Bittersweet Memories Catharina Maura

Liam closed the door behind and walked closer, step by step, striking fear in the girl. Nora backed away, her body hitting the icy wall. He stared at her, his deep cello voice resounding in the room.“Nora Shahan, have you forgotten what I told you three years ago? Don't provoke me. But time and time again you kept testing my patience.” He picked up her jaw harshly and continued. “Tell me, how should I punish you?” Nora met his eyes, which were filled with a coldness, making her hair stand on end. This was the real Liam, cold and heartless. She was foolish to think he had changed for the better. A pang of bitterness welled up in her heart and she closed her eyes, letting the memories from the past flood into her mind.-Three years ago, Liam had warned her to never appear in front of him and Nora had been well behaved, staying as far as away from him. Whenever he'd go north, she'd go south. Even when they were in the same class, she'd stay at the opposite end. But fate played a cruel joke on her when she got locked down at his place. He assumed it was one of her tricks to climb into his bed. But she was certain she has fallen into an elaborate trap. With his family using despicable means to destroy everyone around him, can Liam successfully get her out of that hell house? How will Nora survive living under the same roof with the person who's been nothing but a nightmare all her life while learning his darkest secrets that would entangle them together and bring their entire world crashing down with it?

WARNING: This book is rated 18+ and will contain explicit sexual contents. He's off-limits. But tonight, I'm done pretending. Bell thinks I'm his sweet little girlfriend. But it's his stepdad who sees the real me— wet, needy, and aching to be ruined. One look. One whisper. One filthy promise. And just like that… I'm on the kitchen counter, legs wide, moaning "Daddy." This isn't just sex This is sin And it feels so damn good to be a sinner. Welcome to the diary of a sinner—where shame is foreplay and obedience tastes like lust. Where pleasure is punishment—and sin feels holy. This is a collection of raw, filthy, indulgent one-shots where no desire is too dark to explore, no boundary too sacred to cross. Each story is a confessional soaked in pleasure, punishment, and the bittersweet afterglow of release. And you’re going to love every one of them, especially if you're looking for a book filled with wild sexual fantasies. Join the ride, if you can control the heat.

Memories would flow back. Spells would be casted. The dead would be resurrected. A war would ensue. And a change in the atmosphere... the wicked ones became good and the good ones became wicked. The Chosen Twelve were destined to protect the mages of Ataraxia from formidable black creatures, in accordance to the prophecy of the Phoenix Empress. They were the Celestial Zodiacs, the most powerful twelve beings. They were the keepers of peace and order. The chosen ones who will soon retrieve Ataraxia from its ashes.

Before the wedding, Alpha Kevin’s first love, Sandra Barlow, was betrothed to none other than David Wright—the most infamous rogue Alpha along the Mississippi River. A wolf so ruthless, even the werewolf Council preferred to pretend he didn’t exist. Alpha Kevin, ever the noble hero, couldn't bear to see his precious white moonlight thrown into the fire pit. So, what did he do? With the werewolf army of the Midnight Ridge Pack, he stormed into the rogue den and snatched her away from Alpha David. That very night, they registered their marriage and held a wedding. And me? Oh, the entire Midnight Ridge Pack was practically at the thought of watching Gamma Diana Gilbert—the strongest female warrior in the pack—get humiliated. After all, my years of loyalty, my unmatched skills, my blood spilled for this pack? Worthless. Why? Because their beloved Alpha had chosen another. I braced myself for the whispers, the pitying glances. But then— The very next day, Alpha David, the same rogue who’d been so cruelly robbed of his mate, climbed onto my villa’s security wall like a damn cat burglar. He perched there, arms crossed, watching me with an infuriatingly lazy smirk. “Wife pays for her husband’s debt,” he drawled, his voice carrying the rough edge of a wolf who lived lawless and free. “Alpha Kevin stole my mate. So I figured—you should compensate me by becoming my rogue Luna.” He grinned, canines flashing. “ That’s fair, isn’t it?” I nodded. “Fair.”

I was always different from my brothers; always more sensitive and perceptive. I never knew if this was a gift from the Goddess or not, but my brother, Alpha Kai, used my sixth sense to his advantage and that's what helped raise our pack to infamy. But in the end, it would be that sixth sense which led to my demise - dead before I could even face my mate and his betrayal. My soft heart led to my death, and my trusting nature helped the enemy get ahead with their plans. So here I am, sifting through my memories in the Other and watching my family as they continue to live their lives without me. All the while wishing I could be there with them. **** This is a companion novel to the Bratva Wolves Novels and is not a standalone. Do not read this book if you have not read The Bratva Wolves Collection first.

