a lesson in thorns

Heartbroken after her breakup with James, Charlotte seeks refuge at a club, where a one-night stand with billionaire Charles Goldberg leaves him obsessed with her. He’s drawn to the star-shaped birthmark on her back but never sees her again. Charlotte’s life spirals when she loses her job as an actor and faces financial ruin. Raised by her mother, who told her her father died young, Charlotte fights to stay afloat while supporting her sister, Olivia, in college. Desperate, she concocts a risky plan with her best friend Emma: disguise herself as a man to land a job at Charles Goldberg’s company, unknowingly setting the stage for a dangerous game of deception. As Charlotte juggles her secret identity at the company, Charles begins obsessively searching for the mystery woman, unaware that the “man” in his company is the same person. Meanwhile, a rival billionaire’s daughter, infatuated with Charles, complicates the game. As Charlotte’s secrets unravel, her life threatens to implode under the weight of her lies and growing desire for Charles.

Janet Sanders is at the top of her game and as a result, business has never been better, even with a new killer in town. After all, since her twin brother's murder at the hands of a deranged serial killer, not much can hurt or surprise you. That is, until she finds out that her father, Dan Sanders, may have been the culprit all along. Therefore Janet, now shrouded with an ironclad will, decided to do what she knows she can do best, dedicating all of her time to two things: her ever profitable career as an escort, and making sure that Dan Sanders is sent to the deepest pit in hell, even if it means she has to hand-deliver him to the devil herself. Now that the handsome Antonio has made his way back into her life with the hopes of capturing who the media has dubbed as "The Strangler" along with Janet's heart, she's dead set on sending him packing once and for all as she has seen firsthand the steep price of "love" for the Sanders family

When a dating scandal comes to haunt Gold, a famous artist all over the world, memories from seven years ago flood his mind--making him realize that perhaps, he had never liked women at all.

Keerthi felt a hand under her chin ,coaxing her to look up ,as she met with warm brown eyes ,in their darkest shade. Her eyes went to her husband's lips, wetting her own involuntarily, when she felt Vikram's hold tighten. She blushed, looking down, her face felt on fire. Vikram pulled her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "Keerthi", Vikram started gruffly ,his voice laced with desire, their lips merely brushing, teasing one another, "We should go to sleep now if you don't want it to continue any further." Keerthi's face flamed at her husband's insinuation. But dammit,she wanted to be kissed. For the first time ever.

As a result of a dispute of two packs, two best friends, heirs to the alpha positions, turn to great foes. Kathrina Salvador is a seventeen year old girl who turns out to be the human mate of both the alphas of different packs. Alpha Hayden is the alpha of the Ruby Blood Pack. However, due to a one-side misunderstanding, his friend Rylan becomes his enemy. Alpha Rylan is the crowned alpha of the Black Moon Pack, who seeks to have revenge on Hayden and uses Kathrina who loathes him. On a night, Kathrina's soul gets tampered with by some nomadic vampire, but what is the truth? What is this misunderstanding that would later breed war? What would happen when both Alphas get to know that they are fated to one mate? Who would Kathrina be with? These questions need you to follow up, so follow through their lives, as they encounter war. With an enmity filled with grief, sorrow, bloodshed and mixed with romance.

**EXCERPT** He rasped, his teeth grazing my earlobe. "I'll make sure you're addicted to the way I fúck you until you can't breathe without wanting me inside of you." Jesus Christ. He was going to kill me at this rate with his words... ⫷◍◍◍◍◍◍◍◍◍⫸ Lilith has perfected the art of disguise. She is an ambitious college student balancing her family’s needs by day. By night, she transforms into Raven—a mesmerizing dancer in a club where secrets reign, and the most feared man in the room, Giovanni, watches her every move. Giovanni's ruthless reputation is undeniable, but beneath his icy demeanor lies a deeply complex soul. When he hires Raven to uncover his rivals' darkest secrets, Lilith seizes the opportunity. The payout could change everything for her family—if she can handle the risk. One reckless night intertwines their fates in ways neither expected. As she ventures further into his world, every lie and secret draws her closer to disaster and a desire she never saw coming. If Giovanni uncovers her true identity, he’ll claim her in ways she never imagined—or destroy her in the process. *MATURE CONTENT AS THE CHAPTER PROGRESSES*

I caught Vincenzo staring at me during his father's funeral. But is it wrong if he is my Fiancè's brother? Everyone is devasted after Mr Di Costa died of heart attack. After all, everyone loved him, he was caring, kind and loving. But during the funeral things went crazy, I caught my brother-in-law

My Alpha's ex-girlfriend finds an excuse to move in with us. Whenever she sees me and my pup, she clutches her chest and acts like she's devastated. My Alpha is sure that I'm deliberately showing off our pup to upset her. "I can't believe you keep flaunting our pup to get on Cissy's nerves! I have to teach you a lesson!" He orders his men to have our pup and me thrown into the basement. No one is allowed to bring me food. I try to escape, and I beg for mercy. I tell him our pup is weak because I wasn't in the best of health when carrying it. I also tell him a healer has advised me to be hospitalized for further treatment. He sounds like he's heard the world's biggest joke, and his tone is cold as he says, "How can you be weak when you made it out of being ambushed in the forest? Stop trying to make yourself seem pitiful! Stay in the basement and repent! This is what you get for making things hard for Cissy!" What he doesn't know is that, when I save him from the attack, I lose my wolf because I am injected with wolfsbane. During my pregnancy, I am also hospitalized many times in order to prevent miscarriage due to the fact that my body is too weak. The pup is in poor health and has been receiving treatment since birth. In the basement, I slash my wrists to feed my pup with my blood, but he still dies in my arms. My devastated howls reverberate in the space. Losing my wolf means I no longer have the ability to heal myself. I lie in a puddle of my blood as I hold my pup's cold body close. Three days later, my Alpha decides he wants me back when he drinks a cup of coffee that isn't to his liking. He says, "Let my Luna out so she can make me coffee and apologize to Cissy. She and the pup can be taken to the hospital if she's sincere enough." No one dares obey his orders—my blood is already flowing out of the basement.

On the night Amelia got pregnant, She discovered her husband Leo had impregnated a lady. He left a divorce agreement and despite Amelia's pleading, she couldn't keep him from leaving. Six years later, she returned in a grand fashion. Facing the man who had once abandoned her and was responsible for her brother's death, she sought revenge against him but the man begged for reconciliation. Will she carry on with her revenge or give him a second chance?

The fake daughter married my boyfriend. My mouth was taped and I was being chopped into pieces by her admirer. The entire family took turns to call me. My mother said, "How ungrateful you are. I should not have brought you home back then." Father added, "Don't bother coming back if you do not attend Samantha's wedding." Brother said, "Let me tell you, you shall root in hell if you choose not to attend the wedding." At that moment, I didn't even have the energy to shout for help due to excessive blood loss. Everyone lost their patience, "Speak up! Are you dead or what?" I could only see the calls being disconnected. One thing they did not know, I was really dead.