Dire Crossword Clue Novels & Stories

Mateo Morales has been missing for two months. He disappeared with no sign left behind; no hints, and no clue as to where he went and why he disappeared. Eva Morales has been searching religiously for her brother. Being a lone wolf, her family is all she has and she will do anything for her brother. When all her clues lead to Laurence Baxter, she can't help but follow the breadcrumbs, but what she discovers might be more than what she bargained for.Laurence Baxter is wild, untamed, and spontaneous. He lives the life he wants and does what he wants; it works for him. But when his PI disappears, he can't help but feel responsible and he jumps right into a long search. When Mateo's sister, Eva, shows up and Laurence discovers her as his mate, he is thrilled to be so lucky. However, this prickly woman wants nothing to do with mates, nevermind a playboy like himself.Searching for Mateo and unraveling the Morales family secrets soon turns out to be more than he bargained for and Laurence finds more answers than he was hoping to find. After his mate runs from him, he has to make a decision: chase after her and rush into danger or let her be alone like she wants.*This is the third book in the Baxter Brothers series, though it can be read as a standalone novel*

"You're still so beautiful, Aviana," he whispers, sending cold shivers down my spine. My heart is beating so fast. I try to calm myself so he doesn't see how frightened I am because it will only please him. "You thought he could save you? There's no escaping me." ... Aviana, a woman on the edge, is relentlessly pursued by a dangerous drug lord, his obsession with her stretching back to her teenage years. In a desperate bid to escape, she flees her homeland, seeking solace in a new city. It's here that she encounters the enigmatic and intimidating Nikolas Wulfric. Driven by her dire need for money, she reluctantly agrees to become his surrogate. As Aviana and Nikolas's relationship deepens, she begins to unravel the layers of his complex persona, discovering deep secrets and a hidden identity. With each revelation, the danger they both face escalates, leaving Aviana to question if she's unwittingly stepped into a world even more treacherous than the one she left behind. As danger closes around them, Aviana must decide whether to flee again or fight for her life and her baby.

Seven years ago, a misunderstanding caused Eudora and Ryan to break up. After leaving the city and returning to her hometown, she discovered she was pregnant. Eudora decided to raise her child alone, starting her journey as a single mother. However, life threw her a curveball. Her daughter was born with a congenital heart condition, and the cost of treatment put her family in a dire financial situation. She was even struggling to afford the life-saving treatment for her daughter. Driven to desperation, she made the difficult decision to work as a hostess at a nightclub to earn money for her daughter's medical expenses. But Eudora was completely shocked when her first customer on her first night turned out to be her wealthy ex-boyfriend, Ryan. Seeing Eudora in the nightclub, Ryan is initially stunned, then consumed by anger. She betrayed him for another man, and now she's living this miserable life. Was it all worth it? Seven years later, their paths are intertwined once more. Misunderstandings continue to fuel their pain, adding layer upon layer of humiliation. Can they finally release the past and find their way back to each other, or are they destined to drift apart, leaving behind wounds that will forever scar their hearts?

Title: Tempted by the Billionaire's Bride After a series of unfortunate events, the heroine, Emily, finds herself in dire financial straits. With no other options in sight, she signs up for a mail-order bride service, hoping to find a wealthy husband who can save her from her crippling debt. Little did she know that her intended groom, billionaire businessman, Alexander Pierce, was not looking for love, but a wife in name only. Despite his initial disdain for the arrangement, Alex finds himself drawn to Emily's sweet and timid nature. He offers to pay off her debts in exchange for a predetermined amount of time as his temporary wife. Emily, desperate for a way out, agrees to the terms, but can she really handle the cold and distant Billionaire who has control over her life? As they navigate their fake marriage, Emily starts seeing the softer side of Alex - the vulnerable man who has been hurt before. His guarded exterior starts to melt as he discovers how much he enjoys having Emily around. But just as they begin to develop feelings for each other, a dangerous figure from Alex's past resurfaces, throwing their newfound happiness into jeopardy. With secrets and lies threatening to tear them apart, can Alex and Emily overcome their differences and find true love? Or will their relationship be nothing more than a business arrangement?

The Ravennites: children of the lost Seluitah tribe and the white refugees from the Old World. For generations their civilization had remained hidden and kept secret from the constant, prying eyes of the Outside. Life as the Ravennites once knew it, however, would soon fall to bitter change when enemies from the Outside world seek to take away from them everything they had always known and loved. Lost and helpless, the Ravennite civilization has all but fallen into ruin. That is, until a young outsider named Alex Lee discovers the hidden culture and the dire situation that has overshadowed them. Suddenly thrown into the middle of the conflict, Alex feels as though he has no choice but to make a stand and help his brave new friends in the fight to take back what is being stolen from them; while along the way gaining an incredible new insight on the life which he had left behind, and developing a powerful bond with a young Ravennite girl. The choice is his to make: to join with the Ravennites in their fight against their greatest enemies, or to fall into darkness along with all that is left of their hidden civilization, running away is no option. Whatever the path he chooses to take, however, what Alex does not yet realize is the exact nature of the mysterious forces which he constantly senses continue to surround him, and that they have had their sights set on his bloodline for a long time.

