Tender Years

By the fifth year of my marriage to Noah Lester, everyone insisted that I, Emma Newman, was his eternal muse. But I knew the truth. Behind my back, Noah cycled through a parade of fresh-faced, eager lovers. He even flaunted them at social gatherings, swapping one for another with shameless ease. When friends teased him—"Didn’t you swear Emma was the love of your life? Why the revolving door of mistresses?"—he’d just laugh, arms slung around his latest conquests. "Once you’ve caught your muse the glow fades. Give me someone new and tender any day—at least they keep things exciting." So I began plotting my escape. What Noah never realized was that I had grown tired of him, too. Tired of this life, of these performances. I was done.

When Olivia moves into her father’s house, she expects discomfort and distance—not the quiet pull she feels toward his son. Adrian is older, already in college, and careful in ways that make him seem unreachable. At first, he treats her like a responsibility, someone he needs to look out for. But closeness has a way of changing things. It begins with small moments. Lingering conversations late into the night. Shared laughter that feels too intimate. The way Adrian always seems to notice when Olivia is overwhelmed, the way his voice softens when he speaks to her. What starts as protection slowly becomes attention—and attention turns into something dangerously close to desire. Olivia feels it first. A flutter in her chest when he enters the room. The way her breath catches when their eyes meet for a second too long. Adrian feels it too, even as he fights it—pulling away one moment, drawn back the next. They never say the words. They don’t have to. Every look holds meaning. Every accidental brush of hands lingers longer than it should. The air between them grows thick with everything they refuse to admit. They know the line they’re standing on. They know crossing it would change everything. Yet the heart doesn’t care about rules. What grows between them is soft but consuming—tender, aching, and forbidden. A love born in restraint, made stronger by everything they deny themselves. When their secret is discovered, it shatters them both. Adrian is sent away without goodbye. Olivia is left behind, clutching memories that feel too precious and too painful to keep. Years later, Olivia has built the life she once dreamed of. But some feelings don’t burn fast and disappear. They smolder. They wait. And they never truly let go.

VIOLET-He left me because of his secrets that he refused to share with me. He didn't care how he shattered already broken pieces and left a mess. My family was the one to put me back together with their love & care. And now I'm a completely different person, the girl who was abused & the woman who was left behind are nowhere to be found. Now I'm here with an armor that I'd built in his absence, with a heart incased behind walls of steel & I refused to let him fool me again. He might've been the one to heal my body with his soft touches but my heart was too tender to believe in him again despite that one dream that could be possible only with him. He says he'd his reasons, that he'll do anything for my forgiveness. But should I trust him again? Should I give him the chance he's begging for? Or should I just fool him like he did me & get what I really want? COLE-I made a mistake when I left her. But now I'm back to beg for forgiveness. The problem is My broken princess has turned into one with steel heart & ironclad armor. She doesn't care about my sweet words or tender touches anymore. She's not the woman I'd left behind. She knows how to hurt me & she hurts me where it's fucking painful. She says she won't forgive me but she'll have to because there was nothing else I wanted more than her forgiveness. I'll do anything she wants, give her everything she needs except that one thing that she really wanted from me. For the second time I'll do something she'll hate me for but at least I'll have her where I wanted her. By my side-In my heart-As my wife.

In a bleak future, the man with everything wants one more thing. Her. Tiernan is a man with everything, and he’s not used to being denied what he wants. When he sees Madison from a distance, he makes the arrogant decision to take her. Her family needs her, but she has little choice except to become the Commander’s new companion, albeit reluctantly. Life in the hub of power isn’t what she expects, and neither is Tiernan. He’s dark and demanding, but there are flashes of tenderness that have her falling for the man she glimpses inside the cold and exacting commander of their territory. Which Teirnan is the real one—the tyrant or the tender lover? At first, it seems impossible that she could ever be happy with the man who forced her to give up her life, but feelings grow between them. Their relationship reaches a fragile new level that could deepen to something neither expected, if betrayal and treason don’t separate the lovers.

