Eighteen

She vowed to save herself for him. He vowed to never touch her. One of them is about to break. Amara has loved Alpha Gabriel since she was old enough to understand what the ache in her chest meant. At eighteen, she offered him everything—her heart, her body, her soul. He crushed her with two words: "Childish infatuation." Seven years later, she's no longer that heartbroken girl. She's a woman who knows exactly what she wants, and she wants him. When her father and Gabriel arrange her marriage to Gabriel's younger brother, Amara sees her last chance slipping away. But fate hands her a weapon: a position as Gabriel's personal assistant, working beside him every single day. She'll make him see her. She'll make him want her. She'll make him break every rule he's ever lived by. And she does. Their affair is forbidden, explosive, and absolutely forbidden—stolen moments in his office, secret encounters that leave them both breathless and craving more. But loving an Alpha comes with a price. When Gabriel falls victim to a deadly curse and Amara's identity as the rare Emerald werewolf puts a target on her back, their secret romance becomes the least of their problems. Now, with hunters closing in, a fiancée being forced into Gabriel's life, and an engagement to his brother she never wanted, Amara must fight for the only man she's ever loved—or lose him forever. He taught her that love could break you. She'll teach him that love can save you.

Dave Sun has just turned eighteen and arrives in Kings City with nothing but a backpack and a dream. Ever since he was a child, he imagined the city as a place where fortunes were built and dreams came alive. But the moment he steps into its glittering streets, he realizes the truth—Kings City is beautiful on the outside and brutally cold on the inside. After days of job hunting and constant rejection, Dave loses the little money he has when he is robbed late one night. Exhausted and hopeless, he sits in front of a towering company building just to rest before trying again the next morning. That is when everything changes. Three sleek black cars emerge from the company gates. Within seconds, two men drag Dave into one of the vehicles. Terrified, Dave struggles—until he meets the man sitting inside. Ryan Blood. The man is breathtakingly handsome, calm, and terrifying. A man who looks like a god… and rules Kings City’s most powerful mafia empire. Before Dave can escape, he is injected with something that pulls him into darkness. When Dave wakes up the next morning, he finds himself lying on a luxurious bed in a room that looks like it belongs in a palace. His wounds have been treated, his clothes changed, and the man responsible is sitting beside him. Ryan calmly introduces himself as Dave’s lover and future partner. Dave refuses. But Ryan is not a man used to hearing the word no. Chained to a bed and trapped in Ryan’s world of danger, power, and obsession, Dave is forced to live inside the mansion of the most feared mafia boss in Kings City. Ryan insists Dave belongs to him—and he will keep him in chains until he accepts it.

"You know, you always look so much better when I mark you up." He husked out as he palmed my burning cheeks. I buried my face in the soft, silky sheets some more, muffling the stuttered whimper that bubbled past my throat. "If you're going to act like a desperate little brat, I'm going to treat you like one. Got It?” ——— When eighteen year old Mia’s identical twin gets betrothed to an underboss, Mia was silently grateful for being the least favorite twin who was never noticed. Her relief was abruptly shortened when her twin disappeared on her wedding day, which resulted in Mia being forced to take her twin’s spot and marry a man way older than her father. Mia thought her life could never get any worse, but was proved wrong on her wedding night, when her newly wedded husband was killed and she was being kidnapped by a Mafia Lord hellbent on getting revenge on her father through her, showing her just how cruel and heartless, power starved and rage-blinded men could be. And yet, Mia found herself falling. Falling ridiculously fast, for the most dangerous mafia lord to ever walk the earth. Lorenzo Domenico, the one who never dies. All Lorenzo wanted was to get revenge, he was supposed to put a bullet through the petite girl’s pretty face and send her body back to her father as a present. But somehow, here he was– willing to go to any lengths to protect, keep her safe, and all to himself.

