37 Days Ago

Ten years ago, Daryl was brutally attacked and left for dead. Now, he wakes from a coma to find a world that moved on without him. The biggest blow? Emma—his mate and the love of his life—is no longer his. She’s bonded to his best friend and Beta, and together they’re raising a son. Haunted by memories of what they once shared, Daryl is torn between reclaiming his rightful place and accepting the painful truth. But the mate bond doesn’t just disappear—and neither do old feelings. As Daryl struggles to adapt to a pack that’s changed, the connection between him and Emma reignites, threatening the fragile peace she’s built. Emma thought she’d lost Daryl forever. In his absence, she did what she had to do—grieve, survive, and find love again. But with Daryl’s return, long-buried emotions rise to the surface. Her heart is divided between loyalty to the mate who stood by her during the darkest days… and the one she never stopped loving. As tensions mount and bonds are tested, the past and present collide in a battle of love, fate, and honor. Will Emma choose the life she’s built—or the mate fate once promised her?

In the tenth year of my diagnosis with selective mutism, my mother decided it was time to bring home a little brother for me from an orphanage. Her eyes immediately landed on a boy in the back row, but the head of the orphanage opposed without hesitation. "Ms. Lane, this kid has been nothing but trouble since he was small. Just two days ago, he made an old man on crutches play goalie. If you take him home, your life will never be peaceful!" I looked on without the slightest interest. My mother, however, was exhilarated. Pointing at the boy, she declared excitedly, "Then, he's exactly the one I want!" And suddenly, lines of bullet comments scrolled before me. 'The mom cracks me up. Her eyes practically sparkled like spotlights.' 'Our brooding female lead grew up friendless. Her mom's been worrying about that for years. Now she's found this rascal, there's no way she's letting go.' 'Honestly, fate is wild. The mom instantly picks her future son-in-law. In their past lives, the female lead died trying to save him. Now that they've both been reborn, maybe they'll finally get a second chance together.'

Aria Holt knows she's walking into a trap. When Damien Cross offers her a job at his tech empire, she knows exactly why—eight years ago, her father's company killed his sister and destroyed his family. This is revenge. She takes the job anyway. Her family's name is a curse everywhere else, and her father is dying. She'll endure Damien's cruelty if it means survival. But Damien doesn't just want to humiliate her professionally. He wants to break her, piece by piece, until she feels every ounce of pain he's carried for eight years. He'll control her days, invade her thoughts, and prove that he holds all the power. Except his plan begins to unravel. Behind closed doors, the punishment turns into obsession. The cruelty shifts into desperate need. And Aria—quiet, guilty Aria—starts pushing back in ways that shatter his carefully constructed walls. When the truth about the accident finally surfaces, Damien faces an impossible choice: complete his revenge and destroy the woman he's fallen for, or let go of the only thing that's kept him alive for eight years.

I'd been married to Joshua Merck for five years, but we still didn't have kids. To stay healthy, I took those pricey custom vitamins he ordered from overseas—never missed a dose. Then my cousin came back from studying abroad, took one look at the bottle, and was like, "That brand doesn't even make custom vitamins." I sent them to the hospital for testing. The lab report hit me like a truck—birth control pills. Powerful ones. Suddenly, all those mornings with Joshua hovering over me, acting so concerned while I took my "vitamins," made sense. The whole thing had been a lie. Five years of lies. Just as I was gearing up to confront him, my phone buzzed—a group chat notification. Shirley Hoare had tagged Joshua. [Honey, I had a prenatal checkup today, and the doctor said I'm carrying twins! Your family's about to get two grandchildren at once—excited?] My heart turned to ash. Everything clicked. Fine. We were done. I pulled out my phone and replied to my childhood sweetheart's message from three days ago: [After watching the northern lights, I still wanted to see penguins in Antarctica.]

My brother-in-law, Benjamin Fallow, got trapped in a deep pit, so I grabbed some ropes and risked my life to climb down and pull him out. Just after I tied the rope around his waist, the line went slack and we both came crashing down. When I looked up, I couldn't believe my eyes. My wife, Celeste Fallow, had cut the rope. Meanwhile, her childhood friend, Vincent Jameson, grinned and egged her on. "Do it." Black-clad bodyguards started shoveling sand into the hole, trying to bury us alive. I grabbed the walkie-talkie and screamed up at her, "Celeste, your brother and I are still down here!" She sneered back. "Three years ago, during the quake, you left Vincent's brother trapped under the rubble for five days while you saved others. Now it's time to pay what you owe." Vincent shed crocodile tears and crowed, "Celeste, thanks to you, my brother's revenge is finally complete." With the sand already up to our ankles, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Celeste Fallow, your brother is really down here with me!"

“Aunt Ashie says you need to pay child support!” The five-year-old Mars said to the crown prince. — While on a break from his duties to Las Vegas, six years ago, the crown prince made a mistake and married a young woman by accident. After getting the marriage annulled, the prince had returned to his duties while the woman who was unaware of his identity returned to hers. Weeks later, a surprise awaited her—a positive pregnancy test. Six years have passed, but somehow fate brings the two back together. Roman Maximus is a 27-year old heartthrob and the crown prince of Penevia. He is bold, confident, arrogant—and is used to getting what he wants. Audrey Sinclair is a 26-year old single mother to a cheerful five-year old. She’s stubborn, hot-headed and does not bow down to anyone—not even the crown prince. A contract marriage binds these two together for 365 days, but with the king suddenly falling ill, forcing Roman to take over the throne, and a neighboring kingdom threatening to overthrow Penevia, not everything is as easy as it seems. Things get more complicated when the two develop feelings for one another.

