6000 Seconds To Minutes

(Unholy Allies Series#2) Kathrine Raynott I was barely three when my father, Alpha Lincoln, sold me off to a sixty year old bastard to settle his debts. All these years I've tried all that it takes to escape Alpha Lincoln's hell-like mansion. I have one last time to try ten minutes before my twenty-first birthday party begins. And this time I managed to escape... Except in a sack with a handkerchief around my mouth and eyes blindfolded... Kidnapped! Rogue Cordiero A businessman in the daylight and the Bratva boss in the night, I live a life I have written for myself. And they fear to conduct business with me as I hate being cheated. So when a foolish Alpha tries it with me, I'm determined to take back what's mine along with his daughter. She's gorgeous. Eleven years younger but a seductress that's got my eyes hooked to her little body. She's a fighter.... I like fighters! The only problem is that... She's been sold, and that she's been looking out a way to escape. I helped her with it... And now she wants me to keep her-- asking me to protect her. I am a villain in my life... But I want to be a hero in hers. Can be read as a standalone:) I'd still recommend you to read Book #1 (The Savage Alpha's Rebel)

Orphaned at birth, Lena Warrick spent twenty years locked away in a secluded academy, training to be a warrior. Her heart longed to be free, to escape far away from the village of Lucania! A strange force beckoned her, making her restless to escape! Maybe it was an impossible dream! She was the chosen Luna for Ajax, the future Alpha of the Luceres Pack. His father, Alpha Atticus, promised to divulge her identity only if she gave in. There was no other way than to surrender. However, on the eve of the Luna Ceremony, their pack was attacked by the most powerful group of warriors led by their indomitable Alpha, Zephyrus. In a matter of minutes, he overpowered them, leaving her at his mercy as a war prisoner. After twenty years, Zephyrus Averoff returned to his village, Lucania, to avenge the death of his family and pack at the hands of the ruthless Alpha Atticus. Soon he wiped out the enemy and reclaimed his land, his pack. What about the prisoner he had captured whom his wolf, Zeus, already acknowledged as his mate? To what extent will Lena go to know her true identity? Why couldn’t she accept the mate bond between them? What would Zephyrus do when the dark secrets of her past are out? Would he accept the enemy, reject her, or claim her as his mate? The first book of the Overpowered Series, this story can be read as a standalone book.

I was treating some friends to dinner at the private club my cousin owned. When we wrapped up, I waved over a server. "Just put it on Nick's tab." The server nodded, but a manager I'd never seen stepped in to block her. Wearing a smile that never reached her eyes, she said, "Sir, Bosco is a members-only establishment. We don't offer tabs." I felt a flicker of irritation. "I'm the owner's cousin. Just let him know." She let out a sharp, mocking laugh and slapped a bill onto the table. Eighty-eight thousand. Exclusive suite atmosphere maintenance fee, ten thousand. High‑end social network filtration fee, twenty thousand. Spontaneous entertainment ambience enhancement fee, fifteen thousand. And a mess of other miscellaneous charges. Since when did Nick's place dare to bleed customers dry like this? "What's wrong? Can't pay and now you're trying to name‑drop?" She looked me up and down with an arrogant tilt of her chin. "I've seen plenty of our boss's relatives. Not one of them is as broke, pretentious, and shameless as you." Right in front of her, I dialed Nick and put the call on speaker. "Ten minutes," I said. "Make sure she disappears from my sight. Otherwise, I'm revoking your authorization for this club."

