away from any large shifter event. Especially the annual Mate Hunt.A hunt for mates. Doesn't that sound barbaric? Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds.Several packs in the area gather as their newly minted adult wolves shift. Females are let into the woods first and are given an hour's head start, just before sundown. Then it's time for the males, ostensibly thrown out to hunt down the scent of their fated (or chosen) mates.It isn't an event for the faint of heart, and it's definitely no place for someone who can't shift. So why the fuck am I here, running my little human heart out, chased by what sounds like an entire pack of wolves? Great question. I don't know, either.But I'm here.Surrounded by howls fueled by the thrill of the hunt.Feet bleeding. Lungs freezing.I am so fucked.----R18. Dark themes, including but not limited to: Murder, attempted murder, a stack of dead bodies, betrayal, mild sociopathy, an ML who appears to bathe in red flags despite his favorite color being green, an unwarranted hatred of blueberry muffins, and pillow thievery.

“I, Dominic Cherith, reject you, Inez Sinclair, as my mate. A lying, traitorous tramp like you has no right to become my mate and the Luna of this pack.”As a half shifter, Inez Sinclair had hoped and dreamt of the day when she would meet her mate for the first time. However, the dreamy fantasy turned into her hellish nightmare when her ex-best friend and mate rejected her in front of the pack.To cap it all, he did it with a trash can turned upside down on her head.The reason? She had betrayed him, but Inez had no idea about this unknown betrayal that he spoke of.After years of endless torment, this rejection was the final blow that broke the camel’s back. Inez finally came to face the reality that she had been ignoring for years.Her best friend was gone, and in place of him stood a fiend who looked at her as if she was his worst enemy.But what truly broke her was the last betrayal of her mate.Withholding the last fragments of their mating bond, Dominic slept with another shifter—a shifter she despised and loathed, causing Inez to feel every bit of pleasure he gave the woman. Hear every sigh and moan through their mating bond.The impact broke her and left her wolf half dead.Not wanting to waste any more time with the awful bastard, Inez was prepared to run away from the pack, even if it meant to die as a rogue or live between humans where the fanatics could kill her for being a shifter.Only if she knew that Dominic blamed her for the death of his sister Abertha.And he caught her stealing the Tears of Sirens in the surveillance recording—the magical remedy that could bring the dead back to life!Ironically, Inez was part siren.Something she never relayed to anyone in the pack, not even Dominic for shifters took sirens as their slaves, tormenting them in hope that they would shed Tears of Siren. The endless torment only brought one thing to sirens: Death.She swore to never let anyone find out about the truth—that was until she ran into Killian Sokolov, an Alpha Lycan shifter.A man of sheer masculinity and charm and an unknown anger packed in ice so thick.With his slick lies, he could win the heart of any woman but refuses to leave her alone after finding out that Inez was part siren.But as a part siren, why would Inez steal the Siren’s tears? And if she didn’t steal them, whom did Dominic see in the surveillance recording?As secrets unfolds and boundaries set in stones disappear –Would Inez and Killian give love a second chance, letting go of their past? And to what lengths would Dominic go if he found out the truth?Will Killian be able to heal her broken heart before all is lost?