Barely Synonym

Brandon Kane, The Gamma of The Southern Werewolves Pack, volunteers for a dangerous undercover mission to locate a long list of missing girls who are all rumored to be auctioned in the largest sex-trafficking business run by a vampire named Kennedy Strauss. Going in with no backup and very little reliable information, Brandon has to face the ugly reality of the underworld business. He has to make his way in and out without blowing his undercover and not putting the people he was sent to rescue at risk. Celeste Diamond is the underworld's renowned assassin known as the Blind Bandit, who works for diamonds. A highly skilled and incredibly sexy, the Blind Bandit is the elite bodyguard of Kennedy Strauss who barely leaves his side. While it seems she is driven by her duty to protect her employer, Celeste's true motive is far greater than her duty to the vampire businessman. She is blind, but it's not her inability to see that concerned him. She sees him coming.

Love is not part of why billionaire CEO, Kane Beaumont marries his virgin bride, Emilia Taylor. It was purely a contract deal to him and nothing more. Saving her family's business from the claws of evil loan sharks is Emilia's motive for marrying a man she barely knew. However, she doesn't count on being hopelessly attracted to him even when he treats her like a worthless peasant. Their relationship is chaotic, thanks to Kane's lover who is determined to ruin any opportunity of their romance ever blooming. Even if it means putting Emilia's life in danger, setting her up and turning the world against her. When sparks begin to fly between Kane and Emilia after an unfortunate accident, their relationship goes through a tough test that destroys the tiny flames of love burning between them. Will love eventually find a way in the end or will this marriage continue to be a high-stakes business deal with dangerous rewards?

My wife, Lilian Barton, loves me more than life itself. She has spent the past eight years working hard with me just so she can get pregnant with my child. Our son, Wesley Carson, needs immediate medical attention because of an asthma attack. On my way to the hospital, I accidentally crash into the wedding procession of a mafia leader. Wesley, who's barely a month old, is hurled to the ground, causing him to bleed everywhere. But that's when I see Lilian, who has an arm wrapped around the groom in the car. She tells a subordinate, "What bad luck! Not only is my wedding being interrupted, but there's also blood being spilled on my wedding day! Just kill that little bastard already!" Lilian outright ignores Wesley's cries of pain. Before she leaves, I hear her murmur, "Cover his mouth. That baby's cries are so annoying."

The wedding had barely started when the lights went out. Then came the moans—from the giant screen behind the altar. Hailey froze. Her skin went ghost-pale. Her whole body shook. A beat later, the doors slammed open. Leading the charge? Nolan. Cold eyes, sharp suit, and bodyguards in tow. He stormed the stage. The groom tried to stop him. Big mistake. Nolan's guys dropped him in seconds. Nolan grabbed a fistful of the groom's hair and yanked his head back. "Heh. I've slept with Hailey hundreds—maybe thousands—of times. Used condoms alone could fill your house. Wanna see the HD vids?" Hailey's eyes locked on Nolan, pure hate. She'd been his kept woman for eight years. He loathed her family. He loathed her. Swore she'd never know peace. Then she disappeared—and he lost his mind.

On Mom's death anniversary, drug dealers break into the cemetery and take me away. To get revenge on my brother, Zack Smith—a forensic pathologist—they torture me until there isn't even a single uninjured spot left on my body. I hold on for almost three days, barely surviving, until I finally get a chance to call him for help. However, Zack replied, "Why didn't they kill you for good? A jinx like you who killed your own mother shouldn't be allowed to live!" When the drug dealers notice my action, they shatter all of my bones. The next day, a janitor discovers several large bags of human remains in the trash can. Zack painstakingly reassembles my body back together with his own hands—yet he fails to recognize that it's me, his younger sister he always claims to hate. When the drug dealers are finally arrested, he descends into madness.

In Ironhaven, power belongs to the wolves and Alpha Kael Blackthorn rules them all with blood and fear. Feared by enemies and obeyed by his pack, Kael has spent years fighting the shadow of a deadly prophecy that promises the fall of the Blackthorn line. Then she walks into his territory. Hunted, broke, and hiding powers she barely understands, Ivy never meant to step into the den of the most dangerous Alpha alive. But the moment their eyes meet, something ancient awakens between them a bond neither of them can break. Her power burns like a storm. His wolf answers like thunder. The prophecy says the woman who carries fire in her veins will either save the Blackthorn pack… or destroy it completely. But while enemies close in and rogue wolves circle their territory, Kael and Ivy must learn to trust the very bond they both fear. Because if the prophecy is right, loving each other may be the only way to survive. And the fastest way to lose everything.

Elena Rossi is the invisible wife. By day, she’s a surgical assistant at the Caine-Vitale Medical Institute, working under the cold, clinical gaze of her husband, renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Tristan Caine. By night, she’s bound by a contract marriage designed to save his reputation—a loveless arrangement with one lethal rule: No children. Ever. While Tristan yearns for Elena’s manipulative stepsister, Elena harbors a shattering secret. A failed contraceptive has left her carrying Tristan’s twins. In his world of steel and perfection, these babies are a violation of the contract that could cost Elena everything—her home, her career, and her heart. As Elena prepares to choose her children over a man who barely sees her, a high-risk pregnancy and a shadow from her past force a final reckoning. Can a heart made of ice melt before he loses the family he never knew he wanted?

I left Seaport for Crellan, thinking I was about to marry Bryson. Instead, I got drugged and kidnapped on our engagement day. Barely conscious, I caught him talking to his assistant. "Doctor and kidnappers—handled?" Bryson said. "Get her kidney. Lily's out of time." The assistant wavered. "She's not in great shape. This could ruin her." That gave Bryson a flicker of guilt—but it vanished quick. "She's not fragile like Lily. She's a broke student. If her kidney didn't match, she wouldn't be living like this. That's worth it." His face stayed ice-cold. I clenched my fist so hard my nails dug in, blood pooling in my mouth. So that was true Bryson—a monster in disguise. He thought I wanted to sell my health for some empty marriage. Too bad I never wanted it.

Hadden's sister had merely choked on some water at the pool while she was swimming, and for that, he shoved me into the pool after tying me up. He left me with only a small hole for air that was barely an inch. He said I would have to pay double for every grievance Julia suffered. I never learned how to swim. There was nothing I could do but try my best to breathe as I sobbed and begged him to let me out. Yet all I received was a lecture. "You'll never learn if I don't teach you a lesson now." I struggled to stay afloat, but… It took five days before Hadden's anger dissipated and he put me out of my misery, but it was already too late. "I'll let you go this time, but you'd better not make the same mistake again!" I had already drowned to death.

There’s one rule in the Alpha’s house: do not touch the traitor’s daughter. Vanessa was supposed to die the night Alpha Alec took her father’s throne. Instead, loyal servants smuggled her into the palace under a false name, raising her in silence, training her for one purpose: kill the Alpha heir before he discovers who she is. But fate has its own plans. When Alec returns from war to claim his title, he barely notices the quiet maid scrubbing his floors—until the mate bond snaps into place. The pull is instant. Violent. Dangerous. Now Vanessa is torn between the revenge she was born for and the mate she never asked for. Alec swore never to be ruled by a woman again, especially not one with enemy blood. But her scent is wildfire, and the bond is unraveling his control. Choosing her could cost him his crown. Killing her might destroy his soul.