In the tenth year of being the secret lover of Luca, a Mafia Don, I died. When the bullet tore through my chest, I used the last of my strength to dial his number. “Luca, I’ve been shot… Please, save me…” On the other end, he let out a careless, mocking snort. “Eva, is this another one of your tragic‑act routines? Helena’s waiting for me to have breakfast with her. I’m tired of this game. Stop bothering me.” Then, the call cut off without mercy, and so I closed my eyes in despair. When I opened them again, I had gone back seven days before the shooting. This time, with trembling fingers, I dialed a number I hadn’t dared to touch in three years. “Marcus, three years ago, you said you’d marry me. Do you still stand by it?” The voice on the other end exploded. “Eva! You finally called me! I’m in Sicily, clearing out an enemy faction. I can’t get back right now. “Give me seven days. I swear I’ll come back to you in a blaze of glory!”

When Adriano Morelli realized I hadn’t submitted a single household request in three days, he called me himself for the first time in months. “Serafina,” he said, his voice smooth and patient, “the clinic has been cleared. Your file is back on priority. See? When you stop making things difficult and learn how this family works, I make sure you’re taken care of.” He always sounded the gentlest when he was reminding me who held the power. What he didn’t know was that by the time his name lit up my screen, the divorce papers were already drafted. From the outside, I had everything a woman could want: a guarded penthouse, a driver on call, designer clothes, and the last name of one of the most feared men in the city. But almost none of it was mine. The cards were monitored. Cash had to be approved. Staff took Viviana Costa’s orders before they ever listened to me. Even the wardrobe budget, my schedule, and access to the family office all ran through her hands. Adriano called it convenience. Three days ago, I was rushed into a private clinic, blood soaking through my dress, while a doctor told me there was still a chance to save the baby if the emergency deposit was paid immediately. I called Adriano until my hands shook. Viviana stalled the transfer. First there was no direct authorization. Then the amount was too large. Then Adriano was in a meeting and could not be disturbed over something that might not be serious. By the time the money came through, it was too late. The baby was gone. I had stayed with Adriano for two reasons: I loved him, and I believed that when it truly mattered, he would choose me. I was wrong about both. Our child died first. My marriage died with it.

When my Alpha mate, Logan noticed I hadn't submitted a single expense request in three days, he reached out to me on his own for the first time ever. "Baby, I've already approved the next phase of your wolf's healing. See? As long as you learn to behave, there's nothing I won't give you." His tone was still so affectionate, as if he were truly a good Alpha, worried sick over his mate. But he didn't know that as his "Baby" flashed across my phone screen, I had already finished drafting the agreement to sever our mate bond. Before I left, the only thing I could take with me was the old T-shirt I had worn when he marked me. No one would ever believe that the beloved Luna of the Blackmoon Pack, in the three years since our bonding ceremony, couldn't even scrape together five decent dresses of her own. Every household expense I incurred had to be approved by the Luna's seal, the very symbol of my power. "Sienna, managing the books is too tiring. It will wear you out." "Just let Chloe handle the tedious work with the seal. All you have to do is be beautiful, be my perfect Luna." And so, the Luna's seal, which should have been mine, became something I had to beg for from Chloe, the Alpha's secretary who was supposedly "handling the tedious work for me." Three days ago, my wolf was on the verge of collapsing. I cried and begged him for the two hundred thousand needed for an emergency intervention. But Chloe deliberately withheld the seal, delaying approval by claiming improper procedure. Finally, my already fractured wolf went completely silent in the depths of my soul. And with that, I was done with this Alpha, too.

40 stories. 40 fantasies. 40 limits. Dive into a world where desire knows no boundaries and pleasure has no rules. This provocative collection features fourty standalone dark romance stories that explore the forbidden, the intense, and the utterly irresistible. From the mysterious masked stripper who reveals her true identity to the man who's been fantasizing about her for months, to the "therapeutic" massage that becomes anything but professional—each story delivers scorching heat, dominant heroes, and heroines who surrender to their deepest cravings. Inside this collection: A gym instructor who teaches more than just proper form A tattoo artist whose needle isn't the only thing that leaves a permanent mark A bus ride that becomes the most intense experience of a virgin's life A gardener who cultivates more than just the lawn A massage therapist with unconventional "treatment" methods And 37 more tales of obsession, possession, and raw, unfiltered passion Warning: These stories contain explicit sexual content, dominant alpha males, intense situations, and heroines who get exactly what they secretly crave. Each story is a standalone with a satisfying conclusion. Perfect for readers who love their romance dark, their heroes possessive, and their steam level set to scorching. Tags: Dark Romance, Explicit Content, Alpha Males, Forbidden Romance, Short Story Collection, Steamy Romance, Dominant Heroes