Bracing Myself Meaning

I spent six months and over $20,000 to plan a family vacation. However, when my mate’s childhood sweetheart Victoria heard about our trip, she begged to join us. Alexander didn't hesitate. He cancelled my spot in the protected convoy and gave it to her instead. He forced me to travel alone through deadly Shadow Pack territory - a thirty-six hour journey where three wolves had died last month. The whole family supported Alexander's decision without a thought for my safety. So I changed my travel plans. I headed north instead of south. I spent three months enjoying myself, ignoring their mindlink message. That's when the family started to panic...

“Tell me,” he said, low and dangerous. “Tell me who this cunt belongs to.” “You,” I panted, spreading wider, shameless. “It’s yours—please, Micaiah—” “Come on my cock,” he ordered through gritted teeth. “Show me how much you love being fucked by me.” ★⁠☆ Maliya comes home after two years abroad, hoping everything she ran from has finally cooled. But the moment she steps through the door, she realizes nothing has changed—especially not the one person she never wanted to face again. Micaiah. Her stepbrother. Her almost. Her reason for disappearing. She plans to keep her distance, start classes, rebuild her life… until her parents drop the news: they’ve transferred her to a new university, the one where Micaiah works as a professor. And they’re leaving for a three-month honeymoon, meaning she and Micaiah will be living in the same house. Alone. Maliya tells herself she can handle it. But Micaiah has his own ideas about unfinished business. Three months isn’t long… unless you’re stuck with the one person you swore you’d never fall for again.

Hilda Oakley, the charity case Mom and Dad take in, steals my family right out from under me. She slips drugs into me, driving me into a bipolar disorder. She turns me into someone who snaps and screams at Mom and Dad without meaning to. She paints me as someone rotten inside, as the bully at school, and as someone who'd shove her down the stairs at home. And because of that, my whole family turns on me. Mom calls me a bad seed. Dad says I'm no daughter of his. Then, they adopt Hilda and throw me out in the dead of winter. My bipolar flares. Naked, I sprint onto the rooftop and jump to my death. When I'm reborn, I realize I can make the thoughts in other people's heads audible. So, at the dinner table, I let Hilda's thoughts spill right before Mom and Dad. 'I kept that witch Valerie drugged for three years. She finally broke! They still don't suspect that Alex isn't really her brother. He's Susan's son. Once we poison Valerie's parents, the Coopers' fortune will belong to us.'

War is flaring across the region, down to a common enemy, the Alpha of the Night Shade Pack, on a mission to bring down all other packs. Alpha Jackson and Beta Cayden both lose their mates to the war. Both left in a state of bewilderment and mourning they continue to fight for the freedom of their pack. Alpha Jackson receives a prophecy from an elderly woman on pack telling him of a she-wolf with silver-white eyes that will bring the end of the suffering, that he shall be a part of this... along with others... only for him to dismiss it as senselessness... Evelyn is brought to Mystic Shadow Pack to assist in their battles against this mutual enemy, but in doing so catches the eyes of both the Alpha and the Beta, suddenly bringing meaning back to their lives as the battle against the Night Shade Pack rages on. Evelyn is urgently called back home where the war has returned. Only to witness the death of her newly realized fated mate, crumbling the dreams she had been building for so long. Fleeing she runs into the arms of a rogue... A rogue, but is there more to him? It would appear so... He returns her to The Mystic Shadow Pack only to find the Alpha... and the Beta... and things have changed... Was the prophecy the Alpha received as senseless as he first believed? Or was there some truth to the visions of the old woman?

Ava William, one member of The Alchemist. A famous band where she is the vocalist of the group. Ava does not believe in the word ‘love’ because of the unpleasant experiences she had five years ago. To her, the meaning of that word was not good. She never used to be like that, but because of the man she loved but only hurt her, she changed her look at the word with bitterness. Liam Browns, the man Ava met and loved, but hurt her and leave. Liam traded her for money for his own benefit. He loves Ava, but there are only things that really need to be sacrificed just so as not to ruin Ava’s career with the rest of her band. Ava doesn’t know Liam’s real reason, because the young man prefers to keep quiet. He persevered abroad and when he got up; he returned to the country to talk to Ava. Will Ava allow the two of them to talk? No matter what Liam has to say, will she listen to such intense anger and hatred she feels for her ex-boyfriend? What will Liam do to restore Ava’s trust? Is there any hope for the two of them to get along and get back together? Will anger and hatred prevail over the love that Ava tries to hide and deny for Liam?

Rima: Jacob Snow is a puzzle. I had initially mistaken him for a cold, uncaring, and arrogant CEO, but as we work together, I realize he's the exact opposite. He's warm, considerate, and humble, a far cry from the man I had painted in my mind. But acknowledging this doesn't mean I'm ready to let my guard down. My past is a dark, haunting shadow, and I refuse to let anyone get too close, afraid of the potential pain that could follow. It's been a while since I've felt this way about someone, and the familiarity of these feelings scares me. The last time it ended being the worst mistake of my life. I don't want to give in to these feelings, but I can't deny that Jacob is becoming more than just a boss to me. Jacob: Rima is enigmatic. She’s resilient, determined, and initially, she appears distant. But as we collaborate, I find myself drawn to her strength and determination. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and the spark between us is undeniable. She’s built a fortress around herself, a wall that's impossible to penetrate, but I’m determined to break it down. I sense she’s hiding something, and I can’t shake off the protective instinct that emerges whenever I see her. As we confront the danger together, I find myself struggling to resist the growing feelings I have for her. As danger looms, Rima and Jacob find themselves struggling to resist the growing attraction between them. Their pasts threaten to tear them apart, but they can’t deny the feelings that are blossoming between them. Will they be able to overcome their fears and trust each other? Or will their pasts continue to haunt them and prevent them from finding love?

