Mantis Piercing Nose

"You think you can just leave without a trace after what happened that night?" His hands pinned her arms above her head, his piercing blue eyes boring into hers. "W-what do you mean?" she stuttered, his scent reminding her of that night—the night that had changed her life completely. "What do I mean? Are you seriously asking me that, woman? If your brain can't recall how we burned together on that bed, how about I remind you right here?" His face was dangerously close as he growled into her ear. Her eyes widened. He meant it. Every single word. He was the king of the entertainment world, after all. "Let me go," she demanded stubbornly, her voice barely audible. He let out a low, dark chuckle that sent a chill down her spine. "Let you go? Oh, I'll let you go, Tatiana. But not until you understand the consequences of crossing paths with me." •••••••••• In the world of the entertainment industry, we see constant change and creativity. Trends come and go, as do collaborations between artists and producers. This world can make anyone wish to be a part of it—it is said to be inspiring and enjoyable... Meanwhile, that's only on the surface. The same world is filled with deceit, betrayal, fake love, ruthless competition, toxic fans who could ruin you, suicide, and dissatisfaction... This world is mostly dominated by men. How can a woman, hurt by this world, face it—especially when she had a night and her life tangled with the king of them all?

Betrayed. Broken. But not defeated. When Kayden stood before Clove and spat the words, “That is not my child. You cheated on me!”—her world shattered. Three months pregnant and deeply in love, Clove never imagined her husband would accuse her of such a thing. “I would never betray you,” she cried, clutching her belly. But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Her own sister, once her confidante, turned cold. “Sis, the evidence is solid. I wanted to stand by you… But you’ve disgraced our family.” Clove’s blood ran cold. “This is your doing. You and your venomous mother,” she screamed. But Kayden had made up his mind. “I don’t trust you. Get out.” One shove, one fall—and everything was lost. That night, Clove bled more than just tears. She lost her child… and the man she thought she’d grow old with. The next morning, the divorce papers came as mercilessly as his accusations. She signed them in silence and disappeared. Years later, Clove returned. No longer the weeping wife, she was now a powerful CEO. Her first move? Destroy Kayden’s empire. But Kayden was no ordinary enemy, and her plans met wall after wall… until he came. A mysterious man with piercing eyes and a quiet, dangerous charm. “Marry me,” he said, “and no one—not even Kayden—will be able to stop you.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re his uncle. Why betray your own blood? And why me?” He smirked. “Marry me first. Then I’ll tell you truths that will change everything you think you know.”

Nora Hale didn’t come to Willowfall looking for magic, monsters, or fate. She came to disappear. At twenty-four, Nora is a veterinarian with a kind heart, a quiet nature, and scars no one can see. Fleeing an abusive past, she leaves everything behind for a run-down house on the edge of a small town and a chance to start over near her grandmother. Willowfall seems peaceful enough, wrapped in forest and folklore, until the nights fill with howls and the townspeople whisper about beasts that shouldn’t exist. When Nora discovers a massive black wolf chained and bleeding in the woods, her instincts override her fear. She frees him, heals him, and unknowingly alters the course of her life forever. The wolf disappears before dawn, but his piercing blue eyes haunt her, lingering in her thoughts long after he’s gone. Colton Grimfang is the Alpha of a powerful werewolf pack and a leader forged by duty and violence. Quiet, intimidating, and fiercely fair, he has protected his people for years by keeping their secret hidden. He never expected his fated mate to be human, nor to find her bleeding courage and compassion into the heart of a world that should never touch hers. As rogue wolves stalk the forest and hunters rise from the shadows, Nora is drawn deeper into a dangerous truth. Her past resurfaces in the form of a man who refuses to let her go, and the pack she never knew exists is divided over her place among them. Bound by fate and threatened by war, Nora must decide whether love is worth the cost of leaving her humanity behind, while Colton faces the ultimate choice between his pack and the woman who owns his soul.

