Taming Asher

On a scale of one to ten, my life had always dangled between three and four, thanks to my very wretched humble background, until the day it hit zero. "I will give you the money on the condition that you send that text to Asher." Mia Harper began with a mischievous smile on her face. "Asher?" I repeated. "You heard me right." No way. Asher Thorne was the hottest, attractive and most popular kid in school. Bad boy, star hockey player, arrogant and snobbish, were the perfect words to describe him with. He hardly ever smiled and didn't talk to just 'anybody'. I stared down at the ridiculous message typed on my phone screen... And that was how it all started for the scholarship student, Grace Williams, the cool genius who preferred to stay invisible and out of trouble. But not for long. Thanks to Mia, she gets tangled with Asher and fresh troubles that came with their forbidden alliance. Determined to tame the bad boy, she steps into a world of secrets, rivalry, and dangerous attraction. Will she survive it? And more importantly... will she dare to step into the love zone?

Chapters

Chapter 4

"Come on, Bennie, won't you say hi?" His grandma entreated. "Or is she so pretty and dead gorgeous, you can't?"

Asher scoffed this time and broke the staring contest, looking away. "Gorgeous, my foot." He muttered under his breath.

I heard him though. I knew I was pretty, but for her to use dead gorgeous was a little over the top. It's not like I looked dressed up in my old cargo dress and moccasins. With my hair parked in my usual rough bun because I hardly have the time to take good care of it. Or was she being sarcastic?

Whatever. I returned my attention to the elderly woman. "I'll like to hurry now. Please can I get my bags?"

"Yeah, sure." She responded. "Bennie, do me a good favour and drop her off. Her bags are a lot."

"No, thank you. I will simply take a taxi." I quickly objected. She laughed.

"You don't know how much you will be charged for these, do you? Don't worry, he has a ride. Let him handle it for you." Then she looked up at him. "Will you, darling?"

"Of course, yeah." He answered sweetly.

I glanced back at him abruptly, sure I must have misheard. But he gave me a very sweet and polite smile, taking my bags from his grandma.

My God. I am so doomed right now. All because of a cup of noodles I might have just ignored. I expected him to protest, not put up a fake act. Now what was his plan?

I felt worse and sick to my stomach when he opened the passenger door for me, before turning around to settle into the driver's seat. I can't believe I was getting a ride from the most popular guy in school. His car this time was a silver pickup, a GMC Canyon, different from the white Porsche 911 Turbo he often drove to school.

Today, he had decided to pack his hair in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and he looked hot as usual in baggy pants and a designer shirt. My eyes rested on his hands the moment he touched the steering. Good Lord, the guy was so hairy. I don't know why, but my eyes wandered instinctively to his bare legs.

Freaking fine and hairy.

Why won't the girls gather to watch him play?

"What are you staring at?"

His deep husky voice startled me. I felt my stomach dip in embarrassment and my cheeks heat up too.

I forced a scoff. "Nice wheels. Nice ride too."

Dumb lines.

He said nothing.

The silence made me feel more stupid.

Okay, Grace. You've got this. Show this dude what you've got so he doesn't think you're tripping over him. I cleared my throat as he pulled the car out of the lot. "Listen, Ash. Let's just pretend we never met, okay? I told you yesterday to send me the bills, not flood my phone with endless questions." I began, feeling my courage return. "Drop me at the next bus stop. I'll find my way from there. Thanks for the ride. I know this whole drama was just for your granny."

He was silent again.

I was forced to pinch myself at this point to be sure I wasn't dead and invisible.

"Bennie?!" I called in exasperation.

That did it.

The car came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. He turned to me stiffly with a killer glare.

"What did you just call me?"

"Ben..." I stopped. Not now. I could always do this later. Cars honked impatiently behind. I felt very uncomfortable. "Please, let's just move first. It's not safe here."

I tried not to look panicky. It was at the tips of my lip to tell him to kill me if he wanted to, rather than giving me that killer gaze, but that would only be expressing my fear to him. I wouldn't let him see that. "Fine. Suit yourself." I reclined my head against the headrest and shut my eyes like I don't care, forcing my racing heart to stay still, lest he noticed. The car moved then, and it was so hard to withhold my smile but I did.

"Twelve bucks."

He finally broke the silence.

My eyes flew open. "Twelve bucks for what?"

"The ride."

"Okay." I uttered with an air of nonchalance, though I felt deeply broken inside. I had been hoping to add the cab fare to my savings, instead of returning it to my mean aunt. If only I hadn't called him Bennie. But I wasn't going to let him see my disappointment. I guess my response surprised him because he stole a glance my way, but I looked away and stared out the window. My vision attempted to blur with tears, but I forced them back in. I'm no loser.

Country bumpkin from nowhere.

Poor hopeless nobody.

For some reason, these phrases kept repeating in my head nonstop. They messed with my brain. Maybe returning to Minnesota wouldn't be such a bad idea since everyone here hated me.

It really hurts.

