Iron Dynasty - Chapter 17: Warming the Bed

“I'm done playing nice, mate.” His guttural voice was a threat. He wanted to force himself on her. He wanted her submission to come to him and be protected.Melisca was staring into his blood-red eyes. The grass field in it was gone. It was now a burning lava. Yes, she felt fear, but she was more furious about what he wanted for her.“You are my fated mate. My luna. Your rightful place should be right by my side, not running around spilling blood.”Her face contorted in constant anger. If only looks could kill, his gorgeous head would have already been separated from his neck. “I don't want to be Luna for the people I hate.” Her teeth gritted. She should have been scared. He can easily snap her slender neck. But her courage or stupidity prevailed over common sense.********************Too much for being a werewolf. A werewolf that can never shift. But that's the last of her concerns. For she had a pack to hunt, a family to revenge, and a life to survive.Melisca Lorwey is a half-blood wolf and human. Exiled by her father's clan and hated by her mother's side. When both of her parents died, she had no one else but herself alone. Witnessing how her parents had been murdered, she decided to hunt the killers as her life mission. Though she can't shift, she still had the abilities of a wolf.Then someone adds up to her life complications.Ezekiel Rawson Stavrus made her mission even harder to accomplish. She doesn't want anyone to distract or, worse, stop her plans. The very last thing she needed was the most powerful and possessive alpha chasing after her. So the moment she heard him say, “Mine.” She fled away like her life's on the line.---------------------------AN: This is not your typical romance. It focuses in bloody revenge, duties, and responsibilities first. Love isn't everything for the characters. It could be all or nothing in their wicked world of greed, power, and darkness.

After his death, Bern awakens 10 years into the past as the third prince of Kailis, the enemy country.

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

Have you often come across a game where you start with a bonfire, surrounded by ice and snow, with resources all manually transported, and monsters attacking at any time...Xia Hong wakes up to find himself in such a world.The ice and snow rage on, beasts rule the land, civilization is lost, and all people and things that once existed have been invaded into powerful and bizarre entities, leaving humans as a humble race surviving in the shadow of winter, on the brink of extinction.Fortunately, Xia Hong possesses a camp system that can upgrade infinitely.[Small Bonfire]—[Iron Furnace]—[Solar Cauldron]...[Wooden Post]—[Training Ground]—[Martial Arts Hall]...[Bamboo Fence]—[Black Soil Wall]—[Iron Wall]...[Monument Stone]—[Notice Board]—[Hero's Monument]......As Xia Hong slays the beasts and exterminates the bizarre entities, gradually gathering humans, dispelling the winter, and opening up territory, the mysterious veil of this world is slowly unveiled in its entirety.