Reluctant Crossword Clue

Her life had been perfect once—a child on the way, the loving husband she thought she had, and being the Luna of the powerful Northern Range Pack. Then the cruel deception: finding husband and sister together and then the child taken from them. Shattered and banished to the edge of pack territory, Elena waits out a languid death. Fate, though, plays different hands when the infamous Alpha Lykan Blackwood knocks on the door and presents an old blood debt. Learning of the betrayal of Elena's husband James, Lykan takes Elena as payment instead of Elena's treacherous sister—the woman she was pledged to. Pressed into the harsh life of the Black Mountain Pack as their reluctant Luna, Elena is shocked to learn surprising secrets about her past and why she is childless. As dangers to his position multiply and Elena faces demons of the past, they create an uneasy partnership and then something more as their connection takes hold. In a world where loyalty is paid dearly and love more dearly, can traumatized souls heal one another? Or will the promise of treachery destroy their happiness when Elena's former pack returns to take back what they once relinquished?

Ayah Adler is a nineteen-year-old girl who had a traumatizing childhood growing up which forced her to leave her country and parents to move to Japan where she struggles to make ends meet. Working three jobs at a time was hectic in itself as she became entangled with a ruthless Billionaire who cared nothing about the hurt he caused others. But time plays Its part as she becomes reluctant to accept his demonic sides but will she ever feel what he feels? Elio Ford is a twenty-four-year-old young billionaire who owns one of the most influential security companies in the world and is known to have the nickname ’The Ruthless’. His traumatized heart makes him close his mind to anything that gives him pleasure but when he lands on an encounter with a girl so fierce, he loses his mind to grand indulgence. And when he offers her the contract, her refusal makes him more persistent in making her his. Will Ayah give in to her own desires when he makes her his or will the past haunt them both? Or what will happen when their path connects?

was sixteen years old when he was first killed; when he stood on Matthew's chest, his best friend, blood spurted from all over their bodies so that it was an exhausting and even battle between them until Matthew at last gave way to victory. Jaden breathed out, feeling the fires of hell all around him. His palm shook over the sheath of his sword, recalling that nightmare that steals sleep from his eyes: the moment he was kneeling on Matthew's chest, raising his rusty dagger, reluctant to take his soul, his eyeballs shaking turbulently and his chest rising and falling at an exhausting pace, and Matthew grabbed his trembling palm and led him towards his chest containing the dagger. Empty not to retreat, not to coerce and relieve him from his hell, but to kill him and prove to everyone that he will no longer be the prey. On that day, everyone around him was waiting, waiting for him to retreat in order to pounce on them, the mighty king's monsters, who made a vow to himself to turn his life into hell from the moment he was born and did the most heinous things.

She owed him everything. But when the time came to pay, it wasn’t money he wanted… Desperate to save her mother’s life, Isabel “Izzy” Vergara turns to a wealthy stranger—Seth Santiago—for help. She offers her body in exchange for the money, but when she hesitates, Seth refuses her. Yet, the next day, her mother’s surgery is mysteriously paid for, and Seth leaves her with a chilling message: Be ready when I come to collect. Months later, Izzy’s world is turned upside down when she learns Seth is her best friend Carl’s uncle. What begins as a reluctant debt soon turns into a dangerous addiction—one she can’t escape, no matter how much she tries. But just as she starts falling for the enigmatic billionaire, Carl reveals a shocking truth: Seth has a past dark enough to destroy them both. As secrets unravel and a vengeful ex-wife resurfaces, Izzy is forced to decide: Will she fight for a love that has already shattered her heart, or walk away before she loses everything—including her life?

Alina Hart, a sharp-tongued high school senior, hides behind sarcasm and wit to mask the pain of fractured family life. Shipped off to a prestigious boarding school by a father who no longer sees her, Alina struggles to find her place in a world of strict rules and academic expectations. Enter Professor Cristiano Wright, a 27-year-old literature teacher whose calm demeanor and sharp intellect make him both an enigma and a fascination. Tasked by Alina’s older brother Ethan to keep an eye on her, Wright finds himself drawn to the complexity beneath her rebellious exterior. In the backdrop of Shakespearean sonnets and Romantic poetry, Alina and Wright navigate an increasingly fraught connection. What begins as reluctant mentorship soon transforms into a tangled web of forbidden emotions, unspoken words, and an undeniable pull that neither can ignore. Set against the bustling corridors of an urban high school and the quiet corners of a library filled with unspoken confessions, Silent Flames, Forbidden Paths explores the fine line between admiration and desire, duty and vulnerability. As Alina and Wright grapple with their feelings, they must confront their moral boundaries and the cost of their choices. Can they maintain the lines they’ve drawn, or will their emotions blur them beyond recognition?

