The Martyr By Nick Joaquin

“What’s your name?” The alpha asked, seemingly unsettled by all the attention on him. “Jessica.” She replied quietly. She was about to ask for his name when the other’s thumb brushed her lips, before he released his hold. It left a sensation that was domineering and territorial. The Alpha stepped back, earnest stare burning into Jessica giving a slight glare of irritation at the other wolves before walking away. Tasha giggled, eyes turning into crescents. “Jessi. He claimed you.” “H-He did not,” Jessi started. “Yes, yes he did. He didn’t mark you, but he like, scent-claimed you in front of – of everyone!” Tasha said with glee. “He left his scent on you.” *** *** Jessica Hart is an Omega wolf who wants to find a mate who will accept her and she’s determined their story would be ‘love at first sight’ until she meets him and ... he’s an Arrogant Alpha. Chadwick Kai, who is a mysterious, devastatingly handsome Alpha that confuses Jessica.

She was wolfless. All her life, Holly Ambrose had been longing for her family to reciprocate the love she had been working hard to get from her father and her sister, Irina. Unfortunately, they only saw her as an embarrassment to the pack and used her instead so that Irina could refuse to marry Alpha Evander Edgerton: the ruthless and cold-blooded Alpha of the Blackwood Pack. Thinking that it was the only way to escape them, Holly accepted the proposal. Alpha Alec, her former mate and her sister’s fiance begged her not to. He confessed he still had feelings for her and wanted her back as his mate. Too late because there was no stopping her from having her freedom. But would Holly be truly free if Irina had no intention to stop destroying her life after Alec left Irina to claim Holly back? Would she stay with Alpha Evander even after she found out that his former mate came back and was pregnant with his child?

Limang taon. Limang taon na ang nakalipas at heto si Therese, isang sumisikat na scriptwriter ng GL Media, ay muling nagbabalik sa Manila — isang lugar kung saan maraming alaala ng nakaraan ang ayaw na niyang balikan pa. Si Luna Therese Aquino ay isang dalagang matapang at may sariling prinsipyo, na sa kabila ng kanyang kabataan ay natutong ipaglaban ang sarili at harapin ang katotohanan. Matapos ang limang taon ng pagtatangkang kalimutan ang nakaraan, muling nagtagpo ang kanilang landas ni Emilio Madrigal, isang bilyonaryong lalaki na may malamig ngunit mapanukso na puso, at lihim na pagnanasa sa kanya. Sa bawat titig at haplos, muling bumabalik ang alaala ng kanilang nakaraan, ang tamis at sakit, ang init ng damdamin at ang matinding tensyon sa pagitan nila. Ngayon, hindi lang damdamin ang nakataya kundi ang kanilang buhay, reputasyon, at kalayaan ay nakasalalay sa mga desisyon nilang gagawin. Habang si Therese ay nagtatangka na manatiling matatag at protektahan ang sarili, unti-unti niyang nadidiskubre kung ang pagmamahal kay Emilio ay isang pagkakataon para sa kanyang kalayaan, o isang bitag ng pagnanasa at kapangyarihan na hindi basta malalampasan. Sa mundong puno ng yaman, lihim, at tukso, paano niya mapipili ang tama— ang puso o ang sarili?

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.

The night of Lara Taylor’s engagement to Vaughan Dabrowski changes the entire course of her life and leads her down a path from which there is no return. Not only is she betrayed by the one person in the whole world that she thought she could trust, she also finds her fated mate, a Rogue Alpha named Dex Russell, who is as dangerous as he is handsome. Dex tricks her into thinking he is in love with her, and after deciding to be careless and impulsive for once, Lara finds herself in a complicated situation where she is the butt of the joke. After the events of the horrendous night cause her to be exiled and hunted by her own packmates, Lara finds herself in unfamiliar territory with an insatiable thirst for revenge and hiding a terrible secret. Years later, Lara is given a lifeline by a stranger. His request is simple: he wants her to seduce a man and extract his darkest secrets from him, secrets that will uncover the intentions of a secret organization designed to destroy powerful packs. Lara accepts the offer, not knowing that the man she is meant to seduce is the man who fooled her all those years ago, and who on top of that, doesn’t recognize her. In this way, she is given the opportunity to avenge herself and ruin his life just as he ruined hers. Will Lara see the task through and ruin Dex, or will she be tempted by memories of the past?

“No… we shouldn’t,” I whispered as my back hit the wall. The cold stone didn’t cool the heat in my body. “I’m your brother’s fiancée” He didn’t trap me. His hand rested near my hip, close enough that I could feel his warmth without him touching me. That made it worse. “And yet,” he said softly, his hand tracing a path down my thigh. “you didn’t push me back when I came near.” I bit my bottom lip hard, trying desperately to hold back a sound. From the other room, I could hear forks clinking and people laughing. Our family was right there, close enough to hear us. My heart was pounding. He leaned closer, “You’re shaking, Maisie,” he murmured. “And you’re not scared.” I swallowed, breath uneven. “Someone could see.” A dangerous smile curved his mouth. “ Then be as quiet as you can.” ***** Maisie’s world changed the moment she walked into that bar. She should never have let the alcohol numb her anger, her fear, her desperation to escape the life her parents had arranged for her— a life that felt like a trap. The perfect marriage. The perfect future. The perfect cage. She thought one reckless night would ruin everything… for them. She thought if she became someone they despised, they’d finally let her go. She didn’t know that one mistake would brand her instead. Now he wants her. Not gently. Not quietly. The more she runs, the closer he gets… until she can’t tell if she’s running from him… or being drawn to something far more dangerous. He is everything she wants. Everything she shouldn’t want. And when she turns to run for her life a second time…. She runs straight into him.

