Predatory Gaze

The first time I attended my girlfriend Joyce's friend gathering, after a few rounds of drinks, her male best friend pulled her onto his lap. With a cigarette dangling between his fingers, he grinned. "Call me daddy!" Instead of getting offended, Joyce leaned into him, helpless but indulgent, and said, "Daddy." I froze, scowling, but she waved me off without a care. "It's just a joke! Lucius always never cared for the rules, and everyone knows we have a father-daughter vibe, okay? Don't get it all twisted, Henry! Aren't you a man?" Lucius became even more provocative, throwing a smoke ring at me. "Yo, son-in-law! Aren't you going to bow to me? Come on, kneel and offer me a drink, and your dad's got your back!" Everyone at the table burst into laughter as they waited to see me lose my temper and make a scene. I just smiled, meeting Joyce's impatient gaze with an excited expression. "That's great! I like the way you think, so why don't you call me daddy too?"

“ Know this. You have to do what I ask of you. And don’t ask any questions. ” His voice drops a few octaves. Instinctively, I place my hands over his chest, feeling his beating heart under my palm. “ Just do as I say and everything will be fine. ” His eyes lower to my lips. “ Or else…”  The lingering threat triggers the rebel side of mine. “ Or else? ” “ Or else…” He lifts his gaze to my eyes and shoots me a very promising smirk. “ I will make you. " ******** ******** A wild night out with her two best friends, away from her controlling boyfriend was all Natalie Whitman planned on the ocassion of her 20th birthday, but it didn't turn out quite right. Because now, she was marked and claimed by a man she doesn't even know and her boyfriend of two years is pounding the door. Hide the truth or pretend to be not marked—That's her only choice but it doesn't prove out to be easy when the Alpha who marked her comes barging in her life and it becomes impossible for her to ignore him.

"Three years ago, standing at the altar under the admiring gaze of hundreds, Gabriel declared that he would love only Catherine, unwaveringly, for the rest of his life. Three years later, after receiving a diagnosis of infertility, he heartlessly threw divorce papers in her face and cast her out onto the streets with nothing. Three years ago, Catherine, in her kindness, saved a girl who was about to be sold into a brothel, taking her in as a beloved younger sister. Three years later, watching the very girl she once saved walk down the aisle on her ex-husband's arm, standing in the same place she once stood, reciting the vows she once made, Catherine could only muster a bitter smile. She gently touched her flat stomach, where an unborn life, a gift from heaven, was beginning to form. She vowed to herself that she would leave Gabriel far behind, but... 'Catherine, you are mine. Divorce or not, you will forever belong to Gabriel.' 'Catherine, be good. Stop causing trouble, okay?' 'Catherine! If you dare to leave, I will break your legs!' 'Catherine, stay with me, I beg you...'"

Through tear-blurred vision, she saw a figure emerge—a man walking toward her, the fire parting in his wake. His eyes and claws gleamed gold in the firelight, and black and gilded scales covered his face and body, reminiscent of a serpent. But something more specific hovered at the tip of her tongue. His beastly form slowly faded, leaving a beautiful man with warm skin and firm flesh behind. “Help me,” she croaked. “I don't remember…” “Anything?” the stranger asked, his voice deep and ominous. “Only my name. Araheen,” she whispered, her lips trembling.“What happened to me? What is this place?” “You fell behind the Mad End's Wall.” A shadow of a smile crossed the stranger's lips, though it was far from reassuring. Before she could dwell on it, he slid his powerful arms beneath her, lifting her effortlessly as though she weighed nothing at all. “Who are you?” she asked, feeling small in his grasp. He studied her with an enigmatic gaze before replying, I'm Gildeon.” A pause.“Your husband.”

"Well, Myra,” he whispers, his voice low and seductive, "being late comes with consequences because I hate when somebody makes me wait." "What kind of consequences?" | asked, my heart pounding. Zayn's gaze intensified as he looked into my eyes. "The consequence, Cupcake," he huskily murmured, "that I'm going to have to punish you." ••• Myra Oberoi, a symbol of sweetness and kindness, held a heart of gold despite her troubled past. Zayn Hunt, the merciless Mafia King, had a reputation for crushing anyone who dared to cross him. He was a cold-hearted king, while she was a kind-hearted conqueror. He was a dangerous flame, and she was as fragile as water. Yet, their hearts entwined, and she ruled the heart of the Mafia who ruled the world. Her father tortured her throughout her life, and she thought Zayn was no saint. Yet, against all odds, he filled her life with happiness and love. However, fate played a cruel game, tearing them apart and leaving them to face a heartbreaking separation. What does fate have in store for these two souls? Will they ever find their way back to each other?

