Practically Synonym

“$100,000!” yelled a man with a golden tooth and a scar that looked like it had been carved by a bear. “$200,000!” “$300,000!” The numbers climbed, each one a nail on my coffin. “$1 million.” The entire room froze and practically everyone turned towards the deep commanding voice. "Going once... The Princess of Sinaloa, Sold for $1 million!" *************************** Lola Volcan lived as the princess of Sinaloa believing her family’s wealth came from tequila exports. Her life falls apart when her father is murdered. She is sold by family to the Cali Cartel, led by the merciless Ramon Cali. A man whose name alone silences entire cities. Everyone expects the sheltered princesa to break. But under her delicate innocence burns a volcano of cunning mischief, defiance and rage that is fueled by betrayal. Ramon is enchanted by her wits, courage and beauty as he drags her into his world of luxury, danger and violence. As Lola plots her revenge against the family that betrayed her, she is also working against the Cali Cartel. She finds herself caught in an erotic entanglement with the man who now owns her. Their twisted game of manipulation grows into dangerous obsession and passion. He realizes her sabotage but is already head over heels for her. When the rival Gomez Cartel declares war, Ramon does the unexpected. Lola Volcan rises from the ashes of betrayal, daring to rewrite her destiny. In her vengeance will she spare the man who not only owns her body but now her heart too. Or will she crush him along side all who betrayed her?

Imagine being forced to choose between four powerful and gorgeous men who all claim to be your perfect match. That's Aria's impossible dilemma. After her world is turned upside down, Aria discovers she's the key to breaking a centuries-old curse, and all she had to do to make this happen, is choose her true mate out of the four. Sounds simple but practically difficult. As she spends time with each of the four Alphas, she realizes they're not what they seem. Are they truly interested in her, or just what she can do for them? Running from her destiny is not a choice either. The clock is ticking- Aria must find a way to break the curse. Will she be able to break it before it's too late, or will she become another victim of the curse's wrath?

They say fated mates are sacred, practically unbreakable. But Aiden wasn’t mine, and I wasn’t his. That didn’t stop me from loving him like he was the last man left in this cursed world. He swore he didn’t need a bond to love me. Said it was pure. Said he’d love me unconditionally. Said he’d choose me—always. But now he’s in our bed, moaning another woman’s name like a prayer. Wearing a forbidden pendant laced in black magic—magic strong enough to block the mate bond so I wouldn’t feel the betrayal. Too late, Aiden. I felt it. Like a dagger slicing straight through my soul. And just as I hit rock bottom, he shows up. A young, enigmatic Alpha—feared, powerful, far too young for me. Alpha Damon. He’s asking questions about illegal mate bond magic. Magic my husband used to cheat without consequences. Magic that ties back to a dark conspiracy. Turns out, my perfect little marriage is just the rotten tip of a magic-smuggling empire. Damon wants my help. Needs me close. Says I’m the only one who knows enough to crack this wide open. But every time he says my name, something in me stirs, something I swore was long dead. I shouldn’t want him. I couldn't him. He’s too young. Too dangerous. Too…everything. But goddess help me—he’s the first man who’s ever looked at me like I wasn’t something broken. Like I wasn’t disposable. Like I was worth fighting for.

Everyone in the pack knows Marcus has loved me for a decade—that I'm his destined mate. He's devastatingly handsome and brilliant, the youngest and most gifted pack healer we've ever had, with she-wolves practically throwing themselves at his feet. Yet this alpha prince has eyes only for me. But when I was nearly assaulted by a rapist, Marcus signed a settlement agreement on my behalf and issued a psychiatric diagnosis, condemning me to a mental institution. Inside the institution, I was attacked by the truly insane—they tore at my hair with clawed fingers and kicked my stomach until I couldn't breathe. Meanwhile, he held the rapist's sister Victoria close and told me: "Emma, I'll take care of you. I'll compensate you when you get out, but Victoria has severe depression. She can't handle her brother getting in trouble." Even more ridiculous—when I begged him to let me see my suicidal sister one last time, he was honeymooning with that woman in Iceland, hanging up on my eighty-nine calls. The day my sister died, I coughed up blood in that mental hospital. Three years later, he came to get me, saying he still wanted to bring me home as his mate. Looking at his careful demeanor, I suddenly laughed. Marcus, do you know? No matter how high the mental hospital walls are, they can't stop someone who's crawled back from hell for revenge. What you owe me, what you owe my sister—I'll collect it all with interest, using what you care about most.