Burned

[TRIGGER WARNING: Reader's Discretion Is Advised. This book contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, dark romantic elements, and strong language. It is intended for adult audiences(18+). Proceed with caution.] He placed a hand on my leg, and my breath caught. His hand slowly began stroking my thigh, sending a strange wave of sensation through my body. My fingers tightened against my dress as my pulse quickened. His hand moved slowly higher, sliding deeper into my thigh. My body stiffened as his fingers brushed against my panties. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. Is Master doing what I think he’s going to do? I thought, panic slowly rising inside me. He leaned slightly closer to me, his shoulder brushing mine. “Try not to moan,” he whispered, my breath hitched. I tried my best to stay still, forcing myself to keep my expression calm as the men around the table continued their conversation. But under the table, his fingers kept teasing the fabric of my panties. My breathing grew uneven, then his fingers suddenly slipped inside. A small cough escaped my lips as my body jerked slightly from the sudden sensation. Several heads turned toward me. “Are you okay, Mrs. Enzo?” one of them asked with concern. My face burned with embarrassment. “Is something wrong? Did you choke on the food?” another man asked. “I think she choked on the food,” Enzo said calmly as he looked at me, his eyes held a warning.

For five years, Silver Winters endured everything. The mistresses. The humiliation. The cold indifference of a husband who saw her as nothing more than a convenient trophy. All because she had saved his life and hence requested for a marriage as payment and due to his parents being traditionalists, they accepted the deal. Then came the night of the accident—the night Seris chose to save his best friend, a petite sick patient instead of his wife. Silver died in that icy river. *But she woke up five years earlier, on the morning of her wedding day.* *This time, she's not walking down the aisle.* This time, she's rewriting every rule.She is no longer the dumb princess who thought true love was everything and she was going to live happily ever after with her prince charming. She wasn't going to cling onto someone who never wanted her in the first place. *With the knowledge of five years of betrayal burned into her memory, Silver sets out to reclaim everything she lost: her career, her confidence, and her chance at real love.* *But her cold CEO husband seems... different this time.* *"Why didn't you marry me? This has been your childhood dream" Seris demands, cornering her at a business gala.* Silver smiles, unbothered. "I decided I'm worth more than being someone's doormat." As she builds her empire and attracts the attention of powerful new allies, Seris realizes what he lost. But Silver is already three steps ahead. And this time, she's the one holding all the cards.

Three days before my blood oath ceremony, someone planted a silver crucifix in the bridal shop and set it ablaze while I was inside trying on my ceremonial gown. My fiancé — Vampire Lord Damien — had the arsonist thrown into the silver prison, sentencing them to the harshest punishment our laws allowed. I lay in the healing chamber, my body covered in severe burns, refusing to wake fully as the reality of my disfigurement sank in. In my semi-conscious state, I heard Damien speaking with the coven's apothecary. "My Lord, we can still heal her completely with the ancient blood rites. If we wait any longer, Serena will bear these scars for life! You just want Miss Vivienne to be your Consort at the blood oath ceremony. This is cruel beyond measure!" "Let her keep the scars. I'll provide for her for the rest of her life, but if she's healed, she'll definitely cause trouble at the ceremony." "I promised Vivienne that her child would be welcomed into the coven with full honors. Only when Serena is completely disfigured will she be grateful enough to raise Vivienne's child as her own. The scars are necessary - at least this way, she won't dare mistreat the boy." In the corner of the room, where no one was watching, a tear slid down my burned cheek. So this was the truth. The blood oath ceremony I'd dreamed of was nothing but a lie. The blood bond I longed for would be my death sentence. If that's how it had to be, I would give him what he wanted.

