Crystal Pokespe

Layla Dean—Twenty-Two, Smart, Witty, Sarcastic, Billionaire. Just one obstacle in the path of obtaining what she wants—Aiden Smith. By her definition, He is Satan’s reincarnate. A justifiable verdict after he crushed her best friend’s heart. Layla loathes him. Staying in the same room is nerve-racking. Now, A Million dollars is on the line if they can not work together. Within 60 days, they uncover company secrets. They clash. They struggle. They end up in each’s arms. And they finish their task. If only the tale ended there. It didn’t. How much longer will the resentment continue if they can’t keep their hands off each other? There’s Passion. Sex. Lies. Deception. Tears. All they have left is each other. But of what use is flame if everyone around them puts the fire out?

Eu era apenas uma garota das favelas que se apaixonou por Damon Vitale, o Chefão mais temido de Nova York. Por cinco anos, eu dediquei minha vida a ele e cheguei a levar nove tiros para protegê-lo. Ele beijava minhas cicatrizes enquanto eu sangrava, me segurava apertado e me fazia pensar que eu era a sua verdadeira rainha. Então, quando eu me recuperava, ele me fodia com uma paixão tão intensa que chegava a perder os sentidos. Eu achava que ficaríamos juntos. Eu achava que iríamos nos casar. Mas, na nossa 999ª noite, ele me disse que estava noivo. Sua noiva era a princesinha da família rival, Bianca. Eu queria chorar e ele apenas segurou meu queixo, soprou fumaça na minha cara e disse, em meio a risos: — Você achou mesmo que ia se casar comigo, Nora? Vou deixar isso bem claro. A gente transa. Só isso. Você não é minha parceira. É tipo uma obra de arte que eu coleciono ou uma pet da qual sou dono. Uma pet. Era só isso que ele queria de mim. Em vez disso, fiz uma ligação de um telefone criptografado. [Eu aceito sua oferta. Três dias. Me tire de Nova York.]

Rogues took me while I was protecting my mate, Alpha Arthur. I came back three years later, only to find Arthur mated to my sister, Calista. My son, Leo, didn't recognize me. He only saw Calista as his real mother. Broken, I forced Arthur to banish Calista with the Elders' support, using my past contributions as leverage. But she died in a weak, outlying pack. Poisoned. After her death, Leo hated me for it. Arthur never blamed me, though. He just kept telling me everything would be okay. But when our pack was attacked again, he threw me to our enemies without hesitation. Left me to die. As I lay dying, I heard him snarl through gritted teeth. "If you hadn't come back, Calista would have been my mate for life!" My heart turned to ash. Then, I opened my eyes. I was back. Back to the day I returned after being gone for three years. This time, I looked at Arthur shielding Calista, with Leo clinging to her. "I sever our mate bond. From this day on, I am done with all of you."

L'année de ma renaissance était aussi celle où la guerre contre les vampires a éclaté. La toute première chose que j'ai faite a été de me débarrasser du petit. Le petit de mon compagnon. Celui de l'Alpha Lucas. Dans ma vie précédente, il avait couvert son amie d'enfance, Sarah, lorsqu'elle s'était accouplée avec un vampire. Il avait pris mon enfant de sang pur et l'avait échangé contre le bâtard métis qu'elle portait. On m'avait accusée de trahison. On m'avait torturée à mort dans une cellule d'argent. Et mon propre fils, manipulé et endoctriné par Sarah, s'était tenu au-dessus de mon cadavre pour me dire de pourrir en enfer. Quand j'ai rouvert les yeux, j'étais enceinte de trois mois. Je n'ai pas hésité une seconde. Je me suis rendue directement à la cabane de la sorcière et j'ai bu le poison qu'elle m'a tendu. Mais tandis que la vie s'échappait de mon corps, j'ai débouché un autre flacon : une potion de Mimétisme, rare et coûteuse. Elle imite les battements de cœur d'un fœtus. Elle diffuse l'odeur d'une louve enceinte. Lucas veut un enfant sacrificiel pour endosser la faute de Sarah. Très bien. Je vais lui offrir le spectacle qu'il attend. Cette fois, je n'ai plus aucune faiblesse.

