Her Ruthless Beast
/1/129726/coverbig.jpg?v=d952b45e9b05aae9f5803a8b2c8d4fc6)
The Hockey Prince's Secret Ice Queen
All I wanted was to find a computer genius to process the non-linear dynamic equations for my ecological model. Instead, I found myself cornered by Julian Andrews, the university's hockey prince, trading a public, staged kiss for his academic support. To finalize our "deal," I was dragged to the campus ice rink. The cheerleaders and puck bunnies immediately swarmed him, mocking my plain clothes and treating me like a pathetic joke. Brooke, the head cheerleader, even set up a figure skating competition with a date with Julian as the grand prize. She performed a basic spin, blew him a kiss, and smugly waited for me to fall flat on my face and humiliate myself. His hockey teammates laughed from the sidelines, watching me try to support Julian as he stumbled around the ice like a newborn giraffe. But as I held his warm hand to keep him from falling, I couldn't help but feel something was terribly wrong. Why was a top-tier athlete faking such awful balance? And why did his ice-blue eyes stare at me with such knowing anticipation, as if he already knew about the professional figure skating past I had spent years trying to bury? "Just let go and skate." He whispered, slowly releasing my hand. I took a deep breath, glided to the center of the rink, and landed a flawless double Axel. As the entire rink fell into a dead, shocked silence, I realized I had just exposed not only my own hidden past, but also the biggest secret of the campus god.
Chapter 1 No.1
Sage POV:
"Let me kiss you."
The request was a low, hurried murmur—warm, quiet, and laced with the faintest edge of mortification.
Stunned, I snapped my head up toward the sound.
Julian Andrews filled my vision. He easily towered a head over me, his lean, athletic frame silhouetted against the bright morning glare, casting a long shadow across the cobblestones. Briar University's star forward. Team captain. The athletic department's untouchable golden boy.
Campus rumor had it that Julian was notoriously indifferent, never sparing anyone a second glance.
Behind him, a solid wall of navy-and-gold varsity jackets blocked the brick path. His teammates were whistling, shoving each other, and effectively cutting off my only exit.
The sudden commotion immediately bottlenecked the morning foot traffic. Whispers rippled through the crowd, and within seconds, a dozen students reached into their pockets out of sheer muscle memory, black camera lenses catching the light as they aimed squarely at us.
Julian's sharp eyes tracked the movement, his jaw tightening into a hard, irritated line.
Before I could take a single defensive step back, he closed the distance between us. Leaning down into my space, his broad shoulders shifted in a subtle, fluid maneuver—throwing up an impenetrable physical wall that completely shielded my face from the intrusive glare of the cameras.
His sharp, striking face hovered breathtakingly close. His deep baritone brushed against my ear, lost to the autumn wind, meant for me alone:
"Sorry to drop this on you," he whispered, his pale blue eyes disarmingly earnest, holding a quiet heat that sent a tremor straight down my spine. "The guys backed me into a locker-room dare... but I'm not here to use you as a joke. We can fake it. Angle it so it looks real—whatever you're comfortable with. Just help me get them off my back, and I owe you one."
It was only then that my brain finally rebooted.
What on earth? He's actually trying to kiss me?
A sharp flare of pure absurdity hit me, and my gaze dropped to my reflection in the dark glass door of the adjacent building: an oversized, faded gray hoodie that swallowed my frame whole, soft, thin jeans worn at the knees, bare-faced dark circles carved beneath my eyes from forty-eight hours of non-stop coding, my dark hair hastily twisted into a cheap plastic claw clip, and a pair of oversized, thick black-rimmed glasses sitting heavy on the bridge of my nose, completely hiding my face.
I looked like a refugee from an all-night disaster. How had Briar's golden prince ended up in front of me?
When I looked back up, my breath trapped in my throat anyway. He was too close, his clean scent of winter mint and cedar wrapping around my senses. Having those pale blue eyes staring straight down at me made my chest tighten in a way I really didn't want to acknowledge.
"Clock's ticking, Cap!" Landon howled from the sidelines, hands cupped around his mouth as the rest of the players lost their minds laughing. "Plant one on her, or enjoy the five-AM bag skate!"
A raucous chorus of barks and chest-thumping went up from the team.
A few yards away, two girls heading toward the dining hall froze in their tracks, pointing their phones.
"Wait, who the hell is that?" one of them laughed loudly, zooming her camera in on my face. "She looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster. There's no way Julian's actually kissing her. Post it on Sidechat right now—this is going straight to number one."
The cruel words hit like a splash of ice water, snapping me out of my daze and instantly killing the stupid flutter in my chest.
I hated the attention.
Four years ago, after my family and my former training partner framed me and destroyed my competitive skating career, I swore I would never be public entertainment again. I buried my name, switched majors, and hid behind oversized fleece and thick glasses just to live an invisible life. If I ended up on the campus forums with Julian Andrews, the internet vultures would dox me before noon—and drag up the toxic scandal I had bled to walk away from.
