Stung

I’d just wrapped up a short trip with my daughter, Elara. On the way back, I figured I’d swing by the Hale, our family’s casino, to check in on my son, Cassian. Maybe grab dinner together. I didn’t expect to be mistaken for his latest fling. Correction: not mistaken—accused. Violently. “You think you can just waltz in here like some queen?” she hissed. “I’m the woman Cassian loves! What kind of whore are you? And is this your bastard daughter with him?” She locked us in the basement. No phone. No light. Just concrete walls and the stench of mildew and madness. Then came the fists. She slapped me across the face—again and again—until my skin stung and my ears rang. When that didn’t satisfy her, she pulled a gun and aimed low. The bullet tore through my knee. I bit back a scream, shielding Elara with my body. “You need to die, whore,” she spat. One of her men hesitated, “We should at least tell Mr. Hale first. If we are going to kill these two in his casino.” Lila of course said no. But that man brought Cassian anyway. My son stepped into this dark little room like it was any other Tuesday—until he saw me. His whole body went still. The blood drained from his face. And then, in the smallest, most broken voice I’d ever heard from him, he whispered, “Mom? What are you doing in my basement?”

“No, i…. I...i don't want to die.” i managed to say, still struggling to catch my breath. “Good, because i only grant death to people who don't want to live anymore.” he said grabbing my neck. “Alpha Marcus, she is here. Ella is here?” I didn't recognize the voice but he immediately let go of his grip on my neck. Any minute longer and i think i would have died. He walked towards the strange man standing at the door, the room was full of tension now. Who was Ella and what was she here for? They both stepped outside and he shouted from the doorway. “You better be in your best behavior when i come back or you are going to join your mother.” Painful tears stung my eyes, every time he mentioned my mother i wished she had lived long enough to protect me.

“You are going to be my wife because of the agreement that your parents and my uncle Jack arranged. You can keep running your café business and I can make my uncle happy. It is a win-win situation for the both of us. Nothing's going to change really, you can do whatever you want and of course same goes with me. However, you are going to carry my surname. I won’t do anything to embarrass you and I expect that you will do the same.” I felt a knife stab my heart after saying those words, but it stung more when Lucy said “Of course, I completely understand. I know my role and I know my place. I may not be as rich as you are nor have the stage that you are on, but I am absolutely capable. Do not underestimate me Mr. Lowell or shall I say my future husband.”

Wham! A slap landed on my cheeks. It stung so hard, and I tasted blood. Tears slipped out of my eyes as her minions held me in place. "I hate you so much," my sister spat with venom in her voice "you stole my man from me and - I swear, I will make you experience hell!" ••• Sarah's life took an unexpected turn when her father arranged her marriage to billionaire artiste; Damian Delance. But Stephanie, Sarah's twin had always wanted Damian for herself. In this tale of sibling rivalry, who will win Damian's heart, and at what cost?

My in-laws go on a jungle trip and are stung by venomous bees. An exorbitant sum is needed for their surgeries, so I hurriedly call my husband for help. However, as soon as the call connects, he berates me. "They can die if you don't have money to treat them! Why waste the money? Your family isn't mine—what does it have to do with me if they die? Also, Chloe has no money for food. I'm transferring what we have to buy her a meal." He hangs up abruptly and transfers whatever money I have. Meanwhile, his parents die because we didn't pay to save them.

For eight years in a marriage devoid of light, I had abortions five times. Every time, Sam would grip my hand when I woke up, his eyes red, and promise to find the best doctors to help me recover. After the third miscarriage, he finally hired a team of top-tier nutritionists, ensuring that every single meal was planned perfectly. He always comforted me, "Don't worry, Penny. We're still young, so we can have another baby!" When I found out I was pregnant again, snowflakes were dancing outside my window. I wrapped my fur coat tightly around my body and rushed to the company, only to hear Wren's furious voice outside the VIP suite, "Are you insane? Those five babies were your own flesh and blood!" Sam replied coldly, "Nicole needs specimen for her experiments. All I'm doing is providing her with the materials she needs." His words dug into my heart like icy spikes, and I could even hear my own bones cracking. "As for Penelope…" He chuckled. "Do you think that our marriage certificate is the real deal?" Snowflakes stung my face like needles, and I finally found out the truth about our marriage. From the very beginning, I was nothing more than a living test subject for the woman he truly loved. Sam was right. Those unborn children never even had legal identities, and were worth less than a piece of paper, just like my so-called marriage. Glass shattered from inside the room, and I could hear Wren cursing, but I turned and walked towards the elevator. Since Sam's priority was Nicole and nothing else, I was hell-bent on making him pay the price.

