Freeze Framing

I get picked up by the cops in the middle of the night for street vending. While questioning me, they pull up my file. One officer eyes me suspiciously through my mask and asks, "What's a Clairefield University graduate like you doing selling stuff on the street at midnight?" I freeze and lean over to look at the file. The ID number matches mine, but the photo has been replaced with one of Madison Bass. That's when it hits me—20 years ago, I was the one who got accepted to Clairefield University! Dazed and numb, I stumble home only to hear my husband, Joseph Gunther, speaking on the phone. "Madison, don't worry. I won't let Lucy interfere with your life. Just go abroad in peace." It's him! Joseph helped Madison steal my identity and my future. My stomach twists. I turn to confront him, to expose the truth. But before I can, he strangles me to death with a belt. "I'm sorry, Lucy. You can't ruin Madison's future…" When I open my eyes again, I'm back in the classroom. Our homeroom teacher is handing out university application forms. This time, I'm taking my life back.

My wolf had been wounded by silver. It took me two years to find a rare herbal cure. But before I could use it, my mate, Gary, gave it away—without hesitation—to my adopted sister, the Black clan’s darling, Jane. The healer told me I had only one week left to live. So, I made a decision: I would freeze my body. Preserve it. I donated myself to Jane’s Werewolf Research Facility—the one she took such pride in. The day I signed the donation agreement, my pup threw himself into my arms and said, “Mommy and Aunt Jane are finally getting along again!” My parents praised me, saying I had finally learned what sisterhood meant. Gary looked relieved. “You’ve finally let go of your resentment,” he said. “I’m proud of you.” I smiled faintly. Yes. I’ve finally learned to obey. I would return the title of Black clan heiress to Jane, and did my best to grant everyone their wishes. But it was only when they realized I could no longer fight back— when my body had been sealed away in cryostasis, cold and silent— that the regret began. Suddenly, they wanted to bleed for me. They wanted to compensate. They wanted to follow me into the grave. But where were they when I needed them, when I was still alive?

My wolf has a rare gift—she can detect lies and reveal the truth about what anyone tries to deceive. My Alpha—Theron Shadewound—loves me dearly. For as long as I've known him, he's never once lied to me. However, a month before our mating ceremony, my wolf catches a whisper of truth from his heart. He had thought, "I'm holding the mating ceremony with Mirelle next week, and Arynn must never find out." I freeze when I realize something. He'll be using the ballroom I spent two months meticulously setting up to host a mating ceremony next week with his childhood sweetheart, Mirelle Hollowmaw. As it turns out, my mating ceremony, scheduled a month later, is nothing but a joke. Quietly, I pack my belongings and book a ticket to leave the Nightcrest pack. On the day Theron and Mirelle pledge themselves to each other, I walk away without looking back.

What could possibly go wrong when Maria is assigned as the personal doctor to the heir of a billionaire clan who just woke up from thirteen months in a coma? Probably unintended sparks and complicated intimacies. The saying that 'opposites attract' can't be more true between these two contradicting beings. *** He frowned down at her, moving towards the bed again, and sealed her lips with a palm. "Stop smiling like that," he said, in a deep rumble, brown eyes darkening with a different emotion she couldn't put into words. Her brows creased slightly before pulling his hand away and then chuckled lightly at his strange set of words. "Why? Is it not funny?" She asked with amusement, looking back at him with her grin getting wider. A groan softly broke through his lips, and his frame lowering towards her brought her chortle to an abrupt end, making her freeze in place when his face was a mere inch from hers. Her breath hitched for a second as she gazed into those dark eyes that could melt her in just one look, the softest of whispers breaking free from him, his fingers gently tracing over her jaw. "Because if you continue..." he paused, taking his time to finish his thought as his thumb ran up along her cheek. "... I am going to kiss you." Her eyelids stretched open at his words, gasping silently, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. "Mr. Stanley..." And before she could complete words she wasn't even sure of saying next, he captured her mouth with a passionate kiss that stole her breath away, all sound from her vanishing in that instant. ***

Freya Xylla Hernaez's marriage to Phoenix Henderson was never meant to last. Forced into a shotgun wedding under the false belief she was pregnant, Freya quickly realized that she was just a wife on paper—ignored, mistreated, and unloved. Subjected to cruelty from his stepmother and stepsister and heartbroken watching him with other women, Freya’s resolve finally shattered. She made one desperate move, framing Phoenix into a one-night stand, and then left, disappearing with a signed divorce agreement. Six years later, she’s built a life in London with the two surprises Phoenix never knew about: their twins. But when Phoenix finds her and kidnaps one of the children to force her return to the Philippines, Freya is filled with fury. Determined to get her daughter back, she returns—this time armed with anger and a vow to exact revenge. Yet, amidst the fight, old feelings reignite, and a love that was never meant to be slowly begins to bloom again.

