Sacred Flame: Bound to the Dragon Kings
After escaping the torment of an orphanage, you find yourself in the treacherous land of dragons, the most feared and ruthless creatures in existence. Each day, you eagerly anticipate the moment you can finally break free as an adult. Just when you thought you had caught a lucky break by landing a job in the palace, you quickly realize that your employers are none other than the Royal Trio - a trio of brothers who take pleasure in making your life a living nightmare.
But everything changes during the Trio's Grand Ceremony, a lavish event where dragons discover their fate and choose a mate. Will your life take a turn for the better, or will it spiral further into chaos as the Trio's attention shifts towards you? Prepare yourself for a thrilling tale of unexpected twists and turns as your tormentors and others set their sights on you.
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Chapter 5
Thankfully, Mrs. Kyer returned, and the Hoity Hags plastered on their fake smiles and pretended to assist me. Not having the energy or desire to cause a scene, I accepted their outstretched hands. One day, one day...none of this will matter, and I will be far away from here. Far away from the dragons I fear and the abuse I am forced to endure. Humans can't treat other humans as badly as I am treated here, can they? Surely, there is safety and a place for me to belong out there because I certainly don't belong here. I am no dragon.
Waiting for the other girls to shower and dress, I stayed outside the locker room talking to Mrs. Kyer, since I knew that I was going to have to find a way to earn enough credits to pass this course. She knows my physical limitations and has agreed to allow me to write papers about each test that I fail. I am grateful that the teachers respect me enough to allow me to make an extra effort to graduate. I need to be done with classes and the Naga Tribe. I quickly excused myself to go shower.
As I was showering, I felt a bit dizzy, so I rested my forehead on the cool tiles and let the water wash over me. Thoughts flooded my mind: How am I still alive after all that has happened to me? Should I have died when my parents did? Did I die, but somehow was reborn? Why would fate grant me a second life if it is as horrible as this one? Why, why am I still here?
I sighed as I finished my shower. I will likely never know the answers unless fate wills it.
"At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation. You can control your destiny, but not your fate. Destiny allows you to turn left or right, but fate is a one-way street. We all have a choice as to whether or not we fulfill our destiny, but our fates are sealed."
-Paulo Coelho
Maybe I can alter my destiny, and this final year of high school won't be as bad as it started. But am I fated to always suffer and never be enough?
I had two classes before lunch, and they went by quickly. So far, I am not in any classes with The Trio, and I am immensely thankful for that. I get in line and load my food onto my tray. As I was exiting the line, Jessica flipped my tray, spilling its contents all over my dres. She says, "Could you be any more of a klutz?" I sigh as I turn to leave. "That's right, little mouse. Scurry off like the vermin that you are!" she taunts.
She's right. I am nothing more than a filthy, useless rat. I rushed to the restroom in an effort to try and remove the spaghetti sauce from my dress. I stripped it off and began scrubbing it. "Avery, I am sorry," Trisha said as she entered the restroom. Trisha is a sophomore whom I tutored when she was a freshman. She is from a middle-class family in the tribe.
"I wish that this year were over already so I could leave."
Her big brown eyes met mine in the mirror. "You will still keep in touch with me, right?" she asked.
"Of course, I will," I lied, not knowing if I would be able to or not. All I know is that I want to, as she is the closest thing I have to a friend.
"I have some spare clothes in my locker. I will be right back," she says as she hurries off while I use the hand dryer to dry my still-stained dress. I don't want to use my pay for clothes, but if this is any indication of how this year will go, I will need to go shopping.
As I was examining my busted lip in the mirror, the Hags walked in. I quickly rushed inside a stall and locked myself in. I curled up on the toilet seat, hoping beyond hope to remain hidden. I could hear them at the sinks chatting, as I heard plastic containers hitting the counters. I could tell that they must be plastering on more makeup to hide their ugly hearts. I had grown up around these vile and disgusting girls. No amount of makeup or gallons of perfume could mask their stench. I had to stuff my dress into my mouth to prevent myself from gagging at the putrid combinations of their perfumes. If any of them become queen, they will kill off the species with their fragrances alone. Serves them right if any of the Trio are dumb enough to mark them as a mate.
While I am hiding, I overhear them talking about the Trio's Grand Ceremony, which is quickly approaching. The Hags plan to seduce the Trio into picking them as Chosen mates if they aren't their Fated ones. They go on and on about what they plan to wear, and go into detail about what they plan to do for the guys. I feel my cheeks heat up at the mere mention of a blow job. I would never do that to any of the Trio, not that they would want me to either, but the thought of having a guy be at my mercy like that is very appealing. Maybe, when I can finally escape the land of dragons, I will find a nice human boy who will let me.
