How To Draw Stretch Marks

As soon as Danielle Bradford has recovered from her postpartum period, she brings her baby to the county clerk's office to register for the baby's birth certificate. "My baby's full name is Taylor Gardner. Her father is Matthew Gardner." The employee types on the keyboard, but his brows draw tighter afterward. "The system has flagged another child with the same name under the same father." His words leave Danielle momentarily stunned. Thinking that her ears have deceived her, she blurts out, "That's impossible! Our baby has just turned one month old!" But Danielle feels her phone buzzing in her pocket before she can finish speaking. She taps on the screen, only to see a photo sent by Matthew's assistant, Meghan Landry. In the photo, Matthew has his left arm wrapped around Meghan's waist while carrying a five-year-old boy with his right arm. The three of them stand in front of a kindergarten's entrance with smiles so bright that they practically sting Danielle's eyes. On the boy's chest is a nametag that clearly says "Taylor Gardner".

After Uncle Frank and Aunt Gina died, my older cousin, Izzy Kramer, moved in with my family. To make up for the fact that she has lost her parents, everything she has is hers and hers alone. I'm not allowed to even think about touching them. Summer comes along, and my parents get Izzy a brand new bathtub. I happen to glance at it for just a second longer, and Izzy immediately breaks into tears. "If you want all of these things, Melanie, go ahead and take them! I just want my parents back!" Mom and Dad are furious, and Mom storms over to slap me. "Why are you acting like such a spoiled child? What, have you never seen a bathtub before? Why do you keep staring at Izzy's bathtub, huh?" My cheek stings. Ever since then, I've grown too scared to even look at any of Izzy's things. One day, Izzy invites me to have a soak in her bathtub. Thrilled, I carefully step into the water, but it's not as warm as I expected. In fact, the icy water instinctively gives me the urge to draw backward, but Izzy gives me a hard shove from behind. She swiftly locks the bathroom door shut after. "Since you like eyeing other people's things so much, you jealous brat, I'll make sure you have a nice long soak in the tub this time!" Having lost my footing when she shoved me, I bash my head against the side of the bathtub. I feel something warm trickling down my forehead, but that sensation is quickly replaced by the icy water that surrounds me. I don't know how much time passed, but eventually, I find myself hovering in the air. I hear Izzy's voice coming from the other side of the door. She complains to my parents, "Uncle James! Aunt Louise! Melanie snuck into the bathroom to use my bathtub!"

Every anniversary, Mark had some twisted surprise for me. Our tenth? He strutted into the ballroom holding hands with an escort wearing straight up lingerie. "Jenna, she's cold. Hand over your dress." Then, like that wasn't sick enough: "And the lingerie. She likes your vibe." I clutched my collar, trying to keep it together. He didn't care—just yanked it open. "Cut the act. Your dad sold you to me, remember? That slutty look you used to give me—I still see it." Everyone stared, waiting for me to break. So I did the one thing I could. "I want a divorce." Again. Mark just laughed and chucked a stack of photos on the table—me, covered in marks, curled in bed, a total mess. "You say that every year. And every year, you're back in my bed. Think your mom keeps that hospital spot if these get out?"

One Bite Was All It Took. NATHANIEL Nathaniel Black was used to rejection. As a werewolf-demon hybrid, he is constantly stuck between two feuding worlds. When he meets she-wolf Ayra Staxton, who challenges his authority, he feels a burning desire like no other, triggering his demon. Out of jealousy, he marks her, effectively thrusting her into a world she has no knowledge of - a world of demons. AYRA STAXTON Waking up in a strange place with zero recollection of her memory, the last thing Ayra expects is to catch the eye of the dominant Alpha Nathaniel. She is disgusted by his possessive behavior, but under all that hatred is an undeniable attraction. With death knocking on her door, will the duo be able to work through their differences and become a team, and most importantly, will they be able to bare it all, leaving them vulnerable in front of each other? One thing was certain, though - they had to eliminate the threat or they risked losing all that is dear to them.

