I glared at my stepbrother Alex, barely holding back the urge to throw my shoe at his face for the 101st time. All because of him, I was stuck wasting my Saturday here instead of going swimming with Ava. Now I had to sit in Edward’s therapy office with him.

Forget to say, Edward was my stepfather.

This morning, Alex mocked me again for wearing a short skirt, saying my legs were too thick and that I probably cracked the floor when I walked.

Yes I'm not skinny — I'm 150 pounds, wear glasses, and have a round, chubby face — I knew I wasn't exactly the kind of girl boys turned around to stare at. But hearing it from Alex still got me so mad that I lunged at him and grabbed a fistful of his messy black hair. He shoved me back, but his hand ended up landing right on my breaast.

My scream brought Mom running downstairs. She was completely fed up with us fighting every single day. She gave us two choices: either come to my stepfather to learn how to behave, or lose our allowances for the next six months.

Obviously, only an idiot would pick the second option.

The office was quiet, its light beige walls adorned with abstract watercolor paintings.

I sat stiffly on the edge of the sofa, my knees pressed together.

Across from us sat my stepfather. Or rather, Dr. Edward, who was a well-known therapist in Aspen Ridge. He was almost forty but looked much younger, tall and broad-shouldered.

Even beneath his neatly pressed shirt, it was obvious he worked out regularly. His dark brown hair was perfectly combed, and the short stubble along his jaw only made him look more intimidating.

He rested his clasped hands on his lap while those calm, sharp eyes moved between Alex and me. Neither of us said a word.

For some reason, I was always a little scared of him. He wasn't loud, and he rarely got angry. Whenever I complained about Alex, he calmly lectured him. Whenever Alex complained about me, he lectured both of us. His favorite line never changed. "You're siblings, not enemies."

Alex leaned back comfortably. "So, Dad—"

"There is no ‘Dad' in this room." Edward interrupted him immediately. His deep voice filled the office. "You will address me as Dr. Edward."

Alex sighed dramatically. "Fine." He spread his hands. "So, Dr. Edward… how exactly are you planning to fix us?"

"Since that traditional talk therapy hasn't been effective." Edward studied us for a moment. "So we'll be trying a different psychological approach."

Alex frowned. "What kind of approach?"

Instead of answering him, Edward looked directly at me. Then his gaze shifted to Alex. "The root of the conflict between the two of you..." He paused just long enough to make both of us uneasy. "is that you're sexually attracted to each other."

The room fell completely silent.

"…but neither of you has ever been willing to face it."

My heart sank right into my stomach. I stared at Edward, waiting for him to say he was joking. But he just sat there, calm as ever.

Alex laughed, but it sounded nervous. "This is ridiculous. She's my stepsister."

Edward didn't blink. "Denial is normal in these cases. But the body doesn't lie, Alex. I've seen how you look at her when she walks around the house. And you, Katie" he turned to me, "You choose short skirts and tight clothes around him on purpose. You want his attention."

My face burned hot. I wanted to argue, but the words got stuck in my throat. He wasn't completely wrong. Alex was the star quarterback at school. Tall, good-looking, with that messy black hair and cocky smile that made half the girls in our grade crazy.

Even though he said mean things to me all the time, I sometimes wore shorter skirts just to see if he would notice. To prove I wasn't just the chubby nerd girl everyone ignored. I wanted him to see that I had a body too.

I stayed quiet.

Alex frowned. "So what does that even mean?"

Edward stood up slowly. He walked to the door, turned the lock with a soft click, and came back to stand right in front of us. My heart started racing so hard I could hear it in my ears.

I glanced at Alex. He looked just as confused as I felt.

"Both of you," Edward said, his voice steady, "take off your clothes."

Alex and I spoke at the same time.

"What?"

"You heard me. Down to your underwear." Edward continued like he hadn't just said something crazy. "If we’re going to solve the problems between you two once and for all, we need total honesty. No hiding. No shame."

Alex shot up from the sofa. "Dad, this is absolutely insane! You can't be serious."

Edward put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "You're free to refuse. But then I'll have to tell your mother that you chose the six-month no-allowance option instead."

Alex's mouth opened, then closed. He looked at me, then back at his dad. I knew that look. Neither of us wanted to lose our money for half a year.

Alex sat back down, jaw tight.

Edward looked at me next and gave a small nod.

My stomach flipped. Should I really trust him? He was my stepfather and a doctor, but this felt completely wrong. At the same time, the idea of Alex seeing me neked… it made me feel hot in a strange way.

My cheeks burned, and I took a shaky breath, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

This is crazy. This is so fking crazy.

Still, my hands moved almost on their own. I stood up slowly and began undressing.

I pulled my top over my head first, then unzipped my skirt and let it drop to the floor. I stood there in just my brra and paties.

My breeasts are pretty big, and they felt like they were almost spilling out of my brra.

