The Gaze

"Three years ago, standing at the altar under the admiring gaze of hundreds, Gabriel declared that he would love only Catherine, unwaveringly, for the rest of his life. Three years later, after receiving a diagnosis of infertility, he heartlessly threw divorce papers in her face and cast her out onto the streets with nothing. Three years ago, Catherine, in her kindness, saved a girl who was about to be sold into a brothel, taking her in as a beloved younger sister. Three years later, watching the very girl she once saved walk down the aisle on her ex-husband's arm, standing in the same place she once stood, reciting the vows she once made, Catherine could only muster a bitter smile. She gently touched her flat stomach, where an unborn life, a gift from heaven, was beginning to form. She vowed to herself that she would leave Gabriel far behind, but... 'Catherine, you are mine. Divorce or not, you will forever belong to Gabriel.' 'Catherine, be good. Stop causing trouble, okay?' 'Catherine! If you dare to leave, I will break your legs!' 'Catherine, stay with me, I beg you...'"

“ Know this. You have to do what I ask of you. And don’t ask any questions. ” His voice drops a few octaves. Instinctively, I place my hands over his chest, feeling his beating heart under my palm. “ Just do as I say and everything will be fine. ” His eyes lower to my lips. “ Or else…”  The lingering threat triggers the rebel side of mine. “ Or else? ” “ Or else…” He lifts his gaze to my eyes and shoots me a very promising smirk. “ I will make you. " ******** ******** A wild night out with her two best friends, away from her controlling boyfriend was all Natalie Whitman planned on the ocassion of her 20th birthday, but it didn't turn out quite right. Because now, she was marked and claimed by a man she doesn't even know and her boyfriend of two years is pounding the door. Hide the truth or pretend to be not marked—That's her only choice but it doesn't prove out to be easy when the Alpha who marked her comes barging in her life and it becomes impossible for her to ignore him.

The first time I attended my girlfriend Joyce's friend gathering, after a few rounds of drinks, her male best friend pulled her onto his lap. With a cigarette dangling between his fingers, he grinned. "Call me daddy!" Instead of getting offended, Joyce leaned into him, helpless but indulgent, and said, "Daddy." I froze, scowling, but she waved me off without a care. "It's just a joke! Lucius always never cared for the rules, and everyone knows we have a father-daughter vibe, okay? Don't get it all twisted, Henry! Aren't you a man?" Lucius became even more provocative, throwing a smoke ring at me. "Yo, son-in-law! Aren't you going to bow to me? Come on, kneel and offer me a drink, and your dad's got your back!" Everyone at the table burst into laughter as they waited to see me lose my temper and make a scene. I just smiled, meeting Joyce's impatient gaze with an excited expression. "That's great! I like the way you think, so why don't you call me daddy too?"

Through tear-blurred vision, she saw a figure emerge—a man walking toward her, the fire parting in his wake. His eyes and claws gleamed gold in the firelight, and black and gilded scales covered his face and body, reminiscent of a serpent. But something more specific hovered at the tip of her tongue. His beastly form slowly faded, leaving a beautiful man with warm skin and firm flesh behind. “Help me,” she croaked. “I don't remember…” “Anything?” the stranger asked, his voice deep and ominous. “Only my name. Araheen,” she whispered, her lips trembling.“What happened to me? What is this place?” “You fell behind the Mad End's Wall.” A shadow of a smile crossed the stranger's lips, though it was far from reassuring. Before she could dwell on it, he slid his powerful arms beneath her, lifting her effortlessly as though she weighed nothing at all. “Who are you?” she asked, feeling small in his grasp. He studied her with an enigmatic gaze before replying, I'm Gildeon.” A pause.“Your husband.”

