Orbital Trade Beacon

"Alessandro's voice was low and husky, his words dripping with desire. 'You're mine now, Sophia. My pet. My toy." Sophia's heart raced as she tried to resist, but her body betrayed her. "N-no, please... I can't do this." Alessandro's laugh was menacing, his eyes gleaming with intense emotions. "You will do as I say, Sophia. You will submit to me, body and soul." Sophia's voice was barely a whisper, her fear and desire evident on her face. "Y-yes, sir..." Alessandro's smiled victoriously before claiming her lips in a kiss that left her breathless and wanting more. "You taste like heaven, Sophia. And soon, you'll be begging for more." Sophia's eyes flashed with defiance, but her body trembled with anticipation. Alessandro is a mafia lord with a hidden past and a thirst for control, while Sophia is a brave and determined woman who dares to confront him. When Sophia's father steals from Alessandro, she agrees to Alessandro’s offer of seducing him within 60 days to save her father’s life. But as she enters Alessandro's world of luxury and violence, she discovers that he is not just a mafia lord, but also someone who she least expected him to be.As Sophia becomes entangled in Alessandro's web of secrets and lies, she must navigate the treacherous world of organized crime and supernatural politics. But as their contract binds them closer together, they sincerely begin to crave each other's touch, and their passion becomes a force that could destroy them all.Will Sophia and Alessandro's love forced out of a forbidden contract survive the darkness that surrounds them, or will their contract expire, leaving them to face the consequences of their pleasure trade?

Evangelina had a tough luck growing up with a family that wanted to trade her for security but one day things changed. She met her mate during a ball and sparks flew. They spent the night taking pleasure from each other. It all felt like a dream to Eva and just like a dream, it shattered when the morning came. When the morning light fell on his beautiful face, she realised with a shock that her destined mate is the vicious Zavion Kessler- the infamous alpha of Midnight pack- their swore enemy. Eva does what she thinks is best. She flees, leaving him sleeping not knowing the alpha had already planted his pup inside her. Two months later she finds out that she is pregnant. Her family decides to kill her baby and mate her off to an old chap. Eva runs away for her baby. Fast forward four years, she is a caring mother to a sweet girl and is scraping through life. Then comes a man who stinks of money and offers her millions for pretending to be his mate in front of his family during his big brother's mating ceremony. She agrees, again not knowing that the big brother of her fake mate is her true mate, Zavion. Tricky, isn't it? .................. "What are you doing?" I asked as his large callous hand wrapped itself around my left breast, clutching the lump in a tender yet firm grip. "Your heart remains calm like ocean when with my brother but flaps like a caged bird when I am around. Suspicious, isn't it?" he rasped while drawing circles over my palpitating heart with his thumbpad. I could sense it. He is close to finding out the truth. That I am his mate and that he has a daughter.

Maya has never known safety. Under her father’s roof, cruelty was law. He was a feared hunter to the outside world, but to her he was worse—an abuser who left scars on her body and shadows in her mind. His control reached so far that even in the darkest nights, she felt the threat of something no daughter should endure. He told her her mother was dead, but the truth was crueler: Nova, her mother, was alive, a werewolf locked away by his hand. Maya’s only escape is hockey. On the ice, she is fast, fierce, and untouchable. When a scholarship offers her freedom, she seizes it,desperate to outrun the past. But at her new school, silence and scars mark her as an outsider. Cruel whispers follow, especially from Lia, the golden Luna-to-be. Yet on the rink, Maya shines, and it is there Liam—the future Alpha—feels the impossible: the mate bond. Bound to Lia but drawn to Maya, his struggle only deepens the storm around them. Strange changes begin. Wounds heal overnight, anger shatters sticks in her grip, and her dreams whisper of silver eyes and forgotten power. When her own eyes flash with that same light, fear spreads through the pack. The truth unravels—her father has conspired with Lia’s mother and a witch to keep Nova imprisoned and Maya controlled. When Maya’s wolf finally awakens, it is no ordinary shift. Her form is larger, darker, a hybrid no one can name. In the battle against those who sought to break her, Maya unleashes a power that nearly destroys everything, even Liam. Her father is dead,Nova is free, Lia is disgraced. Yet Maya stands on uncertain ground, her power a beacon for enemies still to come. Her story has only begun.

