Skeletons Of Society

Elara Vance was never a bride...She was a transaction. To save her brother’s life and settle her father’s crumbling debts, she sold herself into a three year "Repayment Marriage" to the coldest man in the city, Julian Vane. For three years, she endured his frozen silence, his public indifference, and the cruel whispers of a high society that saw her as nothing more than a social prop. She played the role of the perfect, submissive wife, hiding her world-class talent and her breaking heart behind a mask of glass. She waited for a spark of warmth, a sign that the man who held her at night felt more than just obligation. Then came the morning after their final night together, the night she thought finally changed everything. Instead of a "good morning," Julian tossed a manila envelope onto the bed. "The debt is paid, Elara. Sign the papers and leave. I’m done with you." Julian thought he was finally rid of the woman he blamed for his past. He didn't expect her to sign the papers with a smile. He didn't expect her to vanish into thin air, leaving his massive mansion echoing with a silence that felt like a curse. But Elara didn't leave alone. She left with a secret, a tiny heartbeat that Julian would never know about. Now, the hunter has become the haunted. As Elara rises from the ashes of her old life to become a woman the world can't ignore, Julian is left to realize that the wife he threw away was the only thing holding his world together. The debt is settled. The game has changed. And this time, he’s the one who will have to pay... with his soul.

"I know, Dad, but Omegas like us have a hard time in this society and I heard the college is built up of ranks, and only wolves with rich parents are allowed to attend it. Lovely is just lucky to get a scholarship there now that they are trying to accept ordinary students. They despise low-class wolves like us, and I can't stand their judgment and prejudice," Daniel clenched his fists into tight balls, anger apparent in his voice. "Enough with the negativity. They are just werewolves like us and think they will like my little girl," Mom commented and continued eating her vegetables. "Daniel is right, even if you don’t want to admit it. They may be werewolves like us, but they treat us Omegas as inferior. They don't see us as equals because of our rank. It's infuriating," my dad commented, his dark eyes burning with fury. "With all the things I have heard about their treatment of Omegas, I don't think I will like them," I admitted, feeling a bit fuzzy. *** Amber Darlington, a young black omega, moves to a new pack with her family looking for a fresh start after being banished from their pack. But instead of finding acceptance among her new packmates, she finds discrimination, bullying, and oppression. She is particularly targeted by Mason, the Alpha’s son, who sees her as an outsider and authority figure. As Mason's prejudice threatens to tear the pack apart, Amber must decide whether to stand up for herself and her family or suffer in silence. Will Amber be able to break free of Mason's oppressive reign? Or will she remain a victim of systemic discrimination?

I've returned to the Ashcroft family for three years. All three homecoming parties have ended in failure. At the first party, I was accused of stealing a watch in front of the guests. Because of that, I became the entire elite society's laughingstock. In the second party, I was pushed into a swimming pool. As such, I suffered from a high fever and was comatose for three days. It almost killed me. In the third party, a forged paternity test was hurled in my face. My own mother announced that she had cut all ties with me on the spot. Every party ended with the fake heir, Everest Ashcroft, bursting into tears and admitting his mistakes. But the entire family kept telling me, "Everest is deathly afraid of you obtaining our love meant for him. That's why he threw a small tantrum. "You're already acknowledged as a son of the Ashcrofts. Why must you keep latching onto this matter so pettily?" In the fourth party held on the fourth year, Everest threatens to off himself. In order to save him, I fall from the rooftop, causing my right leg to suffer from a comminuted fracture. My entire family huddles around Everest, who's obviously shaken, and keeps showering him with love and care. The butler is ordered to pass on their message to me. "Know your place. Do not disturb Everest when he's in bedrest." As I caress my broken leg, I keep laughing until tears stream down my cheeks. It's not that Everest doesn't want the Ashcrofts to give away their love to me. It's just that the Ashcrofts don't want to acknowledge me as a part of them at all. In that case, I might as well leave this family permanently.