Evangelina had a tough luck growing up with a family that wanted to trade her for security but one day things changed. She met her mate during a ball and sparks flew. They spent the night taking pleasure from each other. It all felt like a dream to Eva and just like a dream, it shattered when the morning came. When the morning light fell on his beautiful face, she realised with a shock that her destined mate is the vicious Zavion Kessler- the infamous alpha of Midnight pack- their swore enemy. Eva does what she thinks is best. She flees, leaving him sleeping not knowing the alpha had already planted his pup inside her. Two months later she finds out that she is pregnant. Her family decides to kill her baby and mate her off to an old chap. Eva runs away for her baby. Fast forward four years, she is a caring mother to a sweet girl and is scraping through life. Then comes a man who stinks of money and offers her millions for pretending to be his mate in front of his family during his big brother's mating ceremony. She agrees, again not knowing that the big brother of her fake mate is her true mate, Zavion. Tricky, isn't it? .................. "What are you doing?" I asked as his large callous hand wrapped itself around my left breast, clutching the lump in a tender yet firm grip. "Your heart remains calm like ocean when with my brother but flaps like a caged bird when I am around. Suspicious, isn't it?" he rasped while drawing circles over my palpitating heart with his thumbpad. I could sense it. He is close to finding out the truth. That I am his mate and that he has a daughter.

(Fourth book in the Her Wolves series) Teagan van der Merwe knew at least one thing in this life, you couldn't trust anyone. Not even your own flesh and blood. Exiled from her pack at the tender age of nineteen by her parents, all because she loved the wrong person. Harland. Her mate. They were cast out. Left to fend for themselves. As if they had any say in who the goddess chose for them. Mates were forever, another lesson she had learned. Harland was the only one who saw her for her. Now, nine years later, she was forced to go back to that hell hole of a place. Forced to face the demons she had left behind. Alone. What she comes to discover would shake her to the very core. Teagan would find a second mate. The last person on this earth she had ever thought would be hers. Bellamy Johanness. The heir of Desert Sun. And the man she had been betrothed to. *** “For you? For you I would slaughter them all. Every last person that has ever made you cry. I would burn this world to the fucking ground if it meant you were happy. Maybe I am exactly the kind of person you thought I was. But maybe, just maybe, that’s the kind of person you need in your corner,” His fingertips reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. Beheld me with crystal clear vision. Saw through me. “Fuck all of them. So long as I have you.” I couldn’t stop myself. Felt my body moving forward, all on its own. The distance between us closed. Our eyes remained locked on each other. Everything stopped. Then his lips touched mine and everything fell right into place.

Aralyn Leto and her mother Larissa, are running across Soovaree, a mystic supernatural realm, to escape Malleteagan, Aralyn’s father and Larissa’s destined mate. At tender age of 13, Aralyn witnessed Malleteagan killing Larissa in a cold-blooded murder. Taking her last breaths, Larissa made Aralyn promise to continue to live and fight. Brokenhearted yet determined to keep her promise, Aralyn continues running away from Malleteagan. Blinded by the hatred, Malleteagan (Aeolian Warlock’s Royalty, the Lycan King and son of Moon Goddess) believes that Aralyn’s death is needed to break the Moonlight curse cast upon him by the God of War. Left with no choice, Aralyn finally escapes from Malleteagan to Wengarthria (the supernatural hell of Soovaree). In Wengarthria, Aralyn enters Oribus, the first of nine levels of hell. In Oribus Aralyn meets Sentaya, enigmatic Oribian ruler and gatekeeper of Wengarthria. Sentaya offers a hideout to Aralyn, who agrees to work for Sentaya in exchange. About five years later, Malleteagan discovers Aralyn’s hideout in Oribus and attacks Sentaya when she refuses to handover Aralyn, only to lose the battle. However, Aralyn’s relief to hear about Malleteagan’s battle loss and retreat from Oribus is short-lived. Upon the battle end, Aralyn’s hideout was discovered by Marcellus Riggs, the illegitimate son of Hades. As commanded by his father, Hades, Marcellus, the seasoned army commander and heir apparent to Wengarthrian throne, led the army to Oribus to collect the souls of Malleteagan’s fallen Lycan soldiers. When he discovers Aralyn. Marcellus is annoyed to discover that she is his destined mate. Due to personal vendetta, Marcellus abducts Aralyn and imprisons her in dungeons of the last circle of Wengarthria with a plan to destroy Aralyn and get revenge. Will he manage to get going with his plans?

