loyalty lisa scottoline

Locked away in a tower, hidden from the world, and branded a disgrace by her family all because she cannot speak, Elora Valewind has only ever prayed for two things: a wolf and a mate—anything to escape the hell that has become her home. But her freedom comes in the most dangerous form—her step-sister’s chosen mate and betrothed, Alpha Kael, the male Elora has always admired. Their forbidden bond nearly costs her life… until she’s saved by a silver wolf—Ryker Veylard, her sworn enemy and second mate. Her life is spared, but at a brutal cost: loyalty or death. It’s only supposed to be an arrangement. Nothing more. But neither Elora nor the amber-eyed devil are prepared for the fire that ignites between them or sparks that blur the line between enemies and something dangerously more. And when Kael Stormrider returns for the hand of the silver she-wolf prophesied to him, Elora must make a choice. But who will she choose?

Torn between duty and desire, Tiana’s life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers her fated mates are two estranged Alpha brothers. Forced into an arranged bond with the cold and calculating Alpha Zayden to secure her pack’s survival, Tiana resigns herself to a loveless future. But when his fiery twin, Alphonso , returns after years of exile, her dormant soul awakens to the shocking truth: Alphonsois her true mate. Now trapped between the ruthless ambition of Zayden and the fiery passion of Alphonso , Tiana must navigate a dangerous path of love, loyalty, and betrayal. Will she follow her heart, or will the weight of destiny shatter them all?

I gave my husband everything—my love, my loyalty, and even my health—only to be tossed aside like garbage. The night I handed him the contract that would make him a millionaire, he gave me divorce papers and introduced his new fiancée, the daughter of his company’s director. Just when I thought my world had collapsed, he appeared. Leon Castello. The cold, ruthless billionaire my husband had spent years trying to impress. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: “Marry me, and I’ll make your ex regret ever leaving you.” At first, it was just a deal. A marriage on paper. But Leon knew things about me no stranger should. He protected me, cherished me, and whispered my name in his sleep like a long-lost memory. And then I discovered the truth. Leon Castello wasn’t just my husband’s enemy. He had been waiting for me all along.

Hezekiah, a strong and independent woman find her life, completely upside down when she works as an assistant for Darius Hedalgo, a mysterious and ethically ambiguous man. Despite having a stable job and loyal boyfriend, Sandro, a one night stand encounter with Darius pulls her into a world of secrets and Hidden motives. She gives in to temptation and indulges in the moment, only to find herself pregnant. As the truths unfold, Hezekiah must choose between loyalty and her own desires, taking on a journey of love, revenge and self-discovery. Temptation. Secrets. Sacrifice. Will Hezekiah risk everything to find herself? Or will the truth destroy her first? Get ready for a heart-pounding story of love, betrayal, and the seductive power of the unknown.

“Oh my darling Uncle”. I said while hugging him as he was backing me. “Uncle?”. A different voice asked and it seems to come from the person I'm hugging. He turned around with me in his arms and I stared into his eyes. Dark eyes. Uncle Max's eyes are blue, like mine. I let go of him immediately like I had been burned and blushed furiously. “Uhm, sorry. I thought you… were my uncle”. I told him. A chuckle brought my attention back to his handsome face. “Hello cutie, why do you think your uncle is here?” He said, his voice sending shivers down my body. *** Happiness Matthews, a 19-year-old college freshman, thought she had everything figured out when she left her small Texas town for the bright lights of California. But after a dangerous security guard targets her in her new apartment, she has to move in with Mason, her uncle's friend, who she met two years ago at his wedding. Mason, a man in his thirties still haunted by the woman who left him at the altar two years ago, never expected to share his home with his best friend’s niece. At first, their living arrangement seems like a temporary inconvenience—but the longer they stay under the same roof, the harder it becomes to ignore the magnetic tension building between them. As the lines between family and desire blur, Happiness finds herself drawn to the man who carries both charm and a painful past. But with every passing day, the unspoken rules become more difficult to follow, and a dangerous truth about Mason’s past threatens to tear them both apart. In a story where forbidden attraction and unresolved heartbreak collide, Happy must choose between loyalty, family, love, and her own future—before the stakes get even higher