I quickly sat back down on the sofa and pressed my legs together tight. I could already feel myself getting wet down there. I really hoped it didn't show through the fabric.

Alex's eyes went wide. I saw he swallowed hard. Edward's gaze changed too. His eyes looked darker now, sharper behind his glasses.

My niples had gotten hard, and they were clearly poking against my brra. I felt so embarrassed, but I didn't cover myself.

"Your turn, Alex," Edward said.

Alex stayed quiet for a long moment. Then he stood up. He took off his shirt, showing his toned chest and abs from all the football practice. Next he pushed down his shorts. He was left in just his boxers. The front was bulging a lot. I could clearly see the shape of his diick pressing against the material. He was hard.

"Very good," Edward said. He took Alex's hand and placed it right on my brest. "Touch her. Feel what you've been avoiding all this time."

Alex sat down close to me. His body felt warm, almost hot. His hand shook a little at first. Then he gently cupped my brest. His thumb moved over my niple through the thin brra. I gasped and my back arched without me meaning to.

God that felt good.

Edward looked at me. "Now you. Put your hand on Alex's diick. Touch him too."

I hesitated, then my hand moved slowly toward Alex's lap. Through his underwear, I could feel how big and hard he was. I tried to wrap my fingers around it, but I was clumsy. I didn't really know what I was doing.

I looked up at Edward, my voice small. "Edwa-Dr. Edward… I—I can't… I don't know how."

Edward stepped closer, towering over me.

Without a word, he took my wrist in his large hand, moved away from Alex's diick, and placed it directly onto the massive bulge in his own pants.

My eyes widened in shock.

Wait… this is Edward's… Oh my God, that's my stepfather's coock, much harder than Alex's.

My heart hammered wildly in my chest.

Edward slowly guided my hand up and down along his thick length. "Good girl, just like that."

Beside me, Alex's breathing grew ragged too. He reached behind me, unzipped my brra, and my heavy brests popped out. His fingers immediately found my sensitive niples, pinching and rolling them.

One was my stepfather.

The other was my stepbrother.

This was so fking wrong… yet my body was betraying me completely. A rush of slick heat kept dripping between my thigns, my pvssy throbbing with forbidden arousal.

Edward groaned deeply in pleasure. He unzipped his pants and pulled out his diick, thick and pulsing right in front of my face.

He cupped the back of my head and slowly guided me closer.

“Swallow it,” he murmured, voice dark with lust.

Chapter One

Catherine pulled her rusty truck into the parking spot behind Gulf Breeze Farms and slammed the door shut with an ear-splitting creak. Hearing the familiar sound, Matt, the owner of the farm, peaked his head around the curtain and smiled.

“Catherine! So good to see you, as always,” he said with a wink. 

“Hey, handsome,” she greeted. 

Matt was older, probably in his seventies with liver spots, leathery skin from being out in the sun his whole life and grey hair but she loved to see his face turn red at the compliment every Saturday. His bright blue eyes sparkled and he sauntered over to her.

“What have you got for me this week?” she asked. 

“Well it’s a good week for roots! Radishes, radishes, more radishes,” he said as he pointed to the cardboard boxes he’d piled up. “Got some cabbages for you, kale and a few other greens and…” He placed his palm on a large box. “Carrots, your favorite.”

“I love you, thank you!” she gushed getting to work to fill the back of the truck. 

When she was finished she clapped her hands together and retrieved her purse from the cab to see what else she could find at the market. She turned around to find Matt right behind her, invading her personal space. She leaned back slightly. 

“I have another surprise for you this week,” he chirped, presenting her a small box. 

“Uh, thank you,” she said, sidestepping him. She took the box and noticed him scratching the back of his neck with nerves. His eyes bounced around the crowd of people. Catherine opened the box and shrieked in delight: oyster mushrooms. “Thank you, Matt!” she gushed, throwing her arms around his neck.

“How much?” she asked.

“No charge,” he assured her with a smile.

“Are… are you sure?”

“Your sale contract these past few years has kept my little farm afloat. If not for you, I would have been forced to close the farm down years ago. This is my way of saying thank you,” he told her. 

She clutched the box to her chest. “Thank you.” 

Matt continued to look nervous. “Don’t, don’t you want to try them now?” he asked. 

“Oh, no not yet. I’d prefer to save them.”

“Oh, well, I mean, you should have at least one shouldn’t you?” he prodded, stepping closer again and urging the box upward. 

Feeling a bit more than uncomfortable for the first time with the old farmer, Catherine excused herself saying she had some shopping to do. As she walked away, she felt Matt’s irritated gaze on her back and stifled a shiver.

The farmers market in downtown Sterling was one of her favorite places to be. Two rows of tents filled the town square. There were farmers, artisans, crafts, even a cotton candy vendor during the summer. She had shopped here every Saturday since she’d moved to Sterling five years ago. A few months after her move she was fortunate enough to find an opening for a chef at the Shepherd’s Bar and Grill where her friend worked as a bartender. Paul was the only person she’d spoken to about employment who couldn’t care less about her status as a rogue wolf. He only had one condition: don’t go up front while on duty. 

