Penguin Classics Thus Spoke Zarathustra

My childhood friend, whom I hadn’t contacted for years, kept calling nonstop during an important meeting. After the meeting, he spoke in a sharp tone. “Do you think you’re too big for your britches? I’m getting engaged and you’re not even coming back to help out. Do I have to invite you?” I was representing my country at an international scientific forum, so I could only decline politely. Unexpectedly, he turned all haughty. “Fine then. If you’re not coming back, then just send me a gift with four circles and I’ll let it slide. Four circles? Thinking he meant ten thousand with four zeroes, I immediately agreed. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you ten thousand dollars as a wedding gift.” “Ten grand? Who the hell are you kidding? “My wife is the eldest daughter of the Jeffersons, the most prestigious family in Cirrus. Only the most distinguished people are on the guest list. Seeing that we’re old friends, I’m letting you attend. It’s your great honor!” He cursed angrily and sent me the invitation. I was struck dumb the moment I opened it. My aloof ice queen of a wife, who kept strangers at bay, was locked in a passionate kiss with her arms wrapped around my childhood friend’s waist. “Four zeroes, huh? How about four wreaths?” My gaze darkened as I clutched my phone. Four funeral wreaths ought to count as four circles, too!

"What am I?" Diana whispered, staring unbelievably at the lightning bolts flickering from her fingertips. "Why am I different?" "You aren't just different, Diana." Freya said, and she cupped Diana's face and stared into her eyes. "You are special, and you are exactly what this realm needs to restore balance." "What if I can't do it?" Diana asked worriedly, closing her palms to contain the power trying to break out. "You must try, because this is only the beginning." Freya looked to the distance, her eyes reflecting the dying light. "Enemies will arise, and they will try to destroy you." "They will have to go through us." A deep voice spoke behind them. Diana turned and her gaze connected with three handsome men. Alden, Asher and Axel. Her mates. ... Diana's world is shattered by a revelation that shakes the very foundation of her existence: Alden, Asher, and Axel, the brothers she's grown up and fallen in love with, are not her real siblings, but her destined mates. Struggling to come to terms with this unexpected discovery, Diana finds herself thrust into a dangerous game of deception and betrayal. As former allies become adversaries, and sinister plots threaten to tear apart the bonds between her and her mates, Diana must navigate a treacherous path where every step could lead to her downfall. With danger lurking around every corner, Diana's fate hangs in the balance. Can she defy destiny and carve out her own future, or will she succumb to the forces working against her, plunging into an abyss of uncertainty and despair?

His body pressed me against the wall, his breath hot against my ear. “You would make a good little wife,” Damon whispered, his fingers tilting my chin until I had no choice but to meet his piercing gaze. “And maybe you should...” “I would never marry a man like you!” I spoke very firmly. And yet… my heart betrayed me, racing like it remembered a night I swore I’d buried forever. --- The first night I sold myself, it was supposed to be the last. My father had just died, the debts were drowning me, and desperation drove me into a stranger’s bed. One night. One mistake. One child I never planned for. Three years later, I’ve clawed my way through college, fought to survive, and built a life for my daughter. Now I work for Damon Blackwell—the most ruthless billionaire in America. Cold, arrogant, and addictively dangerous. Then he corners me with a shocking proposition: to be his pretend wife for a year. But how could I? How could I offer my daughter a temporary fatherhood? But Damon doesn't care. And when he meets my little girl, everything shifts. Her allergies, her quirks, her smile… everything about her was so similar to him. And suddenly, I’m staring at the man I fear and desire most, wondering... What are the odds that this man standing before me is the same man from three years ago?

Escaping from the grasp of her monstrous Alpha Father who intends to marry her off to an old fellow, 23 years old Celine runs into the arms of yet another powerful Alpha Kilhan Disregarding her hatred for his kind, she agrees to a One night stand with him in exchange for finance as her father had cut her off from the family wealth. It was supposed to be just one night, but Alpha Kilhan got obsessed, he knew he wanted her from the first sight, he had finally found his mate after years of searching and he wasn’t going to let go. Celine would do everything in her power to avoid fate, she wanted a new life away from evil power hungry Alpha wolves, but what if this fate was unavoidable? Alpha Kilhan would do everything in his power to have her, but first they needed to deal with the obstacles that stand in the way of their love story. Unending crises and family secrets threaten to break this union, dark pasts and evil motives. Can their love triumph against the storm? Or are they meant to never be? *** “Who are you?” He asked. His voice was thick but calm, and his eyes continually searched mine. Before I could answer, a woman spoke from beside him. “She’s a nobody. She isn’t part of the women we prepared for you tonight, boss.” She uttered, while we still kept our intense gaze intact. “I don’t care. I want her.”

"Alaric we shouldn't." I whispered as he trailed his plump luscious lips over the vertice of my neck "And why?" His voice came out rough and needy. "I'm no longer your mate and I can never be your Luna. This is forbidden" I breathed the words out, fighting to take control but it was futile. His gentle caress loosened every knot that held my senses together. He leaned in and pressed a kiss into my neck sending sensations that overwhelmed me to fill up every pore of my skin. Then he spoke against my ear. "Then I want to taste the forbidden ." _______ As the daughter of a rogue, Samantha had no place among the middle or upper class of her pack. She wasn't an omega, and the truth of her birth remained a mystery. At 18, getting a mate was her only hope to leaving her miserable life, but what happens when she gets rejected? What better comeback could she have than to become the person her pack needed in their most difficult times? Samantha thought all she had to do was help her pack and leave once her job was done, but little did she know that a mate bond broken didn't free her from Alpha Ric. What happens when her path tilts into a more serious and darker path, and she is forced to remain in her pack to protect her son, the son she shared with Alpha Ric? A greater threat is out there, and there's something special about her.

