Ocean Breeze

"Cry, Mermaid!" a sharp lash sliced into my back, forcing a yelp from my lips. Screams and sobs surrounded me on all sides, but no one would save me. Strong hands caught me beneath my arms and yanked me from the water. It was time for Tail Cut. The operation lasted hours. I felt every last slice of their blades, every new tendon sewn into my muscles and nail hammered into my bones. I screamed. I begged. I begged for them to stop, for them to kill me, just ended the pain. --- I have a secret, I am a mermaid. I should live in the ocean, but my tail was cut and I only owned legs. After escaping to Asterion, I hid my identity. I thought I could finally live a peaceful life, until that day I met the famous bad boy, the future Alpha, Caspian. --- I felt a strange prickling on the back of my neck. I spun around just in time to see Caspian prowling towards me through the darkened wings, his blue eyes positively glowing. Sharp white teeth flashed as Caspian's lips unfurled into a lethal grin, "Hello Mate."

The human intrigued her. Alaina wasn't sure why. She had to expose her secret to save his life. With him knowing she was a vampire, her and her sisters had to leave Devils Lake. Knowing she would never see him again, her heart ached. Eleven years later, Alaina and Arianna were in Los Angeles after Abigail had left them. Alaina was surfing when she seen him. Crashing into the ocean and washing up on the shore, he ran to her. She made the mistake of sleeping with him and because of that he thought they were going to be together. She knew that couldn’t happen, it was too dangerous, for her and her sisters, and him. She pushed him away. In his anger, he vowed to find a way to kill vampires and succeeded, and he discovered so much more about himself than he ever thought possible. He was from a line of witches, and he had magic too. But he wasn’t the only one. Will he fulfill his vow and kill Alaina? Or will she kill him? Or maybe love will win in the end?

"They're coming, Benedicta. Grab all your stuff right now!" One second, I snapped my head around at the panicked Paul who clutched a towel around his waist. But when I looked back, the creature was gone. Shocked by the sudden disappearance, my eyes darted around in search of nothing. "Did you hear what I fucking said? Gather your stuff and let's go!" "Did you-did you see that?" I pointed at the empty window oozing in chilling air. As the breeze got stronger, so did my confusion. "Wake the hell up, Beni," Paul yelled, startling me off my trance. "What is wrong with you?" Without saying a word to Paul, I followed him like a doll as he led me out of the room through a secret passage. "Find them. They haven't gone far." That deep scratchy voice penetrated the walls. "Search the bushes. As ordered, bring her alive." —-------------- —-------------- Benedicta, a young girl sets out to retrieving a glowing stone buried in the depths of the earth, located near Beast Land, a terrifying place inhabited by massive werewolves known as the Lycans. Despite the danger, Benedicta is determined to find the stone, which is said to possess great power. Meanwhile, the Alpha of the lycan pack is cursed, and has been unable to produce an heir for thousands of years. Each time he chooses a pair of lycans to mate and produce offspring with, the pups turn into stone as soon as they are born. His Lunas (female werewolves) also die soon after the curse takes effect. When Benedicta crosses paths with the enraged Alpha, she inadvertently restores his youthful appearance, with just a STEP, triggering a rage that threatens to destroy them both. Hot tension rains down on them as the changes begin.

When Jeremy Sterling is framed by his rival, he immediately urges me to run for my life. "Save yourself! Pretend you never met me!" Despite being eight months pregnant, I leap from the moving car. I kneel in the snow for two days straight. Finally, I manage to secure a witness for his trial. The ordeal costs me our baby and leaves me with lasting health issues. The radiant principal dancer I once was becomes a frail shadow, gasping at the slightest breeze and surviving on pills. Later, Jeremy claws his way back to the top. He cradles the belly I fought through 18 rounds of IVF to have and makes a solemn vow. "When the baby's born, we'll name him Ryan Sterling. I'll never forget that you saved me." Tears of joy stream down my face. But shortly after I give birth, I overhear someone questioning him. "Mr. Sterling, this is Regina Gomez's flesh and blood. Is it appropriate to register Ms. Jenson as the baby's legal mother?" Jeremy gazes fondly at Carolina Jenson, who is holding our son, and scoffs. "When I was framed, she didn't even care about her own life. Do you really think she'd care about this baby? Besides, she already lost one baby back then. What's one more?" He shrugs. "At worst, I'll just break up with her. We never got the marriage license anyway." Outside the door, I clutch my aching stomach and turn away. Since we're not bound by a marriage license, this is where it ends for us.

It was my birthday. I thought he would take me to see the fireworks by the sea, but he showed up with another woman and her child. “Vera has a kid with her, and it’s inconvenient for them. Be a little understanding. She doesn’t know her way around here, and she has a lot of luggage. I’ll just drop them at the hotel.” He said it so casually, as if he were just explaining some trivial, everyday chore. It was that very gentleness of his that made me feel like I was so unreasonable getting angry over it. He helped them into the car. He leaned down to buckle the seatbelt on the child. Then, he turned to me with a smile. “I’ll be right back. Don’t overthink things.” I stood by the roadside and watched them drive away like a picture-perfect little family. As night fell, the sea breeze turned sharp and biting. Still, I waited until a notification of Vera Cannon’s social feed update lit up my screen. He was holding her daughter in his arms. They were watching the fireworks by the beach. It was a surprise I had planned for my own birthday. The comments poured in. [What a perfect match. What a beautiful little family!] Someone asked him why he was not picking me up. He just smiled and said, “Indy is very patient. She won’t be mad.” At that moment, my birthday cake melted into a puddle of frosting. I finally realized that he had not done that to be cruel to me. He was certain that I would always wait for him. However, even the warmest heart grew cold when neglected too many times. The waves crashed against the shore, over and over. With each crash, another shred of my hope washed away. This time, I was not going to wait for him to come back.

