Bruised

The remnants of the pack gathering had barely faded when my whole world changed. My best friend, Hallie Richmond, vanished, snatched away by rogues. Only for her to reappear the next day, found bruised and bitten near the pack borders. My heart ached for her, so I went to her with her favourite apple pie. But the solace I intended to offer shattered into a million pieces the moment I heard the words of my boyfriend, Camilo White, our pack's beta. "...Hallie's family will destroy her if they learn of this. I have no choice but to mark her first.” "What about me, Camilo? I'm your girlfriend!" The words tumbled out. "You can be my secondary mate, Violet. It's just a small favor. Surely, if you truly loved me, you wouldn't hesitate to help?" Camilo's words ripped my heart out, breaking up with me and replacing me with Hallie for the marking ceremony we had both anticipated with such joy. From that moment forward, I became a shadow. The pack whispered words of how I was deflowered before my true mate could claim me. My family now regarded me with disappointment. My father's anger was a physical force, driving me to my knees beneath the icy waterfall. Then, the following day, a figure emerged from the mist. Alex Skye, the Alpha's son, pulled me from the water. He leaned close, his sky-blue eyes holding mine, and whispered the words that offered home: "I'm your true mate, Violet. Break up with that vile, idiotic boyfriend of yours. I believe you will be the perfect future Luna."

They say once you meet your mate, your life will change forever. For Dahlia, meeting her mate is her worst nightmare. Because she is already tangled in the sheets of the infamous gods, Alpha twin brothers, Hades and Valerian. And now Dahlia has to choose. Her mate, where sparks rush at every touch? Or one of the two brothers who had captured her heart since the beginning? Unfortunately, fate is as twisted as it is beautiful. When she saw the way Hades looked at his own mate, she ran. She ran into the arms of Tatum, her mate, and ultimately gave in to the bond she thought was best for her. But will she stay when he shows his true colors, shows just how toxic a mate bond can be? Will the Alpha brothers be there to mend her broken heart after she is left broken and bruised by her own fated mate? And, will they show her what it truly means to be mates? They say once you meet your mate, your life will be changed forever. For Dahlia, however, meeting her mate has been her worst nightmare. Because before that, she is already tangled in the sheets of the infamous Alpha twin brothers, Hades and Valerian, who want her and only her. Even after meeting their mates, their eyes are only set on her, and now Dahlia is caught in a dilemma where she has to choose. Unfortunately, fate is as twisted as it is beautiful. When she saw the way Hades looked at his own mate, she ran into the arms of Tatum, her mate, and ultimately gave in to the bond. But will she stay when he shows just how toxic a mate bond can be? Torn between Alphas, Dahlia finds herself torn between mates.

"You do know that being my maid makes you my property and I can do whatever I want with you." He put a finger to her chin and tilted her head upwards. "Anything I want ..." She looked at him trembling. These days she had spent with him were scary. He truly was the devil. "I'm not your toy", she managed to say. "According to my contract, you are...", he said dangerously. She was dealt the wrong cards. She is already in a world of pain. Her body ached terribly. He grabbed her bruised body and dragged her... Lilian Mendez picked pockets for a living. She did whatever she needed to do to survive. Life was tough so she had to be tougher which meant making tough decisions. After a failed attempt at stealing from the wealthy at a luxurious gala event, she finds herself the property of Mr. Damian Richards, the multi-billionaire businessman, a handsome yet sour personality, and a no nonsense man. He was every girl's dream. Every girl lusted and drooled over him but he never looked their way. He them. He had no time for love. Lilian becomes his maid to make up for stealing from him. She hated everything about him. He was just another arrogant, rich moron. Men like him were only good for their money and nothing else. She wanted nothing more to do with him than to hopefully get out of his place in one piece. She was nobody's toy or plaything. However, over time, boundaries are broken and feelings are shared and grown. Is Lilian finally the woman to tie this eligible bachelor down or is it all a play to get rich off him?