Arielle's life turns upside down when her mother marries Charles Salvatore, a wealthy businessman with a dark past. At the wedding, she meets Ian, Charles's handsome but troubled son, with whom she shares a passionate and forbidden night. Unbeknownst to Arielle, Ian is engaged to Savannah Lytehall, a stunning socialite and heiress. As Arielle navigates her complicated feelings for Ian, she uncovers a web of secrets and lies within the Salvatore family. Charles's ruthless ambition and Ian's tortured past threaten to destroy their lives. Torn between loyalty to her mother and her growing attraction to Ian, Arielle must confront the darkness that surrounds them. With its twists and turns, this story explores themes of family, power, and forbidden love. As Arielle and Ian struggle to resist their attraction, they must confront the consequences of their desires and the secrets that bind them.

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” ~ William Congreve Aretha Hawthorne has loved and dedicated her whole life to her husband out of pure love and loyalty and to her foster family out of gratitude for having taken her in at her lowest. However, on a day that’s supposed to be the happiest one of her life, she never could have predicted that the same people she loved so dearly would plot such evil against her. Publicly humiliated, heartbroken and also suffering from the loss of her unborn child, Aretha is filled with a deep hatred and an immense rage when she discovers that she’d been played and made a complete fool out of for years by her husband and her foster family. Aretha seeks revenge but knowing that she can’t go against both famous families on her own, especially not with her name still being sullied by the media, she is forced to flee the country to recoup. However, no one expects the disgraced Aretha to return a year later with a fortune that greatly supersedes those of her ex-husband’s family and foster family combined. And even more surprising, she appears to have garnered the attention of neither one nor two but three of the most eligible billionaire bachelors of the United Kingdom, who appear to have become completely smitten by her. Let the game of vengeance begin…

Family they say is everything, but when Alexandra “Lex” Dellarosa’s family is compelled to sell her off to a mysterious buyer who turns out to be a ruthless Mafia Boss, Alfredo “The Butcher” Fabri. Alexandra is torn between her duty to her family and her quest for freedom. As the paths of these duo cross once again, long buried secrets are unearthed, hearts are broken and lives are taken as they navigate their way through the ruthless world of organized crime, family, loyalty and cultural Tmtradition.

I miscarry after happening upon my husband, Xavier Leeson, being intimate with someone else. He kneels before me and explains that his loyalty toward me has never swayed. I look at the man who's loved me for nine years and waited for me for five years. Ultimately, I still choose to believe him. After an arduous process of trying to conceive another child, I finally get pregnant again. That's when I accidentally overhear him complaining to his colleagues. "The thought of her being with her ex for five years makes me think that even the children she has are dirty." It shall be as he wishes, then. When he performs his next abortion, he's abhorred when he learns I'm the one he's operating on.

Sold to the highest bidder to pay off a blood feud, I never imagined I would be the pawn in my father's fatal game. Still, here I am before Enzo De Luca, the most vicious mafia leader in the city. Though appealing, he is cold, deliberate, and as lethal. Though my heart races just from his proximity, it is his touch that ignites me. My body betrays me and reacts to him in ways I am powerless over. And I melt as he softly, commandingly says my name. Enzo loves neither me nor another. In his deadly kingdom, I am only another bargain, another transaction. But every time we are alone, the conflict between us snaps—desire becomes a terrible addiction. Although I detest him for everything he stands for, I yearn for the way he consumes me, body and soul. He has made it quite evident—our marriage is more about power than love. Still, every angry gaze and every snatched moment in the shadow reveals something different. Benevolent underneath his icy façade lies something broken that appeals to the darkest sides of me. But depending on a man like Enzo may mean losing everything. Bound to him now, for better or worse, I am caught in a world where loyalty is brittle and treachery carries a bullet. Our friendship gets more perilous the more truths about his empire I find. And as the past calls for us, I have to question myself: will our passion be the thing that ruins us both or can I survive loving a guy like Enzo De Luca? Burning in his arms is me. But in his universe, I could roast alive.