The Devils Ring

Hell is empty. All the devils are here.Where there was once darkness, there is now light. But what does it reveal?Trapped for decades.A beguiling creature with a black past. Hate, devouring everything, for those who were blinded in their hubris for what is to come.A new age in which nothing is as it seemed in those past days.Freedom within reach - but what is the price?When patient M escapes, those who know tremble because his revenge threatens to sink the world into the red of blood. A woman tries to stand in his way and coax him to reveal the secret that could open a new chapter in human history. Without suspecting that she can pull each individual into the bottomless abyss. The borders are blurring - who is the hunter here, who is the hunted?

In the Gallo family’s private jewelry workshop. The wedding ring I’d waited six months for was on another woman’s finger. Gia’s hand. An international supermodel my fiancé, the Don of the Gallo family, was having an affair with. The workshop director stood by, a cold sweat soaking his back as he looked at Maximo on the sofa. Maximo stood up. He took Gia’s hand, lifting it to the light to admire the ring, his tone leaving no room for argument. “She’s walking in a major show in Paris next week. She needs this to make an impression on the haute couture scene. The family vault is full of jewels. Pick something else. Don't be dramatic.” Under the harsh lights, Gia admired herself in the mirror, her smile haughty and triumphant. I looked at my own reflection. Cashmere sweater and jeans. I didn’t belong here. This wedding, a year in the making, suddenly felt like a joke. I'm not upset. I just canceled the custom wedding dress along the way. “Maximo. The other jewels are perfectly fine.So I’m not getting married.”

"Rupert Zachary Kilmer. Do you take Lianna Callis Smith as your lawful wife? To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health, until death do you part?”  "I most certainly do, father…" Nearing the day, he'd finally be tied to the woman he loves, Rupert Kilmer eagerly waited for her sweet answer. Those two words and the priest's declaration of their union. Yet, as he unveiled the woman in white, the face that appeared wasn't his bride. "Eridessa…? Wait what? Where's Lia?" *** Lianna Callis Smith thought she'd be a lot happier when she regained her vision. Yet, tears drenched her cheeks as she came home after her surgery, finally seeing the treachery she'd been sensing back when she's still blind. Her marriage only lasted…for two years. For the man she so loved, was on top of another, in her very home. Facing the blame of his affair, Lianna watched in melancholy from afar, as Rupert was wed to another. However, to her surprise, it wasn't just her who stood on the same building, watching that very scene. "You…you're—" Before the strange man could mutter his words, both met darkness until they woke up, back in three years time. "Let's get married, Jasper Wayne. Let's show them…what they…who they wasted…this…we don't deserve any of this… "In this life, let's live happily…"

“You’ve never had two naked men make you the center of all of their attention?” Drake said. “Never had two men worship you with every single inch of their bodies?” “Never been sandwiched between two huge, hard guys?” Dux said. “Never been kissed and touched by two sets of hands and lips?” “No,” she whispered. “Never.” “Is that something you’d like?” Dux’s voice was getting even deeper, even darker. “Something you’d want to experience?” **** Dux and Drake Keeler are ex–Road Devils MC enforcers, twins who live fast, fight dirty, and love without limits. Fresh off a brutal raid on a cult compound, they’re tearing across the country with one goal: protect what’s theirs. And lately, that’s Briley. The brothers are equal parts savage and irreverent, bound by blood and an unbreakable rule: they share everything. Including desire. They want Briley in their world, their arms, their bed, and they’re unapologetic about it. Briley Cross is still reeling from surviving a cult and killing its leader. The twins offer her a new start, and something far more dangerous: devotion from two men who make her the center of everything. It’s tempting. Terrifying. Irresistible. But when enemies of the Road Devils go to war, Briley becomes the target. As Dux and Drake unleash hell to save her, she’s carrying a secret that could change all their lives...if they survive long enough to claim it.

On the day of my bonding ceremony with Vincent Sawyer, the future Alpha, the moonstone ring meant for me, the future Luna, has mysteriously disappeared from the ringbox. In its place sits a can tab that has already gone black from oxidation. The guests' cheers die down immediately. They all turn to look at me after that. Amid the silence, Vincent's childhood sweetheart, Sharon Anderson, walks out from the crowd. She raises her left hand and waves, the moonstone ring perched on her ring finger. Then, she pulls out a matching ring before sliding it onto Vincent's finger. "You must be scared out of your wits, huh, Angelica? I'm actually wearing the ring right now. This can tab is no ordinary item, you know. Vincent had given it to me when we were still pups. It resembles everlasting love that will never fade away. Now, I'm giving it to you." Sharon's words strike me right in my heart. I tremble violently, feeling as if my heart is being cut into a million pieces. However, Vincent just chuckles. "Sharon always comes up with silly ideas. She's just joking around, Angelica. Don't take her actions to heart." "Oh, I won't." I toss the can tab into the bonfire, a dry chuckle escaping from my lips. "This bonding ceremony is canceled." Vincent grabs my hand before pulling me into his arms. "Stop messing around, Angelica! We found the ring, didn't we? This bonding alliance will affect the future of our packs! You're not the one calling the shots here!" I squirm out of Vincent's grasp, catching a trace of sickly sweet scent lingering around him—one that isn’t mine at all. "While it's true that the Moonlake pack is going to form a bonding alliance with the Brownstone pack, my future mate isn't necessarily you."

