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MATED is book #2 in a new paranormal romance series by bestselling author Bella Lore, whose series MY TRUE MATE and THE ALPHA’S MATE have over 500 five-star reviews.

“I couldn’t stop reading.”

--Reader review (My True Mate)

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When her father suddenly dies, Winter Grace, 17, is forced to fly across the country and attend a mysterious prep school, an ancient castle in a fog-covered island on the coast of Maine. Nothing here is what it seems, and it isn’t long before Winter, feeling a surging power for the first time, realizes that she is not who—or what—she thinks she is.

But when Winter feels an inexplicable crush for an elusive and dangerous boy at the school, she realizes a greater destiny is at play. She knows the relationship might destroy them both—yet she also knows that they can never be apart.

In MATED, Winter and her crush embark on a dangerous quest to retrieve the magic relic and save their friends their school.

Yet they have no idea of the fate awaiting them—or what they will need to do for each other to survive.

Creating an unforgettable world of vampires, werewolves, shifters and magic of all sorts, a world of fantasy, love and sacrifice, MORTAL will take you to another place, rife with shocking twists and turns. Fans of books such as Vampire Academy and Twilight and Crush are sure to fall in love!

Future books in the series are also available.

"The story was very well written and was unique as compared to other shifter stories.”

--Reader review (The Alpha’s Mate)

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“Excellent from start to finish and leaves you wanting more.”

--Reader review (My True Mate)

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Young Rae Jansen is a child prodigy, learning how to utilize her gift and figure out her abnormal childhood. Her bipolar mom makes things difficult, but also makes them better. When she meets her first love in high school, he shocks her with a heavy confession. Rae quickly must decide how to keep her friend but also how to heal from his rejection. However tragedy strikes, potentially changing the path her life will take. Rae finds herself in college and comes into her own, finding a football player who she believes to be the love of her life. At just 17, she begins working for the CIA and finds herself in the middle of an international arms race. Suddenly everything seems to go wrong -- her best friend goes missing, her love life is in the air and professionally she’s stuck. Just when Rae is on the brink of a breaththrough discovery, her past comes back to haunt her, and a new love interest taunts her, rocking her world. But who is this mysterious stranger, and more importantly does she stand a chance at getting him? As Rae discovers more about her mystery man, she finds that an old friend already knows him, and has been steering them toward each other. An abrupt change in her circumstance finds Rae in the middle of an international incident and she must make an impossible decision. Fueled by the news of her best friend's death, Rae is forced to help herself or help her country. Will her love save her, or will she need to save herself?

Valerian Talon Montgomery is a rare Arctic Fox shifter. He lost his parents at the tender age of 5 years old. His first unexpected shift happens on his 10th birthday. The shift happened when he thought he was protecting his adopted older brother Tommy from wolves. The wolves they met that day were Beta Cornelius and his eldest son Brayden. As the years continue on Valerian finds that his fox half has made his scent seem as just a normal human to others. He becomes and EMT when is he around 18 after he watches them save Tommy's life after he almost dies during a bad fire. He meets his soulmate the following year at the age of 19 when he unknowingly saves the life of their future Luna, Artemis. Jax had a wonderful life up until the day they lost his father and eldest brother. Beta Cornelius and Brayden sacrificed their lives for the pack. The Alpha had compassion on his family and Jax became the next Beta that day. Years later at the age of 17 He became Beta when his best friend and future Alpha, Armand stepped up to take to the role. They both searched for their mates for 2 years before that fateful day when they came strolling into their lives. At the age of 19 Jax meets Valerian and is thrilled to find out this is his mate. A tale of twists and turns. Will Valerian reveal to Jax that he is not actually just a human or will he take his secret to the grave? ~ Side story to Broken Artemis, but they don't have to be read together ~

