Dried Blood Under Skin

After my parents were killed in a territory war, I was taken in by Don Moretti, head of New York's most powerful crime family. I was the only civilian in a world of made men. For twenty years, I was raised alongside his twin heirs, Marco and Santino. Their protection and favor made me the envy of every aspiring mob wife in the city. But when I was finally ready to become a real part of the family, they both turned me down. Marco said, "I need to focus on expanding our territory first. I'm not ready for this kind of commitment." Santino said, "An outsider can't be trusted with family secrets." The next night, at my birthday celebration, they both proposed to the daughter of a low-level enforcer. To prove their loyalty to her, they let her force me to drink "The Don's Fire"—a 150-proof grappa laced with ghost peppers that would hospitalize anyone who wasn't raised on it since childhood. Broken in body and spirit, I made a call from my hospital bed. "I accept the proposal from the Luciano Syndicate."

Christa Tylor thought she had lived a happy life by being born into a wealthy family, had a golden childhood, and was happily married to her childhood sweetheart. Until she was 24 years old, killed by her beloved husband on their wedding anniversary. As she wakes up at her wedding a year ago, Christa is reborn after her wolf blood awakening, as if in answer to her prayer. It will bring her an opportunity for a slower and more measured approach to seize a second chance for a do-over. There are few things quite as sweet as revenge, even if she needs to face anguish and fear more terrible than death. Only she has to hide her true identity from humans; therefore, she is a werewolf who seeks revenge and resists her bloodthirsty beast of hers.

Ipinagbili si Elaris Vaeloria ng sarili niyang ama sa makapangyaring pamilyang Montefalco— at doon, tuluyan siyang  nawala sa mundo ng kalayaan at dangal. Ginapos ng utos, kontrol, at takot, natutunan niyang ang bawat sandaling malaya ay may kapalit. Sa gitna ng sakit at pagdududa, matapos iligtas ay tumakas siya kay Damian Vossryn, naniniwalang lahat ng kapangyarihan ay nagdudulot ng pagkawasak. Pero nagbaho si Damian. Ang halimaw na kinatatakutan ng mundo ay natutong maramdaman... ang pagmamahal. At nang muling pagtagpuin sila ng tadhana, hindi na niya hinihingi ang pagsuko ni Elaris— ang puso na niya ang kaniyang nais. Ngunit sa mundong pinaghaharian ng dugo at lihim, may puwang pa ba ang pag-ibig na marupok... o nakatadhana rin itong masira?

Selena's wedding day wasn't a fairytale—it was a nightmare. A single gunshot ended her life, but it couldn't erase her story. Her path to that moment began three years earlier when she was a quiet, unnoticed intern. A chance encounter with the enigmatic billionaire Damien Roth, everything changed. He saw something in her no one else did, and his attention ignited a fragile hope for a life she'd only dreamed of. But when Selena stepped into the light, she felt a cold shadow of her sister, Cassandra, a rival who wanted everything she had.

When I was seven years old, my younger brother went into anaphylactic shock after sneaking a handful of peanuts. Outside the emergency room, my mother slammed my head against the wall over and over, her face twisted with rage. "If you had been watching him like you were supposed to be, this never would have happened! You should be the one with a ruptured stomach, not him!" After that, whenever my brother so much as caught a cold, my mother forced me to eat spoiled leftovers as punishment. I once prepared an elaborate feast. She flipped the entire table and made me crawl on the floor to lick it clean. When I said I wanted to study culinary arts, she poured hot oil over my hands. My father wanted to send me to vocational school to learn a trade, but my mother clutched my brother to her chest and wailed. "She destroyed her brother's health! She owes him a lifetime of service!" When I was fifteen, my brother's gluttony cost my father an important business deal. I took the blame without even being asked, and the furious client forced me to drink more than half a gallon of hard liquor. By the time I was sent home with a bleeding stomach, my father had already scolded my brother. My mother took out her anger on me instead, slapping me so hard my ears rang and my vision went dark at the edges. "You useless thing! You should’ve choked to death at that table! I get sick just looking at you!" I coughed up black blood. From my pocket, I pulled out a piece of sour candy that had gone soft and sticky. It was the only treat my mother had ever given me with a smile, back before my brother's allergic reaction. I put the candy in my mouth and swallowed it down with the taste of stomach acid. The candy was so sour it made my throat burn. Whatever came next, I just hoped I would not have to be my family’s garbage disposal again.

When I'm cleaning my home, I sweep out an extremely thin condom that has already been used from under the bed. The sight of it makes my heart sink to the pits of my stomach. I'm severely allergic to latex, so there's no way I would ever use such things. Just as I'm contemplating whether I should ask my fiancee, Shelly Hartman, about the condom, she sends me a voice message on WhatsApp at that moment. "Babe, I have a company dinner to attend tonight, so I won't be going home for dinner. I might be home later than usual. You can just go to bed early. There's no need to wait up for me. Love you so much!"

After five years trapped in a loveless marriage arranged to replace her “dead” sister, Layla Kruger’s world shatters when Daisy reappears… alive, smiling, and wed to Layla’s cold husband, Alpha Daven. Cast out on their anniversary with only divorce papers and a vengeance-tainted heart, Layla stumbles into the power of Prince Derek Bloodwood and binds herself by blood oath to learn revenge.

When she dies mysteriously, Isla is given a choice by a demon– Either let her soul vanish with the wind with no resting place at the moon goddess' bosom or be reborn to exert her revenge. She agrees to the latter but there is a condition– She has to kill three Alphas. She agrees to the contract but she later finds out the man she loves is amongst her hit list. Will she choose love or revenge?

Coming to Brytin wasn't all bad. I met him, even though I didn't recognize him at first. He was the one in my dreams. Yes, I could perfectly see that, but I had to hide from everyone for me to be close to him. He doesn't want me near him. He despises me no matter how hard I try to please him. He warns me to stay far away from him. They also warned me too, but my heart and soul does not listen, and I'm a curious girl who follows her heart. She's a witch, he's a vampire, they are enemies but she's his mate. That's an abomination, but she doesn't give a damn. She wants him to mark her and claim her, but that's formidable. He disagrees but she isn't going to stop until he acknowledges her. Find out what happens when she realizes the real reason behind the clash of witches and vampires, will she be forced to leave him or will she stay with him no matter what happens?

Leah, Logan’s adopted sister, threw a tantrum at our first engagement party, an episode of her pup dependency anxiety. But after that night, I gave him an ultimatum: if he couldn’t bond me before I turned thirty, he’d have to choose—me or Leah. Logan believed I’d never walk away. After all, I was bonded by my dying mother’s last wish: to be bonded with the werewolf warrior who’d loved me for ten years. Ten years together. Twelve promises that he’d keep Leah in line. And then came my twenty-ninth birthday—our thirteenth engagement party. Leah locked me in a restroom, stole my gown, and stood beside Logan in my place. She was smiling, glowing, claiming everything that was mine. When I finally stepped out, my gown was tattered. I confronted Logan, but he only said, “Alison, forgive her. I promise, this is the last time.” I looked at the torn gown my mother had sewn through sickness and pain… and I laughed. Logan sighed in relief, thinking I’d let it slide again. But I didn’t. I turned and walked away without a word. After a decade together, he thought I belonged to him. Well, he was wrong. He didn’t know that there was someone else who could give me happiness and fulfill my mother’s wish.