Crackling Shards

I plan a family trip at my mother Lucia Sweeney's request. While avoiding the danger zones, my sister Linda Harper and I are ambushed by rogues. To protect her, I throw myself in the path of their claws and get driven into a silver mine. As I fall, my back is slashed open to the bone, and shards of silver embed deep into my right leg. The searing silver poison spreads quickly, burning through me and my wolf. My wolf is whimpering—she's close to death. However, as the pack's chief healer, Mom gathers all the healers around Linda to give her a full check-up over a few minor scrapes. I sob and beg her to save me first. "Mom, the poison has almost reached my heart. I can't hold on anymore." She turns around impatiently and yells, "Are you seriously still fighting with Linda now? Do you have any idea how close she came to getting clawed in the face by a silver claw? Our pack doesn't have a wolf as heartless as you!" And in that moment, I hear my wolf's final whimper, saying goodbye. I finally fall asleep in the cold wind, never waking up again.

"I'll build you thousands of empires and mansions, adore you with precious pieces of jewelry, you will be the only known queen of this ruthless man," Azrael Thorn Execroz whispered words that marked Andromeda's heart. His minty breath lingers in her senses, particularly in her nose. She wanted to be consumed by the fire of his heart, deep until they can no longer grasp for air. His shoulder shuddered in the darkness, while his body remains to cage the woman who captivated his iron heart. "Azrael..." she said softly with her heart beating erratically. "I...I don't desire your wealth nor your heart," she replied, slightly shivering. She was lying to the young man but mostly to herself. "Then what do you want?" he replied with his eyes beginning to shine as the tears warn to fall. He is breaking. "Let me leave," Andromeda spoke, each word like an arrow piercing through his heart. Sliding her right arm to his chest, she tiptoed momentarily to whisper what ended them. "Free me." And with that, the mighty and dignified Azrael Execroz felt his world crumble into small shards of glass. She tamed him. She was his escape. His solace. And now, she's gone.

He was told to protect me and yet I want him to ruin me. “Zyran?” He didn’t turn. “What is it, Myra?” I took a shaky breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Our arrangement. I want to understand my part in it.” Finally he turned. His pale eyes gleamed in the dim light, his gaze fixed on me so intently, it felt like a predator tracking its prey. “Your part is to be my wife and mine to give you protection.” “But you are the only one giving. I want to give you something too.” “I’m tired of being just a painting on the wall,” I whispered, stepping closer to him, the air crackling with so much tension, I may have forgotten how to breathe. “You're my husband. In every way, so I want you to teach me.” A muscle ticked in his jaw, his eyes darkening with every word I said. “Teach you what?” “Pleasure.” I said, biting down on my lip out of sheer nervousness “Your kind of pleasure. Show me what you like. Let me learn how to touch you. Let me make you feel something…” I agreed to marry Zyran Theon because he was my brother’s best friend and by far the safest option. A year of cold indifference seemed better than a lifetime of horror. However I never expected to find a man shattered by his own psyche and a constant repression of his urges to claim me and even worse I never expected to want him too.

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, Omega. My wolf doesn't care for your excuses, only your scent." The growl was like velvet over gravel, vibrating through the humid air of the VIP lounge. Samuel Cawson knew he should run. He was a half-blood, a "glitch" in the supernatural hierarchy, and the man looming over him was Adrian Stain—the Alpha King whose name was whispered in fear by boardrooms and blood-packs alike. But under the heat of a Blood Moon, pride was the first thing to burn. One night of feral, bone-deep surrender was supposed to be his escape; instead, it became his cage. Then came the twist of betrayal. When Samuel woke to an empty bed and a branded neck, he realized he hadn't just slept with a CEO—he had accidentally claimed a King. Fleeing across the globe was his only hope to protect the secret growing inside him. But five years later, the past has a way of tracking its prey. Samuel returns with a silver-eyed child who carries the Alpha’s lethal genius, only to walk straight into Adrian’s trap. The man he once feared is now a monster obsessed with reclaiming what’s his. Between the jagged shards of a broken heart and a conspiracy that threatens to bleed the pack dry, Samuel must decide: is Adrian his fated protector, or is he the very predator who will eventually tear his world apart? "You stole my heir, Samuel. Now, I’m going to steal your breath until you remember exactly who you belong to."

"I didn't just save your sister’s life, Elara. I bought yours. And I’m a man who expects a return on his investment." Elara Vance was never supposed to play with fire. But with her sister’s life fading and the doctors offering nothing but apologies, she turns to the only legacy her family left behind: a forbidden ritual to summon the Duke of the Seventh Circle. She expected a monster. She didn't expect Vane. Towering, lethal, and devastatingly handsome in a tailored black suit, Vane looks more like a cold-blooded CEO than a creature of legend. His eyes are like shards of grey ice, and he looks at Elara not with mercy, but with a hunger that has been brewing for centuries. He offers her a deal she can’t refuse: her sister’s health in exchange for Elara’s total, unconditional submission. The contract is simple. Elara belongs to him. She will live in his shadows, answer to his name, and follow the rules of a world where humans are nothing but prey. But as Elara is pulled into Vane’s opulent, dangerous life, she discovers that her billionaire captor is hiding a dark truth. He didn't just happen to hear her call he has been orchestrating her downfall from the start. Now, trapped in a gilded cage with a man who is as beautiful as he is brutal, Elara must decide: will she find the loophole to break the contract, or will she lose herself to the dark desire of the demon who claims to own her heart?

