Throat Tightness

"Tell me, was I ever more than a game to you?" Aria's voice broke. "I swear to you, it started as a game but I fell in love with you." Kai needed closure, her distance was driving him crazy, worse, she found out about the dare. "What about Raven?" Kai froze at her question, he couldn’t deny his attraction to the dancer. Aria could never trust his love for her as Aria because she had done things with him as Raven and for all she knew, Raven was another female to him. ~~~~~ Aria is an Omega werewolf at the bottom of the pack, living a dual life. No one knows her secret—especially not Kai, the arrogant Young Alpha who bullies her at school. He wants the mysterious dancer, Raven Star. He hates the quiet girl, Aria. But they’re the same person. As Aria struggles to keep her double life hidden, Kai starts falling for both sides of her but he's not the only one falling, Raven is more than every male can look passed. She can’t be both the Omega and the fantasy forever. One side will have to break. Kai has his flaws as well and Aria may never trust him again. Worse—on her 18th birthday, everything flips—her teacher wants to devour her, her manager looks at her differently, her Alpha bullies are at each other's throat and nothing makes sense to her. Who is Aria? Who will she choose?

Luke moved then. Fast. Too fast. One second he was across the room, the next he was in front of her, towering over her like a wall of heat and fury. His hands came up, gripping her arms not gently, not cruelly, but with a force that said he was one second from shattering. “You think I don’t fight for you every damn day?” His voice was low, dangerous, vibrating with something raw. “You think I don’t take bullets for you behind the scenes? Every single move I make is to keep you breathing, Abigail. So don’t you dare stand there and act like I’m doing nothing.” Her breath hitched, but the anger didn’t stop burning. “Then say it to her. Say it to their faces instead of hiding behind silence like a coward!” Something snapped in his eyes then something sharp and blazing. And before Abigail could blink, his mouth was on hers. The kiss wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was a collision hard, punishing, desperate. All the rage, the fear, the need that had been coiling between them exploded like fire. Abigail gasped against him, her hands going up to his chest, meaning to push him away except she didn’t. Just couldn’t. Because the second his tongue slid against hers, the second his body pressed flush against hers, every bone in her body melted. Luke growled low in his throat, a sound that made heat curl deep in her belly. He spun her, slamming her gently but firmly against the wall, his hands framing her face as he devoured her mouth like he’d been starving for years.

Diego strolled into his apartment, his heels clinking softly against the marble floor. He tossed his blonde wig on the couch, and his soft fingers propelled forward to count the dollar bills in his hands. “You're out crossdressing again?” His uncle, Roberto, a tall imposing figure with gray streaks on his hair walked into the room. “I might just have the perfect job for you,” Roberto chuckled softly and tossed a gun at Diego. “What?!” Diego's breath hitched in his throat as he swallowed the weight of the mission his uncle proposed. Cross dressing was one thing that Diego did with ease. There was no way he could do what his uncle requested; assassinating the infamous mafia lord of the Rocco empire. He stood in front of a mirror, holding the gun that Roberto had handed to him. There was no way that this soft and delicate hand could pull a trigger. Diego didn't expect that the mafia lord he was set up against was going to be a man who'll make his heart flutter. He tried to resist, bracing himself to complete his mission. But things only got heated when he found himself “entangled in the rival's hold.”

“Unfortunately, you must die, Luna Lyara,” Alpha Kaelen whispered. It wasn't enough that I had to endure the curse to replace him, and his decision to turn his face away from me for another woman, he still betrayed me until the end. He stabbed me with his own hands and pushed me off the cliff. When I thought everything was over, time spun back and brought me back to the past, exactly three weeks after I was cursed.  This time, I won’t be the victim. I’ll free myself from the curse, reverse fate, and protect the people I love. I won’t be dragged along by the predetermined path set by that scoundrel Kaelen. I’m determined to write my own destiny with my own hands! *** “…Lyara.”  I didn’t know what he was saying. I could only catch one word, my name, which he whispered softly.  Ah, there’s still someone who cares about me like this. With trembling hands, I tried to reach his face. The sticky sensation flooding his cheeks, I knew it. He was crying. Was he crying because of me? “Don’t… cry…” I said, my words breaking off.   The pain and tingling in my throat brought back the painful cough. My right hand fell onto his chest. Unintentionally, my fingers touched the pendant necklace around his neck. A unique and beautiful sun-shaped pendant.  “Thank you,” I said with a bitter smile.

She opened the door, and when she stepped inside, someone else closed it behind her. She jolted. Her head spun in shock to see him standing there. Her nerves felt jittery. He couldn’t possibly kill her now, could he? “W-what do you want?” Anna stuttered. The usual smirk wasn’t on his lips as he glared at her. “One thing I hate is when things don’t go as I planned. Silly little loopholes,” he said, pushing away from the doorframe. Her heart rippled when he took a step toward her. He was tall and large—she felt like a little girl compared to him. “I will scream,” Anna breathed, cold sweat rolling down her back. He held her chin. His hold was gentle as he caressed her jawline. Anna shivered. Then his lips tilted into a smirk—not enigmatic like the ones she had usually seen. This one was… sinister. One that told her he didn’t have good plans for her. “Careful there. We wouldn’t want you ending up with a broken spinal cord now, do we?” His large palm flew to her throat, his thumb gently caressing it. Tears brimmed in her eyes. “What do you want?” Her voice came out as a low whisper. “Your body,” he deadpanned. “As manure for my apple tree.” After being thrown to the wolves by her own father, Annalisa must make the ultimate choice—follow her heart or destroy the man she’s come to love.