Hamlet Creek University, just by the name itself, already speaks prestigiousness and rarity. It is the most competitive secondary school within the busy borders of the metropolis of Jordan. Sprouted in the heart of the crowd-pleasing city, Hamlet Creek University has everything you could have experience in your life. And by saying everything, that includes mystery. This has been proven by a group of friends who, without them having a pinch of clue, have taken their high school life to a way more complicated adventure that not everyone has given the opportunity to experience. They should be thankful, though. Because high school is meant to be memorable in a way that it would remind you of your low scores and cheating moments with your seatmates, and not of the cold mysteries waiting to be unravelled, and the deaths of random people on random hours. Everyone knows that it all started on the Dean’s murder. But that’s the only thing they know. The Dean has died. After that, they are devastated, clueless, unaware that the Dean’s is just the starting point of a death chain. A lot more has to follow. The entire Hamlet Creek has only seen it as a normal and unfortunate event of dying and bidding goodbyes, but as for Travis and friends, it’s more than just that. Some of them has died, too, and that simply tells that it isn’t coincidence because it’s a hunting game and the culprit is on loose. The group knows nothing on how to stop the killer. They just have one thing that will serve as their guide—pictures. And with this, they will come to seek for the culprit and put period to this labyrinth of death and mystery. They will succeed. But not everyone can make it to the end.

Mateo Morales has been missing for two months. He disappeared with no sign left behind; no hints, and no clue as to where he went and why he disappeared. Eva Morales has been searching religiously for her brother. Being a lone wolf, her family is all she has and she will do anything for her brother. When all her clues lead to Laurence Baxter, she can't help but follow the breadcrumbs, but what she discovers might be more than what she bargained for.Laurence Baxter is wild, untamed, and spontaneous. He lives the life he wants and does what he wants; it works for him. But when his PI disappears, he can't help but feel responsible and he jumps right into a long search. When Mateo's sister, Eva, shows up and Laurence discovers her as his mate, he is thrilled to be so lucky. However, this prickly woman wants nothing to do with mates, nevermind a playboy like himself.Searching for Mateo and unraveling the Morales family secrets soon turns out to be more than he bargained for and Laurence finds more answers than he was hoping to find. After his mate runs from him, he has to make a decision: chase after her and rush into danger or let her be alone like she wants.*This is the third book in the Baxter Brothers series, though it can be read as a standalone novel*

I slept with my boyfriend’s twin brother, a Mafia don. One wild, drunk night, I gave in to him at his family’s masquerade ball, only to discover too late that the man who held me was not Nikolai my loving boyfriend. It was his twin Kieran Petrov, the feared don of the NY Mafia. A cruel man with blood on his hands, now I hold a devastating secret. I’m pregnant and I have no clue which of the brothers is the father. So when I decide to come clean to Nikolai and get closure before I leave the city, I find out a grave secret. Nikolai had been cheating on me with my best friend for years. So I run away, leaving it all behind and going into hiding. However, the Petrov family has enemies, does that want the only heir of the family dead. But Kieran tracks me down, he brings me back and present me with a deal I can’t refuse. Marry him and receive protection or stay where I am and die. I should hate him, in fact I do, he had known I was his brother’s girlfriend and still went ahead to make love to me. But I have no choice, I signed the contract and become Kieran’s contract wife. It was just for protection, nothing else, at least that’s what I think

An aspiring journalist with a strong sense of justice. A reluctant mafia heir. And a mystery box that binds them. Twenty years ago, Nicolette Meyers witnessed the brutality of the Sticks mafia family. Twenty years later, she made it her mission to bring them down using her pen name ‘Nico Sticks’. Unfortunately, her editor stole her idea and took all the benefits before firing her. And her only consolation was a mystery box from a fan. When a blind, homeless man offered her bank cards in exchange of being her tenant, she accepted the offer not realizing he is the real ‘Nico Sticks’ – the newly-crowned heir of the Sticks family. Steffan Miller was a loyal foot soldier for the mafia until he was appointed to become the head. When his box was stolen and was sent to Nicolette, he pretended to be homeless to search for it. When the police force learned the name of the new mafia leader, it became a cat and mouse chase between them and the police force with Nicolette becoming the perfect patsy for Steffan’s operations. When strong attraction and forbidden emotions got mixed in the mission, does betrayal taste sweeter when it comes from the man you love?

Elena Marquez has always lived a quiet life, caring for her little brother and helping her mother keep their small family shop alive. But peace has a price, and her late father’s debts have begun to circle back like vultures. When the DeLuca family — the most feared mafia clan in the city — comes to collect, Elena is forced into their world. There, she meets Adrian DeLuca, the infamous heir to the DeLuca empire. Cold, calculating, and dangerous, Adrian is everything she should fear — but something in his eyes unsettles her. What neither of them know is that Adrian’s father — the powerful Don Vittorio DeLuca — is the man responsible for her father’s death. As Elena is drawn deeper into the DeLuca world, tension turns to reluctant trust, and trust slowly burns into something far more dangerous — love. But when the truth comes to light, Elena must decide if she can ever forgive the blood that runs through Adrian’s veins… and Adrian must choose whether to remain his father’s heir, or burn everything down to protect the woman he loves. A story of love, vengeance, and power, Mafia’s Heir is a slow-burn, heart-wrenching romance that will keep you hooked until the very last page.