Poem Calm

  Reaching out, he runs his finger along my collarbone, my body tensing at his touch.    “Killian, what are you doing?”    "It’s obvious you’re forgetting who you belong to. Who you’ve always belonged to.” His eyes are blazing, the tone of his voice dominant yet calm. That kind of calm terrifies me because I know it only means one thing—I have no chance of escaping.       He pushes my hair behind my shoulder, and leaning forward, he grazes his lips against my neck, inhaling my skin. The walls start to cave, the touch of his lips on my skin breaking them down piece by piece.        “Its high time I reminded you", he murmurs.       His kisses become ravenous.                               *************   After being rejected by her mate the alpha of her pack, losing her baby and almost getting killed all on the same day, Lena vows never to return to the Quarry pack and to make herself stronger. Four years later, Lena is a lawyer and runs a law firm with her best friend Kate and she's engaged to Jeremy the alpha of Crescent moon pack that saved her life. But her happiness ends when she runs into Killian the alpha who rejected her and has vowed to get her back. In the fight to get her back, a sinister plot brews against Killian and his pack. Will Lena finally learn the truth about why Killian rejected her and be able to forgive him for all the pain he caused her or will she choose Jeremy.

"Hi there, I'd like to emigrate." Christina stood at the counter and handed over the neatly prepared documents to the clerk on the other side of the glass. The clerk quickly stamped each page. The red ink spread like tiny ripples on still water. Then, without looking up, he pulled out another form and passed it back to her. "Ma'am, your paperwork will be processed in fifteen days." Christina nodded, turned on her heel, and headed for the exit. But before she could step outside, whispers trailed after her. "Did I see that right? Mrs. Waldorf is applying for emigration? Did she have a squabble with Mr. Waldorf?" "Even if they argued, would it go this far? Mr. Waldorf practically worships her. What could possibly make her leave so decisively?" "Exactly. Five years ago, their wedding was the event of the century. Even someone like me, who barely goes online, heard about it. And three years ago, after her car accident, the blood bank ran out of stock. Mr. Waldorf ignored everyone's objections and nearly drained himself to save her. Then, just last year, when she disappeared for an hour, he mobilized every media outlet worldwide to find her. Now she's leaving without a word—won't that drive him insane?" The murmurs swirled and lingered, but Christina only smiled faintly. Her expression was calm, but her eyes darkened with a bitterness that deepened with every step. Yes, she thought. Everyone knew just how much Lucien Waldorf loved her.

I had my meal and was about to leave my sister's restaurant, but the manager stopped me. "Sorry, sir, but you haven't paid your tab." I never saw this guy before. He probably had no idea who I was. Kindly, I explained, "Put it on your boss' tab. She knows what to do." The manager instead gave me a look of derision. "Sir, we're a 3-star Michelin restaurant. We do not put anyone's bill on another person's tab." He handed me an itemized bill. The guy had it ready and printed. I went through the list. The meal alone cost 75 grand. The 'dining utensil gleam maintenance fee' ran up to 45 hundred. There was also an exclusive air purifier fee, which would cost 75 hundred. And there was a 'VIP calm headspace service fee' that ran up to 15 grand. Those were the ones that stood out, but they were far from the last. I had no idea my sister was running an extortion gig. Mirthlessly, I laughed. "I'm your boss' brother. Tell her she's talking to me when she comes home." The manager did not let me go. "Just say you can't afford it. You're not the first one to try and claim you know Ms. Grayheim. I know leeches like you well enough." I texted my secretary. 'Tell my sister she either fires this guy, or I pull my funds out.'

