A Thousand Heartbeats

For a thousand years, the city of Crescent Falls has survived beneath the shadow of an ancient savior. Each century, a man is chosen as an offering to Sariyah—the being said to have once driven demons from the world. When Bastion, the man Ember loves, is taken after daring to refuse her, Ember’s grief turns into defiance, and she vows to bring him home no matter the cost. Her search forces her into an uneasy alliance with Orion St. James, a dangerously charming immortal with a violent past and secrets tied to Sariyah herself. Bound together by a magic neither of them wants nor understands, Ember and Orion are drawn into a hidden war beneath the city—one involving cultists, monsters, and an ancient order known as the Watchers. As Crescent Falls begins to fracture, Ember experiences unsettling visions that hint her bloodline is far more entangled with Sariyah than anyone ever suspected. Strange new powers awaken within her, blurring the line between protector and destroyer, while enemies gather and old loyalties are tested. With the city on the brink of collapse and unseen forces moving in the shadows, Ember must decide how far she is willing to go to save Bastion—and whether becoming something darker is the only way to stop an evil that has ruled unchallenged for centuries. Because some thrones are not inherited. They are taken.

Life became cruel since the day I was born. Why? Because nature chose to give me everything but my wolf. As the daughter of an Alpha, I was meant to be like him. I was meant to have the power and strength to continue his legacy but alas, the moon goddess turned her back against me and decided to make me human like my mother. I hated the life that I lived. It was filled with nothing more but hatred and cruelty from the pack members. The only reason I was still alive was because of my father, but I guess daddy privilege didn't last as long as I could. There came a time where they could no longer endure the destestful presence of a human like me….so my father took me away to somewhere he thought I would find a life. But the moon goddess still decided to frown and me and things only got worse. The cruelty and hatred increased by a thousand times and the hatred created a strong thirst for power inside of me. I wanted the power, and I went looking for it. But the question remains, would this power bind or break me? Would it bring me the respect that I deserve or the torture that I don't? How will my story end, especially when a powerful alpha from Ravenwood is involved?

I’d been married to my husband James for three years. On Valentine’s Day, he gave his stepsister, Mia, one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, along with millions in jewelry. I, on the other hand, received a free bouquet of roses. When I didn’t look thrilled, he accused me of being a gold digger. “Mia never had anyone to care for her growing up. Why are you competing with her? Isn’t being Mrs. Smith enough to feed your vanity?” Furious, I stormed out of the house. When a car lost control and came barreling toward me, he instinctively rushed to protect Mia, who was standing a full ten feet from the road. I was the one who ended up in the hospital. Lying in that bed, I finally gave up. I signed the divorce papers without hesitation. “Giving up the title of Mrs. Smith is the dumbest decision you’ll ever make,” he told me, looking down at me from above before walking away. Seven years later, we met again. He took one glance at my simple dress and laughed out loud. I didn’t bother to respond. I just held my daughter close and waited for her father—the richest man in the city—to arrive.

While picking up my parcel from the mailroom, I run into Ivan Judd, an underprivileged student from my grade who is working part-time there. While we chat, he finds out that I'd spent 128 thousand dollars during the Black Friday sales. Dumbfounded, Ivan cries, "I've never even seen that kind of money in my entire life! And you're spending it so casually? Did your mom send you to college to study or to blow money like this?" He yanks the parcel out of my hands and physically blocks the exit. "Return it immediately! Kids like you never understand how hard it is for adults to earn money! If you're this wasteful now, what man can afford to marry you in the future?" I can't help but laugh angrily at Ivan's ridiculous attitude. I retort, "What does me spending my mom's money have anything to do with you?" "How does it not?" He looks completely justified when he says, "I'm dating your mom. Every cent you spend counts as our future marital assets!" I am shocked. Isn't Mom a lesbian? Since when did she start liking men?

I was just eighteen when I mistook a business deal for a fairy tale, letting a schoolgirl crush blind me to the truth. My prince charming? He turned out to be more of a wolf in an Armani suit. Now, five years and a thousand broken pieces later, I've rebuilt myself into someone I barely recognize, a CEO, a survivor, and most importantly, a mother to my beautiful son Griffin. I thought I'd buried the naive girl who once dreamed in a garden. Apparently, the universe had other plans. My ex-husband's back, claiming he's changed and wanting a second chance. And then there's James Drake, a billionaire with scars that match my own, who makes me wonder if my heart remembers how to beat for something other than revenge. Between poisoned flowers showing up at my office and threats creeping too close to my son, I'm learning that success is the best revenge, if I can stay alive long enough to enjoy it. They say love is sweeter the second time around, but can I trust it when betrayal wore the face of love once before? One thing's certain: I'm not that naive wife anymore. And this time, I'm playing for keeps.

