Jack of Thorns (Inheritance, Book One)
- Reads 142
- Votes 0
- Parts 22
MatureOngoing3h 14m
Last published Wed, Aug 2, 2023
Laurence Riley might be able to see the future, but he can't see a way to fix his messed-up life. He can't control anything-not his supernatural talents, not his drug addiction, and not his violent ex-boyfriend. Laurence needs help and he knows it. A lifelong pagan, he turns to his god... and he gets Jack. Jack can help Laurence tame his powers and take control of his life. But it comes at a price: Laurence will need to keep him fed with regular offerings of sex. For the old Laurence, that would've been a pleasure. Problem is, Laurence has met Quentin.
Quentin is devastatingly handsome, way out of Laurence's league (like British nobility levels of out-of-his-league), and unbearably chaste. If that weren't enough to keep Laurence away, Quentin's wild telekinesis is even more uncontrollable than Laurence's precognition. But Laurence doesn't want anyone else, and Jack is getting hungry.
Then Laurence foresees a glimpse of Jack's true plan. It will leave a trail of death across San Diego--and Laurence has been helping him do it. The past has taught him that the future can't be changed. But if Laurence and Quentin can't stop Jack, there won't be any future at all.
Jack of Thorns is the first book in a dark urban fantasy series where American Gods meets the X-Men.
All Rights Reserved
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
Ripper - The Pierced Veil
London, 1888. The streets bleed fog and secrets. Jack Carter is a solitary mortician, a man of silence and shadows. Unseen. Unnoticed. That is, until one fateful night, when a walk past a brothel drags him into a world beneath the veil of reality - a world of infernal hunger and ancient seduction. When Jack is attacked by a demon in disguise - a low-ranking succubus - and survives, he awakens in the hands of a clandestine organization known only as The Pierced Veil. They stabilize his infection, but the demonic wound has changed him. Jack can feel it - in his blood, his skin, his soul. Something dark stirs inside him. Drawn into a secret war against a deadly hierarchy of succubi, Jack is trained and armed with cutting-edge steampunk weaponry, fueled by arcane science and Victorian grit. Each hunt pits him against more powerful and horrific enemies - from whispering illusionists to banshee-throated sirens, bone-crowned necromancers to blood-fueled assassins. Each battle leaves him scarred, but stronger. Hungrier. Something inside him wants the violence. The succubi are ranked by power, cunning, and corruption. And at the top of their infernal chain sits Mary Jane Kelly, the Blightfire Seraph - a six-winged goddess of destruction, cloaked in violet hellfire. As Jack ascends through the hierarchy, killing his way up the ladder, the line between hunter and monster begins to blur. Until the final battle, when he unleashes the power festering within him - and briefly becomes what he was sworn to destroy. But in the end, Jack Carter isn't here to save the world. He's here to drag hell into the streets - and bury it beneath the cobblestonesComplete
Playing with Fire #1 ✔
✪ 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 ✪ ★ 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 ★ ☆ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 @𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 & @𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 ☆ A powerful Phoenix trapped inside a teenage girl's body, plus a wanted American werewolf and a group of hunters coming after them... What could possibly go wrong? ***** She is Ember. A closed-off and secluded girl with far too many secrets - one being that she's a supernatural mythical mix of a Phoenix that she is desperately trying to control. As her abilities develop, it feels like she's running out of time to control the Phoenix before the fire breaks loose and hurts someone she loves. He is Theo. Equally secretive yet far better at hiding it, this cocky American showed up from nowhere and now seems to be everywhere. The fact he's a werewolf just complicates things further. Hunters are chasing Theo from America to the UK, under the alleged claim that he brutally murdered his pack - a bloody yet unlikely accusation. As much as Ember wants to help Theo, she's fighting her own battles, and the two have to figure out their on-and-off relationship first. In this deceitful world of supernatural and normal humans, outsiders threaten Ember, Theo and their friends - both old and new. Can this group of supernatural teens be brought together by their desperation? Or will they forever be in conflict? Both Ember and Theo are playing a dangerous game with fire, and it's impossible to know who might get burned. 𝘞𝘈𝘙𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘎: This story contains some mature content; including sexual content, violence and explicit language.Complete
Bound By Light And Darkness
Note: This story is also on RoyalRoad. At 17 years old, Star was a young magician entangled in a dark fate. Trapped under the cruel guidance of his master - a high-level dark magician with sinister ambitions - Star was forced to use his magic to gather friends, unknowingly preparing them as sacrifices for his Master in a twisted quest for immortality. Despite the shadows surrounding him, Star's heart remained conflicted, his growing bond with those he was meant to betray igniting a silent rebellion within. In the midst of this turmoil, he met Aliana - a bright, kind-hearted girl. Aliana was a beacon of light in his dark world, unaware of the danger looming around her. As Star struggled with the chains of his master's control, his bond with Aliana deepened, creating a fragile thread of hope that threatened to unravel the dark destiny forced upon him. This story is also available on Amazon as eBook. So if you want to own a permanent copy of the story, you can have it here:- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNDMS3XS © 2025 Approved By Alphabet Logic UniverseComplete
