Clean Code

ABEL "I will inform the King that the Princess of Silvermere bought the slave as a gift for her father," Sir Bowman says, bowing in front of the young future alpha queen of Silvermere. She is enticingly beautiful just as the stories say. But why is she buying me? There are more stronger slaves she could have picked. "We would have loved to clean him up for you if you weren't in such a hurry to-" "Is that the actual illegitimate Prince?" she cuts off the guard, her powerful but mesmerizing voice resonating with authority. "Yes your highness. This is the b*st*rd son of his majesty's banished wife," Sir Bowman affirms, stepping aside to give the lady an unobstructed view. * * * * * In the kingdom of Edrath, strength is everything. Abel Everhart has none—or so he’s been told since the day he was cast out of his father's palace and branded a human slave. But when the powerful Crown of Elowen awakens for the first time in centuries, it doesn't choose a werewolf warrior. It chooses Abel. He expected to die a slave, serving the very brothers who stole his birthright. He never expected to be bought by Rowena of Silvermere, the most lethal and mesmerizing Alpha Queen in the realm. Rowena doesn't do charity. She doesn't save "damsels in distress," and she certainly doesn't care for King Roderick’s bloodline. But when the ancient Crown of Elowen points it's magic toward a man in shackles, Rowena makes her cunning move. She buys Abel as her rightful property. To others he is just her plaything, but to her he is the key to a a Crown meant to rule Kings.

The world's most luxurious prison is gilded, and Audrey just broke free. Born into wealth, Audrey is running from a legacy she views as a curse—a privileged life built on the foundations of a dark secret she keeps locked inside. Her only chance at salvation lies in a new identity and a grueling, anonymous job far from the glare of high society. She lands a position at CazoS Enterprise, hoping to finally earn a life she believes she deserves. Little does she know, the gilded cage she fled has a more lethal twin waiting for her. Sebastian CazoS is the undisputed king of this world. The coldest, most ruthless CEO in the city, his charm is a calculated weapon and his wealth is an impenetrable shield. He doesn't just despise love; he actively believes in the destruction it causes. For Sebastian, people—especially women—are commodities to be acquired, used, and discarded. Rumors follow him like a shadow: he is brilliant, devastating, and perhaps, truly unhinged. Their worlds don't just collide; they detonate. When Audrey's desperate attempt at a clean slate places her directly in Sebastian’s line of sight, the tension is instant and toxic. He sees a challenge in her refusal to be bought; she sees the very worst of the world she ran from. But as their volatile interactions escalate, Sebastian realizes Audrey is somehow tied to the very empire he runs, and Audrey's terrifying past begins to claw its way back. Will he save her from the nightmare chasing her, or is Sebastian himself the deeper, more dangerous trap? In a world where money is power and love is a weakness, their relationship won't be a romance—it will be a battleground where only one can survive intact.

She’s texting him her heart. But she’s got the wrong number… When Isabel “El” Watson applied for a sales job with her company, she had no idea a jelly donut would explode on her blouse, or that her grumpy boss would practically laugh her out of the interview. Accountants could be salespeople, she was sure of it, even if that jerkface didn’t think so. So when a lady at the local wine festival offers her a sales job on the spot at a new boutique winery, El jumps at the chance. She also jumps at the chance to text with the guy who danced with her at the festival. Life was finally looking up. Boston’s friend, Chad, never should have given Boston’s number to the girl at the wine festival as a joke, but the damage was done. When El sends Boston a text later that night, believing he is Chad, he’s too nice to hurt her feelings by telling her the truth. But there are a few other truths Boston might have thought about: Truth #1: He’s her boss Truth #2: She just accepted a job at his mother’s new winery Truth #3: He’s always had a crush on her Even though Boston is no longer El’s grumpy boss, they still work together at his mom’s winery. And while sparks are flying as they get to know each other for real, El’s kind of sweet on the guy who always seems to know just what to say via text too. Obviously, things will come to a head. Will Boston come clean about the flirty texts being from him? Or will El figure out on her own that she’s been Texting With the Enemy?