Thankfully, the Hags leave before I hear Trisha come in and whisper for me. I come out of my hiding place, and she gives me a T-shirt and a jean skirt to wear. They are a little big because she has boobs and is fairly curvy. I wish that I had a body like hers. Hell, I wish that I looked like any of the girls here. If I could have average beauty, I would sell my soul to the devil himself, but knowing my luck, the devil would be a dragon. I laugh at myself. That is about as likely as me being the princess that my mother used to sing about.
After I braided my hair and thanked Trisha, we went our separate ways. We can't be seen together, or else she will become a target too. I remember last year when Heidi saw me tutoring Trisha. A few days afterward, Heidi and the Hags took Trisha to the mall to shop. They told Trisha that they knew a boy who liked h, er and he was going to meet her later at a dance club nearby. The Hags said how they would help Trisha pick out the perfect outfit, too. Later that night, the Hags dropped Trisha off at the club. She waited for an hour before she went inside. They had dropped her off at this seedy BDSM club. I only know what BDSM is because Trisha explained it to me as we researched it. Trisha was lucky that no man assaulted her that night, and that's why I made sure to keep our friendship hidden.
I walk into my next class, which is honors chemistry, and quickly take my seat. The Trio is in this class, so I keep my head down until Mr. Chen says, "Cassius, Avery is your new lab partner, and I expect great things from you both this year." Fuck, could this year get any worse?
Cassius takes a seat beside me. He leans in close to whisper, "You had better get me straight A's when you do my homework. Also, you will let me copy off you. If you don't, I will do more than give you a fat lip." I nod as I hear the other girls whine about not being paired with any of the Trio, especially Cassius. I would gladly trade with any of them if that were an option. Graduation Day can't come soon enough!
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8.0
I threw a latte on the most dangerous man in New York and lived to tell about it.
Dante Vitiello. The Capo dei Capi. A man rumored to cut out tongues for interrupting his dinner.
Instead of a bullet to the brain, he handed me a black card and a terrifying ultimatum.
"I need a fiancée," he told me, his eyes dead cold.
To save my failing journalism career and my life, I signed a contract with the devil.
I had to wear his massive diamond ring, smile for the cameras, and pretend to be the love of his life to stop a political mafia marriage.
The rules were clear: Absolute obedience. Total exclusivity. And absolutely no feelings.
But the performance started to feel dangerous.
When a rival Don insulted me at a gala, Dante didn't just play the part—he threatened to butcher him in front of three hundred people.
When I saw the jagged scars on his chest in the dead of night, I didn't see a monster; I saw a lonely protector.
My investigation was supposed to expose him, but I was the one getting stripped bare.
Then his cousin Rocco stormed in, calling me a disposable whore and a temporary pawn.
I stood my ground, defending not just myself, but Dante too.
Dante looked at me then, not as an asset, but as a woman he wanted to devour.
He stepped closer, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through my bones.
"I think we are going to have a problem with the clause about 'no feelings'."
7.2
Aria was born with a fire in her soul a mysterious ember that hums with a power even she cannot control. Ordinary life was never meant for her, but when shadowed creatures rise from the Veiled Realm, kingdoms teeter on the edge of war, and an ancient prophecy stirs from the depths of forgotten magic, Aria discovers that her gift may be the only thing standing between life and annihilation.
As she struggles to master her abilities, Aria is thrust into a world of ruthless warlords, cunning sorcerers, and dark beasts that hunt from the shadows. Every ally she meets could be a traitor, every enemy may hold a secret, and every choice she makes carries the weight of a realm cloaked in mystery and danger.
Amid the chaos, a forbidden bond ignites with a warrior whose strength matches her own, a connection that could either become her greatest strength or her deadliest weakness. As love, betrayal, and destiny collide, Aria must confront the shadows of her past, embrace the power within her, and decide whether she will rise as the savior of the Veiled Realm or fall and let it burn.
Embers will flare. Secrets will awaken. And one girl's courage will shape the fate of a hidden world forever.
8.9
Ava Kidd just wanted to escape her abusive stepmother when she got drunk at a high-end club and stumbled into the wrong hotel room.
She woke up the next morning in a luxury penthouse, lying naked next to a terrifyingly handsome man covered in her scratch marks.
Recalling rumors of the hotel's secret underground concierge, she immediately assumed she had accidentally slept with an elite male escort.
Desperate to settle the bill, she offered him her only debit card with a pathetic $1,800.
But the man, who was actually Garrison Terry, the ruthless billionaire CEO, was deeply insulted by the cheap plastic.
He trapped her against the bed, coldly demanding a half-million-dollar service fee.
When Ava frantically offered her dead mother's tarnished locket as collateral, he cruelly dismissed it as worthless junk.
Ava was humiliated, her heart pounding with absolute terror.
She didn't understand why this arrogant gigolo was acting like a deranged extortionist, demanding a fortune from a broke girl who had clearly made a mistake.
Furious and refusing to cower, she sneaked out, put on his oversized designer shirt, and aggressively ate his $800 truffle breakfast.