“Get off me,” I demanded, leaning forward and sinking my teeth into his shoulders, drawing out blood in the process. He growled and yanked me away from the wall, spun and shoved me back into it. Tears stung my eyes when my head connected with the wall but I immediately blinked it back. He might be my captor but I wasn't going to give him that privilege of watching me cry. His fingers dug into my skin as he impaled me on his cock, “You’re mine now Natalia…I call the shots here not you.” ~~~~~~~~ To Natalia, the plan was simple. Get in. Show him a little bit of her titties. Make sure he drinks the spiked whiskey. And then walk out with whatever penny or luxury he owned. But little did she know that the most ruthless Mafia lord in Voyeur was going to be after her. And when he did, he wasn't only interested in reclaiming what she took from him. He wanted to possess her entirely.

My husband's parents were stung by an unidentified venomous queen hornet and rushed to the hospital. As soon as I heard the news, I hurried to the entomology research institute to seek help from my husband, who was the director, hoping he could assist the doctors with the diagnosis. Instead, he called for security to block me at the entrance. "I don't handle work matters after hours," he said coldly. "Penny's mother is sick, and I need to go take care of her." I tried to show him the critical condition notice from the hospital, but he tore it up in one swift motion. "People die every day. So what if your dad and mom died?" After my in-laws passed away, I filed a lawsuit against Penny Madison, who had deliberately disturbed the beehive that led to the attack. My husband, who had disappeared for several days, suddenly showed up as an expert witness in court. He fabricated a false professional opinion to exonerate Penny. When I decided to leave the country, he lost his temper. "What do your parents' short lives have to do with me? Is it so hard to understand that after a long day at work, I just want to rest? And now you want to drag Penny into this mess. Just because your own family is broken, you want to ruin someone else's? How can you be so vicious? You deserve to lose your parents!" Watching his brazen attempts to twist the truth, I suddenly realized something. He still didn't know that he had become an orphan.

“It’s not as simple as you think, Adolphus…. I am wolf-less…. This is the perfect reason that I can’t be your luna.” I tried to give Adolphus a reason why he should reject me, but my voice cracked. To be honest, belittling myself, and asking my second chance mate to reject me for the same reason that my first mate used stung badly. My heart was hurting badly, but I concealed my heartache and kept on looking at him with indifference. I saw his jaw clenching hard, and my body trembled, not in fear, but because of heartache. He was an alpha… Our future alpha…. He needs a strong she-wolf as his mate, not someone like me…. Who is wolf-less….. “So… you think th… that the Moon Goddess did a mistake by pairing us, huh?” he asked me, and I dug my nails deeper in my palms. I felt something hot seeping out of my fingers, but my eyes were still glued on him. “I don’t know about others, but there is no way that I will reject you, Madeline….. Both I and Onyx has no problem with you having no wolf because our goddess chose you for me…. So forget it about rejection, and you know me very well.” He announced his decision in a firm and cold tone, and before I could say a word, he stormed out of my room. I collapsed on the floor right after he left the room, and sobbed silently. I was relieved that I didn’t have to go through the pain of rejection this time, but I was sorry for Adolphus. I didn’t know why the Moon Goddess paired us, but I need to talk to his father, our present alpha.

"You shouldn’t be here." Lila’s voice trembled, betraying the iron resolve she clung to. Cassian smirked, his broad frame blocking the doorway. "And yet, here I am." His gaze lingered on her, dark and hungry. "You didn’t think I’d let you go so easily, did you?" Two years ago, he shattered her heart with a rejection that still stung like a fresh wound. Now, the powerful Alpha stood in her doorway, his scent wrapping around her like a forbidden promise. "You made your choice, Cassian," she said, stepping back, even as her pulse quickened. "I’ve moved on." "Have you?" His voice was low, dangerous, as he closed the distance between them. "Because I haven’t. Every moment without you has been hell." Lila’s breath hitched as his hand brushed her cheek, the touch sparking a fire she thought had long since burned out. "You don’t get to do this," she whispered, though her body betrayed her, leaning into him. "I’ll do whatever it takes to make you mine again," he growled, his lips just a breath away from hers. "Even if I have to fight the entire world you to prove it." But Cassian isn’t the only one after her heart. And this time, Lila refuses to be anyone’s second choice.