Joe Locke X

Warning! mature content but not too explicit!!! "If you don't do as I say then you will never see our son again, not in this life or the next," Henry said in an icy tone that made me shiver in fright. Five years ago, I had a one-night stand with an unknown man. It was never my wish, how could my stepmother and my stepsister be this cruel to set me up with a stranger? I trusted them but I guess it was too late, the deed was already done. They threatened to ruin my reputation, so I ran away. Five years later, I returned with my son to the country, after getting the heartbreaking news that my father was sick. The stranger, whose name I knew to be Henry, a ruthless billionaire, wanted me and my son and if I didn't abide by his rules, he threatened to do the unthinkable.

In 'Hope of Astria,' a mysterious sanctuary for orphaned children, Nowo and her friend Moha reach a pivotal age of 18, receiving locker keys that unlock a portal to a withered world. Guided by fairy guardians, Lane and Talaa, they embark on a journey to fulfill their destiny as defenders against the dark realm.

I'd been married to Joshua Merck for five years, but we still didn't have kids. To stay healthy, I took those pricey custom vitamins he ordered from overseas—never missed a dose. Then my cousin came back from studying abroad, took one look at the bottle, and was like, "That brand doesn't even make custom vitamins." I sent them to the hospital for testing. The lab report hit me like a truck—birth control pills. Powerful ones. Suddenly, all those mornings with Joshua hovering over me, acting so concerned while I took my "vitamins," made sense. The whole thing had been a lie. Five years of lies. Just as I was gearing up to confront him, my phone buzzed—a group chat notification. Shirley Hoare had tagged Joshua. [Honey, I had a prenatal checkup today, and the doctor said I'm carrying twins! Your family's about to get two grandchildren at once—excited?] My heart turned to ash. Everything clicked. Fine. We were done. I pulled out my phone and replied to my childhood sweetheart's message from three days ago: [After watching the northern lights, I still wanted to see penguins in Antarctica.]

Stephen's beloved Phoebe fell into a coma. To everyone, I became the villain—accused of harming her out of unrequited love for Stephen. Mute, I had no way to defend myself before Stephen locked me away in the basement. He said I would only be freed when Phoebe woke up. Broken and hopeless, I succumbed to fear and starvation, eventually developing amnesia. Day by day, my memories began to slip away. Yet, Stephen, tears in his eyes, begged me not to forget him. But all I wanted was to leave it all behind and keep moving forward.

They were the cause of murders in their place, their territory was known to be precarious. They are struggling to blend in, for the world is against them. Cases unsolved and lives at risk, who will survive at the end?

"You’re mine, Emery. You always have been." Emery Hart is a lawyer, famous for crafting the perfect prenup agreement for couples. But her most frustrating client? The one and only billionaire, Darren Blackwood, her ex-husband. Every time he gets engaged, he hires her to draft the contract, only for the relationship to crash and burn. Emery tells herself it’s just business, but deep down, she knows the truth, Darren is still playing with her. When another prenup lands on her desk, she assumes it's just another fiancée. But Darren corners her, his voice low and possessive. "Did you even read it, sweetheart? This contract… it’s for you." Trapped in his games, Emery confronts the past she’s been running from. Because Darren never stopped wanting her and this time, he won’t let her go.

"Mark the day Alpha Sahin, if I die in that dungeon....it will be your doom!" ***** The baby Princess of the Donner's pack has never transformed and therefore had no pure were wolf blood running in her. She was bashed, abused and tortured for it by her father, the Alpha and she swore never to forgive him - will she want revenge? Prince Lucius of the Alphaeus pack doesn't want to become Alpha, therefore, he ran away from home. He met the girl with a deep blue eyes, speckling with gold around her Iris and he fell for her but attacked her instead, why? Every day of his birth, he loses control of his wolf and becomes feral, dangerous, ruthless that every inch of the pack trembled whenever he howled - he was always locked up. Then, meeting his mate, will he reject her as she is human? Deepest secrets, he locked himself up - how and why? Will he ever open his locked self?

The last thing Miranda thought when she responded to a prison pen pal request was to find true love. Joel, well, he was only hoping to pass time and maybe if he was lucky, he'd find someone to have a little fun with after doing ten years of hard time in the state penitentiary for a crime he committed when he had just barely turned eighteen years old. He had been hardened by the things he'd seen and the experiences of imprisonment and no longer believed in lovey dovey fairy tales or happily ever after. So hardened in fact, that he knew women only led to one thing-trouble. Not even a good girl like Miranda would break him ever again. Not with her long dark hair, those hypnotizing amber-eyes, and definitely not those full lips that would look so good…nope, nope, nope. What neither one expected was to find the perfect balance of emotional and physical attraction. Can Miranda's persistence and commitment soften and heal Joel's untrusting heart or will Joel break Miranda in ways she has never experienced before? This is the first book of three in the Locked-Up Lovers series. Enjoy!

As a zombie outbreak spreads across the world, my boyfriend insists on delaying our evacuation so his drama-queen childhood sweetheart can catch the last rescue chopper. However, this is the last evacuation after the outbreak, and our team's only chance to survive. When she still doesn't show up, I knock my boyfriend out and haul him onto the helicopter. In the end, his childhood sweetheart is devoured by the surging horde, while I seize the opportunity to escape and start a peaceful, quiet life with him in the safe zone. The night before I am to take command and lead a massive counterattack against the undead, my boyfriend laces my drink with a tranquilizer and dumps me into a swarm of zombies. Thousands of zombies tear me apart, and I die in excruciating pain. He stands on the fortress wall, a cold smile on his lips. "Had you not been so selfish, Esmeralda would've survived. Now, you'll experience her suffering and atone with your life!" Given a second chance at life, I wake up on the day my boyfriend refused to evacuate on time. Since he's so determined to stand by his childhood sweetheart through thick and thin, I'll make sure they both become zombie food!

I’d just wrapped up a short trip with my daughter, Elara. On the way back, I figured I’d swing by the Hale, our family’s casino, to check in on my son, Cassian. Maybe grab dinner together. I didn’t expect to be mistaken for his latest fling. Correction: not mistaken—accused. Violently. “You think you can just waltz in here like some queen?” she hissed. “I’m the woman Cassian loves! What kind of whore are you? And is this your bastard daughter with him?” She locked us in the basement. No phone. No light. Just concrete walls and the stench of mildew and madness. Then came the fists. She slapped me across the face—again and again—until my skin stung and my ears rang. When that didn’t satisfy her, she pulled a gun and aimed low. The bullet tore through my knee. I bit back a scream, shielding Elara with my body. “You need to die, whore,” she spat. One of her men hesitated, “We should at least tell Mr. Hale first. If we are going to kill these two in his casino.” Lila of course said no. But that man brought Cassian anyway. My son stepped into this dark little room like it was any other Tuesday—until he saw me. His whole body went still. The blood drained from his face. And then, in the smallest, most broken voice I’d ever heard from him, he whispered, “Mom? What are you doing in my basement?”