Selena of the Moonglade pack is in love with Callum from the Silvergleam pack. But he is not her fated mate. To her dismay, her match made for her under the moon is Callum's brother, the next Alpha of the Moonglade pack and possibly the coldest person Selena has ever encountered. Lucian, in question, is largely indifferent to this discovery. His father remains in a dire state of health, and being his heir, the mantle of leadership and protection of the pack is now draped on his youthful shoulders. The day for the enemy looms closer and he must be prepared. But now his concerns would deviate. His heart will teeter to the most magnetic force. Selena his beautiful distraction; Selena his inevitable weakness. But what will Selena do now that her heart says yes, but her wolf says no? Torn between being mated to Lucian while a part of her is with someone else? And then there's Uncle Bane whom Lucian confides in more than his father. He is liberal and easygoing. Or so they think... There's a suspected spy amongst them conniving with the Bloodfang pack–the enemy pack. What are Uncle Bane's true intentions? Despite sharing a love like running on a treadmill, with Lucian being defiant to his mate, jealousy creeps in eventually and it creates a clash in his relationship with his brother Callum. Selena will assist Lucian in piecing together the puzzles in his life bit by bit.

“Remember when I said I forgive you? Guess what baby, I lied.” ****** Bree had thought that breaking the heart of her boyfriend, Spencer on that rainy evening was the worst day of her life but her cold and manipulative mother proved her wrong by sending her to a psychiatric hospital as a punishment. Finding out that she was pregnant and escaping the hospital, Bree fled the city to somewhere far away to escape the clutches of her controlling mother and become a free bird. When her little one turned three, she innocently asked, “Mommy, where is Daddy?” “Daddy is no more,” she let out the first thing that came to her mind. After five years, Bree returned to the city, this time as an FBI agent and crossing paths so soon with Spencer in an unexpected dire situation was something she never expected. Amid all similarities, the old chirpy vibrant man that she once knew was no more, instead this Spencer was bitter and vengeful. He was hell-bent on making her pay for her decision five years ago. Moreover, how will the morally gray man react when he finds out that they have a child together, especially after his last words to her years ago that still echoed in her ears day and night?

"Im going to kiss the next person that strolls through those dorrs." ....................... It was only meant to proove a point. A tactic to show her friends that she was not so uptight. But Jacquiline should have known; she should have expected dire consequences that came with kissing the incredible hot handsome stranger that walked into the caffe that morning.   The kiss created such an uproar on the internet that she was now being paraded as the billionaire's mystery girlfriend, the first woman Enzo Harnandez had publicly shown off.  Forced into a contract marriage in a bid to silence the media, Jacquline plans flee as soon as she acquires enough money for a fresh start and her fathers mdical bills.  What Jacqueline doesn't expect however are the feelings that begin to stir up in the process of this fake marriage. What happens when she learns that the devilishly handsome Enzo Hernandez is smarter and even more shrewd than she made him out to be.  .............. "Oh princess, I'm a tad disappointed that you thought you could fool me," I heard him say coldly as he cornered me. "I've known all about your plans from the beginning. Now… strip and touch the bed frame. I'm going to fuck some sense into you." 

Part One:When Jamie Dalton moved into the house her grandparents left her she was just looking to reconnect with her past and settle in familiar surroundings. Digging through the attic for treasures, she found a nearly life-sized statue of a wolf and a very old, very strange book, Legends of the Werewolf. She was shocked when her new neighbor, Mike Volka, introduced himself and the eyes watching her looked just like the wolf in the book. Using the hypnotic power of the shifter, he draws her into his web and they have sex so hot it nearly burns down the house.Part TwoShifter Lia Popescue is desperate to find the book, Legends of the Werewolf, her only clue as to what happened to her pack. Her attempts to recover it bring her into contact with Riley Morgan, a contact that explodes with sexual chemistry. When she loses her heart to the sexy detective, she wonders how he will handle knowing the truth about her.USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.Wolf Tales is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

My name is Eleanor Keating. In my past life, my older sister—Alice Keating—and I were entrusted to the McKellen family in Arborhill by our parents for arranged marriages. I married John McKellen, the eldest son. While he might not be conventionally handsome, his calm demeanor and unwavering reliability stood out. Alice married Xavier McKellen, the younger son. Handsome as he was, he was equally carefree and unpredictable in his actions. Eager for a grandchild, the family patriarch—Henry McKellen—made a promise. The first to bear a child would have their offspring named the next heir of the family. After our wedding, John and I conceived. Our child was naturally declared the next heir, and with that, John and I gained influence and power within the family. Tensions between Alice and Xavier escalated into frequent fights. Eventually, both had affairs, and their marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Believing they had dishonored the family, John banished them from the household. Blinded by jealousy, Alice poisoned me and my child, ending both our lives. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the first day I arrived at the McKellen residence. But this time, Alice makes the first move and sleeps with John. In that moment, I realize she, too, has been given a second chance at life. Unfortunately, she has no clue that John is a twisted man. Not only is he devoid of love, but he also sees women as mere stepping stones in his relentless pursuit of power.