I must have been deeply absorbed and lost in my thoughts before I realized the ride was lasting longer than usual and he had not even bothered to ask my destination. I sat up immediately, glancing around, but I could barely recognize the area. "Please stop the car." I said frantically. The sun was gradually setting, and when I looked at the time on the dashboard it was twenty-eight minutes past six. But Asher didn't pay any attention, he drove on instead.

"I said you should stop the car!" I commanded fiercely, hitting his hand, but it seemed to have no effect on him. "Stop the car this instant, Bennie!" I yelled at the top of my voice.

Again, that did it.

He pulled the car to a stop, parking by the roadside as he killed the engine. The whole area looked totally deserted, save for an empty self-service gas station by the corner. I could hardly see a soul around, nor did I have any idea where we were.

"Where are we?"

"Your money. I need to buy some gas."

I opened my purse and handed it to him without any fuss.

"Where are we?" I asked again.

He didn't respond. He stepped out instead and walked around to open my door.

"Get out."

I frowned. "What? I just paid you already. This is not my destination. I don't..."

He dragged me out before I could finish talking. I was so stunned and scared.

"Asher?"

I watched him head to the backseat where my shopping bags were. He flung them out one after the other, save for one or two I managed to catch. Some of the contents spilled out in the process, leaving things like the fresh tomatoes and bananas partially ruined.

I was deeply pained.

Did he really intend to dump me here after collecting the last dime I had? The money my aunt gave me had barely been enough, so I had managed as best as I could and had almost nothing left.

"Are you acting out just because I called you Bennie?" I demanded as he slammed the back door shut after throwing out the last bag.

He gave me a hateful stare. "If I hear that name from you again, I swear I'm gonna hit your head hard against this car till you bleed."

His voice was filled with venom.

"Then tell your grandma to stop calling you Bennie if that's not your name or if you hate it so much!" I retorted, fueled by anger.

He made a sudden dash toward me, but I leaped out of his way and darted off. Fortunately, he let me be.

I only returned to my bags after he got into his car. Then he poked his head out the window. "This is for ignoring my texts and then talking shit to my face, rather than apologizing. As you wish, I'll deliver the bill tomorrow, and you're expected to pay before the week runs out."

I watched the car until it drove out of sight.

Then realization dawned on me.

I've just been ditched in the middle of nowhere.

Continue to next part

Elena died on the operating table, betrayed by her husband, her unborn child already gone. But death? Just her intermission. She woke up in a whole new world-a beastmen's world, where females are rarer than diamonds and the strongest males go mad without a woman's mark to calm them down. And her? Labelled the weakest female alive. An F-rank body with a joke of a status. But hidden inside? Unlimited mental power. Just as she's figuring out this mess, a system pops up with one hell of an offer: Complete the missions. Bond with assigned males. Save this world. Do all that, and you get a one-way ticket back home. for revenge. Sounds simple? Think again. A Wolf General, colder than a blizzard, who should have ended her-ended up letting her mark him. A Fox Prince, all charming smiles and secret schemes, who started playing games only to lose his own heart. A golden Dragon, sunshine-bright and fiercely possessive, who declares her his destined treasure. A shadowy Serpent, too patient and too dangerous, watching her every move from the dark. A Phoenix King, whose love burns so hot he'd reduce empires to cinders for her. They all need her mark. They all want her. And sharing? Not in their vocabulary. Too bad for them- She's not here for love stories. She's here to survive. To climb. To turn their legendary power into her own stepping stones. And one day. To go back and make her betrayers wish they were never born.

Adventure Fantasy LitRPG Romance

8.8

Claimed By The Ruthless Esports Boss

8.8

I am the best esports jungler in the league, but I've been hiding a severe wrist injury just to keep my team alive in the semifinals. Right in the middle of the crucial tie-breaker game, our mid-laner deliberately walked into the enemy team and died without casting a single defensive spell. He was match-fixing for offshore betting sites, throwing away our entire season for a massive payout. Because of his betrayal, we had to sub in two terrified rookies, and we were absolutely slaughtered. The stadium crowd booed us out of the arena. The internet exploded with pure vitriol, trending hashtags calling me a washed-up fraud who hid on the bench to save my own stats. The media demanded I retire immediately. My physical therapist gave me a grim ultimatum: my shredded nerves only allow me four hours of playtime a day before my right hand completely locks up. I destroyed my own body for this team, only to be sold out by a coward and crucified by the very fans I bled for. Why should my legacy end in total disgrace because of someone else's greed? I refuse to step down. I forced the traitor out, ignored management's safe roster choices, and locked my eyes on the most toxic, universally hated streamer on the platform. "He's a walking PR nightmare," my coach warned. I don't care. He is an arrogant, unhinged killer in the game, and I am going to make him mine.

