Native Speaker

I have a severe case of logorrhea. Only speaking makes me feel alive. My classmates all call me a freak, but Marvin Britt is the only one willing to listen to me. One day, I bring some homemade soup over to see him, only to catch him holding his junior's hand. "Lexie, your voice is so lovely, unlike my wife at home. She sounds like a squawking duck. It's exhausting." My hands shake so violently that I drop the thermal flask. The commotion angers a nearby madman, who forces a bottle of boiling water down my throat. With my mouth full of blood and blisters, I realize I need proof. I send Marvin—a lawyer—a frantic voice note to accompany me to the police station for evidence. Marvin shoots back a single word—"Noted". Of course. He doesn't even listen to it, as usual. He used to reply to everything I said with voice notes at least a minute long. But we hit the seven-year itch, and he's sick of my endless talking. Leaving the hospital, I stare at my diagnosis of permanent mutism and laugh bitterly. He must be thrilled. His world is finally quiet.

“Ma’am, there’s no marriage record between you and Mr. Mark Henderson in the system.” My fingers tightened around the pregnancy report as my legs nearly gave out beneath me. Five years ago, Mark was recruited by a top law firm abroad with a high-paying offer. Without hesitation, I followed him across the ocean. He had told me, “Once I’m settled, I’ll take care of your status.” However, five years had passed, and my lawful permanent residence was still “in process.” Meanwhile, his assistant, Tonya Irving, who followed him abroad, had secured hers under his sponsorship. Back then, I made a scene, insisting on a divorce so I could return home. For the first time, the ever-composed Mark, an attorney, lost his calm. He grabbed my hand and said, “Tonya’s all alone out here, and it hasn’t been easy for her. Helping her is just the right thing to do. You’re my wife. Your status is only a matter of time. My work is sensitive right now, and I need to avoid any complications. You understand, don’t you?” But I had understood him for five whole years. My phone suddenly rang. Mark’s voice came through, light with laughter. “Tonya’s permanent residence was approved today. We’re celebrating tonight. I need you to get home early and cook up a feast.” I stared at the marriage license in my hand—now nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. A cold chill spread down my spine. As it turned out, I was never his legal wife. I had no legal status and no protection, much less rights secured for the child I was carrying. After hanging up, I scheduled an abortion and booked the earliest flight home. This time, I wouldn’t look back.

I sighed again. "I understand. I'm sorry for using the tone I used before." I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "Why didnt you tell me about your problem on day one? I would have spoken louder. I wou-" She shook her head. "That's not necessary." "Why isn't it?" "T-t-there's something about your voice," she stammered nervously as she gently tugged at her fingers. "My voice?" She nodded again. "It's hard to ignore." "I don't understand where you're going with this." "Your voice," she looked down as a light blush stained her cheeks, "is the only voice that I can hear perfectly." ~ Alexia Dawson is a partially deaf woman who struggles to fit in with the other staff at her workplace. Being heterochromic as well, she is the main target for gossip and this makes her very insecure. One night, she is humiliated during a party by one of her coworkers and leaves the building in tears. In the parking lot, she meets a stranger who listens to her troubles and this man later turns out to be the boss' son who happens to be taking over the company the following week! As these two come together in this beautiful romance, a jealous younger brother and ex fiancée get thrown into the mix! What will become of this pair of lovers?

My words can kill. Whatever I say comes true. When I was eight, my cruel adoptive father kicked me into an icy river. I glared at him and said furiously, "You'll drown if you go into water." The next day, he drowned in a stinking ditch where the water barely reached his knees. After realizing I could really kill people, I was so scared I stopped talking and became a mute. A year ago, I was taken back to the Shaw family. In order to stay with the family that I'd finally found after all these years, I absolutely refused to speak. But one day, after Jackie Shaw took a sip of the drink I brought him, he suddenly convulsed and fell to the floor, his face turning purple. A maid screamed in terror, "There's peanut powder in the drink!" Before I could even say anything, my twin sister, Violet, kicked the coffee table, grabbed my hair, and pressed me down hard onto the broken glass shards. "You know Jackie is severely allergic to peanuts! How could you poison him?!" After Mom gave Jackie an emergency injection, she turned around and slapped me hard. "I can't believe I gave birth to a malicious monster like you!" Dad's face was ashen. He splashed boiling tea all over me. "You heartless, vicious ingrate! I can't believe you tried to kill Jackie out of jealousy!" Boiling water mixed with blood dripped down my face, and I clenched my teeth tightly. They had no idea that if I truly wanted him dead, I wouldn't even need to poison him. I just had to speak. Like this. I slowly looked up at Jackie, and my lips moved...

Not being able to speak makes her an outcast at this elite academy. However, during a fight training class, her outstanding performance catches the attention of the academy's most powerful alpha teacher. An attack against the academy unexpectedly awakens her rare healing abilities. Along with that, she didn't expect the alpha teacher to be her betrothed mate. Will she embrace this newfound connection while navigating her growing powers and the dangers that come with them? Amanda never spoke up during a fight, and so she was perceived as weak. When Amanda was born, a strange thing happened in the pack. They said there was a meteor shower, a natural occurrence, but not with their pack, who believed natural occurrences were a sign of something. Amanda was seen as a curse, so when she grew of age and could not speak, the rumor spread like wildfire. “She is cursed,” they said and whispered to one another. Growing up, she didn't know what that meant, just that many mothers didn't want her playing with their children. Amanda, the daughter of the pack’s beta, was mute and cursed... That was what they all said.

I haven't spoken in three years. Not because I can't. Because words got me hit. My brother Damon rescued me from my stepfamily and brought me to the Alpha Academy—a world of wolves, hockey, and brutal hierarchy. He promised me safety. He didn't promise me him. Kael Harrington is the captain. Cold. Untouchable. A playboy who fucks a different girl every night. He's Damon's best friend. And Damon made him swear one rule: Family is off-limits. The second Kael's silver eyes lock onto me, his wolf goes feral. He doesn't understand why a mute human with no scent makes him burn. He doesn't understand why he wants to break every promise he's made. But he does. We meet in the library. In the rink. In the dark. His hands don't stop. His mouth doesn't stop. And when he whispers "You're mine" against my throat, I don't stop either. But secrets don't stay hidden. Vivian—my venomous stepsister—is watching. Damon is watching. And the more Kael takes me apart, the more I realize: I'm not human. I'm a Mute Omega. The rarest wolf alive. My voice can heal packs or shatter them. And every monster in this world wants to claim me. But the only monster I want? Is him. --- "Forbidden. Addictive. Filthy. This academy romance will ruin you."