Black Water Joyce Carol Oates

Julian Hayes has spent his life carrying the weight of a family that never wanted him. When his father’s reckless debt delivers him into the hands of Adrian DeCarlo — the city’s most feared mafia king — Julian vows to escape, even if it means betraying the devil himself. Risking everything, Julian flees to reunite with the woman he loves. But freedom is short-lived. Adrian tracks him down, threatening her life if Julian doesn’t return. Forced back into captivity, Julian’s world shatters when his girlfriend is found dead the next day. Grief turns to rage. Convinced Adrian’s cruelty has stolen everything, Julian swears vengeance. When a rival mafia offers him the chance to strike back, he seizes it without hesitation. Yet every moment in Adrian’s world feeds his hatred as much as it ignites something far more dangerous. Because hatred was supposed to keep him alive, not make him crave the very man he vowed to destroy.

Melody has been waiting for her 18th birthday for 8 long years, since losing her parents in the rogue wars. She couldn't wait to get her wolf, find her fated mate and not feel alone in the world and her pack anymore. When the day finally comes and a misunderstanding causes her mate to reject her, she flees the pack and builds herself a new life far away, only to be brought face to face with the mate who rejected her at a biannual tournament they are both competing in. Melody can't get over the hurt of rejection and considers a chosen mate to try to help ease her wolfs suffering, and finds herself in a love triangle that she isnt even sure she wants any part of. The pull of the mate bond is hard to resist, and her wolf and her body push her towards her fated mate, but her mind and her need to protect her heart pull her towards the safe and dependable option. Both men use the tournament as a way to try to best eachother and prove their worth, fighting for the highest place on the leaderboard. Love rivalries and unexpected allies only make matters worse for Melody as she has to contend with one of her highschool bullies and a sarcastic, underhanded beta who thrives on the drama her life has become. Meanwhile two Alphas pulling the strings behind the scenes put Melody in an unexpected life threatening situation and she knows the only person she has ever truly been able to rely on is herself. What she doesnt expect is for the moon goddess to intervene and change her fate, but is her new destiny any better than what she ran from in the first place?

Anna was raised in the foster care system after her parents, Alpha Eric and Luna Sarah, were killed when she was just 4 years old. It isn't until she's a teenager that she learns her true identity, an heiress.

They say I trapped Adrian Cole. That I drugged him. Seduced him. Forced him into a marriage to save my failing family. They’re half right. I did marry him. I am carrying his name. But the trap? That was never mine. For 365 days, I’ve lived with a husband who despises me. Who looks at me with nothing but contempt. Who whispers sweet words to another woman while I’m pregnant with his child. I’ve survived his cruelty. His mother’s disdain. His lover’s mockery. I’ve survived everything except the truth—that I’m in love with a man who will never believe I’m innocent. Now he wants a divorce. And I’m ready to give it to him. But Adrian Cole doesn’t know what he wants. One moment he’s throwing me away. The next, he’s protecting me from the very people who destroyed us both. I can’t speak. But my silence is about to say everything.

She married her childhood crush for money. Falling for him again wasn’t part of the deal. When Adele’s mother is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she’s left with one impossible option: marry the man she once loved in secret—or watch her world fall apart. Julian Hawthorne, a cold billionaire with everything to lose, offers her a deal: two years of marriage, no strings attached, in exchange for enough money to save her family—and keep his manipulative ex-wife at bay while securing his dream business deal. To him, it’s just business. To her, it’s heartbreak waiting to happen. But fake vows can’t hide real feelings. And when old wounds reopen and boundaries blur, Adele is no longer the quiet girl he used to ignore—she’s the woman who might just destroy his control. Because in a game of power, secrets, and desire... The heart never sticks to the rules.

Elara Moonwyn once believed love could soften even the most feared alpha alive. She was wrong. When Alpha Darius Blackmoor accused her of betrayal, Elara had no chance to defend herself. The Blackmoor pack chose power over truth, and the man she loved turned cold and cruel. With her heart shattered and her trust destroyed, Elara fled the pack in silence—carrying a secret that could have changed everything. She was carrying Darius’s child. Years pass. Elara builds a quiet life far from pack politics, raising her daughter, Mira, in secrecy. But Mira is not an ordinary child. Her wolf power begins to awaken—wild, rare, and impossible to hide. When her abilities draw the attention of the Blackmoor pack, Elara’s past comes crashing back. Darius Blackmoor is no longer the same alpha he once was. Hardened by regret and haunted by mistakes he cannot undo, he is forced to face a truth that shatters his world: he has a daughter. An heir he never knew. A child born from the mate he wronged. As enemies close in and pack leaders demand control over Mira, Elara must decide whether she can trust the alpha who broke her. And Darius must prove—through actions, not words—that he is no longer the ruthless ruler of before, but a father and mate willing to kneel, fight, and bleed for his family. Because redemption is not claimed by strength alone. It is earned through love, sacrifice… and forgiveness.

Serena gave everything to the man she loved—her trust, her devotion, her future. But betrayal shattered it all. Pregnant and full of hope, she walked in on her husband tangled in bed with another woman. What followed was worse: the slow, agonizing loss of her baby… and then her own life, bleeding out on an operating table, heartbroken and alone. But fate wasn’t finished with her. Reborn with every memory intact, Serena wakes in the past—stronger, colder, and no longer naive. This time, she’s ready to rewrite her story. This time, she’ll make them pay. Because the girl they destroyed… came back for revenge. And maybe, just maybe, she’ll find something worth living for too.

Ivy Rosalia Jones, a young and beautiful doctor working at a suburban hospital, is determined to marry a man she met through a blind date, even though he is paralyzed. Originally, the marriage was meant to be symbolic, with both of them intending not to interfere in each other's affairs after the wedding. However, Ivy never expected that she would end up marrying the most influential man in the world. Shawn Dyxon Tate, Ivy's husband, has no intention of letting his beautiful wife go. Once she entered his life, he made a decision to spoil her and gave her the world she never had.

They ruined her face. Stole her child. Now she's back-and nothing will stop her. Five years ago, Raina Carrington lost everything: her beauty, her family, and her newborn baby. Now she's returned-unrecognizable, unbreakable, and with one goal in mind: to find her son and make them pay. But revenge is never simple, especially when it draws the attention of Leif Vexley-the most powerful and dangerous man in the city-who just might hold the key to her child's past. Yet she's not the victim anymore. She's the storm-and she's ready to strike.

Olivia’s best friend Sandra turned against her, spoke ill about her to her husband, convinced him that she caused her fall that resulted in her miscarriage, stole from him and that she has been stealing from him for months. Also, that Olivia has been secretly taking prevention pills because she didn’t want to have a child with Nick. She convinced him that Olivia was still in love with her high school sweetheart, Marcus. In his anger, Nick sent his wife to prison and moved on with his wife’s best friend, Sandra. Will their relationship last, was Olivia going to get her revenge and her husband back?