Guts Smiling

"I know you want me, cupcake!" His deep husky voice ignited the fire within me and I clutched into his shoulder for support, otherwise I knew I was going to fall anytime soon. "You desire me, not only emotionally but also physically!" The touch of his lips near my ear made me shiver in need. "You like it when I touch you, don't you?" He asked, touching my thigh with his warm hand, making me curl my toes. I wanted to scream at him how much I wanted him to fuck me like it was going to be his last fuck, how much hurt I get when I see him with his fiance, and how much I truly loved him. But I couldn't, I just couldn't get the guts to say it aloud because he was my step-uncle, he was a forbidden fruit for me which I could only stare at from afar. But I could see the determination in his eyes which was trying to tell me that he would do anything to break through the wall I have created around my heart. Before I could guess his next movement, in one swift motion, he tore my white shirt, taking me aback and I felt paralyzed like I couldn't even move an inch, I could only stare up at his dark desireful eyes. "Tonight, I will show you how much I desire you!" Oh shit! * When Dawn's mother got married into the influential Playford family after her father's demise, no one accepted her as a family member except the youngest heir, Hunter Playford who is cold as ice. She started trying her best to befriend him but can they become something more beyond their step relationship? * This book has no incest relationship, the leads are not related by blood.

A group of armed robbers ambush the kindergarten, resulting in my son, Finn Hart, becoming a hostage. A ticking time bomb is strapped to his tiny body afterward. My husband, Nolan Hart, also known as the best bomb disposal expert in the whole nation, arrives at the scene immediately. Meanwhile, I stand by the monitor in the command van, my eyes glued to the screen. I can see a burlap sack covering Finn's head. My poor son is trembling violently out of fear. But once Nolan and his assistant-slash-first love, Summer Castellano, enter the scene, the latter actually has the guts to ask for permission to dispose of the bomb. "Nolan, let me have a taste of what it feels like to be a heroine who gets to save lives. Is that okay?" As Nolan gazes at Summer, he flashes a doting smile at her. "Go ahead. You can just cut the red wire. Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll face the consequences on your behalf." Summer reaches out with her scissors excitedly and snips the blue wire without hesitation. The next thing everyone knows, the countdown on Finn's bomb shifts from ten minutes to ten seconds instantly. Both Nolan and Summer's expressions change drastically. They quickly turn tail and flee the scene. On the other hand, my eyes go as wide as dinner plates at the turn of events. Just as I'm about to rush into the kindergarten, I feel a tiny hand grabbing the hem of my shirt forcefully. "Mommy, Daddy will save Wyatt, right?" I look down to see Finn, who's standing right next to me. For a moment, my mind goes blank. Suddenly, I recall having heard him telling me when he called me with his smartwatch earlier today. "Mommy, Wyatt insisted on swapping clothes with me. He said my new sportswear looks better than his!" Wyatt Castellano is Summer's son… as well as Finn's half-brother.

"I, Alpha Kace Thayer of Bloodclaw pack, reject you , Eliora Thayer as my mate and Luna of the Bloodclaw pack." I gasped as I stared at him. He just rejected me! I felt the bond being snapped out of place. The rejection wouldn't be completed until I accepted his rejection. He wasn't in his right sense. We never had any problem that would warrant his rejection, I chanted to myself as I tried to breathe through the pain. "No o. You can't do this to us!" I cried out as I felt my chest tighten. It was worse that I had no wolf to take all or part of the pain. I had to bear it all. I struggled to look at my best friend wondering why she wasn't by my side, urging me to stay strong and slapping my mate. But the bitch was smiling, her arms linked with that of her mate. The pain shot up to another level as I realized what had happened. The bitter taste of their betrayal filled my mouth and I felt the tears run down faster. I turned to the people, no one came to me. No one tried to help me. They just stared and pointed at me, gossiping amongst themselves. These are the people I put before my own happiness. They all betrayed me!! **** Eliora Thayer thought that she had it all in life, a great pack, a good mate and a supporting best friend. Not until, she was betrayed by all of them. Just when she decided to move on, the moon goddess decides to grant her a second chance mate. One she never asked for. What's more? He was a beast who had no intention of letting her go.

