Breath Mints And Battle Scars

Anita," her angelic voice calls to me. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Her soft, delicate hands caressing my face, sparkling green eyes grounding me from the dark past I wish I could forget. "You're safe, it's okay." I bring my hand up, running my finger over the mound of scar tissue. The constant reminder of that night. The raised bump covers the bullet fragment embedded in my sternum. She takes my hands as more thunder rumbles and tears roll down my cheeks. "Breathe Anita," she says in a soothing whisper. My lungs were burning with the need for air and it was then that I realized I'd been holding it. I take in a gasping breath and recall the first time my eyes met her green eyes. My sister had been lifted off me and my eyes opening had startled her. The first time she touched me gave me strength to hold on. I held her hand tight, trying to tell her what happened, but couldn't get enough breath to form words. Sitting in the present going through the same as I had five years ago. "They were all found, Anita. They can't hurt you anymore. It's just a storm. All the doors and windows are locked, the alarm is set. It's just you and me." "Will you keep the light on tonight, please?"

"You still smell the same… You must like this cologne that much." Alex whispered behind her ear, his warm breath sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. "You don’t remember me," he murmurs, his fingers tilting her chin until their eyes locked. "But I never forgot you." Ariel’s breath hitches. His touch is hauntingly familiar. Then he leans in again, his voice a dark whisper. "I assumed only I could make you feel this way." Ariel Richmond’s life was shattered the night she was betrayed. Drugged by her fiancé and sister, she woke up to a reality she had never chosen—humiliated, abandoned, and unknowingly carrying the child of a stranger. Fleeing to Spain, she built a new life, determined to leave the past behind. Alexander Lucas never forgot her. The ruthless billionaire, known for his cold detachment, spent years searching for the woman who vanished after their one fateful night. Fate brings them back together in the cruelest way possible—Ariel, desperate to save her son, enters a contract marriage with Johny Lucas… only to discover that his stepbrother is Alexander. Now, trapped between the man who unknowingly changed her life and the husband she never wanted, Ariel must navigate a tangled web of secrets, power, and a past that refuses to stay buried.

In a world of magic and power, Freya, a young Tribrid, must embrace her destiny or risk everything. As her powers surge, she seeks refuge at the Academy for Werewolves, only to face a deadly rivalry with the first Tribrid, with their powers locked in a fierce battle, Freya must confront the darkness within and make a choice: unleash her true potential or succumb to the shadows. Will she emerge victorious, or will the cost of her victory be her very soul?

With her father passed on, Avery has to battle her responsibilities as an Alpha to her pack: The Silvermist. She never expected to meet her mate at the wrong time in her life. The difficult part is that he is a king who definitely will do anything to let Avery stay by his side. But he also has a secret of his own. What happens when Ava find outs, will she be able to stay or leave him for good.

One meeting and he called her unfaithful. One accident and half her face scarred. Now she’s back better than ever and with scores to settle. He suddenly wants her back. Ariana had it all; the perfect husband, job and life. She loses it all after being accused of cheating with her husband’s rival, Gabriel. A following accident scars her face and leaves her in a coma. When she wakes up, Zayde wants a divorce. Picking up the pieces, Ariana goes off the grid, fixes her face and returns for revenge. Realizing his mistake, Zayde wants her back and will stop at nothing. But revenge is a dish best served cold and Ariana refuses to let past love stop her.

Just because I ate one chicken leg more than my brother, my father kicked me out of the house in the middle of a snowstorm. Later on, my father of an archeologist dug up my body. Due to my missing head, he did not recognize me. Even when he saw that the body had the same scars as I did, he did not care. Later on, my mother dug out my heart and showed it to her students. "Today, we will study the heart of someone with congenital heart disease." She once said she would recognize me no matter what I looked like. Mom, now that the only thing left of me is my heart, do you still recognize me?

Lyra Voss was nothing—an omega scorned by her pack, betrayed by her sister, and rejected by her fated mate, Alpha Kael Draven. While Kael parades her sister Selene as his chosen mate, he chains Lyra to his side, declaring that she will be his dirty secret forever. But when Lyra escapes the torment of his cruel desire, she unlocks her hidden potential, a force that could burn the pack to ashes. Trained by the rogue Rylan, she rises from weakness to vengeance. As Kael fights to reclaim the mate he broke, and a rogue alpha hunts her power, Lyra must choose: forgive the alpha who shattered her or unleash her fury, but only one thing is certain—her scars will carve her legacy.

Chaewon Jones and Zayden Taylor were once each other's pillars of support, but upon discovering a destructive loophole in their relationship, they chose to part ways, transforming into bitter enemies. As the moment arrives for them to confront their fears on a perilous battlefield, Chaewon decides to step aside, presenting one condition - Zayden must shed tears for her, enabling her to mend the dark, deep hole of their shared past. Will Zayden, who has unyielding pride, permit the selfish Chaewon to take the lead, or will he subject her to suffering until her final breath?

"I have no more time." was the last thing Brie's brother, Adam, said to her. As he took his last breath as a human, he forced one final smile. With him now trapped as a monster, she was losing time to bring him back. She fought hard to find a cure to save her brother, and possibly humanity, and she realized that the end of the world was close on her tail. Brie fell in love, she lost close ones, she almost lost herself. Can she really save the world?

Excerpt “Did he touch you?” Nicholas leaned in, his face inches away from mine. His closeness was suffocating,stealing the breath in my lungs. “Nic, stop!” My breath hitched and I shrank back. “I’ll take that as a yes, which hand?” He questioned again, clenching his jaws so hard that I could see the muscles rippling. “It was a mistake..” I whispered. “That doesn’t look like a mistake, Mira..” he moved closer to me. “It was, please let it go” I pleaded with my last bit of energy. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll bring both hands for you to choose,”. ********. Mira Cavallo thought she could leave her dangerous past behind and stay safe with her five-year-old son, Rocco but unknown to her, safety is an illusion in the mafia world. Her peaceful life is shattered when armed men break into her home, rips her son from her arms and forces her back into the clutches of her former boss, Lucius Moretti also known as the bloodhound. To save her child, Mira must return to the mafia world, seduce a very dangerous Mafia leader, Nicholas Sterling and uncover his secrets that would pull him down or kill him. As Mira inches closer to the truth, Mira discovers some hidden truth about Lucuis and Nicholas and she also realizes that she isn’t just fighting for her son but for her freedom in a dangerous game of power and desire.