I’d just set sail to escort the cargo to the border when a Category 8 typhoon warning suddenly blared. I steer the ship back in the direction of the harbor, only to realize that the ship has run out of fuel. The distress beacon has been dismantled, too. Immediately, I pick up the radio and call the maritime rescuers for help. As soon as the call gets connected, I hear my wife, Melanie Watkins' mocking laughter instead. "I've already rewired the emergency number so that you can never reach the rescuers. Have fun surviving in the ocean!" Her student, Darell Parker, is with her as well. "Remember when you made fun of me for not knowing how to swim, Clifton? Well, now you're given the chance to show off your swimming skills! You can swim all the way back to the shore on your own! You'd better not be as slow as the sea turtles!" The waves have almost capsized the cargo ship. If I can't get rescued anytime soon, I'll end up dying in the sea. I can only grit my teeth before pleading to Melanie, "No one can possibly swim back to shore! Help me call the maritime rescuers—" But she laughs coldly in return. "Why do you need the rescuers' help? Didn't you say one must learn how to protect themselves? Now swim! "If you think the waters are too cold, then swim faster! Maybe you'll feel warmer the faster you swim!" I give up on arguing with Melanie. After that, I head toward the cargo area with a blade in hand and get ready to sever the ropes tying the cargo down. Said cargo contains the ransom money that's capable of saving Ella Zimmerman, the daughter of Hugh Zimmerman, the wealthiest man in Starbury.

In just one day, Gemma Braun finds out her entire life has been built on lies and deception. From finding her younger sister in bed with her husband to being killed by her own brother. On her death bed, Gemma begs the universe for a chance to deal with everyone who exploited her. When a second chance is granted to her, Gemma vows to deal with all that has hurt her, with Atlanta's wealthiest billionaire by her side, she will bring everyone to their knees before her. ****** “Why are you doing this?” She asked. “Well, let's say we’ll be doing a trade by barter. You give me what I want, I'll give you what you want…” “And what do you have that I want?” the lady before him asked. “Money, power, connection… I've been watching you for a while, Miss Braun. I thought you were docile and gullible and only does what that messed up family of yours asks you to. But after witnessing what you pulled today, my view about you changed…” “What does all these have to do with what I want?” “You want revenge, you want to deal with your sister and that prick for messing with you, you want to deal with that thing you call a brother for everything he has done to you, and your parents, they deserve a share of your rage too, for neglecting you…” “Get married to me, and I'll give you the money and power to get back at them." “What do you gain from this, Mr. Ferguson?” Gemma asked. “A wife…..What do you say to a two year marriage contract. Once the contract ends, you can do what you want with your life, no strings attached,” Derek proposed.

The Falcon Ridge Series Book 5 Set two months after the Battle of Black Rock. In an old growth forest east of Aurora, the city of Dragons. Wren Miller: You can sum up the story of my life in three words I. Am. Alone. I was raised by the Falcon Ridge Security Unit after they told me everyone I ever knew and loved was dead. I traveled through life pretending I felt like I had a pack, but in truth I longed for my own. I often wished for death. That all changes when I find out some of my pack was alive. Living like Nomads in the wilderness. I'm elated to find them, but my happiness is crushed when the Alpha is not even remotely happy to see me. As much as it pains me, I don't want to see him either after finding out what he has become. Lucius Drake: For 10 years I survived in the wilderness. I built us back up from the ashes that were left of the attack on us. I was happy to live this way. Living off the land. Taking care of my pack. Then she shows up. Seeing her makes my blood boil. Not only did she abandon her pack. She abandoned me. I don't care what the Alliance told her. I never gave up on the hope she was alive. Apparently, she did. I'm jaded and angry. It also doesn't help that I have the Dragons breathing down my neck. We've been relying on them for protection and trade, but now they want more. They want us to join them permanently, which I will only do if I'm dead.

I married Rafe Maretti—the man who owned the Maretti Casino empire. Sophisticated, ruthless, but sinfully charming. By year three of our marriage, I introduced my little sister to his nephew, Adam Moretti—twenty-five, all sharp smiles and sharper ambition. He ran the dirtier side of the family’s business—arms, drugs, the kind of trade that dripped blood and money in equal parts. I married the powerful, irresistible uncle. She married the young, dangerous nephew. It was supposed to be our fairytale. Then one day, I got kidnapped in Rafe’s casino. Snatched by a rival mafia family desperate to force Rafe to sign over one of his biggest, most profitable casinos. Except Rafe didn’t answer the phone or even notice I was gone. The kidnappers grew impatient. First, it was slaps. Then punches. Then they shattered my leg and buried a knife in my stomach. Still no word from my husband. Until finally, after what felt like a hundred unanswered calls, a single message came through. "I’m with Bianca. She’s having a stomach. Stop calling." Once the kidnappers realized I had no value, they dumped me in a rotting warehouse like discarded luggage. It was Isla, my sister, who found me. She got me out. And then the brakes failed. The car spun out. Isla went unconscious beside me. I tried calling Adam. Isla’s husband. But as soon the call went through, all I could hear was. “Leave me along. Isla, I am in the middle of something here.” When I clearly heard a woman’s voice in the back. If not for a passing stranger, Isla and me wouldn’t have made it to the hospital, let along have survived. So when I opened my eyes again, the first thing I thought was: I’m divorcing that sorry bastard. The Maretti can go to hell.