Two pink lines on a pregnancy test. I was going to surprise my husband, Vince, the Moretti family heir. Instead, the surprise was on me. A pair of black lace panties—not mine—left in his car. The air reeked of cheap perfume and betrayal. I stormed his casino, demanding answers. But I found her in his private suite. Sophia. She smirked, looking me up and down. “You must be the wife. I’ve seen your picture on the nightstand. Vince says you’re a boring little nun. Says he can’t even get hard looking at you.” I snapped. My hand shaking, I hurled a glass of red wine in her face. She shrieked, stumbled back, and crashed into a glass cabinet. Blood bloomed across the carpet. Vince burst in and slapped me so hard I hit the floor. "Are you insane?! She's carrying my heir!" My heart shattered. As I fell, a darker pool of blood spread beneath me. Our baby. I was miscarrying. And when forced to choose between his wife and his whore, Vince chose her. He forgot who put him on his throne. I’m not some trophy wife he can discard. I am a DeLuca. A princess of the underworld. So for revenge, I married his worst enemy, Dante Costello. And when we burned his empire to the ground, Vince finally broke. He got on his knees and begged me to come back.

In my past life, my boyfriend's childhood sweetheart, Kimberly Thatcher, claimed to be Lady Luck. She insisted on handing out sachets to keep our team safe for a hike. I, Priscilla Jensen, caught the scent and realized the sachets were stuffed with herbs that would attract wolves. So, I stepped in to stop her, saving everyone from an attack. But Kimberly thought I was looking down on her sachets, and that I was targeting her on purpose. Though she was the leader, she stormed off from the group in anger. We searched the forest under the raging storm. In the end, someone broke a leg, someone else was strangled by poisonous vines, and my shoulder was torn open. By dawn, we found Kimberly's corpse at the bottom of a valley. … On the seventh day after her death, her memorial service became an ambush. While everyone mourned for her, their eyes were fixed on me. My boyfriend, Fabian Lowell, was the first to lash out. He ripped off his bandage, revealing his wound. "If you hadn't stopped Kimberly from giving us those sachets, none of this would have happened! How dare you show up to her memorial service?" he yelled. Everyone turned to glare daggers at me. Suddenly, someone shouted, "It's all your fault! You're the reason we ended up like this! Go to hell!" In the next second, they hurled a pot of boiling stew at me. Then they set the private room ablaze and burned me alive. … When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day of the hike.

The first time Rafael betrayed me, he threw the woman from his club at my feet. His eyes were bloodshot as he told me to take my pick. My love for him was a sickness, so I forgave the transgression. For the second betrayal, I had the dancer sent out of New York, warning her never to set foot on the East Coast again. On the night of our engagement party, sealing the union of our two families, Rafael pinned me against the walnut desk in the study. His eyes burned with rage as he demanded: "Where is Nina? She's carrying a Mancini heir." "It was a mistake. You can take your anger out on me. Nina is naive; she doesn't deserve this. I'm begging you, just let the child be born safely. I swear I'll never see her again." "You're afraid of childbirth. This gives you an heir without the risk." "Listen, Alessia. You are the future Donna of the Mancini family. When that child is born, it will know only you as its mother. I swear on my life." He forced me backward until shards from the vase I'd knocked over cut into my skin, staining my silk dress with blood. I looked at him and smiled, then gave him the address of a safe house in Brooklyn. He slammed the heavy oak door behind him. Shaking, I pulled out my encrypted phone. "You were right about him. Is your offer still on the table?"

"Strip." Alpha Callister's voice cut through the room like a blade, sending a shiver down Eileen’s spine. She wished he hadn't returned from his meeting... wished he would leave her in peace. But peace was never meant for her. He used her for his amusement, a prisoner in his grasp, and she didn’t know if she’d ever escape. "I won't say it again. Strip," he commanded again, his voice filled with venom. "Isn't this what you wanted? You drugged me so I’d sleep with you, hoping to change your miserable status. Now you're the Luna of this pack, and all you can do is kneel and worship the ground I walk on." "I…" The words stuck in her throat. She wanted to tell him she never drugged him. But he would never believe her. "Your father tried to steal my birthright and we killed him along with your mother," Callister sneered. "And you? You made sure I took you so you'd be important again." Hatred burned deep in Eileen’s chest. She would make the Haemont family pay for what they did to her parents. Stripping her of her identity wasn’t enough. Now, as his wife and his Luna, Callister stripped away her dignity every night. But she endured. Because one day, she would be strong enough. One day, she would avenge her parents' death.

