empire of favor: the power play

In the Corvona underworld, there is one unspoken rule. When a Don keeps a new woman by his side for three consecutive months, the Donna must personally remove the signet ring symbolizing her power and place it on the new woman's finger before the entire family. When my husband, Luca, the Don of the Bellini family, announced he would take Mia alone on a three-month business trip, the entire Corvona underworld waited for me to have a meltdown. I had been with Luca Bellini for seven years. I followed him everywhere, refusing to leave his side. I would even wake up in the middle of the night to touch him, needing to know he was there to feel secure. They were all aware of my clinginess and were betting I would never let go. But when Mia extended her hand to me, her voice dripping with saccharine, I didn't shed a single tear. I calmly removed the signet ring engraved with the family crest and slid it onto her ring finger. Luca, lounging in the leather chair at the head of the table, swirled the whiskey in his glass, satisfaction gleaming in his cold blue eyes. "Elara, you've finally learned your place." I lowered my gaze to my bare finger, saying nothing in return. What Luca didn't know was that a month ago, I had recovered all seven years of my lost memories. I wasn't some street orphan at all, but the long-lost Principessa of the Rossi family, the most powerful of the Old World families. In three days, my brother's armed convoy would roll into Corvona to take me home.

My father, the Alpha King, did not want his daughter surrounded by Alphas chasing the throne, so he hid my identity and arranged for me to meet Adrian Vale, the young Alpha of the modest Silver Ridge Pack. Father said Adrian had real ability. Unlike the court Alphas who knew only how to flatter power, Adrian had taken control of his pack young and kept it stable. I wore a Chanel dress, a custom Cartier watch, a Hermès bag, and the moonstone bracelet my mother had left me. It was only a formal meeting, but since Father had arranged it himself, I chose to show respect. Before dinner could begin, Adrian's childhood friend, Molly Veyne, stormed into the private dining room. She called herself a gold-digger detector. Her eyes swept over my dress, my watch, my bracelet, and my bag before she laughed. "Adrian, look at her. She covered herself in luxury brands so you would think she came from noble blood." Adrian apologized and said Molly disliked women who dressed too loudly. I chose not to lose my temper. Then Molly dragged my Hermès bag under her shoe. "A bag worth this much? How could you afford it?" "Tell us, how many Alphas did you fool before you could pay for everything you are wearing?" "You dressed like a princess because you want an Alpha to put a Luna crown on your head." Her malice almost made me laugh. I looked at the moonstone bracelet on my wrist. Even if Silver Ridge sold every business it owned, Molly still might not be able to pay for what she had just touched.

The beastfolk are a powerful race, and to strengthen our family's power, Father arranges marriages for both me and my stepsister, Arya Hearthguard. In our past lives, Arya entered a high-profile marriage into the wealthy, powerful dragon clan, while I was forced to wed into the crumbling lion clan. The clan leader of the dragons—Draken Vorgath—was cold and detached. He cared more for gold than his bride, leaving Arya in a glided cage of loneliness. Overwhelmed by the desolation, she seduced the future leader of the fox clan, who was flirtatious.. And when the scandal exploded, Draken resolutely divorced her. Arya's scandal brought shame upon our family. Despite Father's favoritism, he was compelled by family honor to exile her in disgrace. Clan leader of the lions and King of the Jungle—Kael Hawthorne—was a man of unwavering devotion. Our marriage blossomed, and within a year, I bore him a golden lion cub blessed with the Aetheric Divinity. With the Aetherborn, Kael rose to rule all beastfolk as the chieftain, and I became their most revered chieftess. Consumed by envy, Arya sneaked into my son's first birthday feast and strangled the golden lion cub in his cradle. Then, she set the place ablaze and burned me alive along with it. When I wake up, I am back on the very day of our marriage. This time, Arya volunteers to marry into the lions and leaves me the chance to marry into the dragons. I accept everything meekly with only a tenth of her dowry and marry Draken. Later, she bleeds her dowry dry, propping up the lion clan, only to fail in conceiving a cub. When the elders demand she mate with other males, regret drowns her. As for me, all I want in his new life is an heir and a quiet life among the dragons. But no one warns me about the dragons, least of all that my supposedly cold-hearted husband will relentlessly demand me once awakened. Or that his members came in pairs and ridges!

