Panic Lauren Oliver

During the ten years since I was found and brought to my biological family, Sonia Baxter, the girl who took my place, and I have been as close as real sisters. Even Mom says that Sonia cares more about me than a real sister would. I once swore I'd give my life to protect our special family of four. When Sonia is rushed into emergency surgery with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, I am in my office, calmly practicing a basic suturing technique on a surgical simulator. On the screen, the robotic arm threads the needle with such precision that it looks like a work of art. A few minutes later, my boyfriend, Oliver Lyons, slams open the office door and shouts at me, "Amelia Baxter! Sonia's in critical condition. Only your micro-dissection skills can save her! Every expert in the hospital is waiting for you! We've got less than an hour before the window closes!" He looks at me with hopeful eyes. I'm the only person in the country capable of performing a surgery this complex. My hands are even known as the "Hands of God". However, I simply reply with a hum and continue fiddling with the model. Suddenly, my parents rush in. Mom grabs my arm and cries out, "Amelia! That's your sister in there! How could you just stand by and watch her die?" I gently pull away from her and hold my right hand out in front of them. This hand, which had once created countless medical miracles, is now trembling slightly. "Unfortunately, since yesterday, I've been showing symptoms of essential tremor. Dad, Mom… this hand is ruined."

On Independence Day, I was on my way to my boyfriend's house when a car slammed into me. The stretch of road was deserted. The collision jammed my door shut, and the acrid smell of gasoline filled the air. My car was about to explode. I scrambled for the emergency hammer, only to find it had been swapped out for a pink toy mallet. Panic rising in my chest, I dialed my boyfriend's number. To my horror, his ringtone sounded from the very car that had crashed into me. He stepped out, arm wrapped around his childhood sweetheart. She put on a pitiful face, tears in her eyes. "Oh no, I'm so clumsy. It's my first time driving, and I hit someone." When my boyfriend realized the victim was me, he didn't hesitate to console her. "Don't worry. She must have collided with you on purpose." I pounded on the window, desperate. "Nick! The emergency hammer's been switched out. Help me get out of here!" His childhood sweetheart lit up with a mischievous smile. "Katie, I swapped it! Isn't the pink hammer super cute?" Disgust flickered across Nick's face. "It's just a little crash. Get out on your own." By now, thick smoke was pouring into the car, and the heat was searing my lungs. I begged him to save me. But the girl only giggled, covering her nose in mock annoyance. "Katie, why are you cooking in there? The smoke is awful." Then she patted her stomach. "Oops, my tummy is rumbling. Nick, let's go home and eat." He tightened his hold around her and turned to leave. "Enough already. Stop pretending. My parents are waiting for us at home." Just as suffocation closed in on me, I slammed my hand against the car's emergency distress button.

I stared down at the contract, a wave of defiance bubbling up in me. I turned back to him, meeting his gaze head-on. "I never asked for your help," I said, "I would've found a way to save my mother on my own. You may think you own me, but I'd rather die than marry you." A slow smile crept across his face, a smug, knowing look that sent a chill down my spine. He knew exactly what I was thinking, as if my resistance only entertained him. "Look at me," he commanded. I reluctantly turned back, locking eyes with him. His face had shifted, his expression darkened, and for the first time, true fury was etched in his eyes. "I’ll count to ten," he said, "If that contract isn’t signed by the time I reach ten, I’ll make the same call I made to pay those bills. Only this time, the instructions will be different. Your mother... your sister…they’ll both be gone." He took a breath, settling back as if the threat were a mere matter of routine. "So… ONE!!" I swallowed hard, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Could he be bluffing? No, I'd seen him kill before, seen how casually he turned life and death into sports. "FOUR," he counted. My hands started to shake. What could I do? If I signed, I'd be bound to him forever, trapped as his wife. But if I didn’t... my mother and sister’s lives hung in the balance. "SEVEN." I closed my eyes, fighting the panic rising in my chest. He wouldn’t do it, I told myself. He couldn’t be that monstrous. But even as I thought it, the doubt crept in. I wasn’t sure. Then, he hit "TEN" himself

My stepmother, Mary, hated me to the bone. All because when I was little, I went to a classmate’s house to play and forgot to close the courtyard gate. Her son ran onto the road and was hit to death by a car. My father loved my younger brother the most. After learning what happened, he was heartbroken. “Were you jealous of your brother? That’s why you deliberately left the gate open?” I desperately explained that I had closed the gate, but Dad didn’t believe me. He locked me in the basement and raised me like a dog for the rest of my life. Until one day, when Dad went on a business trip, Mary didn’t give me any food for three days. Starving, I crawled upstairs to the kitchen to look for something to eat. That was when I saw Mary sitting on a man’s lap, saying softly, “If you hadn’t forgotten to close the gate back then, I wouldn’t be living in fear every day of my husband finding out… We’re the ones who killed Ethan.” Only then did I understand that I wasn’t the one who had forgotten to close the gate and caused my brother to run outside, but my stepmother’s lover. Just as I was about to sneak back to the basement, my stepmother noticed me. “What did you hear? No! I can’t let your father find out that I killed our own son!” In a panic, she grabbed me and threw me down the stairs, killing me on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day the car hit my brother. I blinked my innocent, childlike eyes and pointed upstairs, speaking in a soft, baby voice, “Dad, I closed the gate. It was the man in Mom’s bedroom who didn’t!”