Butterflies (OBX JJ Fan-Fiction)
Season 1 complete! Book 2 (Rhapsody) complete! It was a new start for her, at least that was what her dad had told her when they moved from LA. A new start, with a new odd group of friends and her past mistakes still haunting her every move. Mistakes which suddenly seemed a lot harder to escape in such a small town; where the wrong person could be just around the corner, or the right one running full speed in the opposite direction. Turns out, it wasn't a new town which gave Lexi a chance at a fresh start, but rather colliding with Pope Hayward two weeks before the hurricane. The only question remains as to whether or not she can handle the life she's been offered, especially when a certain blond comes into the picture, threatening to cut the final string which holds her together. ---------------------- Smut warning LOL. Hi! I got this idea really randomly and just decided to write this book. It's a little different from the actual show, and there are definitely certain themes which make the story line a bit more graphic so viewer discretion is advised; definitely a spicer version of the Netflix show if you get what I mean. Just want to preface it by saying that there will be some triggers, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to catch them all because I've only lightly edited this (so if there are some minor plot holes just ignore them LOL), but the main ones will be sexual assault, suicide, physical/verbal abuse, and mental illness. Please tread lightly if these are sensitive topics to you, as certain peoples limits might be different from yours. Happy reading!Complete![Tempting Darkness [17+] ✔](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/219526732-256-k941520.jpg)
Tempting Darkness [17+] ✔
Copyrighted 2020 **Book 1 in the Darkness Series!** **Completed!** *Under construction* There was a creature locked away miles beneath the stone streets of Deshua, Oregon. A monster with the body of a man, jet black eyes of a soulless demon, and even darker feather wings cascading from its back. Those foolish enough to believe its unnatural, ethereal beauty would call it a fallen angel. The immortals who inhabited the town knew better. They knew to call it daemonium-demon. Forced asleep by a council who believed in the greater good, many revered the monster. Yet the town's eternal population was torn in two. Half awaited the day for the foretold cursed soul to come and resurrect their lord and the other half feared it just as much. And guess who got to be that lucky bitch. *No love triangle* -&- **WARNING** This book WILL have mature, adult content! Please be aware of this before reading. If you are under the age of 17, DO NOT READ. If you can not handle mature scenes DO NOT READ. You have been warned.Complete
Alpha Ethan
Excerpt only: I quickly run in their direction as my claws elongate into fierce points. I watch as a man in all black strikes down and kills one of the innocent packless men before turning to another. I make a flying leap to attack and am suddenly hit with a strong, overwhelming scent of vanilla and citrus. "Mate!" My wolf yells in my head. My conviction evaporates and confusion hits me, but I don't have time to think about what this means. Before I even have the chance to realize what is happening, the unknown man who had been my target spins to face me. We are mere centimeters apart and pain explodes through my stomach. I look down to find a black hilt sticking out of me and crimson spreading out around it. The man drops his hand from the dagger and I look up to meet his eyes. There are so many emotions swirling through his gorgeous sapphire eyes, confusion, shock, sadness, fear, anger. I don't get the chance to contemplate this as I stumble backwards, my consciousness slipping away from me. And then everything goes black. ---------- Scarlet Denton is a fiery young she-wolf with no family and no pack. She lives in the outskirts of Crescent City which is ruled by the feared Alpha Ethan Kane. They may live in the same area, but their lives are quite different from each other. What happens when they find out that they are mates?Complete
Bound by Desire
I hate having to write these... I don't know how to describe a book I haven't finished yet. But, based on what I have, here it goes. Please, keep in mind, this is book two of the trilogy. If you haven't read the first one yet, you can find it in my profile, Bound by Destiny. Barely living through the trap set by the Fae that wants her gone, Eve imagines the worst is behind her. A change of location brings hope and sadness. But when one of her vampires is taken, she realizes that the fight will never be over. Not as long as she lives. Armed with magic she doesn't know how to use and her lovers, she enters a world she had never believed could exist, on a rescue mission that would see her take the Unseelie throne, or her and all those she loved dead. To those who have read book one, there are a few changes. Nathaniel's name is now Naiel. And Gabe is dark blond with gray eyes. There will probably be other changes as I go, because that is the type of writer I am, lol. I am going back and editing the changes into book one. I'm terrified, but will be entering Bound by Destiny in the Watty's. Pray for me!Complete
The Jack of Souls (Multi-award winner!)