The beastfolk are a powerful race, and to strengthen our family's power, Father arranges marriages for both me and my stepsister, Arya Hearthguard. In our past lives, Arya entered a high-profile marriage into the wealthy, powerful dragon clan, while I was forced to wed into the crumbling lion clan. The clan leader of the dragons—Draken Vorgath—was cold and detached. He cared more for gold than his bride, leaving Arya in a glided cage of loneliness. Overwhelmed by the desolation, she seduced the future leader of the fox clan, who was flirtatious.. And when the scandal exploded, Draken resolutely divorced her. Arya's scandal brought shame upon our family. Despite Father's favoritism, he was compelled by family honor to exile her in disgrace. Clan leader of the lions and King of the Jungle—Kael Hawthorne—was a man of unwavering devotion. Our marriage blossomed, and within a year, I bore him a golden lion cub blessed with the Aetheric Divinity. With the Aetherborn, Kael rose to rule all beastfolk as the chieftain, and I became their most revered chieftess. Consumed by envy, Arya sneaked into my son's first birthday feast and strangled the golden lion cub in his cradle. Then, she set the place ablaze and burned me alive along with it. When I wake up, I am back on the very day of our marriage. This time, Arya volunteers to marry into the lions and leaves me the chance to marry into the dragons. I accept everything meekly with only a tenth of her dowry and marry Draken. Later, she bleeds her dowry dry, propping up the lion clan, only to fail in conceiving a cub. When the elders demand she mate with other males, regret drowns her. As for me, all I want in his new life is an heir and a quiet life among the dragons. But no one warns me about the dragons, least of all that my supposedly cold-hearted husband will relentlessly demand me once awakened. Or that his members came in pairs and ridges!

The beastfolk are a powerful race, and to strengthen our family's power, Father arranges marriages for both me and my stepsister, Arya Hearthguard. In our past lives, Arya entered a high-profile marriage into the wealthy, powerful dragon clan, while I was forced to wed into the crumbling lion clan. The clan leader of the dragons—Draken Vorgath—was cold and detached. He cared more for gold than his bride, leaving Arya in a glided cage of loneliness. Overwhelmed by the desolation, she seduced the future leader of the fox clan, who was flirtatious.. And when the scandal exploded, Draken resolutely divorced her. Arya's scandal brought shame upon our family. Despite Father's favoritism, he was compelled by family honor to exile her in disgrace. Clan leader of the lions and King of the Jungle—Kael Hawthorne—was a man of unwavering devotion. Our marriage blossomed, and within a year, I bore him a golden lion cub blessed with the Aetheric Divinity. With the Aetherborn, Kael rose to rule all beastfolk as the chieftain, and I became their most revered chieftess. Consumed by envy, Arya sneaked into my son's first birthday feast and strangled the golden lion cub in his cradle. Then, she set the place ablaze and burned me alive along with it. When I wake up, I am back on the very day of our marriage. This time, Arya volunteers to marry into the lions and leaves me the chance to marry into the dragons. I accept everything meekly with only a tenth of her dowry and marry Draken. Later, she bleeds her dowry dry, propping up the lion clan, only to fail in conceiving a cub. When the elders demand she mate with other males, regret drowns her. As for me, all I want in his new life is an heir and a quiet life among the dragons. But no one warns me about the dragons, least of all that my supposedly cold-hearted husband will relentlessly demand me once awakened. Or that his members came in pairs and ridges!

