Antonym Of Within

My father and brother had preferred my sister over me since we were kids. In fact, they hated me. When I was bullied at a party, it was a mafia boss, Edwin Carlson, who stepped in. He saved me and announced right there in front of everyone that I was the woman he loved. He warned that anyone who dared mess with me again would have to deal with him. Edwin bought a castle deep in the forest just for me. He filled the garden with my favorite tulips and held a grand wedding there that made headlines across the country. For a while, I became the woman everyone envied. Seven months pregnant, I attended my father's birthday party. But that night, a sudden fire broke out. My biased father and brother only cared about saving my sister, Kelsey Grant. They rushed her out while I was left behind to die in the flames. In the end, it was Edwin who carried me out. But when I woke up in the hospital, I saw something that shattered my heart. "What the hell were you thinking, starting that fire?" Edwin's face was dark with rage. "Stephanie's only seven months pregnant! Are you trying to force her into early labor? Were you trying to kill her and the baby?" My father and brother spoke in hushed voices, trying to explain. "Kelsey has leukemia. The doctors said we can't wait anymore—she needs surgery soon. And she needs the baby's bone marrow..." "I care about Kelsey's life more than you do. Why else would I have married Stephanie? But you can't hurt her. I have my own plan!" Edwin warned coldly. "Saving Kelsey is the goal, yes—but if you try to save her at the cost of Stephanie's life, I won't allow it!" After hearing that, I fled the hospital room in a panic. So that was why he married me. Not because he loved me, but to save Kelsey. Everything he did for me—his kindness, his care—was all for her. Just like my father and brother, he loved Kelsey. Not me. If no one loved me, then I figured I might as well just disappear.

After Brielle Monroe believes she fell in love she discovers she actually fell into the hands of David Knightwood—a man she comes to fear for his ruthlessness —she’s stripped of her freedom and thrust into a gilded cage where obedience is survival. Just when Brielle begins to find slivers of safety and even twisted affection in David’s care, a devastating miscarriage shatters her spirit. Years pass in silence and shadow, until Brielle files for divorce, desperate to reclaim her life—but David refuses to let go without a fight. As secrets unravel and a final betrayal surfaces, Brielle learns her escape was never freedom at all—because the most dangerous prison isn’t built of walls, but of love laced with possession.

I took a deep breath again and again as I finally knocked twice. And after a couple of minutes a baritone yet cold voice spoke. "Come in." My brows furrowed and my chest was pounding so loud when I heard Sir JR's voice. This is the first time he showed himself to us but... this was not the first time I met him. At sana wala rin siyang maalala pa. Pinilig ko ang ulo at pilit tinatanggal ang mga nasa isipan at dahan-dahang pinihit pabukas ang pinto. Biglang nanindig ang balahibo ko dahil sa lamig sa loob ng opisina ni Sir. "Hmm..." tumikhim ako upang agawin ang atensyon niya na nakatalikod mula sa akin at prenteng nakaupo sa swivel chair niya. "Good afternoon, Sir." I greeted politely. He stayed silently, he stayed in his place and he didn't respond to me. Hindi rin siya lumilingon kaya napakamot ako ng ulo. "Sir? What can I do for you? Is it because I'm late this morning? I'm sorry Sir, there's an emergency in our home, the reason why I'm late. I'm sorry." I explained but he remained silent. Dahan-dahan akong napayuko. Mukha ngang bad mood siya dahil hindi man lang lumilingon sa akin. "How old are you?" Wala pa sa isang segundo akong nag-angat ng tingin sa kaniya. "Hmmm, 24, Sir..." I answered lowly. "Married?" I swallowed as I responded. "No." "Single?" he asked again. "Opo." "Any relationship? Boyfriend? Ka live in?" "Wala po, Sir..." Pilit kong sinasagot ang mga tanong niya kahit alam kong confidential na iyon. Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit iyon ang naging binungad niya sa akin na hindi ko inaasahan. Nabalot kami ng katahimikan hanggang sa muli siyang magtanong na ikinamilog ng mga mata ko. "Virgin or not?" My mouth opened a bit 'coz of his inappropriate question.

Aurora Hemsworth's life is doomed when she's forced to marry the Alpha of Knight Bloodline to protect the royal werewolf bloodlines from the attack of the new creatures that dwell at night. But she'll die rather than give up her freedom to some dominating Alpha she never met before. So she has one choice left- SpellMoon Academy. An academy for witches and werewolves to learn and become the best of their capabilities. And the winner of the Annual competition becomes the leader of the academy, getting their army to defeat any powerful entity in the world. Yet fate takes a sharp turn when she finds out that the man she was running away from studies in the same academy. Will she be able to steer clear of her biggest fear to win the competition and save the fate of the bloodlines? Or will she fall for it? "When I heard about the marriage proposal, I was sure to not fall in this marriage trap. But after meeting you, I'm not so sure anymore."

*The children of Gaia is the first book in the series Thirteen tribes, forming from the intro book Hybrid.* Rainn is the daughter of alpha Edgar and luna Gabriella of tribe Arcane, they are the royal descended bloodline of and therefor reign over an ancient and powerful tribe of werewolves called the children of Gaia. Rainn and Kai have been best friends since they were born, how could they not be when they share a birthday and he’s the youngest son of the beta. Their eighteenth birthdays are coming up and both of them can’t wait to finally be able to give themselves to one another, becoming mates for life. But things take a drastic turn when both Rainn and Kai discover that they are not fated mates, instead Rainn comes to the shocking discovery that she’s fated to Kai’s older brother, Beau. This sends her life in complete turmoil as she begins to wrestle with emotions building inside for Beau and her loyalty to her best friend, Kai. This won’t end well, someone’s going to get hurt. But as future Luna and queen of Gaia, Rainn’s position will demand that one of the brother’s stand by her side as alpha, except which one?