************************************************************************************** An outcast rogue must break a curse put on his fate, or die on his nineteenth birthday. To survive, he'll need the sword of a maiden, the aid of an immortal, and the power of forbidden magic that could cost him the only girl he ever loved. ************************************************************************************ *** THE JACK OF SOULS won a Silver IPPY this year! *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the PNWA Competition in Fantasy! * *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the Southwest Writers competition! * *** A "Featured Book" on Wattpad! * *** Now a "Staff Pick" on Kickstarter! * *** Available on Amazon in paper, hardback, and ebook ! * *** My contract with Kindle Select won't allow me to post more than 3 chapters here, but... *** Sign up for my newsletter on stephenmerlino.com for alerts when it's free on Amazon! * MY INSPIRATION I wrote this out of pure love of trickster rogues; I love the wit over brawn motif -- Odysseus over Achilles, Raven over Eagle -- so I like to play with it in my stories. In JOS I set the rogue and con-artist Harric against a foil of warriors in a land threatened by magic and civil war. Whenever possible I turn familiar tropes on their heads: instead of a handsome young Lancelot, I cast a broken-down ex-champion addicted to pain-killing herbs; instead of a dashing Squire Brian, the old knight reluctantly takes an ambitious young woman as squire. Similarly, I re-imagine the standard medieval milieu by infusing aspects of two of my favorite historical periods, Elizabethan England, and The American Frontier. Both eras boast a kind of nationalistic arrogance that borders on hubris, and a magnificent spirit of resourcefulness and re-invention that is fun to play with. SERIES The Jack of Souls is first in a series. I am posting parts of the sequel here now (The Knave of Souls), to help me refine the story.Complete
London, 1888. The streets bleed fog and secrets. Jack Carter is a solitary mortician, a man of silence and shadows. Unseen. Unnoticed. That is, until one fateful night, when a walk past a brothel drags him into a world beneath the veil of reality - a world of infernal hunger and ancient seduction. When Jack is attacked by a demon in disguise - a low-ranking succubus - and survives, he awakens in the hands of a clandestine organization known only as The Pierced Veil. They stabilize his infection, but the demonic wound has changed him. Jack can feel it - in his blood, his skin, his soul. Something dark stirs inside him. Drawn into a secret war against a deadly hierarchy of succubi, Jack is trained and armed with cutting-edge steampunk weaponry, fueled by arcane science and Victorian grit. Each hunt pits him against more powerful and horrific enemies - from whispering illusionists to banshee-throated sirens, bone-crowned necromancers to blood-fueled assassins. Each battle leaves him scarred, but stronger. Hungrier. Something inside him wants the violence. The succubi are ranked by power, cunning, and corruption. And at the top of their infernal chain sits Mary Jane Kelly, the Blightfire Seraph - a six-winged goddess of destruction, cloaked in violet hellfire. As Jack ascends through the hierarchy, killing his way up the ladder, the line between hunter and monster begins to blur. Until the final battle, when he unleashes the power festering within him - and briefly becomes what he was sworn to destroy. But in the end, Jack Carter isn't here to save the world. He's here to drag hell into the streets - and bury it beneath the cobblestones
More detailsContent Guidelines