Stepped Unscramble

I was always flying for work, so I left the whole renovation thing to my husband, Daxton Pruitt. This time, my flight got scrapped last minute, so I swung by the house to check in. The second I stepped inside, some woman named Mona Scambley, who claimed she was the designer, chucked a stack of invoices at me. Couples' lingerie display case: $15,000. High-end waterbed: $40,000. One glance at that pile of overpriced tacky nonsense made me nauseous. My brows pulled tight. "Ms. Scambley, this is a private house, not some couples' motel. What is all this?" Her face flipped in a heartbeat. She jabbed a finger at me. "The owner gave those orders. You're just the site supervisor. Disobey me again, and I'll have Mr. Pruitt fire you!" Then she spun around and called Daxton right there. I laughed, cold and low, about to ask what kind of clown show designer he'd hired—until I heard his voice. Gentle. Doting. "This is Mona and my love nest. We'll do whatever we want. Don't like it? Get out." I smiled, snatched the list from Mona, and nodded. "Sure." One week later, that overpriced waterbed showed up—Daxton, very much not smiling.

Years ago, I, Ella Marin, became the wife of Andrew Lorenzo, the underboss of the Lorenzo family. Sadly, my last three years were spent in prison after I caused a fatal car accident. I heard plenty of “good news” about my husband while I did my time. Andrew had officially taken over the Lorenzo family once the Don had stepped down. He then spent a fortune on a woman called Rose Gunfire and was rumored to have had a one-night stand with a rival. He was also seen acting intimately with Sophia, the Principessa of the Rossi family, and private photos of them kept appearing online. When the underboss came to warn me about Andrew, I remained calm. “The Don says that as long as you don’t cry or make a scene, you’ll still have a place in the Lorenzo family after your release.” I replied quietly, “So he has women on the side. I can handle that.” Three days before that, the church’s hospital had called to tell me that my mother was terminally ill. Since the Lorenzo family could help find a kidney donor, I agreed to a marriage in name only. All for my mother’s sake.

Being an orphan without everything, Rage only wants two things in his life: love and acceptance. But he is surrounded by worthless adults who only regard him as a tool for achieving their dreams. He was beaten up, and his body has been experimented with at a young age. He expects nothing from everyone but betrayal. Trust issue became his best friend. Rage. They named him Rage, a wolf without a last name. For the past 23 years, he knows nothing about himself except that he is Rage. When he stepped into the Lotus Pack, he was mistreated and despised by everyone—avoiding him as if he had a contagious disease. But Dane Steele, the Lotus Pack's Alpha King, and his family never see him as a threat. They adopt him as their son, lavishing him with love and attention. He never felt anything like this before. Rage had no idea he'd find a home at the Alpha King's house and fall in love with their only daughter, Daphne. He never anticipated Daphne to bring out the soft side of him, and somehow it affects him. But loving her is a sin... and he is a threat. He is the young man in the prophecy who will destroy the whole world. How can he love his "sister", the daughter of the Alpha King, if he has nothing to offer? He is just a wolf without a surname. A pariah...

Five years into my relationship with a Godfather-to-be, I realized Cicio Russo had fallen for someone else. And I decided that the choice should be his. I laid the options right in front of him: break up with me, or send that someone else far away overseas. Cicio Russo stood outside my windows all night, down there with the coldness of the night cutting through him and fogging his breath. By morning, Cicio told me that he'd decided. His choice was me. Or at least - that was what I was made to believe. Surprise came on the very day of our wedding, a strange little boy ran straight down the aisle that was supposed to be mine to walk. “Daddy,” he cried at Cicio and Cicio’s face of stony indifference, “What about me? You have left mommy already. Are you going to abandon me, too?” The ring slipped from Cicio’s hand and hit the carpet with a muted thud. He turned his back on me and walked away without even looking back. I pulled off the white veil. And I snatched the microphone from the host. “If you take one more step,” I screamed into the microphone, “if you leave, I will give all this up. And you, too. Do you hear me? I will give you up.” He froze. For only one second. Then he stepped away anyway.

“I, Elena Black, daughter of Gabe Black, accept your rejection” I said, sitting on the floor as the tears rolled down my eyes. The physical pain was no longer there but I was broken. “From today, I, Alpha North, declare Elena Black, daughter of Gabe Black, as a slave to my mate and Luna, Leila.” he announced. *** Elena Black was a wolfless and weak. Degraded by everyone, she lost every hope of ever belonging or finding a mate who would accept her but Alpha North changed that. She felt relieved and excited but on the day she found out she was pregnant, she was rejected and the one person she loved rejected and made her a slave to the woman he got married to. When she felt she had lost hope, it came in the form of Alpha Elian, the Alpha of Emberfall pack who called her his mate. He retracted that statement soon after but refused to let her go. Her situation only became worse and she wished for anything apart from this life of chaos but what happens when her fated mate retraces his steps to undo all he had done? Would the rejected slave be considered a Luna or would she forever be placed on the ground and stepped on? Elena must fight but would she win?

