Novels by Steph Starry

Stella shot upright with a gasp, sweating profusely. She pressed a palm to her hammering heart. Her eyes darting around in confusion, realizing that she wasn’t in the woods or in a tent. This place was warm and glowing with soft candlelight, a high ceiling, and stone walls. Heavy curtains swayed slightly in the breeze.“Hey… hey, it’s okay,” a voice said gently.She turned her head fast.Caden.He was sitting at the edge of the bed, close but not too close, his hands already reaching for hers. She stared at him, blinking like she didn’t believe he was real.“You’re safe,” he said in a calming tone. “You’re safe here. With me.”Stella didn’t relax. Her breathing slowed, but her eyes stayed sharp and her fingers tightened around his.“Where’s my brother?” she asked him immediately, her voice raspy.Caden hesitated for a second, then... “He left,” he said. “With Kaya.”That only made her sit up straighter. “What do you mean left?”“I mean… I haven’t seen Ragnar, Kaya, or Ember since they

Serene stepped out onto the patio in a skimpy dress and a cup of beer in her hand. She took a slow sip, sighing in satisfaction. But when she turned around, she jumped, Raphael was standing there like a ghost.She narrowed her eyes. “You know, you could at least pretend to be useful. Weren’t you supposed to deliver Thorne’s weaknesses to Matteo by now?”Raphael didn’t respond.Serene clicked her tongue. “Don’t tell me you’re still mooning over that girl who belongs to someone else.”That got his attention and his eyes flashed, startled.She laughed, slinking toward him, her hips swaying deliberately. “I knew a man like that once,” she purred, taking another sip of her beer, “Madly in love with someone else’s mate. Thought he could change fate, rewrite the stars. You know where he is now?”Raphael stared at her silently.“In a shitty little inn on the edge of nowhere,” she said with a smirk. “Drinks himself to sleep every night. No pack. No purpose. No mate. Just regret.”She stepped i

Ragnar stood in the middle of the scorched fire pit where Collin’s group used to stay, the ash was cold beneath his boots. The place looked dead and abandoned, with not even the echo of a recent breath. They were gone.Of course they were, Collin wouldn’t have been stupid enough to stay after abducting his mother. Still, a part of him had hoped that maybe the bastard had lingered, that maybe he’d be foolish enough to gloat to his face. Ragnar exhaled through clenched teeth, trying to steady the storm boiling under his skin. He sharpened his senses, sniffing for any scent or trail left behind. Someone had to have slipped and left a sign to point in the direction they headed. Wolves or not, no group ever moved without leaving a trace.The scent was muddled with multiple trails. Like they’d scattered in different directions deliberately. One of the guards Thorne had sent with him stepped closer, disrupting his concentration.“We’ve checked the entire place,” the guard said. “There’s not

Ember stepped into Thorne’s room, her heart pounding, fingers twisting the hem of her short, thin dress. Thorne stood with his back to her, halfway through undressing, his muscles shifting under his skin as he pulled his shirt over his head.Without turning, he asked quietly, “Will you stay?”Ember said nothing.The last time she’d been here, he’d banished her, warning her never to return. Yet here she was, standing in his doorway dressed for him, aching for him. She didn’t want to talk or fight, she just wanted him.Finally, Thorne turned. His searing gaze landed on her, and he froze. His eyes dragged down her body once, then again, slower, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.“Will you stay?” he asked again, his voice rougher now.Ember stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around his bare waist, pressing her body firmly into his. She tilted her head up and whispered, “Touch me first. Talk later.”Thorne inhaled sharply, his hands com

Kaya opened her eyes to find herself stuffed inside some kind of rough bag and slung over a shoulder like cargo. Panic gripped her instantly. She thrashed and tried to scream, but a knot of fabric tied tightly over her mouth choked her sound. Her arms were bound tightly too. Her mind raced, why was she gagged? Where were they taking her?She wriggled harder, desperate, until a gruff voice growled, “Settle down, or I’ll drown you in the river with that sack still on your head.”Frozen by fear, kaya stopped moving. Tears spilled hot and fast down her cheeks.The rough jostling continued until, finally, the man carrying her stopped. She could hear voices, several of them, talking over each other, but they went quiet as they approached.“You got her? You really got her?” a voice said, giddy with excitement. Strong arms grabbed her, hauling her off the man’s shoulder and dropping her roughly to the ground. Kaya whimpered at the sharp pain shooting up her side.A moment later, the bag was p

Alpha Thorne, on approaching the border of his territory, smelled smoke and ran faster, bursting through the unmanned gates and straight towards the servants of camp.Ember hopped down from his back just as he and Ragnar skidded to a stop in front of the chaos, several of the living quarters were up in flames, and panicked servants and guards were trying to put them out with buckets of water and sand.‘What the hell happened here?’ Thorne snapped through the mind link to the nearest guard.The guard, breathless and covered in soot, rushed over to him. “Someone torched the buildings, Alpha. No one’s hurt, but it all happened so fast. We were caught off guard.”Ragnar shifted quickly and immediately started calling out, “Gertrude! Mom! Does anyone know Gertrude Fern?” But no one answered him. The only replies were frightened shakes of the head and tearful confusion.Thorne growled under his breath, his eyes scanning the burning mess. His security was too thin and sloppy. Even though th

