Novels by Benita’s pen

Serena’s POV The rain did not let up. It was steady and endless, pouring from the skies as though the heavens themselves wanted to scrub the earth clean. Ari had already soaked himself through, his little body darting between puddles, his laughter ringing across the garden like bells. Kael followed him with patient strength, every move sharp but playful, as if this Alpha who could silence a room with a glance had been reduced to nothing more than a father splashing in puddles. I stood under the covered porch, arms crossed, hair dripping at the ends, refusing to step into the storm again. My dress clung to my body like a second skin, heavy with water, and my shoes squelched with every step. I told myself I hated this. Told myself I wanted to drag Ari back inside. But watching them Ari throwing his arms around Kael’s neck, Kael lifting him high above the puddles, their laughter weaving together my chest ached in a way that scared me. Because for the first time, we looked lik

Serena’s POV Rain was coming down in sheets, drumming against the glass like a thousand tiny hammers. I hated rain. Hated how it soaked everything, blurred shapes, and made the world slippery. But Ari… Ari loved it. “Please, Mama! Let me play!” he begged, tugging at my hand. Water ran down his hair, soaking his coat. “No,” I said firmly, tightening my grip. “It’s wet. You’ll get sick. Come inside.” He squirmed and wiggled, trying to slip free. “But I’m five! I can handle it!” I groaned, bending to scoop him up. He wriggled like a little fish in my arms. His laughter, bright and loud, made my chest ache and my resolve weaken. I wanted to scold him. I wanted to pull him inside. But I couldn’t stop smiling. Then I saw Kael. He was at the doorway, standing tall, rain plastering his dark hair to his scalp. Silver eyes glinted. Calm, unshakable, impossible. My chest tightened. “You’re not stopping him,” Kael said softly, but the sound carried over the rain. Calm, sure, but no

Serena’s POV The house felt different after Elyra left. Quieter, yet not peaceful. Not peaceful because I decided to be a thorn in Kael’s flesh not dramatic but silent. It was the kind of silence that pressed against my chest and reminded me of everything that had been said, everything that had been done, and everything I could not forget. I tried to stay busy. I spent hours in the garden with Ari, chasing him as he rolled his wooden ball across the grass, letting his laughter distract me from the storm in my head. But even as he laughed and I forced myself to smile, I kept seeing her face. Elyra, standing in Kael’s house like she belonged there. Her perfect dress, her perfect smile, her perfect place at his side like I was the intruder, not her. And I hated him for letting it happen. I understood he had been bewitched, I understood she had poisoned his mind, but understanding did not erase the image of her in his world. Understanding did not take away the way my chest burne

Serena’s POV I spread the books in front of me, their weight pressing down on my chest like stones I had carried for years. Each one had caused nothing but trouble, but none more than Elyra had. She had been the danger, not me, and I refused to carry anything that could ever harm my son or anyone else in this house. I wanted out. I wanted to be human again. I wanted a life free from power I never asked for, free from curses, spells, and the heavy weight of a bloodline I had never claimed. I sank to the floor and crossed my legs, resting my hands on the books as I took a slow, steadying breath. My eyes closed, and I whispered the words I had memorized, the ancient call that had been passed down through my line. These were the words that reached the blood of my ancestors, the witches who had come before me, who had carried the same magic I had only felt rising for a brief, terrifying time. I did not picture them as ghosts or spirits floating above me. I did not see a circle of sha

Serena’s POV I could hear the muffled sounds of the meeting before I even reached the door. Kael’s voice, low but commanding, filled the hall, punctuated by laughter and sharp, clipped words from the other men seated around the table. My hands shook slightly as I stepped through the doorway, my heart racing, but I held onto the threads of power I still carried, knowing I had to act now or never. Behind me, the guards struggled to keep Elyra restrained, her body thrashing against them, a hiss of fury and fear that made my blood boil. I didn’t pause. I walked in, the sound of my own boots on the floor sharp against the sudden hush that fell over the room as everyone turned toward me. I held Elyra firmly, my fingers digging into her arms through the guards’ grip, and I raised my voice so that it carried, steady and clear over the startled murmurs and the clinking of glasses. “I tried to warn you all about this woman but no one listened to me. This woman has been trying to harm my

Serena I had been checking on Ari for the third time that morning, my steps quiet on the floors as I moved from room to room, and when I finally saw him sleeping peacefully, calm at last after the fever that had stolen him from me yesterday, I allowed myself a tiny, trembling breath, daring to hope that this moment of peace might last even for a few minutes, but the silence around the house felt too heavy, too sharp, and my skin prickled as if warning me that it would not. A soft step in the hallway drew my attention immediately, and I saw her, Elyra, slipping past the doorway like a shadow, her movements careful, slow, almost theatrical in their precision, as though she did not want anyone to notice her, and my chest clenched as every instinct in me screamed that she meant to harm him, to take him from me before I could stop her, and I could not, would not, let that happen. I stepped forward quietly, feeling the weight of the small book in my pocket, my fingers tightening aroun