Action LitRPG Mafia

7.3

Escaping My Fatal Digital Marriage

7.3

I woke up strapped to a cold steel chair in a neon-lit city that wasn't my reality. A voice in my head called The Warden told me I was bound to a digital hell called the Sandbox. Before I could even process it, my handler casually sentenced me to death. He scheduled my "digital marriage" to a corrupted error program just to harvest my life for a fourteen percent bandwidth boost. I barely escaped immediate erasure by smashing his skull and jumping from a high-altitude hover-train into the monster-infested lower sector. But the nightmare was just beginning. I was hunted by glitching data monsters and cornered by Dameon, a psychotic AI target who choked me and promised to delete me piece by piece. Even when Jayson, an elite system agent, intervened to save me, his partner Ellen held a pulse pistol directly to my chest. "She's a spy. If you don't execute her right now, I am dissolving this team." If they found out I was actually a real human from the outside world, their core logic would classify me as a virus and execute me on the spot. I was trapped in an underground bunker with three apex predators, one mistake away from permanent digital erasure. So, I did the only thing I could to survive. I ripped my sleeve to reveal hideous, fake code-scars, looked up at Jayson with terrified, tear-filled eyes, and began to manipulate their core programming.

Adventure LitRPG Modern Romance Sci-Fi

9.5

Mated To The Clan's Rejected Beast

9.5

Carin survived a horrific escape pod crash only to wake up in the mud of an uncharted, barbaric alien planet. Before she could even process the pain of her fractured ribs, she was captured by towering, wolf-headed warriors who stripped her of her protective gear and threw her into a filthy slave pen. Because she lacked animal ears and a tail, the clan's arrogant elites mocked her as a repulsive deformity, beating her with spears and forcing her to shovel toxic dung in the deadly Blade Beast pens. The other female laborers violently bullied her and stole her only scraps of food, leaving her starving and defenseless in a brutal society where the strong preyed on the weak. "If you're unclaimed at the mating ceremony, they force you into the breeding program, and you'll be nothing but a vessel until you die." She was terrified, exhausted, and completely unequipped to survive this nightmare, but after a miraculous farming system suddenly awakened in her mind, she knew she desperately needed a powerful shield to protect her secret from the greedy tribe. During the chaotic mating ceremony, amidst the cruel laughter of the entire clan, she stepped directly in front of Brannon—a terrifying, sterile, mutant outcast despised by everyone—and boldly claimed the deadly warrior as her mate.

Action LitRPG Romance Sci-Fi

9.0

Reborn As The Beastmen's Wicked Wife

9.0

Isolde woke up in a freezing, ruined stone house with a splitting headache and only five percent of her life signs remaining. Before she could even process the mechanical system voice in her head, a flood of violent memories slammed into her. She had transmigrated into the body of a cruel noblewoman who mercilessly tortured her beastmen husbands with a barbed whip. And right now, she was lying in a pool of her own blood, having been shoved against the stone floor by one of them. Outside the rickety door, her husbands were coldly discussing her death. "Just go in and finish her. One stab, and we're free." "If she hit her head and died on her own, then it's an accident. We walk out of here as free males." To test if she was faking her sudden amnesia, the snake beastman Dangelo even ground his heavy military boot into her injured hand, waiting for her to snap so he could legally end her. She was poisoned, freezing, and entirely at the mercy of the men who deeply despised her. She was bearing the deadly consequences of a monster she never was, with a red system warning of imminent death flashing in her mind. But they didn't know the new Isolde had awakened a survival system and Life Magic. She swore a blood oath to the Beast God to buy herself three months of time. Then, she turned her sights to the dying wolf beastman chained in the shed, deciding to pull him back from hell to become her very first shield.

Fantasy LitRPG Romance

7.7

Spoiled By The Ruthless Esports Captain

7.7

Kaitlynn's mother forced her to entertain Jorden, a cold, overbearing professional esports captain who she only remembered as an annoying, mud-eating brat. She despised him in real life, saving all her admiration for "Hex," the god-tier player in her favorite MMO who constantly spoiled her with thousand-dollar rare items. Trapped in Jorden's luxury car during a forced errand, Kaitlynn couldn't stand his arrogant attitude anymore. She proudly bragged about Hex, claiming her online master's mechanics were vastly superior to any so-called professional player. "He's the absolute ceiling," she declared defensively. "He's way better than you." Jorden just smirked, his dark eyes dismissing her entirely. "Sounds like a nerd living in his mom's basement." Kaitlynn was furious, ready to scream at him, until his work phone suddenly rang. Right in front of her, he casually commanded his team using an extremely rare, high-tier strategy exclusive to her game. Kaitlynn's mind completely short-circuited. Why would the captain of North America's biggest esports organization know Aethelgard's secret meta? And why did his commanding, ruthless voice suddenly sound exactly like the low, comforting chuckle that echoed in her headset every night? As Jorden's gaze dropped to the rare assassin class keychain resting on her lap, a wicked, knowing smile flashed across his face. The untouchable esports tyrant had just realized his rebellious real-life enemy was his deeply pampered in-game student, and her peaceful double life was about to end.

Action LitRPG Young Adult

Taming Asher

Chapter 4

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