Frozen Courage

“Strip,” Lior said. Kael’s breath caught. He stood there, frozen, fear curling in his chest. Is this what my life is going to be now? he wondered. Ever since he met Lior, everything had gone wrong. They were fated—he had felt it the first time they locked eyes. That changed when Lior found out the truth. Kael’s brother was his ex. The one who had walked away. The one who chose his own fated mate and left Lior behind. After that, Lior hardened. He became ruthless. Instead of rejecting the bond, he held onto it like a weapon. He kept Kael close, punished him for someone else’s betrayal, and denied the pull that hit them both whenever they were together. Kael felt it every time Lior looked at him. Lior felt it too—but he refused to give in. The question was no longer why Lior hated him. It was whether the alpha would ever stop hurting his fated mate… or if revenge mattered more than the bond tying them together.

On the night of our mating ceremony, my mate, Damon, marked another she-wolf right in front of me. He said that if I wanted to be his Luna, I had to accept him having us both. In my past life, I screamed at him, accusing him of defying the Moon Goddess. Pressured by the Elders, he was forced to banish Lyla. She was run down by rogues and fell from a cliff to her death. After that, Damon refused to ever mark me. He even framed me, luring me into the forbidden lands as a pretext to banish me. Then, he hunted me down and killed me himself. I remember my body being picked apart by birds, the agony of it all. But now, I just stared at Damon's cold face, and at the Omega, Lyla, cradled in his arms. Then, I calmly reached up and removed the sacred symbol of our fated bond. "I refuse." And with that, under the shocked gazes of the entire pack, I walked away, heading for the frozen lands of the North. This time, I will make every single wolf who hurt me pay.

**"This isn’t just any party, it’s your wedding."** The words hit me like a truck as I stood frozen in disbelief. **"To Angelo Rizzo."** My stepbrother’s voice was cold, detached. My heart pounded in my chest. **"You’re joking, right?"** But one look at his face told me he wasn’t. **"You’re the payment for my debt to the Cosa Nostra."** His betrayal was a knife twisting in my gut. --- Attending a party with my stepbrother, I was prepared for an ordinary night. Instead, I was thrown into a nightmare. Without warning, I found myself standing beside Angelo Rizzo—a man as feared as he is cold—as his bride. My stepbrother owed the Cosa Nostra money, and I was his only way out. With no escape and no choice, I now wear a wedding ring tied to a man I fear. Three hours later, my world has turned upside down. There’s no running from Angelo, no hiding from the life ahead. My only hope? To survive being married to the infamous Angelo Rizzo.

“Touch her again,” he said coldly, “and I’ll break your hand.” The man who had ignored me for three years suddenly snapped, “Who do you think you are to interfere with my fiancée?” I stood frozen as the two most powerful men in the room faced off because of me. —— Arranged to marry Louis Valmont, I endured years of indifference, humiliation, and a mistress who never stopped reminding me I was unwanted. When I finally stopped begging for his attention, I sought help from a man powerful enough to protect me. That man… was the mistress’ father. What began as cooperation turned into desire. What should have been forbidden became inevitable. And when my ex finally realized he was losing me, it was already too late. But when jealousy drives him to force a marriage registration, a truth detonates the room. I was already married. So how did the mistress’s father become my husband? And what happens when my ex discovers he was never who he thought he was to begin with?

*His eyes scanned my bruised face, searching for answers. A careful, gentle hand caressed my cheek, intensifying the turmoil in his gaze. "He did this to you." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. But I couldn't find my voice, trapped in frozen silence. Fear gnawed at my skin as I stood amidst cold-blooded killers, surrounded by chaos and lifeless bodies. And as he held the gun, I knew more bodies would soon drop.* *** To everyone else, she was a nobody. A vessel for their perverse desires, a desperate pawn willing to fulfill their every whim. A nearsighted girl, finding solace only within the pages of her books, a portal to escape reality. But what they failed to grasp was that behind those innocent blue eyes lurked a devil, dependent on her happiness, hiding in the shadows and watching over her. And that devil was prepared to sacrifice everything for her. The scariest part? She had no clue. *"Why do you act like you're in love with me?" "Jesus, Lily," he growled, "I TATTOOED YOUR NAME ON MY FUCKING CHEST!"*

