Black Water Joyce Carol Oates

At 3:00 p.m., Rose Jenkins, the new hire who had barely been here a few days, suddenly tagged me in the company group chat with a few hundred people in it. [Hi, can you stop hammering your keyboard? The noise is making my stomach hurt! The baby I'm carrying is sleeping. If you shake it into a concussion, I swear I'll make your whole family pay for it!] I rushed to explain. I was racing to finish a proposal that was due soon, and I was using a silent keyboard. But she wouldn't believe me, no matter what I said. I kept my patience and explained it over and over. To avoid any more trouble, I even asked if I could move out to the hallway to work. What I didn't expect was that a week later, she would storm into the break room with a kettle of freshly boiled water and dump it straight over my head. I collapsed in a pool of scalding water, my skin blistering and tearing open. She kept screaming as if she had lost her mind and smashed my head with her high heels, over and over. "It's all your fault! I lost the baby! Your keyboard noise shook my son to death!!" My vision blurred. By the time everything went black, I still couldn't understand how a silent keyboard could possibly kill someone. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she first went off on me in the group chat. This time, faced with the same insults, I didn't back down. I went straight into the chat and fired back. [Stop pretending you're pregnant. You've got more going on down there than your dad does!]

I was supposed to be a bride, not a prize. On my wedding day, the scent of expensive pine and pack law was replaced by the metallic tang of blood and ancient power. The man who dragged me into the darkness wasn't a stranger—he was the ghost who haunted my childhood. Silas. My former stepfather. "You’re shaking, little wolf," he growled, his voice a low vibration against my neck that made my skin ignite. "Is it fear, or is your heat finally waking up for its True Alpha?" Years ago, he was the man who walked out on my mother; now, he’s the Rogue King who’s come to reclaim the throne. But the twist isn't just the mate bond burning between us—it’s the realization that the boy I was supposed to marry is Silas’s long-lost son. The 'Step' was just a label; the 'Mate' is a blood-deep command. Silas isn't just taking back his pack—he's taking his Queen. "Your fiancé was a placeholder," he whispered, pinning me against the cold stone of his den. "Tonight, you learn why I’m the only one allowed to hear you scream." In this realm of wolves and war, I’m no longer a pawn. I’m the Luna of the Rogues, and the True Alpha has finally come home to claim his crown—and me.

I rented a house with a bloody history because it was cheap. On the first night after moving in, the faucet turned on by itself. I yelled into thin air, “Are you paying the water bill?!” The water instantly stopped flowing. I thought that was just the beginning of the ghost not bothering me. Unexpectedly, the next day, I saw a main course with two side dishes prepared on the dining table.

On the morning of the day my fiance, Anton Solomon, and I are scheduled to start our destination wedding trip, he finally rushes to the airport straight from the office. Just seconds before boarding, he receives an urgent message from his female secretary, Callie Lawrence. "I'm sorry, honey. A major project just came in, and I need to be there to approve it. "Could you go ahead and start the trip on your own? I'll join you as soon as I wrap things up in a few days." Despite feeling a twinge of regret, I understand that work comes first, so I offer him my full support. After he leaves, I tear up my boarding pass and turn around. I decide to return to the office and see for myself. I want to see which blind, brainless company is negotiating a major project with a company I acquired hours earlier at dawn, and how it has the nerve to bypass me, the current CEO. They have chosen to approach a man who is nothing but a CEO in name only.

She gave him everything, her love, her light, her life. Aurora healed Rowan’s broken soul, stood by him through darkness, and asked for nothing in return. But instead of love, she was met with hatred, indifference, and pain. Rowan’s heart belonged to Vivian, the woman who vanished without a trace, and he blamed Aurora, his fated mate, for her disappearance. His love for one blinded him to the truth of the other. Now Aurora is gone… and Rowan is left with nothing but guilt, madness, and the ghost of the woman who loved him more than life itself. Will he ever forgive himself, or is this his punishment for destroying his own destiny?

