Pick Me Up! - Chapter 54.1: Moving Forward Again (3) (1)

Listen here, because I've seen it with my very own eyes.William Oh was born on the hundredth floor of The Tower, to the greatest Climbers of the ancient world, steeped in the Tower's lethal miasma from the moment he drew breath, giving him strange and unnatural powers.They say he is an immortal being who circles the dreams of mortal men, resurfacing wherever the need is greatest. Those who disparage him will fall into despair, but if you're a Climber in a tight scrape, look to the sky and say a little prayer.Maybe he will appear?Odds are probably better if you pay for my drink.- Rumor overheard on a 1st Floor Tavern. Originator did not pay his tab.

“I really feel like having one of those special macarons from the cafeteria today. You think you could get me one?”I sit diagonally behind the heroine in class. I’m basically her errand girl.“We are [friends] , after all.”…And I’m happy to do it.

[TRIGGER WARNING: Mature Content + Dark Themes]EXCERPT:“Axel, no. We… can’t do this!” I jolted back when he pulled up my skirt.As if to retaliate, he grabbed my wrist and yanked my body to his. “We can do whatever I say we can do, María José.”“I’m your brother’s reject. Do you even hear yourself right now? He didn’t want me, Axel. What does that make me to you?”“I don’t care about Álvaro’s foolishness. It's his loss for losing a woman like you.”“Okay, I must confess. I'm not worried about him either. It's Rosa… you're getting engaged to my sister in a month!”“Let me remind you, María José—I don’t give a fuck about that, either.”No matter how hard I jerked, he wasn’t letting me go. And part of me—so, so foolishly—didn’t want him to.______Having spent her life avoiding the spotlight, María Jośe never imagined she’d be the one to bring shame to her esteemed De la Vega family. With beauty as captivating as a field of lilies, she is the prized daughter of an ambitious father who cares more for his reputation than his children’s happiness.When Álvaro Montenegro, the arrogant heir to the Alpha title, sets his sights on her as his chosen Luna, María Jośe is desperate for a way out.But everything changes when the Moon Goddess answers her prayer in the most unexpected way: María Jośe discovers she is an Omega—wolfless and the lowest rank in the pack. Once held in awe, she is now shunned; a source of shame to her father and a target for ridicule in the pack.As her life turns upside down , María Jośe's hatred for the pack grows. The only solace she finds is in her growing, forbidden bond with Axel Montenegro—Álvaro’s older brother, who has turned his back on the pack to live as Beta.These two developed a love-hate friendship born from their shared disdain for the pack’s cruelty, which slowly evolves into a passionate, secret romance.But when Álvaro discovers Axel’s interest in María Jośe, jealousy ignites within him and he suddenly wants María Jośe as his own.Love, vengeance, and betrayal all brewed into a whirlwind of drama, desires, and deadly comebacks. Will María Jośe rise from the ashes of her former life, or will she be consumed by the power struggles of the pack she despises? Will she give in to the oldest brother who is scared of commitment or the younger one who fiercely seeks redemption?

Kiro is a slave branded with a deadly collar, forced to work in brutal mines under the ruthless Kargal Empire. Each year, slaves are hunted for sport in the deadly Hunting Games—a fight to the death on a savage alien moon. This year, Kiro is chosen to play. Sent into a wilderness filled with monsters and traps, survival seems impossible. But something ancient watches from the shadows—and it has plans for him.