As my murderer's claws tear into my abdomen inch by inch, my father and brother are seated in our family's banquet hall. They're celebrating Carly's 18th birthday and coming-of-age. "You'll always be my little girl." "Happy birthday, Carly." They light 18 pink candles for her. On top of the exquisite red velvet cake is a wolf figurine that they carved for her, and there are well wishes and laughter all around. Meanwhile, I'm curled up in a sewer filled with liquid silver as I bleed to death. My phone has been crushed, and I can't get out. I can only cry for help. A few days later, my father and brother show up together at the autopsy room. My brother stands by the operating table with a scalpel. He slices open the body and sews it back up like it's nothing. My father just covers his nose as he shoots a disgusted glance at my body. He urges my brother to hurry up with the autopsy report. "The victim is a young female wolf presumed to be of pure lineage. Before her death, she was subjected to prolonged captivity and torture. Her throat is nearly severed, her cervical spine is dislocated, and her chest cavity has collapsed. She was also injected with liquid silver before death." Hearing the report, my father looks so calm that it's just like a case study of no consequence. Neither of them can recognize that the body belongs to me—their daughter and sister!

Catalina Ramirez has always been the subject of gossip on campus—labeled a playgirl not for what she did, but because of what people think they saw. When her long-distance boyfriend left for the Philippines, rumors flew that she cheated with her boy best friend, Aiden. What no one knew was that Aiden was simply protective of her, always by her side, never crossing the line. But to others, closeness easily looked like something more. With striking blue eyes as calm and deep as the ocean, Catalina doesn’t need to lift a finger to catch anyone’s attention. Her beauty is effortless, her voice captivating. As a member of a rising campus band, she sings with a passion that defies the quiet disapproval of her mother. Who has always tried to pull her away from music. Catalina feels it deep in her bones: her mother is hiding something from her, something about her past, something she’s not ready to confront. Then came Logan Axel Tyndall. At first, Catalina thought it was nothing but a harmless crush, an infatuation she’d get over in a week or two. She tried to laugh it off, but soon found herself stalking him, chasing after the way he walked, talked, and carried the world like he knew more than he let on. Before she knew it, she wasn’t just falling... she was drowning in him. But Logan wasn’t just another boy. He held the missing pieces of a puzzle she never knew she was trying to solve. Through him, secrets begin to unravel. Questions long buried rise to the surface.

After confessing 101 times to my childhood sweetheart, Morgan Lambert, he marries his first love, Cassandra White. With my heart in ruins, I leave him behind and marry his younger brother, James Lambert, who has pursued me relentlessly from the start. After marriage, James dotes on me to an extreme. His love is bold and intense. Everyone says I am unbelievably lucky to have married such a devoted man. As Cassandra and I sink into the water together, I can only watch as James dives in recklessly. He struggles through the water toward her, giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I thrash and struggle in desperation, begging him to look at me even once. He never does. His entire focus is on getting her to shore, leaving me behind to be swallowed by the sea. While I am unconscious, I hear him and Morgan fighting violently in the hospital, arguing over who gets to stay by Cassandra's bedside. He roars in anguish, "I sacrificed myself by marrying Elsa so she wouldn't stand in the way of you and Cassie's happiness. Can you at least let me see Cassie once?" That is when I finally understand that none of them has ever loved me. I immediately arrange to fake my death, preparing to vanish from their lives completely. Yet after hearing the news of my so-called death, James—who's always calm—loses control. He pushes Cassandra aside, bends over, and coughs up blood. Overnight, he seems to age decades.

For centuries ago, the Kingdom of Crescent Vale has lived in terror of its lost Alpha—Luna Sinclair. Once the Moon Goddess’s favored champion, she became a bloodthirsty tyrant, cursed and sealed away for her sins. Her legend warns that if she ever returns, the land will drown in blood and shadow. Selene Lowell wants nothing to do with Crescent Vale. A gifted healer descended from the Moon Goddess herself, she lives quietly in Lumen Heights, tending to her dying mother and hiding from the fanatical Moon Priests who want her bloodline extinguished. But when visions of a chained wolf haunt Selene’s dreams, she is drawn to the ruins where Luna sleeps. A moment of compassion breaks the ancient seal. And the monster awakens. Bound instantly by an unbreakable soul-link, Luna is consumed by the scent and presence of her mate. She becomes fiercely, dangerously possessive—unwilling to let Selene out of her sight. The kingdom, once fractured into warring sub-packs, trembles at her return. Old enemies gather to challenge her. Moon priests demand Selene’s sacrifice to prevent Luna’s rise. Yet beneath Luna’s feral rage is a broken warrior seeking redemption. Selene is the only one who can calm her, the only one who sees the woman behind the monster. As war brews and the Moon Goddess herself demands judgment, Selene must choose: abandon the cursed Alpha to save herself, or risk her own soul to heal the darkness inside her mate Their bond is both salvation and damnation. Their love could unite a kingdom—or destroy it.

