Liquid Five Pawns

An Alpha? 😀 Yes—an artistic one. But this time, it’s not him. It’s her. Ayla Cross, a tattoo artist who thought she had escaped her past. But no Owner of The Runed Den, she spent her nights inking stories onto other people’s skin, never realizing her own was hiding one. Until the night he walked in. Kian Vale—a mysterious stranger with eyes like liquid silver and a voice that carried thunder—came seeking a tattoo that matched the mark from Ayla’s dreams: a sigil of power older than any pack legend. When she inked it onto his skin, something inside her awakened. Her tattoos began to move. The moon itself seemed to breathe with her heartbeat. Now hunted by two rival werewolf clans, Ayla learns the truth: she is the Runed Luna, the lost heir of a bloodline thought extinct, born to command the ancient runes that shape reality itself. But every mark she draws binds her closer to Kian… and to the curse that could destroy them both. As shadows close in and bloodlines clash, Ayla must decide: Will she rewrite her fate in ink and moonlight— or be consumed by the story written beneath her skin? Unknown to you. Unknown to me. What could happen next?

After I got a second chance at life, I stopped bringing lunch to my wife, who had become the factory manager. She would leave for meetings through the south gate, so I would sneak around through the north. In my previous life, I knew she only married me with an ulterior motive, but I still fell for her. I thought I could warm her heart over time. However, Shirley Scott was always just polite to me, nothing more. When I tried to get close, she would hand me a book and say, "Read more so people won't look down on you." Once, with a bit of liquid courage, I hugged her. Yet, she just stood there, stiff as a board, and said, "It's what married folks do." Years later, as I was dying, I read her memoir and learned about how she felt trapped in our marriage, like being stuck in the mud. She hoped she would never have to be with me again in another life. That hurt more than anything. However, then, I woke up and discovered that I was back to when there were whispers about her and the factory's technician. This time, I did not make a scene. I just asked for a divorce.

Five years ago, my brother's fiancée died because of me. Five years later, I'm burned to a crisp and laid out on his autopsy table.

