How Did Rengoku Die

Elle Smith is struggling. She's flat broke, in between jobs, and the only one providing for her nephew. The only job offer for her is stripping, and she's so desperate she might take it. Recommended by a friend, she then enters a strip club, where she catches the eye of Trevor Gomez, and she's not sure if that's a good thing. He's mysterious, handsome, and controlling. Then here comes Drake Saber; he is grumpy, strict, and protective. But when Elle’s life falls apart, she realizes that these two men might be the only ones who can keep her safe. Until when will she let her innocence last?

Five years after my death, my daughter, Emma, dialed Xander Green’s number. She cautiously asked, "Do you like my mom?" She was trying to get an answer to the question I once wrote in my diary. "Xander, do you like me?" Unexpectedly, the voice on the other end sneered, "Did your mom put you up to this? Using her own daughter like a pawn? What an unfaithful woman! She’s already with your dad, yet still trying to rekindle things with me?"

RUINED IN SECRET: YES DADDIES is a collection of short romance stories, steeped with deep, visual and vividly described raw moments, deep ecstasy, the highest height of smutty satisfaction, and boldness that defies rules. He once desired her, touched her in ways that made her feel alive, and yet, years later, his orbs held nothing but disgust as he looked at her. Fine. The void would be filled by someone else, her next-door neighbour, the ex she never got over.

In the fifth year of being exiled to a deserted island in the international waters by Chelsea Herrera, I finally learn how to stay extremely humble. When Chelsea brings Derrick Carpenter, a university student she keeps, and a Doberman to the island just to pick me up, I get down on my knees as though it's the most natural thing to do in the world. Then, I wipe the sand off Derrick's shoes with my sleeve before bending over to use my back as their stepstool. "From now on, you're in charge of taking care of Ricky. He and Dobey are your family now." I nod with a small smile. After Chelsea has usurped my family's businesses and forced my parents to jump off a building, she chooses to abandon me on a deserted island so that I can learn to obey her commands. She has succeeded in everything she's done. By the time I finally get to return to the familiar villa, everything there has already changed. I wake up at 4:00 am every morning in order to prepare a nice breakfast for Dobey the Doberman. After that, I groom it properly. At 9:00 am, I've prepared the outfit Derrick will be wearing for the day. Then, I'll travel to a boxing gym so that I can serve as his human punching bag. At night, I prepare some alcohol and snacks while listening to Derrick and his friends laughing at me. They then proceed to discuss how to tame me, the formerly arrogant scion hailing from the ex-richest family in the elite society.

I was Alpha Damon’s Head Beta. For six years, I had been his partner in bed and his second-in-command. When he announced our mating ceremony, the entire pack celebrated. My dream was finally within reach. But then, outside his private trophy room, I heard him bragging about his “Luna trials.” And just like that, I learned the truth. I wasn’t his one and only. I was one of thirty candidates. He’d spent a month with each of us, grading our bodies, our submission, our performance. My score? Lower than an Omega’s. Lower than Lydia’s. “Fucking Lydia was incredible,” he boasted. “I could barely pull myself away. Then I look at Elysia—so stiff, so in control—and I’m just… bored.” Ice flooded my veins. My body went numb. Six years of devotion. Countless nights tangled in his sheets. It all meant less than a cheap thrill and a wolf who knew how to kneel. My heartbreak hardened into ice. I sent a message to an Alpha who had wanted me long ago. “Adrian, you once said your offer to mate was a standing one. Does it still stand? Damon and I are over now.”

In a world where werewolves reign and family ties bind tighter than ever, Emmaline finds herself caught in a web of secrets, betrayal, and forbidden love. As the hidden daughter of the alpha, Emma has spent her life shrouded in darkness, overshadowed by her stepsister Natasha, the apple of her father's eye. Loathed by her own father for her inability to find a mate, he gives her a day to find a mate, or else she will be handed over to a sinister Alpha. Desperate, Emmaline ventures out into the pack, asking anyone willing to marry her. But when Emma's path crosses with a mysterious stranger, she discovers a shocking truth that changes everything: he's her mate. Thrown into a whirlwind of emotions and danger, Emma must navigate the waters between fulfilling her father's wishes. Emmaline had promised herself never to fall in love with this stranger, but he is determined to win the heart of our stone-hearted Emmaline. But will Emmaline be able to cope when she discovers her newfound mate is not just an werewolf, but a highly feared rogue Alpha? Faced with the choice, will Emmaline break her long-kept promise to avoid love, or will she embark on a tumultuous journey of love and adventure with a powerful Alpha by her side.