Sebastian Torres and Ryan McCall Growan were beyond best of friends in the past, they were practically seen as either brothers or lovers. All soon changed after Ryan's mysterious disappearance that lasted for six years with dust contact between him and Sebastian. Then he came back, and the first thing he does was steal the one thing he knew Sebastian has always wanted. Indirectly declared himself as his rival, and fretted a war between them. His motive however, held secrets. What secrets? Would Sebastian find out too late about these secrets before he hands Ryan's head out to him? Or... is the fine say about a thin line between love and hatred about to express itself in their story?

Serry thought that her romance would be the same as the other werewolf couples. However, she seemed to be slapped by reality because her Alpha hated her even rejecting her presence. Her struggle seemed to be in vain when the Alpha actually looked happy with another Omega. Her heart throbbed with pain to the point that it felt like she wanted to die. Did Serry give up on her destiny? Or is it even more painful when a big fact that Alpha keeps is revealed? Take a look at the love story of werewolves of different statuses who struggle in the bonding destiny outlined by the Moon Goddess.

Book 1 in Russo Series. Loud gun shots echoed all around in the huge mansion. Cold bodies lying unalive on the floor as we walked over those bodies to find her. "Damn! She really is a killing machine." I heard Lorenzo's voice ringing in my ear through the earpiece. He is right. She is a killing machine. The amount of dead bodies we crossed and the way blood is splattered on the floor like water proves it. "Nic behind you!" Shawn warned me in urgency and I turned behind to look at the same girl I fell in love with, heading towards me, blood painting her face. --- Nicolas Russo, is the leader of the black market auction. He owns half of the Italy and people quiver in their boots at the mention of his name. But, a swirling storm, with a name Zyra Lavender stole something very precious to him. It was the audacity of her later on, to go and live right in his mansion with him. She overestimated herself when she thought that she can go on after messing with a man like him. Nicolas does not do forgiveness. He chases, catches, kills and cleans. Now, we have to see, how far can Zyra run? Thank You For Reading.

There's so much one can endure before they finally break. That's what happened to Kiara. Accused of causing Vivian to lose the future heir of Stone Howl pack, her father bears the brunt. Alpha Hunter, Her mate, kills him before her very own eyes. Her best friend is murdered brutally and the crime pinned on her. Thrown to the dungeons and tortured, her wolf deserts her. When she is freed and banished, she attempts to take her life only to wake up on a rival pack. What's more unexpected is finding out that she has a second chance mate, Alpha Darius. To him, she is a spy he should be wary of despite his growing feelings. To Kiara, he is another heartless bastard she should stay away from. But when the Silverlight pack is endangered, only she can save them. Secrets are revealed.She is not an ordinary wolf, she is the last descendant of the Royal White Wolf and possesses a power that can burn to ashes or build. Will Kiara believe in a matebond again? A conspiracy is brooding and she must fight for her new family.

My sister and I were reborn on the very day we were to be sent to the Demons as sacrificial vessels. That day, our husbands, the God of Water and the God of Fire, came to rescue us. However, this time, without any discussion, we made the same choice. We refused their rescue and willingly offered ourselves to the Demons. In our previous life, after they saved us, the Demons captured the God of Water's young apprentice as a replacement. In the end, she was flayed and had her bones torn out, dying a brutal and tragic death. Because of that, the God of Water and the God of Fire came to hate my sister and me deeply. They spread rumors that we were the Twin Blossoms of Ruin, destined to destroy the world, and forced us to the point where our souls were completely annihilated. When I opened my eyes again, my sister and I had returned to the moment when the Demons first captured us. We exchanged a glance and then announced in front of everyone, "We are willing to become the sacrificial vessels of the Dark Lord and the Demon King. Take us with you." The God of Water and the God of Fire left with their young apprentice, who was completely unharmed. They were relieved that they had finally protected the one they truly cared about. Only later did they realize their mistake, but by then, they were consumed with regret.