Chapter 55 Sarah J Maas

Scarlett Carter had it all, wealth, status, and a husband she thought she could trust. But in a single moment, everything crumbled. Her husband betrayed her. Her best friend stole her life. Her stepbrother took everything she built. And now, pregnant and penniless, she’s nothing more than a scandalous headline. Just when she thinks she’s lost it all, Adrian Carter appears. The black sheep of the Carter dynasty. The vengeful older brother Daniel erased and despised. A man with power, money, and a vendetta just as deep as hers. Adrian offers her a deal, help him destroy those who made him an outsider, and in return she’ll get protection for her baby and revenge against those who hurt her . But revenge comes at a cost. As Scarlett steps into Adrian’s world, she’s no longer the woman they left behind, she becomes something far more dangerous, stopping at nothing to get her own pound of flesh. And when passion ignites between them, the lines between vengeance and desire blur. She was once the billionaire’s placeholder bride. Now? She’ll be the one to burn his empire to the ground.

***MAFIA'S VICE SEQUEL*** What is a queen without her king? Historically speaking, more powerful. The Dragonetti's have fallen in New York, but Sienna has made certain her family rose from the ashes in Italy. After Dante's demise, she's put her everything into the Dragonetti name and made it one to be feared again, despite her heartbreak and yearning for her only love. As tensions mount and she starts losing more of her humanity, a ghost from her past shows up, and her world comes crashing down. Could Dante be alive after all these years? And if so, why is he out to kill her? In this sequel to Mafia's Vice, two Mafia worlds intersect with one thing on either family's mind: Revenge against Allesio Speranzini.

Anya Who would have thought turning 21 would change my life and send me into the depths of hell and into the arms of a bad man. A very bad man who has a vendetta against my father. He can never know who I am or my life is over before it even begins. I'm kidnapped during my birthday celebration and tossed into the underground of a hotel to be auctioned off, then bought by the very same man who would love to watch me bleed. I do the only thing I can - fake it, if only to survive one more night. I tell him my name is Anika and he seems to buy my excuses. But how long can I hide behind a mask and how long before he learns of my true identity and brutalizes me for revenge? I'll pay for my father's sins. Maybe even with my life. *** Bastien I've never claimed to be a good man. I trade in the dark; anything, save for humans, can be up for sale to the highest bidder. The king of the black market, this city is my playground. All until tonight... All until her… The auction is held at my hotel once every four months with one iron clad rule in place: no trafficking. So to say that I'm shocked to find her on my stage amongst the goods like a precious lamb to the slaughter is putting it lightly. I had to buy her to appease one of my biggest clients, but the more I look at her, the more I realise… That I want her to be mine alone. But who is this little doll truly and why did she end up on my stage, ready to be sold to the highest bidder?

It had been five years since my mate Ethan Blackwood secretly marked me. Then his brother, the Alpha of the Shadow Moon Pack, died in the territorial war. To become the next Alpha of Shadow Moon, Ethan inherited everything his deceased brother left behind. Including his widowed sister-in-law, Victoria. After every time Ethan shared Victoria's bed, he would hold me close and whisper reassurances: "Autumn, just wait a little longer. Once Victoria gets pregnant, we'll have our Mating Ceremony!" This was the pack's only requirement for him to inherit the Alpha position. In the six months since returning to Shadow Moon territory, Ethan had gone to Victoria's chambers countless times. From once a month in the beginning, to now almost every other day. Finally, after countless nights of sitting alone until dawn, news came that Victoria was pregnant. But along with this announcement came another—Ethan and Victoria would be holding their Mating Ceremony. "Mommy, is someone having a Mating Ceremony here?" my daughter asked. I looked around at the stark contrast to our sparse living quarters. The main hall was filled with flowers and balloons. People bustled about outside, everyone joyfully preparing for their Mating Ceremony. I pulled my innocent daughter into my arms: "Yes, sweetheart. Your father is having a Mating Ceremony with someone he loves, which means it's time for us to leave." Ethan didn't know that we wolves of the Silver Crescent Pack never cared about so-called Mating Ceremonies. In Silver Crescent, female wolves were revered. My mother was the current Alpha, and I only needed to bear an heir to the pack to inherit her position. I dialed a number I hadn't called in five years: "Mother, I already have an heir now. I'm ready to come home and claim your Alpha position."

After four years with Killian, I got pregnant. I took the pregnancy test and my ID to a private hospital to set up a file, but when entering insurance information, I was stopped by the blonde administrative specialist. "Mrs. Smith, the system shows there is a problem with your marital status." She looked at me awkwardly. "Your marriage to Mr. Killian is not legally effective." I was stunned and instinctively retorted, "That's impossible. We registered in Las Vegas, all the procedures were..." "There is only an application record, no final signed effective document." The specialist turned the screen around and tapped the keyboard a few times. "Moreover, Mr. Killian's legal wife... shows another lady's name." That name was like a thorn, piercing fiercely into my retina. Elena. Killian's personal secretary, and also publicly recognized as the benefactor who saved his life in the Alps avalanche five years ago. I felt all the blood in my body flowing backward. How could it be her?

