Gut Wrenched

Liam Chase and I were legendary in Celandre City—the most infamous enemies ever bound by marriage. He hated me for being shameless, convinced I'd schemed my way into becoming his wife. I despised him for playing the celibate knight for Alexa Conley and treating me coldly. In eight years of marriage, his most frequent words to me were, "Get out." Then the flood came. The man who'd never spared me a single kindness shoved me onto the last lifeboat. Over the roaring water, he shouted, "Don't look back! Go! Khloe, my debt to you is paid. In the next life, I belong only to Alexa." I lunged for him, but someone wrenched me back. I could only watch as the water swallowed Liam whole. When rescue teams finally came, they found his body bloated, his fingers locked around Alexa's pendant in a grip no one could break. Afterward, I sold everything we owned, donated it all to the disaster relief, and jumped off a building. But when I opened my eyes, I was back… on the night Liam got drugged.

Estelle’s life was once a fairy tale, filled with love and promise. However, tragedy struck on the day of their wedding. Estelle’s father and Cristofer’s parents were involved in a car accident that took their lives instantly. The loss was devastating for Cristofer, causing him to sink into deep sorrow and anger towards Estelle. One tragedy comes after another, and she finds herself battling cancer, heartbreak, and deceit. In a world where all seems lost, Estelle must dig deep to find the strength to fight for what she loves most. **** Cristofer’s magnetic yet cold voice wrenched her mind back to reality, “Sign the divorce paper now!” Estelle laid down her legs, sat up, and asked, “Did you drink?” “It’s none of your business.” “Drinking is bad for your stomach.” “I need to drink so that I won’t feel disgusted when having sex with you.” “You couldn’t wait to divorce me?” Her voice sounded weak. She turned her back on him as the smoke nearly smothered her, and she started coughing again. “You know that, don’t you?” Cristofer deliberately breathed out a stream of smoke in her direction and felt inexplicably pleased to see her coughing and trembling.

The wedding's in half an hour, and my fiancé's assistant, this woman, just hands me this paper. Rule number one: No physical contact with him outside, not unless he explicitly permits it. Rule number two: Intimacy is to occur only when he initiates it. She is obligated to satisfy his desires at least once a month. Rule number three: He can demand his due at any time, any place, and she cannot refuse. ... After I finished reading this entire two-page contract, I had to fight to keep a smile on my face. Swallowing the fire in my gut, I called my fiancé. "Marcus, what the hell is this?" "What do you mean, 'If he fathers a child, she must raise it, no matter who the mother is'?"

Six months after our divorce, my ex-wife, Shanon Reich went viral with her new influencer boyfriend, Tobias Hunt, gaining over ten million followers. One day, by sheer accident, I scrolled into their livestream and saw my three-year-old daughter, Ginny Herbert, trapped inside a car. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Her little face was flushed, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. She looked utterly helpless. Shanon didn't smash the window, nor did she call the police. Instead, she laughed brightly at the camera. "Thank you to our top fan for the moneybag gift!" Then she grinned and said, "Send another moneybag! I'll smash the window once I get it, okay?" I lost my mind. I raced over like a madman and wrenched the car keys out of her hand. "Leomund Herbert! Are you insane?" she screamed. "Do you know how much this stream is worth? It's just a little heat! She's not going to die!" I held my daughter in my arms. Her tiny body was limp, and she was barely conscious. With reddened eyes, I pointed at her and shouted, "Shanon Reich! You will pay for this!"

While my boyfriend, Caleb Lawson, is in the shower, I grab his phone on a whim and drop a message in the group chat he's in with his friends. "Guess who I'm with tonight." I expect them to say my name, but their reply blindsides me. "That freshman who used to chase you when you were a sophomore? She's obsessed with you. She's definitely easier than your girlfriend. Want us to swing by tonight?" My gut tells me he's hiding more than an affair. Just as I start scrolling through his messages with the freshman, a notification from her pops up. "Caleb, I agree to the threesome. I'll do anything you want." Seconds later, another message appears in the group chat. "Just be careful this time. We don't need another body on our hands."

SIX PACK SERIES BOOK FOUR ~ BROCK : I don't believe in happy endings. I stopped believing in them right around the time the woman I loved left me for another man. Love nearly destroyed me once, and when I picked myself back up, I swore I'd never be that stupid again. If you never give someone your heart, they can't break it- so for years, I've closed myself off; never opening up, never feeling. Growing more bitter as everyone around me finds their happy endings. Then I met Astrid. She's annoyingly perky, infuriatingly beautiful, and seems convinced that her cheerful little-miss-sunshine act can melt the ice around my heart. Worst of all, though, is some part of me wants her- and a girl like that is dangerous in my hands. She'll give me every piece of herself, only for her to break when I can't give her anything in return. ~ ASTRID : My whole life, I've gone with my gut. I get feelings about things and people that others don't get, and I've been told that it's a special gift; that I'm an 'intuitive'. I've also been accused of being an eternal optimist, which is why I'm thrown for a loop when I get hit with a gut feeling about the moodiest, broodiest guy I've ever met, like we're supposed to be something to each other. Like we're connected somehow. Trusting my gut has never let me down before, but the more time I spend with Brock, the more I wonder whether my 'gift' has gone haywire. This guy has built walls around his heart a mile thick, and he's not letting anyone through. He's living his life in the darkness, and I'm a little afraid that if I let myself get too close to him, he'll steal my light.