EXCERPT. "This cock was the reason you killed my wife, now ride it till it bruises you," Lucien hissed as he tightened his hold around my neck. "You are a bad girl Bambina mia, how can your mouth be watering for my dick?" Don Luciano, my father-in-law, chuckled as he gently rubbed my bruised lips. ...... ...... Despite being the only daughter of a Mafia Lord, Aria had been pampered and hidden all her life, she knew no violence until her 18th birthday. Drugged and miraculously ending up in bed with her cousin's husband, she triggered her death and realized she had no choice but to marry him (her cousin's husband). But Lucien, the head of the largest Mafia syndicate, hated her; he believed she was the reason why the woman he loved died, so he agreed to marry her to torment her. War was brewing but so was sexual desire between the people who claimed to hate one another. Tormented and battered, Aria sought comfort in her favorite popstar, a mysterious, famous, masked singer, Michell Blaze, who didn't scream danger, but Aria soon realized how wrong she was. She thought her father-in-law irritated her but she soon found herself begging for his assault. When the mask fell, Aria realized that she was not only trapped in-between the men who had ruined her peaceful life but also the man who healed and destroyed her. WARNING: RATED 18 FOR THIS BOOK CONTAINS BOTH VIOLENCE AND MATURE SCENES. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, for it is a dark romance, so you might see stuff that might be triggering, so please proceed with caution

“You'll ruin me, Dawn,” I whispered, my words thick with pain as my forehead connected with hers. I caught her full breasts and hardened rosy pink buds under the silvery glow of the moonlighting that soaked the surface of the pool in its celestial touch. “Would that be such a bad thing?” her question came out with a heavy, sensuous effect, completely tipping me over the edge. •••• With a bruised, low self-esteem, and subjected to immense torture at the hands of her step-family, Dawn Griffin could have sworn that there was absolutely nothing life wanted to throw at her that she wasn't ready for but how wrong she was because the essence of her being shattered when her mate dumped her for her stepsister. As though that wasn't enough, they were so eager to get rid of her, tossing her into an arranged marriage she didn't want, and confiscating her freedom. It was a decision that led her to the arms of a strange man at the bar she ended up with to drown out her problems in drinks. Dawn's matrimony, however, came with a twist and brought her right back into the web of the first man she ever got intimate with, the dangerous Alpha and the devil himself, Alpha Rhys Hallowvern. Rhys Hallowvern was that one Alpha that everyone was so terrified of because of his beastly nature and his aversion for commitment led to him getting a wife he didn't want. But two people who despised each other confined to the same space, how long would it take before facades start shedding, revealing their true intentions? Will the sinister forces lurking in the shadows sit back and hand them their happy ending on a platter of gold?

After being pushed down the stairs by my husband's first love, I suffered a difficult labor with our second child and died in a corner of their family's private hospital. Before I died, my six-year-old son cried and begged for his father to save me. The first time, Shawn sneered. "Your mom's gotten smarter, using you to play the victim and trick people." After that, he flung my son's hand away and left heartlessly. The second time, my son told him I was bleeding uncontrollably. Shawn was clearly impatient. "She's being so dramatic, it's just a miscarriage, nothing serious. She's always made mountains out of molehills!" After chasing my son away, he even told the doctors not to care for me. "It's my fault for spoiling her. She'll know what she did wrong once I let her have a hard time for a few days." The last time, my son went to my husband's first love Jasmine, kneeling in front of her and knocking his head on the ground, begging her. Shawn flew into a rage and ordered bodyguards to throw my battered and bruised son out of the hospital room, allowing others to laugh at his misfortune. "If you come bother Jasmine while she's resting again, I'll kick your mom out of our family! She'll never see you again!" My son crawled to my side, leaving behind a long trail of blood. And so, I laid there helplessly as I felt the warmth escape both my son and I. 'Are you happy now, Shawn? You'll never see us again.'

I gave him my loyalty, my body… even a kidney to save his life. And how did he thank me? He set me on fire.” Sheila thought she understood love. She believed in marriage, in sacrifice, in standing by the man you build a life with. But the man she trusted faked his death, stole her organ, and left her drowning in debt. Then, when she was of no use to him, he burned her alive to erase her from his perfect world. Only, Sheila didn’t die. She woke up in the bruised, broken body of another woman; a coma patient who had been struck by a powerful doctor now living with guilt. He tends to her. He doesn’t know who she truly is. And she’s not here to be saved. She’s here to settle the score. Disguised as a maid in her ex-husband’s house, Sheila keeps her head down and her eyes open. His new mistress is carrying his child—his secretary, the one he always said she was "crazy" for suspecting. The deeper she digs, the darker it gets. Money laundering. Organ trafficking. Even her kidney? Sold. But the past can’t stay buried forever. One night, he sees the birthmark on her thigh, the same one his wife had. The same one that died in the fire. He starts to unravel. She starts to rise. And when she returns to him fully reborn, fearless, and armed with evidence, he’ll finally understand: She’s not the weak wife he silenced. She’s the reckoning he never saw coming.

