Limestone Skin Tone

I'm undressed and bound to a testing table when my family comes to pick me up. A thick, sharp needle pierces into my neck. A drug is administered into my blood, and the pain almost makes me lose consciousness. Behind me, I can feel a man's cold hands stroking my skin amorously. Before me, several people are staring at me. They point at me and treat me like an educational instrument. I tremble in fear and curl up on the testing table in pain. Three years ago, my brother sent me to Mykorra's war zone to stand up for Yvette Sanders. Those were the three most insulting and torturous years of my life. They burned away my hope for kinship but not my desire for survival. As the hands roam lower on my body, I bite my lip so hard that I almost draw blood. As the hands start to go overboard, someone knocks on the door. "Wendy Sanders, your brother is here for you."

Around the seventh month of my pregnancy, I overheard a conversation between my mate, Zane Andrews, and Ciara Phillips, the she-wolf I had taken in out of compassion after her family was brutally slaughtered by rogues. In a sultry, flirtatious tone, Ciara purred, “Zane, my love, if your wife discovers that the fertilized egg I planted in her womb isn’t truly hers by blood, she’ll be devastated—perhaps to the point of despairing suicide, don’t you think?” Zane snorted, his voice dripping with disdain at the mention of me. “It’ll work for us if she simply dies from heartbreak. Damn it. I can’t shake the worry that she might sever our bond and leave me with nothing. Let’s keep this under wraps until our child inherits all her assets. Only then will we reveal the bombshell, plunging her into darkness.” Ciara giggled, praising Zane for his cunning. My claws itched to lash out, but I held back, knowing the time for confrontation wasn’t yet. My heart sank as their betrayal cut deep. Years ago, I had defied my pack elders’ warnings about Ciara being a potential threat, taking her in and grooming her into our pack's doctor, funding her education out of sheer empathy. Now, I regretted every moment of my kindness. To think that my mate, who had once begged for my protection for his fragile pack, had the audacity to betray me. If not for my support, his pathetic pack would have crumbled long ago, leaving him nursing his wounds in a dark corner, fretting over survival. After a long moment of contemplation, I made my decision. I would feign ignorance to their schemes and play along by giving birth to Ciara’s baby. Two decades passed. Ciara’s child grew up, bearing the name Simon Andrews. Aware of their treachery, I still transferred all my assets to him. Once the paperwork was completed, Ciara boldly approached me in front of the entire pack, a maternity DNA test in hand. With a smug smile, she declared, “Leia Holland, look at this! I am Simon’s biological mother. Leave h

A powerful CEO will cross paths with a single mother, a "tough nut to crack," as he calls her. She's afraid of getting into a romantic relationship since she was abandoned by her boyfriend. Ever since, whenever a man approaches her, she scares him away with a brusque attitude. That man with sea-green eyes and cinnamon skin who is her new boss will be her downfall. Their worlds are different, filled with lies, secrets, and a love triangle; accompanied by a passionately charged romance, it will lead them to the abyss. Will Katia be able to stay with him after discovering the secret that the stone-faced man holds? Will the CEO be able to reach Katia's heart?

~ ALISTAIR ~ I hate him. There’s no point in admiring what you can’t be. I hate his sharp tongue, his smug smirk, the way he looks at me like he already knows how this ends. I don’t like men. Calvin Rutledge is a problem. A problem I can’t ignore. A problem that’s in my face, under my skin, unraveling me one smirk at a time. But the worst part? I want him. And he knows it. Now, every glance burns, every touch lingers, and every fight makes me crave the one thing I swore I’d never want—him. A man. A know-it-all who plays by his own rules. I was never supposed to want him. And yet, here I am… falling. __ ~ CALVIN ~ I know his type. Rich. Arrogant. A cocky football star who thinks the world revolves around him. Alistair Morano is all that—and more. My sworn enemy. My reluctant project partner. My ‘boss’. He thinks I’m just another nerd he can push around. Cute. But here’s the thing—he’s the one being played. By the time he realizes I’m the one pulling the strings, it’ll be too late. Because he’ll be mine. Mine to tease. Mine to break. Mine to ruin. And when he finally falls? I’ll be right there, waiting to catch him, just to break him all over again.

"I...Is he my son?" He asked in shock when he saw my son Aldo standing beside me, and I tried to hide Aldo behind my body protectively, scared that now he might take my son from me when he finds out that he is his son, and all this time I have been keeping it a secret. "No! He is not." I lied, trying to sound confident, but I knew I was failing miserably as my forehead was sweaty and my tone was trembling. "Shut up, Sab. Don't lie to me, because you clearly mentioned that the only man who has been inside of you is me. And, even if you lie, no one is going to believe that this boy isn't my son because he looks just like me. Now, the question is, Why did you keep him away from me all this time? Why?!" he barked out the last sentence in anger, making me flinch and Aldo cry out of fear from this man. The Ruthless Italian Tycoon that I had one night stand with and ended up pregnant with his secret heir.

