Painted Scars Neva Altaj

She escaped hell. He built an empire in darkness. Elara Hayes was once shattered by the people who claimed to love her. Now she lives quietly, hiding behind survival and silence, believing she is too broken for desire, too damaged for love. Lucien Blackwood is a billionaire who fears nothing except weakness. Power, control, and desire define his world. He does not save women. He does not fall in love. Until her. Elara’s quiet strength awakens something dangerous inside him. He wants to protect her. He wants to possess her. And he wants her in ways that terrify them both. As secrets unravel and the past comes hunting, Elara must choose whether to trust the man who sees her scars and still wants her. And Lucien must face his darkest truth. Sometimes, the most dangerous desire is not possession. It is love.

Anniversaries were meant to celebrate marriage milestones--- not mayhem wrapped in diamond rings. Too late --------------------- On the night of her wedding anniversary, Laura DeVille's world shattered beyond repair. Betrayed by the man she loved, the angel in her died that night, giving rise to a woman forged of scars and revenge. Worse, she's still pregnant for the man who ruined her. Enters Kaida Crawford: sin in a tuxedo, a man with a ruthless past who offers her a contract marriage, a second chance. But fate has other plans. Her ex-husband, Aaron Kai, returns, his silver eyes blazing with obsession. "I'm your's to break, to bleed, and to kill... But first, tell me he's my son." Trapped between an obsessive past and a possessive future, Laura must choose: The devil who ruined her or the angel pulling her to his dark heavens.

She was his fated mate — until he cast her aside. Betrayed, rejected, and banished from her pack, Aurelia vanished into the shadows, carrying a secret that could change everything: she was pregnant with the Alpha’s children. Now, years later, she lives a life of quiet suffering in a rival pack, forced into servitude by a cruel Alpha who wants more than just her obedience. But Aurelia isn’t the same broken Luna who walked away. She’s a mother, a survivor, and a wolf with fire in her blood. When Silas crosses her path again and learns the truth, he realizes the cost of his mistake. But winning her back won’t be easy — not when the scars run deep, and enemies are closing in from all sides. Can Silas earn her forgiveness before it's too late... or has Aurelia already learned to live without her mate?

Tara Lodge isn't who she used to be. Once the picture-perfect daughter of a powerful Chicago senator, now a runaway hiding her identity and the scars from her past. After a night that nearly cost Tara her life, she vanished into a quiet Nevada town, determined never to be found. Until she met the Finch brothers. Jason is wild, and impossible to resist. A one night-stand with him left her breathless...and wanting more. Jeremiah is steady, intense and wickedly charming, slowly pulling her into his abyss. It doesn't help when she starts working as his assistant, and the flames grow fiercer. Torn between two brothers who both want her, Tara is stuck between passion and protection. But her past is catching up. And she'll have to fight to keep the life and love she has finally dared to build.

"You shouldn't have kissed me," I whispered, heart racing. "But why did it feel like home?" Stanley had spent his whole life running from fate—rejecting mates, hiding his scars, and burying the wolf inside him. Until Joshua, a Alpha pretending to be a human with soft eyes and a voice like calm after a storm, crashed into his world. There was no bond. No mark. No reason. Yet, one kiss under the pulsing lights of the club shattered everything he thought he knew about destiny. Suddenly, the lines between wolf and man, strength and softness, began to blur. Now, hunted by his own kind and torn between instinct and emotion, Stanley must choose: reject what his heart wants… or rewrite what the moon once decided. A story of forbidden love, soul-deep longing, and the kiss that changed everything.

Dionysus finds sanctuary in the human realm, stowing away from the heavenly gates of Olympus. He wears the scars of defeat, melancholy, and betrayal in his heart the moment he set foot on earth, vowing never to return until he has regained his pride and honor. However, at love's playful coincidences, The wine god alias Kim Yeojoon, secret CEO of Victoire Wine Company, dreams of an unfamiliar face that had not only awakened his cold heart, but has left him chasing for more answers. With a few pulls of power in his midst, he finally was able to put a name to that face. Behind that otherworldly beauty is Charon, a famous model under the name Han Sejin, the ferryman of Styx that guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Will the stirring of his heart's desire be a sign of a new beginning? or will it be the cause of his misery, with an unknowable prophecy looming over him?

Bliss Carnap's life has been a tumultuous journey. Orphaned at birth, she was raised by her aunt, Deaconess Patricia, in Dakota. However, Aunt Patty's desperation for wealth led her to exploit Bliss, introducing her to prostitution at just 13 years old. Bliss was forced to grow up too quickly, learning to numb herself to the trauma. By 18, she had lost count of the men she had been with. Her life was a mere existence, devoid of emotions. That was until Zeke Kian, a charming soccer player from NYU, entered her life. Zeke is determined to win Bliss over, but she is unwilling to open up, fearing the vulnerability. As Zeke pursues Bliss, she must confront her dark past and the emotional scars that haunt her. Will Zeke's persistence break down Bliss's defenses, or will she remain trapped in her shell of numbness?

I went to sleep a nobody. I woke up a Queen. One night I was just a broke, exhausted college girl. The next, I opened my eyes in silk sheets, with strangers bowing and calling me Luna Queen. The face in the mirror is mine. The body is mine. But the life isn’t. The bruises on my wrists tell a story I don’t remember, and the King I’m bound to doesn’t love me—he loathes me. They whisper that his mistress rules the palace. They say the Queen was weak. Silent. Broken. But that was before me. Now I must survive a palace that wants me dead, a King whose touch burns as much as it scars, and a kingdom waiting for me to fail. The old Luna Queen bowed to cruelty. I am not her. And if this King thinks I’ll kneel, he’s about to learn what a true Queen is made of.

I was the Alpha's lost bloodline, raised far from home. I was thin, pale, and covered in ugly scars no one wanted to look at. Lucia Abbott was the pack's jewel, carefully raised and fiercely protected. She was beautiful, powerful, and loved by everyone. Before she fell from the cliff, her soul scream tore through the entire pack. "Lyla joined the enemy! She tried to kill me!" No one questioned it. After all, who would believe a filthy lone wolf over someone as pure as moonlight? My fiancé chained me to the ritual altar. My father lit the Moonfire Trial fire with his own hands. The flames burned through my wolf spirit, ripping my memories apart and forcing them into the sky for everyone to witness. It was a public execution offered to the entire pack. But the truth was worse than death. It was slow destruction, carved piece by piece.

Skye Emerson has spent most of her high school years invisible, until a chance encounter lands her in the path of Knox Callahan, Stonebridge High’s golden boy and captain of the hockey team. Cold, cocky, and impossibly popular, Knox lives for the rink and hates distractions. But when Skye accidentally ruins his shot at a scholarship tryout, she becomes his biggest problem and his unexpected obsession. Forced to work together on a school fundraiser, their rivalry spirals into tension, secrets, and stolen glances. But Knox has something to prove to everyone, and Skye has scars no one sees. He’s chasing the NHL. She’s trying to survive senior year. Falling in love was never part of the plan. In a world where reputation means everything, can two broken hearts survive the pressure or will their love shatter on the ice? Find out in Iced Hearts and Halftime Kisses.