Mayang Kania Putri, kehilangan masa depannya pada usia 17 tahun. Ia hamil dan ditinggalkan Mahesa Heryanto, mahasiswa yang tengah magang di kampungnya. Di hari yang sama, Nawasena Sudirja, pemuda sederhana yang telah lama menyukainya, melamarnya. Dengan terpaksa, Mayang menolak lamaran sang pemuda dengan kata-kata yang menyakitkan. Mayang belia yang kebingungan, menyusul Mahesa ke ibukota untuk meminta tanggung jawab. Alih-alih dinikahi, ternyata Mahesa telah lebih dulu menikahi anak atasan ayahnya. Mayang belia yang terlunta-lunta di ibukota, dijual oleh seorang mucikari ke rumah pelacuran. Sembilan tahun kemudian, Mayang kembali bertemu dengan Sena yang kini telah sukses menjadi seorang pengusaha. Sementara Mayang tengah berjuang kembali ke jalan yang benar. "Sudah, kamu tidak usah pura-pura memprospek nasabah kalau ujung-ujung kamu cuma ingin menjual aset bawah tubuhmu. Kelamaan. Berapa tarifmu perjam? Akan saya bayar sepuluh kali lipat akibat prospekanmu yang saya gagalkan. Saya sekarang sudah kaya. Saya bukan saja sanggup membayarmu sekarang. Membeli harga dirimu pun saja mampu!" -Nawasena Sudirja- "Di dunia ini tidak ada seorang perempuan pun yang bercita-cita ingin menjadi seorang lont*. Jadi simpan saja penghakiman Anda atas diri saya. Anda bukan Tuhan. Satu hal yang harus Anda tau, bahwa seorang lonte* pun punya hak untuk bertobat bukan?" -Mayang Kania Putri-

After I, Rosalie Ricci, was stood up 17 times, the mafia don, Daniel Marino, finally holds the perfect engagement banquet for me. In our second year together, we are ready to get married. But every single time, he has an excuse to hold our engagement off. He says he's busy with work, the timing isn't right yet, or that he isn't quite ready. I never blame him because I love him. I have loved him since our school days. In fact, I have loved him for seven whole years. This is the 18th time. I stand in the banquet hall wearing the gown he personally chose for me and watch as he slips the ring onto my finger. He kisses me with a passionate intensity he has never shown me before. At that moment, I believe that I have finally secured my perfect happiness after waiting seven long years. My happiness only lasts until the guests leave. As I step into the back garden, I see Daniel holding my twin sister, Leah Ricci, in his arms. He says in a hushed voice, "I announced my engagement to Rosalie 18 times. This time, you're finally back." That's when I realize that the engagement banquet that I have longed for is nothing more than a ploy by Daniel to draw Leah back to him. But when I decided to let them be together, Daniel panics.

Beneath the charming harbor town of New Haven lies a world ruled by kingpins—where empires rise and fall, love is a dangerous game, and betrayal exists in every corner.- Tag Cassandra Reed is no stranger to survival. Between being an underground deliveryman, waitress by day, and stripping at The Velvet Mirage by night, her life is a delicate balance of secrets and sacrifices—all for the sake of her mother’s medical bills. But one fateful night, everything changes. A mysterious man ends up dead in her arms, and Cassandra becomes the prime suspect in a murder that pulls her into the dark, dangerous underworld of New Haven’s mafia elite. Alexander Wolfe is cold, calculating, and determined to avenge his family’s downfall. Cassandra might hold the key to uncovering the conspiracy that threatens his empire, but her defiance and vulnerability stir something he thought he’d buried long ago. As the walls between captor and captive crumble, a deadly game of trust, betrayal, and passion begins. Together, they unravel a web of secrets tied to a stolen ledger, corrupt politicians, and a rival mafia boss with a thirst for domination. But as enemies close in, Cassandra must make an impossible choice: sacrifice her freedom to protect the man who’s captured her heart or risk everything to take down the woman who destroyed her life. In this world, love is dangerous, loyalty is deadly, and power comes at a price. Can two fractured hearts survive a war built on vendetta? Or will their love be consumed by the shadows of desire? Perfect for fans of dark romance and thrilling mafia story, His Shadowed Desires delivers unexpected twists, unforgettable characters, and a love story forged in the least likely of places. Prepare to be captivated until the very last page.