At the contract-signing meeting, a major client casually asks our new technician if she can handle her alcohol. She immediately pours a glass of red wine over his head and says coolly, "This sort of socializing is a bad habit. I'm putting an end to it." Leon Langley, a top client who brings the company 300 million dollars in annual revenue, flies into a rage and tears up the contract on the spot. As the project lead, I bend over backward to apologize and drink with Mr. Langley until I'm hospitalized with gastric bleeding—just to salvage the deal. When I report the incident to my boss, he scolds me instead. "As the person in charge, you nearly ruined the project. Forget the three-million-dollar commission we planned to give you. Consider this a warning." After that, I put Hannah Storrie's name on the department's downsizing review list. She sneers. "I'm a top talent the boss poached at great expense. I'm not some cheap hostess who survives by smiling and drinking like you. "Firing me would be throwing the company down the drain. When that happens, you'll be begging me to come back." I ignore her. However, when the review period ends, the name on the layoff list turns out to be mine. My boss seizes the opportunity to announce that Hannah will replace me as the new sales director. "Clients are extremely important to us. You don't seriously think you're capable of landing them, do you? "Hannah's is more qualified, more tech-savvy, and prettier than you. She's clearly the better choice." I simply smile, turn around, and dial a number.

There was a woman named Victoria Manansala, she belongs to a poor family. She has a beloved parents who are Aling Beth and Mang Echo. One night, when the moon was full, while Victoria and Sebastian were on their way home they encountered men, then they kidnapped her. When she wakes up, she saw an old man smiling in front of her. She found out that she is the long-lost granddaughter of Senior Fernan. And her parents was already dead. Her parents explains the truth about her. On the city, she fell in love with Lucas, but it brought her pain. On that moment she realized that every full moon, something happened with her. There are four men fell in love with Victoria and they do everything for her to forget the pain. Victoria woke up in the dark room with Tom. She was kidnapped by a person who's the reason why she lost. She discovers the real identity of Tom as well. The two escaped, as time goes by, they fall in love and became a couple. One day, Victoria was kidnapped again, she became missing. And she found by Aling Rosita and Mang Tonyo who takes care of her when she was unconscious. Without her knowing the two was her parents whom she thought were dead. When Victoria is away, she met other man named Fabio who fall in love with her. They found out the truth in the end, and the villain paid everything they did. Years later, one night Tom took Victoria for hiking. Tom proposed to Victoria on the peak of the mountain. She said yes with Tom and they get married. After one year Victoria gave birth to their twin babies, the baby boy was named Deneb while the girl was Star.

"Bind her up," I heard a woman's stern command. They roughly shoved me to the ground, placing my arms on a bench and tying them with ropes. "It’s an honor for you to be a surrogate candidate for our King! HOW DARE YOU try to escape?! Now you’ll pay the price!" As his partner handed him a pair of pliers, he flashed me a purely evil smile. My heart sank into my stomach. The king? Surrogate?! I had no idea what he was talking about... "NO PLEASE! Listen, you’ve got the wrong person..." They didn't even let me finish before they pulled out the nail on my index finger. "Ah-----" I thought I knew pain, but his actions proved I didn't. I had never experienced such torture; my helpless screams filled the entire dungeon. Tears streamed down my face, and my hands were soaked with innocent blood. The woman sat not far away, legs crossed, smiling at me. Soon, she raised her hand to signal everyone to leave and then crouched in front of me, slowly untying the ropes around me. "I know it's not you, but a she-wolf escaped. We'll use you to replace her. So, if you want to survive here, shut your mouth and do as you're told." Just like that, everything changed... *** Betrayed by my fated mate and my best friend. I, the powerful daughter of an Alpha, was scheduled to be executed on the false allegations of murdering my father and his comrades. Fate had other plans as I escaped but landed myself on an island ruled by a mysterious king, Asher Ludwig... No matter how difficult it is, I will fight my way back and reclaim everything that belongs to me!

I push through my Gamma warrior training ahead of schedule just to get back to the pack sooner. All I want is to stand beside my Alpha, Kyle Faucher, and finally complete our mate-bonding ceremony. But when I step into our house, scarred and feeling hopeful, I see 100 old boarding passes to the Darkmoon pack littering the floor. That pack is only a mile from my training grounds. Kyle's been that close for two years, and still, he never came. I sprint to the place where we were supposed to have our mate-bonding ceremony, clinging to the desperate hope that there's an explanation. But the moment I burst through the doors, I stopped cold. Kyle is down on one knee, dressed in a tailored suit, his eyes locked on someone with a softness I've never seen in him before. Standing across from him, smiling through her tears, is my stepsister, Vivian Blackwell. "Vivian, I haven't completed the mate-bonding ceremony with Serene. Say the word, and I'll reject her and mark you right now." At that moment, the world goes still, and I even forgot how to breathe. So this is what he's been doing while I was gone, chasing the woman he never let go of. Meanwhile, I spent those two years giving everything I had, trying to become someone worthy of standing by his side. I don't ask why or shed a tear. I just turn around and walk away. If she's what he wants, then so be it. The mate-bonding ceremony I dreamed of will be theirs instead. But the second I'm gone, he loses it and sends every warrior looking for me.