Unfortunately the stigma that came with her rogue status clung to her like a dust cloud. Even now as she scanned the tents, she knew some of them would refuse her money because of it. A few of them had even spit at her in the past. It was their loss. She purchased all the food she’d need for the restaurant at this market, throwing out thousands every week. If they didn’t want to make a good chunk of change because she’d run from that prick, so be it. 

She’d worked hard at the bar. When she was hired, it was known as a bar for shifters who could get drunk and be rowdy. The fact that the bar served food wasn’t even noticed. Soon after she started though, the grill side earned nearly as much as the bar. Between the hours of 2 pm and 10 pm every table was taken and plates were licked clean. It was a great source of pride for her. Catherine had even received requests from a few magazines and newspapers wanting to do a story on her. She always declined though. Any attention on her may catch his eye and she needed to do everything to make sure that didn’t happen.

After purchasing the meat for the week and promising to pick it up before she left, she ducked into Amherst’s Honey Hives to stock up. As Mike let her have a taste of his new wildflower honey she noticed a murmur sweep through the market. She stuck the popsicle stick in her mouth and glanced toward the street. Her heart lurched. Four black suvs pulled up to the curb. Was it him? Had he found her? The doors of the middle suv opened and Catherine quickly hid her face, pretending to have an otherworldly interest in the various honey sticks arranged around the table. 

“Looks like there’s another meeting going down,” Mike whispered conspiratorially. 

Catherine looked up to see him eyeing the men exiting the car. “Regulars around here?” she asked, hope blossoming. 

He nodded. “Lycans.”

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, earning a curious eyebrow raise from Mike. Lycans were not something to breathe easy about, despite the fact that Sterling neighbored one of the largest packs in the country. They were superior to wolves with a nearly immortal lifespan, heightened senses, innate intuition and far more lethal abilities. Catherine should know, she was half lycan herself. A rogue mutt… the worst of the worst in both circles. She brushed off Mike’s questioning gaze by picking out a honey stick, cracking it open and inhaling. 

“Mmmm, apple and… is that clove?” she asked, looking up with a salivating mouth. 

His brows furrowed even more. He glanced down at the stick. “That one is lavender.”

“Hm,” Catherine said, adding the stick to her pile of groceries. 

She glanced around and stuck her nose higher in the air. Her knees wobbled at the delicious scent. She wanted to find it and add whatever it was to her menu

for the week. She stepped back and sniffed again. She turned her head in the direction of the scent and opened her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and her entire body tingled. 

Her eyes were drawn to the group of men walking away from the suvs. They were all well dressed and their strides ate up the sidewalk, clearly in a hurry to get somewhere. There were four men in the front. Two flanked somewhat behind the others. They were both lean with blond hair and scowls on their faces. She noticed tattoos peeking out from their suit jackets and one even had an image on his face. 

One man walked in the middle of the group as if under their protection. He was huge. Built like a house, he stared down at his phone typing furiously away. He glanced up once and she gasped. His eyes… she had never seen anyone with the same genetic condition as her: Heterochromia. While she always wore a brown contact in her singular blue eye to avoid attracting unwanted attention, this man flaunted it, causing the women around him to gape at the rarity. 

None of those men were who originally attracted her gaze though. No, the man with the delicious apple cider scent was the one leading the group. He pulled at the cuffs of his suit jacket and fidgeted with his collar. He was clearly unused to wearing a suit, though she wasn’t sure why when he looked so fine wearing it. He had to be around 6’3” at least. He was just her type with a lean body that undoubtedly hid well refined muscle. His strides were long and his dark eyes roamed the market they walked through as if on alert for any signs of danger. He ran his left hand roughly through his dark hair, causing some of the strands to fall over his forehead before he tried to resituate his collar again. 

“Mate,” Catherine breathed into the wind. She snapped her mouth shut in shock. She had not meant to say that aloud. And she knew she had because the moment that word left her mouth, his head snapped in her direction. 

Her mate became rooted to the spot, his arms still raised at an awkward angle behind his neck. Even from across the market she noticed his dark eyes turn pitch black in recognition. She gripped the tent pole beside her and felt the metal bend under the tension. Her mate continued to stare at her in shock until the man typing on his phone knocked into his shoulder. The large man glared back at her mate, clearly not used to him breaking what was probably a routine formation. The two men behind him gave him questioning looks as they passed. 

Catherine waited expectantly. She gave a shy smile and held her hand up in greeting. He did not return the smile, instead he continued to give her the same uncertain, shocked expression. A moment later he blinked, looked at the men who had passed him, glanced back at her and shook his head. Catherine blinked a few times in confusion and then he turned and followed the other men. She felt a tightness grip her chest as he got further and further away. She watched his back as he disappeared around the corner onto Main Street. 