My research was already on the verge of falling apart. I didn't have time for this circus.
I locked my grip around my heavy binders, my knuckles straining white.
"Find someone else for your dare, Andrews," I said coldly, taking a step back to put distance between us, my voice tight with adrenaline. "I'm not interested in being part of your game. Move."
I kept my head down, attempting to brush past him.
"You're Sage Kelley, right?"
The sound of my name brought my boots to an immediate halt.
I blinked up at him, caught completely off guard.
"Professor Beaumont's senior research student," Julian straightened up slightly, his cadence measured and even, carrying an intellectual sharpness that seemed impossible beneath a varsity jacket. "I saw your Havenwood Creek senior capstone proposal sitting on his desk over Sunday dinner."
My heart gave a hard, hollow thud. Professor Beaumont was my academic advisor—and the guardian of the final research endowment my late father had left behind.
Julian leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near-whisper against the whistle of the wind. "I spent an hour going over your codebase."
My lips parted. "You... read my proposal?"
"Your simulation keeps crashing because your core fluid algorithm strategy is flawed," Julian murmured, his pale blue eyes deadly sharp. "And Uncle Des mentioned that if you don't deliver a working version by this Friday, the department is pulling your grant—which means you don't clear your senior thesis, and you don't graduate in May."
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Friday was the deadline. If the funding was pulled, the project died, my senior capstone failed, and I would be forced to stay another semester without my degree. Worse, my father's final ecological legacy would be reduced to scrap paper.
I had been panicking over that exact deadline for two days straight, and Julian had just laid it out like it was nothing.
Worse, I couldn't even brush him off. I had heard the rumors about Beaumont's nephew—the CS prodigy everyone in the department talked about. I just had never realized it was him.
"I know how to fix your algorithm," Julian stated plainly, laying his cards on the table, his gaze locking onto mine with an unshakeable, quiet certainty. "Help me get through this bet. In return, I'll rewrite your boundary calculations tonight. Deal?"
/0/21242/coverbig.jpg?v=e9a9b486f04a5907435d1df2bc2c5556)
HER BEAST
"Get away from me, don't touch me" Angelina cried. As i pinned her to the wall, and watch her as she struggled to leave my arms, she noticed the huge grin on my face. " You bastard, I repeat, don't you dare touch me" An evil smile which was evident on my face, and i said. "Why don't yo
/0/88893/coverbig.jpg?v=a2a652b434ab8a0143022deb49a70d81)
Her Beast
Kristine is a 22 year old media house worker, who is, although sharp mouthed and brave, bullied by her boss. In a bid to find information about the bone chillingly handsome and dangerous CEO of the multi billion dollar company, Gems, she created a pregnancy scandal, causing her to fall into an entan
/0/39529/coverbig.jpg?v=15925f1da1a60e49e7db33d2d8cc9743)
His Rejected Mate (Her Beast)
Nora's father was a powerful witch who was presumed to have gone crazy and tried to kill the Leader of their coven. The coven shuns her for her dads wrong doings. Until one day she discovers that her father was trying to save them from the leader all along. She is determined to use her magic for goo
/0/48075/coverbig.jpg?v=dd3cdaf7239ba015f2469e7ea4da7edc)
Her Ruthless Professor
"Where are you going, Mrs?" Zaviyaar pulled her to himself after seeing her going away from him. She fell straight on his lap. "I was going to change the dress." She said in a low voice as she felt his warm breathing airing on her neck. "It's not needed." He said meaningfully to her and put hi
/0/72028/coverbig.jpg?v=beda427d398713d7adb15abbcc07a903)
Mated To The Beast: Her Hybrid Mate
Immediately we walked into the pack house, he pulled me by the arm. "Welcome to hell, Darling." I tried to pull away from him, giving him a piece of my mind now that he had no leverage over my head. "Firstly, stop with the pet name-calling. It doesn't go well with your image." He pulled me closer, w
/0/24570/coverbig.jpg?v=145423ec710a1894f50396a48588eb4b)
Heartless Beast
Melissa is a widow; she is just 22 years old with a two year old son. Her lover , who she had not married, dies of a heart attack. His ex-wife turns up with her fiancé, and throws Melissa out, penniless. The fiancé, Trsitan Lord, is a ruthless advocate, a millionaire as he fights the cases for the M
/0/23783/coverbig.jpg?v=e4ed9db520260e56fea5cffe1e570413)
Beauty's Beast
MOST times, the beast doesn't have to be a guy that turns out to be a charming prince. Sometimes, the BEAST could be that person you least expect. A member of your family or that one friend you thought could never bite. When Amber's dad gets murdered, she falls into a coma. She wakes up and all fin
/1/134857/coverbig.jpg?v=511304ee3c8e39b1c238d2bc93c3cd5b)
