Smoke Screen

My boyfriend, Zayne Jefferson, is particularly gifted in certain ways. Every time we're intimate, he insists on trying something new. More than once, he gently coaxes me, saying, "Once you graduate, we'll get married." And I believe him. I throw myself into my studies, pushing hard to finish my credits early. At the same time, I secretly watch all kinds of videos at night and read up on techniques. I want to keep his body satisfied. One night, I stay up too late studying and miss curfew. I run to the bar to find him, where I overhear him chatting with his friends. "Zayne, is your girlfriend really that wild in bed?" one guy asks. "Of course. He trained her himself!" another guy says. "What about Yasmin?" Zayne exhales a stream of smoke, his eyes soft. "She's different. She's pure." In that moment, I begin to hate him. Back on campus, I make a call to my professor. "That secret program you mentioned… I want in." From this day on, my life belongs only to my career.

           Méah, teenage a girl who lived a rough life in fear and seclusion, was blamed and being hunted down for all the bad luck that happened to their village. While fleeing from the angry fellow villlagers who want her dead, she just found herself far away from home. Unfortunately, things in the outside world was worse than she expected. Only then she found out that she was being controlled by Purple Smoke, a powerful, cunning demon of an unknown origin behind the murders that she committed, all for the sake to achieve immortality. Despite knowing that she is the heir of destruction, this didn't stop her from believing that there was still 'good' in her. And so she decided switch to the good side and follow a righteous path. She indeed became one but it came with a price not only to bet her own life on the line but also go against the person that she holds dearly in her heart, who also had an identity of his own and a duty to fulfill–to protect the world from her. However, a shocking truth was suddenly revealed and her fate was much more twisted than she had known it, unveiling more hidden mysteries about her existence...

Eliot Hale had it all: grades, charm, and an enviable future. The whole campus admired his girlfriend. His life was picturesque...Until an anonymous message snatched it all away. One party. One betrayal. One moment that saw the shattering of his glass-laden golden world. Eliot, now the joke of the university, has been stripped of any last semblance of support, in whispers mocking him, asking his name, and wondering in his moment of awe, "Who do I trust when those I loved the most were the first to destroy me?" And just as Eliot spirals into isolated boredom, a stranger people would wish they had in their lives, begins texting him. What starts off as cautious curiosity soon evolves into an intimate, heartfelt bond- the anonymous presence sees into him, all the pain he hides beneath the surface; making him feel something for the very first time in his life. But upon finding out who actually was behind the screen… everything was changed forever. The boy who ruined him might be the only one who really understands him. The one he was raised to hate might be the one to really love him. And that forbidden love? That just might be the one thing that could save them both.

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!"

In the beautiful room, a man and a woman were entangled on the bed. The two naked bodies were stuck together without a single gap, the image was so hot that it was suffocating, in the quiet space now were the woman's urgent moans, the man's panting. Suddenly the phone rang, causing Nolan's face to frown, he raised his hand to turn it off but Hellen stopped him. Looking at the name on the screen made her smile. - My dear, didn't I say I couldn't bother you tonight? - Hellen, I'm scared. Nolan is really angry with you, he went out that night, you couldn't contact him. Today is your birthday, can't he tolerate you? On the other side was the angry but crying voice of a woman, her birthday was very solemn, but at night her husband was not by her side. On this side, the man she was talking about was lying on top of another woman's body, gently biting her chest, making her almost scream. Tuyet Dung glared at him. She quickly comforted Grace with a few sentences then hung up. She didn't want anyone to disturb her on this romantic night.

One day, in the school's group chat, I accidentally revealed that I was the daughter of Sanfiric Inc.'s chairman. Out of nowhere, Sally jumped in with a scathing remark: [Do you have no shame? Clinging to some random man and calling him ‘Dad' just because you're desperate to be an heiress. Have you lost your mind?] Her accusation left me completely baffled. I didn't even bother responding, but she wasn't about to let it go. She bombarded the chat with photos and videos, all claiming to prove that she was the real heiress. In a video she shared, she was clinging to my father's arm, acting sweet and coy. I stared at the screen in shock, my mind reeling. Before I could even process what I was seeing, the school advisor kicked me out of the group chat entirely. "How could we have such a vain and shameless student? You're a disgrace to the school!" Furious, I whipped out my phone and called my dad. The moment he picked up, I exploded, "Roger Burberry, do you have another daughter I don't know about?!"

