Standing Punching Bag

'God, I'm late again!' Jane thought as she hurried through the streets. 'Mr. Smith is going to be so mad!' She decided to take a shortcut through some back alleys that she would normally rather avoid. Suddenly, she heard a series of whimpers, thumps, and yelps coming from another alley nearby. It sounded like a dog in pain, being beaten by something heavy 'Maybe if I make a noise, whatever is attacking that dog will get scared and run.' She stopped. She had just peaked her head around the corner and saw not one but two . . . men? . . . standing at the other end of a dead-end alley and overlooking a very large, furry pile of animals that seemed to be twitching. Normally, Jane would have been filled with terror at that moment, but terror was normally reserved for those with something to lose. There was a part of Jane, however, that still clung to the charade that was her life. Her hands began to tremble and her lungs released a scarcely audible gasp. Then the two standing figures turned and faced the end of the alley where Jane was hiding. "I'm going to call the police!" she shouted, lacking anything better to say. One of the figures shook his head and smiled. All his teeth seemed to be far too pointy. "That would be a very . . . terrible . . . mistake," he hissed, his words escaping his mouth like dead air from a pharaoh's tomb. And then both of them headed towards her at an inhuman pace. "No," one of them rasped. "Finish it. I'll get the girl." The other one stopped and snarled some kind of response.

Tana thought her wedding day would be the start of forever. Instead, it became the day her world fell apart. Standing at the altar, she watched as her mate, the alpha of the Middle Forest, rejected her in front of everyone. He didn’t just break her heart; he chose her stepsister instead. The betrayal cut deep, but the punishment that followed was even worse. Stripped of her title, exiled from her pack, and forced to drink a potion that severed her mate bond, she lost everything including her connection to her wolf, Phoenix. Alone and abandoned, Tana was thrown into the brutal world of rogues, where survival meant blood, pain, and a heart that refused to break. She learned to fight, to endure, to bury the girl she once was. Then she met Jackson. The ruthless Alpha of the HellGuard pack, Jackson was a ghost from her past, the boy who once had feelings for her. But now, he looks at her like a stranger. The potion changed her face, her scent, her everything. He doesn’t recognize her, and she isn’t sure if that’s a blessing or a curse. Fate may have torn her apart once, but this time, she won’t be the one left bleeding. With revenge burning in her veins and two powerful alphas standing in her way, Tana must decide: Will she destroy the mate who betrayed her,or risk everything for the one who might truly see her? Because love is cruel. And fate? Even crueler.

Daisy’s heart raced with excitement as she entered the elegant wedding venue, the sweet scent of flowers filling the air. She held onto her boyfriend Noah’s arm, feeling a mix of nerves and anticipation. But as she laid eyes on her best friend’s soon-to-be husband, her world shattered. The man standing before her was the one she had been searching for all these years. The room seemed to spin as she struggled to comprehend the cruel twist of fate. Her heart sank as she realised he didn’t remember her, treating her like a stranger. The disappointment was crushing, but she accepted the harsh truth with a heavy heart. She steeled herself, determined to witness her best friend Julian’s wedding with the man she had longed to meet. But she didn’t knew that fate had a unique plan in store for her. Unbeknownst to Daisy, she was about to find herself standing on that very aisle, adorned in a wedding dress, instead of her beloved Julian. However, the man she has married - Dylan Astor, despises her with an intensity that is palpable. He has transformed into a completely unrecognisable figure from the man Daisy had encountered years ago. His once radiant, charming smile has transformed into a dark, icy countenance, causing Daisy to hold her breath whenever she sees him. The tension in the air is suffocating, as if a storm is brewing. Dylan knows very well that Daisy doesn't have feelings for him, which only makes him even more angry at her.

The day after I got engaged to my boyfriend, his best friend locked me up. He smiled as he unbuttoned his shirt, stepping closer with each passing moment. "Mich, I'm your true destiny," he said, his voice low and menacing. As I struggled to resist, I lost my footing and tumbled down the stairs. When I woke up, all my memories were gone. The handsome stranger standing before me noticed my confusion and kindly offered an explanation. "You're my fiancée, but you cheated on me," he said.

