Osmanthus Wine

Age is just a number. Or at least that's what Maxwell Cooper thinks whenever he hits on his best friend's mother, Amanda, who is very much divorced and extremely attractive in his eyes. Amanda, highly aware of the obvious infatuation that Maxwell has on her, tries to avoid his advances towards her given their conflicting age differences. She speculates that Maxwell's attraction towards older women is deeply rooted to fact that he might just have some 'Mommy issues'. Maxwell refutes the hypothesis by claiming that he's only attracted to her , not older women in general. Both are put to the test when Amanda , returning from yet another failed date one night, runs into Maxwell who notices the tears in her eyes and proceeds to comfort her. This leads to her inviting her to her house which would be a convenient move seeing as Zac, Maxwell's best friend and Amanda's son, had gone to visit his father in New York for the weekend, leaving her alone for the weekend. They end up sharing a bottle of wine, getting drunk while reminiscing on the simpler days. A kiss is shared during the vulnerable moment between these two, which would lead to regrets and broken friendships.

Being forged from the trauma that clings to your soul like an additional layer of sin has an elegance to it. When my father and I buried my sister, falling in love with her first love wasn't on the agenda. Don Alessandro Valentino has something I want. Something he refuses to depart with and no matter how much pain he inflicts upon me, I will never give up. I vowed to never let him win. I thought I had escaped his grasp, but his torment had only just begun. Despite everything, he still held the power to manipulate my heart and make me crave to be possessed by him. As secrets come to light and the truth is exposed, can I surrender the battle and surrender what I've been fighting for all along, without hesitation? --- He tore his lips away from mine, peering down at me, brushing the pad of his thumb along his lower lip—smearing my touch as far as it would travel. “You taste like mine.” He said in a cold and condescending tone. Then he left. He walked out of the wine cellar without a second glance over his shoulder as Riccardo locked the door behind them.

The night before my fiancé, Soren, and I were supposed to leave for Northern Europe to start our new life, the sounds of a lively discussion drifted from his private club. "Christ, Boss, are you insane? Why the sudden marriage alliance with the Rosetti family to make a play for Italy? Didn't you say you were getting out of the life with Abby and heading north?" Soren leaned back into a leather sofa, his voice nonchalant and muffled by a cloud of smoke. "Plans change. Besides, remember, I'm the one who made her who she is." "Once she sees the new empire I'm building, that little canary will come flying right back to my cage. The woman can't live without me." I stood in the shadows of the club, a wine glass in my hand, a dull ache blooming in my chest. The anniversary gift I had so carefully chosen for Soren was still in my purse, waiting for me to give it to him. I slipped out of the smoke-filled club, tossed the gift into the nearest trash can, and booked a one-way ticket to Northern Europe. But what he didn't know was that just as he could betray our future for Monica, I could abandon him for mine. All those years we spent dancing with death were never just for his sake.

Accused of murdering her father, Scarlett is forced into slavery and bought by Alpha Lycan Winter Drayonne, he strips her of rank and pride, reducing the daughter of an Alpha to the lowest Omega in his pack. Her new duty is to tend to his heavily pregnant Luna, his child in her belly, and him who now owns her body but will never touch her soul. Following the death of his mate at childbirth, Winter develops a possessive interest in her, dragging her from the shadows of servitude into the blistering heat of his gaze, deciding the only way to silence his ghosts is to tame her. He will make her kneel. He will make her crave. He will make her his, until the only name she remembers is the one he growls against her throat. Caught between an Alpha who would burn the world to possess her and a forbidden ember reigniting with River Kedalf, the silver-eyed Delta who still tastes her name like forbidden wine and would bleed the world dry to free her, Scarlett must decide: kneel as the Omega he craves… or ride with River to seek her revenge against the people that hurt her. In a court where love is a leash and desire draws blood, only the untamed survive.

She was born as the legitimate daughter of Beta Henry's wife, enduring hardship for eight years before finally becoming the Luna of the Lycan King. However, fate was cruel as her husband fell in love with her elder sister and stripped her of her Luna position, forcing her son to die! In the cold and lonely prison, she gritted her teeth and drank the poisonous wine to the last drop! She vowed to the heavens that if there were a next life, she would never do good deeds to help others, never enter the palace, and never become a Luna! As the reincarnated daughter of the Prime Minister's residence, she returned as a wicked woman: An evil and malicious eldest sister? Schemes will send you to hell! A deceitful and treacherous elder sister? Cruel tear apart that beautiful facade! A scheming younger sister? Directly throw her into the abyss! Since they didn't let her live in peace, then no one should expect to live in peace! She had intended to distance herself from troubles; the farther, the better. But who would have expected the hearts of men, like a needle at the bottom of the sea, impossible to find or guess? The man who swore to leave her behind now wanted to live and die for her sake. Her lifelong enemy in her previous life secretly admired her for many years. And what was even more unfortunate was being entangled by the most handsome and unrivaled man in the world...

