Carefully Picked

The fifth year of my marriage to Silas marked a turning point I would never forget. Our son, Yael, was kidnapped. The ransom was set at ten million dollars, an insignificant amount for Silas, yet his response chilled me to the core. “No rush. A Gardner needs to experience some hardships to grow.” Ten million meant nothing to him, but Yael’s life meant everything to me. I dropped to my knees, tears streaming down my face, and begged him relentlessly, pleading for Yael to be brought home as soon as possible. Silas, however, remained unmoved. Three days later, Yael was returned to us, but the cheerful boy I knew was gone. He had been so traumatized that he could not speak. Far from showing concern, Silas coldly remarked, “Yuna said Yael keeps telling everyone at school she’s a fatherless child. Let’s see how he spreads lies now.” His words cut through me like a knife. I picked Yael up in my arms and whispered softly in his ear, “Don’t be afraid, Yael. Mommy will take you away from here.”

Is that Professor Derrin’s substitute? He is cute! A thought that would send Lily Martin’s world ablaze after encountering a steamy session featuring the new professor, Dr. Edward Wolfe, and student body president Alice Winters, something that left her body cold. She can't stop thinking about Dr. Wolfe after that night with bitchy Alice, who won't stop picking on her. But now Alice Winters is missing! Her toe was found in a fish’s belly. So many questions hovering around. What happened that night? Where is Alice Winters? But most especially, why can't she concentrate in class anymore? When did she fall in love with Dr. Wolfe? No one knows that three years ago, Ruthless Mafia Butcher Luca Moretti switched his entire personality to Dr. Wolfe and moved to town for a reason: to find his wife by proxy, the missing heiress Valentina Sorano. But with how he has picked up hints, he may be on to Lily! What happens when he finds out Lily knows his dark secrets? Read on to find out…….

Catherine Galhart had saved herself for the only man she ever paid attention to, only for fate to crush her young heart when he came home with his fated mate in his arms. Lost and heartbroken, she ran and hid as she slowly picked up her broken pieces. But when she thought everything was finally falling into place and she was ready to accept the love she felt she deserved, life threw another reality in her face — a destiny she could never escape. Will she finally cave in and let fate take control of her life? Or will she keep fighting for the life she knew she wanted from the very beginning? Join Catherine as she embarks on the journey from love lost to self-discovery, family, and friendship to finding a love worth fighting for. ***** THE ALPHA BLOOD CIRCLE: Book 1: She's The Luna I Want Book 2: The Beta and I Although this book can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading Book 1 to understand the characters and the concept of the Claiming. ***** Follow me on my I G and F B for updates and teasers - author.cassa.m

Adrian Cain has no past. At least, not one he remembers. He woke up at eighteen with a name, a guardian, and a carefully constructed identity that led him to build one of the most powerful tech empires in the world. Now, as the CEO of CainTech, Adrian is feared, admired, and emotionally impenetrable, his past locked behind clinical amnesia, sealed files, and a steel wall he doesn't dare breach. Until the suicides start. After two employees from his most classified division die under suspicious circumstances, trauma counselor Sera Vaughn is brought in to assess the psychological impact on staff. But Sera has her own reasons for stepping into CainTech, her older brother vanished fifteen years ago, and the only lead she has left is a face in an old photograph: Adrian’s. But his name back then wasn’t Adrian. It was Daniel Ward. As Sera begins digging into Adrian’s history and as Adrian’s carefully managed psyche begins to crack, long-buried memories start surfacing: a mysterious basement, whispered codewords, and a girl calling his real name. What neither of them knows is that they were both part of a covert experiment known as Project Phoenix, designed to erase identities and rebuild human obedience from the ground up. Together, they uncover a trail of lies, altered files, and fractured lives along with a chilling truth: Adrian may have been programmed to forget what he did… and who he destroyed. Now hunted by the people who created him, stalked by a version of himself he doesn’t remember becoming, and drawn to a woman whose trust he doesn’t deserve, Adrian must face the darkest corners of his past before they both disappear into it. Because some memories don’t stay buried. Some were never meant to.

Alternate Universe to "The Fate of the Alpha's Orphaned Daughter" and "The Lost Graystone Princess" TRIGGER WARNING: This novel contains scenes depicting physical and emotional abuse Daisy Louise Harmony Thompson lives a carefully constructed lie. Hidden within a human community under witness protection, she works at her Uncle Mateo's Sneakz Burger Emporium while concealing a truth that could get her killed—she's the orphaned daughter of a murdered Alpha wolf, protected only by a mysterious pendant she must never draw attention to. When strange wolves begin appearing at the diner—including a suspicious couple ordering the potentially lethal "Volcanic Sauce"—Daisy's carefully maintained world begins to unravel. The Steel twins, Alphas Maison and Jackson, frequent the diner with their pack members who mock and torment Daisy, unaware of her true identity. But Maison's inexplicable fixation on her suggests something deeper at play. As rogue wolves increasingly breach territory boundaries and whispers of a "rogue king" circulate, Daisy finds herself caught between warring wolf factions. When an unexpected physical connection with Maison triggers dormant wolf instincts she's spent years suppressing, Daisy discovers shocking truths about her lineage and the pendant she carries. Forced to flee her adoptive home, Daisy must navigate brutal pack politics while confronting years of abuse at the hands of those meant to protect her. The bonds forming between her and the Steel twins—particularly the enigmatic Maison—complicate her plans to remain hidden. With enemies closing in and her identity exposed, Daisy must embrace her heritage and the power she's denied for so long. Only by forging new bonds under the moonlight can she hope to survive a conspiracy that reaches back to her parents' mysterious deaths and threatens to ignite an all-out war between packs.