My Alpha Series Book 2 (Standalone) Adrian: This girl is everything I did not want in a mate. She’s vulgar, acts and speaks like a savage, refuses to comply to me as her alpha, challenges me at every turn, and worst of all…she comes from the most evil rogue pack in the whole states. That fact alone should have made me kill her on the spot, if only my wolf and heart would agree with me. Lennox: Come on Adrian! Just because she’s a little… different, doesn’t mean you get to throw the gift that the goddess sent our way after all that time waiting for her! Besides, do you smell that? My goddess, her smell is so mouthwatering! Rhea: I want nothing to do with this arrogant prick! His royal highness thinks I’m not good enough for him, well I say he’s not good enough for me! Walking around with that stick up his ass, reminding me every second that I should consider myself lucky that I turned out to be his mate! I may be a rogue, but that doesn’t mean words don’t hurt me. After all, I wasn’t exactly like the rest of my rogue pack. Hazel: It wouldn’t hurt if you would just give the man a chance to see the real you Rhea! We never belonged with those animals! He’s just trying to show us a better way of living, the right way. Besides, his attitude aside, I know you’re dying for a taste of him despite everything, because I’m dying for one myself from his wolf. Come on! If you two don’t want a taste of each other, at least set us free to do our own tasting!

The wolf inside me howls when the bond snaps into place. I’ve found my second-chance mate. Just a few days ago, the man I’ve loved my whole life gave me to our former enemy in exchange for his sister’s hand in marriage. After I risked my own life to save his, my first mate Alpha Raul traded me like a thing. My heart and mind are in chaos, and I feel like I’m losing my grip on reality. The only thing I’m absolutely certain of is that I want more of the tenderness this stranger is offering me, to lose myself in him. His eyes widen, nostrils flaring, and I know he can smell my interest. I’m straddling his waist, and our bodies are pressed together. “You are mine,” he says quietly, and runs his thumb across my lower lip. My breathing is erratic, and I can feel the heat coiling in me, pulsing through me in delectable waves. This is crazy. I don’t even know his name and still, everywhere our skin touches I can feel the want crackling between us like electricity. I want this so badly, but it’s not who I am. I can’t use my savior to avenge myself on Raul and put a plaster on my shattered heart. “I’m sorry, I can’t. This isn’t right,” I offer an apology before getting off of him. But his hand snaps out and grabs my wrist, yanking me back onto him. “Tut-tut little wolf, there’s no running away from me. You’re mated to Alpha King Aiden now and I fully intend to keep you.”

I discovered a painful truth about my husband on a stormy night filled with thunder. The weight of his secret felt unbearable. “Blake, please say this isn’t true,” I begged, feeling my heart break more with each passing moment. He stood there, unfeeling, as if my hurt didn’t matter to him at all. “Now that you know, I don’t need to pretend anymore. It’s done. Let’s just forget about it,” he replied coldly. For seven years, I had devoted myself to caring for him and his family without complaint, believing in his love for me. Yet he chose to betray me. My name is Treasure Delgado, and that night, I stood my ground. “Blake I refuse to overlook your lies any longer. I want a divorce.” His anger erupted, revealing a side of him I had never seen before. “Then get out!” he shouted. Penniless and with only the remnants of my belongings, I found myself in a rundown house in a forsaken town. However, instead of sinking deeper into sadness, I promised to rise from the pain of his betrayal. There was something incredible awaiting me in that old house, which brought out a fierce and brilliant side of me that I didn’t know I possessed. Though my husband had cast me aside, I was about to learn that what one man considers trash could become another person’s treasure. A change in my dealings with men was about to take place. Amid a high-stakes breakup and a scandalous secret love affair emerges, where money talks and love is the battleground, I wouldn’t just play the game, I was going to be the one to change it. It’s my untold story of how I rise from the ashes, after divorce.

My sister, Bella, had a baby in a back-alley shithole. Then she disappeared. A midwife tracked me down using an address Bella left behind. She shoved the newborn at me like a sack of garbage. My parents fell to their knees. Crying. Begging me to take her bastard. Just like that, my future as a promising artist was gone. The neighbors, the priest, my landlord… they all called me a whore. A sinner who had disgraced God. They ran me out of the neighborhood . My life was over. Eighteen years later, Bella waltzed back into my life. A cheap thug with a fake Rolex dangled from her arm. She held my son, crocodile tears streaming down her face. She called me jealous. Accused me of stealing her flesh and blood. Of keeping a mother from her child. And my son? The one I bled myself dry for? The son I poured every last cent into, turning him into a brilliant painter? The son I starved for, so much that I ended up in a hospital bed? The moment he saw his "real" mother, he cast me aside without a second thought. "You pathetic, broke bitch!" he spat. "You stole everything from us! All the happiness that was supposed to be ours!" My parents threw me out like a dog. Bella's thug husband had his men corner me in the red-light district. They pinned me against a wall, their threats vile and clear: Never come back. I had no way out. I threw myself off the Brooklyn Bridge. Then, I opened my eyes. I was back. Eighteen years in the past. Then came the knock. Hell had found my door. I wasn’t going to be the fool who gave everything and got nothing. This time, I took control.