The day Eve Jones came back to town, Zac Gibson did not come home all night. The next day, I saw a post on her social media, showing a photo of two hands tightly intertwined, along with Zac’s peaceful, childlike sleeping face. When he finally came home, he threw divorce papers at me and said, "You’ve been standing in Eve’s place this whole time. Now that she’s back, it’s time for you to move on." It did not matter anymore. I was not going to live much longer anyway. Whoever wanted the title of "Mrs. Gibson" could have it. Later, I died. But Zac cried at my grave, kneeling, promising he would never hold anyone else’s hand again.

On Valentine’s Day, I discovered that my brother’s fiancee, Erika Gibson, was cheating on him. So, I tried to tell my brother, Nathan Clinton, about it. However, he yelled at me. He said that I was trying to ruin his relationship and told me to leave. Erika then asked her lover to deal with me, so he kidnapped me. He mocked me for being unable to speak and forced me to sell 200 roses at the night market. I asked Nathan for help, but he replied impatiently. [Moon, I can’t believe you’d lie about something like this… I don’t have time for your games.] I was accidentally hit by a truck while Nathan was having a wonderful time with Erika. Haha. I was finally free, but I wished I had a different brother.

The Clan Healer told me that without the vial of Progenitor's Blood, the Blood Blight afflicting me meant I had only seventy-two hours to live. But my husband, Miles, the new Duke of our world, gave the only vial of the precious cure to my adopted sister, Vivienne, the woman I had turned three years ago. "She's in agony from the rejection, Isolde. It's a pain you can't possibly understand." His tone was self-righteous, devoid of any concern for the patch of skin on my collarbone already turning to stone. I nodded, watching as the life-saving, dark red liquid slid down another woman's throat. I accomplished a great deal in the time I had left. As I signed the documents, the lawyer's hand trembled. "Are you certain you want to transfer everything, Your Grace? The territorial rights of a thousand-year-old clan..." I didn't hesitate. "Yes. To Vivienne." My adopted daughter, Lily, the girl I had risked everything to save, who was now forever frozen at the age of eight, cowered in Vivienne's arms, pointing at me and screaming, "Aunt Vivienne is my real mommy! You're the witch who turned us into monsters!" I offered no defense. "Yes, that's right. Be a good girl and listen to your new mother now." The Progenitor's Ring, the symbol of the clan's supreme authority, now rested on Vivienne's hand. "Oh, sister, you're too kind," she sobbed, her sobs a practiced performance. "I'll be sure to protect the family in your stead." I nodded. "You'll run things better than I ever did." I even signed away my control over the Elder Council, a council sustained by my own blood. For the first time in a century, a shadow of complex emotion crossed Miles's face. He stared at me,"Isolde, stop fighting. It's better this way. You need to rest." Yes. On my deathbed, I had finally become the perfect, submissive Isolde they always wanted. An Isolde who was about to turn to dust. The seventy-two-hour countdown had begun. I wondered, when I finally turned to ash,

Protect. Serve. Love.The Aegis Group’s exclusive, all-woman bodyguard team takes pride in doing their job with excellence. But what happens when the lines between work and pleasure are blurred? Or when co-workers become more like sisters? Haley is hiding secrets from her sinfully sexy client she can only tell the other girls. Jennifer the Miracle Girl is determined to not be seduced by the Greek god while untangling her client’s latest mess. Lumen is hiding scars from everyone while carrying a torch for her ex-husband. Prudence jumps out of the fire and into the frying pan with her new client, who just wants to burn up the sheets. And Sage? No one really knows what Sage is doing, and they’re all afraid to ask. Come along with these Dangerous Ladies who love big, fight hard, and get the guy.Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies is created by Sidney Bristol, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.