Nine Minutes

(Unholy Allies Series#2) Kathrine Raynott I was barely three when my father, Alpha Lincoln, sold me off to a sixty year old bastard to settle his debts. All these years I've tried all that it takes to escape Alpha Lincoln's hell-like mansion. I have one last time to try ten minutes before my twenty-first birthday party begins. And this time I managed to escape... Except in a sack with a handkerchief around my mouth and eyes blindfolded... Kidnapped! Rogue Cordiero A businessman in the daylight and the Bratva boss in the night, I live a life I have written for myself. And they fear to conduct business with me as I hate being cheated. So when a foolish Alpha tries it with me, I'm determined to take back what's mine along with his daughter. She's gorgeous. Eleven years younger but a seductress that's got my eyes hooked to her little body. She's a fighter.... I like fighters! The only problem is that... She's been sold, and that she's been looking out a way to escape. I helped her with it... And now she wants me to keep her-- asking me to protect her. I am a villain in my life... But I want to be a hero in hers. Can be read as a standalone:) I'd still recommend you to read Book #1 (The Savage Alpha's Rebel)

Orphaned at birth, Lena Warrick spent twenty years locked away in a secluded academy, training to be a warrior. Her heart longed to be free, to escape far away from the village of Lucania! A strange force beckoned her, making her restless to escape! Maybe it was an impossible dream! She was the chosen Luna for Ajax, the future Alpha of the Luceres Pack. His father, Alpha Atticus, promised to divulge her identity only if she gave in. There was no other way than to surrender. However, on the eve of the Luna Ceremony, their pack was attacked by the most powerful group of warriors led by their indomitable Alpha, Zephyrus. In a matter of minutes, he overpowered them, leaving her at his mercy as a war prisoner. After twenty years, Zephyrus Averoff returned to his village, Lucania, to avenge the death of his family and pack at the hands of the ruthless Alpha Atticus. Soon he wiped out the enemy and reclaimed his land, his pack. What about the prisoner he had captured whom his wolf, Zeus, already acknowledged as his mate? To what extent will Lena go to know her true identity? Why couldn’t she accept the mate bond between them? What would Zephyrus do when the dark secrets of her past are out? Would he accept the enemy, reject her, or claim her as his mate? The first book of the Overpowered Series, this story can be read as a standalone book.

Antonio has ruled the underworld for decades. A feared mafia boss with a trillion dollar empire, he operates between legitimacy and bloodshed, respected by allies and hunted by enemies. Violence is his language. Control is his law. Love has never been part of the equation except for his nine year old daughter, Ava, the only weakness he allows himself. When Ava is injured in a simple accident, Antonio brings her to a hospital in the States where he meets Dr. Minah Williams. Minah is everything his world isn’t: calm, brilliant, compassionate. A doctor in the middle of a brutal divorce, she’s spent years surviving an abusive marriage to a powerful AI specialist who discarded her for a famous model only to become dangerously obsessed when she finally begins to move on. Unlike everyone else, Minah speaks to Antonio without fear. And unlike anyone before her, Antonio listens. As an instant yet restrained connection forms, two dangerous worlds collide. Antonio’s enemies begin to circle. Minah’s ex hires investigators, stalking her from the shadows, unable to accept that another man one far more powerful has entered her life. Protection turns possessive. Desire turns deadly. And Minah is forced to confront the truth: Surrendering to Antonio may cost her the life she built… but refusing him could cost her everything. Because loving a demon always comes with a price.

"Little bunny, little bunny. Wolf is HUNGRY!" The voice taunted me, followed by an evil cackle. * "Run, rabbit. RUN!" A monstrous bellow boomed through the night sky and crashed into my soul like a sledgehammer. I could feel a chill sweeping across my body and my heart pounding in my chest. The echoes of howls and laughter followed me from behind as I ran for my life. ** Elisabeth's life had been harder than most since she was a child--a distant and often cruel mother and her never-ending cycle of addiction that had taken over her life. But on this fateful night, something far more sinister was lurking in the darkness, ready to take her away from it all. Massive figures appeared out of nowhere, growling and taunting her. She tried to scream, but nothing would come out; before she knew it, she was waking up in a world where Viking werewolves ruled with mysterious faeries at their side. Every five years, they traveled to the human realm, collecting ten girls for their mate run--and tonight, Elisabeth was one of them. With only a white dress and her bare feet, Elisabeth stood beside the other nine girls as the beasts prowled around them menacingly. A silver dagger pierced each of our wrists, signaling the start of the hunt! “We honor the moon goddess; let your blood lead your mate to you!”

"My professor gave me my first D. Now my next assignment is due...in nine months. You know when you meet your new professor, and he ends up being the same man you had a one-night stand with three months ago? Okay, maybe not. Let me explain. I hadn’t intended to sleep with my professor. I might be known as the impulsive, prankster daughter in my family, but I’m not insane. I just wanted to have some fun in Ireland at my sister’s wedding, and maybe lose my virginity, too. When I met Lochlann Gallagher at a pub one night, I couldn’t resist him. He was hot, Irish, and entirely set on seducing me. One unforgettable night under the sheets with him, and my V-card went up in smoke. Well, that night had one itty bitty consequence because Lochlann totally made my eggo preggo. And if this story isn’t crazy enough, Lochlann is not just my baby daddy: he’s now my professor and my advisor for grad school. Somehow we have to figure out a way not to reveal this rapidly gestating secret while resisting the explosive attraction between us. Except there’s just one more complication to this story: I think I’m totally falling for my baby daddy. Oopsie daisy."

