Bear Skin Flashing

Buried deep in the Aster estate was the Heartwood—ancient, sacred, mine. Told my husband, Julian Aster—back when he actually listened—that if it ever fell, I'd die with it. At first, he freaked out. Flew in glacier water, hired a whole squad of plant experts to nurture it 24/7. Then one day, just because his childhood friend—Isabella Duvall—got a scratch from the bark, Julian had the Heartwood ripped out. The second it crashed, I choked on glowing blood—ichor. My power? Gone. Barely standing, I grabbed his arm. "You knew. If the Heartwood dies, I—" He laughed. Straight-up mocked me. "Sera, come on. That fairy tale? Only Grandma still believes that crap. Is that mayo on your mouth? Relax—it's a tree. I'll buy you a forest if you want." Overnight, my hair turned gray. Skin cracked. Eyes dulled. Still, I dragged myself to his grandmother, Henrietta. "I kept your family safe for two hundred years. That's why the Asters thrived. But the Heartwood's gone. Debt's paid. One day left. Whatever happens next? Not my problem."

My son was kidnapped by rogue wolves during training. Ethan used all his connections as Beta to finally locate him in an abandoned hunting lodge. When I burst through the door, Tyler was already lying on the ground. His chest was a bloody mess, his heart ripped out completely. I chased after the rogue wolves like a mad she-wolf, desperate to retrieve his heart, but I was too late. Unable to bear the devastation, I collapsed and fell from the cliff edge. Ethan carried me to the pack healer's den, his face deathly pale. Before the healing ritual began, he gripped my hand tightly, his voice trembling: "Serena, you can't give up. Our son is already gone. I can't lose you too..." But when I regained consciousness, I found an anonymous text message on my phone. I opened it and heard a recording. "Beta Gray, you have already found another heart donors. Why specifically choose young Tyler? He's so young, and he's your son..." "He was just a tool to save Lucas. I raised him all these years—taking one heart isn't too much to ask, is it?" "Besides, the pack healer said a blood relative's heart has the smallest chance of rejection. Lucas is mine and Vivian's life. I can't bear to see him suffer even a little." My entire body shook violently. I could barely hold the phone. The man who repeatedly claimed to love me was the murderer who killed my son for his illegitimate child with his mistress. The marriage I thought was happy was nothing but an elaborate deception.

In my previous life, my Alpha mate hated me for ten years because his childhood sweetheart committed suicide by taking silver poison after he marked me. I worked tirelessly to fulfill my duties as his Luna, enduring his indifference with patience. But all he ever did was sneer coldly at me. "How I wish it had been you who died instead." The words pierced my heart like silver claws. But when the rogue wolves invaded our territory, he still threw himself in front of me to take the killing blow. As he lay dying in my arms, he used what little strength remained to push away my hand that was trying to comfort him. "Sage," he whispered, "if only I had never met you in this lifetime..." At his funeral, the pack elders wept uncontrollably. "Alpha Kieran, this is all our fault. We never should have forced you to bond with your fated mate. If we had honored your wishes and let you bind with Elena instead, would today's outcome have been different?" Even the Alpha King, who had once supported our union, no longer stood by me. Nearly every pack member blamed me. "The Alpha saved you three times. He was such a good man. Why did you always bring him nothing but disaster? Why wasn't it you who died instead?" Everyone regretted that Kieran had bonded with me. Even I regretted it. Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, I ended my own life before the Moon Goddess's statue with the silver dagger Kieran had given me. But the Moon Goddess granted me another chance, sending me back to before Kieran and I were bonded. This time, I decided to fulfill Kieran's wishes, give up my status as his fated mate, and leave completely to make everyone happy.

Cheryl Jacqueline Alejandro, her life is full of perfection. A charming, beautiful face, seductive body goals, rich parents who always give everything, also a handsome fiancé who loves her so much. Carlos never left her, never had an affair, and was attracted to other women. Carlos just stares at her, never turns to anyone. However, Carlos' loyalty just made her feel curious with foreign gazes that watched her like a hungry lion. Rafael Frederich Wagner, a man she knows as her sister-in-law's ex-boyfriend. In a smoldering fire game, Cheryl finds herself on the run with Rafael from pursuing a foreign mob who is trying to catch him. In her heart, there was a big question mark about who was the man who was running holding her hand. Who is the man who looks so thirsty when staring at her body? Who is the man who dares to burn her skin with a hot seductive kiss? And then, Cheryl is in a tremendous vacillation between continuing her life with her fiancé or choosing another line with the new man in her life. The man who made her fall in love differently, faster, smoldering, and made her crave a foreign desire that surged in her body. Forbidden, but kept calling her to come closer, as if calling her name in a seductive voice. *** Should I fight the world for you? —Rafael Frederick Wagner— Should I fight the world with you? — Cheryl Jacqueline Alejandro—