My little sister Willa? Always played the noble princess—even during the freaking apocalypse. She was pregnant and still trying to look like some graceful queen. I told her to end it. Safer that way. She slapped me. "Shut up. How can you be so heartless?" Meanwhile, I skipped meals so she and her rescue-pet gang could eat. When I collapsed from hunger, she snorted. "Drama queen. Think of it as a free weight-loss plan." I dragged her to the base, the safe zone, and nearly died doing it. She snatched the last of my rations. "The baby and I are good. Give the rest away." I died from my injuries—frozen, starving, forgotten. Willa? She got crowned a saint. Even landed the baby daddy—the Deputy Governor—and kicked off her perfect little fairytale. Then I woke up. Back to the moment she asked me to swear I'd protect her and the baby. This time, I laughed in her face. "Die for all I care."

Sophie became limp after an accident while saving an old grandma. Her parents, who resented her, laughed and said, "No one will marry a limping girl. Marry an old man and bring us the dowry money!" She thought her life was useless now. Until, the grandma's handsome grandson appeared with a shocking marriage proposal: "Marry me and I'll help you with your leg surgery!" She was stunned. "But I'm just a poor girl with a limp leg…why would you marry me?” His lips curled up into a smirk. "At least, I'll have a silly girl as my wife." Blinded by desperation and hope, Sophie agreed. Only later did she discover her new husband's true identity. Dominic William, London's most elusive billionaire, notorious for his icy heart and disdain for women. As Sophie navigates Dominic's world, she uncovers the secrets behind his frozen facade. But will their unconventional love overcome the darkness of his past and her own insecurities? Or will his secrets tear them apart?

ALPHA VINS BOND’S HATED MATE (Beauty and the Beast) Vincent Bond-Smith, a vampwolf. Half-Vampire...Half-Lycan; a deadly cross breed. He possess the powers of both species, making him twice as powerful. He is the Alpha King of all the notable supernatural societies. Out of cruelty, he created a tradition, humans are made sex pets and slaves in his imperial. Vins Bond had longed to have a mate again. Table turned, his second chance mate turned out to be the object he detested more than anything. A human. Kiara had worked up the courage to leave an abusive marriage but she still cries herself to sleep every night. She is a cosmetologist who runs a beauty salon with little to no excitement in her life. She is bruised, broken and scarred. Not long though, she found herself in an entirely different world and mated to the rarest and deadliest hybrid. Being Vins Bond’s mate, hating him and the whole imperialism system disgusted her so much but it changed after inching a little to closer to his heart, what’s left of it at least. Will the broken, scarred human take up the courage to show Vins Bond what it feels like to be in love? Or will his dark world snuff out what’s left of her light and shatter her completely?

Blurb Amaya Ariana Jordan , a beta's daughter, is demoted to an omega after being blamed for a rogue attack on her pack. She is now the lowest ranking member of the pack and is subjected to bullying and abuse from the other wolves. Amaya must find a way to survive in this new world, but she also must find a way to clear her name and prove her innocence. Along the way, she will learn about the true meaning of strength, courage, and love.

To save my unconscious Alpha fiancé, I got trapped in a glacial crevasse on the frozen mountain. I tried to reach him through our bond ninety-nine times, but he blocked me out completely. When he finally found me seven days later, his first words were an accusation. "Elara damaged her eyes trying to save me, and you just had to cause trouble right now!" "You're a trained mountain warrior. How could you get trapped in a small crevasse for seven days?" "I've had enough of your games. Let's break off our engagement." He thought I would cry and argue like before. But I just nodded. "Okay." He didn't know I hit my head when I fell trying to save him. In seven days, I would completely forget him. But when I finally left him completely as he'd promised, he went crazy, searching the world and begging me back.