Ash X Shauna

Elena had once believed that silence could mean safety. That a gentle hand and a warm cup of tea placed quietly on her desk every morning could be a form of love. Lucien was never cruel—not in the obvious ways. He remembered how she liked her eggs, noticed when she swapped her perfume, and sent flowers on days he knew she wouldn’t expect them. He raised her like one would raise a pet—softly, without question. And Elena, foolish in the way only the very lonely can be, mistook his quiet affection for devotion. She told herself he was reserved. Mysterious. That love didn’t always wear its heart on its sleeve. But when the old flame returned—the one who spoke his language without needing to try—Elena saw it. The difference. He looked at her like a man who had found his lost religion. And Elena? She had simply been convenient. No tears, no scene. Just papers on the breakfast table, beside the eggs he cooked perfectly. She didn’t accuse or beg. She only asked for freedom. He didn’t sign. He chuckled. A soft, dismissive sound. “A cat raised indoors doesn’t know how to survive on the street, Elena. You’ll come back." But she didn’t. She disappeared, like smoke—except she didn’t vanish, not really. She lived. She wore colour again. Laughed at bad jokes. Let strange men hand her coffee and ask for her number. Lucien? He watched. He watched her become someone without him. And it drove him mad. The night he cornered her outside the gallery, rain in his hair and desperation in his eyes, he looked like a man undone. "Elena," he breathed, "please. Look at me. Just once." She did. Calm as ever, and her love already gone.

Claire Sanchez will apply as Zekiel Gray's secretary for two reasons.** First, she wants to reclaim her late mother's company, and second, she hopes to see one of her twin sons. Back then, she had no choice but to leave the eldest boy at Zekiel's gate, as raising twins was too difficult, and since the child looked exactly like him—except for the eyes, which he inherited from her—Zekiel took him in and raised him. The twins were the result of a night they never expected—a one-night stand. What will happen when Zekiel finds out that his secretary is the woman he’s been searching for all this time? Especially since he’s certain that the mother of his son, Zayn, is the same woman he was with five years ago?

In my first life, today was the day everything began to unravel. My husband Zach and Sienna were in his office, saying how he never wanted to marry me. How he only needed a baby to get bone marrow from. I was only a baby incubator for him. And that was the start of the end. This time, awakens in the past, armed with the awful truth of every betrayal, I won’t stand outside the door. I won’t listen at all. This time I call the shots. This time I turn the tables and turn their lives upside down. And I can’t wait. ‘Stupid enough to get pregnant’ We’ll see who’s stupid now.

I am a vampire, and that is the truth. But the modern meaning of the word vampire, the stories that have been told about creatures such as I, are not precisely true. I do not turn to ash in the sun, nor do I cringe when I see a crucifix. I wear a tiny gold cross now around my neck, but only because I like it. I cannot command a pack of wolves to attack or fly through the air. Nor can I make another of my kind simply by having him drink my blood. Wolves do like me, though, as do most predators, and I can jump so high that one might imagine I can fly. As to blood--ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty.

Two decades earlier, the realms of the Four Courts waged war against the covens of witches. Neither side would yield, though both were bleeding themselves dry in a war that spanned five brutal years. The Courts relied on their noble bloodlines, the witches on their wild and ancient spells. Each skirmish ended in ash, with neither enemy capable of breaking the other. Then a sorcerer from the Courts revealed a weapon: an octagonal crystal forged from eight different stones, each carved from the essence of a court. On the battlefield, before witches or nobles could comprehend what was happening, the crystal ignited. A blinding eruption of light burst forth, eight rays fusing into one unbearable brilliance. It was not merely sight that was torn away in that flash — but power, essence, and soul. Both Courts and witches alike fell, drained of the magic that had defined them. When the light faded, the battlefield lay silent under a sky of glittering dust. The enchantments were gone. The witches’ spellcraft, the courts’ line-born sorcery — extinguished forever. Neither side had won. Both had lost. And magic never returned.

Autumn Ivanka is a Rogue who was recently kicked out of her Pack for a crime. She goes in search of a new life at the famous New Falls University and life seemed to go well for her. But just one accidental meeting with the infamous Ash Luxton, the king of the mafia city turned her life into a dangerous roller coaster. Not only had she attracted the undying desire of Ash Luxton, but she had managed to pull the obsession of other top dogs of the city. She was the hot cake but what happens to Autumn when she discovers there were more to the men she had forbidden relationships with?

