Awkward Silence

Somewhere between staying silent and screaming for help… she existed. Seventeen-year-old Maren has mastered the art of disappearing in plain sight. Haunted by past trauma, locked in a toxic relationship she can't escape, and drowning under the pressure of school and a world that never cared to understand her, she begins to wonder if life is even worth staying for. No one sees her pain—until he does. The new boy, Kade, has his own shadows. He’s blunt, observant, and completely unafraid to call her out—making him an instant enemy. But when he overhears a moment no one was meant to witness, he realizes the truth: the girl everyone overlooks is barely holding on. As Kade steps deeper into her shattered world, their connection becomes a lifeline. But secrets run deeper than he imagined, and when Maren goes missing, no one believes she’s worth finding—except him. Fighting time, silence, and the lies that built her cage, Kade refuses to give up. Because sometimes, saving someone means proving they were never invisible at all. A heartbreaking, haunting, and ultimately hopeful story about survival, truth, and what it really means to be seen.

She chased a rich man for revenge. She collided with a mafia king instead. Ophelia Barclay has spent her entire life playing by the rules of a family that never wanted her. Now, after a humiliating betrayal by her fiancé and stepsister days before her wedding, she’s done playing nice. Revenge is the only thing on her mind, and she knows exactly how she’ll get it: find a rich, powerful man who can elevate her beyond the Barclays’ reach, and leave them choking on the dust of her success. First-class flights become her hunting ground. But when she meets Ludwig Gallo, a man whose presence steals the very air from her lungs, her plans unravel before they even begin. He's everything she’s been looking for: dangerous, devastatingly handsome, and so wealthy it hurts to breathe near him. The problem? He doesn’t even glance her way. Humiliated and desperate, Ophelia thinks she’s lost everything… until fate throws her right into Ludwig’s world. Tracking a lost necklace, her most treasured possession, she finds herself sneaking into the heavily guarded Gallo estate, only to be captured by the mafia king himself. Mistaken for a spy, imprisoned in enemy territory, Ophelia’s survival instincts kick in. When Ludwig proposes a deal to pretend to be his girlfriend to silence rumours that have driven his mother into depression, Ophelia sees an opportunity. She’ll play the doting lover, smile for the cameras, win the favour of one of the most feared families in the underworld… and use Ludwig's wealth and power to destroy everyone who wronged her. But Ophelia didn’t plan on Ludwig being more than just a cold-blooded king. Beneath his ruthless exterior, she finds a man haunted by a violent past.

The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Kourtney paced in front of him, her heels clicking against the dusty floor of the abandoned villa. The contract lay untouched on the table, just inches from Travis’s restrained hands. Her plan had been reckless, but it was all she had left. “I didn’t want to do this,” she murmured, voice shaking. “But you gave me no choice.” Travis tilted his head. “You think tying me to a chair will change how I feel?” “No. But it changes what you’re allowed to do,” she said, forcing a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. He didn’t flinch. “What happens after the wedding, Kourtney? When your father finds out? When Kim finds out?” She looked away. “Then it’ll be too late. I’ll have what’s mine.” “Money?” he asked. “Or revenge?” That struck something in her. Kourtney turned to him, face darkening. “You chose her. You loved her. But what about me, Travis? You never even gave me a chance.” “You think forcing me into marriage will give you love?” “No,” she whispered. “But it’ll give me power.” Travis met her eyes. No fear. Just sadness. “This isn’t you,” he said softly. “You don’t know me anymore,” she replied, backing away. “Sign the contract, Travis. Or I swear, I’ll make sure you never walk free again.” Travis looked down at the paper, then back at her. “You’ll lose yourself in this, Kourtney.” She swallowed hard. “Then maybe losing myself is the only way I survive.”

Raine Ashford was born into legacy...trained from birth to become the perfect Beta for the Night Thorn Pack’s future Alpha, Jason. She was taught to be strong, but never stronger than him. To lead, but only in his shadow. To serve, not shine. But on her eighteenth birthday, everything changed. When the mate bond snapped into place, it wasn't joy she felt...it was humiliation. Jason, the very Alpha she was molded for, rejected her in front of the entire academy. Her wolf, Raven, shattered in the silence that followed, retreating deep within her. Returning to the academy broken but determined, Raine finds herself caught in another unexpected moment...a desperate kiss to save face… with none other than Alpha Drake, the academy's golden boy. Powerful. Untouchable. Dangerous. And now, completely obsessed. He wasn’t supposed to care. But he does. And he’s not letting her go. What happens when the girl built to stand behind the wrong Alpha finds the strength to stand beside the right one?