Kaiser Volkov is the 27-year-old Alpha of the Viperthorn pack, known for being everything an Alpha shouldn't be—brash, strategic, and a notorious playboy. He's the life of the party, admired by women and envied by men, but no one truly knows the secrets buried beneath his charming exterior. Kaiser has successfully hidden his past from his new pack, until a pregnant woman collapses at the pack's gates, calling his name before passing out. To his shock, the woman is Esmarie Cruz, his childhood best friend and the wife of the very man who drove Kaiser away from his old pack. Esmarie's life spiraled into chaos when Kaiser vanished in the middle of the night when they were eighteen after kissing her. Forced to marry his brother, she has endured relentless suffering at the hands of his family. Now pregnant and fearing for her children's lives, Esmarie escapes, desperate and uncertain, and finds herself at the gates of Kaiser's pack. Though unsure of why she sought him out, he's her only hope to hide from his brother. The Kaiser Esmarie once knew is gone, replaced by a man unprepared to shoulder responsibilities. Burdened by the past, both struggle with the baggage they carry. Yet, amidst their turmoil, old feelings flicker—a testament to the saying that first love never truly fades. When Kaiser's brother resurfaces, threatening Esmarie and her children, Kaiser must decide: run away again or confront his past and family to protect Esmarie and avenge the wrongs done to him years ago. As old flames reignite, Kaiser and Esmarie are forced to confront their shared history and the love that never really went away.

Being a nice young lady, Kimberly always desires to be linked to her mate once she reaches Eighteen, but destiny appears not to be on her side even when she gets to the age of 21. Her packmates frequently tell her that finding a mate is the nicest thing that has ever happened to them, and Kimberly continued wanting to experience such a sensation one day. For both their pack, Moonstone, and Night Walker pack to become allies, her dad, Alpha Darwin consented to relinquish the downtown area Moonstone presides over to Alpha Derrick. As well as giving Kimberly to him likewise, as she doesn't have a mate. Which she was extremely thrilled about. However, on the night of their engagement, she was rejected by the merciless Alpha Derrick of the Night Walkers. She felt useless, devastated and betrayed when she realized who Alpha Derrick picked to be his future Luna over her. According to the custom of their pack, any rejected she-wolf by another pack Alpha would become a slave to the Alpha that discarded her. This is surely going to be Kimberly's destiny as well. The sorrow of being rejected and being a slave caught up with her not till she found she is fated to the past Alpha Theo of Lock's heart pack. He is the strongest of all Alphas in the countryside but has gone missing for over five years. Would Kimberly's life have altered for the worst after knowing that Alpha Theo had a mate already? Or would Alpha Derrick be ready to let her go after understanding the truth about her power? Brutal retribution is what Kimberly yearns for once she found out the truth about her actual identity…

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT Zara Wright is an eighteen years old werewolf and the only daughter of the alpha. She is fearless, strong, and capable which is why her father chooses her to be the next alpha of her pack. Zara bows to no man and has one goal; to rule and protect her people from all harm, the greatest being the evil lycans, sworn enemies of the werewolves for centuries and separated only by a river. However, everything changes the moment she sets her eyes on Anders. Anders Silver is a hot, sexy, and highly respected Gamma. At just nineteen, he is the strongest lycan in his pack. This earns him the position of the would-be alpha and his first duty is to keep the hated and unrestrained werewolves off the grounds of the lycans. But, when a chance encounter brings him face-to-face with Zara, Anders is forced to make a difficult decision. In a world where werewolves and lycans are enemies, can Zara and Anders fight to preserve what they cherish most? _________________________ Aryan is the son of the alpha and the only young lycan in his pack. He is surprised to learn that he has two mates; Selene an Adele, the unusual twins. Selene is known to be kind-hearted and loved by all whereas Adele is known to be evil and hated by almost everyone. After accepting them as his mates, Aryan joins the wagon and finds himself disliking Adele for her evil schemes. When an attempt is made on his life and Adele is fingered as the culprit, Aryan sentences her to death but, what happens when he learns that Adele was the victim all along and also his true mate? BOOK ONE: AGAINST ALL ODDS BOOK TWO: MY TRUE MATE BOOK THREE: AGAINST ALL ODDS 2

All the relatives knew I had a "backward cousin." For my birthday, she gave me a grocery-store pound cake. When I ran a marathon, she presented me with a pair of worn-out canvas sneakers. At my graduate school acceptance party, she even sent a funeral wreath of white lilies with a sash that read "In Sympathy," wishing me an early departure to the afterlife. In my previous life, I slapped her so hard she tumbled down the porch steps. My brother took her side and plotted revenge, falsely reporting to the university that I had cheated on my SATs. My admission was revoked. "You're so modern. You know how things work," he sneered. "Plenty of people take a gap year. Just apply again." My father also defended her, cutting off all my financial support. "You've had so much schooling. You're so educated," he said coldly. "Support yourself." Alone in a city eighteen hundred miles from home, I fought to survive. I called my brother and my father again and again—only to be blocked. I delivered food while renting a room and studying to reapply. At my lowest, my hands were raw and cracked from frostbite, scrambling for delivery shifts at four in the morning just to earn a small bonus. Worn down by the cold and exhaustion, I suffered cardiac arrest at twenty-three and collapsed in a snowdrift in that unfamiliar city. No one ever came to claim me. This time, I chose to let it go and accepted the wreath with a gracious smile. To fully integrate myself into this family. After all, what is a moment of pride compared to a lifetime's inheritance?

