The Emperor's Shadow

She was rescued by our pack, the Asara. We knew nothing about who she was before that. But with her delicious female scent, my brothers and I soon caught a whiff of her. We were quick to investigate. It didn't take us long to figure out what she was hiding under that oversized cloak. And we each wanted a part of it. She thought she could run from us? The best in enemy combat, the tracker and best sniffer in the pack, and the fastest one of us. Second only to our Alpha. The Mating Moon is on the rise and my brothers and I don't mind sharing. As long as we each get a taste of that sweet scent. And to partake of that delicious body. She might resist but we're strong, and she is one of only seven breedable females...she won't be going anywhere until we've had our fill of her. And under a Mating Moon, us males get insatiable. Go ahead. Run little Vanna Rae, it's more fun that way...

"You just shifted," was how the King responded, a fire in his eyes that seemed to make Kendra feel like she was melting. "Y-yes sir," she stammered before standing up fully, though she kept her eyes down again. She wasn't sure where to look. "I was confirming, not asking," he says, though his voice is not unkind, but curious. "Incredible. A female Alpha. A thing not even of legends." He stood up, and crossed the space between them in an instant. The mouthwatering scent was now overwhelming her. He lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers. Electricity spread from the spots where his fingers touched, and her breath hitched. Their eyes met, and his was now as wide as hers. She finally heard her wolf, confirming what was starting to dawn on her. Mate. Kendra was the daughter of the Beta of her Pack, and while she had that strong wolf blood in her veins, she hadn’t shifted at 13. Rather than despairing, she threw herself into her future, where she would be an Advocate amongst humans, asking for wolf rights and hoping that being unable to shift would put them at ease. However, on her 18th birthday, something unheard of happened- she shifted. Now, she has to juggle handling her newfound responsibilities, her conflicting feelings with the former Gamma’s son, Derek, and on top of all of it, her mate bond with Lycan King Kenzo, who despite being cold and distant to many, grew to be warm and kind to her. Will she be able to disregard her feelings for Derek and live happily with Kenzo, or will she reject her mate bond, and risk losing everything, to be with a man who seems to be hiding a secret from her?

For six years, I took bullets for him and erased every sharp edge of myself. Because of the way he protected me, outsiders all believed I was the woman closest to his heart. However, when I asked for just one sincere “I love you”, he laughed and refused. “Mafia marriages aren’t about feelings. Know your place.” Then he said, “If Sophia doesn’t like it, don’t even bother.” When the bomb countdown hit thirty seconds, my don husband shoved me aside without hesitation and ran out holding Sophia in his arms. Only then did I understand that after six years of entanglement, I wasn't even worth a single hair of his sister. I slammed the divorce papers into his face. “I’m going to personally send you and your precious sister straight to hell!”

*Warning - mature content. Over 18's only* ...................................... When Sophia meets the dangerous yet attractive Danny, she has no idea he is about to throw her into a world filled with creatures she never thought existed. Little does she know, another also covets her love, and will do anything to get her to be his. As she is pulled between both men, she soon discovers her love life is not the most complicated thing going on. Who will she pick? And how will her choice determine the future of the entire human race?

Emperor Dijon's decision to bring in the stray woman from the streets of his newly conquered kingdom is as baffling to his Generals as it is to him. He intends for the whole experience to be a mere entertainment, a distraction from the many travails of his campaign through the desert but the little woman turns out to be a spit fire, one that he finds difficult to handle, yet she intrigues him. She fascinates him as much as she infuriates him, yet there is something even she cannot see, he recognizes the hunger in her eyes, the urge to destroy, conquer. They might have more in common than she actually thinks.

When I took a bullet for Theo Moretti, the bullet grazed my temple, compressing the optic nerve and causing blindness in both my eyes. He kneeled by my hospital bed, pressed the family crest to his chest, and swore: “Sophie, I will be your eyes for life. If I break this oath, may I die a horrendous death.” I believed him. However, the day my sight returned, I saw Theo through the bedroom door, naked on our marital bed with the maid, Isabella. He gripped her waist and thrust violently, his voice hoarse in a way I had never heard, growling, “Bella… you really are the most seductive woman in all of Sicily…” “Theo, who else besides me could satisfy you like this in bed? Divorce that blind woman already!” Isabella nibbled his earlobe. “After all, I’m the one who truly understands you.” “Wait a little longer,” Theo panted. “I need time… Don Lucas just handed me control of the docks. If I divorce now, I’ll be left with nothing.” Rare snowflakes rained down outside. I walked barefoot out of the estate in a thin nightgown and sent an encrypted message to my father. “Father, send someone to pick me up in three days. I’m coming home.” Don Lucas, my father, never expected that the boss he had personally promoted would dare betray his daughter. He replied with a single sentence: “For daring to betray you, Theo’s dead.” What I did not know was that this message would ignite a storm that would sweep across all of Sicily. In three days, Theo Moretti, the man I had risked my life for and I had personally helped rise to power, would lose everything he held dear, including me.