Synopsis Sienna Rodriguez was left with no choice but to agree to a marriage contract with Denver Thompson — a cold yet striking billionaire and the powerful CEO of Thompson Corporation. The marriage was a desperate exchange: two years of her life as his wife in return for the financial help she needed to pay for her mother and brother’s medical expenses after a tragic accident. Before this, Sienna had worked as Denver’s secretary — until she discovered that he was indirectly responsible for the death of her second eldest brother. She resigned immediately, full of grief and hatred, cutting all ties with him. Unknown to Sienna, Denver had fallen for her the first time he saw her. But love was a complicated thing for Sienna — her heart was still scarred by her past relationship with Oliver, a toxic ex who wouldn’t let her go. Agreeing to the contract marriage, Sienna finds herself trapped not only by legal bindings but by the disapproval of Denver’s powerful father and his vengeful ex-fiancée, Lisha. Yet as the days go by, she starts to see a different side of Denver. Against her will, her heart begins to soften. She slowly lets down her walls and even gives herself to him — and soon, a child is conceived. But fate plays another cruel trick. After an accident, Denver wakes up with amnesia, forgetting the last seven years of his life — including his love for Sienna. His old arrogant, ruthless self resurfaces, and Lisha seizes this chance to win him back. Can Sienna fight to bring back the man who once loved her? Will she survive the battle against a powerful family who refuses to accept her and a love that now only lives in her memories?

Kaylani is the last water dragon, or she was until a scientist began making hybrids out of dragon DNA. She has been unable to have her own children, even when she mated with the earth dragon, Avani. He is now mated, so having a dragon baby is no longer an option. Instead of her own child, Kaylani adopted Naida, a hybrid created in a laboratory by the mad scientist, Oliver, using her DNA. Everett is a human who has become a doctor to the dragons. He switched his focus from humans to dragons, shifters, and eventually hybrid and elf anatomy. He has worked to find ways to save the hybrids, whether from explosives in their brains, from shifting into deformed creatures in a hybridization gone wrong or correcting the DNA of the ones whose injected DNA is incompatible and will kill the hybrid when they shift for the first time. Kaylani recognized Everett as her mate the first time she saw him. Unlike the other elemental dragons, she has no intention of fighting the mate bond and would love nothing more than for Everett to claim her. Everett, however, doesn't feel worthy of the gorgeous water dragon who looks like a goddess. However, her intelligence and her kindness continue to draw him to her, nearly as much as the mate bond pulls her to him. They work well together and have opened a school for the laboratory created dragons and hybrids, as well as other pure shifters, to help them understand themselves better and ensure that they have a positive future. Can Kaylani convince Everett to claim her, taking her as his mate, or are they destined to work side by side, never knowing the true love that comes from the dragon bond?

(SSPG WARNING! Read at your own risk!)“Damn, we shouldn’t be doing this, Lauren,” gigil na bulong ni Zai habang nakaupo ako sa kanyang kandungan. Patuloy pa rin ang paghalík niya sa akin. Nalalasahan ko naman ang alak sa kanyang dila. “Uhmm~” Umawang ang labi ko nang sapuin niya ang malusog kong sùso habang patuloy sa pagsípsip sa aking labi. “Ugh fùck, stop grinding on my top,” awat niya kasabay ng paghapit niya sa aking baywang. Sumubsob ang sùso ko sa kanyang matigas na dibdib. Ngunit hindi ako nagpatalo at mas idiniin ang sarili ko sa kanyang alaga na kumakawala na sa suot niyang slacks. Saglit akong humiwalay at napatitig sa gwapo niyang mukha. “What?” namamaos niyang bulong. Basa ang labi, at kumalat na ang lipstick ko sa gilid ng kanyang namumulang labi. “We both hate each other, but why in the fùck are we kissíng?” lasing niyang bulong at naging hudyat ‘yon upang mas halíkan niya ang labi ko. Hindi ko rin alam ang sagot, o baka lasing lang ako dahil uhaw na uhaw ako sa kanyang haplos, at halik. “Your boyfriend is gonna kill me,” gigil niyang bulong at hínimas ang hita ko dahilan para umangat ang micro skirt na suot ko. “You’re gonna regret this, Lauren. Your boyfriend is like my brother, but I couldn't care less. Now that you’re on my top, fuck.” Pinag-init ako ng kanyang sinabi dahilan para hímasin ko ang kanyang alaga na tigas na tigas at umaabot na sa kanyang puson. “Fùck!” malutong niyang mura na ikinangisi ko.

