Infirmière

My brother, Theo Sorento, died in a plane crash on his way back home just to celebrate my birthday. They never found his body—only wreckage. Ever since, my parents forced me to kneel in front of his grave every year on my birthday, demanding that I repent for surviving when he didn’t. Then came my eighteenth birthday. I realized someone was following me. Panicked, I sent a few messages asking for help. Just then, Mom called, not to check on me but to lash out. “I know exactly what you're doing. You’re just making up excuses so you don’t have to kneel in front of your brother’s grave! You’re a liar. Why wasn’t it you who died instead of him? You’re a walking curse!” Before my phone was smashed under a boot, the last thing I heard was the cold click of her hanging up. Then, I was cut up into pieces, and what was left of me was tossed across the city. My father, the lead forensic pathologist on my case, didn’t even recognize me. Later, Theo returned alive with his wife, whom he had eloped with eight years ago. When they found out the pile of rotting flesh was me, they all went insane.

There's literally no one that you can love more than your childhood best friend. You shared baths, ice cream, lunches, everything together and even a bed at times, even when it was in secrecy. Feyi and Ayo didn't have it any different, but they'd been separated for a really long time, so what really changes after that? What happens when you're just...split into North and South with no explanation. And now you're back together, gathering butterflies in your stomach and teasing with small touches, glances and nicknames.

It was the first night we spent together as a married couple. When my husband insisted that the hotel manager clean our bed for us, she cried and said to him, "You're asking me to clean up after the two of you made love! How heartbroken do you want me to be before you're finally satisfied?" My husband claimed not to know that the manager was his ex-girlfriend, but when the woman threw a kettle of hot water and left, he chased after her instead of coming to my aid.

"You’re not my mate," he said, loud enough for the whole pack to hear. "You’re just an omega. Nothing more." He didn’t reject me. Not officially. That would have been too easy. No, Kade left the bond burning between us, torturing me with every breath I took. He touched other women in front of me. He smiled at them, whispered things against their throats, while I stood there, aching, pretending I didn’t care.

« Touche-la, et je t’enterrerai près de son père », grogna Luka. « Tu ne peux pas continuer à me sauver », murmura-t-elle, tremblante mais déterminée. « Tu es censé me laisser partir. » « Non, kroshka. Je ne lâche pas ce qui m’appartient. » ********** Il lui est interdit. Elle est intouchable. Elle n'aurait pas dû revenir à Moscou. Pas après ce qui s'est passé. Pas après le meurtre de son père, ni après tous les mensonges qui ont suivi. Mais lorsque son frère l'appelle, Mai retourne dans la ville qu'elle avait juré d'oublier, et se retrouve plongée dans l'univers sombre de Luka Volkov. Le bras droit de son frère. Son homme de main. Celui qui l'appelait autrefois « petit oiseau » et lui avait promis de la protéger… même de lui-même. Mais elle n'est plus une enfant. Et son regard n'a rien de fraternel. Chaque fois qu'il la regarde, ses défenses s'effondrent. Dans un monde de sang et de cuir, de motards où l'amour est un péché dangereux, et où la frontière entre protection et possession est ténue, que se passera-t-il lorsqu'elle découvrira qu'il a orchestré la mort de son père, alors qu'elle porte déjà son enfant ?

La nuit de ma première transformation, à dix-huit ans, mes deux frères aînés ont emmené à la maison une Oméga orpheline de douze ans. Mon frère Alpha s'est emparé de la précieuse herbe médicinale pour laquelle j'avais dépensé toutes mes économies : des herbes censées apaiser la douleur de ma première transformation, et les lui a données à elle, à la place. « Tu es assez forte, » a-t-il grogné, « tu n'as pas besoin d'herbes aussi précieuses. » Mon frère Bêta a rugi de colère, en pointant la porte du doigt. « Dehors ! Et ne reviens pas ! » Sans un mot, j'ai pris mon sac, déjà prêt, et je suis partie. Ils pensaient que je faisais juste un caprice, que je reviendrais au bout de quelques jours. Libérés de ma présence, mes frères ont emmené la petite orpheline en vacances à l'étranger, sur les îles des Caraïbes : celles dont j'avais toujours rêvé. De nombreux jours plus tard, lorsqu'ils sont revenus à la meute, ils ont été stupéfaits d'apprendre que j'avais accepté un poste du Chef Guérisseur de la meute voisine. Le poste exigeait quinze années de recherches isolées sur les plantes médicinales. Je ne pouvais plus jamais rentrer chez moi. Cette nuit-là, ils se sont effondrés.

Three years after our breakup, I ran into my ex-girlfriend, and she had her new boyfriend by her side. "Hey, isn't that Henry the expert?" Diego Stanley taunted with a smirk. "Three years post-breakup, and you're slumming it here playing with clay?" I furrowed my brow, ignored them, and carefully moved the Victorian-era porcelain musician figurine onto its preset base in the display case. When I wasn't biting, he reached out to grab the figurine from my arms. "What's this junk you're treating like gold? Let me take a look." Cynthia Wyatt frowned, her voice laced with that familiar arrogance. "Henry, I've given you three years to shape up, and you're still the same loser? Come on, hand over that clay doll to Diego. Don't kill the vibe. If you play nice, I might even reconsider our old engagement." As Diego's hand neared the figurine, I dodged quickly and barked, "Hands off! It's a historical artifact!" Diego got pissed off and shoved me hard. "Some flea market find, and you're acting all high and mighty?" In the ensuing scuffle, I lost my balance, and the figurine slipped from my grasp, crashing to the floor. That sealed their fate. This entitled pair was about to go bankrupt trying to fix it.

Let's just say that there's a boy who's obviously inlove with a girl and unfortunately she feels the same way. Sounds like a perfect love story, right? Finding your prince and he ends up liking you. But what if you're not the princess he's looking for? You're not the lead character who ends up with the leading man? To put it simply, you're not the girl he likes. Well, that's me and the girl he likes is unfortunately my friend. But sometimes, I just wonder... did I ever cross your mind? You see, I'm just wondering... Do you ever think of liking me...? Tell me, am I crazy or is this more than a crush....? I was a complete idiot to fell in love with whom I don't even have the slightest chance... But all I know is I was enchanted to meet you.

Débordée entre son rôle de mère au foyer et son travail, Jane se retrouve submergée par le stress. Son fils, Jimie, souffre de la solitude, d’autant plus que son père, accaparé par son propre emploi, est rarement présent. Inquiets pour leur enfant, Jane et son mari n’ont d’autre choix que d’engager une nounou pour veiller sur lui et lui apporter du réconfort. Mais trouver la perle rare s’avère plus compliqué que prévu… jusqu’à l’arrivée de Danielle. Belle, attentionnée et compétente, elle s’intègre rapidement dans la famille et accomplit son travail à merveille. Peut-être même un peu trop…

When I'm eight months pregnant, my husband, Levi West, becomes a donor to help his ex-girlfriend get pregnant. He even brings her and their illegitimate child home, wanting me to serve them. I refuse, and he calls me inhumane. "Audie's lost her husband—what's so bad about her wanting to have a child? You're a woman, too! How can you be so cruel?" I leave the house in anger, but Levi doesn't care. "Where can a country girl like you go when you're so heavily pregnant? You're going to come back and beg me to take you in again!" I head to the hospital to get an abortion. Then, I return to the countryside and rear pigs with my grandmother. Later, when Levi sees my flat belly and asks to see our child, I throw a handful of ashes in his face. "There you go. It's all there."