She woke up immortal. They woke up afraid. Seventeen-year-old Kaia Monroe had a perfectly ordinary life-until the night she drowned... and came back. Now cursed with a bloodline older than any vampire, Kaia is drawn into a secret war between pureblood vampires, rogue hybrids, and ancient hunters sworn to destroy them all. At Midvale Academy, a school for supernatural legacies hidden in plain sight, Kaia must uncover her forgotten past, survive new enemies, and resist the pull of a dangerously charming vampire prince who knows more about her than he admits. But the deeper Kaia dives into her powers, the more she learns: she didn't just wake up a vampire-she was born one. And the Crimson Oath she carries? It might be the end of them all.
It was a school day but Kaia Monroe was not at school again, the last thing Kaia Monroe remembered before everything changed was the cold. Not the kind of cold that goes away with blankets or warmth by breathing into your hands. This cold sank deep into her bones , a strange stillness in the lake, the way the air itself seemed to hold its breath when she stepped off the dock.
Then, silence.
Then, water.
She drowned. Or at least, she should have.
But she didn't die.
She woke gasping on the rocks, skin pale as frosty iceberg, eyes burning like hot coals. Her pulse never returned. Her breath never warmed. And when she stared into the water, the girl staring back wasn't the one who had gone in.
Kaia Monroe was no longer human
It had been three days since the accident or resurrection, if she dared call it that. She hadn't told anyone. Not her older brother. Not her best friend Raine. Not the school counselor who had called that morning about her missing classes.
She didn't know how to explain that she hadn't slept, hadn't eaten, hadn't even blinked without hearing everything - the whisper of the neighbor's cat across the street, the scrape of tree bark in the forest, the thrum of blood in veins that weren't her own.
Something had happened in that lake.
Something ancient.
Something too good to be true
Something quite strange
"You're late," Raine said, voice sharp but worried, when Kaia finally arrived at their usual rooftop hideout behind the Midvale train station. "Again." She added
"I was... out walking," Kaia lied, sitting carefully on the rusted fire escape.
Raine starred at her and noticed she wasn't looking like her usual self her. "You look like a ghost", Raine said
Kaia looked away. "I feel like one."
That was the truth. Every light felt too bright. Every noise too loud. And worst of all - she could smell things. Blood. Sweat. The sugar in Raine's breath from the iced tea she'd just sipped. She knew when the next wind blew even before Raine felt it.
She was changing And she was terrified because she also feared if anyone could be able to understand her. "I am a freak" she said to herself.
That night, Kaia stood alone beneath the broken moonlight in her backyard, staring at her reflection in the window. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Her breath fogged the glass for a moment - then vanished.
A rustle in the tree line.
She turned.
A boy stood at the edge of the woods, half in shadow, dark-eyed and watching her as if he already knew her secrets.
"Who are you?" she called, voice steady but her heart - if it still beat - stumbling.
He came closer,
"Someone who's been waiting a long time for you to wake up, Kaia."
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
His lips curled into something too ancient to be called a smile, something like a smirk. "Because you're not the first. And if you don't start running, you won't be the last."
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
For two years Caitlin quietly wore Isaac's ring, trying to melt the frost from his heart-until his first love returned, pregnant. Devastated and hiding her own pregnancy, Caitlin presented divorce papers. Isaac ripped them apart with a sneer, "Tired of your games already?" Later, Caitlin stormed back into the spotlight-a billionaire designer with endless admirers. Desperate, Isaac pinned her to the wall, pleading, "Honey, give me one more chance."
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
"I, Erika Blackwood, stand before you, Alexander Robertson, with a heavy heart. I hereby reject you as my mate. The bond we once shared has grown fragile, and my soul yearns for a different path. May you find solace in the love of another, and may we both find the happiness we seek." Alexander didn't say a word and looked at me. But he refused to accept. *********** Erika Blackwood is the next Alpha in line of the Ironclaw Pack. She hides her identity and gets mated to the Alpha of the Moonforest Pack, Alexander Robertson. Three years passed, but Alexander is still unwilling to let go of his childhood sweetheart. Erika is mistreated and eventually framed by the same childhood sweetheart. Now she leaves with that humiliation, and goes back to her pack, swearing vengeance on those who hurt her. They all waited for her to return and beg, but what happens when they realize that the famous Ironclaw Pack that was going to help in the rogue war, was ruled by a woman named, Erika Blackwood. Now her Ex mates want her back. Other Alphas want this woman.. But will she accept any of them? Or will she stay independent forever?...