I fell in love with a man I should never have touched—my brother-in-law, Lucas Zahn. The first time he came to our home with my sister, Quincy, they looked like the perfect couple. He smiled at me, held out a peace talisman bracelet, and said it would keep me safe. I wore it like it was the most precious thing in the world. When the old injury in my ankle flared up, he would scoop me into his arms and rush me to the hospital without a second thought. When thugs tried to harass me, he made them scatter with a single look, then spoke to me in a voice so gentle it made my heart tremble. I told myself I understood—that everything he did was only because I was Quincy’s younger sister. Even so, I clung to those rare moments when I could be near him. Until the night Lucas was drugged by an enemy, his life teetering on the edge. If no one acted, he would die. So, I acted. On that reckless, desperate night, my sister walked in. The sight struck her like a lightning bolt, and she collapsed, her weak heart seizing on the spot. What came next was madness. In a frenzy of rage and panic, Lucas tied me to an operating table. His hands—those hands I once longed to hold—cut open my chest and tore my heart out for her. “When the avalanche hit, Quincy nearly died saving me. I swore I’d treat her well for the rest of my life. That means loving her family, too. I never thought you’d be so shameless. “This is what you owe her!” He never knew that I was the one who saved him in that avalanche. So, I died in agony, my love carved out of me—literally. When my eyes opened again, I found myself back on the night he was drunk.

Warning! Mature Content! *Excerpt* "Does it make you nervous when I stare?" His voice was laced with sinful passion. "Will you hate me if I do this?" His dark gaze took in her entire frame. "I am obsessed with you, Delaney." *** Delaney, a beautiful woman, only wished for one thing - A peaceful life, and perhaps, a little touch of financial independence. But throughout her childhood, life gave her a contrast to her wish. She grew up knowing nothing but hatred from her family, and eventually, from her fiancé too. For three years, Delaney paid for a sin she never intentionally committed - losing her virginity to a stranger. This innocent mistake chattered her life and her relationship with Blaine. He detested her so much. But one question is: Why hasn't he called off their engagement? Gradually, Blaine was becoming the man she hoped he'd be. She'd secured a job at a prominent company too... She was already inching closer to her dreams when suddenly, he resurfaced - The stranger who had almost ruined her life three years ago. This stranger who was perfectly built for sin turns out to be Blaine's boss, the most dreaded Adonis Langston. And this time, he wanted more than just a one-night stand... Poor Delaney's life was set into panic once again. Little did she know that she had also cast her spell on her soon-to-be boss, who turns out to be Adonis's childhood best friend! Oops! Financial Independence, power, and fame at its peak... All hell is about to let loose as these three men are never known for surrendering. She had all she needed to exert revenge on those who'd hurt her, depending on the decision she makes. But in all of these, she is about to face the biggest betrayal of her life.

THIS BOOK IS RATED 18 AND HAS A LOT OF ADULT CONTENT Blurb~ "Get off me!" Tessa gasped, struggling beneath Vernon's broad frame. His dark eyes gleamed with something unreadable—a hunger, a craving. When he didn’t move, panic surged through her, and she screamed. His hand shot out, wrapping around her throat, his grip unyielding. A breathless gasp tore from her lips. "You can't run from me, Peach." His voice was silk and steel, lethal in its promise. "I own you." — Tessa had lost everything—her home, her wealth, her love. The man she once adored, Tamlin, had not only betrayed her but stripped her of everything she owned, tossing her aside like she meant nothing. She was Heartbroken, Weak and Shattered. But things were only going to get worse. Tamlin didn’t just ruin her—he sold her. As collateral to pay his debt. Now, she belonged to the devil himself—Vernon Carter. Cold. Dominant and Cruel. A man who didn’t know the meaning of mercy. But behind this cold facade is man who is wounded by heartbreak and swore never to give his heart out again. He thought he could break her, use her but he was wrong. Tessa shut the door to her heart and now it only wanted vengeance. She wanted Tamlin to suffer. And to do that, she needed power. Wealth. Someone more ruthless than Tamlin ever was. Vernon was the perfect pawn. She made up her mind. She would seduce him. Make him crave her. Make him hers on the terms that she would never fall for him but fate had other plans. What happens when Vernon discovers her true intentions, that he was just a pawn in her twisted games—and the game of love and revenge spirals into something far more dangerous?