A princess vanishes. A kingdom can't afford the truth. And the only person who can take her place is the brother who was never supposed to exist in the shadows she left behind. Prince Caelan Vayne is an Alpha with a secret that could shatter him — his strength is suppressed, his designation hidden, his entire identity a carefully maintained performance. When his sister disappears days before her royal wedding, his father makes the impossible ask: put on her dress, cross the border south, and become her. Just long enough to save the alliance. Just long enough to find her. He doesn't expect Crown Prince Damien Solaris. Cold. Commanding. The kind of man who fills a room without trying. Damien is everything a southern crown prince is supposed to be — except for one thing. Beneath the iron composure and the perfect Alpha facade, he's hiding a designation that would cost him his crown, his empire, and everything he's spent his life building. Two people. Two impossible secrets. One contract marriage that was supposed to keep them at arm's length. It doesn't. Because living under the same roof does something to carefully constructed walls. Shared suppressants become shared trust. Midnight investigations become something neither of them can name. And the cold, professional distance of a contract slowly, devastatingly becomes the one place either of them has ever felt safe. But someone arranged the princess's disappearance. Someone inside these very palace walls wants this alliance — and everything it protects — reduced to ash. They'll have to find the truth before it finds them first. The Alpha Wore a Crown and Secrets is a slow-burn ABO royalty romance about two people who agreed to a temporary arrangement — and discovered that the heart doesn't honor expiration dates.

Just because my wolf mom scratched Ava Shaw's favorite dress, Noah Potter called a butcher. He punished her seriously. I found her dying body and screamed at him. "I told you before—I was raised by wolves. What you did to her is no different from killing my mother!" Noah stayed cold. He covered Ava's eyes and stared at me. "You are just a stray kid my stepmom picked up. Stop trying to fool me." My wolf mom was still bleeding as she dragged herself toward me. I crawled to her and held her tight. "I stayed here to repay Noah's family for helping the wolf pack. You chased me for miles because you could not let me go. I never thought I would end up hurting you instead." That night, I held my wolf mom and knelt in front of Aunt Wendy's memorial. "Aunt Wendy, the Potters' Zoo are everywhere now. They do not need my gift anymore. I should leave."

"You like what I do to you, darling? As much as you don't want it, your eyes show desire." Noah wakes up to a naked man in his bed. Last night, this naked man was a stray he picked up off the rain-soaked streets of Chicago's South Side. Noah doesn't know what he's brought into his life, but as the stranger begins to unravel showing his dark, mysterious side, he finds himself in a love that's forbidden. Dominic Voss, a cold mafia boss who loses his memories after a brutal hit from rival gangs, finds himself in the gritty world of strip clubs and survival. Hunted down by his enemies, Dominic creates an illusion of happiness with Noah, even when he has sixty days left before his amnesia leads to permanent memory loss and his past catches up. Their love is forbidden. A mafia boss. A stripper. It's war. Dominic isn't willing to let go, but if his rivals get to him first, he won't even remember Noah loved him at all.

My elder sister, Violette married Adrian, the Alpha of the Duskhaven Pack. A year later, under the guidance of Moon Goddess, I married his younger brother, Kane, a Beta. When our son was six months old, we were kidnapped by rogues. The kidnappers told me to contact Kane. I tried to Mind-Link him seven times. Yet, he cut the link each time. Finally, I called his phone. He picked up. "Lyris got scared by a snake. Stop calling. I didn't give you the phone to fight for attention!" The rogues turned vicious as the threats were not working. They stabbed me and my baby with a silver blade. My child died. Right before I lost consciousness, Violette found me through our bloodline sensing. She reached out to Adrian for help. "I am helping Lyris to recover. Leave me alone," he replied. Then he cut the Mind-Link. Fortunately, our father sent help in time. Violette and I barely survived. When I woke up, we had a shared thought, which is to reject the brothers—forever.

My childhood friend called, saying he was trapped in a fire. He wanted to hear my voice one last time, and I rushed to the scene as fast as I could. But in that small, blazing spot, there was only a cat. Stumbling, I got the cat out, but my arms got burned. A crowd gathered, pointing at me and laughing hysterically. "She actually went for it?" "What a simp, risking her life like that!" Safe and sound, Colin Porter stepped out of the crowd with a grin. He picked up the cat from my arms and handed it to his crush. "See? I told you the cat would be fine. When have I ever lied to you?" Turning back to me, he said, "The cat got spooked and ran into the fire. We didn't know what to do, so we called you. Thank you for your help." The people around us snickered, like they were watching a trained dog. Later, on my wedding day, my husband carried me to the car. Colin, dragging his burned, bloody legs, crawled on the ground. He begged, "I'm hurt, Selena! Come help me!"