Staring Contest

Book 2 of The Shadow Alpha Series *** Bulky arms encircled my waist, successfully cutting off any movement from my upper body. “Why are you following me?” The husky whisper send my body into a second frenzy and it was only when the fog cleared from my brain that I registered that my back was up against a tree. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire as I stared into the cobalt blue eyes of my captor. Jasper Queen stared down at me with stern expectation and though his hand was no longer covering my mouth, I couldn't speak. “Speak up!” He spat making me flinch and swallow the ball in my . “I- I wasn't following you…” I croaked hoping he believed me despite the unconvincing tone. “So you were just conveniently wandering the forest in the same direction I was walking?” His question was obviously rhetorical but my eyebrows furrowed and I nodded slowly, looking at my surroundings, something about it seemed familiar. Jasper's hand slamming against the tree beside me made me jump and our eyes met suddenly, but what I saw staring back at me was a picture come to life, from the curves to the creases at the corners of his eyes, the pencil sketch that laid in my book at home both captured every detail and did no justice. “Don't lie to me!” his pressing against mine vibrated with each word and it was all I could do not to shiver with pleasure. “I'm not, I swear.” I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes, “I would never lie to my mate.” and just like that, any softness in his eyes evaporated. “I'm not your mate.” *** Join Sophia and Jasper as they battle age-old demons, secrets and their innermost fears

I never imagined my heart could fall into a million pieces until tonight. Watching my boyfriend cup the face of his fated mate, staring deeply into her eyes, the ache in my chest becomes unbearable, as if every breath pulls me further apart. “I, Graham Scott, accept you, Lizzy Harris, as my mate.” *** Ruby Hale’s heart shatters when her first love, Graham, announces his mate bond with her bully, Lizzy, in front of the entire school. Already reeling from her mother’s death and the loss of her scholarship, Ruby faces the possibility of being forced out of Kingston Academy. But when the cold, enigmatic Sebastian Kings—the school’s star hockey player and future Alpha—proposes a shocking deal, her life takes a turn she never saw coming. Sebastian is battling his own demons: his wolf is mysteriously blocked, preventing him from finding his fated mate. Desperate to buy time and avoid the crushing expectations of his father, Sebastian offers Ruby a fake mating contract that will keep her in school and give him the time he needs to solve his problem. It seems like the perfect solution—until their fake relationship starts feeling dangerously real. As they claimed they were mate, Sebastian’s childhood friend Annalisa, who has her own claim on his heart, stirs up jealousy and betrayal. With Ruby’s dark past threatening to come to light and the truth about Sebastian’s blocked wolf slowly unraveling, they must confront a web of secrets that could destroy everything they’ve built. And when Ruby discovers her own shocking connection to the pack, the stakes rise even higher. Caught between love, lies, and the pressure of destiny, Ruby and Sebastian must decide: will their contract save them, or break them apart forever?

I should’ve known better than to fall for Drake Peterson— my boss, my secret, my addiction, and the only man who could ruin me with a whisper. For two forbidden years, I lived a life no one knew about. By day, I was his perfect secretary. By night, I was the woman he kept hidden in his arms, tangled in his sheets, and locked behind a contract that said I would never expect more. I lied. To him. To myself. To the shattered girl staring back at me every morning. Because I did fall for him—hopelessly, stupidly, completely. And then he destroyed me. With one cold conversation, he terminated our arrangement, handed me a monstrous payout, and told me to walk away like I meant nothing. No explanation. No softness. Just an order: “This is the end, Sabrina.” So I erased him. Deleted my social media. Vanished from New York. And used the money he gave me to build something new— Mendoza Luxe, the jewelry empire that turned me into the woman he never thought I could become. I told myself I was over him. Until the day I ran into an old coworker… and learned the truth I was never meant to hear: Drake is bankrupt. He never married his fiancée. And everything he threw away—including me— he did to protect my life. Now the man who once owned every breath I took is falling from the top… and fate is dragging us back into the same fire that burned us alive. Old desire doesn’t fade. Old wounds don’t heal. Old enemies don’t forget. I survived Drake Peterson once. The question is— can we survive the truth that tore us apart?