There were rules to their marriage. Lily was given the life of luxury and everything she could possibly want to live while her husband held the power and control over her fairytale life. It was a game of beauty and dominance. Lily Blakely: I had no other option but to do the unthinkable. I sold my soul to a billionaire heir, rich and spoiled. My dignity held under the heels of his shiny leather shoes and my heart in his hand. And I had done it all to save my father's life. He didn't know that. For him, I was the gold digger of highest order, one he despised the most. And yes, I didn't expect him to fall in love with me ever. He swore that he wouldn't. Daniel Rutherford: She was as beautiful as cunning. The kind I hated the most. A young, independent girl who sold herself for a life of riches and standard. I wanted nothing more than to stay a thousand miles away from her. But I seemed to fail in doing so the moment she got close enough to touch. I wanted her to repel me, yet every time she was near me I got attracted to her in a way I dreaded. I wanted to push her away, but to my utter disdain I wanted to fuck her even more.

My mate, Luther Evans, had spent 20 thousand dollars on two first-class tickets for the Moonlight Express to Vespera Coast. Just as we were about to board, he pulled me aside and gave my seat to my foster sister, Zoey Turner. He explained, "There's only one empty seat left on the train, and Zoey's son has never seen the ocean before. This is the perfect chance. Kids can't be separated from their mothers, so I'll take them first and get them settled, then come back for you." I nodded and stepped off the train, watching it disappear into the distance. Once they reached the beach, a friend asked Luther why I hadn't come along. He was busy inflating a pool float for Zoey, answering casually without looking up. "The Moonlight Express runs every three days. Avery Smith can just buy her own ticket and come later. I'll pick up some gifts to make it up to her. She's really understanding and won't stay mad at me." A bitter smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. The whole family had always favored Zoey, and now even my own mate was no different. Since nobody wanted to see me anyway, I decided I would leave in three days.

The night my in-laws were rushed to the hospital after a car accident, I hurried over to handle the situation. At the payment counter, I swiped my card—only to find that the joint account I shared with my husband had a mere two dollars left. I called my husband, Zarrick Thompson, over and over again. But he never picked up. It wasn't until later that I learned the truth—he had taken our money to celebrate his first love's birthday. Desperate, I borrowed seventy thousand from a friend to save my in-laws. But after they recovered, they flat-out denied everything. My husband, meanwhile, made no attempt to hide his relationship with her. He wanted me gone. To force me into a divorce, he went as far as setting me up—staging an affair, taking photos of me being humiliated. Then he used them to threaten me. Either I walked away with nothing, shouldering all our debts, or he would ruin me completely. I worked endlessly, day and night, to pay it all off. Until, one winter, I collapsed in a frozen alley and never got up again. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the accident.

Trisha was sold by her own mother to a billionaire. She has to please the billionaire for one night for fifty thousand pesos. At a young age she was forced to do things she should have never known. Her mother taught her how to seduce men. But she's still young, that's why she doesn't lose her fear, but she does everything to do the things her mother taught her. Luke is a billionaire who is willing to squander money on frivolous things. He thought of buying a woman who would make him happy for one night. But he was shocked to see the woman who would make him happy. An angel-like and very innocent girl was in his bed who didn't seem to know what to do. As soon as he saw it, he felt pity. He knows she don't like what she's doing. That's why he talked to her deeply and offered something that would change the girl's life. To be his wife. He bought Trisha forever from her mother for ten million pesos. And that's where the love between Luke and Trisha begins. Can they be happy if there are many obstacles in their love? What will Trisha have against Luke's parents if they find out that she was just bought like a cheap thing by Luke?

Detective Clea McEnery takes on a case which requires her to move to a countryside town to spy on a drug Cartel's activities. There, she's thrown into a chaotic world of supernatural beings and swept up in a whirlwind romance with an alpha who hates his werewolf identity. — A thousand years ago, in the town of Ohalo, a witch, desperate to save humans from the ravages of supernatural beings, made a deal with the devil and became a powerful demon. With her power, she killed the man she loved and pursued the creatures to a parallel dimension, then sealed them off with a portal. Then she disappeared afterwards. Fast forward to the present day. Clea McEnery takes on a case which requires her to move to Ohalo to spy on a drug Cartel's activities. There, she encounters Tyler Forrest, her high school sweetheart. Together again, it doesn't take long for enormous sparks to fly between them. But as their passionate romance grows, so does her attraction to the Town-outcast. She met him on her arrival, and he stared right into her soul. Like it belonged to him. And with how frequently she kept finding herself naked in his arms no matter how hard she tried to stay away, Clea was starting to realise that maybe she did belong to him. In ways she couldn't understand.