Barely Synonym

Tyler never wanted an Alpha, especially not someone like Landon Hayes. At Ridgecrest Academy, Landon is at the top of the food chain—dominant, arrogant, and used to getting everything he wants. But Tyler isn’t like the other Omegas who fall at his feet. Defiant and independent, he’s determined to finish his year and leave without ever being claimed. Landon has other plans. The moment Tyler caught Landon’s eye, it was game over. Tyler’s quiet defiance and refusal to submit ignite something in Landon he can’t ignore. For the first time, Landon is chasing someone who doesn’t want to be caught. At Ridgecrest, the rules are simple: the strongest Alpha gets what he wants. And Landon Hayes wants Tyler. *** “You—” he starts to say, but his voice catches. I see his pupils dilate, his lips parting as he tries to push back against what’s happening. I let the red flash in my eyes, just for a second, enough to show him who’s in control here. It’s not about scaring him—it’s about reminding him of the natural order of things. The way this has always been meant to go. “Submit,” I growl. He whines. It’s quiet, barely audible, but I hear it. His body betrays him for just a second, his knees wobbling as his head lowers, shoulders hunching in instinctual submission. His eyes flick away, and I can see it—the brief moment where his will cracks. And god, it’s intoxicating. That split second of submission is all I need to know that he’s mine. He might fight it, but his body knows. His scent tells me everything I need to know. It’s only a matter of time before he breaks completely, before he’s begging for it.

I was sold as sex slave by my parents! My mom broke down in tears at this point as she shook her head as she murmured while sobbing. "I'm sorry, my dear... I'm sorry." Her expression looked as if she was truly guilty of me, but her backward steps betrayed her. I shuddered uncontrollably as I watched this unfold before me, desperately shaking my head as I struggled to deny it all. "No, no… I don't want this…" I looked at those men who were looking at me with excitement, as they had already removed their clothes. When I tried to move my thin body and escape from what they were trying to do, the two of them held both of my arms and my legs, trying to stop me from moving, as one of them was already on top of me. One of them sneered as he looked at me with arrogance. "Alpha King has other sex slaves anyway, so there's no harm in us enjoying this bitch first!" Tears broke out of my eyes as I begged them to stop what they were doing. "Stop… no… please don't…" Despite my hoarse voice and I could barely even speak, I pleaded for mercy. I plead that they won't do what they were planning to do. I am saving myself for my future mate. I… I hate this… But what the hell am I supposed to do!

Artemisia's dream of marrying the man she loved shattered into a million fragments when her parents auctioned her off to a wealthy stranger she barely knew. She met the stranger at the altar and realised he was the same man she had met two years ago. After the wedding, Artemisia realized there was more to her new husband than he was letting on, and she decided to unravel the mystery even though it almost cost her life in the process. Sinclair Stone, the Alpha of Blue moon pack was about to ascend the throne. But before that, he needed a Luna by his side. He got to know his new wife wasn't the regular human he thought her to be. Instead, she was a gift made specially for him by the moon goddess.

Because my father's childhood sweetheart's daughter was accidentally burned, my father was angry and locked me in the fire house where werewolf criminals were punished. The Beta of the pack, my father, looked at me with disgust written all over his face: "I don't have such a cruel daughter. You'll stay here and reflect on what you've done." I begged loudly for mercy, admitted my mistake, pleading for him to let me out. All I got in return was his merciless command. "Unless she's dead, no one is to release her." The fire house stood isolated at the edge of the territory. No matter how much I screamed for help, no one could hear me. He assigned the housekeeper to set the room to spray fire every 2 hours. The burns were excruciating, my werewolf healing barely keeping me alive between sessions. Ten days later, he finally remembered he had a daughter and decided to let me out. But what he didn't know was that I had already died in that fire house, never to wake again.

“You think I want this?” she hisses. “You think I asked for this bond? I hate you. I hate everything about you. You killed my husband. You took everything from me!” “Then kill me,” I growl, my voice barely more than a whisper. “If you hate me so much, kill me and end this.” She shakes her head, her eyes narrowing. “I’m not giving you the easy way out. Not until I know what rejecting this bond will do to me and my pack. Not until I know what we’re dealing with. Until then, I invoke The Gallows Law.” *** Luna Katya's world is shattered when her husband, Alpha Andrei, is killed by the ruthless Rogue Alpha Ruslan. Grieving and pregnant, Katya is ready to see the man responsible for her loss executed. But when Ruslan is brought before her, the mate bond snaps into place, throwing her life into chaos. Shocked and horrified, Katya calls for a stay of execution, invoking an old law known as The Gallows Law, which forbids the execution of a fated mate. Now, Katya must not only face the anger of her pack, who are disgusted by her sudden connection to the man they all hate, but a mate who hates her and who she hates in equal measure. Caught in a web of anger and attraction, Katya must decide whether to reject the bond and risk its unknown consequences, or keep the Rogue alive long enough to figure out what the Goddess has cursed her with. But the clock is ticking, and the pack won’t wait forever for justice.

