In Cold Blood Chapter 1 Summary

Kingdom of Ash and Blood Book one of the Sicilian Ruin Series She was the fire he thought he had extinguished. He was the ruin she barely escaped. Three years ago Amara Varela vanished without a trace --- betrayed, broken, and hunted by the man who once owned her heart. Now she's back in Sicily, not as the naive girl he left behind, but as a woman forged by survival and secrets. She has a score to settle and Luca Moretti is at the top of her list Luca, the heir to the brutal Moretti empire, never forgives himself for losing her. When he finally finds her alive, everything he buried erupts --- lust, rage, obsession. But the Kingdom he now rules is built on blood, and his bride-to-be is not the one who haunts his dreams. Torn between a crown he never wanted and a woman who could destroy it all, Luca must choose loyalty or desire, power or love. In a world of violent cartels, arranged alliances, and ruthless vendettas, Amara and Luca's reunion is anything but tender. It's a war. And their passion? It could burn Sicily to the ground. Dark. Obsessive. Addictive. This is not a love story. This is a Sicilian ruin.

On the aisle: "Look Kitten, you were supposed to be mine from the start. Now, you can't back off anymore. The times are up." He breathed sensually in her ears in his deep voice, making her feel a shiver run up her spine. She suppressed a whimper that was trying to escape her mouth when he covered her lips with his in a deep and passionate kiss. "I pronounce you two as husband and wife. Please, give your blessings to the new couple." "STOP! I was supposed to be the bride! How dare you Elina to even think about snatching my husband! You Whore!" Elina Saint James, an aspiring doctor, marries her would-be brother-in-law, Adrian Walker, the Casanova heir of the famous Walker Group of the country. She was the replacement bride of the man who was originally supposed to marry her sister Olivia Saint James. Maybe it was not in her destiny to live happily. Three years later: She had returned here after three long years, betrayal and hurt was clear in her hazel eyes. But she won't stay here for long, not when she knows he probably hates her now, not only he but her whole family too. What she didn't know was the person she was thinking about, was thinking about her too. Somewhere: "Sir, Mrs. Walker has just landed in the city. She is going towards Sinotley Hills." "Find out everything about her, from where she lives now to everything. I want her to remember everything she has done. I will make her remember me forever." On the other side in Saint James Residency, "How dare she come back after ruining my life. I will kill her." "Olivia calm down, we should be careful, you still are not Adrian's wife, wait for the correct chance, darling."

Alpha Wesly Harris is a hard man on an even harder mission. Feeling denied and rejected by his family. He left his brother's pack to start his own dynasty. He now wants an hier to go with it. He rejected his mate due to her infidelity. Now, only a pure blood virgin from the powerful Trentity bloodline would do. He finds and purchases the beautiful Annabella Collins from her Alpha. Only to discover she is not the willing play toy he expected her to be. Alpha Wesly would not be denied his prize. He intended to force her to do his will if necessary. His wolf, however, will not allow him to harm his second chance mate. It is Wesly who will have to bend to their wills in order to survive. He may learn along the way there is more to life than hate and vengeance. "I reject you, Lindsey Mills, as my mate." Alpha Wesly said to her, still straddling her in his bed. "Wesly," she cried as she clutched her chest. "How can you do this to me?" Alpha Wesly looked at her cold-heartedly. "Very easily, apparently." He said. "Accept the rejection!" He demanded. "I, Lindsay Mills, accept your rejection, Alpha Wesly Harris." She said as she glared at him. Alpha Wesly casually removed the used condom as he watched Lindsey leave his bedroom. He should feel something. Anything. But he doesn't.

Maurine Elizabeth Lopez is a young, innocent girl who has been deceived by the man she loves. Bullied by her stepsister and betrayed by her stepmother, she finds herself sold to settle a debt. Mikhail Esteban Rostova, a notorious and cold-blooded Russian mafia boss, takes her. Everyone assumes that Mikhail will dispose of her as he pleases. However, to save her life, Maurine pleads for mercy and deceives Mikhail, leading him to believe that she is in love with him and willing to do anything for him. She knows she cannot afford to die without exacting revenge on those who have tormented her. Mikhail believes her and spares her life. However, he insists that she marry him and bear his children. With no other options available, she reluctantly accepts his proposal, recognizing that marrying a cold-blooded Russian mafia boss might be her only chance for survival. This time, Maurine is determined not to let anyone deceive or bully her. She plans to use Mikhail to achieve her revenge and nothing more. After she is done with him, she will dispose of him before he will dispose of her. However, dealing with a powerful man was not as easy as she imagined it would be. Since Mikhail is willing to murder and flip the world upside down if ever she ran away!

