Faustian Bargain

Sold to the highest bidder to pay off a blood feud, I never imagined I would be the pawn in my father's fatal game. Still, here I am before Enzo De Luca, the most vicious mafia leader in the city. Though appealing, he is cold, deliberate, and as lethal. Though my heart races just from his proximity, it is his touch that ignites me. My body betrays me and reacts to him in ways I am powerless over. And I melt as he softly, commandingly says my name. Enzo loves neither me nor another. In his deadly kingdom, I am only another bargain, another transaction. But every time we are alone, the conflict between us snaps—desire becomes a terrible addiction. Although I detest him for everything he stands for, I yearn for the way he consumes me, body and soul. He has made it quite evident—our marriage is more about power than love. Still, every angry gaze and every snatched moment in the shadow reveals something different. Benevolent underneath his icy façade lies something broken that appeals to the darkest sides of me. But depending on a man like Enzo may mean losing everything. Bound to him now, for better or worse, I am caught in a world where loyalty is brittle and treachery carries a bullet. Our friendship gets more perilous the more truths about his empire I find. And as the past calls for us, I have to question myself: will our passion be the thing that ruins us both or can I survive loving a guy like Enzo De Luca? Burning in his arms is me. But in his universe, I could roast alive.

Athena's last memory is a terrifying plunge from a rooftop, the gunshot that killed her—her husband Austin's gunshot—echoing in her ears. She impossibly wakes on her wedding day, reliving the marriage that led to her death. Trapped in a time loop, she must escape Austin's planned murder. Her arranged marriage is a gilded cage, a death sentence disguised as family duty, escape seemingly impossible. A glimmer of hope arises at the concurrent engagement party of billionaire Kael Visconti and her cousin, Arabella. Rumors swirl around Kael, whispering of underworld ties and his reputation as a ruthless mafia don—a truth he carefully conceals, adding to his aura of power and intrigue. Knowing of Arabella's affair, Athena proposes a risky deal: information on the infidelity in exchange for help escaping her wedding. They strike a bargain: Kael will publicly disrupt the wedding, posing as her lover, in exchange for a sham marriage. The plan succeeds. Kael's dramatic intervention creates chaos; Athena escapes. Their flight becomes a media sensation, thrusting Athena into a public engagement with Kael. But this salvation turns terrifying. A violent confrontation with Arabella and her lover reveals Kael's true nature: he's not just a billionaire but the ruthless head of an extensive underworld organization. The shot is precise, swift, and utterly ruthless; the man falls with horrifying finality. Athena sees the cold calculation in Kael's eyes, a terrifying glimpse into his cruelty. She's traded one dangerous man for another, far more powerful and unpredictable. Her fight for survival against a man far more dangerous than Austin has only just begun. The city's most dangerous man is now her soon-to-be husband.

"You will carry my child in your womb!" She let his words sink into the deepest part of her heart as he grabbed her hair fiercely and pressed his lips against her ear. "And your body will remain mine. Mine to fuck and Mine to own!" Moistening my lips, she gulped hard. ****************************************** After the horrible death of her mother, Daisy was sold to the cruelest Alpha king Maximillian by her step-father, she accepted her fate after they made a bargain that she would leave after birthing his child. But what Daisy didn't expect was that the Alpha king was her mate. The sad part was that he didn't know it. She waited believing that he would realize the bond sooner or later. Just when she fell in love with him, she discovered that he was in love with another woman, Jezebel. Jezebel vowed to ruin the relationship between them so she could be his Luna and this she did by poisoning Maximilian's heart against Daisy. Unable to bear the hurt and humiliation she was subjected to, Daisy fled with her babies. Max realized his true feelings for her and regretted his indifference to her love. He swore to find her and take her back no matter what. What would happen when some shattering secrets are revealed? What happens when Max sets eyes on her and this time, love, a new feeling overtakes his heart? Will she ever love Max again now that she is sought by many Alphas? And if she does, will their love survive the trials that shook its foundations? We can only find out as the story goes on.

