Pick Me Up! - Chapter 16.2: Laying the Groundwork (4) Part 2

(R-18 and dark themes, you have been warned.)In this post-apocalyptic world, Faes are hunted and killed mercilessly because they are blamed for the apocalypse that befell and destroyed half of the population.At 20, Amaia Zhāng is a Fae and is the last of her kind, or so she thinks. Her family and her whole village were massacred by the Dread Army in the name of keeping peace. She is the sole survivor and keeps her appearance cloaked to hide.But she makes it her mission to train every day and one day become strong enough to avenge her kind.During a battle with a monster, her mate abandons and rejects her to save his life. Heartbroken, Amaia is left with no choice but to join Orion Academy. It is home to the greatest hunters and enforcers of her continent. It's a world where hunters and enforcers are treated like celebrities.She knows the training will help her fulfil her revenge plans and become a renowned hunter. And maybe along the way she will find another mate.But the twist of fate, deception and seduction from the man who is supposed to refer her to the Orion Academy leaves her with a curse and a tainted reputation. A curse which prevents her mate/mates from recognising her and prevents Amaia from informing them of who she is to them.As it turns out, Amaia is mated to hybrid Alphas of Orion, but none of them can feel the mate bond, and they believe she wants to seduce them.“Have some dignity, Amaia. You abandoned your mate and are now trying your seduction techniques on me. I have a fiancée.” Glares Alnilam, her first mate.“Don't look at me like that, lassie. I am saving myself for my mate.” Winks Alnitak, her second mate.“Stay away from me. You are not my mate,” scolds Mintaka, her third mate.“I will bring a garland constructed from your ex-mate's bones. How dare he hurt you?” Determination flashes in the eyes of Rigel, her fourth mate.Every time they turn her down and choose to be intimate with their chosen females, she feels every ounce of pain and hurt.Amidst the chaos and heartache, can Amaia break this curse and have her mates recognise her as theirs?Does she have four mates or is there another twist hidden?Will she become a successful hunter and keep her identity hidden from the world and at the same time carry out her revenge?Read on to find out.A special thanks to @TheSlumbingCat for creating this beautiful cover for me.If you want to chat, find me on Discord, Facebook and Instagram with the same name.

Through a mysterious portal, Chen Jin arrived at this strange place – a post-apocalyptic world where civilization had been destroyed.

Chen Tang transmigrates to a martial arts world and is stranded on the snowy mountain. Just as he's starving, a divine tiger sees him as her child and feeds him with tiger milk, which helps him to lay a solid martial foundation.And there's a mysterious master who teaches him valuable lessons.

I was just your average burnout. Now I’m a kobold in a dungeon where everything wants to eat me—and frankly, I get it. I look delicious.Reincarnated as the weakest possible monster in the worst possible place, I start with nothing but panic, backward knees, and a skill called Civilization Mimicry—which is sealed. Because of course it is.But survival isn't the story.This is the story of what comes after.Of finding meaning in the scraps. Of building law from ashes. Of kindling memory in a place designed to erase.Because even if the world sees kobolds as nothing, I’ve seen what we used to be.And I’m going to bring it back.Firelight by firelight. Burial by burial. One fragile tradition at a time.Because if the world wants kobolds to be nothing?Then I’ll teach it what nothing becomes when it learns to dream.