The Rain Barrel Effect

Nadia!" I turn towards the voices that called my name, almost not making it out due to the sheer amount of snarling and growling happening around me. I see a woman pinned by a ravaging wolf , and as I make my way to her, I'm knocked to the ground with such force , I hear my arm snap. I groan as the pain hits me. My arm is clearly broken, and I'm unable to shift for some reason. I hear her sickening scream and I raise my head just as the wolf embed its teeth into her neck and shoulder. "NO!" I roar and scramble to my feet, but I'm surrounded by at least 10 wolves, preventing me from getting to the woman. My eyes dart around as they encompass me, circling slightly. Shit. They're going to all attack me at once. Just as I come to that realization, they strike. I dodge the first few, but I yell out as one of them clamps down on my leg, ripping out a good chunk of flesh. I try to stay standing, but it's useless as more wolves' barrel into me, not allowing me to regain my stance. They claw me in every direction, and I can't anticipate the attacks anymore as I fall to my knees with a hard thud. Claws at my back. Claws at my arms. Claws at my legs. There's no escape. I can't save them. I can't even save myself. Pack life for Nadia was perfect. Although abandoned at the Pure Moon pack when she was just a pup, she was completely accepted by the Alpha and Luna. She becomes one of the top trained female warriors in the pack alongside her wolf Seles. That is until tragedy strikes and Nadia’s life is completely turned upside down.

On our wedding day, Ethan got a call and bolted from the ceremony. Grandma was so furious she started coughing up blood, and everyone just watched. Not one person stepped in to help. I raced her to the hospital, but it was too late. She was gone before they even got her inside. Then, as I sat alone in the morgue, my phone lit up. It was Ethan. "Grace, get to the hospital. Bella's hurt and needs your blood!" "Ethan Carter, it's over between us." I ended the call, leaving the last pieces of my heart—and him—behind. Months later, he was on his knees in the pouring rain, begging for forgiveness, saying he'd do anything, give anything, if I'd only look back.

Aria Brooks thought she was living the dream—married to a successful businessman and finally escaping her tragic past. But her world comes crashing down when Ethan serves her divorce papers at their anniversary party, humiliating her before their friends and family. Thrown out into the rain, she’s rescued by none other than Julian Huxley—her ex-husband’s billionaire rival. Julian offers Aria a shocking proposal: a contract marriage. In exchange for acting as a mother to his daughter and accompanying him on his public endeavors, he will cover her mother’s medical bills and provide financial security. Hesitant but desperate, Aria agrees. But as she navigates the dangerous waters of their agreement, she begins to uncover secrets that threaten her newfound stability—and her heart.

This isn't a love story, but almost a love story. Irina and Eric share a world through dreams and time travel. They have a strong mutual understanding about the feelings they have for each other, at the same time understanding that they cannot be together. Eric: I open my eyes and find myself standing alone in an empty room. The ceilings and the walls are neatly painted white. And the floor is composed of polished light brown wood. And there is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light comes from. A bright yellow and pale red orange light tells me the sun is setting and soon it will be dark. Eric is a ghost who always appears in Irina's dream. Irina: I open the door to the bedroom. There is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light is coming from. The yellow orange light passes through the open window. I see Eric standing right there on the spot captured by the yellow light. ‘You came back.’ I said. He stood there looking me in the eye. I almost died. Irina is a time traveler who may or may not change his fate. They alternatively tell a bitter sweet story. Love doesn't always mean together, sometimes it is deeper apart. Eric: I stand alone in the rain looking at the dark sky where all I can see is water, for it is both the rain and my tears flowing to my face. Irina: And suddenly it is no longer my reflection I see inside the mirror. What I see now is a figure of a man. I draw closer to see him clearly. But the closer I walk towards him, the farther I become from him. I couldn't get close.

"Kevin, let's get a divorce." The man on the phone was silent for a moment, then a cold laugh was heard. "Jessica, what other tricks are you playing?" Kevin asked. Jessica closed her eyes and said calmly, "Kevin, I'll wait for you at home." After hanging up the phone, Jessica, who was leaning against the wall, fell down because she was so weak. The heavy rain outside the corridor came in because of the wind and wet her body. She gripped her phone and bit her sleeve while crying silently. Kevin was stunned when the phone call suddenly ended. Jessica had been fighting a cold war for a year and was reluctant to get a divorce. Why did she suddenly change her mind today?

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

Clara I was once told;every season has a reason , nothing lasts forever ,the sun always follows the rain, and if things don't work out the way you want them to... They will work out the way the universe intended . If what I just said was true; why the hell am I in pain every time I go to sleep? Not physically though but emotionally. I try to forget the day I fought with Brent but I can't... The day burns at the back of my memory . Hell maybe I should just take him back and tell him ;let's give it another try .There has to be a perfect reasonable explanation for what we are going through... We can try again. KC MMUOE

My fiance told me, "When you grow flowers more colorful than Dimonous roses, we'll get married in a rose garden." With that as my goal, I worked day and night to care for the roses. Until one day when his first love said she wanted to see a rain of roses, my fiance shoveled 50 acres of my roses to make her smile. "Jeffrey, will Audrey be mad at us?" Jeffrey took out a ten-karat diamond ring from his pocket and knelt on one knee. "It doesn't matter. The only person I love is you." Pain pierced my heart. I called home, "Dad, if I break up with him, is the offer still open? Can I still inherit the family fortune?"

Upon hearing about my husband's surgery, I braved a typhoon and torrential rain, driving four hours back to the city. When I arrived at the hospital, my husband, Xander Gray, was lying on the hospital bed, calling out loudly, "I want my wife! Get my wife here!" His buddies around him joked about how his wife had him completely whipped. Everyone said he loved me to death. Blushing, I walked over with a happy smile and held his hand, saying, "I'm here." To my surprise, he shook off my hand in disgust and snarled, "Get lost! You're not my wife! My wife is Beverly Long!"

From birth, Rhea is cursed with the inability to connect with her inner wolf and shift. However, this isn't the only effect of her curse. Instead of shifting at every full moon, like the other werewolves, Rhea enters in her heat. And to add to her misfortune, she's chosen to be Luna of Callisto — the ruthless new Lycan King who seized his father's throne by ripping off his head and displaying it in the palace towers. Callisto Del Amathea, the new King, never been affected by other women's pheromones, and it's said that his are so strong they make even the greatest of alphas sick. He's also said to be a cruel man that, like his people, hates the werewolves. But when Rhea moves to this realm of dry lands, she discovers that things may not be what really seem... [...]“Rhea Calirianne. The Oracle has chosen you as the rightful partner of the 47th King of the Lycan Realm, Callisto del Amathea.” Yes, Rhea's mate is the ruthless new Lycan King... And now, they're bound until death do them apart. WARNING: BOOK FOR +18 READERS (MATURE CONTENT)