Serena, heiress to the Klein family, married Nathaniel after six years together—unaware their perfect love was his revenge scheme. Years ago, Serena's father Victor stole Nathaniel's father's drug formula, killed him, and built his empire. Nathaniel faked deep affection to get close, plotting his revenge. Serena's world collapsed: her father imprisoned, her mother dead from the shock. On her mother's funeral day, Nathaniel attended an awards ceremony with actress Vanessa. He seized Klein Biotech, served Serena divorce papers, confessed all his lies, and left her with nothing—destroying her faith in love. With friend Sophie's support, Serena rebuilt her life. She worked from the bottom at Sophie's studio while connecting with her mother's lawyer, Alex, determined to uncover the truth and clear her father's name. She faced Vanessa's humiliation but struck back calmly, partnered with veteran journalist Lee, used media pressure against Nathaniel, and hunted for evidence proving her father's frame-up. Nathaniel planned his engagement to Vanessa, but Serena exposed her secrets—turning the celebration into a farce. Desperate, Nathaniel used his power to crush everyone around her. But with help from an old servant, Serena found her mother's clues and located key witness Old John, learning the truth: while Victor had his faults, Nathaniel's father had also stolen Klein's core technology—and Nathaniel's conviction evidence was forged. Armed with proof, Serena launched her final counterattack. Together with Alex, Lee, and Victor's former allies, she exposed Nathaniel's fabricated evidence and illegal financial dealings. Nathaniel landed in prison, Victor's sentence was dramatically reduced. Serena reclaimed Klein Group, became CEO, reformed the company, helped Sophie rebuild her studio, rose from the ashes, and stepped into her own future—free at last.

"The night the blood dyed the bright moon crimson remained an eternal nightmare haunting Elara. She was the most powerful ancient Queen of the wolf clan in ten thousand years, blessed with an unparalleled bloodline that overawed all beasts and ruled the entire nocturnal realm. Yet she fell victim to the one she had trusted above all others. Kane, the elite warrior she had personally promoted, the confidant she had trusted with her back and nurtured with all the clan’s resources, drove his blade straight through her heart at the peak of their clan’s prosperity, when all beings bowed in allegiance. The piercing agony of the blade paled in comparison to the collapse of her heart. She watched the young man who had once knelt before her with utter devotion, his eyes now cold and ruthless. She witnessed him lead the rebel army to massacre the sacred wolf temple, and watch the once glorious wolf clan collapse overnight, its lands drowned in rivers of blood. With her dying breath, she heard his low, indifferent voice, devoid of the slightest affection, carrying only icy command: “Slay the Queen, secure the realm.” Boundless hatred engulfed her soul, burning her to the core, yet her vengeful resolve never wavered. Fate granted her a second chance, reborn from blood and embers. When she opened her eyes again, Elara shed her domineering ancient wolf royal bloodline, suppressing all her sharpness and supreme majesty. She transformed into a frail, humble human girl. Hiding the raging blood feud in her eyes, erasing every trace of her former queenly identity and taming her unyielding pride, she disguised herself as an ordinary, timid mortal, lingering on the fringes of the wolf territory now fully under Kane’s control. The Kane of today was no longer the dependent warrior who had once relied on her. He had seized her throne and risen as the undisputed Alpha Lord of the entire wolf clan, ruling over vast territories with absolute power of life and death over all his kind

I’m a werewolf, eight months pregnant with my vampire mate's hybrid child. When the contractions hit, my vampire mate, Justin, locked me in an ice coffin carved with runes meant to suppress childbirth. I screamed. I begged him. He just said, "Wait." But this was all for his childhood sweetheart. Isolde. The pureblood vampire had used dark blood magic to carry his pure-blood heir without having sex. The first vampire child born in a millennium would receive the Progenitor's ultimate blessing. It would purify the bloodline. It would break a curse generations in the making. "That honor belongs to Isolde's child," Justin said, his voice pure ice. "You already have my love, Gracie. This coffin just ensures you give birth after her." The pain of the contractions tore through me. I begged him to take me to the Bloodspring Sanctuary. He leaned in, his cold fingers gripping my chin. "Stop the act. I should have seen it sooner. You never loved me. You were an outcast in the werewolf world. You only wanted my power and my title." "You're so desperate you'd risk our child with your savage wolf tricks, just to ruin a pureblood's blessing... You're poison." Tears streamed down my face. I trembled, my voice shattering. "The baby's coming—I can't stop it. Please, I'll make a blood oath. I don't care about the blessing. I just want you!" He scoffed, a hint of pained betrayal in his eyes. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have run to my mother. You wouldn't have poisoned her mind against Isolde." "I'll be back after she receives the blessing. After all, the child you're carrying is mine, too." He stood guard outside the sanctuary where Isolde's ritual was taking place. He didn't give me another thought. Not until he saw the halo of the blessing crown Isolde. He ordered his blood thrall to release me. But the thrall's voice trembled with terror. "My lord… Lady Gracie and the child… their life signs… they're gone." In that instant, Justin’s world shattered.