Bones Chapter 4

MARKED is book #4 in a new paranormal romance series by bestselling author Bella Lore, whose series MY TRUE MATE and THE ALPHA’S MATE have over 500 five-star reviews. “I couldn’t stop reading.” --Amazon review (My True Mate) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ When her father suddenly dies, Winter Grace, 17, is forced to fly across the country and attend a mysterious prep school, an ancient castle in a fog-covered island on the coast of Maine. Nothing here is what it seems, and it isn’t long before Winter, feeling a surging power for the first time, realizes that she is not who—or what—she thinks she is. But when Winter feels an inexplicable crush for an elusive and dangerous boy at the school, she realizes a greater destiny is at play. She knows the relationship might destroy them both—yet she also knows that they can never be apart. In MARKED, it is time for Winter to return on the epic quest back to save her school—but first, it is time for her to now sacrifice it all, and find—and save—her lost love. Creating an unforgettable world of vampires, werewolves, shifters and magic of all sorts, a world of fantasy, love and sacrifice, MORTAL will take you to another place, rife with shocking twists and turns. Fans of books such as Vampire Academy and Twilight and Crush are sure to fall in love! Future books in the series are also available. "The story was very well written and was unique as compared to other shifter stories.” --Amazon review (The Alpha’s Mate) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Excellent from start to finish and leaves you wanting more.” --Amazon review (My True Mate) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Life has a way of turning its back on those who give it their all. Aria was once a woman full of dreams, love, and hope. She didn’t know she was married to a nightmare, not the fairytale she’d imagined. When she wed Elliot—the struggling Alpha of the Crimson Claw Pack—there were no vows under the Moon Goddess, no celebration, only sacrifice. She brought a generous dowry and poured every ounce of herself into lifting his pack out of ruin. In four years, she transformed their fate, turning a forgotten territory into the third-strongest in the Federation. But power breeds greed. And love… it was never truly hers. Discarded, framed, and betrayed by the very man she uplifted, Aria walks away from it all with nothing but her dignity barely intact. Broken, but not defeated, she seeks quiet in the lavish shadows of a famous hotel, ready to drown her heartbreak in aged cognac. That’s when she meets him—a mysterious stranger with a commanding presence and eyes that seem to see through her pain. Their connection is immediate, intoxicating, and forbidden. But just as she allows herself to feel again, fate interrupts with a cruel reminder: her fight isn’t over yet. With her past clawing its way back and her heart torn between survival and surrender, Aria leaves the man who stirred something inside her and begins a new chapter in her life. She is no longer the naive girl who sacrificed herself for others. She’s taking control, rewriting her story with every breath. Will she risk her heart again for a man she barely knows, or will she rise from the ashes of betrayal to become something far greater? This time, Aria isn’t just surviving. She’s reclaiming her destiny.

She thinks he’s a monster. He thinks she’s fate. And she ran. But what if the real danger was yet to be unleashed? Trigger Warning: This book contains morally gray werewolves, aggressive mate bonds, and a love interest who doesn’t understand the concept of personal space. Forced intimacy? Physical, magical, boy on girl, girl on girl... Dubious consent? Why stop at the MMC? If you like your romance with a side of "this is probably a red flag," proceed with caution (and maybe a glass of wine). A fantasy adventure steeped in dark romance, where a haunted warrior may be the submissive heroine’s greatest protector—or her ruin. She ran from him once, but fate, magic, and desire dragged her back. He destroyed her life, and now, with the future of the world at stake, he can’t trust himself not to destroy her again. CHAPTER PREVIEW: Lyra swallowed hard, her throat dry, but the words escaped her lips before she could stop them. “I’m a reject,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “The man who was supposed to be my mate chose my sister instead.” His palms slammed the wall beside her head as his roar blew the hair out of her face. Lyra flinched, recoiling. His growl deepened, reverberating through the small space. “Whoever rejected you is irrelevant,” he snarled, his voice dripping with finality. “You. Belong. To me.”

The rivalry between the vampires and the werewolves was long overdue. This all started when Hailey Lockwood, the only heir to the Moonshade clan, had an encounter with the only bloodsucker, Jace Liester. At the ages of 4 and 5, both got into a fight, leading both sides to retaliate to save their children, but this was all saved by witches. A treaty was made, and all sides went to rest on their own side. The children grew to be the most intelligent and strong supernatural beings and the war was long over. But the vampire queen had other plans. She could not forget what the Moonshade Clan’s only heir did to her son. A scar right across his cheek made his gaze weaker. Althea Liester waits till the time is right and sends her son to a boarding school for supernatural beings, where, surprisingly, Hailey Lockwood is studying, too. Taking advantage, Althea guides Jace to cause her pain and torture and finally bring her son justice. Does Jace get everything in him to do what his mother wants? Will Jace be able to suppress his feelings and break Hailey’s heart? Leaving her at her worst and making sure she doesn’t ‘feel’ what Love is? Or will he do the exact opposite of what his mother’s asking him to do?

Vienna Carter’s life is a living hell and her home is Earth’s chapter of Tartarus. But when her husband goes on a month-long business trip, she seizes the opportunity to know something other than her world of pain. She joins the passengers on Queen Odette, a cruise ship that promises her the best month of her life. As she takes in the elegance of the ship and is pampered by their first-class services, she starts to believe that the promise will be fulfilled. But her hopes of a perfect vacation are thrown overboard when she finds out the man staying in the suite next to hers is none other than the love of her life,Ex-boyfriend and reason for all her suffering. Only a psychopath would choose to be hunched over a desk, working for hours on end over the deckchairs of a luxurious cruise ship, watching the sunset on the Atlantic Horizon. Hans Griffin is that psychopath. He craves his office’s cold glass walls and despises his luxurious suite aboard Queen Odette and is beginning to despise his best friend for convincing him to do this. Work helped him forget his demons but this ship is made to tear down the walls he spent the last two years rebuilding and after meeting the woman staying in the suite next to his, he fears those walls might be reduced to nothing but piles of rubble before the month is over. How will Hans endure one month with just a wall separating him and the woman who scarred him? How will Vienna keep her distance from the one man she’s forbidden to be with when she’s stuck on this cruise with him? But most importantly, what secrets will be revealed before the thirty days are over?