"Kau bukan kriteriaku, Crys." Brandon berkata tegas. Tatapan nyalang oleh amarah. "Aku menyukai perempuan yang be--" "Perempuan muda, berusia sekitar 20-22 tahun." Crystal memotong dengan cepat. "Sedangkan aku berumur sudah seperempat abad. Aku cukup tua dan tidak akan masuk menjadi kriteria utama wanita pilihanmu." Crystal menyeringai meremehkan. "Ah, kau juga mencari wanita muda yang agresif dan berpengalaman, 'kan?" "Sedangkan aku masih belum pernah tidur dengan pria mana pun selama ini. Jadi, kau merasa aku akan sulit mengimbangimu." "Aku bodoh karena aku ingin dirimu yang pertama memilikiku seutuhnya, tapi kau sama sekali tidak tertarik denganku, Uncle." Crystal berdecak sinis. Namun, kontras akan matanya yang sudah berkaca-kaca. Ia sendiri benci harus menunjukkan kemarahannya dengan cara seperti ini. Akan terlihat lemah. "Aku hanya bisa minta maaf. Aku tidak dapat memberikanmu kesempatanmu untuk lebih menyukaiku, Crys. Itu adalah kesalahan." Brandon mulai melunak, suaranya melembut. "Kau akan tetap menjadi keponakanku, ti--" "Dan, aku akan membuatmu pada akhirnya menyukaiku. Memintaku untuk menjadi milikmu seorang." Crystal berujar mantap. "Aku pasti bersedia mengubah statusmu dari paman menjadi suamiku," imbuhnya dengan suara penuh keyakinan dan ambisius. ………………… Crystal Smith dan Brandon Smith, memang memiliki nama belakang keluarga yang sama, tetapi mereka tidak ada hubungan darah sedikit pun. Hanya secara hukum saja Brandon berstatus sebagai pamannya. Jadi, Crystal membiarkan rasa cinta tumbuh untuk pria yang sepuluh tahun lebih tua darinya. Walau, tidak berbalas sama sekali. Namun, Crystal pantang menyerah dengan apa yang diinginkannya. Dikerahkan berbagai cara agar dapat mengklaim Brandon sebagai miliknya. ………….

"Why do you want to be my bride so badly?" he questioned, his mesmerizing eyes locked Crystal's. Crystal shook her head, reminding herself of her goal. "To marry someone like you, an angel from heaven. Marrying you would be, no doubt, a blessing." She stammered, looking away. He leaned closer to her; his breath grazed her skin. "An angel?" he chuckled deviously. "Are you sure, I'm an angel?" Crystal Fei was a fiery woman with a thirst for revenge. For ten years, she has been looking for the culprit who caused her brother's death at all costs. Finally, when she was on the brink of hopelessness, a man reached out, promising her revenge on that person. But what game did fate play on Crystal when she was tasked to steal his heart in an undercover mission to avenge her brother? Will it still be a game of pretense when she looked into his eyes. The eyes that was so sharp and mysterious, his eyes that pierced her heart.

Alpha Kaelan, my fated mate, despised me. He blamed me for the death of his childhood sweetheart, Lila. He hated our fated bond. He hated my power. He hated that the Elders forced him to mark me. He hated that our mating drove Lila to her death. So for twenty years, we were trapped in a cage of hatred, each wishing the other would drop dead. Until the day I was poisoned and dying. The moment I felt the poison, I knew. Kaelan did this. My wolf howled, fighting to keep me alive until he came home. I killed him with a silver dagger. But then, as he lay dying, I heard him whisper to his second-in-command. "Don't you dare kill her. The antidote I got from the witch… give it to Selene. And she can never know it was from me..." "And... you have to find out... who's been poisoning her all this time." After he died, a searing pain tore through my chest. Tears streamed down my face. I refused the antidote. I wanted this whole mistake to end. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back before he marked me. I took a deal with the Supernatural Council and left the continent behind. This time, I rejected our bond. I would give him and his precious Lila the happy ending they deserved.

