Mechanical Instinct

Deceived by Him By Lorena Daniela Synopsis: She was trained to see through lies. But what happens when the truth is more dangerous than the lie? Sienna Blake, a sharp and ambitious defense attorney, thought she’d seen it all—corruption, manipulation, betrayal. But when she’s assigned to represent Dominic Hayes, a man accused of murder with a sealed past and a stare that unsettles her, she realizes she’s stepped into a game far darker than the legal system. Dominic is not just a client. He’s a puzzle wrapped in secrets and veiled threats—confident, composed, and disturbingly charming. Sienna knows she should keep her distance, but something about him draws her closer, against every instinct she’s ever trusted. As the case unfolds, Sienna finds herself caught in a deadly web of deception where everyone has something to hide—including Dominic. The deeper she digs, the more she risks becoming not just a lawyer fighting for truth, but a woman fighting for her life—and her heart. When lies turn into obsession and trust becomes a weapon, the question remains: Is Dominic Hayes her greatest mistake… or the only man who can save her?

On her fourteenth birthday, Kira watched in horror as her parents were beheaded before the entire pack. They were accused of orchestrating the Luna’s death, branded as traitors, and executed without mercy. Years passed, and Kira lived in the shadows of that terrible day. Labeled the daughter of traitors, she was forced to serve at the pack house, enduring cruelty and scorn from the pack members. The triplets, sons of the murdered Luna, hated her most of all, despising her for the supposed sins of her parents. But on her eighteenth birthday, everything changed. Kira discovered the impossible—she was fated to all three brothers. Each one, upon realizing the truth, kept it hidden from the others, secretly battling their rage and disgust. Their first instinct was to reject her. Desperate, Kira begged for time. Three months. That was all she needed—long enough to strengthen her wolf, to endure their rejection without losing herself completely. They agreed. But three months is a long time. Long enough for hatred to fade. Long enough for forbidden desire to take root. And long enough for each brother, in secret, to start falling for the one girl they vowed to despise. When the time is up, will they still be able to let her go? Or will she become the one thing they can’t live without?

What does the underboss of an infamous crime family have in common with a spirited primary school teacher? Absolutely nothing, except a marriage of convenience, of course. When Lionel Tyson defaults on a gambling debt and offers his most prized possession as collateral, Austin Hawthorne is underwhelmed. But in desperate need of a housekeeper and permanent child minder, he knows he’d be an idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, against his better judgement, he accepts an offer he should absolutely refuse. Marybeth Tyson is horrified to learn that not only is her father wanted by loan sharks, but he has also sold her off to a mafia boss. Bound by duty and pushed by guilt, she agrees to give Austin Hawthorne one year of her life, despite common sense screaming at her to run the other way. After all, how hard can pretending to be madly in love with someone be? It’s all fun and games until play pretend becomes all too real, and an earth-shattering secret from Austin’s past comes to light, threatening to destroy his second chance at love with his dogged pursuit for answers. Betrayal, especially at the hands of his older brother Blake and long-time friend, Andrei Ivanov, is a bitter pill to swallow for Austin, and letting them off scot-free is not an option. Driven by his unquenchable thirst for revenge, Austin will stop at nothing to get to the truth, even if it means destroying decade-old friendships and fragile ties to The Corporation. 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.

He smelled the woman who saved her, her scent overwhelmed his nostrils, and could only mean one thing, she belonged to him. His instinct urged him to imprint her. Adhara is her mate." A leadic and brutal Alpha of the clan, Jarckon, falls under the spell of a witch who turns him into a cursed wolf from time to time. One night in a dark wooden forest, Adhara ran away she found and meet Jarckon, who was severely wounded. She saved Jarckon and take care of him until the time she come to know that Jarckon is her Fated mate. Adhara imprisoned in his castle. Jarckon thought that Adhara approached him with another purpose to conspire him against his brother Slagle. Not too long, Adhara found out she was imprisoned in order to protect her from Slagle, who plans to kill her. Jarckon suffers and loses consciousness. In the end, he found it hard to change back to his human form. He could remain a wolf with animal nature. How will Adhara accept Jarckon to be his Fated mate? How the curse will lift and back to his human nature? Will Adhara learn to love him?

Ernesta, the daughter of a wealthy family, had lived like an orphan for over a decade after being separated from her parents as a young child. At sixteen, she was finally found and brought home. Ernesta believed her life was starting anew, that she would finally be surrounded by her family's love. But she had no idea what awaited her: her brother's judgmental gaze, her father's disdain, and her mother's feigned affection. This was because someone had completely usurped her place in the family. Her foster sister, Kiera, though unrelated by blood to the Merediths, had been raised in luxury and had become a true lady. Ernesta, the real daughter raised in a less fortunate environment, wasn't considered noble enough, elegant enough, and was treated like an outsider. On the night of Ernesta's 20th birthday, also the night her engagement to Ryder was announced, he coldly stated, “The only one I've ever loved is Kiera.” Why hadn't he said it sooner? Why did he have to say it today, in front of so many guests, making her look like a fool? To make matters worse, her father, mother, and brother all turned their backs on her to protect the deceitful Kiera. Ernesta turned and walked away. This time, she was determined to let go of the family love she had always craved. She wanted to prove to the Merediths and Ryder that her life would be even better without them. But a serious car accident nearly claimed Ernesta's life. When she awoke, a mechanical voice echoed in her ears, “Ding! Congratulations, master, on successfully installing the Life-Altering System. Your brain is severely damaged, and your body is in a vegetative state. If you want a chance to wake up, you need to complete the mission assigned by the Life-Altering System.”