At nine months pregnant, I suffered an unexpected miscarriage. My husband, Graham Pearson, fought back his own grief as he comforted me. He would whisper to me every day, trying to soothe my shattered heart, "Whitney, we will have children again someday. Our little angel was here for a while, and next time, we'll make sure we hold onto them..." Under Graham's careful care, I slowly began to pull myself out of the numb fog I'd been trapped in. But then, a month later, I overheard him talking to one of his friends. "If Whitney finds out the baby didn't actually die and that you've let Cassidy raise him, don't you think she'll flip out? You've worked so hard to get where you are; you can't let this mess it all up." Graham casually flicked his cigarette, his voice almost detached as he waved a hand dismissively. "Cassidy can't have kids, but she loves children. If this baby brings her joy, it's a blessing for the child, too. "I might never get the chance to be with Cassidy, but letting her raise my son, in some way, feels like a kind of fulfillment..." The truth hit me like a frozen wave, paralyzing me in place. It turned out this whole ordeal had been part of Graham's plan from the start.

When Jake Gavingstone, CEO of the GS chain of department stores, lost his wife in a car accident planned for him, he shuts down focusing his energy on work and his twin sons. Now, after seven years, he is being pressured by his grandmother, who worries he would remain alone, to get a wife. He agrees to go on ten dates which she would arrange, in a bid to get an inheritance he had always wanted. Alice Singer is twenty nine year old young lady engaged to a resident doctor. She comes from a family where she is not wanted and his constantly bullied, despite trying her best to pay off the debts from her father's liver transplant surgery. She works two jobs and is still not able to pay off her debt. She decides to take a job as a nanny, even though she has a police record thanks to her stepbrother because of theft while working her last nanny job. She is hired in Jake's household as the nanny of the twins after the last nanny tried to seduce the twins father. The condition for hiring: You must be married or engaged. She gets the job as she is engaged and the twins opened up to her during the interview, and then some months down the line, she becomes unengaged. To pay off her debts and to finally be free of her family, she keeps pretending to be engaged, even when feelings awake between the boss and her.

“How long have we been mates?” Aidan barked. “Four weeks,” I cried, tears rolling down my face and neck. “And how many times were we intimate, Tara?” My lungs tightened in my chest as I whispered. “Once.” “And we were being safe, so why do you think this lie would stick?” Venom dripped from his next words. “Get out of my life because the next time you show up, I will kill you.” ***** It wasn’t exactly a one-night stand, but the possibility of a pregnancy was almost non-existent even though he was my mate. When I mustered the courage to break the news to Aidan Graham, the father, he denied me. He severed our bond and plotted my death, and my only option was to run. Nine years later, my daughter walks into my office with a man, and the scent I recognize all too well fills my lungs. She says. “Mommy! I found you this handsome man!” The match my baby girl just made for me…is to my ex Alpha mate. I have been broken in the past, so how do I make this work for my daughter? Can I still try even when Aidan ropes us into a web of secrets, deceit, and brings me to a past I wished to bury forever? The plot twists are bound to make you ask… “Wait…What. The. Heck??” So, read on!!

a heavy burden that I carried for nine long years. It was hard to admit to myself that Carlos Sky never really loved me, despite all the efforts I made to win him over. I even tried to use the divorce and the company he owned, Sky Corporation, as a way to bargain for him to give me attention and love. But he remained indifferent, insensitive to my feelings and my desperate attempts to win him over. It was a moment of great sadness and disappointment when I realized that he never cared about me in the same way that I cared about him. After the divorce, I had time to reflect on what happened and finally realized that the so-called "love" I felt for Carlos Sky was one-sided. I had deluded myself for years, believing that he loved me, when in reality he never showed this feeling for me. The hardest thing was to admit to myself that I loved someone who never loved me back. It was painful to face the reality that all the time, effort, and energy I put into this relationship was for nothing. Learning to let go of this unrequited love and move on with my life was a difficult journey, but necessary for my own emotional health and well-being. Today, I look back with a mixture of sadness and relief. It was a difficult experience, but I also learned a lot about myself and the true meaning of love. I learned that true love is mutual, it involves reciprocity and respect. It is not something that can be forced or won through negotiations.

On the day I received my prenatal test results, I heard a voice from inside my belly—my unborn child speaking to me. 'Mom, Dad will divorce you as soon as you give birth to me. His true love can't have children. That's why he married you. You're just a tool to give birth. Once I'm born, he'll divorce you, take me away, and go live happily ever after with her.' I believed every word. Without hesitation, I chose divorce. For nine months, I focused on carrying the pregnancy, planning to raise the child on my own. But on the day I went into labor, something went terribly wrong. The doctor said the baby was premature, and the position was dangerously abnormal. "The baby keeps flipping around inside you," she said. "It's like it's deliberately putting you through hell." Eight hours of emergency treatment accomplished nothing. In the end, it was a difficult labor—both mother and child died. As my consciousness faded, I heard that voice again. 'Haha. Dad never cheated at all. I lied to you.' Why would a child lie? I couldn't understand it, not even at the moment of death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day I first received the prenatal test report.