My billionaire dad chooses a husband for me. People claim that Sebastian Lambert is a fine gentleman who's absolutely in awe of me. He seems easy enough to deal with, so I agree to the marriage. The wedding is held at the biggest hotel my family owns. On the big day, as I push open the doors in my wedding dress, a bucket of foul-smelling blood comes crashing down on me. The scene inside is even more horrifying. What was supposed to be a pure and romantic ceremony is now decorated with giant spiders and cockroaches. Grotesque clown faces grin at me from the walls. At the altar, there's a black coffin. Sebastian's adoptive sister, Ruth Lambert, strolls over with a group of people. She covers her mouth in fake surprise as she remarks, "Oh my, Claudia, you look like a pathetic mutt right now!" Laughter erupts around me. Holding my anger back, I coldly reply, "All of you, get out." She crosses her arms, arrogantly looking down at me as if she's on some pedestal. "Come on, Claudia. Seb personally asked me to surprise you. I put in a lot of effort to decorate your little wedding. You're telling me to get out? I don't even get a 'thank you'? Do you need me to teach you some manners?" She signals to the people next to her, and two of them step forward, trying to force me to my knees. Stunned for a few seconds, I pull out my phone and call Sebastian. "Is this the so-called surprise you had your sister prepare for me? Forcing me to kneel before her?"

The last thing Valentina Serra sees before she dies is the crack in the ceiling above her bed. She is 45 years old. She is not unhappy. That, she realizes in the last seconds of her first life, is the most devastating thing she could say about it. She opens her eyes in a university lecture hall in Barcelona. She is 20 years old. Her notebook is open, her pen is in her hand, and she can feel — with the precision of someone who has lived an entire life — exactly how much she is about to waste if she does nothing. She does something. Armed with 25 years of memory, Valentina sets out to close every loop she left open: the military commission she dismissed, the marketing career she let others architect for her, the relationship she stayed in long past its expiry date, and the mother she visited but never truly knew. One by one, she reaches for the life she talked herself out of the first time around. But the two people closest to her — the friends who have always been there, always supportive, always first to suggest the safer, smaller option — are watching. And when Valentina begins exceeding the quiet ceiling that they built for her, Isabel and David begin to coordinate. Then there is Ethan Cole. Washington D.C. Investment sector. Five years younger, which bothered her the first time. He will walk into her life again in Barcelona, and this time Valentina already knows what the long dinner and the careful conversation and the late-night walk along the Passeig de Gràcia will mean — if she doesn't talk herself out of it. She is not going to talk herself out of it.

I've just returned from the world's biggest tech summit when my mentor, who's like a father to me, calls. He tells me he's arranged for me to marry his close friend's son, Jonathan Ford. Jonathan is one of Javron's rising stars. A few of my patents are licensed to his company, and they form the core technology of his new product. I work late to wrap up everything in the lab. Then, I dress up and head to the engagement ceremony. Unexpectedly, I'm stopped at the door by Jonathan's secretary, Linda Jones. She wears a lavish gown and looks more like the bride than I do. "Turn around and scram if you know what's good for you," she says with a sneer. "You're just an orphan from the countryside—think twice about whether you're worthy of our CEO." I ask, "Does Jonathan know you're making decisions for him like this?" She lets out a contemptuous laugh. "You're nothing but a pretty face who needs to ride on her mentor's reputation to get married. How can you possibly understand the weight I carry in Mr. Ford's heart?" A blush spreads across her face as she speaks. I study her for a few seconds, then call Jonathan. "If your idea of courtesy is leaving your fiancee standing outside the venue, then here's how I'll repay the favor. I'll let you read the contract and watch as I sell my patents to your competitor. How does that sound?"

Dave Sun has just turned eighteen and arrives in Kings City with nothing but a backpack and a dream. Ever since he was a child, he imagined the city as a place where fortunes were built and dreams came alive. But the moment he steps into its glittering streets, he realizes the truth—Kings City is beautiful on the outside and brutally cold on the inside. After days of job hunting and constant rejection, Dave loses the little money he has when he is robbed late one night. Exhausted and hopeless, he sits in front of a towering company building just to rest before trying again the next morning. That is when everything changes. Three sleek black cars emerge from the company gates. Within seconds, two men drag Dave into one of the vehicles. Terrified, Dave struggles—until he meets the man sitting inside. Ryan Blood. The man is breathtakingly handsome, calm, and terrifying. A man who looks like a god… and rules Kings City’s most powerful mafia empire. Before Dave can escape, he is injected with something that pulls him into darkness. When Dave wakes up the next morning, he finds himself lying on a luxurious bed in a room that looks like it belongs in a palace. His wounds have been treated, his clothes changed, and the man responsible is sitting beside him. Ryan calmly introduces himself as Dave’s lover and future partner. Dave refuses. But Ryan is not a man used to hearing the word no. Chained to a bed and trapped in Ryan’s world of danger, power, and obsession, Dave is forced to live inside the mansion of the most feared mafia boss in Kings City. Ryan insists Dave belongs to him—and he will keep him in chains until he accepts it.

