Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Volume 3 - Chapter 15

A generation after the last Great War, the world prospers while leaving the BloodStar Empire sequestered and alone. However, things begin to change as the next BloodStar heir aims to make new allies in a world more willing to forgive her empire’s tragic past of violence. The beautiful and young Xenia BloodStar is a world-class beauty, a calculating politician, and an immensely powerful ki user. In an established world ruled by Master Families, will the Princess BloodStar use her beauty and power to elevate her empire on the world stage? Or will she follow in her mother’s footsteps of violence and war?Release schedule: At least one new chapter every Sunday at 9:00 AM CST. Thanks for reading :)

Zhong Yansheng lived for eighteen years. After accidentally falling into the water, he dreamed and found that he was living in a book. In the book, he was a fake young master who was mistakenly adopted by the Marquis. After the real young master came back, he {real} was not taken seriously by the family and was driven to a separate courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing. His parents only doted on him {fake}, and they turned the real young master into a black hearted man, and finally his family was ruined. After waking up, Zhong Yansheng learned the news that Master Zhen returned to the house three days ago, but the whole family only revolved around him {fake} who was sick.

Zev prowled towards her, all shining, brutal beauty, his chin low and those incredible, piercing eyes fixed on her. He didn’t stop until they were toe-to-toe and he blocked her view of every other male in the circle.

His eyes dipped to her mouth as he leaned in, his whisper playing on her skin.

“You. Are. Mine.”

His deep voice twanged in her belly as the howls of the wolf pack rose from behind him to echo across the mountains of Thana, while the other Chimera protested his claim.

Fighting the urge to stroke his broad, bare chest with her shaking hands, Sasha forced herself to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow. “So bold for a pup who just found his fangs.”

The other males roared with laughter.

Ignoring their taunts, Zev’s eyes sparked and he leaned even closer, the scruff on his jaw tickling her cheek as he smiled. “So bold for a human who already knows the pleasure of gasping my name.”

She shivered when his teeth grazed her ear.

*****

Just days after Sasha gave herself to her childhood love, he disappeared. Five years later, on a dark city street, Zev came back—with danger on his tail.

Zev is Chimera: Half-human, half-wolf. Made in a secure research lab, his existence is a secret. But when the powerful men who created him try to kill the only woman who ever made his heart sing, Zev snaps their leash and steals her away to the brutal, hidden world of the Chimera clans.

Torn between the magnetic draw of her first love and the painful betrayal of his disappearance, Sasha tries to keep Zev at arms-length. But when they reach this mysterious world, Zev discovers that in his absence the humans took control and stole almost all the females. The Chimera are dying—and Zev isn’t Alpha anymore.

Now, Zev must fight his own people to win the right to mate his only love. Can he prove to her that his long-ago promise to protect her heart, as well as her body, was true? Or will the humans cross worlds to hunt the wolf and tear the lovers apart forever?

[Mature content, no sexual assault]

The Reticent Blade is, first and foremost, a wuxia novel, meaning that the world and its character’s powers and abilities are more grounded. Instead of cultivators who can soar through the heavens and shatter planets, you will find martial artists who can still perform superhuman feats but not so fantastical as to tear through space or achieve immortality.The world of The Reticent Blade is one of medieval China, loosely based upon the time period of the Ming Dynasty. It is a time of chaos and strife, where war and death are rampant. We follow the intertwining story of several protagonists and antagonists as they navigate the chaotic times, unraveling the threads that connect the past, the present, and the future of the world.The Reticent Blade is a story of heroism, love, revenge, and cruelty.The Reticent Blade is a story of both the righteousness and vileness of the jianghu.