When profiler Ava Cross returns to her father’s secluded hometown after his sudden death, she expects grief and old ghosts — not a series of brutal killings and a predator with glowing gold eyes watching her window. Drawn into the secrets of Silverpine, Ava discovers a hidden world of shapeshifters bound by a centuries-old pact now crumbling under a blood-moon prophecy. Everyone wants something from her: Rowan, the deputy who swore to protect her; Elias, the alpha who claims she belongs to the pack; and Silas, the rogue who warns she’s in danger from them all. Torn between loyalty and survival, Ava must uncover the truth about her heritage and make an impossible choice—before the next full moon rises and the hunt begins.

You had met the woman of your dreams and fell in love. You eloped. But when you both returned to take your rightful place among the clan, your dream turned into a neverending nightmare. Your souls became destined to always say goodbye, but what happens when those shadows that you once feared become your comfort? Can a love be reborn in the shadows of goodbye? Edward, a light Fae prince, had met Ara and fell in love. His father ripped that love from him and killed her. He sought his revenge and summoned The Darkness and became The Beast. He became a dark demonic Fae and got his vengeance but the price he paid made him have to accept human sacrifices. One such sacrifice, Bella, caught both Edward and his Beast’s attention. He took her to the Fae realm and made her his servant. His Beast becomes so drawn to her that he claims her and instills her with his magic. It binds their souls but it also does something else. It triggers visions of Edward’s life before he was The Beast. Ara begins to manifest more and more causing Edward and his Beast to war with themselves. Does Ara have a plan? Will Edward submerge himself and ultimately lose himself to the shadows of goodbye?

‘I, Aurora, take you..um…um..What's.. your name, please?” Aurora asked with a trembling voice. Her words struck in her throat as she forgot her soon-to-be Husband's name. She met Rylan's cold, calculated gaze.  Aurora knew she had to think fast and escape this nightmare in disguise of a marriage.   “He is Rylan Blackwood, your husband.” His assistant whispers to her while Rylan keeps silent, without taking his eyes off her.  ……………….. “Witness to a Murder and turned out to be the Bride of the Killer. Aurora is the adopted daughter of the Grey family who knows nothing about her past or even present. Her forced marriage turns deadly as she recalls the face of the murderer, who turned out to be her supposed Husband. Aurora concocts a desperate plan, to escape the marriage not knowing she was betrothed to him at birth. She falls into a deceitful marriage filled with calculations and lies. Rylan Blackwood- her now husband,  the mute grandson and heir to the Blackwood family.  He is known to be weak and a deaf and dumb. A man who can't win his mother and is controlled by her fingertips. Can Aurora find her past self? What if this Marriage of Deceit holds the real key to unlock her forgotten past?

Aria lived her whole life believing she was just an orphan, unwanted, forgotten, and painfully human. But the night she was dragged into the forest and bitten by the Alpha, everything changed. Shadows followed her, Dreams hunted her, Wolves bowed to her. What awakened inside her was not just a wolf… but four. Moon Wolf, Blood Wolf, Mind Wolf, Shadow Wolf. Each one powerful enough to rule a pack together powerful enough to destroy kingdoms. As her new abilities grow wild and uncontrollable, Aria discovers the truth buried in the darkness, she is the child prophesied to either end the world… or save it. A vessel created long ago, carrying a shadow planted inside her at birth, one that can swallow nations or reshape destiny. Hunted by enemies she has never seen, feared by wolves who sense the storm rising within her, and drawn to the Alpha whose bite awakened her fate, Aria must choose who she will become, The monster the world fears or the weapon it desperately needs. But power this great comes with a cost. And the shadows inside her are growing hungry.

Aluna grew up in a pack that never truly wanted her. Feared since childhood for a strange gift she could not control, she was branded cursed and treated as an omen of misfortune. Still, she clung to the hope that one day she would belong. That hope shattered on her sixteenth birthday. While others awakened their wolves and found their destined mates, Aluna was left with nothing. No wolf. No bond. In front of the entire pack, Wilson, the Alpha’s son, revealed she was his mate—only to reject her publicly and choose her sister, Grace, as his future Luna. The humiliation stripped her of the last shred of safety she had. From that moment, cruelty became her daily reality. Starved, overworked, and degraded by both pack and family, Aluna endured a life designed to break her. What none of them realized was that every act of suffering was awakening something ancient within her. Her power was not a curse. It was dormant. A hidden prophecy spoke of a coming Blood Moon that would threaten all supernatural beings. Only the child of the Moon Goddess could stop it. Aluna’s parents knew this truth—and believed her pain was preparation. When she is later traded in a political exchange to a ruthless Alpha, Aluna begins to lose all hope of survival. Everything changes when Dalton, the son of the King of Wolves, arrives. Cursed with uncontrollable bloodlust during every full moon, Dalton had long abandoned his search for salvation. Until he meets Aluna. As fate draws them together, Aluna must choose whether to save a world that never showed her mercy—or finally choose herself.