Just because his first love's younger brother accidentally fell into Shadow River, my Alpha mate, Ethan Horn, forced me, the only Spirit Soother of our pack, to go and rescue him. When I sank to the bottom of the river, I chose not to save him. When the man was pulled out of the river, the healer lamented, "If it were a few minutes earlier, Leo might have been saved. What a pity." Ethan's first love, Serafina Pike, had her wolf soul shut off and soon passed away because she missed her younger brother, Leo Pike. From that moment on, Ethan, who had once loved me, hated me to the core. Without giving me a chance to explain, he slit my throat with a silver blade and ruthlessly sealed my wolf soul. Later, he believed the heresy of the witch about soul sacrifice and nailed me and our young daughter in coffins before burying us alive by Shadow River as sacrifices to resurrect his beloved Serafina. In the end, the woman he deeply loved did not come back to life, and my daughter and I died with endless resentment. When I reopened my eyes, I had returned to the night when Ethan forced me to jump into the river to save Leo. I tied up the specially made rope and asked him for the last time, "Are you really sure that you can bear the consequences after I rescue him?"

What makes a hero? They say a hero is someone that has given his life to something bigger than himself. I say a hero is no braver than an ordinary man, he is just braver for five minutes longer. All soldiers are brave, it's what they do with their bravery that makes them heroes. Am I a hero? Clayton Jackson dedicated his life to serving his country. Enlisting in the Marine Corps at the young age of eighteen, he never imagined following any other path. However, fate had other plans for him as a life-altering accident during his last deployment left him disabled and forces him to return home. Hiding in the small town he grew up in, Clayton tries to keep his secret from his loved ones at all costs. One day while seeking refuge from his troubled mind, his path crosses with Isabella Jones. Their connection is instantaneous as if the universe conspired to bring them together. Isabella, a mysterious and enigmatic woman, is haunted by the demons from her own past. As their relationship quickly blossoms, the unspoken truths between them threaten to tear them apart. When Clayton is presented with the opportunity to rejoin the Marine Corps, Isabella is faced with a decision: whether to accompany him or remain behind. Caught in this web of secrets and lies, they try to navigate their love through the murky waters, desperately hoping to find solace in each other's arms. But will love be enough to conquer the shadows that lingered in their hearts? Or would the truth ultimately be their undoing?

So, Mrs. Knight,” he said, voice dripping with mockery, “do we have a deal?” I stared at his hand. Then at his face. Then at the empty shot glasses. I slapped my palm into his. “It’s not Mrs. Knight anymore,” I said, squeezing hard. “And you, Mr. Arrogant, just hired the most vindictive assistant you’ll ever have.” His fingers tightened around mine, warm and strong and promising all kinds of chaos. “Welcome to the dark side, Isabella.” Behind us, Kayla whispered to herself and few people in the coffee shop, “Y’all, I’m literally witnessing the start of a mafia romance…” Lucian’s eyes never left mine. Something electric and dangerous crackled between us. And in that moment, drunk off tequila and vengeance, I signed my soul with the Devil. I said no to Alexander Knight at the altar. Then I said yes to Lucian Voss in the rain, still wearing my wedding dress... Because my fiancee betrayed me twenty minutes before we tied the knots. With Lucian, it was a fake relationship stringed with mind-blowing nights. I gave him my body He offered me revenge Neither of us expected to give our hearts... Or that the enemy warming my bed every night ...was the brother everyone thought died fifteen years ago. Now I'm pregnant and only one knight get's to keep the empire and me