One unforgettable night. Two men. A choice to make Lila Bennett’s life is turned upside down when a one-night stand with the emotionally cold billionaire Drew Sinclair leads to a shocking pregnancy. Fearing rejection for the second time, Lila keeps the pregnancy a secret, believing Drew would never accept her or the child. But when Lila’s old friend Max, a successful art mogul, finds out, he offers to marry her and take care of the baby. Lila is torn, She still has lingering feelings for Drew who's cold and has made it clear that the encounter with her was a mistake and there's Max who's offering all the support she needs. Who will she choose? Could there be more to what Lila is seeing on the surface? Find out in this thrilling and exciting book.

My foster sister Sophia, the last purebred white wolf in Grell village, was raped and tortured to death by an unknow rogue wolf. Her suicide note contained only one sentence: "Lina saw his face." From that day on, I became the pack's greatest sinner. Because I knew who the killer was, but I kept silent for five years. Until my foster brother Damien, the most powerful Alpha in North America, returned. He brought back the Soul Vision Device and forcibly extracted memories from my werewolf soul. All the werewolves who had the Soul Vision Device used on them either died or went insane. My werewolf was repeatedly tortured in the device, but Damien suppressed the pain in his eyes and roared, "When I find the truth, I'll send you and the murderer to hell together." But when they finally discovered the truth, Damien went mad.

My pup Asher had been sick for six months. Every time I personally cared for him, he became even sicker. I finally believed the witch's prophecy: I was cursed. My very existence would harm my own pup. I went to the moon temple and prayed that the moon goddess would lift the curse and ensure my pup's safety. From then on, my Alpha mate Damon brought Asher up the mountain every day to see me. Hundreds of miles of mountain road. They made the trip over a thousand times. Our bond never faded with the distance. Until today. A group of rogues broke into the Sanctuary and pushed me down the stone steps. I called Damon all night. No one answered. Then I received an anonymous video. Damon knelt in front of a woman, kissing her swollen belly. Asher stood next to them, grinning ear to ear. "I'm gonna have a brother! Aunt Serena, your pregnancy must have been so tough. Me and Dad will be your knights forever." He turned to Damon, his young face bright with pride. "Dad, I faked being sick pretty well, right? Pretending to feel awful every day, tricking Mom into taking me to the Healer over and over. They never found anything wrong, and she really believed that curse stuff. Went up the mountain all on her own." "But what if Mom finds out? Won't she be mad?" Damon didn't seem worried. "Don't worry. I've got the whole mountain sealed off. She won't find out." Only then did I understand. Everything had been a lie, planned by my mate and my son. I turned around and knocked over the Hope Flame that I had lit for Asher without hesitation. This flame was lit at the cost of my wolf’s strength, offered to the Moon Goddess so that she might bless Asher with health. Through the flames, a familiar figure sprinted toward me.

After becoming pregnant, my mate Derek transformed from a notorious playboy into the perfect devoted partner. He dismissed all his lovers and stayed by my side constantly, attending to every detail of my care with meticulous attention. Everyone marveled at his dramatic change, claiming he had truly fallen in love and reformed because of me. Three days before I gave birth to our pup, I heard him on a phone call. "Derek, that orphaned omega your mate sponsored is looking for you again. The girl's devoted enough - still chasing after you after all these years." Derek scoffed coldly. "Don't mention her again. If it weren't for accumulating good karma for my unborn pup, I'd never spend another penny on any other she-wolf." But on the night before my delivery, after he received a message from that omega, he decisively abandoned me. "Sorry, Alpha Derek. My bone marrow compatibility test failed. Thank you for sponsoring me all these years. I'm sorry that I can't accompany you anymore." During the storm, he left me alone deep in the forest. I called him desperately through our mindlink, but he had blocked me completely - every attempt met with cold silence. The rogue wolves found me in my vulnerable state. Their attack was merciless, and my body, heavy with pregnancy, couldn't defend itself. The trauma was too much. When I woke up again in the healing center, my pup was gone. Derek gave me the mate bond severance agreement with red-rimmed eyes. "The girl is stubborn and gets upset whenever she hears your name. Once she can accept you, I'll mark you again." Finally heartbroken, I left him behind. Three years later, I was at an auction house with my sister-in-law, my belly round with pregnancy again, when violent sounds erupted behind us. Derek stared fixedly at my swollen belly, his whole body trembling. "Whose pup is in your belly?"

Reyna's life has been far from sunshine and roses. As the Alpha's daughter, at the age of 21, should have received her wolf by now. She was the only member of her pack without a wolf and had to endure constant bullying and heartache, which was made worse by her intended mate's rejection in favor of her step-sister. This life made her determined to leave, and so she hatched a daring plan to escape during the highly anticipated Hallowed Bond Ball, which was a night of celebration that marked one year after the end of the War of the Three Alpha Kings. She had no idea that destiny was about to throw her a curveball. Just as she was attempting to escape under the cover of darkness, a surprising twist of events suddenly takes place. The word 'mate' reverberates through the castle walls, spoken in not one, but three distinct voices. To her astonishment, Reyna finds herself bound to three mates. A wolfless mate to all three powerful Alpha Kings fresh from being at war with one another. With the fragile truce between the three Alphas threatened, Reyna's life is in danger from powerful families who would do anything to keep the peace after decades of war. Reyna stands at the center of a prophetic revelation, holding the key to something far greater than she could have ever imagined. But as soon as she learns why she was chosen, evil slowly starts closing in. *** “You're intoxicating, darling… I think we may have found something we're all addicted to..." My face reddens as I look at them, and for the first time in ages, I feel like I belong. The way they're looking at me with reverence and the desire I know is meant only for me… I feel like a Queen.