In two steps he was on her, yanking her up straight and turning her around to face the wall. She gasped at the change in dynamic: her teasing and taunting were shoved roughly to one side and now he was in full and total control. Jo trembled as he dropped a slow, sexy kiss on her right shoulder, then lightly nipped her soft skin before moving his mouth to her ear. “Don’t you move, angel,” he murmured. “Keep facing forward.” **** Jolene Angeles is fresh out of a nightmare marriage and parked at a roadside biker bar hunting for one thing: Mr. Right Now. In a few days, she’ll have a new job, a new city, a new life, and a single, forgettable one-night stand feels like the perfect way to burn the past down. Then she meets Zeke. Silver-eyed, dangerous. Exactly the kind of mistake she wants. One night, no names, no aftermath. Zeke “Silver” Bennett doesn’t lose control. Ever. He learned that lesson once, and it nearly destroyed him. So when he spots the dark-eyed woman across the bar, he knows the rules: one night, clean break, no complications. Until fate throws them together again... and secrets start detonating. They didn’t tell each other the truth. Now they’re forced to decide: can trust be built on lies? And if the truth finally comes out – raw, painful, unforgiving – will either of them be brave enough to risk real love?

My boyfriend, Percy Gaskell, suddenly flaunts an engagement ring on the Internet. He also announces that he'll get married in two months. Everyone thinks I'm the lucky bride who will get proposed soon, including myself. Anticipation fills my heart as I start making wedding preparations. But unwittingly, I end up overhearing Percy and his friends' conversation at the doorway of a private room in a bar. "I'm seriously impressed with the method you used to select your wife, Percy. You actually gave all 19 of them different scores! Those with lower scores get kicked out, whereas those with higher scores get to ascend to the next round! In the end, you choose the best wife out of all participants! "Now, the only ones left are Maisie and your beloved mistress, Sabrina. Not only that, but you're also biased toward Sabrina, so you gave her a relatively high score. Maisie is definitely losing this time! "What if Maisie finds out that she's not the one you're marrying in the end? Will she throw a hissy fit?" Percy took a sip out of his wine glass lazily. In a flippant tone, he replied, "That will have to depend on who satisfies me the most. Let me observe them for three more days. If Maisie is still that disappointing, she shouldn't blame me for being ruthless." His friends all burst into laughter. "You're far too soft-hearted, Percy! Maisie is inferior to Sabrina, be it her figure, age, or bedroom skills! I can't believe you're still giving her a chance! "If I were you, I'd have kicked her out in the first round!" Percy just smiles in amusement. "I only wish to give her a chance because I see how pathetically low her score is. If she can't even use the final chance given to her properly, she shouldn't blame me for not marrying her." I can feel my blood turn to ice in my veins. My mind has completely gone blank. All I can hear is my heartbeat, which slowly becomes louder. With a trembling hand, I dig out my phone and text that man's number, which lies at the bottom of my contact list. "Are you up for a whirlwind marriage right now?"

The day my boyfriend, Lucian Farrell, and I, Roxanne Schmidt, decide to register our marriage, the million-dollar diamond ring he'd promised me turns into a can tab. So, I broke things up with him on the spot. In a panic, Lucian fishes out the purchase receipt. "I just forgot to bring the ring. If it bothers you, I can go home and get it right now," he coaxes. My gaze lands on the figure hurrying toward both of us. "There's no need for that. Your 'little shadow' has already brought it over for you," I replied indifferently. Evelyn Wiley rushes up before me with tears in her eyes. A large diamond ring is wedged tightly around her swollen ring finger. "I just wanted to help Ms. Schmidt try the size. But it wouldn't come off no matter how hard I tried…" she explains between sobs. Lucian's face darkens instantly. "Who said you could touch it? The ring was meant for Roxanne!" he snaps. He wrenches at the ring, but it doesn't budge at the slightest. I watch the commotion before me with my arms folded. All of a sudden, a laugh escapes me. "It's simple. If it won't come off, then we can just cut her finger off."

Matthew Hunt and Ambrose Donovan. Two millionaires, married, but not in love. Both in their mid-thirties and single, it's either they marry each other or their families would set up an arranged marriage with a stranger so the two decided to get married. They were best friends since they came out of their mothers' wombs so they were each other's next best choice. It worked. Their parents stopped hounding them. They lived in the same house, same room, do everything a married coupled would do (except sex), especially around other people, that is until their parents wanted grandchildren.

In the Corvona underworld, there is one unspoken rule. When a Don keeps a new woman by his side for three consecutive months, the Donna must personally remove the signet ring symbolizing her power and place it on the new woman's finger before the entire family. When my husband, Luca, the Don of the Bellini family, announced he would take Mia alone on a three-month business trip, the entire Corvona underworld waited for me to have a meltdown. I had been with Luca Bellini for seven years. I followed him everywhere, refusing to leave his side. I would even wake up in the middle of the night to touch him, needing to know he was there to feel secure. They were all aware of my clinginess and were betting I would never let go. But when Mia extended her hand to me, her voice dripping with saccharine, I didn't shed a single tear. I calmly removed the signet ring engraved with the family crest and slid it onto her ring finger. Luca, lounging in the leather chair at the head of the table, swirled the whiskey in his glass, satisfaction gleaming in his cold blue eyes. "Elara, you've finally learned your place." I lowered my gaze to my bare finger, saying nothing in return. What Luca didn't know was that a month ago, I had recovered all seven years of my lost memories. I wasn't some street orphan at all, but the long-lost Principessa of the Rossi family, the most powerful of the Old World families. In three days, my brother's armed convoy would roll into Corvona to take me home.