I was Alpha Adrian's secret for eight years. It took his grandfather’s centennial birthday for him to finally bring our son, Gale, and me home to the pack. He swore the pack Elders had finally given us their blessing. Our son, buzzing with excitement, bounced on the bed, clutching the champion’s medal from his junior fighting tournament. He’d fought tooth and nail to win it, just to make his father proud. But the moment we set foot on the Blackwood Manor grounds, we saw him. Adrian, with his arms wrapped around a blonde she-wolf, kissing her deeply. Adrian introduced her with a smile. "My mate, Sophia" Our son, Gale, rushed forward to confront him, stabbing a finger toward the seemingly perfect bite mark on my neck. "That's the mark Dad gave Mom! You all see it!" But the pack’s Head Elder stepped forward. After a cursory glance, he let out a cold sneer. "A clever trick of blood magic," he said with contempt. "It can mimic a scent, but it lacks the soul-deep connection of a true mate bond. Any experienced wolf can see through it." I turned to Adrian, my body frozen stiff. He turned away from me, gently stroking the real mark on Sophia's neck, which glowed with a silvery, moonlit light. "The Blackwood pack will not accept a half-blood who can’t even shift" he said. "The only one fit to stand by my side is Sophia." I looked at him, and a bitter laugh escaped me. To think I had suppressed my own Royal Alpha blood for a man like this.

Stella and I are at a college party and man, it’s so bad ass. This is our first college party and Stella’sm first party ever. Are you having fun, sister? I ask her. Yes, I really am. My sister Stella is your quiet, stay to herself kind of gal. Where I am that loud in your face kind of girl. So, it’s not weird seeing a beer in my hands and dancing my ass off with my friends or my hot as hell boyfriend Jax. What’s weird is seeing my sister with a beer in hand and dancing to the music, getting her freak on with a strange guy. I’m glad my twin is letting her freak fly tonight. We are going to be seniors when school starts and damn; we need to make a name for ourselves. Being the quiet ass bitch is only going to get her picked on. Jax comes up behind me, moving his hips to the music. Want to go upstairs he asks after a minute of grinding against my ass. Um, yes, I do. I say, wiggling my ass against his front. I’m going to go upstairs with Jax for a bit. Do you think you will be okay while I’m gone? I ask Stella. She just gives me a look that says piss off, asshole. I throw up my hands in surrender. Okay, I say, wiggling my brows. Get it, girl. I tell Stella. Stella just smiles at me. Ditto sister, she says, wiggling her fingers at me. I laugh and grab my boyfriend’s hand and drag him upstairs. When we find a room upstairs, I slam Jax against the wall and kiss him fiercely. Damn baby, did you miss me? Jax asks, smiling.

Mi esposo, Damien Falcone, tenía noventa y nueve amantes. Y yo era la princesa de la mafia por la que los hombres hacían fila para ofrecerme su vida. El día que empezamos a salir, todos en nuestro grupo hicieron apuestas. Decían que no duraríamos ni tres meses. Pero entonces, todo cambió. Por mí, bloqueó a todas de su celular, construyó una mansión y se arrodilló para pedir mi mano. Luego, en nuestra noche de bodas, me dijo que quería un matrimonio abierto. —Podemos estar con otras personas, si queremos. Pero la lealtad… es solo para nosotros. Acepté. Y entonces apareció su amante número cien, Sophia Ricci. Traicionó a nuestra familia en un trato de armas. Casi le cuesta la vida a mi padre. Pero Damien la protegió. Incluso la metió a vivir en nuestra casa. Así que hice lo que cualquier princesa de la mafia con el corazón roto haría: me emborraché y desperté en la cama de otro. Lo que no sabía era que ese hombre era el tío de Damien.