Surviving In The Desert

*Abandoning ship isn’t my style. It wasn’t hers either, but our circumstances ripped us apart. Now it’s not just a literal ocean standing between us. Francine Chirilova has no direction. After coming out of the closet leaves her without a family at age 18, the quick witted 25 year old has been forced to survive on her connections and kind personality. Throw in a rapidly decreasing appetite and a tendency to gravitate toward abusive women for a epic shit show. While recovering from her latest 4 year long mistake, she makes a strong, yet unlikely connection with her virtual best friend. Que in recovering alcoholic Vasilisa Krovopuskova, aged 26 from Siberia, Russia. After surviving a grueling upbringing on her own, trust is a difficult concept to grasp. Already having experienced heartbreak once before, she wasn’t looking for anything serious when Francine crash landed into her life via an online sanctuary for lesbians. With an ocean separating the two, neither Francine nor Vasilisa know which direction to swim in. Will they stay on their side of the world, or drown trying to get to the other? *Disclaimer* - Strong mature content. 18+, please Book one. To follow is book two: “Our Blank Canvas.”

Do you ever wish a secret billionaire would sweep you away to a tropical island? Do you ever wish that you could be like Cinderella and find your happily ever after with the prince? From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sweet but spicy Billionaire Romance Series that will have you believing in happily ever after! Each story in this series is a stand-alone one. But with all the stories happen in one world, characters will reappear in other stories. ****** The First Set: Saltwater Kisses– An accidental marriage between Jack and Emma. Rainwater Kisses– Falling in love, and finding how they fit together with Owen and Kaylee. Freshwater Kisses– Finding love in childhood friends with Robbie and Sam. BONUS: Kisses From Jack: The first half of Saltwater Kisses, but from Jack's perspective! Timeless Love Stories: Champagne Kisses– A story of long lost love and second chances with Dean and Rachel. The Second Set: Sandcastle Kisses– Finding love in all the wrong places with Noah and Izzy Hurricane Kisses– Surviving the storm together with Logan and Olivia Barefoot Kisses– A Cinderella story with Aiden and Lena The Third Set: Sunrise Kisses– Ava and Bastian discovering true beauty Waterfall Kisses– Leo finally succumbing to Charlotte's charms Island Kisses: Gabe finally meets his match in Harper!

My brother, Theo Sorento, died in a plane crash on his way back home just to celebrate my birthday. They never found his body—only wreckage. Ever since, my parents forced me to kneel in front of his grave every year on my birthday, demanding that I repent for surviving when he didn’t. Then came my eighteenth birthday. I realized someone was following me. Panicked, I sent a few messages asking for help. Just then, Mom called, not to check on me but to lash out. “I know exactly what you're doing. You’re just making up excuses so you don’t have to kneel in front of your brother’s grave! You’re a liar. Why wasn’t it you who died instead of him? You’re a walking curse!” Before my phone was smashed under a boot, the last thing I heard was the cold click of her hanging up. Then, I was cut up into pieces, and what was left of me was tossed across the city. My father, the lead forensic pathologist on my case, didn’t even recognize me. Later, Theo returned alive with his wife, whom he had eloped with eight years ago. When they found out the pile of rotting flesh was me, they all went insane.

Lucy Drew faced a turning point, as she prepared to accept her nature. But when her expected powers don’t appear on her twentieth birthday, everything she believed crumbles. Rejected by her mate, Prince Geoffrey, and betrayed by her best friend Laura, Lucy is forced into the wild, where surviving is her only choice. When her family seeks safety with the ruthless Bloodwood Pack, led by the mysterious and cursed Alpha, Karl Bloodwood, Lucy gets caught in a mix of secrets and risks. As her relationship with Karl grows stronger, so does the threat of an old curse that endangers his life and affects their new bond. Stories of previous partners who met a terrible end trouble Lucy as she struggles with her new power and the scary idea that her fate might be linked to a darkness she never expected. With dangerous enemies hiding in the dark and betrayal always just a moment away, Lucy faces a tough challenge. Can she find out what is going on in time to prevent history from repeating itself? Or will the love that is destined for her and her partner become a painful sacrifice to an ancient curse that demands blood? Join Lucy on this exciting journey filled with unexpected betrayals, inner strength, and a love that is not allowed. In this story, the difference between love and danger becomes less clear with every thrilling surprise that happens...

Trapped in a marriage that promised security but delivered only pain, Isabella Rossi has spent ten years surviving under the cruel dominance of her husband, Felix. Bruised, betrayed, and broken, she has known no love, no comfort — only duty and silence. Her world shatters the day she learns the truth: her ten-year contract is finally over, and Felix was never meant to be her husband at all. Ten years stolen. A life built on lies. After trying everything to make Felix let her go, Isabella fails miserably. Just when she’s ready to give up, he makes her an offer — stay with him for three more months, and he’ll release her, with job opportunities and a chance to start over. It should have been simple. Three months of pretending. Three months to freedom. But nothing goes as planned. Somewhere between shared glances, late-night conversations, and the man she swore she hated showing a side she never thought existed, Isabella finds herself torn between anger and affection. And just as her heart begins to soften, her rightful husband returns to claim what was taken from him. Will Isabella reclaim the life that was meant for her, follow the path of truth and destiny, or surrender to the dangerous pull of the one man she was never supposed to love?