For twins Ethel and Elise, the line between dream and nightmare was always thin—and on Paron Island, it has been completely erased. Their idyllic gap year, a sun-soaked mosaic of beach bonfires and reckless abandon, is shattered in an instant. A "project," as the panicked news reports cryptically call it, has gone horrifically wrong, releasing a pathogen that reanimates the dead with a singular, gruesome purpose: to feed. The sisters' bond, once defined by shared secrets and sibling rivalry, is now their only anchor in a world drowning in blood. Driven by a raw, primal instinct to protect each other, they join forces with a few other fortunate—or unfortunate—souls who survived the initial onslaught. Together, this makeshift family must navigate the ruins of their former paradise, where every shadow hides a potential threat and every human sound could be a lure. Ethel, the more cautious sister, finds a hidden strength in strategy, while Elise's impulsive nature becomes both a weapon and a liability. But their fight against the decaying hordes is only the surface of the terror. Whispers of a coordinated presence, of supplies that go missing too conveniently, and of strangers who seem to know too much, point to a more insidious truth: the island's collapse was not a random tragedy. They are being hunted by something that thinks, that plans, that wears a human face. As their hope for rescue dwindles, Ethel and Elise are forced to confront the ultimate horror—that in the midst of an apocalypse, the most monstrous creatures of all are still human.

“You’re what I’ve been waiting for, Elara. Didn’t know it until I saw you, but… yeah. You’re it.” Alpha Rowan lives under an ancient, crushing pack curse: his wolves cannot mate and breed until he finds his own true mate. Resigned to a solitary life of logging, he is shaken to his core when he finds his destiny in the most unexpected place: the human town he avoids. Elara, a good-hearted waitress with a long past of loneliness and rejection, is utterly unprepared for the towering, intense, and possessive wolf who instantly claims her world. Rowan must now navigate a dangerous, desperate courtship with a human who is vulnerable to the hidden shifter society, especially when a jealous rival, Joe, and a brutal Rogue Bear target Elara to cripple the Rowan Blackwood pack. The Alpha's immense strength and feral instinct are the only barriers between his fragile mate and the dark world that wants to destroy the one woman who holds the key to his pack's survival. Rowan will break every law of man and shifter to keep Elara, or the ancient Rowan Blackwood curse will destroy them all.

I don’t even know how our lips met. It just… happened, and he tastes sweet, like a gourmet dessert, and instantly, I want more. I can't even form a thought right now as I part my lips and our tongues dance together. It’s a primal force, instinct maybe, something telling me that at this moment, I have everything I have ever wanted in my life. I have a mate. I am complete. *** I always thought I was leading a good life, although I never quite felt like I belonged, until I met Devon, the gorgeous, sexy Alpha of the Emerald Moon pack whose mesmerizing gaze drew me in. Wolves? How could I be one of those? I find out I’m a hybrid, wolf and mage, and all this time I’ve never been a human at all. No wonder I didn’t fit in. But just as things are starting to come together for us, it’s all quickly torn apart as mysterious outside forces with an ancient hatred invade our world and threaten everything. Will the love of a true, fated mate save everything, or will it be my downfall?

Jenna’s life shatters when a dangerous-looking stranger corners her asking about Alpha Caesar, the most feared man on campus, survival instinct kicks in. She lies straight to his face and runs. But fate has other plans. She thinks she's escaped. She's wrong. The man in her bathtub proves it. Caesar—the ruthless alpha himself—is barely alive in her bathtub, his memories scattered like the trail of carnage he left behind. Jenna patches him up, counting the hours until she can shove him out her door and reclaim her quiet life. But when Caesar's eyes finally open, everything changes. He looks at her like she's the answer to a question she never asked. His words raw and impossible; "Mate." One word. Her whole world tilts. Because if Caesar believes she's his mate, whoever tried to kill him will be coming for her next. And the man who can't remember his own name somehow remembers her in ways that make her blood run cold. How can Jenna escape from the possessive grip of the Alpha who have sworn to never let her go?

When Zirelle woke up next to a half-naked stranger in a room dripping with luxury, she had no memory of how she got there—just a surge of panic in her chest and a towel wrapped around her body. The room was too pristine, too extravagant, and far too distant from the broken, desolate life she knew. Her first instinct? Run. But not before stealing his gold, his wallet… and the mysterious silver necklace hanging around his neck. She thought she was escaping to safety, back to the familiar chaos of her world. Instead, she ran straight into carnage. Returning home, she found her parents slaughtered and her own pack baying for her blood. As for the necklace she stole? It’s no ordinary trinket. And the man she stole it from? He’s not just wealthy or dangerous—he’s deadly. What Zirelle doesn’t know is that he’s far more than he seems. He’s the key to the truth she’s been running from her whole life. She thought she had left him behind. But by stealing from him, she’s unknowingly invited an even greater storm into her life. Now, he’s coming for her. And he won’t stop until he finds her.