Scraped Knuckles

At three in the morning, I stare at the unknown transaction record on my phone screen, my fingertips turning cold. The record is for a payment of 2980 dollars, made for an executive suite at the Wisteria. The time of payment was 8:00 pm last night. My husband, Tristan Griffin, is a detective. He was on the night shift last night. I clutch my phone, my knuckles turning white as I text Tristan, "I just saw your credit card bill for a hotel stay last night. What's up with that?" His reply is instant. "Our team had to work overtime at the last minute, so they put us up at the hotel. I forgot to tell you about it." I scan the text and sputter. The Wisteria is located in the western region of the city, which is on the other end from where his squad is stationed. I don't press him for more details and click on the bank app on my phone. Having found the vendor's address through the payment record, I sent it to my best friend, Rowena Sheffield, who works as a private detective. She replies instantly with an "OK" emoji and follows up with, "Give me a second. I'll find out everything you want in a jiffy!"

On our third wedding anniversary, I brought a gift to my husband’s office. Walking past the secretary's suite, I stopped dead. A king-size bed had been set up inside. A young woman in a designer dress was sprawled across it, a handheld game console in her hands, surrounded by imported snacks of every variety. "Kevin, the lunch you ordered yesterday was pre-packaged meals. Marcus and I both felt sick after eating it. Today, make sure it's from The Palace Hotel." Kevin -- my husband's personal assistant -- bowed and scraped before her, his face a mask of obsequious flattery. "Mrs. Thorne, please don't worry. Mr. Thorne made it very clear -- everything should be tailored to your preferences and the baby's. He knows you love the chef at The Palace Hotel, so he set up a standing VIP account for you. Anything you want, anytime." She was Mrs. Thorne? Then what exactly was I? My brow furrowed. I glanced down at the wedding ring I'd worn for years. The girl beamed, radiant. "For the baby's arrival, my husband is throwing a lavish yacht party. Every important person in New York is getting an invitation. I want the whole world to know that I'm the love of his life, and that our son will be blessed by the most powerful people before he's even born. The champagne and flowers must be the finest available -- no budget limit. Our child is going to have the best of everything from day one." I stared at the gentle swell of her belly and called my father. "Dad, that divorce agreement you drew up three years ago -- you can have the lawyers send it over now."

When I faint due to my hemophobia after seeing blood on the training grounds, my mate, Alpha Yves Golding, is busy applying medicine to his assistant, Renee Lawson, who has only scraped her skin. After I wake up, the first thing I do is drag my weak and exhausted body to the Elders' Council to request something I never imagined I would ask for—to break my mate bond with Yves. Yves swiftly approves the request, then turns confidently to his Beta and says, "Come on, she's just throwing a tantrum. She's an orphan. Other than staying by my side, she has nowhere else to go. She can't possibly leave me for real. "Besides, aren't there three days left until the Council processes breaking a mate bond? When she comes back regretfully to beg me, I'll withdraw the application. As long as the process isn't finished, she's still mine." Then, Yves uploads a photo on Wolf Net. It features him and Renee standing shoulder-to-shoulder while showing off their muscles in the mirror. They are also gazing at each other with smiles on their faces. The caption reads, "Every bead of sweat deserves to be remembered." Everyone showers him with praise, teasing compliments, and blessings, and every single one stabs into my chest like a dagger. Still, I don't fall apart. I calmly pack my belongings and then pick up my encrypted phone. "Uncle Harrison, it's me. Please arrange a flight back to the Silvermoon pack for me as soon as possible." However, after my departure, Yves is the one who falls apart instead.

