Gunmage - Chapter 223: Sweat, blood, and grime

You feel your strength is insufficient, Strength +1.You have practiced the Golden Bell Shield, Martial Arts Level +1.You have picked up a volume of Taoist scripture, Understanding +1.Your opponent is extraordinarily strong. The Golden Bell Shield has reached Great Perfection. You combined the Golden Bell Shield, Iron Cloth Shirt, and Thirteen Cross Training, all +1, and mastered the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill. Your opponent's knife cannot harm you and is utterly devastated. ...

He has won the most flamboyant compliments and the most vicious swear words.

He is a guy with rebellion flowing in every vein in his body.

He’s a white kid who’ll never be a celebrity.

He is a young man from the countryside in the eyes of the public.

He’s Tommy Hawk.

He was born again.

Welcome to the first half of the American Dream and the second half of the American Nightmare.

Let us please, come Tommy Hawke, in the winter of 2022.

- Description from novelbuddy

[WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]I yanked my wrist, trying to pull free, but his grip didn’t budge. “Let me go,” I cried, surprised by how weak I sounded but for goodness sake, this is an elementary school restroom hallway, meaning anyone might walk in at any moment.“No.” He leaned in, his breath warm against the side of my neck. My skin prickled as my toes curled, I hated how my body reacted without my permission. “You’re mine,” he whispered, “Every part of you, your fear, your silence, even that defiance you’re clinging to. It’s all mine. And I’m not about to let anyone else touch or have what belongs to me. Not the world, not even yourself.”****Kain Locke would never forget that face, the face of the man who smiled as he pulled the trigger, murdering his parents right in front of him. That moment scarred him for life, carving a hatred so deep it kept him alive.That man was Caspian Draeven, a ruthless Alpha who ruled the underworld with fear and bloodshed and as if that wasn't enough, he took Kain too, raising him in his empire of chaos.But Kain wasn’t broken as they expected him, rather, he was burning. Burning with hatred for the man who destroyed his world and he swear to get his revenge.However, Caspian wasn’t the only monster in the Draeven family. His son, Kael Draeven, was just as dangerous, cold, brutal, and utterly loyal to his father which makes Kain hated Kael just as much, if not more.For years, Kain planned his escape, waiting for the perfect moment so he can leave to prepare for his revenge.However when he finally ran, he thought he’d won his freedom. But the unexpected happens when Kael was sent to bring him back, and their confrontation took an unplanned turn. A single night left Kain with a secret he never saw coming and a bond he couldn’t forget, no matter how much he wanted to.But secrets have a way of coming to light, and Kain’s path will lead him straight back to the man he swore to hate forever.Because some bonds can’t be broken. Not even by revenge.

Alicia Rosalyn Von Heist is the youngest daughter of King Edward of Alvannia. She is an illegitimate child born from a maid in the castle her father has fancied. After her mother died when she was young her father took her home and ‘adopted’ her.