Barely Tolerable

Two years after her sister vanished without a trace, Sera Duvall is barely surviving emotionally and financially. But when a chance encounter leads her into the arms of Lucien Calder, the tech billionaire who was the last known person to see her sister, she makes a dangerous choice: infiltrate his world and expose the truth from within. Lucien is controlled, powerful, and hiding something behind every careful word. He offers her a deal: stay with him for one week, and he’ll give her what she wants. But the closer Sera gets to uncovering what happened, the more tangled she becomes in a web of secrets, emotional manipulation, and a slow-burning desire she didn’t see coming. And in a world where love is leverage and lies are currency, the truth may destroy them both.

Colter Giordano, my fiancé of six years, heir to the Giordano family, took a bullet for a dancer named Mia. He didn't take one for me. A bullet tore through my shoulder. Blood bloomed across my dress, hot and sticky. But my heart hurt worse. He asked if I was okay. Just once. Then he rushed Mia to the hospital, leaving me bleeding on the floor. The next day, Mia's picture popped up on my Instagram feed. There she was, in a luxury hospital suite. Colter was fussing over a scratch on her arm that was barely there. The caption was just two words: "My Hero." I liked the post. Then I made an encrypted call. "The Falcone family's offer," I said. "I'm taking it. Get me on a plane to Sicily. Three days."

"Didn't you ask me to marry you? I permit you to wed me," said the raven-haired woman with a straight, blank face. "...Pardon?" "Let's get married." "...Weren't you the one who repeatedly rejected my proposal last night?" "Can't a woman play hard to get?" The man's face twitched. He could barely keep up with her, "Look, once you—" "So, you won't marry me?" A strange glint passed through the man's amber orbs which disappeared quickly just as it came by. "Who's to say I won't?" — In which a commander of a special unit under the PSIA found himself in a contractual marriage with his strange and mysterious neighbor. Little did he know that she's one heck of a little assassin.

At Ryder Quinn’s kindergarten parent-child sports day, I expected my husband, Michael Quinn, to be away on a business trip. Instead, I found Michael on stage, dressed in a ballet tutu, dancing as one of the "little swans" in the fathers’ performance. I had barely taken a step forward when a little girl in a floral dress darted into his arms, calling out to him in the sweetest voice, "Daddy!" There they stood: Michael, his assistant, Janine Carter, and her daughter—all in matching family outfits. The moment our eyes met, Michael quickly pulled away from her, fumbling for an excuse. "Janine’s a single mom. It isn’t easy for her. I was just helping out." I smiled, cold and steady, and handed him the divorce papers. "Then, do me a favor too, Michael. Stop wasting my youth."

Aria Douglas, always liberal and explosive, finally found the fit of her shoes. She never believed that she could trust a man again until she realized that she was falling in love with that man. The one she met in a bar, the one with blonde hair that looked dyed-cropped, intense blue eyes, a hooked nose, and lips created by a bloody sex god. Samme got into her skin. And between her legs. She, who did not want to be with anyone, suddenly wanted to be with that man she barely knew. What had she seen in him? There were things she didn't understand about him and she wasn't sure she wanted to answer them either. The only thing that was absolutely clear to her was that she fell in love with a man who was a mystery and an enigma to her.

I was never supposed to be his bride, I was the mistake he couldn’t erase. Killian hated me for breathing and for simply existing. His eyes burned with anger every time they landed on me. There was so much hate and heat between us, I could barely breathe. Then there was Nolan, his brother. Quiet, but dangerous. He didn’t look at me like I was broken. He looked at me like he wanted to take everything I had—body and soul. I didn’t mean for this to happen. But guilt tastes a lot like desire when you’re starving for something real. And now I’m caught between two brothers…one who wants to hurt me, and one who already has. This isn’t just a love triangle. It’s a war. And I’m the weapon.

In that moment, our lips were only a breath's distance apart. Antonio's eyes held an unspeakable yearning. His gaze dropped to my lips, his intentions evident. My own desire mirrored his, creating a powerful magnetism. Just as he closed the distance, I placed my free hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Antonio," I murmured, my voice trembling, "We can't..." He froze in place, his warm breath caressing my lips. His eyes held my reflection in them, fluttered shut for a moment as he absorbed my words. I saw a flicker of pain, quickly masked by a stoic calm. He nodded slightly. "I understand," he replied, quietly. His voice was steady, betraying none of the emotions I knew must have been roiling beneath his suave facade. "You aren't going to ask me why?" I asked him, my voice barely a whisper. Antonio smiled, a sad, understanding smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm not," he said slowly, "because I understand that you have a valid reason for your actions." "Antonio," I swallowed hard, my voice unsteady, "I...I am getting married tomorrow, to Alpha Boris." His eyes widened slightly, the shock of my revelation clear. "You are the future Luna…" he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wilhelmina Growler is a force to be reckoned with, a fierce and dominant female werewolf. Her unyielding determination to become the alpha of her pack, the Gravemaw Hounds. However, her aspirations are cut short when shortly after becoming the Beta, Alpha Boris Gravemaw demotes her and forces her as his Luna. The night of the highly anticipated Moon Goddess' Ball, Wilhelmina's world is turned upside down when she discovers that Antonio Lothian, the Lycan Prince, is her destined mate.

“Lucien has exhausted my patience,” I said. The wolves flinched backward and a tremor ran through the silverfang forces. “You have ten seconds.” I took a breath. “Nine” *** Betrayed on the very night of her wedding, framed for the murder of the Alpha King, and executed alongside a stranger she barely knew, Princess Mia Esbond expected the story to end in blood. Instead, she woke up at the banquet the night before it all happened. This time, she’s not here to survive, she’s here to burn everything down. Allies will turn into enemies. Enemies will become weapons. And in the heart of it all stands Orion Vale, the infuriating, dangerous heir who might just be the only one she can trust… if she doesn’t kill him first. *** “You wanna know what I've become,” I asked, driving my blade through his neck. “Alpha-Killer should be appropriate.”

Sara is used to being hated, ever since birth. Being the illegitimate step-daughter of the alpha of her pack, her life was the most mierable. She dreams of escaping the abusive household, however that becomes impossible when she is thrusted into a forced marriage barely eight months away from finding her true mate. But life as a wife of an alpha took an unexpected turn, especially when her husband turns out to be a loving one. Unexpected emotions bloom between them and they find solace in each other, healing each other's shattered pieces and deepest wounds. But just as she starts to believe in the possibility of finding long lasting happiness, fate throws an unexpected reality in her face that might shatter everything she's built. Will Sara choose to follow her heart and choose a love that mended the broken pieces of her life or succumb to what fate has chosen for her?

Timothy Regio was happy to be married well to one Spanish baroness when he met her on his trip to Lacul Rosu, Romania. He met his wife there and instantly got married. He thinks it was love at first sight but Tim barely scratches the surface. Isabella Eleanora Rodriguez, the 15th Baroness of Andalucia, Spain has one month to find a husband or everything will go to her bloodsucking uncle from Romania on her father's side. Unable to see that her inheritance whisked away, Isabella married the first man that she saw in a bar at Lacul Rosu, Romania. Her new husband, Tim, did not know about her true identity. What happened when one day, Tim came home and found out that his wife, Isabella was doing something unimaginable? Would he run away or face the music of getting inside a moment that was vulnerable for blue blood?