The Golden Touch By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Everyone in the Titanus region would have heard the older generation tell them this—during sky burials, the vultures wouldn't eat the corpses of people who'd committed heinous crimes. My husband is the sky burial practitioner who buries me. The vultures circle my corpse in the air above the burial site, but they don't prey on me. My husband frowns at the sight. "It looks like this person must have committed crimes when alive. They deserve this." Suddenly, I remembered him pointing at me, his eyes ablaze with flames of rage as he shouted, "Nancy wouldn't have lost her baby if not for you! Someone like you doesn't even deserve to get a sky burial!" It looks like his words are coming true. But later, he falls to his knees before my grave and weeps. He begs me to forgive him.

My entire existence has led to this moment, the day I finally put an end to this misery, the day I pay tribute to the sacrifices of my loved ones, the day I grant freedom to the human race. All it requires is a simple pull of the trigger. I desired this, worked tirelessly for it, but inexplicably, I find myself unable to complete the task. "Do it," Bas urged in a soft whisper, a gentle smile playing on his lips. How could he find solace in a moment fraught with tension? His eyes locked onto mine, a silent challenge. Unable to contain the tears streaming down my face, I felt a flood of emotions. Sensing my hesitation, Bas delicately laid his hand on mine, guiding the gun closer to his chest. "I love you," he uttered to me. No, I couldn't endure this any longer. I shook my head, the pain becoming unbearable. "We do this in 1...2...3..." **** In a world where werewolves coexist with humans, Rebecca faces a daunting prophecy: she must become the mate of the infamous Alpha's son, Bas. Every century, the moon selects a human girl to fulfill this prophecy, destined to bear a child for her mate and then be sacrificed. But Rebecca refuses to accept her fate. Can she defy the prophecy and protect her loved ones, or will her rebellion lead to tragedy? And when she starts developing feelings for someone forbidden, what will the consequences be?

Taking a stroll on a rainy night isn't what a sane person might do, but Rabel is far from normal with her snowy white hair. An injured Wolf lying close to your cottage isn't also considered as normal in a place often plagued with werewolves and their onslaught on humans. Despite her bitter feelings, she takes the wolf into her house out of the goodness of her heart; she nurtures it back to life, and the wolf left after it was fully healed. Weeks later, the rumored dead werewolf king is back with a vengeance; slaying the humans in a one-sided war. When a truce is called and peace pleaded; the werewolf king agrees to the words of agreement with only one condition: to have Rabel in his palace as his bride.

Skylar Lindse finds herself contending with more than was in the job description when she accepted the temp position at Banscroft Empires after it's CEO, James Banscroft himself, offers her an exceptional bonus on top of her temp wage to stand in as his girlfriend to get his family off his back. Fending off his mother's setups at every turn, James hopes bringing Skylar in will put a more long-term stop to the awful blind dates, but he finds himself unprepared for how permanent he'd like this temp to be.

18+ Erotic Werewolf romance book Olivia Sold to pay off a debt, sinfully hot Matteo has thrown me into his dark mansion, with no intention of letting me go. He’s dominant, ruthless, cold… And he’s also something wicked—a sexy as hell alpha male. I should run the second he puts his rough hands all over my innocent body. I shouldn’t let him tear my panties off. But I do. He’s going to break me, turning me into his slave. He demands complete obedience, and I want to resist. I do. But my dark, rebellious heart won’t let me. Matteo I’ve never wanted to ruin someone as much as I want to ruin her. She’s the picture of innocence. Soft skin free from the toil of real work, pretty lips for sucking and the defiance in her eyes. I can’t wait to break her. To make her beg for mercy. To cry out my name when I steal the one thing she’s never given to another man. She thinks she can charm me into letting her go. But she doesn’t recognize the way the devil dances in my soul. I never expected her to become my obsession. But she is. And now I need to get rid of her before she consumes me.

Demon | Stockholm Syndrome | Possessive | Lust | Obsession A demon with a human; unthinkable. A king with his slave… A perfect combination. Gabrielle's life changes forever when she and her friends accidentally summon a demon one fateful night. Taken as a slave to the demon realm, she finds herself at the mercy of the Demon King of Lust. But Gabrielle is not made to be a slave, to bow down. Adrian is accustomed to unquestioning obedience. His existence takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Gabrielle, an innocent human who defies his every command. Driven by an insatiable need to dominate her, Adrian becomes captivated by the challenge she presents. But she is just a human, just a slave. Their kinds are destined to despise each other—light and darkness, innocence and lust. As their worlds collide, Adrian's lust for control becomes something far more dangerous. Can he resist her, or will his desire transform into something much, much more dangerous?

Alpha Aiden had been wanting a mate for a long time but when he found her, she wasn't who he expected. She was far below his status for him to be with her and that fueled his anger and hatred. Camille, a descendant of warriors but now a slave wanted nothing more than to be free but there was only one obstacle: her destined mate

Marla is arranged to marry Dean, a mate within her pack. And although he is an honest, kind man, she is already in love with Lucas.Lucas, however, is a wolf outside her pack—making theirs a forbidden, secret love.Marla’s mother tries to convince her that she is lucky. Dean is a good Alpha, and she should be grateful to be with him.But her heart knows the truth.Can Marla grow to love the Alpha? Or will she always truly belong with Lucas?

“I want her. As my tribute this year” Alpha Dominik declared loudly, stunning me and the whole crowd. My life had taken a shitty turn at 18, when I had failed to transform. My father, the man who was supposed to protect and love me, had cast me away to live the miserable life of an omega. Hope came however, when the new Alpha of the clan had decided to give us omegas a second chance to rewrite our destinies by getting a second chance at getting their wolf awakening. Like I wanted, the ritual worked and my wolf was awakened. But why does my wolf start to pine for Alpha Dominik, the Devil Alpha that had everyone shaking in their fur just at the mention of his name? Even worse was his despise for me, a weak omega whom he didn’t deem fit to be his mate. Now I’m stuck in between the Alpha who wanted me and the Devil Alpha who could not accept the mate bond by the moon goddess. Would the Devil Alpha accept this mate bond by the moon goddess? Or leave me be.

Odessa Was just twenty when her parents forcefully married her off to a young wealthy multimillionaire, Elliott Marley, but he sent her packing two years later, when she couldn't take in or give him a child. This leave Odessa devastated and running to her parents, who to her utmost chagrin, disowned her and called her all sort of names enough to burn a woman self esteem. She cried and drink herself to stupor at a local bar downtown, oblivious of the recent news of the recent kidnaping of young women. Odessa got kidnapped by Aryan Seagrave, an infamous texas drug lord and he made her his sex slave. Things are about to get twisted when Aryan's brothers fell in love with Odessa. Odessa was caught in the middle of this mess with the five brothers fighting over her and she not knowing who to choose.