Dimmed Lights Flicker

My Alpha mate Cain's childhood sweetheart Vivienne had returned from her overseas training in healing. She'd made a bet with the other healers that she could use the deadly wolfsbane to cure patients. Every senior healer told her it was absolutely impossible. But she ignored the warnings and injected a massive dose of wolfsbane extract straight into my mother Iris's body. My mother fell into a deep coma after her wolf was killed. My brother Ethan, enraged at the Moonlight Gathering, demanded a Trial by Blood from Vivienne, demanding her life. But Cain had Ethan imprisoned in the Silver Prison before the gathering. I was trembling with rage, wanting to tell everyone the truth at the gathering. But Cain stopped me. “When you go up on stage, tell everyone that what happened to your mother was an accident.” I froze, tears streaming down my face. I was his mate, after all. A flicker of guilt crossed Cain's eyes as he gently wiped away my tears. “Don't cry, baby,” his voice was low and gentle. “Vivian and I grew up together. She saved my life when we were little. She's a good person. She would never intentionally use Wolfsbane to harm your mother. It was an accident.” “You just need to admit it wasn't Vivian's fault,” Cain said, “and I'll get the best healers to treat your mother.” He paused. “Ethan will be released immediately too.” I closed my eyes. “Okay…” Since Vivienne was so important to you, then I would grant your wish. I turned and staged my death, leaving with my mother and brother. But the powerful Alpha broke down, searching the world for me and begging me to come back.

His lips brushed my palm and every time his hot breath hit my skin, it set my nerves on fire. “What the—” I whispered, breathless. And then, with deliberate slowness, Sevastian slipped my ring finger into his mouth. My eyes widened in disbelief, my heart hammering against my chest. His teeth scraped my skin before sinking into the flesh, just enough to make me twitch from the sharp pain. I gasped, both from the sting and the bite I got from him. My entire body tensed as he bit down harder, marking me not with ink or metal, but with flesh and teeth. When he finally released my hand, my skin throbbed, the faint mark of his bite was visible against my finger. I cradled my hand, staring in disbelief at the mark he left behind. “This,” Sevastian murmured, his voice low and sharp. “Is my mark and ring.” His tone carried an edge, dangerous yet confident, as if the words were meant to bind me. “The symbol that you are no longer Celestina Valeztina-Savelli.” His lips ghosted over my skin, and my chest tightened as he whispered the next words. “...but Celestina Valeztina-Ortega.” His next words were a soft snarl, dripping with ruthless certainty. “My property, my wife.” He added, while locking his gaze on me. There was no hesitation in his eyes, no flicker of remorse, only that same ruthless determination that chilled me to my core. I tried to pull my hand back, but he didn’t let go. "You’re insane," I whispered, my voice barely audible, trembling despite my best efforts not to show it. “Yes, I’m insane,” he replied with a hint of mischief in his voice, “And I can drive you crazy…” He paused, letting the tension hang in the air.

"Have you done this before?” he asked. I shook my head quickly. “Use your words,” he ordered, his tone firmer this time, sending a shiver down my spine. “No, Daddy,” I answered softly, feeling my body already yearning for his touch. He studied me for a moment, his gaze both intense and thoughtful. Then, a small smile tugged at his lips. “Yet, you did so well. I’m proud of you.” His praise washed over me like warm honey, and I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips. It felt like a little victory I didn’t know I was striving for. “Have you orgasmed before, sweet girl?” he asked in a husky voice. “No, Daddy.” He exhaled deeply, his expression darkening with something I couldn’t quite read. “So, you haven’t come before? Shame on them little boys.” His voice was rougher now, and I saw a flicker of anger in his eyes, like it genuinely bothered him. “I can’t stand knowing that. Do you want to come for Daddy?” When Flora got fed up with the constant mistreatment from Jayden and his ruthless family, she finally asked for a divorce. But Jayden suddenly realized he never wanted to lose her. But was Flora ready to be won back after tasting a life of freedom? Will she return to the man who once broke her, or take a chance on a love that defies all odds? WARNING: This story contains highly descriptive sexual content and explores themes of age gap, domination, submission, BDSM, and praise. All characters in this book are of age, and every sexual activity is consensual. Subsequent chapters may not include additional trigger warnings, so please consider this your warning.

To save his childhood sweetheart, who had a congenital heart condition, my husband tricked me into signing an organ donation agreement. Then he got into a truck and ran me over right in front of the hospital. Barely clinging to life, Elliot Carter tore my heart from my chest. When my body was wheeled out of the operating room, Alan Yates came crashing to my side like a man gone mad. Seeing the gaping hole where my heart used to be, he screamed and wept: "I'm sorry… I was too late… If there's another life, I'll never let you suffer like this again…" Tears fell exactly where my heart had been, and somehow, I even felt a flicker of warmth. He spun around and ran back into the operating room. When he came out again, Elliot and Jessica Foster were lying in a pool of blood. Alan, meanwhile, had slashed his own wrist to die with me. On his deathbed, he ordered that we be buried together. Then I opened my eyes. I had been reborn. Before me stood Elliot, dressed in a wedding gown, holding a bouquet, and proposing. I flung the flowers in his face and turned to embrace Alan in the crowd. However, only a year and a half into our marriage, he changed. Alan began openly pairing up with Jessica, letting her move into our home. Worse, he claimed that our cat's mating season had disturbed Jessica's sleep, and so he allowed her to run over the cat I had raised for seven years. I could not believe it. This was not the man who had loved me so deeply in my previous life. My eyes blazing, I demanded, "What's wrong with you?" However, Alan's gaze was icy. "Nothing. I just don't love you anymore."