To save the vampire clan, I slept with my crush, Stefan Ferrano. Stefan had always been cold and distant, but that night, his response was fiery. He ignored the fact that I was inexperienced and took me with wild, unrestrained passion. Everything unraveled when my blood servant, Stella Luciado, brought me fresh blood and Stefan found out. Like a man possessed, he tore off all my clothes and dragged me into the sunlight. “So even the vampire queen is afraid of sunlight? Do you know what sort of torture your kind are enduring right now? But no pain compares to what I felt losing my sister because of you and your kind.” For five years, he held my clan’s safety over my head. He locked me in a sunroom and found new ways every day to torment me in bed. The day I gave birth to his child, he married Stella. Stefan called my child a bastard and forced me to watch him and Stella sleep together. When Stella was unhappy, he bled me so she could bathe in my blood. He even painted with my blood and made me dance undressed in the sun. He tortured me but never let me die, using specially made drugs to keep me alive. A vampire who had offered their ancestral blood but didn't turn a human into a vampire within five years would end up dead. I had five days left to live. Finally, I didn't have to keep my secret anymore.

At Ashwood Academy, power isn’t just inherited...it’s earned through The Aureum Trial, a brutal werewolf competition where dominance, strength, and strategy decide who rises and who falls. Losing means exile… or worse. Aubrey Sinclair, an Omega, never should have been chosen. When a golden-wax-sealed scholarship letter arrives at her door, pulling her into a world of ruthless Alphas and power-hungry elites, Aubrey Sinclair never signed up for the Aureum trail but when she was chosen as a participant and worse she is paired with Atlas Blackwood, heir to a powerful werewolf dynasty and the Academy’s golden boy. He’s trained for this his entire life. She? But The Aureum Trial is more than a test…it’s a secret rite of passage for the werewolf elite. Every decade, the strongest bloodlines fight for dominance, and only the victors take their place in the ruling pack. The losers? They don’t survive. Atlas is determined to win. Aubrey just wants to make it out alive. But as the Trial unfolds, one thing becomes clear…she isn’t just an ordinary Omega. But the worst part? She’s bound to Atlas Blackwood by fate. And in a game where blood is currency and betrayal is inevitable, even her partner might become her greatest threat.

When struggling single mother Liora Sable is cornered by mafia enforcers outside her diner shift, the last person she expects to save her is Varian Kole — the ex-lover she left years ago without explanation. Now the city’s most feared crime boss, Varian insists on bringing her into his guarded penthouse “for protection,” but protection comes with a price: he demands she become his mistress. Liora agrees only to survive, hiding the existence of her six-year-old daughter, Wren. But when Wren’s worsening heart condition forces Liora to risk exposure, Varian discovers the truth — and his daughter’s life becomes the center of a violent turf war. As kidnappings, betrayals, and rival syndicates close in, Liora is forced to navigate Varian’s dangerous world, transforming from captive to strategic partner. Together, they dismantle old enemies and face new ones, ultimately remaking Varian’s empire into something that can protect their family. But in their world, peace is fragile — and every choice could be the one that shatters it.

He was the enemy I was forced to marry. I was the girl raised to destroy him. I was supposed to live a quiet life. Graduate, find a job, stay far away from the shadows of my mother’s past. But then I was taken. Now I’m Mrs. Valerio. Matteo Valerio is cold, dangerous, and untouchable. The heir to a brutal mafia empire built on secrets and blood. He makes it clear: this marriage isn’t love. It’s power. It’s politics. It’s survival. But I didn’t agree to this just to be a pawn. I want answers. About my father’s murder, about the threats still chasing me, about who I really am beneath the name I grew up with. And the closer I get to the truth, the more tangled I become with Matteo himself. Because behind the monster is a man with haunted eyes and a soul that’s been at war for too long. And behind my rage is a heart that was never supposed to feel anything for him. But the past is catching up. Betrayals are rising. And falling in love with your enemy? That’s the most dangerous vow of all.

Anna will no longer stay at her pack in her sorrows. She is going to leave, even if that means becoming rouge. However, her journey is cut short when she meets her mate, the Alpha with a temper and with secrets.

Sailing through the wild waves, Tymoteusz found himself in the Ocean's heart. Curiosity got the best of him, so he decided to unfold every secret of the ocean's heart got in her life and soul by stealing her heart and life. Meeting, discovering and being with her is an achievement that everyone was dreaming about, can he really conquer the ocean's heart and enter her life? Can he tame her wild waves and strong breezes? Can he stop her tsunamis and maintain her to be calm just like what it should be in mornings stroll?