Damien’s POV The sun was barely up when I got out of bed. The room was too quiet, too heavy, the kind of silence that makes you hear your own heartbeat. My shirt from yesterday lay across the chair, wrinkled, but I didn’t care. I pulled a fresh one from the closet, slid it on, and buttoned it halfway, my hands slower than usual. All night her scream had stayed in my head. That sharp sound, like someone ripping something apart. I’d heard plenty of screams in my life, some I caused myself, but hers had been different. Too small, too broken. I tightened the knot of my tie, staring at myself in the mirror. Cold face. Dead eyes. That was how it was supposed to be. But the sound of her voice, the way she had shivered when I touched her shoulder, kept pulling at me. I didn’t even know why I went to her room last night. I could have told myself to ignore it. I could have left her there, drowning in sweat and tears. But my feet had moved on their own. I shook the thought off and reac

Aria’s POV I didn’t realize it was a dream until minutes later, until the sharp edges of the memory pressed against my mind and I realized how real it had felt, how heavy my chest was, how my hands still shook as if the fear had followed me into the waking world. “Wake up… wake up…” I screamed, my small hands pressing against a man who didn’t move, shaking him over and over, my tears falling onto his shirt, soaking the fabric but not making him respond, my knees digging into the hard floor, my body trembling so violently I felt like I might collapse, my fingers clutching at his shirt as if I could pull life back into him by sheer force. The smell of smoke and wet earth hung in the air, and then the gunshots started, sudden and close, cracking all around me, and I flinched, spinning to hide behind a rusted barrel, my breath coming fast and ragged, my heart hammering so loud it hurt in my ears, my eyes wide and unblinking because I didn’t know where to run or what to do, because n

Aria’s POV I was dolled up again like the pretty little doll I was. This time to a company launch. Valcor Group. Everyone in the city knew what it really was. A front. A company mostly used for money laundering by drug dealers and men like Damien. I sat still as the car stopped in front of the glass building glowing in silver lights. My chest felt tight but I kept my chin high. He opened the door for me like a gentleman he wasn’t. His hand stretched toward me, long fingers, rings catching the lights. He looked perfect tonight in a black suit tailored like it was made on his body. The sharp cut of his jaw, the coldness in his eyes, the kind of face that dared anyone to breathe wrong near him. And then there was me. His doll. My dress was silk, dark emerald, hugging me in ways that made it hard to breathe. My hair was pinned in soft curls that brushed my shoulders. A shade of red sat on my lips that didn’t feel like mine. All eyes turned when I stepped out. I felt it. The hush,

Aria’s POV And I just sat there, helpless, the world narrowing to the point of my skin where every small thing felt amplified the distant hum of traffic, the soft click of the lock sliding into place, the faint tick of the heater until the moment itself seemed to press into me like a weight. Nothing. There was nothing I could do; not a single plan rose up inside me that had the courage to move my limbs or the voice to break the silence. I couldn’t scream; the sound lodged at the back of my throat and turned to something hard and round that would not pass. I couldn’t hit him; the idea of swinging my arms felt like borrowing someone else’s courage and returning it before it even landed. I couldn’t run; the door and the corridor and the city beyond blurred into a map I had lost the language to read. When he raised his hand I went still as wood rooted, dry, the motion happening outside of me like a film playing in another room. When he pushed me I folded inward the way paper crea

Damien’s POV It had been days. Days of silence. Aria moved through my penthouse like she didn’t exist, like a shadow clinging to the corners of my walls, brushing past my life without touching it. She ate when I told her to, slept when I told her to, breathed when I allowed it. But she didn’t speak. Not to me. Not to anyone. And it was driving me fucking insane. The first day, I told myself she was scared. After the warehouse, after seeing Mateo’s blood drying under the dull light while I stood over him like a goddamn king of the city, she went stiff and pale. I gave her space. I didn’t push. By the second day, her silence was choice. By the third, it was defiance. I’d tried everything a gentleman would even though I was never one. soft words, hard ones, threats, promises, my hands on her face, my lips on her throat, dragging out words from her like I was ripping truth from a corpse. I kissed her like I wanted to taste the lies from her mouth, but all I got was emptiness.

Damien’s POV It was time to finally go back to my high-rise apartment in the heart of Manhattan. Three days in that safehouse had been long enough. The walls were thick, the floors cold, and the air smelled like dust and secrets, but it wasn’t the place that made it unbearable. It was her. Aria had moved like a shadow those three days she was quiet, careful too careful. She spoke only when I asked, ate only when I ordered, slept curled up on the edge of the bed like a ghost who didn’t want to touch the living. I had questioned her, once, twice, too many times, and she gave me nothing but silence and soft words that tasted like lies. So I stopped asking. Silence tells me more than begging ever will. She sat beside me in the car now, seatbelt cutting across the gold of her dress, her hands folded too neatly in her lap. The city stretched outside the tinted glass gray streets, distant sirens, a sun that couldn’t decide if it wanted to shine. Her reflection in the window looked lik