Predatory Gaze

My African American Mom married a rich Japanese man. As I moved the skeleton of my new bed next to the window, I felt a gaze focused on me. Outside my window, was the house next door. The house shape was similar to ours, so it also had a window facing mine at the same level. Standing there on the other side was a skinny Japanese boy. As soon as I laid eyes on him, he stiffened, then shyly smiled and waved. His hair was all over the place, seeing him in his tanktop I thought to myself that he must've just rolled out of bed. But wasn't it the afternoon already? The boy says something but of course I can't hear him with my window closed so I slide it open. "Eto....hi." He tried in English. If someone were to tell me later I'd come to care about him deeply, I'd find that hard to believe. For as long as I could remember I've always felt empty. And that emptiness, I hid on instinct.

“My mate is my sister’s husband.” I was born with a bond I was never allowed to claim.My twin sister stole the Alpha fated to be mine, and my parents buried the truth to protect their power. While she stood beside him as Luna, I was forced to watch my mate look at me as nothing more than his disgraced sister-in-law. When I dared to defy her, he chose her. Punished me. He banished me. Years later, fate drags me back to the pack I swore I’d never return to. The bond I’ve spent years denying awakens and this time, he feels it too. His gaze lingers. His touch burns. His voice drops when he speaks my name. “You feel it, don’t you?” he whispers. I should run. I should hate him.But the mate bond doesn’t lie… and neither does the betrayal that stole my life.Because I was never the mistake.I was always his true Luna.

"Marry me," he replied coldly and emotionlessly. "In exchange, I'll pay your debt." There are no strings attached, and no love is expected. It was just a basic transaction." Sofie paused, her heart beating. She realized she had no other option. But as she stared into his cold gaze, she couldn't help but wonder if she was striking a pact with the devil. She felt a shudder run down her spine. Could she actually pull this off? Marry this man for money, knowing it will be a loveless marriage? In her thoughts, she could almost hear her mother's voice asking her to follow her heart. Sofia's life was flipped upside down when her parents died, leaving her alone and in debt. To be able to pay the remaining dept of her Dad, she have to accept to be the contract wife of a cold-hearted and famous Billionaire, someone she already had a bad encounter with. knowing there is no love between them. What she doesn't know is that she's being pulled into a dangerous web of secrets and lies.

"A fake marriage. A dangerous game. A love that could destroy them both." When Aurora Lane is forced to save her father from ruin, she finds herself trapped in a deal she never expected—marrying the ruthless billionaire Damian Blackwell, the man who shattered her world years ago. Damian offers her a lifeline: marry him for one year and her father's crushing debt will vanish. But as they step into a world of luxury, power, and lies, the line between hate and desire blurs. Aurora swore she would never fall for him. But his touch sets her on fire, and his dark, possessive gaze sees right through her defenses. Yet behind Damian’s cold façade, dangerous secrets lurk—secrets that could destroy everything if exposed. As passion ignites and emotions grow, both must confront their pasts before their fake marriage turns into something real—and even more dangerous. What happens when the man she should hate becomes the only one she can't resist?

"Let's be clear. While I stay here, no kissing, no hugging," Aiden Anderson said without breaking his gaze at Jessamine, his best friend since third grade. "You're my best friend... You're like a sister to me and my only family. I don't want to be reckless and lose you in the end." "I was only teasing you, Aiden. I'm not losing you as well. You're the only man I trust besides my father," Jessamine assured him. Jessamine turned her back on him, fighting the tears, unsure why her heart was disappointed. A part of her brain said she would rather die with heartache than admit to him that she wished there was more to their friendship, but her heart screamed something else. She wanted to be reckless with him and gave her heart the freedom to love him more than best friend, but how could she admit to him she loved him when Aiden assured her he would disappear from her forever if they crossed the boundary of their friendship?