“Say it,” Kael growled, his hand tightening around her throat—not enough to hurt, just enough to remind her who he was. “I’m yours,” Maya whispered, trembling. His lips hovered near hers, breath hot. “Even after I left you to die?” She swallowed. “Even now.” He kissed her like a curse—hungry, dangerous, and full of things he’d never say aloud. --- Maya never believed in fate—until the night her skin burned with the mark of the most feared Alpha in the realm. Weak, powerless, and exiled for a bond she never asked for, Maya finds herself hunted by the same man fate chose for her: Alpha Kael of Silverclaw. He claims she’s a mistake. A curse. But Maya is more than just a fragile girl. She’s the second chance of a woman long thought dead. Kael once loved Andrea, a powerful and noble wolf who descended into madness under a deadly curse. Her death shattered him. But when Maya bears the same mark and stirs the same soul-deep bond, Kael believes it’s the curse reborn—and rejects her violently to protect them all. Now on the run, Maya is saved by Rowan—Kael’s former Beta and best friend turned outcast. As truths unravel and passions ignite, Maya becomes the center of a dark prophecy that could destroy everything. But fate doesn’t care who you love. And true mates never stay strangers for long.

Naya, the only daughter of the most powerful Alpha of the Moon Pack, watches her world collapse at the age of fifteen when her parents are brutally executed for treason by King Nolan. Stripped of her title and protection, she is condemned to a life of slavery within the very pack that once revered her. For five years, she survives on scraps, enduring humiliation and cruelty—until the Moon Goddess intervenes and binds her fate to Ethan, her childhood friend. But Ethan rejects her. Though forced to marry her by divine decree, Ethan treats Naya with nothing but disdain, subjecting her to abuse and betrayal. During a mandatory full-moon shifting ceremony, Ethan exposes her inability to shift to Alpha King Benjamin—Nolan’s ruthless son. Declared unfit to remain in the pack, Naya narrowly escapes banishment when Benjamin condemns her instead to palace slavery until she can awaken her wolf. Burning with hatred for the king whose family destroyed her own, Naya views the palace as her chance for revenge. Yet fate takes an unexpected turn. Despite being bound to another, King Benjamin finds himself drawn to Naya’s quiet strength and warmth. Their forbidden connection deepens, blurring the line between vengeance and love. When jealousy and ambition collide, Ethan and the king’s mate, Tanya, conspire to destroy Naya. Kidnapped and poisoned, Naya loses her unborn child, and her trust shatters when deception convinces her that Benjamin has betrayed her. She flees the palace, vowing revenge once more. Months later, Naya returns—disguised, hardened, and ready to strike. But at her public trial, the truth finally comes to light. Betrayals are exposed, enemies unmasked, and Naya must decide whether to cling to vengeance or reclaim the love and destiny that were always meant to be hers.

***Updates are now on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.*** Everything you thought you knew was a lie. The vampire king, Vladimir Sedof, was on top of the world once upon a time. He had his beloved by his side and the vampires following his every dictate. Then one sunny morning, it all goes to hell. He wakes up twenty odd years later to find most of his magic stolen and his beloved murdered. Hell bent on getting revenge on those who left him for dead, he acquires a pawn in the form of Josie Braille. She turns out to be too powerful and not all that useful. Josie Braille just wanted to set her father free. What she gets instead is a world filled with magic, lies and schemes older than she had been alive. In this world where foes and friends wear the same face, she must choose a side and fight for her love. But to do that, she must decide who she loves. Grayson Callahan is a hunter stuck between the rock and a hard place. He has to choose between doing his duty and saving the world from a vampire on the warpath, or saying fuck it and choosing his love. Three lives on a collision course, whose resolution will reign supreme? What they do find in the end is that this was someone else's game entirely and they were all pawns from the very beginning. But when the chips are down and the fate of their existence and everyone they held dear on their shoulders, will Josie’s love win, or will the vampire king sacrifice them all to get his justice? *This book ends on a HFN

“I know you are a beast but I need exactly one to protect my child because only one beast can fight another, Mr Hemsworth.” Evan Conon Hemsworth blinked slowly while trying to read her mind but He couldn't. Not that He complained because the girl who had been haunting his dreams for years, was finally standing in front of him willingly, at his mercy. “And what can you do for my protection, Miss Perez!” Helena swallowed the thick lump in her throat seeing his gleaming crystal blue eyes looking at her expectedly. “What you wanted from me before! I will sleep with you!” And the man in front of her, who turns the people’s blood cold with his mere gaze, chuckled darkly. “Nah! Having you under me is my left-hand’s job, Helena Perez. What I want from you is more than just one night.” Helena Perez knew she already entered the lion’s den from where it was impossible to return until He allowed her to. But would He even let her ever go? She paid the price for her son's protection by being stuck between two powerful people who could ruin her in the blink of an eye. After getting an ugly betrayal from her ex-fiance, abandonment from her parents, and humiliation from the world, Helena had to live a tough life of being a single mom with a six-year-old son for whose protection she was forced to make a deal with the beast, A billionaire beast! Ps: This is a stand-alone story but if you want to see glimpses of the main characters you can read my other book “Chaotic Temptations” Otherwise you can enjoy the powerful and spicy chemistry of them here itself.