Her mate, a lycan, just walked away from her without a second glance. What the fuck was she supposed to do now?

Chapter 1: Woke Up in a Dreamlike Reality

The kind of life she led was devastating.

Can it even be called life?

When the world was torn apart inside out, and zombies ran rampant in every corner of the Earth, it would be a miracle for someone to even live this long.

 

***

 

Crunch

 

A woman trudged along the ground floor of an abandoned parking lot inside a building. Behind her back, a bag, carrying what was left of her supplies, slightly swayed as she moved. Her direction was the old truck that made a lot of noise—one she had been using since she got separated from her team.

 

It wasn't the most ideal form of transportation since it attracted a lot of zombies. But she had no choice, since it was the only one working. Other cars had already been taken or torn apart for their batteries and gases.

 

She shoved the bag into the truck, got inside, inserted the car keys in one fluid motion, and quickly left the parking lot.

 

The outside was even worse to look at.

 

The touch of what could resemble life was stripped away. Bloodstains that had long turned into brown smudges, bodies that hadn't mutated into zombies but rotted away, littered the road. Cars blown and abandoned were everywhere.

 

Of course, zombies, who are now the main citizens of this ruined world, were around as well. They aimlessly wandered, not knowing when a new foolish human prey would end in their midst.

 1

As a human, she should've been afraid. Run and hide from them.

 

But…

 

She looked down at her bandaged arm. Blood was already seeping through. Wrapping a new one around the wound was impossible. Not with what was left of her supplies.

 

Besides, what was the point?

 

Outside the wrapped bandage, ghastly blue marks branched out across her arms, climbing to her shoulders, chest, and neck. She looked in the rearview mirror.

 

Her left eye had long lost its use. The eye no longer resembled a human's eye, lacking a distinct sclera and filled with hollow darkness. The only feature left was her pupil, which had turned bright red. Marks resembling the ones on her arms have also started to show on half of her face.

 

She was mutating.

 

Ah, life was good.

 

At least, before she died and became a zombie, she could read the novel she had been dying to get her hands on. It was her only form of escape from the harsh reality of the apocalypse.

 

As she drove down the street, the sound of the car attracted several zombies. But she didn't stop, accelerating her speed as if nothing else mattered.

 

"Grrr."

 

"GRRR!!!"

 

From inside the car, she could hear them growling. Prolonged hunger made them sensitive and violent.

 

"Come on, you motherfuckers."

 

She smiled as she sped up once more.

 

"Catch me if you can."

 

And then—

 

A small form stood in the middle of the road.

 

It was a zombie child.

 

It shouldn't affect her seeing a zombie appear before her. Especially, a child wasn't a rare sight either. It was the harsh reality of this world. No one was safe from total destruction when the apocalypse arrived. 

 

But pain ripped through her the moment she caught sight of it. The child faced the truck with unfocused red eyes. Jaw dribbling in drool and snarling ahead. What was left of that face barely resembled what she could remember. 

 

Startled by the sudden appearance of this zombie child, her foot involuntarily pressed hard on the brakes—and froze.

 

Her heart dropped.

 

Do it. Her mind screamed inside, telling her to ram the truck into that small form.

 

Even so, she couldn't do it.

 

Instead, tears ran down her face. Her lips curling into an ugly, pained smile. 

 

"Let's go, little brother."

 

CRASH!

 

Yet, she still couldn't bring herself to harm the child.

 

She missed the form before she could hit it, swerving to the other side and ramming against the wall. The impact hit like a bomb. She was thrown forward like a rag doll. Her body collided against the concrete wall like an egg against rock.

 

Agony erupted through every inch of her body. She couldn't tell which part hurt the most—it all just hurt.

 

Is this my… end?

 

The thought scared her.

 

At the same time, it gave her some relief.

 

She tried to look out, just to get one last glimpse of that small form she saw just now. Once more. Let me see you one last time.

 

She fought to stay awake, clinging to the pain to keep her eyes open. But it was no use. Darkness swallowed everything before she could see her little brother one last time.

 

And then—

 

She woke up.

 1

Facing a strange ceiling with bright lights and the smell of sterile chemicals didn't register immediately. Blinking, she moved her eyes around. This was clearly a hospital room. And she was lying in a hospital bed.

 

But she could've sworn she'd died. The crash might have been the reason, but if the mutation moved faster than the death caused by that crash, she would've been roaming around or trapped inside the car as a zombie.

 

Not lying in a clean-looking hospital room.

 

Is this a dream?

 

But something was definitely off.

 

If she pinches her arm, she might wake up. She did just that and jolted with pain.

 

"..."

 

"Maybe it wasn't enough?"

 

Pinching might not be sufficient. Could it be that she had to jump from the window and see if she wakes up from it?

 1

She turned her head to the window; the wind was blowing through the white curtain. It was open and big enough for a person to crouch out into.

