Dry Water

After my pack fell, my father and I joined the Black Moon Pack. Alpha Victor admired my gift for runes and promised to make me his Luna. I was so full of hope, I didn’t even mind that he was using my gift to shield his entire pack. But he kept delaying our marking ceremony, leaving me to endure the pack’s scorn for my fallen bloodline. On the eve of my father’s death, he even temporarily marked Seraphina, the daughter of another Alpha. He claimed it was to secure an alliance. I cried myself dry in the endless wait, only to hold my father as he died in my arms. Victor, however, continued to use my gift, commissioning runes from me only to give them to Seraphina. The final straw was when Seraphina destroyed my rune sanctum and flaunted the very pendant I’d crafted for my own bonding ceremony. That’s when my heart finally shattered. I no longer cared about being his Luna. I simply walked away. But after I left, Victor’s desperate plea echoed from the Moon Goddess altar. “Come back and be my Luna. Please.”

My best friend and I go to a music festival together. There, my brother's girlfriend locks me in the toilet. "Young women these days are so shameless—I can't believe you had the nerve to seduce my CEO boyfriend! I'm going to teach you a lesson today since your parents obviously didn't raise you right!" She refuses to listen to my explanation. She pours dirty water all over me before slapping me in public and stripping me. Then, she brands me with an insult. By the time my brother arrives, I'm tormented beyond recognition. "I can explain, Spencer! I thought you were lying when you said she was your sister!"

At six in the evening, Allen Bennett prepared a perfect dinner, with each dish carefully chosen to match Sarah Foster's preferences. By seven, he had run her bath, adding lavender essential oils and rose petals to the warm water, filling the bathroom with a calming fragrance. By eight, he placed her comfortable slippers by the entrance, awaiting her return. At nine, the front door finally opened. Sarah walked in, and Allen immediately went to greet her. With practiced grace, he helped her out of her coat and placed her slippers before her feet, then hung the coat in the entryway closet. Turning to her with a gentle smile, he asked, "Would you prefer to have your bath first or would you like to eat?"

I had a massive fight with my husband, Gary Mitchell, while I was six months pregnant. He kicked me out of the house. With nowhere to go and no money, I ducked into a convenience store just to get some warmth. I was staring at the steam rising from the hot food display when the cashier walked over. "Excuse me, Miss. We have one last bottle of amnesia water left. Would you be interested in it?" I froze, then let out a bitter laugh. "I don't have any money." She said, "You don't need to use money. You can exchange it for something from your body." Instinctively, I raised my hand and touched my swollen belly. "How about this?"

"Notorious crime boss Chase Xavier Moon takes few prisoners and lives a lavish life of sin limited only by his imagination. When ex-cop Madison Kinlock enters Moon’s world, nothing will ever be the same. They knock heads constantly but everyone knows the heat is turned on full blast and a meltdown to end all meltdowns is on the horizon. The story continues with Alex, Moon’s right-hand fixer, an outlaw motorcycle club, and one of the most sadistic crime bosses in the Southwest. If you’re breathing fast, looking for water, and a quiet place to relieve your libido, you know you’re reading Hotter Than Hell. Hotter Than Hell is created by Holly S. Roberts/D’Elen McClain, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author."

"Suzanna, tell me the truth. Am I built better than Luis?" I had gotten up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and accidentally caught a glimpse of my husband's coworker, Hank, with his girlfriend. They were tangled up together, without a care in the world about who might see them. I should have walked away. However, my legs did not seem to work anymore. Hank saw me. The next day, he blocked my path outside the bathroom. "Suzanna," he said, his voice low and amused, "you didn't believe me. Maybe I should prove it." Before I could react, he was already pulling down his pants.

Marcus and Anaya's life continues. Years of a quiet life is enough right? Wrong. With the kids all almost grown up, you would think life would be amazing, but secrets find a way of coming out. As they threaten to destroy everything they have, Anaya keeps fighting to save their relationship, but how does Marcus react? When things come to a blow, and Marcus loses control of himself, Anaya tries to support him. However he is quick to accuse and lash out. While their relationship is in hot water, Jackson keeps quiet about what he really wants to do with the little time he has left, while Liam's tongue just won't be silenced anymore making everyone's worlds come crashing down.

The day Noelle Rutherford finds out she's pregnant, she braves the rain to go to a club that Chester Gray frequents. She stands outside a private room and pats her soaked hair dry with some tissues, wanting to surprise him when his get-together ends. Through the ajar door, she hears laughter. "Chester, your wedding to Noelle is in a week. Is your surprise for her ready?" "Of course," Chester says, his usually cool voice laced with tipsiness. "I'll make it a memory she'll never forget." Noelle pauses, and her lips curve upward in a sweet smile. Throughout her three years with Chester, he has truly cherished her like a treasure and loved her with all his heart. "Ha! Do you think she'll have a meltdown and lose her mind on the big day when she finds out I've been toying with her while pretending to be you this whole time?" Someone laughed. "She'd never in her wildest dreams imagine that Chester has an identical twin brother! When she finds out her boyfriend's brother has been playing her for three years…"

~~~ "How many punishments do you have pending, Lucienne?” Immediately the word punishment left his ears, I turned hot, my tongue went numb, my throat became dry, my hands trembled and very became sweaty. "Answer me!" He demanded and I flinched, my gaze now directed to the ground. "S-seventeen," I stammered, my tears and liquid from the different things hurdled at me mixing and landing on the soil. "So this makes it eighteen?” he asked and I forced myself to nod. He dished out some orders to the pack members before turning to me. "Then let's get this started. Your kneels must not leave the ground till we get to our destination. And no, it's not part of your eighteen punishments. Let's go!" ~~~~ Haunted by a past filled with pain and betrayal, Lucienne bears the scars of a life marred by tragedy. Tangled in the clutches of a possessive mate, who constantly makes sure happiness is far from her, she battles not only the physical wounds but the emotional turmoil from years ago. As she tries to escape this painful life, will Lucienne find the strength to embrace love and happiness, or will the echoes of her history shatter the remnants of the once-happy girl she used to be and make her a lone wolf for life?

When my body was being dismembered, my fiance was helping my cousin choose her wedding dress. When he received my distress call, he said with disgust, "I hope you never come back! You can die with the bastard in your womb! Don't ever call me again. The mentioning of your name makes me sick!" After that, he found a body part of me in a water tank on the rooftop of a hotel. He thought it was a prank, so he actually ordered white lilies and candles to be delivered to my doorstep. Only when he found my head buried in the grass under his feet on the day of our wedding did he realize that it wasn't a prank.