"You are mine, mine alone." He muttered, sending a rush of terror and excitement through her. Her face crumbled into a frown as she tried to process his words. "Yours?" She laughed nervously, trying to conceal her fear, "You don't mean it, right?" She questioned doubtfully, but the seriousness on the man's face said otherwise. She scoffed, trying to project , What's this? It's nothing. It's just a mistake night." The man's piercing gaze caused her heart to skip a beat. "I don't think it is." He replied, his voice firm and commanding. "I've marked you, so you are mine now." Her eyes widened in terror as she realised the meaning behind his words. "The bite...it's just a bite." She said, attempting to downplay it, but deep down she knew that the bite meant more than that. She was aware that once a girl was marked, she was chosen as a mate. Being betrayed by the one you loved and trusted is the most miserable thing. For Lily, being the daughter of a traitor in her pack meant a life of mistreatment and abuse. But nothing could have prepared her for the ultimate betrayal: her boyfriend, the new Alpha, bringing home another woman and declaring her his Luna, forcing Lily out of the pack.With her world shattered, Lily drowned her sorrows in a bar, leading to a chance encounter with the enigmatic and feared Alpha, Logan Knight. A ruthless leader with a dark past and a thirst for revenge, Logan has been searching for his mate for years, scouring packs far and wide. And then fate brings him Lily. Will Lily, scarred by her previous betrayal, be able to open her heart to Logan's charms? 

Selena Vanson, my adopted sister whom my brothers had brought back from the borders, has framed me. She claims that I've laced her birthday cake with wolfsbane. Hence, my brothers throw me into the silver mine, which has long since been sealed off. I scream for mercy while struggling against my bonds with all my might. But all I get is an icy judgment from Leo Wilde, my oldest brother who's the Alpha of the pack. He looks at me with hatred in his eyes, as though he's looking at a filthy beast. "Selena has been taking care of you without minding the fact that you're a low-tier Omega. Yet, you intend to poison her and even kill her wolf out of jealousy toward her blood purity! You deserve to die!" My other two brothers, Luke and Ryan Wilde, have even tied heavy rocks to my limbs for fear that I might escape. "You often act innocent and wronged, but the truth is, you have such a vile heart! Our family is embarrassed to have a lowly Omega like you!" "It's best if you die! No one here wants to see you ever again!" Even my younger brother, Rupert Wilde, who is raised by me, mocks me as well. "Lorraine, you should be sensible. Even without you around, Selly will still be nice to me. But without us, you're nothing but an abandoned mutt." After that, they close the mine's door on me. Silver powder soon rushes into my nose and mouth. I feel as though my body is lit on fire. Pain and agony soon engulf me whole. Once my brothers think that I've been punished enough and want to spare me from the torture, there's nothing left of me inside the mine pit but a pile of blood and bones.

"You thought being pregnant would make you Mrs Rossi??" He growled, gripping my chin tighter between his fingers. I frantically shook my head, let alone being his wife. The thought of marriage alone never crossed my mind. My everything trembled in fear of his anger ...I had never seen this side of him. Warm fresh tears streamed down my cheeks like waterfalls as I tried to pry his hand away from my face, but his grip only grew tighter …so tight I could feel cracks forming on my jawline like streams to an ocean. "You were wrong" he punched me in the face. The force of his punch forced me to fall back on the ground and scrape my elbows when I used them to break the fall. I couldn't feel my nose and the sudden metallic taste in my mouth only enlightened me on the reason why, he broke my nose. As if that wasn't enough pain already he moved closer to me and, gripping a fist full of my hair pulled my head up and punched me again. " ...I love my wife" he stated, the truth I failed to see or perhaps simply ignored all that time I spent clinging to him. When her love takes everything away from her, Angela is left with nothing but hate and need for revenge. She returns back to her homeland after two years of living abroad with a new identity, determined to make everyone who had hurt her and her family pay. Everything takes a complicated turn for the worst when she unintentionally falls in love with her next victim on her death list... Nico Magliolo, her ex-lover's/enemy's son. Continue reading to find out what happens when Nico finds out the truth about the woman he loves...

“Do you know what it cost me to stay away for five years, my Coral?” Clyde’s breaths fan against my cheek as his hand slides under my jaw, tilting my face up until I’m forced to meet his eyes. "W-what are you doing?" I whisper, heart hammering against my ribs. "It's nothing more than a temporary solution, as per the contract-" “To hell with the contract.” His scent of rain fills my senses. He drags his nose along the line of my throat, stubble grazing my skin. “I’m helping you because I’ve spent every night since that garden, imagining you exactly where you are now... breathless, trembling, and finally mine.” *** Coralina Jasper gave five years of her life to the Silver Azure Pack, building an empire for the man she loved. But to Alpha Maximus, she was just a placeholder for his dying "true love", Brielle Montrela. When Maximus shoves a pregnant Coralina into a freezing pool to save Brielle from a minor splash, Coralina loses everything: including her unborn son. While she lies in a hospital bed undergoing induced labor alone, Maximus is busy pampering Brielle and planning her birthday. Empty-handed and broken-hearted, Coralina realizes her marriage was a lie. She asks Maximus to reject her, but he laughs at her. Because Alpha Maximus thinks she’s a weak omega with nowhere to go, whom he can easily starve into submission. He doesn't even know how wrong he is! After Coralina finds herself penniless and hunted by her own pack's laws, she crosses the border into the territory of the "Shadow Alpha". The one man who can dismantle Maximus’s world: Alpha Clyde Everest. Coralina was just looking for a place to hide... But deep in the shadows of enemy territory, she finds herself again.