“W-Why are you here? I already did what you wanted, didn’t I? I thought we had a deal?” Nina’s voice trembled as she blinked in disbelief. “I don’t negotiate, darling. You don’t get to decide what I do to you.” Hades smirked, his tone laced with amusement at her confusion and fear. “I’m not playing games with you, Hades! Please, just leave my house!” “Too bad. I can’t.” His smile darkened. “Now, are you going to be a good girl, or keep pretending to be feisty?” “Get out! Now!” Nina tried to slam the door, but Hades shoved it open, forcing his way inside. “No! Let me go! You’re hurting me!” He dragged her into the living room as she struggled to free herself from his tight grip. Her wrists burned under his hold. Then, with brutal force, he threw her onto the couch—hard enough that she stumbled and lost her balance. Hades stepped closer, his shadow swallowing the light between them. “Now… strip,” he said darkly. “I'm going to fuck you till you can't walk” Author’s Note: My first attempt at bringing a story to life. Thank you for reading!

She spent her life saving hearts, until the man who ruled an empire of violence shattered hers. Jenna Blake should have been finishing her final year of cardiology, standing at the edge of a future she had built with discipline, sacrifice, and quiet determination. She was gentle, obedient, a healer with steady hands and a soft heart, someone meant for hospitals, not the shadows of the mafia. Everything changed the day Evan Grant stepped into her life. Forced into marriage with the man who commands fear and respect, Jenna loses her career, her dreams, and the life she fought to create. He is feared by all, yet the feared look up to him. Power comes naturally to him. Control is instinct. Compassion is optional. On the day she became his bride, he offered no comfort, only a reminder of the fiery message she sent him during their disastrous first encounter. Yet he also placed a ring on her finger, a token meant only for her, a symbol that even in a world of violence, he claimed her in a way no one else could. Her freedom vanished. Her life was rewritten. But when secrets surface and past betrayals collide, enemies are forced to confront the truth. A dark mafia romance thriller with enemies-to-lovers tension and a second-chance love that could consume them both.

When my ex-husband, Hanson Rowse, got remarried, I jumped into the ocean with our ten-year-old daughter, Tess Rowse, in my arms. The police called Hanson and my parents. The wedding reception was cut short, and they all rushed over. My soul hung in the air above it all, watching as Tess was pulled from the water. The sight of her hit like a blade to the chest. At the hospital, my parents looked at her with nothing but cold indifference. My brother, Edward Wells, didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face. "You're just like your mother! Always causing trouble and pulling cheap stunts like this just to get attention." Hanson's fists clenched. He scanned the area, and when he couldn't see me anywhere, anger spilled into his eyes. "Where's Melody? She picked my wedding day to pull this stunt, and now she won't even show her face? If she really wanted to die, why leave behind this burden?" At his words, Tess suddenly moved. She stumbled toward the window, climbed up, and before anyone could react, she jumped. The room went dead silent for a heartbeat. Then, the screaming started. What they didn't know was this: the first thing Tess and I learned at that reform school was obedience.

I'm a nationally certified animal trainer running the Lion King, Caesar's final assessment. I've barely stepped into the enclosure corridor when the steel guillotine door slams down behind me. My wife's laughter crackles over the loudspeaker. "Everyone, we're doing the ultimate challenge today! We're locking the so-called number-one animal trainer in the Lion King's enclosure and taking bets on whether he wets himself in ten minutes!" Caesar crouches low and rumbles a warning. I reach for my tranquilizer gun but stop cold. The liquid isn't the right color. In a phony sing-song voice, the veterinarian, Hugh Archer, says, "Lucian, I forgot to mention, I swapped your tranquilizer darts for pepper spray so you won't hurt Caesar by mistake. "You two are so close. Just win him over with love!" I look at Caesar, his eyes bloodshot from the stimulant, and it clicks. Hugh still resents that I stopped him from touching a tiger with his bare hands a few days ago. I tune out the trash blaring over the loudspeaker, pull a remote from my pocket, and hit the button. It's the master switch for the electric fence gates around every predator enclosure in the zoo. If I don't make it out, no one does.

Before my wedding, my vision which I lost after saving Bruce unexpectedly returned. Overjoyed, I hurried to share the wonderful news with him, but as I stepped into the living room, I froze. Bruce and my cousin, Kerry, were in a passionate embrace. "Bruce, the baby is perfectly healthy now. The doctor said we can sleep together again! Why don't we do it right here in the living room? Also, isn't it thrilling to do it here while Nancy is asleep in her room?" "Shut up! Don't joke about my wife like that!" Bruce snapped at her, but his reprimand was accompanied by a kiss. I stood there, watching in shock as their movements grew more intense and their breathing became heavier. Only then did I piece it all together. Their sudden shared enthusiasm for indoor workouts six months ago wasn't about fitness at all. Covering my mouth to stifle a sob, I turned back to my room and shut the door. I decided then and there: Bruce didn't need to know I had recovered. Reaching for my phone, I dialed my mother. "Mom, I'm not marrying Bruce anymore. I'll marry the comatose heir of the Blakes instead. I don't need Bruce in my life."