His lips brushed my palm and every time his hot breath hit my skin, it set my nerves on fire. “What the—” I whispered, breathless. And then, with deliberate slowness, Sevastian slipped my ring finger into his mouth. My eyes widened in disbelief, my heart hammering against my chest. His teeth scraped my skin before sinking into the flesh, just enough to make me twitch from the sharp pain. I gasped, both from the sting and the bite I got from him. My entire body tensed as he bit down harder, marking me not with ink or metal, but with flesh and teeth. When he finally released my hand, my skin throbbed, the faint mark of his bite was visible against my finger. I cradled my hand, staring in disbelief at the mark he left behind. “This,” Sevastian murmured, his voice low and sharp. “Is my mark and ring.” His tone carried an edge, dangerous yet confident, as if the words were meant to bind me. “The symbol that you are no longer Celestina Valeztina-Savelli.” His lips ghosted over my skin, and my chest tightened as he whispered the next words. “...but Celestina Valeztina-Ortega.” His next words were a soft snarl, dripping with ruthless certainty. “My property, my wife.” He added, while locking his gaze on me. There was no hesitation in his eyes, no flicker of remorse, only that same ruthless determination that chilled me to my core. I tried to pull my hand back, but he didn’t let go. "You’re insane," I whispered, my voice barely audible, trembling despite my best efforts not to show it. “Yes, I’m insane,” he replied with a hint of mischief in his voice, “And I can drive you crazy…” He paused, letting the tension hang in the air.

Eventually, Asher stopped singing when he saw the woman standing in front of him, and the band stopped playing as well. He thought it was just one of his admirers or fans. He glanced at the crushed woman who was unable to stand. He wore a casual black shirt and pants, his hair was long, his skin was white, and surprisingly one basic. He even leaned in closer to her before speaking. "Hello ! I know you, those face-cheating ladies! Haya said aloud. "What?" Asher asked in shock. "You attractive men always harbor false desires for women, later on time they have passionate feelings for you, you will go! You are so awesome! You dare!" Haya shouted angrily. "Come on Haya" Tora shouted, as he tried to grab Haya by the arm, but Haya went wild.

Lexi gasped as Paul pressed her back against the wall and her sizzling hot skin made contact with the cold concrete. But she had no time to think, no time to pause before he brought his lips down to her throat. "You complete me… for every scar, you’re mine, Lexie." She shuddered, gripping his shoulders, her nails digging into firm muscle. "Paul…" His hands gripped her thighs in answer to her call, her legs were wrapped around his waist as his mouth captured hers and hips pressed forward, and she felt him…hot, hard, and completely hers. * Lexie is an ordinary eighteen-year-old female werewolf, who has spent her life running—from her past, from her scars, from the pack after her mate rejected her. She has grown up with the combination of impulsive and brave characteristics, alongside the spice of kindness and determination in her being. But there is something that made her stand out from every single female in the entire werewolf species of her time- and that is not her beauty, but a Scar!! Paul, the Alpha of Apollo pack has been finding his mate for many years but she never appeared. Unexpectedly, after he lets the rogues join his Pack, he feels his mate around. In order to find her, he throws a party and asks for all the she-wolves to participate in. Will he find her? And most importantly, will he be able to keep her? Because an Alpha never lets go of his mate…

My body hurt—badly. The bruises from Logan’s fists were fresh, my ankle throbbed from where he kicked me, and one of my eyes was nearly swollen shut. But I still limped down the hallway with a cold pack in hand, desperate for something… maybe comfort, maybe just his attention. I didn’t know. Then I heard it—low groans, heavy breathing, the unmistakable sound of skin against skin. Sweaty. Lustful. Raw. I opened the door and my heart shattered. There he was—Logan Hart. My husband. The man I loved more than myself. And with him? Tessa Black—his girlfriend, his mistress, the perfect model everyone adored. They were tangled in the sheets, bodies slick, eyes wild, too lost in each other to even care that I stood there. I couldn’t breathe. I screamed. And Logan… he didn’t even flinch. He didn’t apologize. Didn’t care. “Get out,” he said coldly. “I’m in the middle of something.” That was it. That was the moment I broke. I ran. Limping, shaking, crying—I ran and didn’t look back. What I didn’t know was… that heartbreak would be the beginning of everything.

"Miss Jackson, are you certain you want to undergo hypnosis? You should know that once the hypnosis begins, it cannot be reversed. Your body will be controlled by an alternate personality, and you will fall into a sleep from which you will never wake up again," the doctor asked in a grave tone from the other end of the phone. "Yes, I'm certain," Nina Jackson replied calmly.