Having no money left, she grabbed her cheap red lipstick, wrote a defiant IOU on his expensive linen napkin, and fled the hotel.
She thought she had escaped a criminal, but upstairs, the billionaire traced her lipstick-stained name with a predatory smile.
"Ava Kidd, I will absolutely find you."
7.7
I thought I was the luckiest Omega in the world when the Alpha of the New Moon Pack chose me.
I was pregnant with his heir, sleeping in his bed, believing the warmth I felt was love.
But then I found the medical report hidden in his desk.
"Subject: Scent Modulator. Dosage: High."
It wasn't a fated bond. It was a drug. He was chemically forcing me to love him.
My best friend dragged me to a restaurant window, and I watched him kiss my cousin, Olivia.
Through the glass, I heard the words that shattered my soul.
"Just a few more months," Ethan told her, caressing her hand. "Once the incubator drops the brat, we'll dispose of her. Then we raise the heir as ours."
I was never his Luna. I was livestock. A walking womb chosen for my bloodline compatibility because his mistress was barren.
My father had tried to warn me with his dying breath, but I had been too blinded by the synthetic scent to listen.
Grief threatened to kill me, but the White Wolf inside me woke up screaming for vengeance.
I went back to the house. I didn't pack a bag. I went straight to the kitchen and brewed a tea of Wolfsbane and Mugwort.
I drank it all, weeping as I felt the bond to the baby snap.
Then, I walked into our bedroom, left the divorce papers on his pillow, and whispered into the mind-link:
"I, Ava Miller, reject you, Ethan Cole, as my mate."
As he screamed in my head, I blocked him and walked into the rain.
He thought he broke a weak Omega. He didn't know he had just unleashed a White Wolf.
9.6
For ten long years, Gloria put up with Victor' Anderson's cold heart, his cheating, and the shame of being a wife he didn't want anymore all to protect their daughter, Annabel. Then one day, she snapped. "I want a divorce," she said. Victor laughed at her, like a cruel joke. To him, Gloria was nothing without his name, his money, his control. Her family depended on him for survival. She came from poor roots and would go back to nothing. "You'll come crawling back," he said with a mean smile. "You always do." But this time, she didn't. With no money, no job skills, and a child to care for, Gloria left her fancy life for a hard, unknown world. She promised to start over, no matter how tough it got. The real world was dark and cruel. Jobs turned her away. Money ran out. Bills piled up. Fear for Annabel's future choked her like a tight grip. In her desperation, she went to the one man she knew was dangerous Lukas Anderson. Victor's younger stepbrother. He was a rich boss, a famous womanizer, a man who broke hearts as easy as he signed deals. For years, he had wanted Gloria, staring at her body, dreaming of her in secret ways. Helping her was simple. Owning her? Even better. "You need money. I need you," he whispered, his voice low and tempting, his hands brushing her skin. "Work for me... and I'll give you what your husband never did. Safety. Power. And pleasure you can't imagine." Now Gloria is stuck between two bad men: the husband who broke her... and the stepbrother who wants to take her body and soul in a storm of dark, hungry sex.
7.2
I was dying in a rusted warehouse, paralyzed in a wheelchair while the man I loved and my own stepsister watched with smiles on their faces. The air smelled of old oil and damp concrete, and my vision was fading into a milky haze.
Dillon, the man I’d sacrificed everything for, smoothed his custom suit and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear, lethal neurotoxin. Beside him, my stepsister Bianca toyed with my mother’s sapphire ring—the one they’d just pried off my hand while I was too weak to even make a fist.
She leaned in and whispered that my father’s trust fund was already offshore and that they’d sent my husband, Kade, to the wrong coordinates to ensure he’d only find my corpse. Dillon slid the needle into my vein with the chilling efficiency of a man who had done this before.
"This will stop your heart in thirty seconds," he said, sounding as bored as if he were explaining a tax form. Ice flooded my chest, and my lungs seized, fighting for oxygen that wasn't there. As the warehouse lights blurred into white streaks, an explosion echoed in the distance. Kade had come for me, but he was too late.
I died staring at the ceiling, my heart giving one last violent kick of pure, unadulterated hatred. I had been such a fool, believing Dillon’s lies and running away from the only man who actually cared for me. I died with a single thought: if I ever get another chance, I will drag you both to hell with me.
Then, there was nothing. And then, there was air.
I sat up gasping, my silk pajamas drenched in cold sweat. The rusted beams were gone, replaced by a vaulted ceiling and the glittering Manhattan skyline. I grabbed the digital clock on the nightstand—it was five years ago, the exact night I first tried to run away with Dillon.
The bedroom door slammed against the wall, and Kade Mullen stood in the doorway, looking dangerous, furious, and very much alive. I looked at my shaking hands, then at the man I had once hated. This time, I wasn't going to run. I was going to make sure Dillon and Bianca lost everything.