I'm severely allergic to many things, so my husband buys a separate villa for me. It's supposed to be sort of a nursing home. When my future daughter-in-law learns about this, she thinks my son is cheating on her. She breaks my bones to vent her anger. When she finds out I'm her future mother-in-law, she caresses her belly and looks at me smugly. "I'm already pregnant with Shawn's child. Think about whether you want this child to make it into this world." What she doesn't know is that the Ziegler family's fortune belongs to me and that Shawn Ziegler is only my adoptive son.

The place his lips touched burned, "Your brother is in the other room," I told him, hoping (not) that he would let go. Walker planted soft kisses on my cheek and the corner of my lips, "We're in the bathroom. He can't hear us," he responded. I groaned, "Are you drunk? Or have you been playing this whole time?" I asked because he seemed very sober. Walker chuckled, "You won't believe how drunk I am right now. And I'm not hearing a no," he said and his hand moved up to my chest. Destiny and Walker had been married for five years and were given a second chance at love after a rough patch in their relationship when Destiny discovered she was pregnant. Walker is overjoyed and vows to keep her and their unborn child safe this time around. As they navigate this new chapter, they must confront their unresolved emotions and fears. Will they be able to rekindle their love and build a stronger, healthier relationship? Or will the weight of their past mistakes, along with external forces, tear them apart once more? Join them on their journey of separation and reunion.

*Excerpt* “You don't understand, Xavier," I take a step back, “Brandon will find me. He always does. And when he finds me this time, he'll kill you. As much as I want to be free of him, this isn't the way.” “I'll protect you–” “You're not listening to me. I'm not worried about me. If he catches us, he'll just punish me but he won't kill me. I'm too important to him. But you…” My throat closes up as I turn to leave, but Xavier grabs me by the elbow as I push back the door. I turn to look at him, my heart aching for us. There's a cold indifference in his eyes though, and for the first time ever, I'm scared of what he's capable of. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way, Audrey. All I know is that I'm not leaving you here.” *** Audrey Watson has been scared of dreaming about a better life, because as the saying goes, dreams are for losers. But Xavier came to the scene as her knight, albeit one with rude behavior. This was it, her better life. Or so she thought. Little did she know that this was basically a new chapter of hard decisions and regrets. They always say that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade out of them. But what if life gives you bitter kola instead? How do you go about making it into something sweet? Find out more about Audrey and Xavier's journey in this captivating novel.

“You're a long way from safe, Miss Allard,” he whispers, his fingers tracing the strap of my bra until I shiver. "If you want to turn around, I’d suggest you do so now.” I stare up at him, watching as his dilated grey eyes dip to my cleavage. “Where will I go, Mr. Sinclair?” I ask, pulling him closer until our lips are inches apart. “Where can I go that you won’t find me?” **** 24 year old Ava Jade Allard has a few problems, but like most issues, there’s nothing a little money can't fix. So when Ava attends an art show to sell a few of her paintings to some of the richest, high-society members of New York, she’s sure she can kill two birds with one very rich stone. In and out, just like she hoped. But New York seems set on eating Ava whole, and as one mess leads to another, she finds herself in the arms of Billionaire Leonel Sinclair, a ruthless CEO who is still dealing with the consequences of a scandal he was entangled in 4 years ago. Now more desperate than when she started, Ava reluctantly turns to this stone-cold, terrifying, but somehow insanely hot Billionaire to help her set right what was wronged 4 years ago, while somehow doing the same for him, and with one contract marriage, Ava signs away her single status, anonymity and possibly her soul. Will this contract fix the manytraumatic wrongs of her past, or will Ava crumble under the weight of her grey-eyed, stoic CEO, whom she seems less and less able to keep her body and heart away from with each passing day? What happens when Ava agrees to these reckless vows and emerges as the Billionaire’s Bride?

🔥 WARNING: SLOW BURN and RICH IN NARRATIVE 🔥 Ashley and Josh were in a political marriage. At first, Ashley went along with it because she had liked Josh since childhood. But for Josh, it was a different story. He was head over heels for his girlfriend, Sharon. Josh was always cold to her and openly prioritized Sharon over everything else. It felt like torture for Ashley, and it seemed like it was only her who was dealing with it. Even worse, when they moved to Los Angeles, Sharon was brought along. Ashley desperately wanted to get out of the hell that Josh had built for her, but she was hindered by the agreement she had made with her family. There would be fatal consequences she might face if she divorced Josh. The only option she had was to have Josh be the one to file for divorce instead. So she did everything she could to make Josh, who was usually apathetic, turn to hating her. With help from Mark, CEO of Ashley's workplace and Josh's rival company, Ashley intensifies her efforts to carry out her plans to escape Josh. But at the same time, unexpectedly, she begins to experience a series of horrors that threaten her life. Ashley suspects that Josh is the mastermind behind all of this and urges herself to be more cautious in her actions. "My husband, Josh Lim, is the only person who will benefit from my death.” Surprisingly, Josh and—especially—Sharon are not spared as the target of terror, which makes Josh and Ashley strongly suspicious of each other. Their secret investigations lead to the revelation of dark secrets between their families. _________ × The beginning focus heavily on Josh and Sharon. × Josh and Ashley’s relationship will begin intensely from Chapter 50.