The Darkness Outside Us

After being locked away her entire life for her protection, Esme is finally let loose on the world. Being half vampire half human in a new world of mean girls and social expectations leaves her unprepared. Luckily for her, she had a guardian ready and waiting to help her through the challenges. Will finding out the identity of her guardian turn out to be her greatest difficulty of all?

Cloe never imagined getting involved with a gangster. She wasn't prepared for the overwhelming passion that came over her when she saved Tulio's life. When you save someone, you are responsible for their life. Studies, college, family, everything else took a back seat in the pianist's life. But will love like this be worth it?

While setting up the wedding bed, I discovered an unidentified liquid on the sheets. In my new marital home, someone else had already stayed here! My mind went completely blank, and I video-called my fiance. Surprisingly, the call was answered instantly. "The new bed is really soft. I tried it out for you," said Jeremy's assistant, Rachel. She smiled, flirtatious and smug. Perfect. I don't want this man anymore.

“Sir, I beg you to let me go! Don’t touch me! No!” My voice broke into sobs. The stranger forced me into an uncomfortable position. I wanted to fight back, but he was too strong. Out of shame and confusion, I did everything I could to free myself from his grasp. However, the more I fought back, the more unsettled I became. Eventually, I lost my rationality.

Seven years into our marriage, my husband, Lucas Thorne, is hailed as a legendary astronomer in the field of astronomy. It is no secret that he absolutely adores me, his wife. He always keeps a polite, distant demeanor with those around him. Even when his new assistant, Serena Cox, asks for his number, he coldly turns her down. In the year he proposed to me, he named a star "LAW", which was an acronym for "Lucas Adores Wilma". Since then, every asteroid he discovers is named with initials that hold a special significance only the two of us know. To others, they might just be scientific achievements. But to me, they are unspoken love letters. This goes on until this morning, when I stumble upon an unfamiliar phone. I unlock it easily with my middle name, thinking it's yet another quiet gesture of his love. But to my horror, I find a string of explicit messages between him and another woman. The person who was at the receiving end of those messages was none other than… Serena, his assistant.

My eighteenth birthday wasn’t just a milestone; it was supposed to be my rescue. For twelve years, I’ve been the Crescent Pack’s shadow, an orphan with no siblings to lean on and no parents to shield me. I had survived on the hope that the Moon Goddess would finally give me a place to belong, a soul specifically chosen to keep me company. I waited for a spark. Instead, I got a wildfire that consumed me. Being mated to Kai was the ultimate prize for every Beta in the territory, a dream they whispered about in the training rings. But the Goddess has a twisted sense of humor. She granted a wish neither of us wanted, and before the bond could even settle, Kai tore it apart. The rejection didn't just break my heart, it shattered something deep in my marrow. The physical agony was a dull throb compared to the humiliation, the sneers of the pack, the laughter of the elite, and the sight of my destined partner looking at me with nothing but disgust. In their eyes, I was a broken girl who should have chosen death over the shame of being rejected. They think the story ends with me crawling into a corner to wither away. What they don't know is that the blood of the weak can hold the oldest secrets. Deep beneath the surface, runes more ancient than the Alpha’s lineage are beginning to glow, pulsing with a power strong enough to destroy the chaos they’ve sown. My power isn't just waking up, it’s starving. And this time, it’s demanding far more than a simple apology. It’s demanding a reckoning.

On the day that I returned to the country, Lola Lawson, the one who was once the love of my life for ten years, sent me a picture of a baby. She told me to think of a name and meet her at the city hall to register the baby, as she had prepared a welcome-home gift for me. So, I rushed over with bags full of baby supplies. But when I arrived, she and her girlfriends were bent over with ridicule and laughter. "I told you! Even though he was gone for a year, he's still a loyal lapdog! Just a wave of my hand and he'd even be willing to raise someone else's kid for me!" She sized me up with mocking amusement. "Kevin Sheraton. How could you still be this naive? Just one joke and you come running?" They laughed without any restraint, calling me names and hurling insults, saying I'd do anything for Lola. But when I walked past them and took a number to register my own child's birth, and later wrapped my arm around my wife as the three of us took a family portrait, Lola's eyes were completely reddened with tears.

They are brothers. Not just any type of brothers, but the hottest, richest and most popular boys in the whole of New Orleans. But despite all of their good looks and fame, they have a bad side. They are playboys to the core. Girls to them are like tissue paper, once used should be discarded immediately. But all of that is about to come to a standstill. Her name is Natalie Maddox or "Natty" as her friends call her. The perfect example of a rogue girl, she leaves her troublesome but perfect life in Middesville to settle in New Orleans. Of all the schools in the area to choose from, she has her eyes set on the school, the Anderson brothers attend. She's heard all about the boys and thinks it'll be fun to play around them for a while. Placing a bet, the brothers agree as it is a step up their reputation. What they don't know us the kind of disaster it will bring to both brothers. The boys have gotten their hearts hardened, as they don't think about anyone other than themselves. But if love is a game to them, MAY THE BEST PLAYER WIN...

I am Ella Collins, the mate of the Darkshadow Pack's Alpha. Our pack was the strongest in Nomerika. Everyone knew Darkshadow was the top pack in the entire region. They had swallowed up countless smaller packs and made plenty of enemies along the way. After Adam marked me, he took me to every pack banquet and ceremony. He even introduced me to allied packs, proudly telling them I was his beloved mate. Everyone believed he loved me deeply. I believed it too. I was completely immersed in that love. However, I overheard him talking to his Beta one day. "There are so many packs that hate me. They'd tear me apart if they had the chance. "If I don't claim Ella and make her look like the one I love most, they'll target my real weakness—Amy." His words struck me like lightning. I finally learned the truth. I was nothing but a carefully chosen decoy. I was Adam's shield, designed to protect the woman he truly loved. I had foolishly mistaken his attention for affection and his betrayal for love. When I finally left Adam and disappeared into the distance… That was when he began to regret everything.

A young, beautiful she-wolf moves into the house opposite mine. She always strikes up conversations with me, her tone filled with enthusiasm. "You and Mr. Howl have such a great relationship. Even after seven years of marriage, he still kisses you goodbye when he leaves. It’s so sweet." She blinks playfully before continuing, "I have a friend who constantly complains about his mate. He says every time he kisses her, it feels like he's kissing a fat pig. Her scent disgusts him, and he can't even get hard when she's around. "And at night… just the sight of her belly rolls and sagging skin makes him want to throw up." I don’t particularly like this she-wolf, but I still offer her a polite smile. That night, however, when my mate kisses me, he suddenly freezes—then pushes me away and runs to the bathroom to vomit.