My boyfriend Orion was the leading hunter of the Bright Moon Pack, who was sent on an S-class mission three years ago. Before he left, he told me to wait for his return, after which he would mark me. Holding him to his promise, I waited for over a thousand days, and he eventually did come back. I was delighted, but just ten days after I blissfully prepared for the marking ceremony, I overheard him speaking with his fellow hunters. "Are you sure you're going to mark Elara? What about Dahlia and Emery? Especially Emery—the pup's two years old and looks just like you. There's no hiding it at all." "Hell, the whole thing about a secret mission was a farce, to cover up for you hanging around for Emery's birth. If Elara knew the truth…" Orion shot his deputy a sharp glare right then. "Just tell Dahlia to keep her mouth shut and hide the pup. Elara's the only one for me." Dahlia? The pup? As it turned out, in those three years I was worried sick for him, he had a pup with another woman. My knuckles clenched, I returned to my room and called my father. "Dad, I want to go home."

On the eve of our wedding, Ellis Stewart threw a tantrum and hurled the wedding ring I had given her. I spent the entire night searching through the icy lake until my numb fingers finally closed around it. When I went to return the ring to her, I overheard her speaking with a close friend. “How many times have you toyed with Jonathan already? “It’s been three years since Gregory’s passing, and you still can’t forget him?” “If Jonathan hadn’t clung to me three years ago, begging me to pick him up, how could Gregory have died in that car accident?” Ellis replied coldly. “He’s the one who killed Gregory. Everything that happened was nothing but his own doing.” My knuckles whitened around the ring, and for an instant, it felt as though all the blood in my body had turned cold. So Ellis had never loved me at all. My unwavering devotion had been nothing more than a crucial piece of her revenge. In silence, I let the ring fall from my hand. Then I pulled out my phone. “Dad, Mom, I’ve figured things out. I agree to the marriage you’ve arranged. Let the wedding be in three days.”

My name is Elvira Rossi, daughter of Don Rossi, head of the Itavelle mafia family. Three months ago, my father was killed. Our operations were stripped bare, nothing left. The accounts were draining fast, and the family still had mouths to feed. Then a DNA report surfaced out of nowhere. According to it, I was the LaRosa family's long‑lost true heiress, missing for eighteen years. Money, at last, had found its way to me. For the sake of my people, I was willing to set aside my pride and play the part of a sheltered heiress. The car sent to escort me back to the estate broke down halfway up the mountain? I steadied it with one hand and carried it the rest of the way to the hilltop manor. The fake heiress dissolved into tears, accusing me of pushing her? I answered by striking the century-old tree in the courtyard, splitting it clean through. She went silent immediately. My fiancé sent bodyguards to "teach me self‑defense"? My two friends politely introduced them to the concept of being permanently embedded in a wall. As my so‑called "family" shook in fear, my knuckles cracked softly. After all, before inheriting the mafia, I inherited my father's favorite rule: "If violence can solve it, don't waste words."

"Silvia Ironwolf, for your crime of murder, you will be forever banished from the Packs," Omega Rovit intoned. Another humiliation. To have my fate read out to me by the lowliest member of the Ironwolf Pack while all the others turned their backs. Rovit was loving it. He had worshipped Jedan. He leaned forward, his face close to mine, his spit landing on my face, "And if you ever return to the Wildlands," he finished, "You will be torn limb from limb, your remains fed to the vultures." If my hands had not been bound by the leather mitts, shackled together with silver, I would have ripped his sneering face from his skull and fed that to the vultures. My nails scraped against the soft leather interior of the mitts. My iron nails. The pack guardsmen blunted many tools before giving up on removing the iron from my fingertips. The iron was part of me now. They said that Jedan was barely recognizable when they found him. They said that the iron was a curse that had been bred out of the pack centuries ago. They said that it was my curse that killed Jedan, future Alpha of Firewolf. It was Jedan's inability to understand 'No' that killed him. Now I will be punished. Banished forever from my pack, from the Wildlands. From my love, Vuko. The brother of the man I have slain. * Four years later and the Wildlands packs face a grave threat to their existence. Vuko, the reluctant Alpha of Firewolf, believes they need Silvia if they have any chance of survival. *He* needs Silvia. Will Vuko find Silvia? Will Silvia forgive the packs for the injustice done to her? Is she truly cursed? Are Vuko and Silvia destined for each other?