 

Testing her theory, she walked to the side of the window. It was slightly higher than she thought. She was already taller than most girls. How high can this window be?

 

Dragging a chair beneath the window, she climbed on top of it and grasped the windowsill.

 

Half of her body was already halfway out of the window when a sound came from inside the room.

 

'Clattering'.

 

She turned her head, poking out of the window to look inside. A woman in a nurse's uniform stared at her in a horrified manner, jaws pried wide open.

 

"Miss Aisha! What are you doing?!"

 

The nurse's face broke into panic, shocked and horrified by the scene before her.

 

Annoyed by the patient, the nurse said, "Step away from the window and get back inside. This performance should end now!"

 1

But the woman halfway out of the window glanced at her with a disinterested look. She poked a leg out, leaving only one leg to step on the stool.

 

By the time the nurse finally reacted, she was already tilting her body downward.

 

That foolish bravery and indifference shocked the nurse. This was not a joke. She truly wants to jump!

 

Looking out the window, the scene mesmerized her before her. A clear, bright sky. Streets were filled with people, no zombies roaming around, and the miasma that had lingered in the air was not there.

 

It'd be nice if this were real.

 

"Oh, well, time to wake up."

 

Walking down the street, Kyle maintained a calm front. But inside… he was devastated. For a moment, he had believed that she would at least agree not to go with them—with Ethan—today, especially after he mentioned breaking up. She kept saying that she was going through a situation, but no matter how many times he asked, she couldn't work it out. She couldn't tell him what that situation was. There was a time when he didn't question her and allowed her some space. But everyone had a limit—there was only so much patience a person could have, only so much they could tolerate. The unnatural closeness Amanda shared with Ethan was something not only Kyle but others had started talking about as well. Kyle didn't give a fuck about what others said or thought, but he was expecting an explanation from Amanda, anything that could somehow save this relationship. Yes, it sounded pathetic, but… she was his first love. They had spent the past two years like a normal couple—no, more than that. They were inseparable. They both knew what the other wanted before it was said out loud. The consideration Amanda showed, the way she looked only at him, got jealous, acted like a baby in his arms, played with his hair… it all lived inside him like a beautiful memory. But now, it stung like an open wound. "Haa…" Exhaling a long sigh, he stepped into his house. The dark one-room flat he had rented near the university felt far too big and cold today. He dropped his bag on the table beside the entrance and stared into the darkness for a few moments. The first thing he did was strip off his clothes and step under the shower. The splash of cold water snapped him out of the daze he had been trapped in. He shook his head vigorously, as if trying to break the spell Amanda had left on him. Whatever had happened was necessary—a chapter of his life he would never be able to forget. However, life was all about moving forward. Clink Turning off the showerhead, he grabbed a towel and wiped his hair, then his body, before wrapping it around his waist. There was no one else living here, so what was the point of wearing clothes? He usually slept in his underwear anyway. As he stepped out, he looked at the state of his room. Messy. The bedsheet was wrinkled, books lay scattered, speakers were on the ground, and tissue papers were littered around. Tissue papers he had used to wipe his nose. Nose. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Well, this isn't going to get better just by staring." So he got to work—arranging the books, fixing the bed, dimming the lights, throwing the trash into the bin. Finally, he stopped at the holy corner of his room. His PC. The only expensive thing he had bought with his own money. He had done freelancing and part-time jobs in the beginning, and thanks to that, he had managed to save enough money during his high school days to build this computer. He had stopped playing most of his games because Amanda didn't like games at all. She found them time-consuming and useless. Naturally, his focus had shifted almost entirely to her, and slowly, he stopped playing as well. But six months ago, he had started something new. Remember the T-shirt startup he had? He created a live streaming channel to advertise his brand. The plan had more excitement than practicality. Naturally, in a world where every second unemployed guy was starting a streaming channel, Kyle was nothing more than a bacteria-sized fish. No one noticed him or his company. However, even after his company shut down, he didn't close his channel. Why? There were a few people who had grown attached to him—and Kyle had grown attached to them as well. Initially, there were around fifty viewers. Then thirty. Then ten. Then five. By that time, his company had already been dissolved. But since those five people never stopped waiting, commenting, and talking to him, he thought—why not? He wasn't paying a single Nero to the streaming platform, and he had plenty of free time—especially after Amanda started ignoring him—so he spent that time talking to random strangers. However, now… "I need to stop this." He took a deep breath, his hands pressing against the table as his head hung low. He had made several wrong decisions in his life, and they had led him to this point—unemployed, useless, and with no clear future. He didn't know what he would do if his brother stopped sending money next month. Things couldn't continue like this. He had to change. There were no more distractions. No company to manage. No lover to pay attention to. Thankfully, his social life was perfectly aligned with a better future. No friends. No wasted time. So the only thing that could still take hours of his day was this… one last thing. 'Guess this will be the last time for me to go live.' Little did he know how this decision was about to turn his world upside down. ... The moment he toggled the live button, five members joined. Like usual, Kyle was wearing a mask to hide most of his face, only his dark green eyes visible as he looked into the camera and said, "Hey, how have you all been?" By this point, it felt more like a video conference rather than a live stream. Because for the past five months or so, it has just been these five people and Kyle. His words were relayed to them, and soon, the live chat started showing up,

Chapter 1: Corpse-Bearing Soldier, Grow Stronger by Collecting Attributes!

