Hopeless Pursuit

What does the underboss of an infamous crime family have in common with a spirited primary school teacher? Absolutely nothing, except a marriage of convenience, of course. When Lionel Tyson defaults on a gambling debt and offers his most prized possession as collateral, Austin Hawthorne is underwhelmed. But in desperate need of a housekeeper and permanent child minder, he knows he’d be an idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, against his better judgement, he accepts an offer he should absolutely refuse. Marybeth Tyson is horrified to learn that not only is her father wanted by loan sharks, but he has also sold her off to a mafia boss. Bound by duty and pushed by guilt, she agrees to give Austin Hawthorne one year of her life, despite common sense screaming at her to run the other way. After all, how hard can pretending to be madly in love with someone be? It’s all fun and games until play pretend becomes all too real, and an earth-shattering secret from Austin’s past comes to light, threatening to destroy his second chance at love with his dogged pursuit for answers. Betrayal, especially at the hands of his older brother Blake and long-time friend, Andrei Ivanov, is a bitter pill to swallow for Austin, and letting them off scot-free is not an option. Driven by his unquenchable thirst for revenge, Austin will stop at nothing to get to the truth, even if it means destroying decade-old friendships and fragile ties to The Corporation. 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.

Sebastian Sanchez never wanted her, but that's not what led to their divorce. He cheated on her with her best friend and the pain in her heart was multiplied many times over. But, now Isabella Rossi has managed to escape the shadows of her past, building her own happiness after the bitter divorce from Sebastian. She had no time to dwell on all the things about the past that had hurt her. After all, she now had the center of the world that made her forget everything. However, her life is shaken up again when Sebastian reappears in her life, bringing an offer of much-needed financial help. Sebastian hasn't changed; he is still incredibly wealthy, strong, gorgeous, charming, and intoxicating as sin. With her business on the verge of bankruptcy, debts mounting, and daily needs Isabella is cornered between her immediate needs and her desire not to go back to her ex-husband. Isabella insists on keeping her distance from him, seeking other help and trying not to fall for his advances. The situation becomes more complicated for Isabella when Sebastian finds out the major secret she has been keeping. Stefano Archer Rossi; her son. The little blue-eyed one who bears a striking resemblance to Sebastian Sanchez. Sebastian was the most domineering man she despised. But how can she resist Sebastian's relentless pursuit? Using their child as the focal point, transform a traumatic history into a lovely one? There is a razor's edge between love and hatred, and Isabella sees it when they clash. Isabella risks dying if she gives in to this unusual desire and becomes entangled in a deadly game of love and hate.

Leah and Abigail are separated at birth at the request of their mom, Amber. Leah stays with her mom and Abigail goes to live with her aunt, Emerald, calling her mother. Caleb is Leah’s best friend and finds out that he is part of a lineage of werewolves who promised to protect Leah’s lineage of witches. Caleb is taken into his father's old pack by Seth, one of his father's dearest friends. Caleb meets Hope who has her heart set on mating with him, but his heart belongs to Leah. Hope is relentless in her pursuit and Caleb. Emerald is extremely jealous of Leah and Abigail's powers, both being more powerful than she. She will stop at nothing to keep the girls in check, even turning to the dark arts. Emerald knows that she is angering the Goddess by turning to the dark arts but is willing to take her chances. She enlists her familiar, Silden a shapeshifting Raven, to spy on Leah and report back on her progress. Silden can no longer take the pressure of spying on poor Leah and she reveals herself to her. They hatch a plan to fool Emerald by making her believe that Leah isn't as powerful as she thinks she is. Caleb teaches Leah how to fight, making sure that she not only focuses on her magic to keep her safe. She is a quick student and easily picks it up. Leah is bitten when in a fight with a rogue pack of wolves from a neighboring pack and becomes a hybrid. Wracked with jealousy Emerald hatches a plan to try to steal Abigail's powers, but Leah and Caleb find her just in time to stop her and rid their family of the evil within.