Elena Bennett, the illegitimate daughter of the Bennetts, was never supposed to matter. The unwanted daughter of a powerful family, hidden away like a dirty secret. But one night—one reckless, alcohol-soaked night—changed everything. Elias Vanguard, billionaire bad boy, notorious womanizer, and a man with enough family drama to sink an empire. Their drunken encounter becomes front-page news, and suddenly, they’re both drowning in a scandal neither of them wants. His solution? A fake marriage to clean up his reputation. Her motivation? The chance to finally claw her way out of the shadows and show everyone who they messed with. But playing house with a man who treats her like dirt wasn't part of the fantasy. Elias brings home his mistresses like it’s nothing, and with every insult, Elena’s heart cracks a little more. Until one day, he shoves divorce papers at her—because his precious mistress is supposedly pregnant. Elena signs the papers, disappears, and rebuilds herself from the ashes. Five years later, she’s a tech powerhouse, running the biggest company in the States, raising her son alone. Meanwhile, Elias is down on his luck, crippled from an accident, and abandoned by everyone he thought he could trust. When fate brings their worlds crashing together again, Elias isn’t the man he used to be. And Elena? Well, she’s the woman he should’ve never let go. But with betrayal, heartbreak, and an empire of her own to protect, forgiveness isn’t on her list of priorities. He wants her back. But this time, Elena's playing by her own rules.

She gave him five years of her life. Her education. Her passion. Her family name. Everything she had and everything she was — laid down piece by piece at the altar of a man and his ambitions, because she loved him and she believed in them. But the moment he reached the top, he discarded her without a second glance and proposed to another woman on international live television. So Mia did the only reasonable thing a heartbroken, furious woman could do. She found a bar. She found a stranger. She found her way into a hotel room and completely out of her mind for one reckless, consequence-free night. Then he tried to pay her afterward. She paid him back. Every bill. Then she slapped him clean across the face and walked out without looking back. She thought that was the end of it. It wasn't even close. Because the stranger she spent the night with turned out to be Cole Ashford — new captain of the Chicago Vortex, the most infuriating man she had ever encountered, and the person sitting behind the interview table when she walked in the very next morning with her whole future on the line. He wants her. He said so plainly, across a professional table, without a single apology for the honesty of it. She told him exactly where he could put that. But Cole Ashford is not a man who lets go of what he wants. And somewhere between the fury and the history and the secret she has spent years running from, Mia is beginning to wonder if the universe placed him in her path for a reason. Or if she is simply foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.

“Get out now!” He roared, rage, hate and bit of self-loathing swirling in his eyes. She flinched as she immediately inched back in shock. He turned away from her and stared down at his legs that had become lean, purplish and veiny due to his condition. His hand and body were shaking so much and he couldn’t stop it no matter what. Suddenly, he felt a soft and warm hand touch his face and wipe the tear away. Normally, he would have immediately recoiled from the touch but he found himself leaning into it. His whole body also stopped shaking and he looked up and into her eyes, unsure of why he couldn’t find an ounce of disgust for him in there. “I will heal you.” He raised his brow unsure if he heard her right and before he could ask her, she continued. “I will make you walk again and regain all that you lost but in exchange, you’ll be my sword. Do we have a deal? He watched her, confused at how someone who was so cowardly and quiet could change into such a confident person in the blink of an eye. “Deal.” Alecia Crest, a lowly omega who was ignored, abused and scorned suddenly found herself in an arranged marriage with the crippled ex Alpha . Using the healing powers she possessed, she made a deal with her cripple husband in exchange for revenge on her abuser and her freedom. It was meant to be a clean cut but what is she to do when she suddenly finds herself unable to resist the lust, attraction and passion that is the mate bond? Will she able to find love or will all the forces against the union succeed?

My name is Amanda Hayes, I'm 24 years old, and my life changed forever the day I signed that contract. It all started with an internship at Black Industries, the most prestigious company in London. I was proud, naive, convinced it was my big break. But on the first day, I overheard a conversation I never should have heard: names, numbers, threats, words like "cartel," "delivery," "clean accident." I wanted to run away, but Cameron Black — the CEO, 32 years old, 6'4" of ice and danger cornered me in his office on the 67th floor. He knew I had heard everything. He handed me two contracts: an ironclad NDA, and a second one… binding me to him, body and soul, 24/7. Total obedience. Immediate availability. In exchange, he would erase the risk I posed. Refuse? An "accident" for me, and maybe for my family. I signed, hands trembling, because I was afraid. Because I had no choice. Ever since, I have been living in a gilded cage he calls "protection." A luxury apartment he forced on me, a wardrobe he chose, constant surveillance. I know he is a mafia boss. And yet, when he touches me, when he protects me with a possessiveness that terrifies and inflames me, I no longer know where the line between fear and desire lies. He says I am in danger because of secrets I don't yet understand. But every day, I feel myself sinking deeper into his dark world, into his arms that hold me too tight, into that contract which is no longer just on paper.