Izzy, Kate, and Susanna are on their way to their very first, and very possibly last, Hunt. During The Hunt, for three weeks in June, unmated shifters converge on Castle Rouge where a week of opening games and festivities sends them into barely contained frenzy of excitement. The five-day hunt gives every omega a chance to run or hide from their mates if they dare try to last five days unclaimed. Izzy can barely contain her excitement now that her Hunt is finally here but when tragedy strikes, she finds herself desperate to evade capture. The girls will find that the hunt is far from ordinary, and secrets from years past threaten to destroy the bonds they hold most dear.

She lied on the snow cover ground in front of me. Shivering and barely alive. I stared at her, curious of this simple little life before me. Her scent was all I could smell, which is how I found her. From the moment I had laid eyes on her in the lodge back at the ski resort, I knew that I had to have her. I shifted and quickly picked her up holding her close to my warm body and quickly made my way to the cabin near by. Matto had never found someone that intrigued him as much as she did. He still was unsure why, but all he knew was that it pained him to be away from her. Now holding her so close as she clung to life he found himself afrai the snow cover ground in front of me. Shivering and barely alive. I stared at her, curious of this simple little life before me. Her scent was all I could smell, which is how I found her. From the moment I had laid eyes on her in the lodge back at the ski resort, I knew that I had to have her. I shifted and quickly picked her up holding her close to my warm body and quickly made my way to the cabin near by.

He looked at me, his piercing eyes cold and sharp. “What do you want?” he asked, his tone irritated. “Cat got your tongue?” Fear gripped me, but I couldn’t back down. Not when proving my love was on the line. My hands trembled, but I managed to speak. “Hunter Steele...” I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “Will you... will you marry me?” His brows furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly. “What?” ANYA BLAKE ____________________________________ I can’t remember the last time I willingly let a woman get so close. To me, they were a necessary evil....useful when needed, and avoided afterward. But when a young woman, trembling yet determined, stepped in front of me and asked the most ridiculous question I’d ever been asked, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years: a spark. And when I kissed her, it awakened something in me—a feeling I hadn’t known existed. Her innocence intrigued me and I wanted to be the one to claim her, to mold her......to make her mine. HUNTER STEELE

Ava thought that everyone in the world was just like another. Only caring about their interests. But when she was about to die alone on the streets, the man sitting in front of her had appeared like a guardian angel. His gentleness and concern had made her death not so painful and her life not so pathetic. Through him, she had felt that world could be a beautiful place. And now that she had been given another chance at life, the first thing she did was to find him. She looked at the man that she only knew of his name said through gritted teeth, “Sir, I know that we barely know each other, but as fate has it, I have to marry you!” Leo looked at the little woman sitting opposite him and smiled, “Well, if you were a man, I would say that you definitely have some extra balls. But since you are such a beautiful lady, I would just have to reluctantly agree.” Ava blushed when she heard the man. She never knew that she would one day ask a man to marry her. She said with the sweetest smile,“But before that, I have some personal business to take care of. I hope you don’t mind that I am almost a divorcee.” “Your past has nothing to do with me. Once you become mine, there will be no room for regret even if you want to.”

Giovana signed a marriage contract with a man she barely knew, out of gratitude to Nicholas, the man who saved her from her mother's evils. Even living next to a cold and overbearing man, Giovana learned to love Antony. But his life changes completely, when two days after the sudden death of Nicholas, Giovana receives the news that his younger sister is hospitalized in serious condition, and that he needs a blood transfusion. When Antony stops her from helping her sister, forcing her to go sign the divorce, condemning Gina to death. For Giovana there is no more reason to stay married to Antony, even loving him, she knows that she cannot forgive him for all the harm he caused him during those three long years and that cost the life of his own sister. But Antony, realizing the injustice he has committed, will not accept losing it easily. He wants to win her back and will do anything to have Giovana's love again.