(Gloria)“Breathe,” Elena whispered, tucking a stray curl behind my ear.I tried but the air caught in my throat, thick and dry. My lungs were working, but it didn’t feel like breathing, it felt like drowning.The dress fit like a custom made trap.Silk, delicate and stupidly expensive, clunging to every inch of me like it had a personal grudge. White, backless, tight around the ribs, I looked like the kind of dreamy bride people wrote poems about. But underneath? I felt like a prisoner.We stood just behind a pillar out of sight, but I could already hear the rustle of guests, the low hum of whispers, and the click-click-click of paparazzi cameras fighting for a shot. “You ready?” Elena asked, her fingers brushing mine.I nodded, but the truth was, I wanted to run, like, just bolt. But my heels stayed rooted to the grass, like even they knew escape was pointless.“You look like you’re about to jump the hedge,” she said. “If you do, I’m not wearing flats under this dress for nothing. I

(Gloria)Elena sinks into the chair beside me, picking up the halfempty wine bottle on the table. “So… everything’s unraveling fast, huh?”I let the rim of the glass rest on my lips before I answer. “Apocalyptic.”She winces. “Sorry.”I shrug stiffly. “Don’t be. Eleanor Montclair doesn’t back down. I’ll give her that.”There’s a beat of silence, then Elena says quietly, “You admire her?”I scoff. “No. Maybe. Hell, I don’t even know. She’s scary but effective. She sent me this ridiculous form to fill out, and when I hesitated, she hit me with so much legal jargon, I thought I’d be arrested for lying about my blood type.”Elena lets out a low whistle. “She really did her daughter-in-law homework.”“Thoroughly,” I mutter, setting the glass down harder than I mean to. “Shame her son isn’t going along without a fight”Elena shifts. “He was angry…”“He was humiliated,” I cut in. “And now he thinks marrying me is the worst decision of his life.”Elena clears her throat. “Jordan hasn’t called

(Gabriel)The moment I step out of the car back home, flashes go off like fireworks from the cameras shoved into my face, with reporters barking questions I have zero interest in answering.“Mr. Montclair, is it true you fired your secretary?”“Was the relationship ever real?”“Did she seduce you for the money?”I keep walking with my sunglasses on. Let them feast on the scraps because I’m here for the queen of manipulation herself.I push open the grand double doors and make my way inside without a word to the housekeepers who bow and scurry out of my way. Up the marble stairs, past the lifeless portraits of smiling men I never cared to resemble, and straight to her favorite room, the tea room.The door’s already open of course. She probably wants this to feel casual and warm. My mother sits by the window elegantly like she’s been waiting for me to arrive. She smiles like I’m her darling boy coming home from war.“Gabriel,” she says softly, patting the velvet cushion beside her. “Co

(Gabriel) The saltwater clings to my skin as I step out of the ocean, feeling the waves pull away from me with each step forward and i take a deep breath to enjoy the tropical air. Hawaii’s warm breeze is supposed to wash away the anger, frustration, and chaos of my life, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t do a damn thing to numb the knot in my stomach or the rage simmering just beneath the surface of my skin.I make my way to the beach dragging my board behind me, the sound of the ocean drowned out by the rush in my ears. The soft sand shifts under my feet as I approach the edge of the beach, and that’s when I see them.Two women. Tall, tanned, and wearing almost nothing. They’re eyeing me up like I’m their next meal. I don’t blame them, no doubt the waves have done wonders for my physique.The blonde is the first to speak. “Nice ride out there,” she says with flirtation in her voice.I glance over to them disinterestedly. I’m not in the mood for small talk. But then I notice the brunette.

(Gloria)My phone rings and I almost drop it. Eleanor Montclair.Her name stares back at me like it’s been branded on my screen. I freeze, every one of my muscles tightening. Suddenly, the idea of crying over a documentary feels like a warm up for the real horror show to come .Because if there’s one person who’s probably angrier than Gabriel right now, it’s his mother.I imagine her standing in a designer robe, swirling a glass of wine like a villain from a movie, already drafting the legal papers to sue me into poverty. I picture myself back on Elena’s couch begging for space, struggling to afford groceries, and eating cheap ramen in bulk while I try to pay back…The phone buzzes again in my palm demanding an answer.Shit. Okay.I swipe. “Hello?”No greeting and no hesitation.“I’ll pay it back,” I blurt. “Please. Just give me a payment plan or something. I… I know the contract’s over, but I swear I’ll find a way. You don’t have to take me to court or ruin my life or… ”“Gloria,” El

(Gloria)I stare at the door hoping it might swing back open like Gabriel forgot something, maybe his sanity, maybe his heart. Maybe the part of him that didn’t just threaten me like a mafia boss in a three piece suit.But no. It stays shut.And I’m just standing there, jaw slack and completely, spectacularly, ruined.“Welp,” I whisper, blinking. “I think that went well.”A tiny, pitiful laugh bubbles out of me but it dies as fast as it came.I take a step forward, my knees buckle. Okay. That’s fine. That’s totally okay. I’ve been through worse.…Haven’t I?Then I collapse onto the floor in a heap, one arm flopped over my stomach like I’ve just been fatally wounded in battle. Maybe I have. The battle of the heart. The war of love. The massacre of dignity.And then it happens, the sobs.Real ones, loud and messy. Not those pretty movie tears. Nope. This is the kind of crying that makes your face puff up like a marshmallow and your nose run like a broken faucet.I bury my face in my han