We were supposed to be in love for eternity. But my vampire fiancé, Caius, has stood me up at our blood-bonding ceremony thirty-three times. The first time, the girl he’d sired, Evangeline, lost control during a hunt. He raced to her side, leaving me alone in the church under the blood moon. The second time, he vanished mid-ceremony because Evangeline was being bullied by another clan. He left me to face the elders’ mockery alone. After that, his little fledgling always had some fresh disaster for him to avert. And he always had an excuse: “I sired her. She’s like a child to me.” Then I saw the fresh bite marks on their necks. They had shared blood—the ultimate intimacy between mates. My heart turned to ash. It was time to burn our betrothal to the ground. The day I finally disappeared, he went mad, tearing our world apart to find me.

I decided to die on my 28th birthday. It was not suicide but homicide... by my dear sister, Susan Bruno. I had always known that she would kill me. I told my older brother, Barry Bruno, and he said, "Charlotte, don't always think so badly of Susan." I told my fiancé, Calvin Simmon, and he said, "You're making up a story to draw attention again." Hence, I decided to give them the evidence they wanted most—a corpse. I installed seven cameras, set up an automatic sending program, and wrote a farewell letter. I left clues for the killer, bait for Susan, and a time bomb for my family. Today, Susan texted: [Charlotte, Dad has something for you at the safe house.] I replied: [Coming.] Before leaving, I checked my to-do list one last time. Everything was checked off, except for one thing: death. I would die. They would never know that the moment my heart stopped beating... the countdown to revenge had only just begun.

As the flames engulfed my body in the underground warehouse, I used the last of my strength to call my brother, the new Don of the Moretti family. Just as I was about to draw my last breath, Lorenzo finally answered, his voice as cold as the Sicilian winter wind. "Isabella, what the hell are you up to now?" "Brother, save me…" My voice was barely a whisper, but he cut me off without a hint of mercy. "Can't you go one day without causing trouble?" "Liliana's debutante dinner is next week. If you don't show up, I'll drag you back here myself." He hung up without a second thought, completely oblivious to the desperation in my voice. Despair mingled with the searing agony that wracked my body as the flames danced higher, and I couldn't hold on any longer. As I closed my eyes, tears still trickled from their corners. You won't have to drag me back, my brother. I'm never coming back.

I thought being chosen by my mate would save me. Instead, it nearly got me killed. Keira Vance was born in the dirt of the outer crescent, where the weak were left to die and the strong learned to survive alone. When Alpha Kael marks her as his intended Luna in front of the entire elder council, Keira expects her life to finally change. What she doesn't expect is to be thrown into a series of brutal trials designed not to test her, but to kill her. The elders want her gone. His rival wants her for himself. And the man who marked her keeps looking away at the worst moments. But Keira isn't the fragile omega they think she is, and she’s not fighting to be chosen anymore. She learns not to depend on anyone. She's fighting to survive. And she's fighting to achieve her own goals. And with every trial she survives, she proves to be the Luna they never wanted.

Zina gave everything—her heart, her trust, and two years of her life—to the mate who betrayed her. Pregnant and shattered, she cast him out of her life, vowing never to let him hurt her again. Years later, Zina has rebuilt herself, rising as a respected doctor in her pack. But her quiet life unravels when she discovers a hidden power within her—one that marks her as more than just an ordinary wolf. Just as she begins to embrace her new identity, Xaden, the mate who broke her, returns—begging for forgiveness and a second chance. To make matters worse, Zina finds herself fated to not one but two mates, pulling her into a dangerous web of love, deceit, and power struggles. With old wounds reopening and new threats emerging, Zina must decide whether to risk her heart again—or protect herself and the child she swore to keep safe.

In the remote town of Black Hollow, death wears the mask of wolves—but the truth is far darker. Dr. Evelyn Hart, a brilliant but skeptical forensic pathologist, is sent from the city to investigate a string of brutal killings. The townsfolk whisper about curses, ancient legends, and a beast that stalks beneath the full moon. Evelyn trusts science, not superstition. But when claw marks gouge trees higher than any wolf could reach, when the dead are crushed with impossible force, and when glowing eyes stare back at her in the forest, her certainty begins to fracture. Drawn into a chilling web of blood, folklore, and fate, Evelyn discovers she bears a mark older than the town itself—a mark that ties her to a man both dangerous and magnetic, a man who claims she was destined to be his mate. As her body betrays her and the wolf within claws free, she must choose: cling to the human life she built… or embrace the monstrous destiny that waits under the moon.