At the engagement party, the champagne tower is only half-built when Marcus Harrison answers a phone call. He glances at me and says, "I have to go. Lily collapsed at the airport." I say, "If you leave, we're done." He leaves anyway, in front of 200 guests. He carries Lily Bardot in his arms, wearing the coat I gave him, as he drives away in my car. The next day, he sends me an email that reads, "Lily will be moving into my apartment. She needs me, and I hope you can understand. Once Lily gets better, we'll get married. Please trust me." I stare at the screen and suddenly laugh. So what he wants isn't someone who loves him. It's someone who needs him. And I'm too independent, so I don't make the cut. That evening, I scroll through my contacts and find a number I've never given a second glance to. It belongs to someone who's been waiting for me for 23 years. I dial it. "Tomorrow night, 7:00 pm. Meet me at the restaurant by the sea."

"Buzz… Buzz…" Alexia's cell phone vibrated as she sniffed then reached out for her phone which was in her side pocket and when she took it out she realized it was an unknown number. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Who in the world is this?" she soliloquized then swiped her thumb across the screen taking the phone to her left ear. "Hello… am I speaking with Alexia Chaney?" A deep male voice came through the phone as Alexia sat upright. "Yes, this Is Alexia Chaney," She clears her throat. "I heard you can play the guitar and I hope you will like a day's job, you will be paid handsomely for it. Are you interested?" said the man again over the phone as Alexia blinked. "Okay, I am interested. What is the occasion and venue?" She asked. "SBE wine corporation will be launching a new wine tomorrow alongside the birthday celebration of the CEO, Richard Robertson, and there will be a night party at his Estate," The man said as Alexia's eyes popped wide open and she parted her lips. She couldn't believe she just accepted an invitation to perform for a man who just wrecked her show. "I will text you the address, first thing in the morning. Get prepared because it is a big party and Richard loves something exceptional," said the man as he hung up.

A forgotten bite. A fake bond. A power no wolf was meant to command. Twelve years ago, Kira watched her home burn under a blood moon. Smoke in her lungs. A mother’s scarf in her hand. And a golden-eyed boy who bit her—not to mark her, but to silence her. He told her to stay quiet. To wait. Then he left. Now, Kira is back. Not to forgive. Not to forget. But to survive. To infiltrate the pack that destroyed her people. To find the boy who abandoned her and burn his world from the inside. But things have changed. That boy is now Alpha Ronan Vale—cold, ruthless, untouchable. When Kira is captured during the sacred Pack Trial, the Council calls for her execution. Ronan claims her instead, announcing a trial mating bond that isn’t real. At least… it’s not supposed to be. As secrets unravel and an ancient power stirs in her blood, Kira discovers she’s not just an omega. She’s something the world thought extinct—a Royal Omega, born to command alphas and destroy empires. And the fake bond? It starts to feel terrifyingly real. But the past has claws. The Council has plans. And someone is still hunting her—someone who once paid a killer to make sure she never lived long enough to be chosen. The bond was a lie. Until it wasn’t.

"Why did you buy me? Someone like me can't possibly be your mate." He chuckled low, exhaling the toxic smoke from his cigarette. "Darling, I'm not looking for a mate. I am looking for a slave." ---- After the tragic massacre of her pack, eighteen-year-old Alora Augustus was forced to enter an auction block, bruised and beaten. With her hopes washed down the drain, she decided she wouldn't go down without a fight. Mysteriously, she found herself bought by Alpha Conrad, the feared leader of the Ironfang pack, and a man whose heart is said to be as cold as ice. Even so, rumor has it that he has the charm to make every woman he beds to fall for him. If he thinks that she'd become one of his collections, then he's dead wrong. But little did she know, Conrad did not choose her randomly. He has secrets connected to the murder of her family. He thought she'd be a submissive and obedient slave. He didn't expect to see the fire in her eyes and the stubborn courage she carries with her like a crown despite being ripped off of dignity. In a world where power is everything, Alora struggles to survive while playing the dangerous game of love and trust. Is falling for her heartless captor be the end for her?