The Common Reader By Virginia Woolf

Olivia’s POV The moment Armando left, the dam broke. I sobbed into the silence, my chest heaving with the weight of everything I’d pushed down for so long. I wanted to hold him tight. To kiss him and to tell him how much I loved him and how much I wanted his protection but I just couldn’t because I didn’t trust anyone else and because I never wanted anything to do with love after James. I hated myself for pushing him away. But more than that, I hated that I felt anything for him at all. I sat there, drowning in the storm of my own heart, knowing that love was a battlefield I might never cross again, and yet, for the first time, I wished I had the courage to try. Armando’s POV Back in my study, I poured myself a glass of whiskey, my hand trembling as I lit a cigarette. The tears came slowly at first, hot and unfamiliar against my skin. I hadn’t cried since I was ten years old. But tonight, I wept. For her. For me. For everything we could never be.

Everyone gets their wolf when they turn 18, but I lost mine. ** Now, I'm a rogue, a wolfless rogue. Life is hard, even more so than death, but I have to continue on, as the last survivor and the only hope for my people, for I was told that there is one man who can help me, and I must find him. Fate led me to Moonstone Pack. In the possession of its powerful Alpha, I couldn’t help but wonder, was he the one? I had no way of knowing, what the cruel but extremely handsome man brought to me was not hope. It was rejection and destruction. ** His breath was hot as it twirled with mine, his deep voice rough with desire. "These lips, this body, and this heart. "Mine." I shivered and moaned, "Even if you find out who I really am?" "I don't care who you are or what you are–" A pained gasp flew from his lips and his amber eyes widened at the dagger embedded in his chest. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and blood was dripping from my hand that was still clutching the knife's hilt. "But I do."

In that moment, our lips were only a breath's distance apart. Antonio's eyes held an unspeakable yearning. His gaze dropped to my lips, his intentions evident. My own desire mirrored his, creating a powerful magnetism. Just as he closed the distance, I placed my free hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Antonio," I murmured, my voice trembling, "We can't..." He froze in place, his warm breath caressing my lips. His eyes held my reflection in them, fluttered shut for a moment as he absorbed my words. I saw a flicker of pain, quickly masked by a stoic calm. He nodded slightly. "I understand," he replied, quietly. His voice was steady, betraying none of the emotions I knew must have been roiling beneath his suave facade. "You aren't going to ask me why?" I asked him, my voice barely a whisper. Antonio smiled, a sad, understanding smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm not," he said slowly, "because I understand that you have a valid reason for your actions." "Antonio," I swallowed hard, my voice unsteady, "I...I am getting married tomorrow, to Alpha Boris." His eyes widened slightly, the shock of my revelation clear. "You are the future Luna…" he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wilhelmina Growler is a force to be reckoned with, a fierce and dominant female werewolf. Her unyielding determination to become the alpha of her pack, the Gravemaw Hounds. However, her aspirations are cut short when shortly after becoming the Beta, Alpha Boris Gravemaw demotes her and forces her as his Luna. The night of the highly anticipated Moon Goddess' Ball, Wilhelmina's world is turned upside down when she discovers that Antonio Lothian, the Lycan Prince, is her destined mate.

Sophie thought her freedom began with her divorce. Instead, it spiraled into a nightmare when her ex-husband was found dead a week later, and all fingers pointed to her. With no one willing to defend her, she turns to her friend, Lucas Carter who gets Drake to fight her case.Drake Hazelwood. Known for taking only one case a year, Drake has his own reasons for stepping into the courtroom, reasons tied to a hidden illness and a mysterious promise to his best friend As Sophie fights to prove her innocence, an unexpected twist binds her to Drake in a way neither of them anticipated. When the lines between professional duty and personal feelings blur, will Sophie and Drake uncover the truth behind the murder and the secrets in their hearts?

LUNA: My entire life, I believed I was a simple human with a desire to assist shifters at the hospital where I work. But I could never have foreseen what fate had in store for me the moment I laid eyes on Blazes. For anyone of us. As soon as our worlds collided, all we could see was each other, and our destinies were soon intertwined by a curse that revealed my true identity. Mated to two shifters, it is up to us to break the curse placed on their pack before their demise is written in stone. BLAZE: With every male born into my pack, I can feel my grip on reality slipping, and I know that time is running out. As the future Alpha, it is my responsibility to track down the witch who has caused all of our sufferings and compel her to either break the curse or accept death. It was not part of the mission to find my mate, but it turns out that she is the only one who can save us, and she quickly becomes my addiction… My every desire… Mine. We are bound by our curse. And our passion will only lead us to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession, beyond our limits. SAFFRON: I can see how Blaze regards our mate, and I refuse to kiss the ground she walks on as he does. My body aches for her, I cannot deny it. Unfortunately for me, my wolf is loyal to the point of willing self-destruction to protect her. And when the time comes for us to fulfill our destinies and break the curse... Will I be able to succumb to my temptation and then turn it off like a dripping faucet once the ritual is over?