Siobhan Williams has always been a smart woman, graduated early from high school and excelled in her college career. She went into the FBI at an early age and is one of the youngest agents in her Unit. Working in the crimes against children division of the BAU, the FBI is brought in when the number of kidnappings reaches an alarming number; 13 children over the course of two months. These kidnappings are occurring in her home state of California, where she hasn't gone back to her home and pack for almost a decade, but now she and her partner volunteer to head the investigation for these disappearances. Along with a few other agents—another wolf shifter, a bear shifter, a Fae, and a vampire—they head straight into a battle between the Gods and Goddesses. With enough on her plate, the last thing she needs is a mate hovering around her and getting into her business. Tiernan Hathaway has been Alpha of his pack for the last 9 years, and has yet to meet his mate though he remembers having a pull to the old Beta's second eldest daughter, Siobhan. It's been almost a decade since he had last seen her and she only ever calls her family, never coming home. This will change when children have begun to go missing at alarming rates, most of them being children of the supernatural community. He is in for a surprise when the FBI comes knocking on his door, about the missing children. A battle is brewing between the God and Goddess of the Underworld: Arawn and Scàthach. It's classic good vs evil with a twist of the dead, undead, and the living. Are the missing children a part of a greater, but evil plan in this war? Or is it just coincidence?

My name is Arabella. I sold 20 years of my life to become a vampire’s attendant after my father’s death in order to help my family. I should have been scared of blood and fangs, but instead, I long for my master's touches. What I didn't know was that my desire for him would bring me nothing but destruction. ***“You taste delicious.” He licks his lips, pulling me closer to him.The warmth of his skin against mine, and the soothing rhythm of his beating heart calms me a bit. I relax my shoulders and lie there with my head on his chest.“Ara, I'm your master and it’s my responsibility to keep you safe, but I failed today.”His words sound sincere, and I really wish I could believe him. But all vampires are monsters.He just happens to be the monster I wish I could trust.My Vampire Master: A Contract of Blood and Lust is created by Angeline Hartwood, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Not wanting to accept her Fate, Annabelle tried fleeing but was caught. Being abducted by werewolves wasn't what she had expected when going into the woods. While making efforts to escape, she found out that she wasn't just kidnapped by a mere human but the leader of the blue sea Pack, Alpha of werewolves. Rejecting and being Marked by an animal was what she never believed would happen. Wondering how she could be marked by her already rejected mate, she tried all she could in order to make him detest her and send her away, but instead of sending her back home he sent her to the Pack house where she started a new life with Emily the Beta's mate. But staying away from her mate after being marked has its problems, and was she ready to bear it? What happens when she tries getting away but ended up getting abducted again by another pack of werewolves who were the rivals of the blue sea pack.

Jane never believed her life would turn out the way it did but somehow it happened. When her mother became critically ill, she needed the money and he needed the child, so they came to an agreement. He would give her the money she wanted and she would bear him a child. It sounded simple but what happened when Jane starts to dream of a complete family for her child and is determined to make Markus fall for her. But all Markus wants is a child not a wife and definitely not love.

The man in front of Emanuele is handsome: ebony-dark skin, shaved hair, shining eyes and big defined muscles. There is one thing wrong, however: a WOMAN is supposed to be answering the door. The beginning of this confusion, however, is just the tip of the iceberg: a fiery romance is about to emerge between them, as well as the obstacles.

On the day I become Alpha Ethan Sadler's mate, he tells me, "Our mate bond is merely to honor the promise between our elders. You will be my Luna by name. You shall have everything in my name, except my love." For three years, I obediently played the role of his mate in name. Then, a socialite named Sophia Kirk hands me a check for two million dollars, urging me to leave Ethan. "Ethan said your mate bond exists only to repay the debts of the older generation. It's a necessary sacrifice. Now, he needs a real family and a mate who can bear his heir. You've wasted three years of his life. It's time to let go." It turns out Ethan already has a lover. It is indeed inappropriate for me to take the place of his Luna any longer. That night, I approach Ethan, who is going through some documents. "You once promised to give me anything I wanted. Does that promise still hold?" Ethan sets down the documents, removes his metal-rimmed glasses, and loosens his tie. His ashen eyes swirl with emotions, and an eager smile curves his lips. "Of course. Tell me what you want." I tighten my grip on the Bond-Breaking Agreement I am holding and place it before him. "I want you to sign this."