Escaping from her abusive husband with nothing but the clothes on her back, a beaten and bruised Laura shows up on the doorstep of her estranged older brother - and President of a well-known motorcycle club, Jake Wilson. But before she can even make it into the house, she runs into a tall, dark, deep well of trouble - her brother's best friend and second in command, Talon Nash. *********** He stepped closer, closing the gap between us in one stride. His hands found my hips, pulling me into him with a firm but gentle grip. The sawdust clinging to his skin mingled with the scents of his sweat and cologne, and I breathed it in, reveling in it. “Your reward,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my ear, “is me not dragging you upstairs and ruining you right now in front of all these guys.” My breath hitched, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, but I smirked. I wasn’t about to let him win this one. “No fair. That’s more of a punishment than a reward,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I want a refund.” “NOT getting f*cked in front of the prospects is a punishment?” He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that vibrated through me. “Fine,” he added, his lips curling into a wicked grin. “Careful what you wish for, angel.” Before I could respond, he bent down and hoisted me up over his shoulder like a sack of flour. I let out a startled laugh, my hands instinctively gripping the back of his jeans. The prospects paused their work, watching with amused smirks as Talon carried me toward the stairs. “Talon!” I protested, though my laughter betrayed me. “Put me down!”

“Are you crying?" She shook her head and wiped at her face as more tears were falling. “I’m so stupid.” she groaned. "Now I am truly and utterly alone. If I had just said yes to marrying him, none of this would’ve happened. I wouldn’t have dragged you into this mess.” Without warning, I turned sharp to the side, putting the car to a sudden stop close to the curb. “Don’t ever say that again. You think marrying a man you don’t love, a man who doesn’t care if he hurts you, just to please your family is the right thing to do?” I turned to her slowly. “That would’ve ruined you.” “But I would’ve had a home to go to, I would’ve been taken care of. Now I have nothing,” she looked away. I reached over and gently took her bruised hand in mine. “You did the hardest thing anyone in your position could have done. You saved yourself. That takes more guts than standing there and pretending to be happy.” I tucked a hair behind her ear. “You think you are alone? You’re not… you have me.” ___ Alina Etienne has always lived a life dictated by her parents. She is groomed to be an obedient daughter, a perfect public image, and now, a bride to a man she doesn’t know or love. On her wedding day, crushed by the weight of expectations, Alina does the unthinkable... she says “I don’t” and flees the altar. On the run and scared with nowhere to go, she crosses paths with Mikhail Antonov. A cold, guarded man with a past he doesn’t talk about. What began as a reluctant act of kindness turned into something neither of them expected.

The Heart Beneath the Thorn — A Modern Beauty and the Beast Retelling 💔 In a glittering city of fortunes and façades, The Heart Beneath the Thorn reimagines Beauty and the Beast through the broken glass of betrayal, redemption, and forbidden love. Emilia Grace, a fierce yet quietly bruised soul, is just trying to survive. Between juggling hospital shifts, family debts, and the ghosts of her past, she’s never had the luxury of dreaming. But fate has a cruel sense of humor when she’s assigned to care for Max Carter—the cold-hearted billionaire who once made her school years a waking nightmare. Max was the golden boy with the cruel smirk—the privileged heir with everything, except peace. Years later, a tragic accident leaves him scarred, not just physically but emotionally. Isolated and emotionally exiled, Max is now a man haunted by his past choices and a legacy wrapped in barbed wire. When Emilia walks back into his life, she's no longer the girl he mocked—she's the woman who might just be his undoing. Forced into each other’s orbit, what begins as a war of words slowly melts into lingering stares, late-night confessions, and an unraveling of everything they thought they knew. Max, the beast of her memories, begins to reveal the tender man beneath the mask—a man who collects poetry he never shares, who builds gardens no one sees, and who might have always loved the girl he couldn’t protect. But trust doesn’t bloom easily in thorn-covered soil. And when old enemies, buried secrets, and a scandalous inheritance come to light, Emilia must decide: can she love the man who once broke her, now that he’s the only one trying to piece her back together? A tale of enemies-to-lovers, second chances.