Until Dusk Protocol - Chapter 5: The Shadows You Left Behind

[Mature Content: NO RAPE]Let’s make a deal!“Two months, if we can survive each other in the period of two months, I will marry you without objection!”…Twenty-two-year-old Evelyn Darkwood never imagined that going to her late father’s will-reading would have resulted in a rivalry between her and her siblings. That they would become a danger to her—one who sought after her life. She never thought that her life would take such a twisted turn so quickly. And what’s worse, she comes to find out that she’d been betrothed to a man she didn’t know and had never met. Zayne Mancini.The wealthiest man. A man whose power and fame were no joke. A man who possibly could be the only one capable of protecting her. Strong, cold, frightening, all this he was and despite the danger written all over him, Evelyn felt a strange connection, hot and burning. Zayne Mancini wanted her—his betrothed (a human who was his mate) and he was going to make her his, no matter how stubborn she wanted to be about it. Fascinating, thrilling, all this she was to him—like a spark to ignite his boring life. Evelyn Darkwood was a whole package that he was slowly going to bring undone. A woman he wouldn’t think twice of burning the world for. A woman he would give his whole being to. All she had to say was,“I do”

Lu Chen woke up to find himself participating in a live-streamed creative competition show!Contestants were tasked with creating works based on themes given by the show.When the theme ‘Countryside’ was announced, other participants quickly began crafting heartwarming rural stories, tales of pastoral love, and picturesque depictions of harmony and simplicity.Lu Chen decided to take the road less traveled—he wanted to blow the audience away!He chose ‘Operation Icebreaker’ as his inspiration.At first, the audience thought they were getting a story about rural development. But as the plot unfolded, something felt… off.A village of 20,000 people, every household with the same type of large pot, and a full-scale drug production operation?The internet exploded.[Countryside theme, and you’re writing about a drug-making village getting rich together?]The producers were in chaos.We said countryside! What’s this Taizhai nonsense?Lu Chen, unfazed, replied, “Director, rural anti-drug campaigns are a countryside theme. Now, are we sticking to the theme or not?”And thus, the Master of Sticking to the Theme was born.Given the theme Fishmonger, he wrote The Legend of Gao Qiqiang.

In her last life, Qu Zhi tried her best to be a good wife who was sensible and did not cause trouble, a filial and good daughter who helped her family, and a good mother who accompanied her children. However, Qu Zhi worked hard and suffered all her life. When she was about to die, she realized that in the end, all she got back for her hard work were complaints. Her husband complained that she was an idle, rich wife all day long who wasn’t satisfied with her happiness at home, and that she was a greedy woman.

But after decades of marriage, her husband had a firm, deadly hold on all her money, and she didn’t even have a dime to her name, nor a property to call her own. Every time she asked for money, he would trample all over her self-esteem. Her husband’s cold and sarcastic words made her unable to lift her head, and his friends would demean her while drinking wine, making her tremble with anger. This man had once said he would take care of her, yet he turned a blind eye! Those people focused on her happiness as a topic, and made a joke out of it.

Even her three children resented her for her uneven love towards everyone, and their relationship only became more strained as time passed. She had spent her whole life as a loner, and she had nothing. Lying on the operation table, Qu Zhi thought that if she could do it all over again, she wouldn’t be a housewife. She wouldn’t have given her second daughter away, and she wouldn’t take care of her blood-sucking relatives.

She wouldn’t marry her indifferent, cold husband either! When she next opened her eyes, she was back to twenty years in the past. Her eldest daughter was still in elementary school, and her second daughter had been in her belly for several months…

Anne's life takes an unexpected twist when she meets her mate, the Alpha wolf prince Damien. Her world shatters when he rejects her, casting her out of the pack and into exile. To escape certain death, Anne flees to the human world, hiding her true nature and the secret she carries.Five years later, Anne has built a new life among humans, raising her son in peace. When Damien unexpectedly stumbles upon Anne and discovers their child, the heir to his pack, old wounds are reopened, and forgotten bonds are reignited.Damien is determined to reclaim what he lost, but Anne is no longer the same broken wolf who once loved him. She is stronger, fiercely protective, and unwilling to be hurt again. As Damien battles to win back her trust and integrate their son into his legacy, they must navigate a path of betrayal, redemption, and unknown enemies.Can Anne forgive the past and accept a future with the man who once shattered her heart? And can Damien prove he’s worthy of the mate and child he abandoned?