Time: 230 BC! 

Place: Qin-Han border! 

The entire border was littered with corpses; broken swords everywhere, arrows stuck in the ground, shattered chariots, and tens of thousands of bodies lying lifeless on the earth. 

Blood stained the land red. 

Ruined walls and rubble, utterly bloody. 

"Zhao Feng." 

"Why are you working so hard carrying a corpse, kid?" 

"You look like you've found treasure or something. If you like carrying corpses that much, this whole field is yours." 

A soldier dressed in Qin Army uniform called out to a fellow soldier who was laboring to carry corpses. 

When he finished speaking, 

the surrounding soldiers all burst out laughing. 

"Shizhang, you're not wrong." 

"This kid really is built for corpse carrying." 

"He's so fast, ten guys couldn't keep up with him." 

The soldiers around laughed and said. 

After the battle, Daqin Elite Soldiers fight and slaughter. 

But cleanup duty has its own specialists—the corpse carrier soldiers, part of logistics. 

Every one of them wore black cloths on their faces, probably to block the smell. 

Their job on the battlefield was to clear away the bodies and bury them, to prevent disease. 

Looking at these soldiers, 

a young man with a black cloth over his face was working hard, slinging a corpse onto his back and quickly loading it onto the cart, then running off to grab another. 

He didn't care at all about everyone's teasing. 

"You guys don't know shit." 

"I'm making money and getting stronger while I'm at it." Zhao Feng secretly celebrated inside. 

Every time he touched a corpse, 

he would randomly collect all kinds of attributes. 

When Zhao Feng touched another dead Han soldier, 

"Touched ordinary Han soldier corpse, successfully picked up 1 point of strength." 

A notification panel showed up before Zhao Feng's eyes. 

Then Zhao Feng quickly hoisted the corpse, easily tossing it onto the ox cart. 

Once it was fully loaded, he hauled it off to bury. 

"Speed—picked up over forty points of strength today. If one point equals a pound, I've gained over forty pounds of strength just in half a day." 

"Feels good." 

Chapter 1

There are three surefire ways to ruin your life when you're twenty-four. The first is to go into debt. The second is to lie. And the third, by far the most lethal, is to fall in love with your billionaire boss, sleep with him on his mahogany desk, and discover you're pregnant right after he makes it clear that he will never, ever acknowledge a child.

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the plastic test, and I stared at the two red lines that had just appeared on the small window.

Pregnant. By Sebastian Volkov. The Iceman.

Sitting on the floor of my apartment's luxurious bathroom, a knot of pure terror tightened in my throat. And suddenly, my mind mercilessly dragged me back to the night this whole mess began.

Exactly one month ago.

One month ago.

The golden rule for surviving at Volkov Industries was simple: when the CEO lost his temper, you ran in the opposite direction. However, that night I broke my own survival protocol.

Sebastian had just lost the acquisition of OmniCorp, a three-billion-dollar deal. Therefore, the fiftieth floor felt like ground zero after a hurricane. When I entered his office with the damage report, expecting to find a leader plotting his next act of revenge, I found a man on the brink of collapse.

He was leaning against the enormous window, staring at the storm-drenched city. His jacket lay on the floor, his shirt unbuttoned, and a glass of whiskey trembled slightly in his hand.

"Get out, Gianna," he said, his voice so full of rage it rattled the glass. "I don't want to see anyone. Least of all you, with your damn notebook and your face of absolute perfection."

Any secretary in her right mind would have turned right around. But I'd been secretly in love with that demon for three years. Three years watching him burn himself out trying to keep his empire afloat. So, instead of running away, I slammed the door behind me.

"I'm not going anywhere," I replied, placing the papers on the table. "And I'll stop looking 'perfect' when you stop acting like a spoiled child who's just had his favorite toy taken away."

The silence that followed my words was so thick it almost suffocated me. Sebastian turned slowly, like a predator who'd just heard a branch snap in the forest. His gray eyes, usually calculating, now burned with a wild fire. He slammed down his glass, spilling the amber liquid, and walked toward me.

"What did you just say to me?" he hissed, cornering me against the edge of his desk.

For the first time in three years, I didn't look away. I lifted my chin, feeling my heart pound wildly against my ribs.

"A bad deal doesn’t define you, Sebastian. You’re destroying your own office because you’re scared of having failed, and I’m not going to stand by silently and watch you sink."

