Shielded

The first day I return to the country, my future mother-in-law, Sophia Damer, smacks a check against my face and says, "Here's five million dollars. Leave my son alone. The Simpsons cannot accept a gold-digging nobody like you!" Before I can even explain myself, the young woman in a white dress hiding behind her says, "Please don't do this, Sophia. If this young lady treats Jay well enough, I don't mind caring for him with her, too." I chuckle. So, Sophia and Crystal Richmond, my half-sister, think that I'm the evil mistress who tried stealing her man away from her, when Jayson Simpson was my boyfriend the entire time. And yet, Crystal still thinks that she's the legitimate one instead. However, seeing that Crystal still doesn't know who I really am, I pick up the check without even looking at it and stuff it into her V-neck dress. "Nice acting. Here's your reward." Then, I take out a black card and fling it onto the table. "Here's ten million dollars, lady. Tell your son to stay away from me and stop bothering me. I find him disgusting! "Oh, and by the way," I say, pointing at Crystal, who is still being shielded behind Sophia's body. "Might I remind you that this young woman you're protecting is just the bastard kid my dad brought home last year. "If you're thinking of using her to get close to the Richmonds, I'm afraid that you're barking up the wrong tree!"

I saved the life of Don Stefano Marino of the Marino family. The moment a bullet was about to strike him, I was the one who shielded him from it. Because of the life debt he owed me, Stefano decided that I would be the one marrying him instead of my older sister, Anna Costa, in the marriage alliance. But on our wedding night, Stefano would rather drink himself into a stupor somewhere in the city than consummate our marriage with me. Like a naive fool, I thought that I'd be able to melt his heart of ice someday with my love. But it had been less than five years when Stefano brought a kid, who resembled him, and Anna back. "Anna has suffered tremendously during her time overseas while trying to raise her child on her own. I need to make it up to her." Then, Stefano passed the divorce agreement to me. "You've hogged the position as the Donna for so many years. It's time for you to give it back to her." Only then did I find out that Stefano had actually spent the night with Anna on the night of our wedding. I pulled out the pregnancy report that I had meant to surprise Stefano with, only for him to rip it into shreds. "I don't need another child." Once those icy words fell, I was sent into the operating theater by force, where I suffered from heavy bleeding afterward, resulting in the deaths of me and my unborn baby. When I woke up again, I saw Stefano, who was about to get shot. This time, I shoved Anna in his direction.

Two men came forward pointing thier guns on Daddy and Bhai. Seeing that, Mom screamed loudly in horror. I wanted to scream too but I had lost my voice with fear especially, when that man's dark orbs were dagered on me. "Wh...what do you all want?! Money? Gold? Anything else....take it...just take it! B....but please... please let them go..." Mom cried out as I just stood thier motionless. I didn't even had the strength to comfort her. Fear was coercing in my veins like blood. "Anything?" The man finally spoke. "Yes!" He looked at me with an amused expression. "Then..." He pointed his gun at me as I was hiding behind my mother shaking like a leaf. "... I'll take this one." My eyes widened. We all looked at him horrified and Mom shielded me behind her. "What's wrong? Didn't you just say I can take anything? Then I'll take your daughter." He winked at me. _______________ Rahina, a simple bubbly girl had it all perfect. A perfect loving family, friends and now a handsome, charming, understanding and gentle fiancé. A perfect man every girl dreams off. All she could think about was being his bride soon and spend the rest of her life with him. But what happens when a mysterious handsome man infiltrates her home suddenly and points his gun at her innocent family kidnapping her in bright daylight? Who is this man? What does he wants? Why is he doing this? Will she be able to fight back to protect her dignity and feelings for her fiancé or...fall deeper into his world, his life and end up falling into something much more dangerous of his..... Love! Dive in to find out....