Synopsis/Blurb: Mima, a young werewolf and one of the last surviving members of her fallen pack, is thrust into a life of torment and grief when her family is slaughtered and her pack destroyed by Alpha Dylan’s brutal attack. At 19, she’s forced into the hands of Alpha Dylan, the very wolf responsible for her parents’ deaths. Mima is tortured and subjected to the cruelty by members of the pack especially Dylan's Luna, Stephanie. But when a powerful new ally, Rake, the Lycan King, reveals himself as her true mate, Mima's world gets bigger. The lycan king helps her, his mate to escape the abusive pack and to his own. During her stay with him, she stumbles upon a shocking revelation, she is the chosen one of the Moon Goddess, her bloodline holding power to change the fate of the werewolf world. In a war where dark magic and the bonds of destiny collide, Mima must rise from the ashes of her past to fight for a future she never asked for. Will the broken daughter of a fallen pack rise to be the leader of a new one? Or will her grief and torment claim her before she ever reaches her full potential? In this story of betrayal and second chance, Mima strives to decide the fate of her world, risking everything for the chance of a future with those she loves and escape her terrible blood filled past.

I used to be the secret mate of Jason Boone, Alpha King of the Northern Realm. I was an Omega kept in the dark for seven long years. In this forbidden relationship, I gave birth to his son. Yet, he never once allowed our child to address him as his father. He promised that once his position was secure, he would publicly announce me as his Luna. But what I got instead was news of his grand engagement ceremony with Princess Bailey Shaw of a neighboring kingdom. "You're just a filthy stray Omega, surviving only because Jason pities you. Spare us the noble act. The elders would've cast you out of the Northern Realm long ago if it weren't for Jason. You'd be dead in some wilderness." Bailey rose gracefully and linked arms with Jason. She looked down on me as she spit out her contempt. When Jason missed our son's birthday again because of Bailey, I made my decision. I left, taking my son with me, and returned to my homeland. Unexpectedly, Jason, who had always been arrogant, lost control. He stormed into the healer academy I founded, desperately asking where I'd gone. But this time, neither I nor my son would look back.

Elena Thompson’s life has never been easy, but she’s always managed to survive. Working long shifts at a small diner, she’s spent years cleaning up the mess her father made—until the day he makes the ultimate mistake. Drowning in debt to dangerous people, he signs away the only thing he has left to offer: her. Alexander Calloway is ruthless, powerful, and dangerously cold. When he steps in to settle William Thompson’s debts, he doesn’t want money—he wants Elena. To him, marriage is just another contract, another deal to control. But what he doesn’t anticipate is the fire in her eyes and the way she refuses to bend to his will. into a world of wealth and secrets, Elena vows to fight for her freedom. But the more she clashes with her formidable husband, the more she finds herself drawn to the man behind the icy exterior. And as an old flame from Alexander’s past resurfaces, determined to ruin everything, Elena realizes that escaping her new life might not be her biggest challenge… Surviving it—and resisting the growing tension between her and Alexander—might be. In a battle of wills, desire, and betrayal, how long can Elena fight the pull of the man who holds her fate in his hands?

Emily Parker has lived her entire life in the shadow of Marcus Kane — the man who stole her mother, tortured her, and claimed her as his own. Escaping him cost her everything. Surviving him left scars too deep to count. When fate ties her to Rhett Maddox, ruthless president of the Vipers MC, Emily finds something she thought she'd lost forever: safety. Love. A chance at a family. But safety is a fragile thing, and Marcus Kane has returned to take back what he believes is his. As war ignites between the Serpents and the Vipers, Emily is forced to confront every nightmare she's tried to bury. Rhett will bleed to protect her. Ghost — the Vipers' most haunted enforcer — will uncover truths that change everything Emily thought she knew about her past. And when the dust clears, Emily will stand face-to-face with Marcus Kane one last time. But vengeance is never simple. It costs blood, brothers, and more than Emily ever thought she had left to give. This is a story of survival and scars. Of love found in the ashes. Of family forged in fire. And of one woman who refuses to belong to anyone but herself. By the time the final bullet falls, Emily Parker will no longer be the girl Marcus Kane broke. She'll be the woman who ends him.

I didn’t volunteer. I was sacrificed. In the brutal territory of Velmora, girls like me are nothing but breeding stock. My father handed me over like cattle to the Alpha Selection where surviving means being claimed by a wolf stronger than fear itself. But no one told me there were two Alphas. No one warned me about the twins: Kael, the violent one with rage in his veins, and Jarek, the cold one who told me to run… then watched while his brother nearly killed me. I was never meant to survive this place. I was never supposed to feel anything but pain. But they felt something. And that makes me dangerous. They think I’ll break. Maybe I will. But I’ll drag them down with me. ……... In Velmora, the Alpha Selection is sacred and brutal. Girls are offered, judged, and claimed. None return the same. Amber is human. She was supposed to be overlooked. Disposable. But when she steps into the twin Alphas’ den, something happens no one expected. Kael wants her dead. Jarek wants her gone. But the bond won’t let go. As whispers of an impossible connection stir, Amber finds herself entangled in a supernatural truth Velmora was never ready to face. A human girl shouldn’t be able to bond with Alphas. Unless she’s not just human.