“Yes, I am Dom. Your dom.” Did he say that last part or I imagined it? Letting out a shaky breath, I slid away from his lap. The front of my panties, scraped against his lap slowly as I slid from him and his light grey eyes darkened. I had no idea my pussy was so drenched that it left a mark on his pants. Jesus! Who is this man and what has he done to me? Soon I was seated beside him, his thighs pressing close to mine as we both drank. Electricity kept shooting tingles up my legs and I felt light-headed. He was silent and I suddenly felt nervous like I needed to speak to this deliciously fair man that sat brooding. Clearing my throat, I tapped his leg—unconsciously on the spot my pussy left—and he looked up, smirking at me. My mouth went dry immediately. “Is there something you want?” he asked. “Uh…No, I mean yes. Is this normal for you?” His handsome features morphed into a frown, “Having a girl leave a wet spot on my pants or taking wine in a bar?” I just discovered that my poor, useless, and filthy father who died a month ago left me a luxurious Cabin in Bakersfield. HOW!? Wish I insisted on that question. I shouldn’t have taken the plunge and moved into that house, but I am a broke, poor virgin and will soon be homeless, so I did. It might as well be the worst or best decision I have ever made because, in 12 hours, my life changed. COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER ON THE BOOK COVER!!!! contact the author for it to be removed if there is an issue

"You are driving me, crazy girl," I said I took her earlobes in between my teeth and scraped them sexually, her moans filled my ears and I bite it harder. "I am now an immortal. I got my own power." I muttered under me breathe. "Wait a little!" she said as she shoved me into the . I slumped on the as I attempted to quell my emotion. she twerked her asses in a way that sent some sensation into my spine. I groaned and held my . Suddenly, she turned her face to me and I gave her a lustful smile. she frowned. "Who are you?" she asked in a cozy voice as she paced up and down like a giant warrior ready for war. "What do you mean, baby?" I asked lustfully, and my gazed swiveled around and I saw the mirror overlooking her back. Had she discovered the new me? My eyes flickered. I stood up in a flash of a speed of a Vampire and strode to the window. I saw the seven birds as they swiveled and sang the usual song. My face changed as my fang shoot out. "I am a vampire!" I yelled. There were four werewolves kingdoms in the Oasis of Credos and those kingdoms enclosed that of the human being. There was peace until a college boy turned into a vampire. How did he? He tried to unravel the new him, and he met the seven birds. He composed an army of Vampires. The werewolves won't accept his revenge mission as he targeted both the human and the werewolves. A man called HUNTER. decided to eradicate all immortals, along with his brother and his daughter, who is the secret crush of the vampire boy. Will he accomplish his mission?

Tied to a chair, it scraped against the concrete as Victor struggled. "Damn it, lady, I’ll give you this—you’ve got balls that even some men lack." he smiled, blood dripping from his mouth. Celestina pulled back the slide, the metallic click echoing in the quiet room as a bullet locked into place, ready to fire. She Pressed the gun to his head, "Are those your last words?" she asked coldly. ....................... How do you find peace when you're married to chaos itself? You don't. You become chaos. What would you do if your husband who murdered you and slaughtered your family proposed marriage again, and didn't recognize you? For Aria D'Amore, the answer is simple: marry him again, and make him pay for every drop of blood. When Aria is forced into a peace-treaty marriage with her family's enemy, she believes the war is over. Instead, Dante Vallenis uses their wedding celebration to massacre every D'Amore, making her watch before ordering her execution. She survives, barely, and "dies" in the eyes of the world. Eight years later, she returns as Celestina Vale, the mysterious Mistress of The Graveyard, an underground network that controls the Italian mafia through secrets and assassinations. When she manipulates her way into marrying Dante again, he doesn't recognize the stranger he's obsessed with controlling. But as she systematically destroys his empire from within, she falls for his uncle, the one man who tried to save her that night, and the one man who harbors a secret that could shatter everything she's built. So what will it be, love or revenge?