BLURB: I am Melissa Copper, chosen by the moon goddess as the fated mate of the Alpha triplets. I have always dreamt of being their mate but they cruelly discarded me, choosing my Twin sister Amelia over me at the Alphas coronation ceremony. They have always belonged to her. They despised me, that I know, I have always seen it in their eyes but the mate bond keeps drawing me closer to them. Now, I have decided to leave, to end the whole circus. I begged them to reject me, but they wouldn't do it. They wouldn't let me go… **** “Melissa, Please come back to us!" They all echoed in unison. “We want you…we have always wanted you!” Caleb said softly, his voice trailing off his breath, as he pinned me to the wall. I kept staring at his enticing lips, but I shook my head to get rid of the desires burning within me. “We promise to treat you right!” Cypril said, his breath warm and ticklish against my fingers that he brought up to his lips, as his other hand found its way to the warm spot between my thighs. I clenched my legs together, trying to force out his hands from my thighs but he didn't budge. “You will always be ours. Just come back already!" Cain pleading eyes met mine, as he leaned in pressing a kiss on my lips, his hands tracing the corner of my ear. “No." I said, my voice louder than I had expected it to be, especially with their bodies pressed against mine and their lips creating sparks across my body. “I am not coming back…go back to Amelia.”

"Holy Shit. When did you get in here? Ben stepped out hours ago." the shock on his face when he sees my wide eyes staring down at his cock. "Do you walk all naked when no one is at home but you?" My thighs clenched together; I didn't know how I suddenly said that out. "Little girl, are you not afraid to take your eyes off? This can ruin you." His dominance wraps around his voice, my eyes trail off his cock, and I view his entire body. The masculinity got my thighs drooling and gave me the fastest shock I had ever felt in my stomach. It's the first time I've taken note of how perfect his body curves are. "Then I want to be ruined only by your cock." My eyes grow in size at my own words. Anastasia visited to resolve the issues revolving around her toxic relationship with Ben, her 21-year-old boyfriend. She happened not to meet him at home after he lied about being home. She was frustrated and pained because it looks like she has been putting more effort into the relationship than he has, and it was killing her. It was killing her that she always had to be the one getting hurt all the time. Even when he is wrong, she takes the blame for it and apologizes for no fucking reason. But everything changed when she saw his father's big cock that night at his place. She's never seen a cock as huge and dominating as his. A voice in her head screamed for her to run, but no, she was so curious to know how it would feel in her mouth and in her damn wet core.

"Love finds you in the strangest places.!" Marriage wasn't on Preston's agenda. He was enjoying life as the most eligible bachelor until his family began to mount pressure on him. After a time, he had no choice but to get married to a woman he didn't even know. His close friend teased, "You lucky ! Your wife must be gorgeous." When Preston thought of the woman who slept with a mask on in his bed, his blood boiled. “What was gorgeous about her? Humph!” "You had better stop it. One more word and I'll make her yours!" he cursed. Preston thought he was going to be a miserable married man. However, he received a surprise when his marital life turned out to be the exact opposite. Curiosity killed those around him after some time. His friend asked again, " I know you don't like talking about your wife.But can you describe to me what exactly she looks like? Why does she always have a mask on?" This time, Preston's lips curved into a smile. "My sweetheart is beautiful and adorable. Lower your gaze whenever you see her. If l catch you staring at her, I'll make you go blind." Everyone's jaw dropped when they heard that. They looked at him like he was crazy. One day, Preston's wife suddenly packed her bag and declared, "I can't do this anymore. I've had enough of your humiliation. Please, give me a divorce!" This request hit Preston like a bolt out of the blue. When he saw that she was being dead serious, he held onto her with both hands and begged, "Honey, please don't leave me. I promise to treat you better. If you want, I can give you the whole world. Stay with me!"

WARNING: RATED 18+| NO RAPE!!! Excerpt; "Was I a good girl?" she hiccupped, her bare skin flushed and glowed as she rolled across the sheets like she owned the bed—and him. Six weeks without his touch had scraped her raw. She was slowly losing touch of her sanity. "You did good, Penguin," Alanis said, his voice low and rough as he reached for his tie. And just like that, the spell cracked. He was leaving...again. It wasn't fair, she had to remain in the shadows, while her perfect half-sister was rubbing his chest in public. Poppy slammed the door shut, while she arranged her robe, her eyes wet and wild. "Can you… stay… just one more night?" He hesitated. And she saw it, the guilt and pull. "You know how this—" Something made him stop mid-sentence. His gaze dropped. One sharp breath, and he was staring at her peaked nipple like it was a commandment. "Please?" she breathed, arching toward him. With a low growl, he tossed her back on the bed because he had been starved, and he was ready to devour his Penguin. ... Poppy never had a chance to be the golden girl. Not with a cruel stepmother, and a father who forgot she even existed. Penelope was given everything that belonged to Poppy. Now Penny's prize? A diamond ring—a wedding to Alanis Caelum, Velmora's most powerful billionaire. Cold, brilliant, and devastatingly magnetic. To everyone but Poppy. Because before he became Penny’s perfect fiancé, he belonged to Poppy—in the dark, in secret, in sin. He knows her body like a weapon. He calls her Penguin with a growl that makes her knees buckle. And when he’s inside her, he forgets who he's supposed to love. She had him wrapped so tight, he forgot the world.

