Synonym Hoping

"I'm your destiny, Darryl. Your mate. Your golden wolf." "And that's exactly why I can't have you, Hazel." ------------------- Hazel returns to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her childhood friend Darryl. But the brooding mysterious boy she hopes to connect with is nothing like the friend she remembers, but now someone who seems to despise her very existence. But fate has other plans - Hazel is Darryl's destined mate and a rare golden wolf, key to unlocking his true alpha powers. But claiming Hazel could mean her death. The ruthless rogue alpha Malachi, with a history of killing Darryl's loved ones, has returned. And he's not the only threat - Katrina, a jealous beta, and Lucian, Darryl's rival, will stop at nothing to keep them apart. As if that weren't enough, Hazel learns she holds the key to breaking an ancient curse - one that requires the ultimate sacrifice. Will Darryl risk everything to be with Hazel? Can Hazel embrace her destiny as a golden wolf without losing herself? And when the time comes, will she choose love or sacrifice to save those closest to her?

The day the Porter family went bankrupt, my elder sister, who had been engaged to Calvin Porter, claimed she was in love with someone else and cut ties with him without a second thought. I was the one who stepped forward to take her place, becoming the laughingstock of our social circle. I smoothed away all the hardness in him, tried to shape myself into the woman he liked, and swallowed countless moments of bitterness, hoping only to warm his distant heart. Until our wedding day. A car accident happened, and Calvin's first instinct was to shield my sister with his whole body. "Rebecca, don't be scared. Where are you hurt? We'll get you to the hospital right away!" He carried her into the ambulance without so much as glancing back at me. I looked down at the iron rod piercing my chest and felt warm blood gush out. It was only then I understood. He was not indifferent by nature, he was simply indifferent to me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Calvin came to our house carrying the engagement gift.

She has made us proud and today she will make history. Her name is Jedidiah Aaro. Come up to the throne and receive your crown my daughter.” There was a sudden hush in the entire hall. For a second, even I thought I had heard wrong and just stood rooted to my spot, a frown etched in my face, my brows furrowed. Jedidiah? Someone suddenly pushed past me and I almost fell If I hadn't stood my ground, only for me to watch as Jedidiah cat walked towards the throne. Her outfit, unlike the suit I had worn was a skimpy revealing gown with pink stiletto heels. She sat down proudly on the throne and right before my very eyes, my father lifted the crown- MY crown and placed it right on her head. The crowd resumed cheering, but this time it wasn't as cheerful and loud as it was before. Infact, it felt like they were being forced to give the mandatory standing ovation. I was still rooted to my spot, hoping and believing everything was a dream, but it wasn't. My step sister, Jedidiah was sitting on the throne, wearing the crown. Alpha Jedidiah? What a joke.

Jack Saunders wanted one last hurrah before taking the mantle of DS Oil & Gas, the billion-dollar company that his father founded. His friend, Owen, let him borrow his mansion on a tropical island so that he could throw a final party before “marrying” the business that would dominate the rest of his life. He brought his secretary, Brandy, hoping that he could kindle a relationship that would last through the long days and nights of running a company. However, while the party was great, the gold digging woman he brought was not, and Jack resigned himself to a lifetime of loneliness. That was until he took a walk down the beach and met her. A woman who didn’t recognize him from the tabloids and only saw him, the man behind the money. Of all the women Jack had ever met, there was nobody like Emma LaRue. With one pretend marriage ceremony, she would change his life forever, and become the only one he ever wanted to give his saltwater kisses to. This novella is the first half of Saltwater Kisses written from Jack’s point-of-view, with a few bonus scenes thrown in as well.

BLURB Lena Hale thought heartbreak couldn’t get worse until she walked into a luxury restaurant with a Christmas gift in her hand and found her boyfriend on a date with another girl. Broken and humiliated, she flees home for the holidays, hoping her mother’s new marriage will give her a quiet place to recover. Instead, she walks straight into a nightmare. Her cheating ex, Bryce Carter, is waiting at the mansion… as the beloved nephew of her new stepfather. And her new stepbrother, Cassian Ward, the cold, quiet son who sees too much and says too little can’t seem to look away from her. Trapped together for Christmas, Lena is forced to face the boy who broke her and the man who’s slowly undoing her in ways she doesn’t understand. Bryce wants her back. Cassian wants her safe. And Lena wants to forget she still feels anything at all. But secrets run deep in the Ward family… and desire runs deeper. And this Christmas, falling for the wrong brother might be the most dangerous mistake she’s ever made.