“Eden…” Her name was a curse and a prayer. “I can’t—God, I can’t think when you’re like this.” --- Professor Adrian Hale begins the semester expecting order—sleepy students, predictable discussions, and the safe distance he’s mastered for years. He does not expect Eden Marlowe. Twenty-two, brilliant, quietly bold, and unafraid to meet his gaze like she sees straight through him. Her questions cut too close, her attention lingers too long, and every glance shakes the discipline he’s built his life on. He knows the rules. He teaches them. And Eden is the one woman he has no business wanting. Yet the pull between them is immediate—magnetic, wrong, irresistible. What starts as lingering looks spirals quickly into charged silences, taut boundaries, and moments that feel anything but innocent. The more he tries to distance himself, the deeper she draws him in. The more she pushes, the faster his restraint frays. Desire becomes risk. Obsession becomes choice. And crossing the line might cost them everything.

Elena Hart never thought one reckless night would come back to haunt her. All she wanted was to raise her son and keep her fragile world from crumbling. But fate changed when she landed a job as assistant to the one man she swore she’d never see again—Damian Cross. The stranger from her past. The father of her child. Damian is cold, ruthless, and untouchable. To him, Elena is nothing more than an unqualified girl with too many secrets. Yet every time he looks at her, he remembers the night that should have been forgotten. “You don’t belong in my world,” Damian snaps, his gaze sharp as ice. “I never wanted to be in it,” Elena fires back, her chin trembling even as she holds it high. “Then why can’t I forget you?” he murmurs, more to himself than to her. And when Damian discovers the little boy she’s been protecting is his own, he’ll realize the one mistake he thought he hated… may be the only thing he’s ever truly wanted.

Amanda Dimitriou accept Jordan Millero’s offer – her boyfriend to meet his family. After a long time only being able to see on the news about Millero’s, now Amanda was able to see and meet them in person. And then, shock hit her like a train because she met the guy who spent one night with her two years ago, the man who took her virginity. The asshole who left a million dollar check and said in his note that a million dollar was the price of her virginity. He dropped her pride, and Amanda hated him with all her bone in her body. However, she can do nothing because some fact hit her like a truck again. A fact that now that asshole become a cooperation partner of the company where she works and, more unfortunately, he’s the eldest cousin in the Milero’s family. Amanda tried to keep her distance and away from that asshole. Rhysand del Milero was ruthless, violent, and had enough self-confidence for last two lives. However, he had a touch and attractive gaze, erotic, hot and irresistible. And Amanda hated him even more.

‘So, this is the end.’ … In one life, Valerie, Luna of the Eclipse pack, had died for her a mate who didn't love her, a family who only saw faults in her and a pack who never respected her, all of them favouring Alyn, her adopted sister. She spent her last life in misery with regret, her sisters mocking sneer and the absence of family couldn't even be there in her last moments. But now, she was reborn. Waking up months before her death, ready to change her fate, this time, she knew what she had to do; renounce her Luna position, the mate bond, and leave behind the people who never cared for her. It was the best solution for her…and her unborn child. Yet when facing the mate who once hated her, his gaze had changed completely. The ties she'd believed were untangled long ago have now returned more complicated, especially when another Alpha vies for her affection. And when it comes to leaving the past behind and letting go, which path should she choose?

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.

My loud, harsh breaths reverberated in the four walls of his cabin. I didn't realize when he locked me up here and pushed me too far from the door, blocking all my ways of escape. "M-Mr. S-Scott, please, what are you doing?" Cold shivers ran down my spine as I watched the man with horror-filled eyes who was advancing towards me with slow, dangerous steps. A sickening smile marred his lips as he silently relished my helplessness while uncuffing his sleeves. My fear skyrocketed. His husky chuckles ensued, churning my stomach as his shameless gaze lingered on my chest, making me quickly bring my arms to the front. "Something that I should have done before, Cupcake." He drawled out, leaving me shocked to the bone. That endearment. Travis? Dive into the dark and dangerous world of Travis Scott, a man who dupes people with his breathtaking charms and kind personality while confining his demons only to unleash them once he captures the angel he's been looking for years.