One dare. One kiss. One ruthless Alpha who won't let me go. I thought it was just a game. Kiss the scariest guy in the club for five hundred dollars. Easy money I desperately needed for tuition. What could go wrong? Everything. The man I kissed wasn't just dangerous—he was Tyler Raxon Raven. The Alpha of the Raytheon Pack. A billionaire warmonger known for tearing throats first and asking questions never. The kind of predator even other Alphas fear. I expected to be thrown out. Maybe slapped. I didn't expect him to kiss me back. And I definitely didn't expect the entire club to go deathly silent when I pulled away. My mistake wasn't the kiss. It was who I kissed. Now, the doors are locked. The music is off. And the most dangerous man in the city is staring at me with hunger in his eyes, claiming his wolf has chosen me as his mate. But Tyler doesn't do romance. He does deals. When my aunt collapses and the hospital demands fifty thousand dollars I don't have, Tyler makes me an offer I can't refuse: He'll pay for everything. He'll give me wealth beyond my wildest dreams. All I have to do is marry him. Wear his mark. Warm his bed. And give him an heir. I'm a nobody—a broke scholarship student, an Omega in a world of Alphas. He's a ruthless billionaire with enemies circling and a reputation for violence that terrifies the Council itself. I should run. I should fight. I should do anything except agree. But my aunt is dying. And Tyler holds all the cards. He took something from me without asking. Now he's taking everything else. Welcome to The Eyrie. Where Alphas make the rules, mates have no choice, and one dare changes everything.

"Say something,” I whisper to Caspian, my voice breaking. “Look me in the eyes and tell me this isn’t a mistake.” “I, Alpha Caspian King of the Nightfall Pack, reject you, Jocelyn Valdez, as my mate and Luna.” He says, staring down at me with a look of pity in his eyes. That… that wasn't what I was expecting him to say. However, I don't need his pity, but I think my ears must have heard wrong. “Accept my rejection, Jocelyn,” he says quietly. “Let’s end this.” “You mean let's end us?” I chuckle a sad laugh, looking up at him. “Yes.” His response is cold. I bite down on my bottom lip until I taste blood. I want to stop crying, but I can't. Why reject me? Why now? Why Lycena? I don't want to accept his rejection, but he is leaving me no other choice. “Well,” I gather all my strength, “I, Jocelyn Valdez, accept your rejection, Alpha Caspian King.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I feel like a knife is butchering my heart into pieces. The pain of accepting his rejection is so intense and so merciless that I can't breathe properly. I feel like I am dying. ~ Humiliated and heartbroken, Jocelyn Valdez fled the Nightfall Pack after being rejected by Alpha Caspian King at her Luna Ceremony before he chose a power-hungry she-wolf to be her replacement. Jocelyn vanished into the night with nothing; no pack, no powers, no future. But what no one knows in her previous pack is that Jocelyn is the Chosen one of the Moon Goddess. Now, five years later, she returns. No longer the weak rejected she-wolf they tossed away. And her ex-mate? He is on his knees begging for the woman he threw away.

Staring at the garden doors, waiting for her to walk in after her first shift, the doors swing open and I stuck in place at the sight, her long beautiful blonde curls cascading down the front of another Alpha's chest, her face buried in his neck, her tan legs wrapped around his waist as her body lays against his back. I stumble backwards, I can't breathe, my wolf growls in my head, "MINE!" Looking in the rearview she's waving her arms and jumping up and down in a white t-shirt. I know what she wants, and I'll need to go off grid until I can convince my wolf to take the rejection. I scream, "STOP, COME BACK!" as I watched as the small red taillights disappear into the darkness. A tear rolled down my cheek as I turned and looked at the pack house, my wolf howled in my head, "MATE, GO AFTER HIM NOW!" This isn’t how I imagined my 18th birthday would go. I return to the Alpha Academy in Denver, only to find him gone, I steal his car and now sit at a crossroad, my wolf stirs, "go east." I sarcastically laughed, "really and you know this how?" She giggles, "his wolf will direct him back to the last place he scented you, he's heading back to NY." I arch a brow, " we'll track our Alpha, and hear his explanation." Following the path of bloody bodies, in the dodgiest bars, I know I'm on the right path but finding a young girl with his scent all over her, crying in a car outside of one, not what I was expecting. He did it to her too, captured her heart and walked away, just like he did me. Now I want a rejection not an explanation.