Sloane Hartwell is the niece of Roman and Samara Hartwell. She is descended from a long line of pure Alphas who shift into the rare white wolf. At the tender age of eight, Sloane found out that her mother and the man she thought was her father were responsible for the death of her mother’s parents and brother, the Alpha heir. She also discovered that her mother murdered her birth father, thinking that he was not an Alpha. When her Aunt Samara returned, her mother and mate were both killed for their betrayal. Sloane worked hard to be worthy of becoming a white wolf and on her tenth birthday, when she got her wolf, she anxiously raced to see if she’d done enough, only to be disappointed that her wolf was a normal wolf. Benedict Winslow, V is an Alpha heir in a very long line of Alphas. His family is well known in the werewolf community, his bloodline going back so far that he’s practically werewolf royalty. Benedict has been watching Sloane for years, seeing how hard she works, how strong she is, and how she doesn’t take crap from anyone. He appreciates her toughness and her love of family. When he invites Sloane to his eighteenth birthday party, his family is less than pleased. Unwilling to offend her powerful family, they allow her to stay, only to find out that Benedict feels the pull to her as a mate. However, Sloane doesn’t feel worthy of having any mate, much less someone like Benedict. When she pushes him away, he refuses to let her go. Can Benedict convince Sloane that he truly wants her as his mate? Can Sloane let go of the pain of her past and allow herself to find happiness?

Verssa Yanng, at a youthful nineteen years of age, boasts an undeniable allure, his striking visage, height six feet in stature, lean yet sturdy. His attractiveness is undeniable; he possesses a universally pleasing look that captivates from every angle. By the tender age of eighteen, Vers had already ascended to the summit of the fashion world as a coveted Top Super Model, dominating the runways of fashion weeks across nearly all continents. At nineteen, his cameo appearance in a movie unexpectedly seized the spotlight, with the supporting role eclipsing even the film's protagonist. Yet, the rosy facade of fame conceals its thorns. Beneath the dazzle lay the shadows of terror: malevolent letters, corrosive threats, and the persistent nocturnal intrusion of rabid fans knocking on his apartment door. Vers recalls having relocated over five times due to the relentless leakage of his whereabouts to his fanatic followers. One night, after a midnight shoot, Vers almost get kidnaped by a group that blocked his car and forcibly pulled him out. An escape landed him in a hospital bed, where he awoke to the presence of a mysterious figure in black. Gale Anderson, a former war veteran turned professional bodyguard, now stands as a sentinel for Vers. A very quiet and mysterious man, handsome yet frigid. His countenance rarely betrays emotion, six feet and five inches tall. His broad hands lifted Vers's slight frame with ease that rendered him akin to a mere child in his grasp. His aura is shrouded in enigma, withholding the identity of his employer, yet his mission remains unwavering: to keep Vers safe by any means necessary. For Vers, unfortunately, it's like a living nightmare; his freedom was robbed as his watchful bodyguard trailed him incessantly, even to the restroom.

“You will move to the Emerson’s family,” the judge announced, his voice echoing through the cold courtroom. His final words hung in the air, making me jump as he used his gavel to close my argument to move to yet another foster home. My name is Emily. For the past three years, I have been caught in a perpetual cycle of living in between foster homes, on the unforgiving streets The tragic loss of my parents when I was only fourteen left me with no choice but to rely on the mercy of the foster system. Unfortunately, my only living relative, deemed me too much of a burden due to my unpredictable moods. Consequently, I have been tossed from one foster family to another like a forgotten toy. With only four months left until my eighteenth birthday, I find myself being sent to live with the Emerson family. From what I've heard, they have two daughters and a son named Aiden, whose ego supposedly matches his oversized shoes. Aiden Emerson, a name that resonates throughout the Ford Anglia School. He holds the distinction of being the youngest student to become a billionaire at the tender age of twenty-four he had become the proud owner of eight thriving establishments. Will they be able to cope with me, considering my troubled past? Or will I end up running away again, seeking solace on the unforgiving streets where I learned to numb my pain with drugs and temporary escapes? Now, here I am, on my way to the Emerson family, my last stop before I turn eighteen and gain the freedom to decide my own fate. I can't help but wonder what lies ahead. Will my past mistakes and inner demons continue to haunt me, pushing me towards the edge of oblivion?