My boldness crossed an invisible line. Using his first name and confronting him like that shattered the glass between us. He stopped inches from my face, breathing heavily. Suddenly, his gaze dropped to my lips, and I saw something dangerous break inside him.

“I’ve spent three years, Gianna…” he whispered, his aggressive tone shifting to a hoarse, desperate growl. “Three damn years watching you swallow my screams, being so submissive, so unattainable behind those gray suits. It drove me crazy trying to figure out what it would take to make you lose control. And it turns out all it took was losing a company to see your true fire.”

Before I could process his confession, his hands flew to my waist and he lifted me up, plopping me down on the cold wood of the desk.

The kiss wasn't a question; it was a head-on collision. His lips devoured mine with a need that left me breathless, mingling the bitter taste of whiskey with the raw electricity of desire. I didn't pull away. On the contrary, my hands tangled in his dark hair, pulling him even closer, responding with all the passion I'd kept locked away since the day I met him. The chemistry exploded, burning away years of stolen glances and pent-up tension in the office. That night there was no boss, no secretary; just a man seeking refuge and a woman willing to give him everything.

But refuges built on ice always end up melting.

As dawn broke, harsh reality hit me with the force of a freight train. I woke up on the leather sofa, barely covered by his jacket. When I looked up, I saw Sebastian across the room. He was already wearing a new suit. He was immaculate, cold, and as distant as a star.

"There’s an envelope with money on your desk so you can take a few days off," he said, turning his back on me as he put away his phone. "What happened last night was stupid. A necessary mistake to burn off pent-up adrenaline, but a mistake nonetheless."

His words pierced my chest.

"A stupid thing to say?" My voice cracked, despite my efforts to sound strong.

He turned and fixed me with that steely gaze that had so often terrified me in board meetings.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Gianna. You're a brilliant secretary, but I don't get involved with my employees. Besides," he added, walking toward the door, "make sure you stop by a pharmacy. Children are emotional parasites, anchors that drag successful men down. I'll never have heirs, least of all from an office fling. Don't forget the pill."

He left without looking back, shattering my heart into a thousand pieces.

Present.

The sound of my phone vibrating on the bathroom tiles pulled me from my reverie. I blinked, wiping away the stray tears that threatened to spill, and looked at the screen. It was him. Sebastian Volkov. Demanding to know why I was twenty minutes late to the office.

I looked again at the pregnancy test, its two damned red lines glowing like a death warrant.

He had made his feelings about children abundantly clear. If he found out, he would force me to get rid of my baby or snatch it away and hide it from the world, because a Volkov couldn't have any weaknesses.

I ran my hands over my face, making the most terrifying and desperate decision of my life. I couldn't go back to Volkov Industries. I couldn't see Sebastian again.

I had to disappear today, and I had to do it pretending to hate him, so he would never come looking for me.

Chapter 1 Traveling Back To The Past

In Ashborn City, Brimwick, a group of maids of the Barone family was whispering among themselves.

"What the hell is wrong with Gianna? She pushed Nicole down the stairs at a time like this? Now we're all stuck here dealing with the mess."

"Today is Nicole's big party. Huge deal. I heard a lot of big names showed up."

"They said Nicole's arm was broken, and she still has to greet guests with it in a cast. That's honestly sad. You think Gianna did it out of jealousy?"

"Jealous? That's way past jealousy. That was cruel. They're sisters. Nicole just got back into the family. How could Gianna do something like that?"

"If Gianna had even half of Nicole's kindness, none of this would've happened."

*****

In the dark basement, a girl of about seventeen lay curled up in the corner.

She hadn't eaten or had any water all day. Her hair was messy, and five clear finger marks were still stamped across her face.

Her eyes were shut tight, her brows drawn together. Her long lashes trembled from time to time, as if she were trapped in an uneasy dream.

Suddenly, she jolted awake. Her eyes were filled with fear, which slowly turned into confusion.

'Wasn't I dead?' Gianna Barone wondered. Her hand instinctively went to her neck.

1 Prologue

Rosalyn POV

My name is Rosalyn Myers and I'll be turning seventeen tomorrow. Even though celebrating my birthday will be amazing, that's not what I'm excited about. My excitement is purely because I'm a year closer to meeting my wolf. It's crazy but true. I'm a werewolf and my pack is one of the biggest in the Northern Kingdom.

My father is the Beta of the Black Rose Pack. My dad is an amazing man who has taught me what a mate should be. I can only hope my mate treats me as well as he treats my mother. I've never even heard my father raise his voice at her. He is my hero and, besides the Alpha, he is the strongest wolf in our pack.

My mom is beautiful and kind. Unlike me, my mother has long blonde hair and blue eyes. My hair is black as night, just like my father's. My eyes are green like emeralds. I'm not sure where my eye color comes from because my father's eyes are chocolate brown. Regardless, I love my eye color. It makes me unique.