The Hidden Heiress: Divorcing Her Ruthless CEO
I barely survived a terrifying commercial plane crash, dragging my bruised and bleeding body into the hospital emergency room. But the husband who had ignored my desperate calls was standing in the VIP OB-GYN ward, tenderly comforting his childhood friend. "Don't be scared, I'll arrange the best m
/0/61852/coverbig.jpg?v=a0b16c6cdfd8804736e2c595e3ce7bb9)
Haunted: Her Ruthless Lover's Relentless Pursuit
For seven years, Claudia allowed herself to live under Eddie's shadow. She thought that devoting herself to him would eventually win his heart, but it turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking on her part. When they finally cut ties, Claudia did not argue or ask for any compensation. Inst
/1/105877/coverbig.jpg?v=cb7288db2133eb554d3720fcb90c6286)
Broken Doll No More: Her Ruthless Revenge
I stood before the heavy oak door with a positive pregnancy test burning a hole in my pocket, ready to tell the Underboss, Anthony Holden, that his legacy was secured. But before I could turn the handle, I heard his twin brother laughing from inside. "She screams your name, not mine. It is a littl
/1/104963/coverbig.jpg?v=eadc210d5b6541dc891b6638a6a3bcb9)
The Ruined Heiress and Her Ruthless Monster
My fiancé cheated on me with a bottle service girl on the giant screen at our own engagement party. I woke up the next morning in a strange bed, smelling of sandalwood and expensive scotch, only to realize I was in the penthouse of Julian Blackwood—the man I had cruelly humiliated ten years ago. Be
/1/112781/coverbig.jpg?v=8a9404e57709e6ee04a488687995d32d)
The Jilted Heiress And Her Ruthless Savior
My fiancé, Howell, bought every red rose on the East Coast and dumped them on the campus quad. My roommates thought it was the apology of the century, begging for me back. But I have a fatal pollen allergy. If I walked into that heart-shaped sea of flowers, my throat would swell shut in minutes.
/1/115396/coverbig.jpg?v=e325a208ed1d0aaf7c409ea7f962223e)
The Jilted Heiress And Her Ruthless Protector
Alexis signed the divorce papers, leaving her with no assets, no alimony, and just the clothes on her back. To forget her abusive husband Carlos, she got drunk and bought a high-end gigolo for the night with her last 800 dollars. But the man she slept with wasn't an escort. He was Jarrett Hughes,
/1/126534/coverbig.jpg?v=f0e345ef5b95eaaa7fea77a5d86be7b5)
The Unwanted Wife And Her Ruthless Revenge
I was in a one-year contract marriage with Blake, a powerful hockey star. I played the perfect, quiet wife while he still pined for his ex-girlfriend, Sophie. On the night of our anniversary, I got a frantic call from the care home. Sophie had visited my grandmother, taunting her with intimate phot
/0/29328/coverbig.jpg?v=e39a6d5f133c3e43e2bb62a6629185bc)
Beast Awaken
"Help!" I yelled as fast as my feet could carry me. I'm being chased by bad guys who are trying to have their way on me. My boyfriend sold me to a rich old freak just because I'm a virgin. "Someone help me!" I yelled because my feet are now giving in. My lungs hurt and I don't think I will be ab
/0/44180/coverbig.jpg?v=20240206173723)
Beauty And Her Beast (Book 1 in Possessive Series)
'A Dark Tale as Old as Romance' BEAUTY and Her BEAST “You are an ANIMAL”, These words of hers triggered his rage at another level. “Yes, I am an animal and I will show you what this animal can do”, Arjun growled lowly as he dragged her onto the bed. “Leave me”, Pashika slapped him, which pushe
/0/93523/coverbig.jpg?v=2b11f0f29dfb9104e453fbcde7cf96a1)
Her Fate is Sealed: Target of the Vengeful Beast King
They say karma strikes when you least expect it. And for me, it did. That small boy I once harassed, ignored, and bullied is now a fully grown Urekai Alpha with immense power, unmatched strength, and a name associated with many fearsome reputations. And because he once swore vengeance, I have been
/1/115205/coverbig.jpg?v=e3eb7e2a685b42f7d0c2155786fdaab2)
The Beast
To the world he was a beast but for her he would do anything. He could have the world but all he wanted was her. They say the things we want most are the things we can't have. For she was so afraid of him that even the thought of him could have her running for the hills. Little did she know that
/0/19412/coverbig.jpg?v=20240218174016)
Desirable Beast
COMPLETE. Gretel has a long list of reasons to despise arrogant and wealthy Javier del Mundo. First, he was proud. Second, he was not her dream man. Third, she was attracted to him. Javier was mysterious, and he seemed to hide a lot of secrets. Gretel had no business with him at all. But when her b
/0/64282/coverbig.jpg?v=20260320191321)
Taming The Beast Within
Shea Vestine was an orphan who grew up to be an innocent and kind lady in the Riverstone Pack. She was a servant omega who just wanted to find her mate before her eighteenth birthday – hoping that it would be a strong one and could save her weak wolf. However, if not, they will have to move to the S