My fated mate, Alpha Horton, didn't love me. He loved another omega, Chloe. In my past life, Chloe took her own life in despair over him, and Horton was convinced I had driven her to it out of jealousy. He hated me to the bone. Even bound by our mate bond, he refused to touch me. But when a rival pack’s silver bullet flew toward me, he shielded me with his own body. As his life drained away, he wrenched his cold hand from mine, his golden eyes filled with nothing but regret and disgust. "Sienna," he said, "my one regret is not rejecting you from the very beginning." After he died, the pack fell apart. Every member cursed me, screaming about why it wasn't me who died, but their great Alpha. It felt like my heart had turned to ash. I swallowed a vial of liquid silver before his grave. When I opened my eyes, I was back ten years in the past, shortly after we were mated. The cold voice of the Moon Goddess echoed in my mind. "Child, I will give you one more chance. Fulfill the three deepest wishes in Horton's heart, and in exchange for your life, your soul will earn its true freedom." I knew his wishes. To break our mate bond. To be with Chloe. To ensure the survival of the Snow Moon pack. This time, it wasn't too late. The freedom he craved, the woman he loved, the pack he swore to protect. I would give it all to him, using the very life he loathed to do it. But when I granted his every wish, in return, he wept with regret, calling me his only fated mate.

I knew my husband, Josh Perkins, had faked his death and taken on his younger twin brother's identity—but I never said a word. Instead, I went straight to the commander of the military district and filed an official report of my husband's death, requesting his name be permanently removed from the service rolls. In my last life, my brother-in-law died in an accident. Josh gave up his rank as regimental commander, abandoned his own name, and stepped into his brother's shoes—all to spare his fragile sister-in-law from becoming a widow. Back then, I recognized him immediately. I confronted him and demanded to know why he was pretending to be a dead man. But Josh just looked through me, cold as a winter morning. "Riley, I know you're grieving Josh. But I'm not him. Don't mistake me for my brother." He shielded that delicate sister-in-law of his behind him, then shoved me into the icy river and warned me not to harbor delusions. Later, our five-year-old daughter cried, asking why her daddy didn't want her anymore. For that, she was dragged to the cowshed for "reflection"—left there, starving, for three days and nights. My mother-in-law called me a curse, a jinx who'd killed her son, and threw my daughter and me out with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Josh made sure everyone knew I'd "gone mad"—that I was lusting after my brother-in-law before my husband was even cold in the ground. The whole town turned their backs on us. That last winter, I wandered the streets with my girl, dazed and numb, until the cold finally took us both. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back to the very day Josh buried his old life and stole his brother's.

Meeting one’s mate was supposed to be a wonderful thing For Aurora however, it was hate at first sight. Attending Twilight Academy had always been her dream. But that dream quickly turns into a nightmare when she discovers she’s mated to the Lycan Prince. Theron Grey. Theron Grey would stop at nothing to make her life miserable. His life's mission, have her kicked out of Twilight Academy. Lycan’s, dominant ones with royal bloodlines, don’t get mated to mutts. Or do they? Because Theron, it seemed, was the exception. ***** ****** “Mates?” I whispered. It couldn’t be. “You’re my mate?” I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper. His expression darkened more. “Don’t ever say those words again,” he growled. Being his mate was disgraceful. A fact he was desperate to keep hidden. What exactly was the Moon Goddess high on when she made this ridiculous match?! “Well then, reject me!” I snapped. I was tired of being treated like I was nothing. “I can’t! That’s the thing!” he roared back. For some odd reason, rejection wasn’t an option. We were stuck with each other. Now, I was trapped in a school with a mate who loathed my very existence and wanted me gone. “This school cannot contain the both of us Leave!” he ordered. I met his gaze head-on. “Over my dead body.” ******** Aurora had been shielded her whole life like a secret. But Twilight Academy would force her to uncover the truth She belonged here more than she ever imagined. And beneath Theron’s cold, cruel exterior, maybe there was something else. A reason he needed her gone. Maybe pushing her away wasn’t just about who she was. Maybe it was about what he was afraid would be uncovered.

Marco - The Don of the Cosa Nostra, cold, heartless and shielded, let's no one in. Conceals his pain. He is engaged to Roxy, for business. With no love or chemistry between them, their marriage is set to be nothing more than business. Lucia - An ordinary woman, with nothing special about her, or so she believes. She runs on emotions. Suffering from anxiety attacks and crazy moments. She's the complete opposite of Marco. Like him, she is engaged, only it's forced on her. Lucia - Life was great until a year ago, I had just been told about my mother's death to watch the love of my life and sister shot before my eyes. The loving father I once had, now cold, calculated, sells me. My newest boyfriend's last quest for me leaves me facing Marco - The Don. I won't go down without a fight. Keeping me captive in his great fortress, I can't escape. What I thought was my life, crumbled down when I found out the secrets my family had hidden. Even Marco couldn't comprehend how deep into the Cosa Nostra I have been since the day I was born. Marco - I knew it was a mistake taking her home, and keeping her hostage until I uncovered the truth. That mistake led to me feeling. It led me to want her like I had never wanted anyone else before. She ripped me open and pulled the feelings free I had buried and tried hiding throughout my life. She just walked in, blew up my life and said, deal with it. Like emotion isn't a weakness. PLEASE BE AWARE. Do not read if you are sensitive to the TW topics. This is one of my most open, raw, and descriptive books. It isn't often it fades to black.