Story Summary: The Billionaire's Contract Wife Logline: When desperation forces a woman into a marriage contract with a ruthless billionaire, their business arrangement threatens to crumble under the weight of forbidden passion and a dangerous secret from his past. Synopsis: Facing financial ruin and her father's looming medical crisis, Elara Vance makes a devil's bargain with Kaelan Thorne—the formidable CEO whose business dealings inadvertently crushed her family. For twenty million dollars, she will become his devoted wife for one year, a beautiful facade to secure his most crucial business deal. The contract is clear: no emotional attachment, just cold, calculated performance. Moving into his sterile penthouse, Elara navigates a world of opulent deception. Publicly, they are the picture of perfect newlyweds, their manufactured chemistry dazzling the media. Privately, they engage in a tense battle of wills, their sharp exchanges crackling with suppressed heat. Elara begins seeing past Kaelan's icy exterior to the man haunted by the tragic death of his former fiancée, Genevieve—a shadow that looms over their every interaction. The line between pretense and reality shatters during a moment of undeniable passion. When Elara discovers she's pregnant, Kaelan's old wounds reopen. Consumed by past betrayal, he accuses her of trapping him, confirming his deepest fear that everyone is for sale. Months later, a corporate attack linked to the mystery of Genevieve threatens to destroy Kaelan's empire. It is Elara, armed with strength she never knew she possessed, who exposes the conspiracy and saves his company. Faced with losing her forever, a humbled Kaelan must confront his past and vulnerability. He finds her not with a new contract, but with a heartfelt confession, proving that their love was the only deal worth making. Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Billionaire Romance, Broken Hero, Strong Heroine, Fake Relationship, Pregnancy, Hidden Past.

The wolf inside me howls when the bond snaps into place. I’ve found my second-chance mate. Just a few days ago, the man I’ve loved my whole life gave me to our former enemy in exchange for his sister’s hand in marriage. After I risked my own life to save his, my first mate Alpha Raul traded me like a thing. My heart and mind are in chaos, and I feel like I’m losing my grip on reality. The only thing I’m absolutely certain of is that I want more of the tenderness this stranger is offering me, to lose myself in him. His eyes widen, nostrils flaring, and I know he can smell my interest. I’m straddling his waist, and our bodies are pressed together. “You are mine,” he says quietly, and runs his thumb across my lower lip. My breathing is erratic, and I can feel the heat coiling in me, pulsing through me in delectable waves. This is crazy. I don’t even know his name and still, everywhere our skin touches I can feel the want crackling between us like electricity. I want this so badly, but it’s not who I am. I can’t use my savior to avenge myself on Raul and put a plaster on my shattered heart. “I’m sorry, I can’t. This isn’t right,” I offer an apology before getting off of him. But his hand snaps out and grabs my wrist, yanking me back onto him. “Tut-tut little wolf, there’s no running away from me. You’re mated to Alpha King Aiden now and I fully intend to keep you.”

Pretend to be his fiancée. Save her brother’s life. Don’t fall in love with a man who can’t see the truth. Celeste Harper is a master of voices, but her own life is a tragedy. Drowning in the suffocating medical bills for her comatose younger brother, she’s one missed payment away from losing the only family she has left. Until a cold-blooded offer from the city’s most powerful matriarch changes everything. The Task: Step into the designer heels of Vivian Lancaster—the socialite who abandoned her fiancé, Lucian Aldridge, the moment a brutal accident stole his sight. The Target: Lucian. A billionaire CEO turned into a recluse, a man whose bitterness is as sharp as the shards of glass that blinded him. He’s a wounded predator in a gilded cage, and he hates the woman who left him. The Problem: When Celeste speaks, Lucian doesn't just hear his fiancée—he hears the only reason he has left to live. Now, Celeste is trapped in a dangerous game of sensory deception. Every touch is a risk; every whisper is a lie. As she navigates the dark hallways of his estate and the growing, electric tension between them, the lines start to blur. To the world, she’s a gold-digger seeking redemption. To Lucian, she’s the only light in his darkness. But secrets in the Aldridge empire are never buried deep enough. In a world where he can’t see her face, Celeste must decide: how long can she play the role of a ghost before she disappears entirely? Because when the bandages come off and Lucian finally sees the truth—it won’t just be his heart on the line. It will be her life.

Danika used to be the beta's daughter until she killed her parents and demoted to an omega. When she turns 18, she hoped her sins will be forgiven, hoping to turn rogue and create a life she can call her own. But the Alpha had set his sights on her long before she could taste freedom, and he claims her as his personal lust slave. He watched the hope in her eyes shatter into a thousand shards of glass as her tears broke out. One day she wanders into the forest alone, the one time of the month she is allowed to do whatever she wants, except leave the territory, she encounters the a woman, the moon goddess. She wants to help her, so she encourages her to follow her instructions to escape, but there is a catch. She must enter the Alpha King's trial for lunas, a series of games designed to determine the worthy luna for the Alpha King. Anyone is eligible to apply. She follows her instructions and manages to escape but not before accepting the Alpha's rejection, which later on gives him the biggest backlash and pain. He began to look for her desperately, only to find she is one of the candidates in the Luna Trials. But there is only one problem. Her fated mates turned out to be not one, but two powerful deadly wolves in the entire kingdom. The Alpha King himself. And his dangerous, shunned brother, Prince Liam. Both are hell-bent on protecting her every step of the way. But what will Danika do when she is forced to choose just one? Will she listen to her heart and accept both love of two brothers who clash together every chance they got? Or will one be left in the dust?