“You’re my goddamn stepbrother. You know this, so let’s set boundaries,” I whisper as if I’m speaking of something abominable. But it’s something that should be normal. Sane. Logical. Then Riven Rythrone lifts a hand and grabs my chin, forcing my gaze up to his. His eyes don’t belong to someone normal. They belong to someone dark. Abnormal. Insane. Illogical. “You begged to be mine. Remember?” My breath hitches, my pulse riots, and my body stupidly flinches as he snakes a hand around my waist, dragging me closer. Close into his twisted, demented world, where he rules, where reason burns, and where I’m the only thing he refuses to let go of. Twenty-year-old Adelina West has no reason to hate her mother’s marriage to a California millionaire. But when a devil with blue eyes is involved, resentment comes easy. She wants to escape him. He wants to own her. And when Riven Rythrone wants something, not even blood or sin can stop him.

"You know, when you decided to enter my world. You should know that there is no way back, Princess." Crystal Leonidas is the Perfect Princess. As the world's number one Billionaire's youngest daughter, her life is perfect. She is beautiful and smart and she also has Aiden Lucero, her prince charming who loves her and protects her from everything. With Aiden, Crystal believes she doesn't need anything else. Until the day her gaze met Xander William's beautiful eyes. He is warm but dark. Soothing and scary at the same time. It is no secret that Crystal immediately fell for the stranger. Fast, hard and deep. The spark of that feeling was scary, turned into fire, then turned into a strong sense of longing. Forbidden, but tempting. When Xander's lips burn her body with kisses, Crystal knows she has crossed a line. A dangerous limit. Unfortunately, there is no turning back. He is a Beast. A cruel beast who can kill you and bury your body deep underneath. So, what happens next when Crystal realizes that she is already Falling for the Beast?

In a world where werewolf elites wield power with iron claws, a clandestine auction emerges as a sinister spectacle. Caught in its whirlwind is a young woman thrust into prominence by her formidable father, Alpha Don Julio. Surrounded by towering figures of werewolf nobility, she becomes a coveted prize, her value measured by the dizzying bids that encircle her. When the feared Alpha Johnathon Dupree of the White Wolf Pack enters the fray with a staggering one million dollar bid, the stakes soar to unprecedented heights. Whispers of Dupree's cruelty, particularly towards women, amplify the tension, shrouding his intentions in impenetrable mystery. Yet, behind his glacial gaze lies an enigma she feels inexplicably drawn to unravel. As the saga unfolds, loyalties will be tested, veils of secrecy lifted, and a forbidden romance teeters on the brink of ignition. Enter a realm of intrigue, power struggles, and clandestine desires, where each turn of the page unveils a new revelation. In a perilous game where trust is a rare commodity and love is a potential snare, will she seize her freedom or succumb to the allure of the man who purchased her at a staggering cost?

Before my engagement, a fire broke out in my dressing room. The explosion sent shards of glass deep into my body. My best friend, Monica Addams, shielded me as we escaped the flames.  At the hospital, she stayed by my side as I clung to life.  She called my fiancé, James Miller. However, his response was dismissive. “Veronica isn’t feeling well, and I’m accompanying her to get an IV drip. If it’s no big deal, just drop it.” Furious, Monica unleashed a string of curses and called her own boyfriend, Lucas Smith, asking him to help find a specialist.  He brushed her off, too. “Stop overreacting. Veronica’s sick, so I’m getting her some medicine.” When I narrowly escaped death and met Monica’s gaze, I said in a low voice, “I want to call off the engagement.” Without hesitation, she responded, “If you end yours, I’ll end mine.” That was when both men panicked. 

On the night of my awakening, which was also my 18th birthday, my parents locked me in a silver cage in the basement while my foster sister Emma prepared for her ceremony upstairs. Then, the Blood Moon Eclipse struck, forcing every member of the pack to evacuate. Emma urged our parents to help. My heart warmed, and I thought they would come to save me. However, the only thing my father carried out was Emma’s stuffed wolf doll. They clutched Emma and fled for their lives, leaving me behind in the collapsing basement. When I crawled out of the ruins, they were already in the safehouse, celebrating Emma’s successful awakening as a White Wolf. Ten years later, I became the heir to Blackstone Consortium, controlling half of the werewolf world’s economy. When we met again, the former leader of the Silvermoon Pack knelt before me. “I've finally found you, my daughter.” My gaze was cold as I faced the stranger in front of me. “You’ve got the wrong person.”