In the shifter city of Ancnix, strength is law, loyalty is survival, and every young warrior is taught that their soul belongs to the moon. Seventeen-year-old Elora Jardine has spent her life mastering control—of her shifting, of her temper, and of the secrets she keeps hidden behind a composed smile. Born into a respected warrior house yet trapped beneath her father’s cruelty, Elora’s only anchors are her younger brother, Micah, and her closest friend, Kailee Blackstone. But on the eve of her graduation, a violent confrontation awakens a power inside Elora that no Shifter should possess. When the city’s future king, Gregory Forstfang, moves to claim her under the guise of duty, Elora’s world collapses into fear, fractured trust, and a destiny she never asked for. Forced to flee Ancnix, Elora’s escape leads her deep into the untamed Outer Wilds, where she encounters two strangers whose paths intertwine with her own: Briar Vale, a gentle but powerful Strega guided by visions she doesn’t yet understand, and Declan Eldritch, a Farisee whose calm presence stirs ancient magic in the world around him. Each carries secrets. Each carries a purpose. And each seems mysteriously drawn to Elora’s growing, unstable power. Together, the unlikely trio must navigate haunted forests, forgotten ruins, and a rising darkness spreading across Nethara. As Elora’s abilities intensify beyond her control, the three uncover whispers of an old prophecy—a legend hinting that the fate of their world may rest in the hands of a girl who never wanted to be anything more than free.

Elena Moore never imagined she would become a billionaire’s wife—especially not through a contract that stripped marriage of love, warmth, and choice. When her family faces financial ruin she cannot survive alone, Elena is summoned by Adrian Blackwood, a ruthless CEO whose empire is under threat. His solution is simple and brutal: marry him, stand by his side in public, obey the rules, and walk away when the contract ends. No love. No demands. No future. To the world, their wedding is a modern fairy tale—luxury, power, and prestige. Behind closed doors, it is a carefully controlled transaction. Separate bedrooms. Constant surveillance. A husband who reminds Elena that she is temporary, replaceable, and owned by the terms she signed. But Elena refuses to break. She learns his world without surrendering herself, meeting cruelty with composure and humiliation with dignity. Her calm defiance unsettles Adrian more than rebellion ever could. Control turns into irritation. Irritation into obsession. And obsession into a dangerous attraction neither of them is willing to name. When a scandal erupts and Adrian is forced to choose between his empire and the woman he swore not to love, he makes the decision that has always protected him best. Power. Publicly discarded and blamed for a betrayal she did not commit, Elena walks away without a word—carrying a secret that will change everything. By the time he understands what he has lost, she is gone—and forgiveness will cost him everything he once valued. A contract marriage. A devastating betrayal. And a love that demands suffering before it can be earned.

My name is Addison Calder. During my first heat as an adult werewolf, Morgan Flint suddenly announces that he wants to end things. I can't stop crying—not from a broken heart but because the torment of my mating cycle is consuming me from within. Gripping his sleeve tightly, I lean closer, attempting to kiss away the tension. Impatient, Morgan shoves me toward his older brother, Tucker Flint. "Hey, Tucker. Addie's drunk and losing it. Can you help calm her down?" As Tucker steps forward, Morgan leans in and whispers, "Keep an eye on her. Don't let any other men get close. I'm only breaking up with her for now. Once I'm done fooling around, I'll get back together with her." Tucker nods and gently lifts me into the car. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he says softly. Overwhelmed by the pain, I clutch his tie with tears streaming down my face. "Please… Help me," I plead. Tucker's pupils contract, his voice low and hoarse. "And how exactly do you want me to help you?" In a flash, I lean in and press my lips to his. "Kiss me… or let me kiss you." Our passionate kiss melts away much of the tension gnawing at me. Noticing Tucker's reddened ears, I grab his tie once more. "Will you take me home?"