Everyone deserves a second chance at happiness... even a killer. Serendipity Fizzlestitch wants nothing more than to be left alone. In a small cabin a stone's throw from the house where her sisters and mother breathed their last, Serendipity toils away, making the dolls her late father was working on when he disappeared beneath the ocean waves. Serendipity is content to spend the rest of her existence here, trying to atone for the mistakes of her past by creating the dolls that bring joy to so many others. When a mysterious letter arrives in her fireplace, an unusual stranger shows up at her door, and her favorite mouse friend goes missing, Serendipity is forced to face the outside world--and the ghosts from her past. Will she accept the opportunity to join the most famous toymaker of all time, or will her guilt prevent her from finding the happiness everyone deserves? The Doll Maker's Daughter at Christmas is a whimsical romantic fantasy that proves everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how horrific our past. Perfect for Christmas, or any time of year, The Doll Maker's Daughter at Christmas will bring back the magic we can only find when we truly believe.

I had been dating Andy Lawson for five years. He had gone bankrupt, and during the worst of it, we had to sleep in parks and scavenge leftovers for food. After a hundred days of that life, I was just going to the blackmarket to sell some blood for money when someone sent me a video. [Surprise.] It was a livestream site, set up for rich kids to prank the common folk—and a video of me was pinned to the top. My finger trembling, I tapped on it and saw myself hidden in a corner of a park, munching on leftovers to nourish my frail body. On the split video, Andy was reclining against the armchair of a five-star hotel and savoring his gourmet menu. "Oh, this is amazing! All Andy has to do is say that he's sick, and she's selling her blood for him!" "On the sixteenth prank, she fell into the ocean… And on the fifteenth, she was sent flying in a car crash! Why is she so hard to kill?" "Well, Andy already made it clear that if she survives until the end, he will marry her and swear off women!" "One month to go! Will she die from the pranks, or marry into the Lawson family with pomp and circumstance?" "I'm betting fifty mil that she dies tragically! Hahaha!"

Immediately we walked into the pack house, he pulled me by the arm. "Welcome to hell, Darling." I tried to pull away from him, giving him a piece of my mind now that he had no leverage over my head. "Firstly, stop with the pet name-calling. It doesn't go well with your image." He pulled me closer, we were breathing the same air now as he held my eyes in his icy orbs. "My image? And what just might that be?" I responded with a shaky breath. "You know, arrogant, mean, insufferable." He took a deep breath, his head touching mine."Is that all?" His hand wound around the small of my back. His actions sent a pool of wetness between my legs. I knew he could sense my arousal, anyone for miles could. It was turning into an ocean as he pushed me into him. "Rude, ruthless, evil?" I stated breathlessly, nearly giving in to my desire. "Rude? I've been nothing but polite since we met." His lips were inches from mine. My eyes closed subconsciously as I waited for his lips to meet mine. …….. One curse, two mates, and the end of the world

She was in love with him. That, she was certain of. He was her first love and the one who had written the inscription on her arm twelve years ago. But what could she do when her best friend who had been heartbroken so many times told her she was in love with the same man? Lillian loved her best friend and would want nothing for her than her happiness. So, she decided to give him up and started pretending like she did not care about him since he was even unable to recognize her after they departed twelve years ago. The only way for him to remember her was to see the inscription on her arm, which she was never going to show him. What was going to be her fate when she eventually find out that her best friend had been lying to her all along? How would she be able to come clean with the man of her dreams when she had given him the impression that she hated him? How would she be able to reveal to him that she was the Lillian he had been searching for? Read this book and dive into the ocean of Lillian's selfless love story and find the answers to these questions.

DARK ROMANCE! "I-I love him," she stammered, shivering under his intense gaze. But his whisper sent shivers down her spine. "But I love you," he said, his smirk hinting at a dark intention that left her numb. "Leave me! I'm not yours!" she protested, her brown eyes wide with fear, shock, and sadness. Yet, her sparkling tears only drew him in. He leaned in closer, gently brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, his touch a mix of tenderness and menace. "How can I, kitten, when you're already mine? Trapped with me, sinfully," he whispered, his breath sending shivers down her spine. Her throat constricted in fear as she realized escape was impossible. But his next words crushed her world. "Punishment time, kitten," he growled, his voice dripping with lust and obsession. His dark eyes seemed to devour her, leaving her knees weak. A lone tear escaped her eye as she realized she was trapped. He would cage her, sinfully. She was a bright doll, but his darkness shattered her hopes. She was a vast ocean, and he was a pirate who'd found his treasure in her - a treasure he'd claim by any means. @2024darkoceanfics