[MATURE CONTENT]. His hand shot out and reached beneath the hem of River’s dress with a swiftness that startled her. A yelp escaped her lips as he yanked it upwards, exposing a bare thigh. Shame burned and took over every fiber in her. She shrank back, burying her face in her hands. This was torture. Why was he doing this to her? A sinister scoff escaped his lips. “What's wrong, little one?" he mocked, his face inches from hers. "Scared?" Scared? Yes. But of him? No. Of herself? Hell, yeah. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ River, an omega hybrid who was betrothed to an Alpha’s son since birth does nothing but dream of their future together. Her dream shatters on her 19th birthday when Gonzalo rejects her after revealing he is in a secret affair with her big sister. Heartbroken and betrayed, River attempts to flee to the human world, vowing never to return. However, she is instead snatched by a ruthless vampire who takes her back to his home as a prize. Unbeknownst to her, she carries Gonzalo's child. After years of serving the vampire who falls in love with her along the way, news of rogue attacks forces River to escape back to her pack. Though prepared for questions about her secret child, River isn't prepared for the simmering tension and passion with Gonzalo who is haunted by his past mistake and is desperate for forgiveness. She certainly doesn't expect him to forcefully claim her when she seems determined to hate him forever.

Imagine being forced to marry your father’s enemy and bam! He turns out to be your lost lover and the father of your secret baby...   That was exactly Anya Sokolov; 21 years old daughter of a corrupt Russian politician; educated, sharp-tongued, but emotionally neglected.   When her father struck a deadly deal with the Russian Bratva, she became collateral, an unwilling bride for the Vetrov family heir. But Anya had no idea that the groom was 38 years old Nikolia Vetrov, a man she despised and yet longed to see again.   Four years earlier, he had saved her life. And while she was under his protection, she fell for him. They shared a night of passion, but after that he disappeared, abandoned her, and that was when her hatred for him began.   It would have been easier to forget him if she didn’t turn up pregnant weeks later. To protect the future of her unborn child, she kept his existence a secret, even from her own family.   But now he was back, with a Bratva ring, a deadly proposal, and eyes that burned like sin.   To save her father’s empire, she must marry the man who ruined her. The devil with silver hair; He was cold, ruthless and unforgiving.   And when he discovers the child she swore to protect from his world… all hell will break loose.   What happens when the man she should hate becomes the only one who ever truly saw her? And she in turn became his one true obsession.

It's my seventh year of secretly dating Liam Ferguson, my brother's friend. We're about to have our marking ceremony soon. I happily prepare for it, wanting to surprise him. However, during a gathering with friends, I accidentally overhear something. "If you ask me, there's no denying Alpha Liam's good looks and charm. To think he managed to make the Silver Snow pack's Alpha's sister his stand-in lover and bed partner!" "What are you going to do with Maya now that Nina's back, Liam? Andrew won't let you off the hook if he finds out you've been fooling around with his sister…" The following day, Liam takes me to Nina White's welcome-back party. He's gentle, considerate, and affectionate with me. His love for me seems so deep that I wonder whether I'm imagining things. Then, Nina "accidentally" spills scalding soup on my arm and runs out in tears. I'm the injured one, but she feels wronged. However, Liam shoves me aside and runs after her in a panic. I return home with a burned arm and open the door to the basement—Liam has never allowed me in there. I see Nina's photos plastered on the walls. There are even photos of them doing the deed in various positions. He looks so wild. I call Andrew with a heart full of despair. "I've made up my mind about the marriage with the Alpha heir of the Storm Tribe. I'll do it!"