I had just given birth when the country sent me on a secret mission that kept me undercover for seven years. When it finally ended, I came home on leave. I was eager to see my husband and children, whom I had missed every single day. However, the moment my car stopped at the gate, I saw my two children—my most precious treasures—being shoved down the steps by a woman. They tumbled hard, and they were covered in bruises. The next second, three snarling wolfhounds were released from the house, and they pounced on the children with bared teeth. Fury surged through me, and I charged forward. I got the dogs away with a few swift kicks and punches. Amid the animals’ pitiful howls, my ten-year-old son instinctively shielded his sister. His young face was pale with fear. Meanwhile, my eight-year-old daughter snapped out of her daze and trembled as she urged me to leave. “Miss, run! You hurt her dogs, and if Dad finds out, he won’t let you get away with it!” I forced down my anger and gently said, “She set the dogs on you first. Even if your dad were here, he’d protect you just like I did.” I did not expect this to make their eyes instantly fill with tears. Alarmed, I was about to ask what was wrong when a woman’s arrogant voice rang out. “You vagrant! I have a close relationship with Martin Gray, and I’m also the lady of the Gray family! “You and these two brats who dirtied my house aren’t leaving in one piece today!” I froze for a second before I took a deep breath and called my husband. “Martin, who’s this woman proclaiming to be the lady of the Gray family? Where did she come from? You’d better have a good explanation for this. And tell me, when did the house I left for John and Katy get a new owner?”

My husband, Luca, had a childhood sweetheart named Sophia. Years ago, during a brutal gang shootout, Sophia shielded him from the worst of the bloodshed, and since then, she had suffered from severe PTSD. Because of that, Luca would push aside family business every year and fly to our estate on a secluded island off the coast of Sicily to spend three months “helping her recover.” “Victoria, she lost her mind because of me,” he told me. “I’m responsible for her. I hope you can be magnanimous.” So, I nodded. And eventually, I got used to the fact that every year, my husband would disappear for three months to fulfill what he called a moral obligation. That was until the day I flew in without warning to inspect the family’s money-laundering network on that island and saw him. In the town square, under the bright Mediterranean sun, Luca was standing there with a five-year-old boy by his side. “Papa, how long do we have to hide on this island?” the child asked. “I want to go to New York. I want to see the Empire State Building.” Luca laughed gently and scooped him up in his arms. With his other hand, he held Sophia’s. “Antonio, be good,” he said affectionately. “Papa’s position is… complicated. When you turn eighteen and pass the family’s initiation ceremony, I’ll kill that woman and her dead old man. Then, I’ll take you back to New York to inherit the entire Corleone family.” I stood in the shadows, unseen. Slowly, I lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around me as their voices drifted over, the conversation getting more vicious as it went. Sophia leaned into his chest, her tone sweet and coy. “Luca, I’ve been with you for seven years without a name or a title. How much longer are our son and I supposed to live like ghosts?” Luca sighed. “I don’t have a choice. The old man in the Corleone family is still alive. I married Victoria just to get her territory. Don’t worry. I’ve been adding something to her milk every day. She’ll never get pregnant in this lifetime. My family bloodline will only continue through you.” The last thread of reason in my mind snapped. In the six years of marriage we shared, I had been infertile. I’d taken countless hormone injections to stimulate ovulation. I’d knelt in church and prayed more times than I could count. Yet, all along, the devil poisoning me was my own husband. The initial shock faded quickly into rage. I crushed out my cigarette and pulled out my phone. Then, I dialed my uncle, the family’s clean-up man. “Uncle Rocco,” I said calmly, “Luca betrayed me. He betrayed the family. Order a coffin in the finest black walnut for me, and make it large, large enough to fit a family of three.”