In Alabama’s rot-soaked bayous, Drucilla Drakes survives by three rules: silence, scars, and never letting Louise—her Bible-thumping captor—catch her hoping. But when a schoolyard ambush leaves her bleeding beneath a stranger’s leather jacket, invisibility becomes a death sentence. Enter Dragon Morales: New Orleans’ most notorious runaway, a cartel prince turned outlaw mechanic with grease-stained hands and a death wish. He doesn’t save people—he survives them. Yet in Dru’s lashed flesh and hellfire gaze, he sees his own shattered reflection. Their bond is gasoline and matches. Dragon’s father—Colombia’s cartel kingpin—hunts them relentlessly. Louise, armed with voodoo rites and the chaos-hungry loa Marinette, vows to break Dru. Their only allies? The Lou Nwa, a bayou biker gang trading in bullets and black magic, and Papa Legba, the crossroads spirit who offers Dru a lethal bargain: *“Her soul or yours.”* Fleeing through the Deep South’s cursed underbelly, they dodge cartel hitmen, haunted swamps, and safehouses reeking of betrayal. Dark magic seeps into old wounds; family secrets tighten like nooses. Dragon swears he’s too ruined to love. Dru knows she’s too shattered to trust. But in the bayou’s choking heat, desire is a grenade they can’t outrun. This isn’t a fairytale. It’s switchblade kisses and saintly curses—a collision of fire and ruin where protectors become predators. Dru doesn’t need saving; she needs an inferno. And Dragon? He’s got a lighter and nothing left to burn. Will they raze the South to ashes, or become the sacrifice the crossroads demands? One truth remains: in the bayou, even survival leaves scars. **Warning:** No princes here. Just bayou smoke, blood-soaked magic, and the kind of love that devours.

With exactly three days until our house is seized and everything we have is taken away. My father sits in his chair slumped over and defeated "Rose" he calls to me and I go to him. On bended knees, I answer him, "yes father my voice echos as it bounces off our now bare walls". Dear, I'm afraid I've failed you and we have lost everything, sighing he peers at me and continues. A man stopped by this morning offering to help me figure it out but I'm afraid the cost was too high. What was the cost father please tell me. Looking at him with pleading eyes, he sighs as he began to explain. He offered to pay off my debt and restore my business if I was to give up that most precious to me. My eyes widen and my throat goes dry just as my eyes fill with tears. Someone wants me I whisper and see his eyes dim just a little. Yes, my dear, and I can’t do it. Grabbing his hand, I lean in close so he can hear me. I’ll do it, "his eyes grow wide as he begins to shake his head no fast”. I smile and continue for you I will do it. He wants to be wed this evening my dear and we know nothing about him. “If he can stick to his end of the bargain the rest does not matter I will serve him if it means you won't have to worry”. My tears tickle my face the ones I didn't even know escaped. Standing to my feet I look at him and sigh, if there is to be a wedding today we should get ready with that I take my leave locking myself in my room.

'What are you doing?' she asked, wondering why her heart was beating so fast. 'What does it look like?' he asked advancing towards her and finally backing her to the wall. 'I.. I don't know', she stammered. She who feared no one was suddenly very nervous and unsure. Why was he having such an unsettling effect on her? she wondered. Yet her body trembled with excitement. 'But you know you want me badly?' he asked, a slow dangerous smile playing around his lips, belting the desire that darkened his eyes. How did he know that? She thought she had done a great job of hiding it. 'I can smell it all over you', he said huskily as he deliberately moved his hand to her neck to draw her lips closer, while raising both her hands above her head with the other hand. 'Rest assured, I feel exactly the same way', he said, dipping his head and capturing her lips. 'Hmmm', she moaned. That was not the answer she was expecting but it would suffice for now. She had to assuage the hunger ravaging her body, driving her insane. If he really felt the same way she felt, love wasn't too farfetvhed, or was it? ***** Alpha Diana was kniwn as the Masked Alpha, a strong and formidable force to be reckoned with. An ice queen but that was until she started getting some strange mind links from a wolf to his dead mother and those mind links called out to her and she knew she had to help this grieving wolf heal. What she did not bargain for was that she would fall for him... **** He was a broken wolf, a Beta to his parents murderer, betrayed by his first Love. When he met Omega Diana, he felt his guard crumbling...

*Warning* Explicit Content Included. Adults only. They killed my parents. Turned my underaged sister as se* slave. Sold me to a brothel. It’s been 901 days until the soon to be alpha made the highest bid on my auction night. ** “You,”He leered and smirked at us. “Both of you. Get up.” I shook my head, shuddering, “Please… Please don’t–” He grabbed me by my arm and dragged me up to my feet. He grabbed Angelia with his other hand and proceeded to drag us towards the door. Angelia had gone all but silent as she was pulled along like a ragdoll. Her eyes seemed glazed over. My heart raced. “P-Please. I can give you gems! Jewelry! What about lunar flowers? We have them all. If you’d just take us back–” “How are you going to bargain with something that’s not yours anymore?” He scoffed, “Move it. The boss doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Tears streamed down my face. We were brought out of the dungeon into another section. There were no windows and the scent of sweat and tears filled the air. The man who brought us there shoved us inside and closed the door behind us as a fat, whale of a man turned towards us. I could tell by his stature and his scent that he was either human or his wolf was weak. He chuckled and licked his lips as he approached. He stopped at me first, grabbing my chin and leaning close to take a deep breath of my scent. He chuckled as I recoiled and shuddered in disgust. Then, he stopped at Angelia, tracing a hand over her cheek. “I love the obedient ones. Welcome girls, to my dungeon. You will call me, Dan.”