After Letitia was sold to the Duke of Kerstone, the least she expected was the Duke telling her they were to get married. To say she was bewildered was an understatement. *** "Married?" She echoed his voice in the carriage and the man simply nodded his green emeralds twinkling in delight. Why he seemed happy, she had no absolute idea. He was getting married to her! An uncouth, rude woman! He knew nothing about her! Why in hell does he seem happy?! *** She had planned to marry the man that she loved and he loved her in return and not just jump into the marriage with a man, even though handsome and warm, she didn't know a thing about, though it was the custom and norms of the society very well known to her as well. But what choice did she have? She was sold. He had bought her. She belonged to him now. All of her. Her body and her soul. She had one thing to be thankful for though. Escaping the evil clutches of her Stepmother and her two daughters. Her situation was like jumping from fire into hot oil. Except the hot oil wasn't all that very much bad. Will she agree to marry him or just go along with her plan of running away? But, everyone has a dark side... A dark part they so badly want to bury, a secret they want to keep... Even if it's impossible. But when that secret is threatened after thrown into a life of dramas and setups? Will that secret remain a secret to the end? That dark side, would it still be buried until the end? Letitia really hoped it did. Find out in *THE DUKE'S BRIDE IS A MONSTER!* COVER DOESN'T BELONG TO ME. CREDITS TO OWNER.

Th‍e⁠ir marriage was a transaction.⁠ Th‍eir war was p‍e‌rsonal. T⁠hei‌r pas‌sion was unforeseen. Elara Vega is an⁠ artist whose life i‌s p‌ainted in bold⁠, rebellio‌us colors. When a devastating betrayal by he‌r‍ own family threa‍tens to de⁠stroy everything‍ her⁠ father built, she is‌ given a brut⁠al ch‍oice: sell her‌ freedom to save his le⁠gacy. ⁠Kaelan Sterling is a billionaire fortress of ice and ambit‍ion. To secu⁠re a cruc‌ial merger and shield his empire from a l‌urking threat, he needs‍ one thing: the per⁠fect, unto⁠uchable wife. He doesn't want lo‌ve; he wants a business‍ pa‍rtner. Bound by a cold, clinical contract, they a⁠re‌ enemies from‍ the start. He sees her as a chaotic liability. She sees him as a heartless tycoon. Their for‌ced proximity is a battle of‌ will‍s, fi⁠lled⁠ with sha‌rp word‌s and eve‌n sharper attra‍ction. Bu‍t in t‍he gilded cag⁠es of penthouses⁠ a‌nd high‌-society ga‍la⁠s, a dangerou‍s fire ignites. As a c‍ommon en‍emy closes in, their fa⁠ke r⁠elationship begins to feel terrifyingly real. The lines between strategy and surrender b‍lur. But when hi‍dden truths surface and old‍ wounds are ripped open, their fragile trus⁠t shatt⁠ers. Now, El⁠ara must‌ decide if the man behind th‍e fortune‌ i‍s worth the ultimate risk, and Kaelan must learn that some bonds are too powerful to be broken-even by a billion-dollar contract.

*You love me? No… you can’t love a maid—a daughter of a prostitute, a one-night mistake like me. We’re not from the same world. We can never be together. It’s a dream that won’t come true.* *Lily, that doesn’t matter. I don’t care where you’re from or what your past is. I love you—and that’s the only truth that matters.* Lily has always known her place—silent, invisible, and unworthy of love, especially from someone like Sebastian Kingsley, heir to a billion-dollar empire. Her life has been shadowed by the shame of her past—being the daughter of a high-class prostitute and born from a one-night mistake. Desperate for income as her mother’s illness worsens, Lily takes a job as a maid in the Kingsley mansion. She never expected to steal the heart of the city’s most powerful billionaire. But Sebastian, weighed down by family expectations and haunted by addiction and sleepless nights, sees something in her that no one else does—peace. Hope. To the world, Sebastian has everything. But behind the wealth and status is a man slowly breaking. Only Lily sees the truth behind the mask. Their love is passionate… but forbidden. Sebastian is already engaged—to Lily’s sister. The woman society believes is perfect for him. Lily is just a maid—powerless and easily disposable. She wants to run, to protect herself from the heartbreak she knows is coming. But how do you walk away from the only person who’s ever made you feel truly alive? Can their love survive the storm of betrayal, societal expectations, and painful truths? Or will duty and deception tear them apart ? In a world ruled by power, status, and secrets, Sebastian and Lily fight for a love that was never meant to be.