I had everything planned a month in advance for our holiday. I was going to take my wife and daughter on a trip to see the country's beautiful landscapes, but just before we were supposed to leave, they both disappeared. I ended up standing alone in the pouring rain, trying to call them. My daughter's voice came through over the phone—it was cold and impatient. "Mommy's having dinner with Uncle Skyler. We don't want to go anymore." Right after that, the call was cut off. I had been blocked. They locked me out of the house on purpose and left me to freeze out there all night. The rain had already drenched me, and I was running a high fever that turned into pneumonia. Meanwhile, the two of them were off enjoying a vacation with Skyler Shire. That was the moment I knew—this marriage was well and truly over.

Justin's life is thrown into chaos when he is forced to marry the girl he believes ruined everything. Deceived for years, he harbors a burning hatred for Astrid, convinced she is the source of his misery. Bound by a painful secret, Astrid suffers in silence until Justin's sister, Kris, uncovers a shocking truth. In a desperate bid to keep her hold on Justin, Audrey commits a heinous crime, framing Astrid for her actions. The lies escalate, culminating in a deadly confrontation that leaves Audrey dead and Astrid wrongly accused. Blinded by rage and grief, Justin vows to destroy Astrid, even as his father, the Alpha, decrees they must marry. Caught in a storm of betrayal and hatred, Justin and Astrid's lives are forever changed as they are forced to confront the lies that have shaped their destinies even while in college. Will Justin uncover the real truth and see Astrid for who she truly is, or will his vendetta lead to their ultimate destruction?

There's nothing more shattering than hearing that you're signed off as a collateral to marry in order to clear off your uncle's stupid debts. "So this is it" I pull the hoodie over my head and grab my duffel bag that is already stuffed with all my important stuff that I need for survival. Carefully I jump down my window into the bushes below skillfully. I've done this a lot of times that I've mastered the art of jumping down my window. Today is different though, I'm not coming back here, never! I cannot accept marrying some rich ass junkie. I dust the leaves off my clothe and with feathery steps, I make out of the driveway. A bright headlight of a car points at me making me freeze in my tracks, another car stops and the door of the car opens. There's always only one option, Run!

Athena had always avoided being involved with dangerous people. She lived her life simple as a pole dancer even though she had a brother who was a gangster. Her whole life turned into a mess in one night when her brother and his gang were sent to kill someone and they got her involved forcing her that she would distract the person to make easy for them to kill the person. What happens when she realises that she wasn't distracting a human but a powerful ruthless being? What happens she actually made a deal with the devil? *He suddenly appeared very close to me and placed me between his arms that were now balanced on the door. He was so large, towering over me and I felt so small, praying to disappear because my brain was malfunctioning due to the extreme proximity we were sharing. Leaning his face close to mine and making sure that our noses touched, his olive green eyes shifted into dark crimson wolf like eyes that sent cold to freeze my spine. "Because you are my mate and you are mine." He whispered, merging his voice with his wolf's.*

Serene’s heart raced as she stood in Nicholas’s dimly lit study, the scent of leather and whiskey heavy in the air. She’d been dusting the bookshelves when he entered, his presence filling the room like a storm. Now, he stood inches away, his black suit hugging his broad shoulders, his dark mullet framing a gaze that burned with intent. “You missed a spot,” he murmured, his voice a low growl, pointing to a shelf she’d already cleaned. Her cheeks flushed as she turned, the hem of her maid uniform riding up her thighs. “I-I’ll get it, Mr. Volkov,” she stammered, reaching up, but his hand caught her wrist, firm yet gentle. “No,” he said, stepping closer, his breath warm against her ear. “Let me show you.” His fingers slid down her arm, leaving a trail of heat, before guiding her hand to the shelf. His chest pressed against her back, and she gasped at the hardness of his body, the evidence of his arousal unmistakable. “You’re trembling, little maid,” he whispered, his lips brushing her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “Do I scare you… or do I excite you?” Her breath hitched as his free hand trailed up her thigh, slipping beneath the lace of her uniform. “Mr. Volkov…” she whimpered, but her protest melted into a moan as his fingers found her, teasing her through the thin fabric of her panties. “ Nicholas,” he corrected, his voice rough with desire, his touch growing bolder, circling her most sensitive spot until her knees buckled. “Say it,” he demanded, nipping her earlobe. “N-Nicholas,” she gasped, her body arching into him, surrendering to the fire he’d ignited. In that moment, the billionaire and his naive maid were bound by a hunger neither could deny.