"Did you really think you could run from me forever.....after the way I touched you that night?" he growled, his hands pinning her wrists above her head, eyes dark with intensity as they drank her in. "You became mine from the second I touched you....and no amount of time or distance will change that. And you need to understand the consequences of crossing path with me." Her breath hitched. She hated the way her body remembered him—how his voice alone could shatter her defenses. His touch burned through the fabric of time, pulling at memories she’d fought to bury. Every word he spoke sent a shiver down her spine, curling heat in places she’d sworn had long gone numb. But it wasn’t just desire. It was fear. Fear of what he made her feel. Fear of the truth she hadn’t told him. Fear that if she let him in again, she might never find the strength to walk away. As the past and old enemies resurface and buried secrets begin to unravel, Kimberly is forced to confront the past she tried so hard to forget. But with every truth revealed, the danger grows—and so does the temptation to fall again. Caught between betrayal, obsession, and a love that refuses to die, Kimberly must fight to protect the one thing she swore to keep safe. Because some sins don't stay buried. And some passions are impossible to escape.

“No! Please, Santiago--” I whimpered, as his hand seized my wrist with an iron grip, yanking me forward, dragging me effortlessly toward the chair he had pulled into the center of the room the night before. The symbol of my humiliation. He stopped right in front of the chair, spinning me around, facing him. "You want me to be your monster, mi ángel?" His hand grabbed my throat, tilting my chin up until my eyes locked with his dark gaze. I flinched from the sudden movement. "Cause I’ll be your favorite monster — just say the word, cariño." Santiago’s face hovered only inches from mine. His lips so close, I could taste the sweetness of his breath — once making butterflies take flight in my stomach, now curdling my insides into a cold, suffocating fear. Slowly, his free hand rose toward my face. I held my breath. His touch was deceptively soft and gentle, caressing my cheek. His thumb lingered against my lips, tracing them slowly, his eyes fixed there as he spoke — his voice soft, yet heavy with menace. "Divorce is not an option, mi amor. We took a vow five years ago. Remember?" He finally lifted his gaze to meet mine, catching every flicker of fear before he delivered his last words like a verdict: "Till death do us part."

"What do you want? I thought I warned you to stay away from me the last time we talked on the phone?” I said, with my hands across my chest. “Alexandria! What did I do wrong? Please tell me, if it's something I can fix, I will gladly do it! Why all this coldness towards me?” He said, moving closer towards me, and I did not move. Looking at his cute face, I sigh softly. “Fred, you did not do anything wrong, okay! We just had fun, and nothing more!” “Fun? Was that all it was to you?” He asked, his eyes turning red at my words. “Yeah! What else? I asked you out myself, didn't I?” “Yeah, but I thought we were dating? Alex, please don't do this to me! After what I have been through, I thought, I have finally found someone who is genuine, and sincere to fall in love with!” He said, with so much passion that I felt it a little bit. But then, I wasn't the type to love someone. "Can't you see? I have fallen in love with you! I'm head over heels for you, Alex!” He spoke softly, holding my hands again, and looking into my eyes. I could see the truth in his eyes, I could tell that he really does love me. But then, it's a pity that I can't feel anything for him.

"You are my mate, Sarah," he confessed, his voice trembling with pain. "I knew it before I even spoke to you that night at the club. I lied when I said it was a joke because I was hiding who I really am, and because I’ve always believed having a mate is a weakness..." His voice dropped to a whisper, his gaze locked on mine. "Until now."   I should feel excited to eventually meet my mate, but confusion clouded my mind.   ******     Sarah’s life is already in shambles. At 26, she’s a teacher struggling to survive as an ostracised witch. As if that's not enough, she was betrayed by her fiancé, hated by her mother, haunted by a dark past, and plagued by a mysterious illness only a mate’s mark can cure. The last thing she needs in her life is Anderson, a cocky and arrogant 18-year-old student.   But what begins as forbidden attraction turns dangerous when lust gives way to something deeper, while her life becomes entangled in a series of murders and disappearances that all lead back to her.   As their connection deepens, so does the danger as a prophecy surfaces—one that has tied their fates since childhood.   Pursued by a power-hungry Alpha, Anderson's uncle, and a deadly cult determined to kill them to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass, Sarah and Anderson must confront their pasts and unravel the secrets binding them together.   In this dark and gripping supernatural romance, fate and choice collide as two unlikely souls discover that some bonds are worth dying for to make the prophecy come to pass.

On the day the gauze was removed from my eyes, I joked that I was blind. "Don't be afraid if you can't see. I'll take care of you my entire life." My husband and best friend took care of me while I was in the hospital. They sincerely made that promise to me. However, when we got home, all three of us were on the same bed. My best friend rode on top of my husband breathlessly. They were caught up in their intimacy as they thought I could not see. My best friend was worried I would suspect something and spoke up to eliminate any suspicion. "Uhh… Summer, I'm just giving your husband a massage." I was so disgusted that I wanted to throw up, but I held myself back. Once they were done, I was about to find an excuse to leave the room when my five-year-old suddenly ran in. "I miss you so much, Mom!" Hearing that warmed my heart, and I opened my arms to hug him, but he ran past me and lay down next to my best friend instead. The 'happy family of three' were all smiles and threw me looks of disgust. I could no longer tolerate this. When I called my lawyer, I told him to bring me the divorce papers. If they wanted to become a family so badly, I would make their wish come true. I just did not know if my best friend could afford to earn a decent enough income to take care of my useless husband and son.