"Yes”, I say slowly, tears welling up in my eyes as each drop run down my cheeks, hot and carrying the weight of my emotions, I feel my throat closing up and my chest tightening as I struggle to find words. What have I done to him? I think to myself, it dawn on me that maybe, just maybe, his aching and bothersome affection towards me could be sincere and I was at the brink of losing it. Billionaire CEO Elias Vermontary seems to only care about raising stocks and making investments, anything and everything to diversify the Vermontary enterprise. He is considered the most eligible bachelor in the country but marriage is unfortunately the last thing on his mind. In a bid to die down the rising rumors of his sexuality and the conniving efforts of his family, he decides to get married to Selene Argraval a struggling lawyer, who has a nerve wrecking disdain for the wealthy and their lavish lifestyle. As their worlds collide, they must learn to face the challenges of life together, forgoing their differences and withstanding the pressures of their contrasting lives. Will a love that doesn’t seem to exist brew, and will it be better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Unravel the sacrifices made in a bid to love harder and longer.

“I think it's about time you devour me.” I heard him say and I blinked. What was he talking about? A frown creased my face. His confidence and graceful poise seem to unnerve me. He had something about him I couldn't figure out, yet. “Wh-a-t did you say?” I stuttered, forcing myself to tear my eyes away from his face. He chuckled, then leaned closer to my ears. “I asked when you were going to devour me.” I flinched. What was he playing at? Was he flirting with me so openly? I willed myself to ignore his statement. I had a bigger task at hand to let myself be bothered by a pretty man. I cleared my throat and his eyes were now focused on me. “I have no time for your gimmicks. Excuse me.” I was leaving when I felt his hands draw me back. “You leave only when I ask you to.” He growled and I instantly felt my knees weaken. His voice carries with it some kind of authority. I felt my wolf curl inside of me. I have so many questions racing in my head. Who was this handsome stranger with so much nerves? ***** When Ava's mother fell ill, Ava vowed to go to the ends of the earth to save her. Ava got more shattered after finding her boyfriend in bed with her best friend. With her boyfriend's betrayal fresh in her mind, Ava moved on with a promise to lock her heart from any man. But the moon goddess has another plan for her. Dylan Gibson, the Savage Alpha had set his eyes on her. She had something he wanted. Something no one else could give him. Will Ava find love or she's just a means to an end?

"Say it," Tenz growled, yanking her hips against the hood of his blacked-out car, his hand wrapped around her throat like a necklace made of danger. Kyoline's breath shuddered as his mouth traced her jaw, his fingers sliding under the hem of her leather skirt, teasing, threatening. "Say you're mine, or I'll make you say it with your teeth clenched and your legs shaking," he hissed, dragging his tongue along her collarbone. She smirked through the haze of lust and war. "I'm not yours, Tenz... I'm just letting you play with me until someone better comes to steal me." "Someone like who?" he spat. A cold voice answered from behind the shadows. "Like me," Isaac said. And just like that... the chaos began. --- Kyoline Diego was born of blood, betrayal, and gunfire. A mafia princess with ash in her veins and a Glock in her purse. Her childhood ended the day her father-a respected Made Man-was assassinated. Left for dead, she crawled from the ruins with nothing but vengeance and two younger siblings she'd kill for. Now eighteen and jaded, Kyoline bartends for mob rats by night, runs guns for a price, and slays in gold heels by morning. Love? It's not on the agenda. Survival is. Enter Tenz Jersey-her inked-up, lie-laced mafia beau. The man who f*cks like a god and lies like a sermon. He gives her fire, chaos, and a reason to breathe. He also gives her bruises she wears like medals and promises that vanish like smoke. She tells herself he's enough. Until Isaac. Cold. Calculating. Beautiful in a way that feels like a bullet wound. He shoves her into an unmarked SUV, claims he's NYPD, feeds her lies and cannoli-then laughs while she figures out he's actually the most lethal hitman.....

Just because his first love's younger brother accidentally fell into Shadow River, my Alpha mate, Ethan Horn, forced me, the only Spirit Soother of our pack, to go and rescue him. When I sank to the bottom of the river, I chose not to save him. When the man was pulled out of the river, the healer lamented, "If it were a few minutes earlier, Leo might have been saved. What a pity." Ethan's first love, Serafina Pike, had her wolf soul shut off and soon passed away because she missed her younger brother, Leo Pike. From that moment on, Ethan, who had once loved me, hated me to the core. Without giving me a chance to explain, he slit my throat with a silver blade and ruthlessly sealed my wolf soul. Later, he believed the heresy of the witch about soul sacrifice and nailed me and our young daughter in coffins before burying us alive by Shadow River as sacrifices to resurrect his beloved Serafina. In the end, the woman he deeply loved did not come back to life, and my daughter and I died with endless resentment. When I reopened my eyes, I had returned to the night when Ethan forced me to jump into the river to save Leo. I tied up the specially made rope and asked him for the last time, "Are you really sure that you can bear the consequences after I rescue him?"

Jada prayed and asked God to provide a miracle that would be a solution to her family’s problems. They had always been poor, but this was the worst situation they had ever been in. Her father had to be taken to the hospital two weeks ago, and she had become the sole provider for their home. Marilou had given them what money she had that she could to help, but she wasn’t exactly rolling in money herself. The young girl had a huge responsibility placed upon her shoulders, but she was determined not to lose their home or have the children sent to foster care. She had been waiting tables and using her tips to buy gas and groceries, but it was barely enough most days. Her paycheck had not been enough to pay all the bills since her father had let them get so far behind. Mrs. DeRoya cleared her throat, signaling that she would answer the girl. “Miss Pence, I only had one child, my son Brayden here. My husband was also an only child. So, unless Brayden produces an heir, our bloodline here in the United States is lost. What we need is a surrogate to carry the child. If you sign the contract, when the child is born you will receive one million dollars to take your siblings and go have a good life,” she said, staring at her without emotion.