From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sexy standalone novel about the baddest bad boy doctor and the sweet little nurse that he falls for. When I left my small hometown years ago, I never expected to come back. I certainly never expected that when I did, I'd be working for him. He's the town's doctor. He's supposed to be a respectable member of society, a pillar for the community. He's supposed to have come a long way from the bad boy who rode a motorcycle in high school. But he hasn't. One glance from those lustful eyes looking at me tells me that he has the same voracious appetites that he did when we were younger. Only it's not quite the same stare. It's more urgent. It's more intense. I'm not the same nerdy girl who tutored him. I've grown up, developed fertile curves that I know he finds irresistible. In this small town, rumors travel fast, and the family doctor can't be seen as a player. So he does try to resist. And I do too. But with every smoldering glance and moment of sexual tension, we find our barriers breaking down. After a stressful night of touch-and-go baby delivery, a moment of elation overcomes our inhibitions. It seems like maybe we'll need to confront those rumors sooner rather than later, especially before I begin to show the results of that night. Can I give this doctor the family he has always desired?

At my three-year anniversary dinner with Vincent Hartwell, his secretary deliberately poured red wine over my head. I finally reached my breaking point and slapped her in front of all the guests. That very night, the incident spread like wildfire through high society circles. When my mother saw the leaked bedroom photographs of the two of them, the shock triggered a heart attack. She collapsed and died on the spot. When I learned the news, I sank to the floor and cried all night. Meanwhile, Vincent stayed by his secretary's side, comforting her. When he came home, he brushed past my disheveled state without a glance, loosened his tie, and spoke in that careless tone of his. "I've already buried the story. Don't let it happen again. "I have a meeting tonight. Pull yourself together and get to the villa within thirty minutes. Madison needs you." As he walked toward the door, he added over his shoulder, "She's fragile right now because of the pregnancy. If you do anything to harm my only child, I won't forgive you." I listened without crying or arguing. However, after he left, I pulled the divorce agreement from my drawer that I had prepared weeks ago. Beneath it lay my own positive pregnancy test. 'Vincent, I'll leave to find my biological father in three days.' This time, I was really leaving. I would make sure my father paid for every grievance I had endured over the last few years.

Valaria Westingdale is the Head Enforcer and Princess of the Westingdale panther pride. Her father, the King, William Westingdale, disapproves of her ambitions; he allowed her to be Head Enforcer until she is old enough to marry, but only just. King William believes in the traditions of their society; their pride is superior and meant to rule over all other preternatural creatures, every pack should keep their bloodlines pure, and women are only suitable for breeding. With the pressure of her betrothal and her father’s domineering thumb, Valaria would seem to be trapped in a life she doesn’t want. However, all that changed the day she was sent to spy and procure information from the wolf pack that just moved nearby. Dominic, the beta of his pack, caught Valaria watching him. Despite being from different species, they are captivated by one another. Soon, they discover that they are soulmates - nature’s predetermined physical, emotional, and metaphysical bond - a feat they believed impossible until now. Tradition says that soulmates can only connect to their own kind, and anything otherwise would be blasphemous. Something King William believes would be a threat to all preternatural kind, especially panthers. When he learns of his daughter’s bond with a wolf, he dubs her an abomination and threat to his throne - the exact reason he’s kept the different species apart for so long, forcing Valeria and Dominic to create their own pack. Remarkably, they are not the only interspecies soulmates, and their group resonates with creatures from all corners of the world. Vampires, Demons, Wolves, Panthers, and a plethora of otherkin join their “All Kinds Pack.” However, their formation marks the start of a war, not only with King William and his men but with Lucifer Morningstar himself.

Sloan Vale isn’t just a billionaire—he’s a king in a world built on whispered names, silk-bound power, and decadent sin. By day, he’s untouchable. Polished. Controlled. But by night, he rules The Crimson Order, a secret society where the elite indulge their darkest desires and make deals sealed with blood and pleasure. He’s never had a reason to break his own rules. Until her. Ivy Sinclair is a broke, brilliant art student just trying to survive. When she delivers a painting to an exclusive event, she stumbles into a hidden world she was never meant to see. Sloan’s world. The moment he lays eyes on her, he knows she doesn’t belong. Too innocent. Too pure. Too tempting. She should have run. He should have let her. But instead, he offers her a choice: walk away and forget what she saw… or surrender to him and learn just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Ivy agrees but she’s not as innocent as she seems. As Sloan draws her deeper into his dangerous orbit, he finds himself addicted to her softness, her fire, her secrets. She awakens something in him that’s been dormant far too long. Obsession. Protection. Lust. But Ivy didn’t stumble into his world by accident. She’s running from something darker. Something deadly. And when her past collides with his empire, both of them will have to decide what’s worth more: power or passion. Vengeance or love. In a world where everything comes with a price… will she be his salvation, or his ultimate ruin?