“Kage, what are you…” “What am I doing?” His voice taunting. “I am going to destroy you, Avyanna. Once I am done, you will never be able to have another man.” “Kage…” Beyond what I can even restrain myself, my moans are nothing but a symphony to his ears. But as he feels my body surrender, he pulls his hungry lips away, “Do you really think I am going to give you all that you want, Avyanna?” “Kage…” My voice turning to a whimper. “Please, I am sorry.” “Not as sorry as what you are going to be,” his growls ripple to every inch of every crack and crevice. “You messed up, princess. You just lost the only man that will ever satisfy you.” Avyanna Tate left her small-town home of Jackson ten years ago in pursuit of a modeling career in the big city. When a tragedy strikes in her family, she is forced to return home. Years ago, she left the Xavier brothers behind her, they not only destroyed her life but broke her heart. Destined to only one of them, she could never make the choice and decided to run away instead. Now she is back, and her path is bound to cross with Niko, Slater, and Kage once again. But the boys have done some growing up. If she thought then that one choice between them was not easy, this time around it is going to be near damn impossible. Ten years ago, they were only boys, but now they are the Alphas that run Jackson. The Xavier brothers known for their reign of anarchy have waited in anticipation for Avyanna’s return and this time there is no escaping them.

Natalie Underwood and Damian Abbott were high school sweethearts. Both of them were the most good-looking students back in high school, and when they began dating, they were the most well-known golden couple on campus. There was once when they had made a vow to get married once they reached the legal age to do so. But just when their love for each other reached its peak, Natalie suddenly broke up with Damian before leaving the country with a rich scion. On the day of their break-up, Damian chased after Natalie for a very long time with red-rimmed eyes. To think that a young man as prideful as him kept begging her not to break up with him. He kept promising her that he would be successful one day. Damian begged Natalie not to act so rashly. He pleaded with her to wait for him and not to fall in love with someone else. But Natalie remained cold and aloof to him. She didn't even want to waste her breath on him. Heck, when she witnessed him getting into a car accident during his pursuit, she didn't bother returning to him. It was an extremely serious car crash. Damian's kidney was completely ruptured. He needed a kidney transplant in order to survive. Although he was lying on the surgical table while drenched in his own blood, he insisted on getting up so that he could call Natalie on the phone. But the calls that he had mustered all of his strength to place ended up getting hung up by Natalie repeatedly. For as deep as Damian's love for Natalie ran, hatred could run just as deep. From that day onward, Damien had nothing but burning hatred for Natalie.

He looks at me like he already knows the truth I’ve spent a lifetime hiding. Ethan Vance—lawman, predator, believer in a system I learned to outthink before I could drink wine. His eyes don’t burn with hate. They study, measure, almost… understand. They call him incorruptible. Maybe he is. But I’ve seen incorruptible men fall, not to money or power, but to fascination. The kind that crawls under your skin and makes you wonder if the person chasing you might be the only one who truly sees you. He hunts me by the book. I survive by rewriting it. But somewhere between the pursuit and the silence, between his questions and my lies, the line blurred. And now, I can’t decide which is more dangerous, losing to him, or wanting him to catch me. --- He isn’t what I expected. Luca Vitale walks into every room like he owns it, and maybe he does. Calm. Calculated. Dangerous in ways that don’t show up on a rap sheet. He should be just another target, another name I take down and file away. But there’s something about the way he looks at me. Like he already knows I’m not as untouchable as I pretend to be. I tell myself it’s strategy, curiosity, control. It’s not. It’s a problem. Because every time I think I’m closing in, I realise he’s already two steps ahead—and for the first time in my career, I’m not sure if I’m hunting him, or if he’s letting me try.

Elisse Andres thought she had it all as the Luna of Clawstone pack until her Alpha husband, Harold Gutcheri, had used her so that he could take the position of the pack’s alpha. Feeling betrayed, followed by witnessing him cheated with another woman, Elisse’s whole world shattered. In her belief that her husband would come to regret if she would do everything to prove him she was more than enough to satisfy him in bed, however, it all became a nightmare as her sultry mistake leads to drunkenly sending her nude photos accidentally to the wrong man—and of all, her husband’s dangerously seductive Beta, Dominic Costales. Elisse’s life met a drastic change particularly when Dominic used her mistake to his advantage, and how Dominic reveals that he has no intention of keeping her dirty little secret without asking her something in return. With Dominic’s pursuit to entice Elisse deeper under his web, resisting Dominic’s pull had become too complicated for Elisse to accomplish, making Elisse got caught up in a risky game where Dominic dominates her entirely. Now trapped between her desire to avenge herself and their insatiable affair, Elisse now felt compelled to play with fire, and Dominic shall make her burn. “Let me fucking show you how it truly feels like to be wanted, Elisse.” Dominic said as he brushed his lips against my clit, enticing me to savor every moment and making me forget the fucking fact that I was actually about to make a forbidden affair to my husband’s most trusted beta.