She was about to share her wonderful news, but he beat her to it with a revelation of his own: “I think we should get a divorce.” In an instant, her entire world crumbled. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll divorce you.” --- Because she had used her family’s influence to force Parawee into a marriage he never wanted, he had spent three years merely enduring her. But now, Nicha—the woman he had always loved with all his heart—was back. “Let’s get a divorce.” He finally made his move to end it, expecting a clean break and a fresh start. --- Kajarin had been in love with Wee for as long as she could remember. She had begged her family to do whatever it took to make him hers, even though she knew his heart was already occupied. “I have some good news for you.” She had been ready to tell him, but his sudden demand for a divorce changed everything. Now, she had no choice but to bury her secret as deep as it would go. “Let’s head to the district office. I’ll give you the divorce you’ve been waiting for.” She was done. Truly, utterly done with it all. --- While driving his favorite yellow ride, Thamnithi was suddenly flagged down by a woman in a cream mini-dress. She looked like she was running from something, and moved by a sense of kindness, he decided to pick her up. But that one good deed was about to become a moment he would never forget for the rest of his life. “Damn it, Tham! What have you gotten yourself into?!”

"Sir, is there a problem?" I lift my face flooded with tears and snot to this person held in front of me. She is handing me disposable tissues and I take them from her hands while thanking her. I clean tears from my face. The stranger sits next to me on the public bench where I am sitting. I suddenly feel ashamed to have been caught by a stranger crying, moreover a woman. I then tell her with my head down "I'm sorry that you attended this pathetic spectacle!" "It's nothing. It happens to everyone to have problems in life. And believe me, it is advisable to cry to evacuate your pain. "She said to comfort me. "Thank you!" "So why are you crying? What is your problem with as for you? I'm sure there must be a solution." The young lady asked, while sitting next to me, in a sympathetic tone. "I don't really believe that there is a solution to my problem. Unless a large sum of money falls to me miraculously from the sky. " I replied, looking desperate. "Then marry me!" Such was the declaration of this young woman. I may have been in a desperate search for money, but she was mad to make me such an offer. Dinam is a young man desperately looking for a job. His mother having been diagnosed with blood cancer, he is ready to do anything to find the money to pay for therapy, even if it means marrying against his will. Believing to get out of misery thanks to this marriage, Dinam does not know that he was throwing himself directly into the mouth of the wolf. Conspiracies and low blows from his wife's stepmother will now be his daily life.

Trigger Warning: This story explores difficult themes including emotional and physical abuse, coercion, non-consensual drugging, obsession, and trauma. Reader discretion is advised. Love. Lust. Obsession. Three very different men, but they all have one thing in common... Me. I was just a waitress. A woman with burned bridges and a dream of starting over. I thought I was finally free. A clean slate. I was so close... so close to gaining the independence I fought so hard for, until darkness came again, only this time… tenfold. One’s lust wants to own me. Another’s obsession seeks to break me. The third... I’m drawn to. He treated me like no one else did. I thought I could trust him. Then something shifted. Something terrifying. Hope fades when your body is not yours, your voice is silenced, and freedom is denied. --- As my fingertips brushed the smooth metal surface of the handle, claw-like fingers sank into my fleshy hips. I cried out in pure terror, the wind knocked out of me as my back slammed against his chest. “You’re really not leaving without saying goodbye to me, are you, sweetheart?” he growled. His eyes glowed an eerie garnet. “Remember, you belong to me now, Laura. If you ever dare run, I’ll lock you away where no one will find you,” he snarled, his coarse face scraping against mine. --- I’ve survived everything up to this point... Now, I’m not sure I can. They say I belong to them... Yet what if I was never meant to belong to anyone?