Isadora didn’t want to come to Ashwyck Academy. It wasn’t the haunting towers or the iron gates that unnerved her. It wasn’t the students—dark, beautiful, terrifying things cloaked in magic and menace. It was what it meant. Coming here was a last resort. A whispered admission from her parents that something was wrong with her. That despite being born of a temptress and a mind-bending killer, despite all the bloodlines and rituals and whispered prophecies—Isadora was still painfully, tragically human. She was quiet, clever, and careful. Not powerful. Not wicked. Not like the others. Her parents called it “late blooming.” The High Table called it “defective.” But no one said it out loud. Instead, they tucked her into Ashwyck like a final gamble and hoped the academy could awaken whatever dark inheritance slumbered beneath her skin. She hadn’t wanted to come. She still doesn’t belong. But Ashwyck has its own secrets. And Isadora is about to discover that the parts of her she’s most afraid of are the ones they’ve been waiting for.

Ash Ramero is a girl growing up on the streets of urban America. Coming from an abusive and neglectful family that lives on the brink of poverty gave her very few options for potential. Throughout her life she has dealt with homelessness, abuse, rape, addiction, pregnancy, and many of the other issues that make life unbearable for poor urban females. Will she break the cycle or is she doomed to repeat the patterns that destroy girls like her?

When Aria Thorn returns to her pack after a year in exile, she expects nothing but whispers of shame and Damien Blackthorn’s cold rejection still haunting her. Instead, she steps into a battlefield of power and betrayal. The once-proud Shadowfang pack now belongs to Alpha Riven Cade—a ruthless warrior who rebuilt it from ruin, feared for his iron control and merciless command. Damien, her former lover and childhood friend, has risen to power as a cunning strategist. His ambition burns brighter than ever—claim the Alpha seat, claim the pack, and claim Aria as his Luna, no matter the cost. But destiny has other plans. On the night of Aria’s return, under the blazing eyes of the Moonlight Ceremony, she is branded with a mate bond before the entire pack. Not with Damien. With Riven. What begins as survival spirals into a war of love and power. Riven demands her loyalty but offers no warmth, every clash between them simmering with fury and forbidden desire. Damien manipulates allies, whispering poison into ears until the pack itself begins to fracture. And as betrayal seeps through the ranks, Aria’s buried Shadowfang bloodline awakens—its power tied to a prophecy that could unite the Alphas or destroy them all. Her grandmother’s dying visions warn her: one Alpha she loves must die. Allies vanish. Missions are sabotaged. Blood spills beneath the full moon. Caught between her cold, fated Alpha and her dangerous ex-lover, Aria must choose: save her people beside Riven—or surrender to vengeance and risk becoming the storm that ends them all. Every heartbeat brings her closer to the truth: love is war, destiny is betrayal, and her Shadowfang bloodline is both her greatest weapon—and her deadliest curse.

For so long, Favilla has wanted only one thing: to kill her Sire. However, on the eve of her success, she learns that she was only ever a chess piece in a game being played out by the most powerful vampires in the city. Her loved ones have betrayed her, and the one who was her greatest enemy wants to save her with his dying breath. She dies for her mistakes, but the goddess is merciful. She is granted a second chance. Only, why is nothing the way she remembers it? Will she become a player this time around, or will she remain a pawn? Most importantly, can she make him understand that she loves him back? * Favilla (f., n., 1st dec.) - glowing ash, cinder, ember Dies iræ, dies illa, / Solvet sæclum in favilla * 'Everything is ready, then?' he says, a little sad. I feel bad about it. 'It's not too late to back out, you know. He doesn't suspect anything yet.' 'No,' he says, 'I'll still do it. I'll kill him. For you, my love.' * 'I'm scared,' I say. 'Don't be,' he says. 'You won't have to do anything but stand aside and watch.' * His arms are around me, and he's murmuring to me, 'Oh, you stupid, stupid girl.' Only, it doesn't sound like him at all. It sounds cold, detached. Cruel. * Finally, the pieces start snapping into place—he's betrayed me.