Violet has always been the perfect daughter and the loyal friend, moulded by expectations, driven by guilt, and too afraid to disappoint. From childhood, she was taught that "good girls don’t argue," and so she spent her youth silencing her desires to fulfil others’ dreams. She chose the degree her parents wanted, behaved like her parents wanted, and even married a guy who's father was her dad's business partner. She worked hard, hoping love could change her life, but all she earned was humiliation, no matter how much she gave, it was never enough. Her so called family never even asked what she wants. All her life she spent earning love from her parents who raised her to bear the responsibility of a good daughter. She never say no to her parents knowing they are the reason of her living a good life. She wants to repay the debt for raising her in a safe environment like her real parents even though they are not. But she didn't expected her soon to be husband will turn out her bully.

Lila Carter, 22, works two jobs to support herself and her grandma’s cancer treatments. One rainy night, she meets Noah Kingston, 35, a brooding billionaire still haunted by a past heartbreak. When her car breaks down, he offers help and then an arrangement: he’ll pay for everything if she spends nights with him. Secret. No feelings. Just nights. What starts as physical quickly turns emotional. Noah cooks her favorite meals, asks about her dreams, and holds her longer than agreed. Lila finds herself falling for him, leaving pieces of her heart in his penthouse. But when a photo leaks, she’s labeled a gold-digger, and family pressure and past rivals create chaos. Heartbroken, she leaves him, hoping he’ll forget her. Noah searches desperately and finds her working in a small diner. He realizes he doesn’t want money or rules he wants her. Together, they fight for a life full of love, tears, and happiness earned. A secret arrangement that was never meant to last… becomes a love neither can live without.

For six years, I was secretly in love with my stepbrother, Connor, the Alpha of our wolf pack. One full moon night, I snuck into his pack's corporate headquarters, hoping to surprise him. But through a crack in the door, I heard him whispering with his Beta, Marcus. "You still messing around with your stepsister, that Aria? When are you gonna cut it off? Don't tell me you've actually caught feelings for her?" Connor smirked, his voice ice-cold. "Feelings? She's just a beta who threw herself at me. A freebie, why not? My Luna will only ever be Elena." "Her father betrayed the pack and got kicked out. And her mother seduced mine, got my own mother killed. Six years... that's just been me punishing her. She deserves everything she gets." So, the mate bond I treasured... it was all just a carefully planned revenge. All his sweet nothings, his gentle touches... they were all lies, laced with poison. Fine. If that's how it is, I'm leaving. Hope you won't regret it.

Aria has always been a ghost in her own pack, a powerless human twin in a world of wolves. When her brother, the pack’s heir, dies tragically in her place, her family blames her and sends her away for warrior lessons at the royal academy; a place where only boys have survived, hoping she won’t return alive. There, she discovers she is not just human, but possesses rare gifts from the Moon Goddess, powers that rival even the strongest in the realm. Watching from the shadows is a mysterious grey-eyed man; the Alpha King. He suspects she is his fated mate, though he can’t feel her wolf, and she doesn’t yet understand why. Surrounded by betrayal from those she trusts most, deadly threats, and unspoken bonds, Aria must survive, master her gifts, and give love a chance with a man whose presence could protect her… and change her life forever. Can she trust anyone? Will she survive the dangers lurking in the shadows? And will the Alpha King, her fated mate, claim her heart—or will darkness tear them apart?

“Promise me, you will hide her and keep the truth from her. I never want her to know what she is or where she came from.” Esmes mother begged on her death bed as she handed her infant child over to her friends. “Raise her as your own, please!” She had spent years running, hoping to find a way out of the deal she had made with a demon that would cost her not only her life but her only child’s freedom once she turned 18. With her mother gone and her wolf stirring Esme finds herself rebelling against the ties of family and friendship as she nears her 18th birthday. Sneaking out to a party Esme finds herself auctioned in an underground world where mafia reign and rules don’t apply. At least not for the formidable alpha and mafia boss Matteo Accardo, who thrives in the dangerous world of corruption and sin! She may be his mate, but that doesn't mean she gets a happy ending- no one does in the chaotic world of sex, money and power! At least until now…