It was all her fault. My life could have been simple—40-hour shifts at KFC, sneaking extra chicken crumbs, and binge-watching reality shows. But no. Instead, here I was, standing at the altar, saying I do to a man whose idea of “casual” involved drugs, women, and murder on speed dial. Thanks, Mom. Not only did she ruin my life, but she also sold it—traded me off to the deadliest Mafia boss alive, Mario Santiago, as if I were some secondhand couch on clearance. Mario Santiago. Yeah, that Mario Santiago. The Human Terminator. The guy whose enemies mysteriously vanish like my paycheck two days after payday. And now, I was his wife. He glanced at me with a slow, wolfish smile that practically screamed trouble. That was when I knew two things: 1. I was completely doomed. 2. This man was going to wreck my heart (and probably my life). But hey, it could be worse, right? At least I’d get a killer wardrobe out of it. *** Are you looking for romance and humor? Stuck with Mario Santiago is a hilarious, Mafia billionaire romance filled with danger, betrayal, drama, and a love story you won’t forget. Dive in—you won’t regret it (but the characters might).

“You belong to me now! No woman is allowed to caress your rod aside from me!" She is the invincible queen of the underworld, the most dangerous Mafia Lord in the cartel kingdom. Selena Santa Cruz is the only woman who can make even the fearless men fall on their knees. Wanted by the force and underworld Lords, Selena fears nothing aside from her past. A past that she has been running from, a past she must put an end to. But when this dangerous Mafia queen crosses paths with an innocent and fragile student, everything changes. The untamable woman sees herself falling dangerously for this young boy whose origin is a mystery. “If I can’t have him then no one will.” Those were the deadly words of Selena Santa Cruz the moment she set her eyes on Tyrone Miller. Vowing to kill anyone to have him all to herself, will Selena be able to win against the thousands of men after her? How can she fight against her past when the one thing she has vowed to protect is strongly linked to it?

BLURB Lexa has always been the forgotten daughter, a pawn in her father's political games, forced into a loveless marriage with Damian, the Alpha's second son who only ever loved her sister. When her comatose sister mysteriously awakens and accuses Lexa of attempted murder, the entire pack turns against her. Branded a traitor and awaiting execution, she has no hope of mercy. Until **he** returns. Cross Blackwood, the Alpha's estranged firstborn and rumored to possess the rare dual power of both werewolf and lycan bloodlines, interrupts her execution with an earth-shattering claim: Lexa is his true mate. With the protection of the pack's rightful heir, Lexa finally has the chance to rewrite her story. Cross offers her more than safety, he offers vengeance, sealed with a marriage proposal she can't refuse. As Lexa steps into her power, she becomes the key to an ancient prophecy, the Blessed Wolf destined to lead the clans through chaos. But with her sister's wrath rising, Damian torn between newfound desire and ambition, and dark secrets threatening to unravel everything, Lexa must embrace her destiny and decide who deserves salvation...and who must face her fury. In a world of wolves, only the fiercest survive. And this time, the rejected mate will rise as Luna.

Celestine Smith thought there was no hope for a better future after losing everything in marriage until the Alpha divorced her. Celestine took advantage of the opportunity to rise when everyone anticipated her crumbling into dust. Without the marriage binding her rights, she reclaims everything that is hers. But she must pay the price. "Let's make a deal," he adds, a deadly look on his face. "I'll get you out of this place. "What's in it for you?" Celestine asks as the man in front of her laughs. "I need to know what you want in exchange for helping me." "You." His brief response shoots lightning bolts through her body. "I want you," he says again. Celestine exhales deeply. "We have a deal."

“ Fuck the rules, Diana!” He snapped. “ Everyone knows the prophecy about you. You will never have a mate. That is your destiny. Besides, isn't that one of the reason we got together?” My heart sank when he mentioned the prophecy and I couldn't help the sting in my eyes and the pang I felt in my heart.“ We’ve been together for months now, and you were not convinced that it is appropriate for me to touch you and do things to your body?” He sneered and took an intimidating step forward, bridging the gap between us. At this point, I could feel his breath on my face, my heart palpitating in my chest. Something just doesn’t seem right.I feel my body temperature rising, heat emitting from my body, and sweat breaking out of my skin.“ I know you want me, Diana.” He coerced and tilted my chin upward with his gaze boring into my eyes.“ It’s all over you,”