What happens when you see the man you have devoted your life to loving smiling lovingly at another woman? What happens when he tells you that he cannot love you any more? What happens when you see your crush for the first time in ten years? What happens when you find out that love does not exist? What do you do then? Elara Quinn devoted her life to being the perfect wife material for her boyfriend, even though he never put a ring on it. She is obedient, submissive, and the best any man would want, but it all comes crashing down before her eyes when she learns of her boyfriend's affairs with an imposter of the Quinn family. She learns that he wants to climb up the cooperation ladder, and the only way to do that is for him to marry into the Quinn family. The only catch is that no one knows what the Quinn Heiress looks like. Now she has to go back and claim her right before anyone else does it. Can she make it in time, or is it going to be too late for her to reclaim her position while also finding the time to fall back in love with her first love? Ezra Thatcher never believed that he would get to love again when the girl he secretly had a crush on suddenly disappeared into thin air and then reappeared again looking the same as ever. The only catch is that he is engaged to a new girl, but his feelings stay the same. Back to Love is a thrilling romance story about a cheated girl falling back in love with her first love and a love-stricken boy trying to make love work again for him.

Extract The thought of Louis stalking me send cold shivers down my spine. Cold sweats formed on my forehead and I could feel my make-up washing off by my sweats. " Who are you?" Austin roared, but the wicked smile on Louis's face never left my mind. Why was he smiling that way? I couldn't help but wonder with my body trembling. " Louis Rusev" Louis answered and the audience gasped. At this moment, the priest had disappeared and everyone was holding their breath. " The alpha of lake pack?" Austin asked with squinted eyes to be sure the person standing before him wasn't an imposter. I didn't tell Austin the identity of my ex-mate, I only told him what happened between us. " Bravo, you know me well" Louis applauded and approached us on the stage. " What do you want?" Austin asked and I felt his grip tightened around my wrist in a protective manner. " I want my mate back" Louis answered calmly with a domineering voice. My heart dropped to my stomach at his response and I felt tears brimming in my eyes. Didn't he reject me? Didn't he send me away? why did he appear suddenly? In a world where people go over the moon when they find their mate, Nora's life crumbled after finding hers. Happy that her long-time crush, Alpha Louis Rusev was now her mate, she offered herself to him willingly not knowing Fate was Tempting her. How far can she survive the cruel action of fate and the partiality of the moon goddess?

It's the tenth anniversary of my bonding with my warrior mate, Owen Chase, and also our son Leo's birthday. A month earlier, I spent $8000 arranging a trip to the Blood Moon Forest. I plan to take my mate and pup to the Moon Goddess' sacred grounds to receive her blessings. This is supposed to be a happy anniversary celebration for our complete werewolf family. I've prepared everything and booked tickets for the Twilight Coach. But on the night before our departure, Owen and Leo suddenly block our mind-link. "Dad and I are having dinner with Ms. Emma on the 24th floor of Moonlight Restaurant. We've cancelled the tickets—we're not going." The call ends there. They promptly block my number as well. I rush back to our pack overnight, only to find that the security system no longer recognizes me. That night, every household locks its doors and activates protective barriers against the toxic mist of the Silver Mines in the nearby Moonveil Valley, while I could only huddle on the stone steps outside our house, inhaling the silver-laden fog all night. The poisonous substances flood my systems. I am sent to the hospital, burning with fever as my wolf grows weaker with every labored breath. Meanwhile, my family is busy touring Central City with Emma Skinner, spending the money I had worked so hard to earn. Owen posts a photo on his social media. In the photo, Emma, my mate Owen, and my child Leo stand hand-in-hand in front of the wishing fountain in Central City, all smiling brightly. The caption reads: "A perfect trip, a perfect family of three." It is only then that I finally understand—this family exists in name only. It's time for me to rebuild my life.