Adam Harun Saguna was one of the heirs to the AS Corp, the business empire of the Saguna family. He was pressured by his mother to immediately bring to her a prospective daughter-in-law of equal standing with their aristocratic family. A tragedy made Adam meet Bianca Savitri. This young woman grew up in an orphanage. Intrigued by her personality, Adam secretly sent Bianca flowers each day and began to fall in love with her. Even under the dilemma, Adam wanted to pursue Bianca, which clearly did not meet her mother's requirements. Would Bianca receive Adam's love? And how was Adam's struggle to win his favour?

Blurb. Vanessa was abused by her father and step mother her whole life, she was the dumping bag of the family. She was never even allowed to go to school, her family treated her like a slave. As if things could not get worse, her father gave her away in exchange to be burdened for the debt he owed. She was abused, used and threatened, she was ready to give up when she found out she was pregnant, not with just one child but two. And she could no longer give up. She had to fight for the two lives that were now growing inside her. So she ran away. She had nowhere to go but she thought if she explained to her family that she was pregnant, they could take her back in. But they threw her out into the cold. When she woke up next, she was in what seemed to be heaven, being treated like a princess. She thought she was dreaming or hallucinating when she saw her mother, the woman who died when she was only six years old. She was now the Luna of one of the most powerful packs. Vanessa goes from being a weak slaw that everyone used to the mate of the alpha of the most powerful packs. She is out for revenge and blood now, and she would stop at nothing until she destroys everyone that abused her, including Damian the man who fathered her kids.

Amidst the dimly lit room, the tension was palpable as Clyde's vice-like grip closed around Isabella's neck. She struggled to gasp for air, her defiance clear in her eyes. "You are no one for me, do you understand?" Clyde hissed, his fingers digging into her skin. Isabella, her voice trembling but unwavering, met his intense gaze. "And you are the most darkly comedic and nightmarish chapter of my life." Clyde, cruel laughter in his eyes, flung her onto the bed with a brutal force that left her breathless. "Then let's make this chapter even more nightmarish," he taunted, a twisted grin dancing upon his lips. The story takes an electrifying turn when Isabella, longing for a peaceful visit to her grandmother, finds herself back in her home country. However, fate has other plans as Isabella's suitcase, filled with her belongings, gets exchanged with Clyde's bag - full of illicit weapons. Clyde, a dangerous figure entangled in the criminal underworld, cannot allow Isabella to simply walk away after discovering the dangerous secrets within the swapped bag. As the noose tightens, he's left with a limited choices: kill her or hold her captive, forever altering the course of both their lives. Amidst this high-stakes power struggle, a relentless battle for survival and freedom unfolds, painting the pages of this thrilling tale with suspense and danger.

Laila is a normal human or so she thinks until she returns home from her 18th birthday which happens to be a full moon, she finds her parents dead in the pool of their own blood. She also finds a strange man standing in their blood, she passes out when she tries to attack the stranger. When she wakes she is in another world which she doubted ever existed, a supernatural world. She realizes that’s she is a part of this world and must embrace who she is to be able to avenge her parents while in the tangled in a messy relationship of the Hugh twins, Ares and Atlas.

"You dare to call impotent? How dare you, Laura, how dare you tell such lies about me?" Nate yelled furiously, startling my friends and I. We were just talking about him, and I'd just confided in them that I was getting a divorce because my husband is impotent. I had no idea that he was standing right behind us, and now he's pissed, so fucking pissed! "I'm taking you home with me, and tonight I'll show you that I'm not impotent. I'll make you take back those words, trust me."

A high-profile rape case rocks Corvessa City. During the autopsy, I examine the deceased's private area as part of the standard procedure. My wife, a police captain, blows up in front of the onlookers. "Don't we have a female medical examiner in our unit? Do you realize you're re-victimizing the deceased? And your wife is standing right here. Are you really that desperate?" The crowd turns on me in a heartbeat. Bowing to public pressure, the department suspends me and tells me to keep reporting in at my own expense. I hand in my resignation on the spot. Without me, nobody in Corvessa City is going to crack this case.