My mouth inched away from his, and we panted for air. “This feels wrong,” I whispered and looked away. I darted my tongue out to lick my lips, my body still pressed against his legs. He held my chin, and I turned my head to look back at him. “Good pleasures never feel right,” he said, as he settled me onto the bed, his body hovering over mine. He lifted my legs and wrapped them against his hips as he claimed the whole of me. Winter Cooper, a young budding journalist, thought her boyfriend was going to propose during their long-awaited vacation holiday in the private cabin they had booked. But when she caught him in bed with her sister, her dreams of getting married that year were shattered. Determined not to let the heartbreak ruin her final long gotten vacation holiday, Winter decided to retreat to the luxurious private cabin alone. However, upon her arrival, she met an unexpected guest: Gavril Hawthorne, her billionaire ex-boyfriend’s father. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to stay together. What started as an awkward encounter soon blossomed into an unexpected romance.

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.

“We didn’t say a word before we both crashed into each other’s arms and started making out. I jumped on him, and he grabbed me. We barely made it to the bed before we started tearing each other apart. It was wild. It was intense. And I didn’t want it to end. For about twenty minutes, he did things to me that had me screaming until my voice gave out, and I passed out. The next time I opened my eyes, it was morning. I was sober again... but I had no idea what a naked stranger was doing in my bed!” Viola Sterling is a billionaire heiress whose life suddenly takes a hit when her family goes bankrupt. She becomes homeless, and as if that isn't enough, she catches her boyfriend cheating the very same day. Heartbroken and drunk, she tries to numb the pain… only to wake up the next morning with a naked stranger in her bed. Turns out, he’s a billionaire who couldn’t afford a scandal. He arrogantly pays her for her silence and disappears, leaving her embarrassed. She thinks that’s the end of it until she turns up at her new guardian’s house and gets the shock of her life. The naked stranger? He’s their son. They vow to remain strangers. But when Viola discovers she’s pregnant, everything changes. To protect their families' reputations, they agree to marry. To their families, it’s an arranged marriage. To them, it’s a contract, strictly business. And it comes with just a rule… Never to fall in love!

When traumatized and desperate Calla Moreno accepts a job as a live-in maid at a billionaire’s secluded mansion, she expects silence, routine, and a safe place to hide. What she finds is Ronan Vexley—cold, dominant, and hiding darker secrets than she ever imagined. As twisted affections grow between them, and his charming but dangerous brother Dominic begins circling her like prey, Calla is pulled into a web of lies, obsession, and deadly truths. Trapped in a house that watches her, haunted by her past, and caught between two powerful men, Calla must decide who to trust—before the mansion buries her secrets too.

Detective Casie Blackwood thought she'd left her supernatural past behind when she joined the police force ten years ago, fleeing the shame of public mate rejection and family abandonment. Now, ritualistic murders are forcing her back into a world she desperately wanted to forget. Three human victims have been discovered with surgical precision wounds and ancient symbols carved into their palms—markings that point to forbidden blood magic from before the supernatural communities established peaceful coexistence. When Casie finds a note written in the old pack language reading "The Hunt Begins," she realizes someone is deliberately targeting humans to harvest their primal fear, threatening to expose the entire supernatural world. Partnered with Detective Rick O'Connor, who remains unaware of her true nature, Casie must navigate the investigation while concealing her enhanced senses and knowledge of the supernatural. The wounds aren't from blades—they're fang marks. The positioning isn't random—it's ritualistic. And the killer's scent carries a terror that suggests they're being hunted by something even more dangerous. Forced to break ten years of silence, Casie contacts her estranged brother Elias, learning the symbols are ancient binding marks used to channel supernatural energy across factional boundaries. The killer needs seven sacrifices total to complete a ritual that will shatter the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds. With three victims already claimed and only four days until the next lunar cycle, time is running out. As federal agents circle and media attention intensifies, Casie must choose between maintaining her carefully constructed human life and embracing the supernatural heritage she rejected. The investigation isn't just about stopping a killer—it's about preventing an all-out war that could destroy both worlds she's sworn to protect.

Katherine Willow gave up everything for love — her dreams, her family, even her freedom. But when betrayal cuts deeper than any wound, she realizes the man she sacrificed it all for only ever saw her as a convenience. Cast aside for another woman carrying the child she couldn’t give him, Katherine finds herself alone, humiliated, and broken. Yet from the ashes of heartbreak, she rises stronger, determined to reclaim her life. A fierce divorce, a fiery encounter with a stranger, and the first step back into a world she thought she had lost — Katherine’s journey is only just beginning. In a world that tried to silence her, Katherine is about to roar.