I was eighteen when I left Italy for Chicago. My brother Leo handed me over to his most powerful ally for “protection.” Don Damien Volkov. His eyes locked on me the first time we met. They never looked away. By day, I was his private doctor. By night, I was the only thing in his bed. His seduction was a slow, deliberate hunt. The way his body brushed against mine during an exam. A stray kiss that landed behind my ear. The weight of his hand resting on the small of my back. I fell fast and hard for his dark charm. I gave myself to him, letting him claim me, again and again. For four years, our affair was a secret hidden in the shadows. In that time, he sculpted my body, teaching it to crave his touch, molding me into his perfect obsession. Then she came back. Isabella, his exiled ex-fiancée. He sent his private jet for her. I swallowed my pride and crashed his reunion. An hour ago, his hands, still smelling of blood, gripped my chin. He forced his kiss on me. But now, right in front of me, he was stroking another woman's hair. "Elara, you're the one who climbed into my bed four years ago." "You act like a whore, but you expect me to treat you like a Donna?" The way he looked at Isabella was so tender. The way he looked at me was pure scorn. Shame burned through me. Head down, I sent my brother a coded text. Accept the Moretti proposal. I looked up. A smile bloomed on my face. "Fine. Then this is goodbye, Damien."

On the night of our wedding, my gold-medal lawyer wife, Aurora Sterling, abandoned me and tangled herself with her assistant, Kieran Holt. Kieran barged into our bridal suite carrying his vegetative-state fiancee, Elara Holt, and demanded we swap spouses. I refused without hesitation. Right there on the spot, he drugged me and forcibly locked me in a room with Elara. Meanwhile, he held Aurora in our newlywed bed and used eighteen condoms that night. The next morning, I stormed into the office to confront him. Instead, I saw Aurora kneeling between his legs. When she noticed me, Kieran shuddered and quickly pulled away before standing up. "Rowan, Aurora didn’t get enough last night, so I brought her out for some fun again. Don’t worry. This will be the last time. I won’t disturb you two anymore." He turned to leave. However, Aurora stopped him reluctantly. "Kieran, you're not the one who should leave." Then she turned to me, her face dark with anger. "Elara became a vegetable because she saved my life. I have an obligation to fulfill a wife’s duties for her. "From now on, I’ll accompany Kieran on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The rest of the days I’ll stay with you. I’m even giving you an extra day, so you should be satisfied." As I watched the absurd scene unfold before me, rage finally exploded inside my chest. Just as I was about to erupt, my phone suddenly chimed. Ding. "Hey, handsome, your skills are pretty good. Interested in developing a long-term arrangement?"

Maya Reyes is twenty-six, quietly resilient, and out of options. When she takes a live-in nanny position for a Manhattan billionaire, she expects a difficult employer and a lonely child. She gets both, but she also gets Ethan Cole. Ethan lost his wife eighteen months ago and has been managing the grief the only way he knows how: by controlling everything around him. His apartment is spotless, his rules are laminated, his daughter Lily is the only crack in the armour he has built around his life, and it is through Lily that Maya begins to see the man underneath. What follows is not a dramatic love story, it is a quiet one. He carries her to her room when she falls asleep on the floor, he heats her soup when she hasn't eaten. He holds her hand in a dark car and lets go like it never happened. She cooks for him, confronts him, tells him truths no one else will, and slowly without either of them naming it, they become the most important person in each other's lives. But grief doesn't move in straight lines. When Ethan's fear gets the better of him, he tries to restore the distance, and nearly loses the one thing that has made him want to come back to life. It will take a four-year-old's unfiltered honesty, a letter Maya writes from the floor of her room, and a man finally choosing to stop running, for both of them to find their way to the other side of it. When Winter Blooms is a story about what love looks like before anyone admits it exists, and what it costs to let it.