They caught my fiancé with my sister on the night of our engagement party. Tangled in a private wine cellar. My family name was dragged through the mud. We became the laughingstock of the Chicago Outfit. Then came Don Lorenzo Falcone. He proposed in front of all the Families, saving my honor and forging a more powerful alliance. For four years, he put me on a pedestal. But an old injury left him unable to father an heir. This year, through the family’s private doctor, I finally got pregnant. After that, his devotion became absolute. I thought this powerful man was my savior. My only protector. Until I heard him talking to his right-hand man. “Boss, Arabella worships you. How could you do it? You had the doctor switch the vials, made Arabella the surrogate for the Moretti heir. Just 'cause Isabella couldn't handle the pain? The kid’s due in two months. What’s the plan?” He was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was ice. “When the child is born, it goes to Isabella. It's the only thing that guarantees her future with the Morettis.” “And Arabella?” “I’ll tell her the baby didn’t make it.” “She’ll still be Mrs. Falcone. She’ll have everything she could ever want.” So that was it. My great protector. All of it… for another woman. This tainted bloodline? I don’t want it in me. And this sham of a marriage? I’m done.

Receiving a glass of wine from her sister on the night before her wedding was the worst mistake Annalisa could have ever made. Unknown to her, the drink had been spiked, setting her up into having a one night stand with a stranger. But the stranger had been none other than Cristiano Morano, a powerful and ruthless man who controlled half of the city's underworld. To make matters worse, he was also the sworn enemy of her fiancé. Annalisa thought she was going to lose it all, her career and her life, when a scandal about her unfaithfulness broke out. Not only that, she found out her fiancé had been cheating with her blood sister. As her family were about to announce their disowning in a press conference, a dashing man from the audience had come out and said he was going to take responsibility for Anna. They got married, but Cristiano had stated a condition in the contract she signed; He would have full control over her life and career. Would a timid girl like Annalisa survive in Cristiano's world? “You’re mine now, Annalisa. And I always get what's mine.” “W-what do you mean?” “I mean I'll break you,” Cristiano said, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “And then, I'll put you back together again, my way.”

"I want her." he said coldly sipping onto his wine staring at the grey eyed enchantress standing in front of him taking in her curves and flawless smooth skin. "She's his mate." his beta proclaimed widening his eyes at the reckless demand of his alpha. "So?" his alpha asked him coldly like it didn't affected him a bit. "But she is forbidden and---" his beta tried to make him understand but a one cold look from his alpha made his mouth clipped shut. He moved his blank gaze towards the girl tempting him without even trying and sternly said "I want her." And that was it, the end of the discussion because what he wants he gets it by hook or by crook. Daxon Valor, the alpha of the blood moon night pack is what people and all of the packs fear of. He is powerful and a rude, arrogant alpha who fears nothing. But he was not like this from the birth the death of his mate made him like this so cruel and ruthless because he loved his mate more than his own life. Hazel Suarez, the wife of alpha Alexander Suarez of nightingale pack is the beauty everyone wants to take a look at. But to even look at her is forbidden for everyone. But Alpha Daxon Valor has his eyes on her now. He wants her at any cost for himself.

I was staring at Leion. He was kneeling in front of me, begging like he would lose half of his life when I left him. "This is what you want, from the very beginning, right?" I said, while smiling from ear to ear, before I sipped on my red wine. I didn't know that red wine taste so sweet, when I feel the victory, I know I will win this one, because loathe makes me stronger, I will feel nothing, if not anger, resentment and pain. I am numb, and the day Leion hurt my feelings, over and over again. But now, look at him, acting like he loves me and he cares for me, that if his feelings are true, why couldn't he do it then? "Aubrey, I am begging you, please—" "Do you remember the day I begged you to stay, because I am weak and tired from all of your bullshits, I gave you patience and all the understanding, and now, do you think all of the so called kindness that you show me lately is enough to forgive all the things you've done to me?" "Why are you so heartless?" Leion said while his tears running down to his cheeks, a crocodile tears, I will never be taken away again. "My love, you're the reason, now deal with it."

Kaleb is the handsome Alpha of the powerful and wealthy MoonFlame Pack. Unwilling to accept Kiara, a poor, cursed, and wolfless Omega for a mate, he rejects her. He refused to see her to be more than just his plaything. Rejected and banished, Kiara leaves the pack heartbroken with a secret the Alpha must never know- She’s pregnant with his pups. After five years, Kaleb is dreaded as the Alpha with an insatiable thirst for the blood of female werewolves. Cursed by the Moon Goddess, he can do nothing but watch as his pack crumbles. Meanwhile, Kiara is now the CEO of a famous wine company with three adorable kids she dotes on. Dark clouds gather when little Kelly mysteriously goes missing, and history unfolds even darker secrets of the MoonFlame pack. The union of an Alpha and his mate seems to be her only salvation. Brought together by fate, Kaleb regrets letting go of Kiara, but will she take him back? ** “Kiara, how many times do I have to say how sorry I am for hurting you? I need you. I love you. I can’t-” “Just stop!” Kiara cut in, anger evident in her eyes. “You have no idea what I went through after you banished me. Keep your apologies and your love to yourself. As soon as we find Kelly, I’m leaving for good!”