Snake Wrapped Around Arm Drawing

Hanging in the living room is a drawing of Julia Graham's husband, son, and younger sister, Juliette Graham. Julia's son tells her, "If I add a fourth person to the drawing, it'll be the younger sister that Aunt Juliette gives me." Without hesitation or lingering emotions, Julia applies to become an undercover operative in the most dangerous mission to date. From this point onward, she severs all ties with them!

"Traitor! Slave forever!" Today is my 18th birthday, the day I've been looking forward to. But now, I am being beaten, judged, humiliated and vilified... All because my brother, Benjamin, had quietly eloped with the Alpha King's fiancée. I, on the other hand, was left here, a target of the crowd, bearing all the guilt for them... *** Fortunately, I was not killed by those people, and even Alpha King interrogated me personally. "Is that you?" A low, sexy voice came from above me. When I looked up, I saw a magnificent creature walking towards my direction with his head up high and his Phoenix eyes were coldly looking at me. "MATE!!!" There's no doubt about it. He's my mate! Is he here to save me?!! It has to be! I knew my mate would save me. Hearing my enthusiastic voice, he stared at me for a moment and then approached my cell. I could feel my heart pounding the moment he drew closer and walked inside of the cell until he was close enough to me. I trembled from eagerness when his hand reached out and touched my face. But to my surprise, I felt his hand wrapped tightly around my neck. “You are not.” He coldly remarked as the hand that wrapped around my neck tightened, making my face pale as I looked at him in disbelief. He doesn't want me, my mate wants to kill me!

The full moon hangs high in the night sky at 1:00 am. My mate, Alpha Chris Dalton of the Southern Gray Wolf pack has just returned from a patrol around the border. It has been three days since he last slept. He still smells of blood and rust from the times he had fought against packs of Rogues. When we're about to rest, Chris hears Emily Gibson's cries coming from his mind-link. "Alpha Chris, I think I smell a Rogue near my house. I'm so scared…" Chris shifts into a huge wolf and dashes out of our home without hesitation. He only returns the next day at dawnbreak, his exhaustion evident on his face. "Emily suffered from a fright last night, so I had to keep her company the whole night." When Chris notices the way I sit on the edge of the bed quietly without moving in to kiss him as usual, he approaches me in exasperation. Then, he wraps an arm around my shoulders before nuzzling his head against my neck affectionately, as though he were a huge dog who had made a mistake. "Emily is the mate of a Beta who has sacrificed himself for the pack, Selena. Not to mention, she's with pup at the moment. As the pack's Alpha, I'm obligated to take care of her. But I promise that I'll reduce the visitation times in the future, so please stop being unhappy with me, okay?" With red-rimmed eyes, I push Chris' arm away. "Alpha Chris, let's sever our mate bond."

Three months after my husband, Josiah Erikson, disappears in a skiing accident, I spot him in a bar. He's laughing freely with an arm slung casually around his "best friend", Monica Jones' shoulders. "Good thing you came up with the idea. I'd almost forgotten what freedom feels like." One after another, his buddies clink glasses with him and ask about when he plans to reappear. He looks down and thinks about it before saying, "In a week. I'll show up once she's gone completely crazy searching for me." Standing in the shadows, I watch him savor his freedom, then call my friend who works at the state vital records office.

"Wanna lie on it?" Diam husked, his breath fanning her neck. He'd caught her staring at the bed. Wouldn't be a bad idea if she lies on it. Baby quickly moved away from him. Her cheeks, she knew, were flushed from embarrassment. "Where's my room-Sir Diam?" He closed up the little distance between them. She squirmed at their proximity but it only aroused him more. Her boobs rubbed against his hard chest, tingling all the hairs in the region to life. Her mould was pressed against his thighs. He wound an arm around her waist, pulling her to himself. "Your room...is right here, Baby."

"When Ava thinks her life is finally falling into place, with her dream wedding just around the corner, her world is shattered by a devastating double betrayal. Her fiancé's infidelity and her best friend's betrayal goes deeper by the shocking murder of her father ___ There, on the bed, were Gabe and Sophie. My fiancé and my best friend, wrapped in each other's arms. They didn't notice me at first. I watched as Sophie leaned in and kissed Gabe, her hands running through his hair. Gabe pulled her closer, smiling in a way he hadn't smiled at me in months.

"The bride is welcome to enter the altar!" I smiled calmly as I took my father's hand, walking towards the altar where a man was waiting for me. A man in a black tuxedo wrapped around his athletic body. There's nothing wrong with him, the only thing wrong is that he's wearing a mask! But I really don't care! As long as that man can help me save Wendy, my half-sister who I should hate but in reality I really love. Besides, I only need to be in this marriage for one year, yup, let me call myself the 'one year bride'!

“He is here again”, I murmured to myself as I could feel the air shift in the room. I pulled my nightgown down to cover myself as cold and warmth enveloped me in a soothing embrace. It felt like a warm blanket had been wrapped around me. He smelled faintly of dark vanilla and something musky, something warm. I could feel his breath on my skin before the bed dipped. He pulled me closer and wrapped his hands around me. I closed my eyes and waited for his soothing murmurs in my ears. “Did you miss me”? He moaned into my ears. Alora Lance has been haunted by a faceless man who visits her dreams for as long as she can remember. His touch is electric, and his presence is peaceful and intoxicating but her waking life is anything but magical. She has nothing except a leaking roof over her head and a ruthless landlord threatening eviction. Then one day, she finds herself in a mating ceremony she was not supposed to attend. One accidental step into a world that should not exist. And everything changes. Dragged into a world that doesn't make sense in real life, Alora finds herself pulled into a past she knows nothing about and the enigmatic gaze of the man that had haunted her dreams except this is not a dream, it's a nightmare she may never escape, especially when the Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack marks her with a single look. And in his eyes, she is no longer invisible. She begins to question everything about her life and her past.

[WARNING STRONG MATURED CONTENTS] Beside me, I sensed his movement as he turned towards me, his eyes searching for mine. I purposely avoided meeting his gaze, instead focusing on calming my racing breath. But try as I might, my breath still trembled, betraying my inner turmoil. Despite my rapid blinking, a single tear escaped, making its way down my cheek. I heard the covers rustle as he shifted closer to me. His finger gently brushed against my face, capturing the tear. "I'm sorry, Hailey," his voice resonated in the dimly lit room, both deep and gentle. His touch was followed by a soft stroke through my brunette hair and a tender kiss on the crook of my neck. "I know this isn't what you wanted," he murmured, regret evident in his voice. "It doesn't matter," I replied quietly, my gaze still fixed on the ceiling. His apology felt like a stab to the heart, but I couldn't hold him responsible. Our circumstances were far beyond our control.Swallowing hard, I tried to push down the ache in my chest. "It was unavoidable, it isn't your fault," I muttered, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his dark, tousled hair. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I allowed my cheek to rest against his strong chest, finding some solace in his comforting presence. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat brought a sliver of comfort to my shattered emotions. "I wish I could have given you more time to get to know me before all of this," he confessed, a touch of bitterness seeping into his words. "But those old Elders insisted on sealing our union immediately."

Princess Vionna of Aurenza was dead. She died in the estate of Theron Thornefell, Warden of the North—buried beneath snow and silence. The blizzard raged for seven days before it eased, uncovering her frostbitten body beneath the drifts. Even in death, she was curled around her swollen belly, one arm reaching toward the nearest gates. No one came. She and the unborn child were frozen to death. Left behind. As the cold took her, regret cut deep. She never should've loved him. Never should've bowed. Because of her, the child never saw the sky. If she had another life, she'd never look his way again.