I used to think I understood survival. By twenty-one, I’d figured out that my body was something I could trade, and honestly, I didn’t flinch at using it. Rain pounding outside, apparently, I barely noticed. I was too wrapped up with Bobby, his cock sliding against my lips while I tried to forget the outside world. “I need to fix supper,” I muttered, and then took him in my mouth. He groaned. His hands knotted up in my hair, pushed me lower, and I swallowed every part of him. A hundred bucks. That’s what it took to make all this feel like just another night, just another transaction. That’s my reality, balancing family, hiding secrets, hustling through college by day, doing whatever it takes at night. But then my dad’s promotion depends on one dinner party. Suddenly, I’m orbiting two men who don’t just spot weakness, they exploit it. What starts with forced politeness turns into something darker. Surveillance cameras watch as I give in again and again, my body traded in deals I never agreed to. The difference between “okay” and “forced” vanishes every time I obey. At some point, I realize what this compliance has actually cost me. Not just my body, my choices, my future, all of it chipped away until the only decision left is brutal: keep giving them what they want and disappear inside myself, or risk everything to fight back against the machine trapping me here. My family’s fate is always tied to me. My body isn’t mine to bargain with anymore. So I keep asking myself: after everything, can someone like me actually claw my way back from submission when it was forced from the start? Keep reading to find out.

Today is the death anniversary of Jordan Willis, the Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack. He's also known as my dead mate. My name is Sasha Calhoun, a she-wolf who descends from a family with a weakened bloodline. I'm also the current Luna of the Moonshadow Pack. In a world where the bloodline purity determines the status quo of werewolf society, I seem to exist solely to enter a marriage alliance with Jordan, the Alpha who comes from the most elite family with a pureblooded heritage. This is a political trade meant to strengthen Jordan's position in his family as well as reassure the Elder Council. A year ago, Alpha Jordan sacrificed himself in a blazing inferno while on a mission. I become the most pitied she-wolf in the pack who has to keep the only light on in my empty home. At the same time, I need to protect the only flicker of hope in this pack. As I carry a bouquet of white lilies, which were Alpha Jordan's favorite flowers when he was still alive, I approach his grave. The pup in my womb seems to have picked up on my emotions, for it kicks me gently. I can feel the hum of a powerful and pure-blooded lifeform from the movement. It's the lifeblood of a pup destined to become the future powerful Alpha. Even though I'm still carrying the pup, I still feel reassured and proud. But the next thing I know, I spot a wolf sinking down to one knee far away on the horizon. He appears to be proposing to my younger sister, Winnie Calhoun. Even though there's more than 300 feet between us, I can still smell the Alpha's familiar scent, which seizes me by my heart. After all, I had once immersed myself in that particular scent for countless days and nights in the past. That Alpha… is actually Alpha Jordan, who supposedly died one year ago! I instinctively clutch my belly, my palm caressing the newly-developed heartbeat of my unborn pup. Then, I call the pack guards.

That year, during the Sicilian arms trafficking conflict, my lover of three years, Silvio, deliberately betrayed my transport routes at a critical moment in a deal with the rival "DiMarco" family, causing me to lose all my territory. He immediately defected to the DiMarco family's leader Marina, becoming her lover. As he left, he didn't even bother to disguise his betrayal, coldly tossing out, "What we had was just business, nothing personal." While I was burdened with my family's blood debts and pushed to the edge of a cliff, Lorenzo, who had secretly harbored feelings for me since childhood, found me and offered his family's entire fortune. "Isabella, don't be afraid. In my eyes, you'll always be Sicily's most formidable Queen of the Arms Trade," he said. He took the Colt pistol from my hand, and his voice was gentle yet resolute. Five years later, my power resurged. I was about to completely crush Marina's smuggling network and reclaim everything I had lost. My caporegimes, the captains of my organization, were ready and waiting for my command. But on the night before the operation, my weapons warehouse suddenly exploded, turning priceless arms into worthless scrap metal. I barely escaped through the thick smoke, my body covered in burns. In a secluded monastery, I overheard Lorenzo and Silvio whispering outside my door. "You really had the guts to blow up the arsenal. Weren't you afraid of blasting her to pieces too?" Silvio's voice carried a mocking tone. "If she died, just died. I've always loved Marina. If it weren't for that unlucky family marriage lottery five years ago, I wouldn't have had to endure this ugly bitch for all this time." Lorenzo's voice was ice-cold and unfamiliar. I closed my eyes, feeling like a dagger had pierced my chest. Explosion. Arranged marriage. Ugly bitch. So those five years of shared hardship were just his unwilling choice after losing a high-stakes gamble. "I married her to keep watch. If it weren't for me paving