I flinched as his breath fanned my face, my body trembled in his arms. This was the chance, but was I scared? His eyes affected me in so many ways, as they held grief, pain and regret. Our stare was our way of communicating. It was intended, emotional and agonizing. I was hiding the knife behind me, picturing the perfect place to stab him. His searing heat sent a gush of lust inside me. I shouldn't fall for that. This was a revenge plan, not a romantic show-off. "I'm engaged, and I have a child with him" I remembered, barely recognizing my cold voice which had become soft and weak. He let out a dirty smirk, lowering his eyes to my lips as we exchanged breath. "I know, but I can't stop myself from falling" he whispered, and before I could blink an eye, he captured my lips, twirling them to his taste. It was a long liquid kiss that made me wet so that I couldn't fight back. The knife slipped off my hand as my body yanked on his. We both dried up where we stood when her voice resounded in our ears. "Mom?"

~~~ "How many punishments do you have pending, Lucienne?” Immediately the word punishment left his ears, I turned hot, my tongue went numb, my throat became dry, my hands trembled and very became sweaty. "Answer me!" He demanded and I flinched, my gaze now directed to the ground. "S-seventeen," I stammered, my tears and liquid from the different things hurdled at me mixing and landing on the soil. "So this makes it eighteen?” he asked and I forced myself to nod. He dished out some orders to the pack members before turning to me. "Then let's get this started. Your kneels must not leave the ground till we get to our destination. And no, it's not part of your eighteen punishments. Let's go!" ~~~~ Haunted by a past filled with pain and betrayal, Lucienne bears the scars of a life marred by tragedy. Tangled in the clutches of a possessive mate, who constantly makes sure happiness is far from her, she battles not only the physical wounds but the emotional turmoil from years ago. As she tries to escape this painful life, will Lucienne find the strength to embrace love and happiness, or will the echoes of her history shatter the remnants of the once-happy girl she used to be and make her a lone wolf for life?

LONDON I’ve never been a rule-breaker. Until the God-like and hotter-as-sin, I despise for two years comes back and becomes my temporary bodyguard. I hate his work ethic—Striker Cade never mixes his job with pleasure, but when he looks at me, he’s got heartbreak written all over him. When my father threatens to shut down, the only thing that matters to me, he volunteers to help. Our marriage is supposed to be the solution to my problem, but my father has another evil plan. The more we spend time together, the more I realize I don’t have to act madly in love. I already am. *** STRIKER I’ve never lost focus at work. When London becomes my client, she’s got forbidden fruit written all over her, and she hates my guts, but something tells me she’s worth it. Until I find myself in her bed without any recollections, the next day, we’re engaged. I would love to play her in-love husband. Only we’re trapped by her father’s demands, pawns to his bigger plans. When her life is threatened and our marriage is at stake, I reach out to my last resort. And I realize she has become the person I can’t live without.

For Emma Montgomery, life as the pampered daughter of Manhattan's elite carried the weight of impossible expectations. Groomed from birth to lead her family's corporate dynasty, genuine love seemed an elusive dream amid the superficial trappings of wealth. That is, until a shocking proposal opened doors to an unexpected future. When her father arranges for Emma to enter a marriage contract with James Reynolds, the charismatic heir to a powerful political family, she sees it as an escape from her turbulent past. But neither Emma nor James could foresee the firestorm of passion and betrayal that would be sparked by their convenient union. As the one-year countdown on their sham marriage begins, Emma finds herself falling for James's unexpected depths and charm. But James has his own demons - bound by duty to fulfill his father's Machiavellian ambitions while his own heart belongs to another. As cordial pretenses melt into smoldering intimacy, their worlds collide in a maelstrom of corporate greed, political ambition, and star-crossed desire. In this sumptuous tale of love among New York's upper echelons, Emma and James become delicious pawns in a high-stakes game they never imagined playing. With every blistering secret revealed, every heart-wrenching choice posed, they must decide whether to surrender to the inescapable lure of power and privilege, or burn it all to the ground for a love too intoxicating to deny.

In a world where power is currency and women are pawns, Ava Campelli has just been sold to the highest bidder through a wedding veil. Born into a legacy of blood and quiet obedience, Ava knew her fate was sealed long before she could dream of escape. When she’s forced to marry Nico Moretti, the cold, ruthless heir to a criminal empire, her life becomes a performance of silence and survival. From the outside, she’s a vision in white. On the inside, she’s breaking. Nico is everything she feared: calculated, controlling, and obsessed with ownership. What begins with a diamond ring and a kiss in front of hundreds quickly descends into possession, manipulation, and brutal expectations behind closed doors. His touch is demanding, his love conditional, and Ava is expected to be the perfect wife—seen, not heard. But behind the carefully painted smile and submissive posture, something dangerous is beginning to stir in Ava. Each cruel word, every forced touch, is a spark. And one day soon, she may burn the whole kingdom down. A story of power, pain, and the quiet beginnings of rebellion—Bound By Blood and Vows is a haunting tale of a girl who learns that surviving is only the beginning and if she can't win his heart, then she will steal it when she leaves.

“Are you reading my mind right now?” he asks me while coming closer. “No, I am not.” “I wish you were. So that you can know how you have consumed my mind, how much I think about you. How I want to hold you and care for you. This is what has been going through my mind from the first day I saw you at our border with a protruding belly.” *** Lyra thought marriage to the Alpha would be her salvation, a chance to escape her father’s suffocating control. But when she overhears a deadly plan—one that marks her and her unborn child as pawns in a sinister power play—she makes the only choice that can save her life. With nothing but a cloak to hide her secret and no one to trust, Lyra runs. In a world where loyalty is tested and alliances shift like shadows, Lyra finds refuge in a rival pack, only to uncover gifts she never knew she possessed. But as her powers grow, so do the dangers lurking in the dark. While Damian, her estranged husband, searches for answers about his missing wife and child, and the truth behind his parents’ deaths—an even greater threat looms over them all. Yet some secrets refuse to stay hidden.

Twenty-two-year-old Sylvia Baker’s world came crashing when her father mysteriously died at the Wells mansion. After discovering that his death was not an accident, Sylvia vows to take down the man all evidence leads to, the famous and Vicious Leonard Wells. A few days later, Sylvia takes a job in the Wells mansion as a chef. Using the job as undercover and her father’s diary as a guide, she plans to avenge her father by finding out why he was murdered and who the real murderer was but her mission is distracted when she collided with her suspect’s son, the heir to the Wells empire, David. David is a billionaire and has a thing for curvy women. Sylvia gets infatuated with David which led to a one-night stand. The day after their one-night stand, David got engaged to June Castello, the most sought-after actress in New York and Sylvia feels used. Sylvia is more determined to focus on her revenge goal but always ends up in David’s bed. She discovers that she’s connected to the Wells family. She also finds herself tangled in decade-old secrets and is soon fighting for her life when a quest to assassinate her is established. She discovers that there’s more to the Wells family and they might all be pawns in a bigger game.