When I was five months pregnant, my mafia husband Dante Pierce had an affair with his childhood sweetheart. That was when I discovered that our marriage certificate was fake. He had secretly married someone else behind my back. Even worse, the child I was carrying would be excluded from the family inheritance. From beginning to end, I was nothing more than a public front for his precious childhood sweetheart. After learning the truth, I did not cry or throw a tantrum. I quietly erased my legal identity, changed my name and disappeared forever with my child. However, later, everyone claimed that Dante, head of the Pierce family, was a hopeless romantic who had given up everything to search for the wife and child who had vanished without a trace.

She was abandoned at the borders of Silvermoon with nothing but a gold necklace pressed warm against her skin and questions no one could answer. No name. No past. Just a promise whispered into the night and left behind with her. Taken in by the pack’s Beta family, she was raised in safety—wrapped in loyalty, protection, and love. She learned how to belong without ever truly fitting. The pack cared for her, yet the feeling lingered that she was something else. Something waiting. Especially when it came to Roman. Roman, the future Alpha. Her shadow through childhood. Her best friend, her anchor, her quiet heartbreak. He was the one who taught her how to run, how to fight, how to laugh without fear. And then, somewhere between adolescence and duty, he changed. Responsibility hardened him. Distance grew where warmth once lived. And the boy she loved became a wolf she barely recognized—one who avoided her gaze, who treated her like a weakness he could no longer afford. Now, with her eighteenth birthday only days away, everything begins to unravel. Her wolf stirs for the first time, restless and demanding. Her senses sharpen. Her body hums with a power she doesn’t understand. And the necklace she’s worn her entire life begins to heat, as if awakening alongside her. Roman feels it too. The pull between them—once subtle, now consuming—snaps tight. Stolen glances burn. Accidental touches linger too long. Every shared breath feels like a warning. Like a promise. Like a bond neither of them is ready to face. Because some connections don’t weaken with time. They wait. They watch. They resist. But destiny is patient—and when it finally stirs, it doesn’t ask permission. It claims.

After the death of her mother, the world of twenty-five year old Penelope Castillo, a bright and kind-hearted baker, turns upside down. She's thrown into a reality that forces her to marry a hot-tempered billionaire to get her inheritance. The marriage is rocky from the start—she doesn't want him and he hates her with a vengeance. Christian Hilton is a tech billionaire, the untouchable golden boy as ruthless as he is arrogant with a dark side hidden under pressed suits and a cold personality. Hating the doe-eyed Penelope is a promise and ruining her life is a vow. Opposites attract is a popular saying but does it really happen? Can love bloom from a place of hatred? When a haunting shadow comes for Penelope and her dark secret, can she save herself without breaking apart or die in a marriage to an enemy?

A single rose can bind two fates forever. When her family’s fortunes crumble, Catherine never imagines her father’s desperation will lead him to barter her freedom. Promised as payment to the reclusive Lord Kieran—master of a castle steeped in legend and whispered curses—she is thrust into a world of shadows, secrets, and a predator’s gaze that both terrifies and captivates her. Kieran is more than a man; he is a wolf bound by an ancient curse, his life ruled by the prophecy: The rose will bring her. Catherine’s arrival is no accident—it is destiny. But claiming her means awakening a dangerous magic neither of them fully understands, one that threatens to unravel the fragile truce between man and beast. As moonlight sharpens the edge between desire and danger, Catherine must navigate the perilous game of a lord who guards both his heart and his curse with deadly resolve. In a place where every shadow hides a secret, every glance is a test, and love itself may be the deadliest bargain of all—one question remains: Will the rose bind them together… or doom them both? Perfect for fans of dark fairy-tale retellings, shifter romance, and gothic intrigue.