After my stepsister, Jennifer Nichols, died in a tragic accident, Julian Asher hated me for ten whole years. He was the youngest star attorney in Vaxton Bay. He was always calm and composed, yet he never once hid his disgust toward me. I gave up everything for him: my education, my family, my friends, even the inheritance I was meant to receive. I stayed by his side through the grueling bar exam and the brutal early days of his career. But all he ever said was, "Miley, if you really want to please me, go ahead and die." The only woman he ever loved in this lifetime was my stepsister. And I realized that far too late. It wasn't until a fire broke out unexpectedly in the courthouse archives and I was trapped upstairs that something changed. Julian ran in to save me. The blaze devoured everything in its path. In the end, he shoved me out of the rubble. The collapsing steel beams crashed down on him. Blood spilled everywhere. Outside the operating room, I fell to my knees, begging the heavens to let him live. Before he died, he left me one final message with the doctor. "Miley, I hope we never meet again in the next life." At his funeral, his mother slapped me hard across the face—again and again. "You're a cursed wretch. Killing Jennifer wasn't enough for you; now you've killed my son too. I never should've agreed to let Julian marry you." His father dragged me to my knees by my hair, forcing me to kneel. "This is all my fault. I was too soft-hearted. Julian saved you three times, and all you ever brought him was misery!" Everyone believed I was the reason Julian died. And deep down, I believed it too. In the end, I slit my wrists and took my own life—only to awaken back in university, at the very moment we was supposed to get engaged. This time, I made a choice. I would not chase after him again. I would step aside and let him be with the one he loved most—my stepsister, Jennifer.

Beta Max and I were at the Civil Affairs Bureau, ready to register our marriage. We were just waiting to take the final photo when he got a phone call and left. He abandoned me right there at the marriage registration office, leaving me stuck in an impossible situation. I called him—no answer. I messaged him—no reply. In the end, I had no choice but to call his childhood sweetheart’s number. Beta Max answered. “Louis, can you stop being so annoying? Grace twisted her ankle—I need to take care of her today. Stop calling and waking her up. We’ll reschedule the registration.” I bit my lip and murmured into the phone, “This makes it the seventh time we’ve rescheduled.” “So what? The Civil Affairs Bureau isn’t going anywhere—it’s not like it’s going to disappear!” My face was blank, but it felt like my heart was being carved open. A staff member looked at me with pity and asked, “Alpha Louis, are we still doing this?” I gave a small nod. “Yes. Let’s go through with it.”

'If I did anything right in my life, it was when I gave my heart to you, my love. I swear I couldn't love you more than I do right now, yet I know I will tomorrow.' For Audrey, ‘Seymour House’ is not only a house. It’s her most precious legacy. All her memories are there, still living inside those four walls. So, she needs to do everything in her power to save it. Even if it means going against a ruthless businessman like James Mayer. James came to England with one thing in his mind: avenge his father. He has a score to settle with the Seymour family. James is determined to see this matter all the way through, starting with getting his hands on ‘Seymour House’. After one meeting with Audrey Seymour, James decides he will have the house and everything in it… including the gorgeous lady of the house. Against her better judgment, Audrey is attracted to James’s powerful sensuality. He is so tempting… Still, she is saving herself for her wedding night, and the American tycoon is definitely not the marrying kind! But there’s one thing she doesn’t know about him… whatever James Mayer wants, he usually gets.

The day before the final round of Beta selection, I was poisoned with wolfsbane and locked inside my burning house. The fire spread too fast, and my weakened state prevented me from shifting. My wolf, Emma, screamed in my mind, but I couldn't escape. I clawed at the door as the flames seared my skin. When I was rescued, my body was covered in burns, my skin raw and torn. Outside the operating room, I heard my mother sobbing, repeating, “It’s my fault... I locked the door by accident... I never meant to...” Alpha David, my mate, called for every healer to restore me, but his cold words to my mother were chilling: “If Serina wasn’t so vain and selfish, I wouldn’t have had to do this. Becky was fragile, struggling with depression, yet Serina flaunted her success in front of her. This is what Serina owes her.” David’s actions were meant to pave the way for Becky to become Beta, but I was the one who suffered. He claimed to be treating me well, but destroying my health and future didn’t feel like care. I pressed my hand to my bandaged chest, the numbness spreading. Emma growled inside me, weakened by the wolfsbane. I no longer wanted the love of the mother who betrayed me or the mate who was supposed to protect me. I wanted nothing from them anymore.

I was married to one of the world’s richest men—Zayne Ford— yet no one knew I existed. To the world, he was a charming billionaire. To me, he was the man who once promised love… then buried me in silence. For five years, I lived as his secret wife, convincing myself that love was enough. That it didn’t matter if no one knew my name, as long as he still looked at me the way he once did. But when his childhood sweetheart returned from abroad, I finally saw the truth. The only thing holding our marriage together was a legal document—cold, lifeless, and easily replaced. So I disguised my divorce papers as a school form and watched him sign them without even glancing up. That careless signature ended our marriage— and freed me. Now, as I start a new life in another country, I carry more than my independence. I carry his child. When Zayne discovers what he’s lost—his wife and his heir— he’ll do anything to find me. But the woman he once ignored no longer exists. He taught me how to break. Now he’ll learn what it means to lose me.