Mein Jugendfreund hatte mir versprochen, mich zu heiraten, sobald wir alt genug wären – doch an meinem Hochzeitstag steckte er meiner Stiefschwester, Summer Hugh, meinen Ehering an. Damals war es Victor Lowell, der gefürchtete Mafia-Erbe, der mich rettete, indem er öffentlich erklärte, er liebe mich schon seit Jahren. In den fünf Jahren, die wir verheiratet waren, erfüllte er jeden meiner Wünsche, selbst die, die ich nur beiläufig erwähnt hatte. Ich glaubte wirklich, ich sei der Mittelpunkt seiner Welt. Alles änderte sich, als ich beim Putzen seines Bücherregals auf eine streng geheime Mappe stieß. Gleich auf der ersten Seite war eine Akte über Summer mit fettgedruckten, roten Worten: „Höchste Schutzpriorität“. Darauf folgte ein Einsatzbericht, den ich nur allzu gut kannte. In jener Nacht hatte es einen Anschlag auf mein Leben gegeben. Ich hatte fast mein gesamtes Blut verloren, bevor man mich rettete. Als ich im Krankenhaus erwachte, erfuhr ich, dass ich ein Kind verloren hatte – ein Kind, von dem ich nicht einmal wusste, dass ich es in mir getragen hatte. Ich weinte bitterlich in Victors Armen, doch ich erzählte ihm nichts von dem Baby. Ich wollte nicht, dass er sich noch mehr Sorgen um mich machte. Jetzt wusste ich endlich – auch Summer war in jener Nacht angegriffen worden, und Victors Befehl hatte gelautet: „Rettet zuerst Summer.“ Meine Tränen tropften auf das Papier und ließen seine Handschrift verlaufen. „Gut“, sagte ich leise, aber fest in die Stille. „Wenn meine Ehe von Anfang an eine Lüge war, werde ich aus deinem Leben verschwinden. Für immer.“

Kristen hatte nicht nur einen überdurchschnittlichen IQ sondern war auch gleichzeitig stolze Besitzerin eines eigenen Tattoo- Studios. Nun stand ihr achtzehnter Geburtstag vor der Tür. Nachdem sie jahrelang von ihrer Mutter misshandelt worden war, hatte sie beschlossen, ihr Rudel zu verlassen. Ihr Tattoo- Studio lief gut, also hatte sie genug Geld zur Verfügung. Sie wollte sich in ihr eigenes Abenteuer stürzen, ganz egal, wer ihr Gefährte war. Leider hatten mehrere Männer ein Problem mit ihrer Unabhängigkeit. Kristens feurige Persönlichkeit hatte sie in eine Situation gebracht, in der sie sich allen Dingen stellen mussten, denen sie eigentlich versucht hatte zu entfliehen. Wie viel kann eine Person ertragen, bevor sie aufgibt?

'Calm down Tamara, I can explain. ' My extra alert ears collected the sound waves, sending them to the brain for interpretation. I couldn't believe it! He was asking me to calm down after saying such words. 'My mind can only picture you between her legs right now, and you want me to calm down? ' The flames continued growing just as the invisible force wrenched me near him. His wide eyes met with mine as I leaned in closer to him, tiptoeing on my feet to reach just below his ear. 'The remedy for fire is fire.' My arms were convulsively grasped yet again by the inexplicable force. I failed miserably to counter the forced actions as my hands tore my blouse in an instant. 'No!' His shout was a second late because the flames died out as my hands embedded into the cloth, pulling it apart in ferocious strength. ********* Orphaned and living as the only witch in a pack of werewolves, Tamara is hated and ridiculed despite her kindness. When the Alpha of the pack, Alpha Ryker turns out to be her mate, everything changes. Their bond is fated and sealed, and so is Tamara's role in saving the pack. Their victory depends on a prophecy and one life must be lost for others to be saved. As the pack's antagonist rises to power, she must team up with her mate despite the storms, betrayal and secrets surrounding them. Will they withstand or with the storm destroy everything they have ever known?

Alexandra is moving to a new town to live with her cousin Clarissa. Her life is all party and no pressure, but she is tortured by naughty dreams and thoughts about her handsome, but mysterious boss Michael. What will happen when he let Alexandra close enough to learn his secret? Can she handle his dark past, can she trust him? How long can Michael resist his alluring employee? Read to find out. "I knew since the first time I saw her that it would be difficult to be around her and not grab her and take her upstairs to my bed. I knew that I would suffer from that, and I hired her, ignoring my gut feeling. I couldn't be with her. I couldn't be with anyone. At least not at the time. I bet she wouldn't even want to be near to me if she only knew what my secret was, the reason I sold my house and left my hometown to come here."