The Witching Hour Anne Rice

Billionaire Seymore Lewis has the world at his feet, and if he wants it, he can have a different girl in bed every hour of the day, every day. He is a sex addict and a man who has it all, a master at no-strings-attached. What Seymore didn’t expect was to be caught in a new obsession; conquering Ava, the woman who seems to draw a line and keeps pushing him away. Not even the dangerous people who are after him are an obstacle to this new obsession, and anyone that comes in between him and her, will have to learn to be stepped on. - “Ava deserves a good man. Do you think you’re a good man, Seymore?” the man asks, calming himself down. “A good man? No, I am not. I would literally strike a match and watch the world burn if it meant keeping her safe,” I reply slowly, leaning in toward him. Empire of Lust is created by Amelie Bergen, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

On the day I get back together with Leo Laycond, he uploads a photo of us on his social media account. I stare at the post for three long minutes until I notice a silver lock icon on the bottom right corner. It turns out that Leo has blocked Lisa Laycand, his younger adopted sister. That sister of his is always the person he cares about the most. I tell Leo calmly, "If you yearn for Lisa even more, I can always cancel the mating ceremony." Leo panics immediately. He deletes the restriction in front of the entire pack so that they can witness our reunion. Half an hour later, Lisa rushes into the training grounds in nothing but a thin dress. Then, she "collapses" in front of Leo. I watch as Leo scoops Lisa into his arms. It's an action that's very familiar to him, as though he's done it hundreds of times. Suddenly, I realize that the engagement with Leo bores me to no end.

On our fifth anniversary, I came across the Instagram page of a stranger named Serena Reed. The girl lay sideways on a hospital bed, her bandage-wrapped hand intertwined with a man's larger hand. On the man's ring finger was a moonstone ring, with Vincent Carter's name and my own name clearly engraved on the band. Below the photo, the girl had written: "It's just a tiny scratch, but he was so worried he insisted I stay in the hospital. Being loved like this feels incredible!" An hour earlier, Vincent had apologized to me over the phone. "Nina, there's an urgent matter with the patrol team. Don't wait for me for dinner. When I come back, I'll bring you a gift." He was not coming home for our anniversary because he was with another woman. I silently melted down the moonstone ring and sent it to Vincent as a gift. Then I packed all my belongings, including the pup in my womb, and left the Shadow pack quietly, never to return.

“What's a beautiful girl like you doing on the roadside at this late hour of the night?” Justin asked, his eyes watching Olima's face intently as she ran away from him and fell to the ground. "Come with me. I won't hurt you," he promised, extending his right hand to her. Olima hesitated, before accepting Justin's hand and standing up from the ground. Will she trust him? Will he protect her and not take advantage of her? *** Olima Adams was a 17-year-old girl and lost her parents. However, her wicked stepmother sent her away. Olima ran into Justin Robert, and he took her home to his parents' house. Will Justin's mother accept Olima as her son's wife? What if she wanted her best friend's daughter as her daughter-in-law? Will Olima be able to over her evil stepmother and Justin's family? Find out what happened to her.

All Aria ever wanted was to fix their broken bond. But just when she discovers she’s pregnant with twins, his long-awaited pups, she finds her mate, Alpha Aiden, cradling another woman in his arms… and bringing her into their home. Humiliated, heartbroken, and pushed aside, Aria vanishes without a word. But Aiden’s world shatters the moment he finds her diary and realizes the truth: she was carrying his children all along. Now he’ll tear apart the realm to find her. Mate bond or not, betrayal or not, he’ll bring her back, even if it means burning everything in his path. Because losing her once was a mistake. Losing her again? Unforgivable. But Aiden isn’t the only Alpha who wants her. In her darkest hour, Aria crosses paths with Kaelen, the rogue Alpha feared across the realms, who offers her protection and a chance to rise stronger than before.

I confirmed Vincent Lowe was cheating on me on the day of our third wedding anniversary. The dining table was filled with dishes, yet he barely touched his fork before heading out the door. "Where are you going?" I asked. His answer was unnervingly straightforward. "A friend's treating me to dinner. Cassidy Mason—you know her, right? It's a free meal. It'd be a waste not to accept." An hour later, however, I received a voice message from Cassidy. In the message, Vincent's voice was lighter and livelier—so different from how he ever sounded with me. "They say you should marry someone you can truly enjoy a meal with. I really regret meeting you so late. If only I had known you earlier, I would've married you instead." I listened in silence. Then, alone at the table, I finished every last bite of the meal I had prepared. Afterward, I left a divorce agreement behind.

On the night of the Silvermoon Festival, the entire Black Forest pack is bathed in the light of the Moon Goddess. I'm about to share the spectacle with Kaelen through the mind-link, but then I spot a familiar figure. Kaelen Payne, my Alpha and fated mate, is holding a she-wolf in his arms. She tilts her face up to him, her voice edged with challenge. "Kaelen, prove I'm not just a secret. Mark me." My blood seems to freeze as I hear Kaelen murmur his agreement before pressing his mouth to hers. My wolf lets out a painful howl inside me. Just an hour ago, Kaelen's voice had come through the mind-link, "My Luna, I wish I could see the festival too, but there's an emergency at the border. Don't forget to share it with me through the mind-link." My fingertips turn cold, and I instinctively reach for him through the mind-link.

Now that I've been accepted into a prestigious college, my family throws a college acceptance party for me. My older cousin, Jessica Boone, gives me a gift for the occasion—a scratch-off lottery ticket with half the numbers scratched already. But when she finds out that I won 20 dollars from the lottery ticket, she offers 200 thousand dollars to buy the ticket off me. Finding it strange, I refuse her offer. Jessica goes berserk. She starts cursing me out, telling me to go to hell. She even pushes me off the high-rise building right in front of all the guests at the party. The dozens of people in attendance, including my parents, staunchly support her actions and even start remarking that I deserve to die. My eyes open once more—I've gone half an hour back in time. Once again, Jessica mockingly tosses the scratch-off lottery ticket at me and says those familiar words to me.

Jenny posted a picture of me and her brother, who had an intellectual disability. The caption? "Finally, a happy ending!" The comments were all the same: "Is this your sister-in-law? She’s gorgeous!" I simply replied with a question mark, but Jenny ignored me and responded to someone else instead. "She's kinda my sister-in-law, yes!" It didn't take long for Steven to call me, his tone full of anger. "It was just a little edit, do you really have to blow things out of proportion?" Half an hour later, Jenny posted another photo of her sitting in Steven's luxury car, and even tagged me in it. "We may not be related by blood, but this big brother of mine has always been my rock!" Steven commented. "I'll always be here." I knew he was trying to get a rise on me on purpose to appease Jenny, but I didn't grace them with a reply this time. All I did was like the post and file for divorce.

Half an hour ago, my destined mate finally proposed to me, and we will hold a grand mating ceremony in half a month. The moment I’d been waiting for ten years had finally come. But right at this monment. My Alpha was holding another woman, his fingers tracing her skin. His voice was soft, almost worshipful. “I regret everything. If you want me back, I will break the mate bond with her.” He had no idea I was watching from outside the window—he was so wrapped up in that woman, he didn’t even catch my scent. Right then, it hit me: our mate bond, our ten years together, flash throug in my head. I sent a mindlink to my mother and told her I was going to cut down the mate-bond with Mike. Then I would go back to the Deep Blue pack to run my own. Mike would never know that our mating ceremony would be the day I leave.