On Independence Day, I was on my way to my boyfriend's house when a car slammed into me. The stretch of road was deserted. The collision jammed my door shut, and the acrid smell of gasoline filled the air. My car was about to explode. I scrambled for the emergency hammer, only to find it had been swapped out for a pink toy mallet. Panic rising in my chest, I dialed my boyfriend's number. To my horror, his ringtone sounded from the very car that had crashed into me. He stepped out, arm wrapped around his childhood sweetheart. She put on a pitiful face, tears in her eyes. "Oh no, I'm so clumsy. It's my first time driving, and I hit someone." When my boyfriend realized the victim was me, he didn't hesitate to console her. "Don't worry. She must have collided with you on purpose." I pounded on the window, desperate. "Nick! The emergency hammer's been switched out. Help me get out of here!" His childhood sweetheart lit up with a mischievous smile. "Katie, I swapped it! Isn't the pink hammer super cute?" Disgust flickered across Nick's face. "It's just a little crash. Get out on your own." By now, thick smoke was pouring into the car, and the heat was searing my lungs. I begged him to save me. But the girl only giggled, covering her nose in mock annoyance. "Katie, why are you cooking in there? The smoke is awful." Then she patted her stomach. "Oops, my tummy is rumbling. Nick, let's go home and eat." He tightened his hold around her and turned to leave. "Enough already. Stop pretending. My parents are waiting for us at home." Just as suffocation closed in on me, I slammed my hand against the car's emergency distress button.

"Kelsey," Jason's voice was a mere whisper as he pulled her closer, their lips almost touching. Her eyes closed instinctively, her breath hitching in anticipation of what was to come. It was a moment of surrender and vulnerability that had never before been seen in him. Jason, also known as Alpha Rafe, was the revered leader of the Silver Moon Pack. His striking good looks and piercing gaze were matched only by his strength and bravery. His authority was unquestioned, and he had long since accepted the solitude that came with his position. However, the fiery Kelsey had managed to pique his interest in a way no one else had before. In that moment, standing on the precipice of something entirely new and terrifying, he felt a flicker of something he couldn't quite put into words. It was a warmth, a stirring sensation in his chest, something he had believed himself incapable of feeling. There was a moment's hesitation, and then he gave in, surrendering to the intense desire that pulsed between them. Their lips met in a gentle collision, a silent confession of the turmoil that raged within him. The passion that sparked that kiss was intense and overwhelming, leaving him breathless. When they finally pulled apart, he looked into Kelsey's eyes, seeing his own fears and vulnerabilities mirrored back at him. She had become his only confidante and his only hope for redemption. Her presence—her very existence—was a lifeline he hadn't known he needed. In this riveting tale of forbidden desires, courage, and human resilience, they are forced to confront their deepest fears and darkest secrets. Their quest to protect their pack and each other presents unforeseen challenges, and perhaps, just perhaps, Jason might discover that the most dangerous journey is the one that leads to the heart.

“Don’t tell me that meeting the man who slept with me at the whiskey library was all a part of your brilliant plan to Control me, my family, and my father's properties?” she throws the question at me. “It was not all a part of my plan” I try to defend. “If you knew something about the stranger at the whiskey library, why didn't you just tell me?” she asks, looking at me dead in the eyes with her Hazel eyes piercing deep into my soul. “Why did you bind me to an arranged marriage with you and accept my baby as yours when the Queen tried to throw me out as if you were doing me a favour?” she yells. “What was the aim behind your notion of false sacrifice?” she continues with her series of questions. “I know that you may not believe me right now, but I can swear on my life that the whole episode at the whiskey library was not part of the plan,” I try to explain even though I know that I sound really stupid saying that “So there was a plan,” she asks, wearing a smile that is loaded like a gun. “Can you please listen to me,” I plead. “Listen to you?” she scoffs. “Just because you are the billionaire crown prince of Orion you killed my father, then You set me up as the prime suspect in the murder case, blackmailed me to be around you or you exposed my identity as the legitimate daughter of Dylan Grayson and now I am stumbling on the secret that the stranger that I had a one night stand with at the whiskey library was all a part of your brilliant plan to get me entangled with you?” she scoffs in disdain