Isabelle Ashford's aristocratic family is drowning in debt and scandal when Dante Marchetti offers a devil's bargain: marriage in exchange for erasing their financial ruin. She accepts, believing she's sacrificing herself for her younger sister's future. But from the moment she steps into Dante's fortress-like mansion, she realizes this isn't a marriage of convenience; it's a beautifully constructed prison. Dante is cold, controlling, and seems to delight in psychological games that leave her questioning her own sanity. He monitors her every move, isolates her from the outside world, and treats her like a possession he's studying under glass. As weeks pass, Isabelle begins noticing inconsistencies. Dante's cruelty sometimes feels like protection. His surveillance system captures threats she didn't know existed. His empire, built on blackmail and coercion, seems designed to destroy specific people connected to her family's past. When she discovers hidden files in his study, she learns a horrifying truth: her father wasn't just a failed businessman; he was part of a criminal syndicate that trafficked information and ruined lives. Dante's parents were among their victims. Her marriage isn't random, it's revenge twenty years in the making. But as Isabelle digs deeper, she uncovers something even more sinister: the syndicate her father once belonged to has been hunting Dante for years, and now they've marked her as their way to destroy him. Caught between a husband who married her to break her and enemies who want her dead, Isabelle must decide whether to escape the monster she married or join him in a war that could consume them both.

Alaric Thorn was just a blacksmith in the 12th century—a husband, a father, a simple man. Until the day everything was taken from him. His wife murdered. His daughters stolen. And he himself slaughtered, powerless to protect the people he loved. But death did not end his story. Dragged into a supernatural realm after dying, Alaric made a desperate bargain: power in exchange for completing a mission in the future. A mission he did not understand. He returned to Earth centuries later—only to realize his revenge no longer existed. Four hundred years had passed. His family long gone. Their killer long dead. And Alaric… could no longer die. Cursed with immortality, he wandered through ages and empires, trying every possible way to end his life—failing each time. All he wanted was to go back in time and fix what he had lost. But when he finally stepped into a time machine, fate betrayed him again. Instead of the past… Alaric was thrown into another realm entirely—a brutal world crawling with monsters, ancient races, and system-like powers. Here, strength must be earned through blood, each battle pushing him closer to awakening his true potential. In this realm, he is no longer just a wanderer. He is a rising lord. A conqueror. A man destined to build an empire strong enough to challenge a king— a king who bears the same name as the monster who destroyed his life on Earth. As Alaric fights beasts, defeats tyrants, and gathers allies and armies, he discovers the truth behind the mission he accepted centuries ago: To reclaim his fate… To break his immortal curse… To rewrite the destiny stolen from him… He must rise as the Immortal King. The true master of the Dark Realm he was fated to rule.

What happens when the past comes back to haunt you... but prettier? --- Eleven years ago, Anastasia Hayes ran from Pack Eviscera with blood on her hands and guilt burning in her throat, swearing she'd bury the past beneath ambition and cold distance. Now a rising lawyer with power in her stride and secrets buried underneath a cold exterior, Ana thinks she's untouchable. Until her heat hits, wrong place, worst time, in a hotel room far from home. Desperate and delirious, she does the unthinkable. She marks a Dominant Alpha. A stranger. In a world where Omegas are silenced, sold, and shamed, claiming an Alpha could get her killed or worse… claimed back. But what she doesn't know is: The Alpha isn’t a stranger. He’s the one person she was never meant to touch. The boy she left behind, now a man; and not just any man, but the Bratva’s king. What could possibly go wrong? Right? *** “Tit for tat peaches.” he murmured, dragging his thumb over my bottom lips, “You let me do what I want, where I want it, how I want it, and I'll do what you ask.” My breath hitched, “What are you talking about? You know I can't…” Hermes sighed and began to turn away, “Deals off then.” “Wait!” I grabbed his hand before he could make another step. “Hermes…let's bargain okay…?” He grinned, leaned in so the heat of his breath brushed my ear, “No can't do, Peaches…” his fingers slipped under my waistband. I whimpered. “Now I get to ruin you back.”