Corin never belonged to the Silver Stone Pack. As a mongrel born of a human mother, she exists at the bottom of the hierarchy desired, tolerated, and despised all at once. Her only refuge was Glacier, the flawless Alpha whose smile promised hope and whose attention felt like destiny. Corin believed her body and her future would finally belong to someone. On her eighteenth birthday, Glacier tears off the mask. Instead of a mating mark, Corin receives public humiliation and the truth: he murdered her father. The perfect Alpha is nothing more than a cold-blooded monster. Desire turns to shame. Love turns to blood. Fleeing into the rain, Corin collapses into the arms of Mason. The Alpha of the Brown Stone Pack is dangerous, tattooed, forbidden. He offers no fairy tales—only protection, vengeance, and a gaze that makes Corin feel something she never has before: wanted. Not pitied. Seen. As Glacier hunts her down, Mason teaches Corin how to command her body, her power and the hunger burning between them. In the shadows, through forbidden touches and rising tension, Corin realizes the truth: Her true haven was never in the light. It was always in the arms of a cruel Alpha.

A single rose can bind two fates forever. When her family’s fortunes crumble, Catherine never imagines her father’s desperation will lead him to barter her freedom. Promised as payment to the reclusive Lord Kieran—master of a castle steeped in legend and whispered curses—she is thrust into a world of shadows, secrets, and a predator’s gaze that both terrifies and captivates her. Kieran is more than a man; he is a wolf bound by an ancient curse, his life ruled by the prophecy: The rose will bring her. Catherine’s arrival is no accident—it is destiny. But claiming her means awakening a dangerous magic neither of them fully understands, one that threatens to unravel the fragile truce between man and beast. As moonlight sharpens the edge between desire and danger, Catherine must navigate the perilous game of a lord who guards both his heart and his curse with deadly resolve. In a place where every shadow hides a secret, every glance is a test, and love itself may be the deadliest bargain of all—one question remains: Will the rose bind them together… or doom them both? Perfect for fans of dark fairy-tale retellings, shifter romance, and gothic intrigue.

Falling in love with the wrong man was her worst mistake… but escaping him could cost her life. When Isabela met Alejandro Moretti on a trip to Greece, she never imagined the man who offered her a fairy-tale romance was hiding an empire built on blood, betrayal, and dark secrets. With his intense gaze and commanding presence, Alejandro won her over effortlessly, becoming her refuge, her devoted husband, and the perfect father to their children… but also her greatest deception. His love wrapped around her like a silk trap—beautiful and lethal. For years, Isabela lived in a bubble of happiness, unaware of the darkness lurking behind closed doors. Until the fire of violence reached her home, and she learned the truth: Alejandro wasn’t just the man she loved—he was the ruthless boss of one of the world’s most powerful and feared mafias. Now, caught in a war she never asked for, with enemies lurking in every shadow, Isabela must make the hardest decision of her life: continue loving the man who condemned her to this hell… or run from him—knowing Moretti never lets go of what belongs to him.

My loud, harsh breaths reverberated in the four walls of his cabin. I didn't realize when he locked me up here and pushed me too far from the door, blocking all my ways of escape. "M-Mr. S-Scott, please, what are you doing?" Cold shivers ran down my spine as I watched the man with horror-filled eyes who was advancing towards me with slow, dangerous steps. A sickening smile marred his lips as he silently relished my helplessness while uncuffing his sleeves. My fear skyrocketed. His husky chuckles ensued, churning my stomach as his shameless gaze lingered on my chest, making me quickly bring my arms to the front. "Something that I should have done before, Cupcake." He drawled out, leaving me shocked to the bone. That endearment. Travis? Dive into the dark and dangerous world of Travis Scott, a man who dupes people with his breathtaking charms and kind personality while confining his demons only to unleash them once he captures the angel he's been looking for years.

After years of suffering at the hand of her bullies, Brea Larson is determined to do whatever it takes to feel again even if it meant she had to kill to get it, and that's exactly what she set out to do when she falls in love with her former bully's fiancé, Ryder. Following through with her plans she persuaded them to spend the weekend in the woods. Her intentions; were to seduce and make Ryder her own while keeping the girlfriend occupied with someone else. Brea's scheme doesn't go as planned as they come across a group of Mafias who were about to carry out an execution. Brea is terrified, especially when she meets the gaze of their leader, Nicolai Fernandez. He is pure evil embodied. Unable to escape, they are given an ultimatum to run for their lives by an hour. If caught, the men had the right to do with them as they pleased. Will Brea manage to flee from the clutches of a man determined to possess her? Will she be able to escape a man so obsessed; he'd rather see her dead than away from him or will she be entrapped in his dark and deadly possession?