I have two older brothers who are my protectors. Bryce, who will be the next Beta when dad retires, and Emmett, who is a warrior. Bryce is nineteen and Emmett is eighteen. Neither have found their mates yet, but when they do, both girls will be very lucky. My brothers have saved themselves for their mates, which is unheard of in werewolf culture. Men usually expect their mates to be as pure as the driven snow but don't hold themselves to the same standard.

I can't wait to find my mate. Part of me was hoping that it would be Reese. Reese is my brother Bryce's best friend and the next Alpha of our pack. He is hot and sweet. Even though he is Bryce's friend he has always makes a point to talk to me. He has been away for Alpha training for the last six months. I've had a crush on him for the longest time, but I would never go out with someone that wasn't my mate. So, unfortunately, I have to wait a year for that to even be possible.

Addison is my best friend and Reese's little sister. She has a crush on my brother Bryce, which breaks my heart for her. I know when she finds her mate, whatever feelings she has for Bryce will be just a memory, but until then she will be in love with my brother, who only wants his mate.

"Hey bestie, are you ready to go get our dresses for the party" Addison says as she walks into my room. "Addie, didn't your mom tell you she wasn't buying you a new dress for my party since your closet is full of dresses." She smiles pulling a shiny black card from her pocket. "She did, but my dad doesn't know that" she says.

"You're going to be in so much trouble, but I'm in." When we reach the kitchen, my mother is prepping for my favorite dinner and I smile. "There is my beautiful daughter. I can't believe that my youngest pup is going to be seventeen tomorrow." "Mom, do not cry again. You act like I've met my mate, and I'm moving out tomorrow."

"No, I don't. I just can't believe that your so grown up" she says, pulling me into a hug. I hug her back because I love my mother even when she makes me crazy. "What are you girls up to" she asks as she pulls away. "Addie and I are going to get new dresses for my party." My mother raises her eyebrow at Addie because she was there when her mother said no dress.

"My dad gave me his card" she says with a shrug. My mother chuckles before she hands me her credit card. We make our way outside toward my car. "Hey Rosie, where are you two off to," Bryce asks as he jogs toward us. He is only wearing basketball shorts and is covered in sweat from training. I look over at Addie, and she is practically drooling.

"We are going to get new dresses for tomorrow." "Alright, be safe. Text me when you get there and when you leave." I roll my eyes at my brother's over-protectiveness. "Did you just roll your eyes at me because I care about my little sister?" He starts to move toward me and I step back. I know my brother, and he will have no problem wiping sweat all over me. "Do not even think about touching me. You are a sweaty mess."

He throws his head back and laughs as Addie and I run to my car. After an hour at the mall, we head back to the pack. I found the perfect thigh-length purple dress. It shows off my curves, but it isn't sl**ty. Addie's turquoise blue dress looks amazing on her. We made it back to have dinner with my family. I'm very lucky to have such an amazing friend and family.

The Party

"Holy sh*t Rosie, you look smoking hot in that dress. Come on, and I'll do your make-up and hair." When she is done my hair is styled in loose waves that fall down my back. She keeps my makeup simple, which I appreciate. I usually only use lip gloss and eyeliner. Twenty minutes later, we're walking into the ballroom. The room is packed with members of our pack and a few allied packs.

"There she is, my princess" my dad says as he makes his way toward me. Without warning, he lifts me off the ground in a bear hug. "Dad, you're embarrassing me" I say with a smile. "That's my job princess to keep all the pesky boys away," he says, setting me on my feet. He presses a kiss on my forehead. As soon as he steps back, my mother pulls me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Happy Birthday, Rosalyn" Alpha Robert says. I turn to see the Alpha and Luna smiling at me. "You look beautiful, Rosalyn," Luna Maureen says. "Thank you both, and thank you for this amazing party." "Addison is that a new dress," Luna Maureen asks. Addie nods and her father looks confused. "You look beautiful, Addison, but you and I will be having a talk about you using your father's inability to say no to get what you want when I say otherwise," Luna says.

Addie nods and grabs my arm, pulling me to the dance floor. "I told you that you were going to be in trouble." "I can handle the lecture and grounding. It was worth it for this dress" she says, and we both laugh. "What's so funny little miss?" I turn to answer Bryce and come face to face with Reese. I swear his eyes darken, but I must be imagining things.

"Addie is in trouble with the Luna." "I guess nothing has changed since I've been gone, huh, Addie," Reese says. "Shut up Reese. Now we would like to dance, and no boys are going to ask us when our brothers are hanging around," she says. Reese growls low and Bryce's head snaps toward him. "She's right Reese. Let's go, so the girls can have fun, but not too much fun," he says with a chuckle. He pulls me in for a hug before they head toward our parents.

After a few minutes of dancing, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and find Logan smiling at me. He is our age and in most of my classes. "Happy Birthday, Rosalyn." "Thank you, Logan." "I was wondering if you would like to dance" he asks. I realize that the music has changed to a slow song. "Sure, she would love to dance with you Logan," Addie says before I can politely say no.