The Kidnapped Bride - Chapter 80 - Strained Relationship

Ren Wu died once.Two thousand years ago, he was the Imperial Chancellor who governed Hell itself—an Auditor who enforced cosmic law, taxed gods, and sentenced demons with a brushstroke.Then Heaven and Hell cooperated.He was assassinated before he could finish signing a decree meant to fix the cycle of reincarnation.Now, he has awakened in the body of a dying factory owner at the bottom of the modern Underworld.His wealth is his health.His business is survival.His enemies are corporations, gangs, ancient clans—and the government of Hell.While others cultivate to become immortal heroes, Ren Wu cultivates assets.He monopolizes supply chains.He weaponizes contracts.He turns gangs into employees.He turns ancient cultivation manuals into corrected instruction manuals.To Ren Wu, modern cultivators are not warriors.They are illiterate workers using corrupted translations of Hell’s employee handbooks.As Ren rebuilds his corporate empire, fragments of his sealed memories return…Why did his archaeologist parents send him an ancient coffin before vanishing?Why does the Administration desperately want him erased?Why does every ancient family’s sacred art trace back to Hell?To uncover the truth, Ren Wu must do what he does best:Acquire political shields.Build unions.Exploit loopholes.Rewrite laws.Because in this world…You don’t punch judges.You don’t sue gangsters.And you never fight the system.You become the system.

Zephyrine should have died that night. It was her wedding day, but it turned out to be a mourning day for her.She lost her parents, the Alpha and Luna, and worse still, she was framed for their deaths by the fiancé she was expected to marry.Zephyrine barely escaped death and promised herself to avenge her parents death. She became a queen—a fearless queen with a pack.She crushed those who stood in her way, even challenging great Alphas and those of high authority.Despite all this, little does she know that fate had other plans in store for her.She finally found her mate, and he was none other than the Lord of the Grims.She refused to let the mate bond tie her down and chose to grow stronger while protecting her pack.The Lord of the Grims was forbidden from having a mate following the betrayal from the werewolves that happened centuries ago. But despite it all, the Lord couldn't help but fall deeper in love with Zephyrine. He protected her and acted as a shield, refusing to leave her side despite how she pushed him away.Zephyrine and the Lord encountered different situations of life and death, bringing them closer.Unaware of his true identity, she began to fall in love with him.Those from each realm found out about this forbidden love and decided to put a stop to it.Zephyrine discovered his true identity, realizing what the werewolves had done to his kind.She chose to fight for love despite all odds.Because some loves are written in fate.And some must be fought for in blood.Will she be able to stand against the two realms and still fight for the one she loves?What other danger lay ahead in their love story?Excerpt from the book“You carry yourself like you're untouchable,” Caden said, his voice low and smooth. “Like no one can reach you. But I see right through that mask, Zephyrine.”I held my ground, unwilling to let him see how much his presence was affecting me. “If you think you can intimidate me, you're mistaken. I've stood against worse than you.”His lips curved into a faint smile, but there was something deeper in his gaze now—something that felt like fire. “You feel it, don't you?” he murmured.I stiffened, my wolf practically clawing to get out. I did feel it—the pull, the undeniable connection that tied me to him. My mate. The realization hit me like a tidal wave, and I hated how vulnerable it made me feel.“You're wrong,” I said sharply, though my voice wavered. “Whatever this is, I don't want it.”Caden's eyes softened, but he didn't back down. Instead, he took another step forward, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from him. He raised a hand, brushing his fingers lightly against my cheek.“Deny it all you want, Zephyrine,” he said softly, his touch sending sparks through my skin. “But your wolf doesn't lie. You can feel it, just like I do.”I shivered, hating how my body betrayed me. My breath hitched as his thumb gently traced along my jawline. “I've been waiting for you,” he continued. “And now that I've found you, I won't let you go.”I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay firm. “I don't need a mate,” I whispered, though the words felt hollow.Caden's smile widened, but it wasn't mocking—it was warm, almost tender. “You may not think you require me,” he said, his voice steady, “but I promise you, Zephyrine, you'll want me. And when that time comes, you'll submit—not because I demand it, but because you'll choose to.”The way he said it made my heart stutter, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.Before I could respond, he leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered, “You'll see, my queen. You can try to fight it, but you'll be mine in the end.”He pulled back, his intense gaze locking with mine one last time before he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, breathless and trembling.My wolf was practically purring, but I wasn't going to give in.Never.

In a far-flung future where humanity has colonised the stars, evolution has taken a new leap. Powers once thought to be myths now lie dormant within the genes of every human, waiting to be awakened.The cosmos is governed by powerful factions, alien empires, and bio-enhanced elites.Those awakeners with unique abilities that could shape the fate of the galactic empire were called Overlords.Hex, a seemingly ordinary orphan who was born with a special physique, was withheld from graduation after defeating elite students who had awakened powers.Just as he thought his fate was sealed, on an unexpected day, he awakened his power.It was the ability to copy any talent or genetic ability, which was looked down upon by everyone on the list of superpowers due to a glaring weakness.The copied power wasn’t permanent.However, Hex’s ability had overcome that weakness.From physical strengthening to psychic control, from elemental manipulation to spatial distortion and even powers beyond imagination, he could copy them all.But such a gift comes at a cost.Once his secret was known, he would be hunted by empires, feared by Overlords, and sought after by secret societies. Hex would unknowingly become the most wanted entity in the galaxy.Thrown into an interstellar war, Hex must navigate political treachery, ruthless bounty hunters, and ancient forces that lie beyond known space in order to survive, as he builds his strength by mastering the powers of others.

Jadis has no idea how she died. One minute she's living her life as a young college student in Pennsylvania, the next she's hurtling through the unimaginable, incomprehensible void of the space between realities as a lost and detached soul. Luckily for her, the bored, and slightly deranged, god D finds her soul before it is mulched by the incomprehensible cosmos. After offering her a cookie to calm down from her existential nightmare, he explains that not only are gods and their respective afterlives real, but her disbelief in gods while living also means she doesn’t qualify to enter any god’s afterlife upon death. However, since D is in the mood for some mischief, he strikes a deal with her. Life in a fantasy world with RPG elements, along with a body built to match Jadis' slightly perverted wishes. Additionally, she gets a guaranteed spot in his afterlife. All that for the low price of spicing up the stagnant cyclical nature of a never-ending war between two stubborn gods and their respective followers on said magic-filled world. What disembodied soul could turn down an offer like that?Except, once Jadis takes the deal, she finds that she has been transported to the middle of nowhere and the lazy jerk of a god forgot to check if any of his followers were around to greet Jadis. Now freshly reincarnated as a Nephilim, Jadis is all alone and all but naked in an abandoned dwarven village located firmly in demon infested territory. Not planning on dying again anytime soon, she is forced to take the only non-perverted class option given to her and unexpectedly receives a second body for it. How is Jadis going to explain that when she gets back to civilization? From there, the now pluralized Jadis tries to survive long enough to understand her new system and skills, looking forward to the day she finds civilization, hot baths, and hotter elves.[I have already posted 300+ chapters on Scribble Hub. Updates there are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with double chapters posted every Friday. I plan on posting an increased number of chapters on Royal Road until this site has caught up and then post here on the same schedule. Rebirth of the Nephilim contains sexually explicit material, so for Royal Road I will be censoring the more explicit chapters. If you want to read the lewd chapters in their entirety, they will remain uncensored on Scribble Hub.]