They/them

To defuse the bomb strapped to the hostage, I had no choice—I cut off all her clothes. My clueless new wife, Dana Poole, blasted it online. She cried as she faced me. "Why not at least leave her underwear on? You were saving her, I get it—but did you have to take everything? Doesn't a girl's dignity matter? With cameras everywhere, how is she supposed to live after this? You couldn't even cover her up?" The backlash exploded. The unit benched me to calm things down. So I stopped caring. I followed procedure, no improvising, no extra effort. Then one day, at the busiest mall in the city, Dana's mom got strapped into a brand-new linked bomb. This time, the whole unit panicked.

The kingdom teeters on the edge of chaos as turmoil grips its very core. Stricken by a fatal illness, the King knows his time to rule is slipping away, urging him to seek a worthy successor. Yet, his heart yearns for the one person he cannot have Michael, a trusted confidante and devoted shield, who shares a bond of love forbidden by the kingdom's laws. Discover a tale of forbidden love, untold secrets, and the relentless pursuit of a legacy.

For my birthday, my husband, Don Damien, gave me his dead wife’s pearls. I wore them to the dinner party. My enraged stepson, Leo, doused me in red wine. I became the laughingstock of the party. “You whore,” he hissed. “You think wearing my mother’s jewelry makes you her?” He stared at me, his eyes cold as ice. Then he screamed. "Get out of my house." But his mother died when he was a baby. I raised him. Someone had whispered poison in his ear. They told him I was the one who killed his mother. Now he thinks I'm a scheming bitch who tricked his father. And his father? My husband? He never saw me. He only saw Krista’s ghost. My heart didn't break. It shattered. They didn't love me. They didn't even care. So I walked. Then why, after I was finally gone, did they come crawling back, begging me to return?

My wolf was cursed. I had three days left. But my parents and my mate, Alpha Edwin, forced me to surrender my Luna title to Meggie. All because she claimed a curse was killing her, too. In my despair, I agreed. The moment our mate bond shattered, the backlash nearly broke me. With tears in my eyes, I asked them, "If I died, would you even miss me?" They told me to stop faking it, their expressions ice-cold. But they didn't know. Meggie's curse was a lie. And mine was all her doing. It wasn't until my wolf faded to nothing that Meggie's true colors were revealed. Only then did they scream at her, blaming her for my death. But Meggie just snarled back, "I wasn't the only one who killed Hazel. You all did, too, didn't you?"

Lumi-as someone who's being told what to believe and hope in everything as she grows up-reckons that living is a way to comply with and entrust one's entire life to serving superiors on top of the hierarchy. Who will not think of that way anyway? Being harbored in the lands of Castellanos, it is engraved in her mind that she lives to pay her debt of gratitude to the family who sheltered her, who protected her from all the cruelties the outside world has to offer behind those fences. What they're doing is to protect her life and welfare-that's what they told her. So there's no other way to live but be the gullible and obedient yokel of the Castellano clan, because they're doing everything just for her safety. But that's before her life turns upside-down as she discovers a strange note from the attic. "To whoever finds this message, they erased us. This is all that remains. Remember us, please." What does the note want to convey? Is it just one of those mundane trivial stuff found in an attic like the usual when someone decides to clean it? Or is it something connected to her... "safety?" For sure it is for her safety. That's what they always tell her. But what one hears is not always the version of reality. Most of the time, it is the most convenient scheme to twist and bend the truth. That... That's what they will never tell her.

Ten years ago, I lost my sight saving Ivan Hardman. Now, a decade later, Ivan lets his mistress live under the same roof as me. Every night, he coaxes me to sleep in the first half, only to spend the rest tangled up with her. Even my son secretly calls her "Mom." What they don't know is, I've regained my sight. And I'm planning my escape.

“You have such a pretty face, if only you would lose some weight.” Tory has heard that all of her life. In her solitary life she eats alone and daydreams about having a handsome boyfriend who could accept all of her. Daily she finds herself running to catch her bus and knowing that she is the laughing stock of the other commuters. And then one day she literally finds herself ‘falling’ into the lap of one of the commuters; an exotically handsome white man. Tory finds that she is unable to stop thinking about him and daydreaming about the life he must live. But Mr. Gorgeous must be either married or gay because she sees him dismissing the attention of gorgeous women left and right.Never in a million years would she ever guess that hers was the only attention he was interested in… They Say Love is Blind is created by Pepper Pace, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Elara Vale was the twin no one knew, sent to replace her glamorous sister in a marriage of convenience. Adrian Wolfe believed he married Alessia, but the quiet, clever woman at his side is nothing like the woman he expected. Before secrets emerge, his first love, Lillian Hart returns, beautiful, ambitious, and desperate to reclaim the man she once loved. As old feelings resurface, Adrian notices subtle differences in his wife, strength, intelligence, and calm determination that don’t match Alessia’s reputation. When the shocking truth comes to light, Adrian discovers the woman who stood by him for three years is not Alessia… but Elara, the twin they sent away. And she harbors a secret no one expected, a truth that could change everything.

After graduation, I spent a year apprenticing under my mentor in the neutral lands, where there were no packs, no laws, and no one to protect me. My sister, Evelina Duskbane, the Lycan Chairwoman, nearly lost her mind over it. She was terrified I would fall for some Rogue and recklessly form a mate bond. So before I could decide anything for myself, she approved an arranged match for me. Seris Thornhart, the only daughter of Alpha Alaric Thornhart of Frostfang, the strongest pack in Northmere. Beautiful, dangerous, and legendary. Then Evelina ordered me home for the mating ceremony, leaving me no choice but to visit the finest ceremonial motor house in the city and select a wedding car worthy of the occasion. The moment I stepped inside, my eyes went straight to a silver wedding car with a black crest worked into the bodywork. Just as I reached for the reservation tag beside it, a lazy male voice cut in. "I like the one he's chosen. I'll take it. Hand it over." Before I could react, the clerk snatched the tag from my hand, nearly scraping my skin. I straightened and forced myself to stay calm. "Ever heard of first come, first served? I saw it first. Is this how you do business here?" The male wolf turned to me with a mocking look. "That car costs three hundred thousand dollars. You sure you can afford it, peasant? I grew up with Lady Seris Thornhart. Around here, I make the rules." I stared at him, almost amused. What a coincidence. Seris Thornhart just happened to be the woman chosen for me. I pulled out my phone and called her. "Seris, your precious childhood friend just took the wedding car for our mating procession. What do you think I should do about that?"

My first day back home and my husband's secretary was already flexing her muscles, trying to grab my antique right out of my hands. Before I could get a word out, she smacked me across the face. Twice. She sneered at me with a look that could freeze fire. "This piece caught my eye, and I'm being nice to you. Better apologize and thank me, pronto!" I moved to confront her, but before I knew it, her bodyguard had me pinned to the ground. She looked down at me like I was nothing. "Trying to challenge me? I'm Mrs. Collins of the Collins family here in Riverton City. You're nothing! One word from my husband and you're out of here!" Passersby started chiming in: "Aren't you going to bow down and beg? She's the apple of Mr. Collins' eye." "Play your cards right, and maybe you'll still be scrubbing toilets in Riverton City." I was ready to set things straight when her title hit me like a ton of bricks. The Collins family of Riverton City? When did Eric get another wife? I dialed Eric's number and laughed calmly. "Eric, since when did you secretly marry someone behind my back?"