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

"I Logan Lee Parker, Alpha of the Silver river pack........reject you, Elena Almeria Knight. You're not worthy to be my wife" Logan's deep baritone declares. Everyone present gasp in disbelief, some laughs with scornful gazes and smirks. Elena felt her whole world coming to an end, now she really wished the floor would open and take her in. Her chest constricted and her heart shattered to pieces. Was she dreaming? It can't be true? She thought to herself staring deeply at Logan. She had waited for this day, only to be rejected. 'Logan, why?' she mindlinked him as her eyes blurred with tears. But instead, he stared at her with an emotionless gaze. With no ounce of remorse or any type of guilt in his eyes. Just when she thought there was a flicker of remorse or pity in his eyes and her heart leaped a little in hope, he looked away. Darting his gaze behind Elena, she was forced to look back, to know what got his attention. Her eyes widened in shock as her once fated mate declare and chose her cousin as his mate. Lisa glared at her and her lips tilted into a victory smirk. Everything came running in her mind in a blur, she didn't want to believe it. The rejection, the pain, it was hurting and Logan didn't seem to care at all. He cheated on her and she forgave him and still, he chose her cousin and broke their bond. Trying her best to contemplate all that just happened, internalizing everything to come back to the reality- she wasn't dreaming. Ivana gets angry and when she takes over, her eyes changes to Ivana's gold ones and in a blink of an eye- she vanished from the pack.

Nora Jensen has a plan for everything. Senior year? Mapped out. College applications? Done. Feelings for Cole Whitaker, Millbrook High's infuriatingly charming hockey star? Absolutely, categorically, not part of the plan. But when Cole shows up at her locker with that look — the desperate one he'd never admit to — and says you owe me one, Nora finds herself agreeing to the most ridiculous favor of her life. One family dinner. One fake girlfriend. Simple, clean, transactional. Except nothing about Cole Whitaker turns out to be simple. Not the way he remembers her coffee order without being asked. Not the way he describes his favorite color as pre-game ice, before they turn the main lights on. Not the way he looks at her on the porch after dinner like she's something worth keeping — and she's supposed to be pretending he isn't looking at all. Nora made a deal. She just didn't read the fine print. The part where fake dinners turn into real conversations. Where negotiated terms start feeling a lot like feelings. Where the boy you agreed to pretend to love somehow becomes the one person you can't imagine pretending about. The rules were simple. Don't hold his hand. Don't look at him like you like him. Don't fall. Two out of three isn't bad.

"Why can't I have both of you at the same time!" I shot, glaring at him. I tried to be softer with him, but he made it harder. He froze for a second, searching my face before taking my hand and stroking his thumb gently on the back. "Not so fast, pussy cat," he whispered in my ear, his free hand on my neck, pinning me head against his shoulder. "I need your cunt to get used to me to the point that you cannot satisfy yourself no matter how much you touch yourself. Only we would be able to make you cum from now on, whether you like it or not. Your cunt will only obey us because it belongs to us like all of you. Every time you need to cum, you'd have to come to us. You'd have to depend on us, giving your freedom of cumming only to us," he told me, working his fingers and hand faster. I was drenched with my wetness, and my walls were begging his fingers to let them clench, but no, he continued. TRIGGER WARNING: This is a dark romance story, so keep your fingers ready. Keep the lights low. Get your mind energized, and Baby? Let me know if you get caught up in this story. This book is rated 18+.

Los Angeles was supposed to be my home. Instead, it had always felt like a golden cage. The Smith mansion stood tall behind iron gates, glittering with wealth and silence. Servants bowed. Cameras watched every corner. And the man who called himself my uncle smiled sweetly for the world while hiding knives behind his back. I was seventeen when I heard the truth. “He will take care of the girl tonight,” my uncle said over the phone, his voice calm. “Make it look like an accident.” The girl. He meant me. Fear became the only thing that kept my legs moving. I ran from the driver who was meant to take me home, sprinting through unfamiliar streets until the bright city lights disappeared and the world turned darker. Detroit. Wrong place. Wrong time. Engines roared in the distance when I saw him. A man sitting on a black motorcycle like a shadow carved from danger. Tattoos curled up his neck. His eyes were cold enough to freeze the night. Everyone knew men like him were monsters. But monsters were sometimes the only ones who could save you. I jumped onto the back of his motorcycle and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Please,” I whispered. “Help me.” That single moment would destroy his life. And change mine forever. *******