She offered him her heart, her trust, her everything and her soul only to face betrayal, heartbreak, and being discarded as if she meant nothing to him. Eleanor Sinclair was once a delicate, vibrant, quiet woman who loved intensely and wholeheartedly, but love caused her immense pain and regret. Married to the ruthless, wicked and influential Damian Blackwood, she suffered through his cold indifference, harsh words, and the stifling loneliness of an absent and void love. When he wrongfully accused her of infidelity and cast her away, she lost everything: her dignity, her aspirations,her goals, her life maybe and the child she was carrying. Left for dead, Eleanor faded from existence, but she didn’t die. Instead, she emerged from her suffering, forged in the fires of pain and revenge, becoming the very nightmare of the underworld. No longer the timid, weak woman pleading for affection, she returns years later, powerful and driven by a singular mission: to destroy the man who ruined her life, to kill him and burn him if possible. However, Damian Blackwood is unlike any other. Ruthless, strategic, and more dangerous than before, he never expected the woman he once threw away would come back stronger, more lethal and destructive, and beyond his reach. The moment he lays eyes on her again, he recognizes his error. She was never the weak one he was. Now, he’s determined to pursue her, plead, and break every rule to reclaim her for good. But Eleanor has no heart left to offer. Not while the fire of revenge still courses through her veins. He feels regret. She seeks vengeance. Let the pursuit begin…

In the enigmatic realm of supernatural creatures, Josephine Adams, destined to assume her Alpha role, faces the impending eve of her 21st birthday. As the mystical ritual of power-transfer approaches, blessed by the Moon Goddess, Josie - born of a pure Alpha and a witch-werewolf hybrid - grapples with the weight of her impending leadership. Having meticulously prepared for this moment, she excels academically and physically. Yet, the abyss of her unmet mate casts a shadow, arousing suspicions among the pack. Unlike her mated siblings, Josie's focus remains unbroken…still. Haunted by recurring dreams of a mysterious male, Josie's silent struggle intensifies. With the advent of her 21st birthday, a chilling nightmare unravels a revelation – her dreams are a telepathic connection with her trapped mate. A revelation accompanied by her mother's startling truths – a curse that shackles their family, put by her evil aunt. Josie's destined mate, Leviathan, lies trapped in another realm, and the death of her father can break the curse. In a world where acknowledging a mate without sealing the bond risks mental decay, Josie embarks on a mission to save her mate and break the curse. On the parallel thread of destiny, Levi, last scion of the royal Lycan family, deals with the malevolent witch's schemes. As secrets unfold, Levi's cursed Lycan emerges, bound by dark magic. Josie's grandmother, the powerful Helen Rose, is the key to unlocking their fates. Having sacrificed contact with her family, she aids Josie from the Goddess's realm. Unknowns to her family, Helen trades decades of service to ensure Josie's chance at happiness. "Trapped in her mind: Saving the forgotten Lycan" is a saga of curses, family secrets, and the pursuit of love and power in a world where the past and present collide. Will Josie succeed in a timely manner?

Charlie, One day, I woke up in a hospital with no memory, no answers. Not just any hospital, a mental institution surrounded by nut jobs. I wasn't supposed to end up like this, scared, changed, no memory of what happened. I was a normal teenager, then my seventeenth birthday changed everything. I started having visions of a place called Cresent Moon, a remote little forest in the middle of Colorado. I begged my family to go, and that was the last thing I remembered. Next thing I was in a bed being forcibly restrained. I had two choices stay, serve my time and pray they let me leave or escape and discovered what happened to my life. Naja, I give up the notion of ever finding a true mate at twenty–eight I had witnessed more death than I cared to admit, all because of my powers gifted by the Moon Goddess. I was blessed with the ability to heal or cursed as I often thought of my gift. A gift that was used for despicable evil. In the pursuit of tracking rogue hunters, I found her — the other half of my soul, broken, bleeding, and dying. I had no choice but to send her away for her own peace of mind and safety. She was too young, too sweet for a jaded asshole like me---too precious to put in danger. I wasn't given a choice to have a normal life but she would, even if I have to kill anyone who dares to hurt me through her. They say when you love someone you have to let them go, they will come back to you. I just pray its true, I can’t exist now that I know she out there waiting to come back to me, even if she doesn’t know it yet