

Noah Sterling, the Sterling clan's prodigy, awakened a Black Gold Core at thirteen. But a fire drained it, making him a "Dead Core" outcast. At his awakening test, his fiancée rejected him, his cousin crushed his pride, and he lost inheritance. Then his mother's ring awakened; Orion revealed half his core was stolen—the rest sealed the Eclipse Flame, a city-destroying blaze. Using that fire, Noah reforged his body, made elixirs, broke arrays, slew enemies. He rose against seven great houses, uncovering the truth about his parents and the usurped Star-Ash Throne.

Before turning 25, the pack elders use the mind-link 99 times to forcibly summon me. I have to bond with a mate before my 25th birthday or face an arranged marriage to serve the pack. When I tell Jacob Fulton, our patrol captain, he just scoffs. "I've never heard of any pack having a rule like that. Wendy, you don't need such a pathetic tactic to test me. I was going to mark you, but seeing how desperate you are, I've changed my mind." He tosses the protection necklace I hand-crafted for him to his childhood friend, Yelena Shaw, and walks off without a second glance. Yelena blushes as she offers the necklace back to me. A triumphant glint flashes in her eyes. I step back, refusing it with a soft voice. "You can keep my trash." Ignoring her sudden paleness, I turn and walk away. I don't want the necklace anymore, and I don't want Jacob, either. What Jacob doesn't know is that I'm the sole heir to the Darkmoon pack. Once I turn 25, I must return to fulfill my duty—to take my place as Alpha Female and bond with a mate. Only this time, Jacob won't be the one I choose.
![[ENG DUB] Beneath the Mask, She Rules](https://acfs3.goodshort.com/dist/src/assets/images/pc/common/f901131c-default-book-cover.png)
On the day of Valeria Castle's engagement, her mother, Marilyn Castle, arrives at the banquet disguised as a cleaner, only to face humiliation from the Hardy family. A wealthy woman fights her over a parking spot, her future mother-in-law enforces strict household rules, and her fiancé demands an outrageous betrothal gift. But Marilyn soon reveals her true identity. Wayne Cuddy, Aaron Shaw, and Basil Brady step in with a billion-dollar dowry, instantly turning the tide. From that moment on, she proves her strength time and again, expertly resolving the crisis at Price Corp. In the end, as foreign capital threatens their empire, she takes Valeria abroad—ready for the next battle.