Author’s Note: Hi loves! I’ve gone back through this story and given it a full polish— If you’ve read it before, you’ll notice differences starting from Chapter one 👀✨ June and Adrien’s love story  Rated 🔞🔞🔞 Moving to Briarwood Hills with her mom and little brother Joey should have been a fresh start for Nineteen year old June. But instead, she's dragged to a shoddy underground club by her new friend where she is dared by the friend to do the unthinkable, fuck Adrien. A cold, notorious, devastatingly hot mafia bad boy of Briarwood Hills. And she does without holding back. However the next morning, when June arrived for breakfast with her new family nothing could have prepared her for the boy who walked in. Adrian her new brother, the very devastatingly handsome cold man who fucked her notoriously took her virginity and left her wanting to be spread open again by him. But Adrien doesn’t seem like last night meant anything to him as he only drags her into his room, giving her three rules Rule number one  Forget what happened last night. Rule number two Stay the fuck away from me and my business. Rule number three If you’re already growing my kid, take it out. But how the hell is June supposed to forget him, when all she can think about is how bad she wants him in her again? Trigger Warning  For mature audience only 🔞 Repeat - for mature audience only 🔞

Tied to a chair, it scraped against the concrete as Victor struggled. "Damn it, lady, I’ll give you this—you’ve got balls that even some men lack." he smiled, blood dripping from his mouth. Celestina pulled back the slide, the metallic click echoing in the quiet room as a bullet locked into place, ready to fire. She Pressed the gun to his head, "Are those your last words?" she asked coldly. ....................... How do you find peace when you're married to chaos itself? You don't. You become chaos. What would you do if your husband who murdered you and slaughtered your family proposed marriage again, and didn't recognize you? For Aria D'Amore, the answer is simple: marry him again, and make him pay for every drop of blood. When Aria is forced into a peace-treaty marriage with her family's enemy, she believes the war is over. Instead, Dante Vallenis uses their wedding celebration to massacre every D'Amore, making her watch before ordering her execution. She survives, barely, and "dies" in the eyes of the world. Eight years later, she returns as Celestina Vale, the mysterious Mistress of The Graveyard, an underground network that controls the Italian mafia through secrets and assassinations. When she manipulates her way into marrying Dante again, he doesn't recognize the stranger he's obsessed with controlling. But as she systematically destroys his empire from within, she falls for his uncle, the one man who tried to save her that night, and the one man who harbors a secret that could shatter everything she's built. So what will it be, love or revenge?

“What could I possibly use you for?” Don Antonio asked as he walked towards her. He lifted her chin, his gray eyes staring deep staring into hers burning with a mixture of curiosity and desire. He immediately left her chin and snapped his fingers. He had an idea. “If you are willing to be my companion for three years, I'll let your father go.” Her eyes widened at the sound of the word “companion”. The word tasted like hell. “I’m willing.” Giulia knew fully well that she was walking into hell, but did she really have a choice? Her father, Ricardo Moreau, a compulsive gambler, accumulated debt after losing big in one of Antonio's underground casinos and was locked up. She couldn't bear to see her father locked up and offered herself in exchange for him. Antonio made life unbearable for her, and at some point, she felt the urge to run away, but how possible was that? Giulia decided to stay calm and constantly reminded herself that it was only for three years. She was both physically and mentally abused. At some point, Antonio begins to look at Giulia in another way; he begins to see a side of her that he had never seen before, and Giulia, on the other hand, begins to fall for a man whom she had considered her enemy. Things then begin to get complicated when the boss of a rival Mafia family asks for Giulia in exchange for a deal. Will Antonio hand Giulia over to his rival, or will he do everything within his power to keep her safe? Will they put away the hate from the past and let their love blossom? Or will they break up when the contract expires, leaving their passion behind?

The new intern claimed she had clairvoyant sight. With just one look, she could tell exactly where the underground gold deposits were. As the institute’s chief gold prospector, I was deeply embarrassed. Every time I went through hell to locate a vein, she somehow managed to report it to the institute before I could. Even the engineering crew working under me was full of complaints. “What kind of chief prospector is she? Following her means panning in the river one day and digging holes in the mountains the next. We work ourselves half to death and get nothing to show for it!” “Exactly. Look at Jane. She just joined the institute and has already found two major gold mines. The crews working with her have already earned first-class commendations.” While the crew complained about me, I began to suspect that someone among them was leaking information. So the next time I went out to search for gold, I worked alone and finally found a major deposit. But just as I was about to report it to the institute, I discovered that Jane had beaten me to it again. That time, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I openly questioned her and accused her of stealing my work. She fired back, claiming her clairvoyant sight had shown her that I had been secretly pocketing gold from the mine. Even my fiancé stepped forward and testified against me. In the end, I was sent to prison on false charges and died there, never able to clear my name. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my fiancé’s junior apprentice first claimed she had clairvoyant sight.