Tightening Synonym

TAEYANG SHIN I was never meant to come here. The Alpha Court Academy is a place for heirs, leaders – not broken things like me. I keep my head down, lock my wolf away, and pretend I don’t feel the pull of fate tightening around my throat. Then I meet Ronan Blackwood. The connection is instant, undeniable… and I know what it means. But instead of claiming me, Ronan hates me. Bullies me. And yet, even when his words cut, his eyes burn. I wasn’t looking for a mate. Especially not one destined to ruin me. RONAN BLACKWOOD I’ve spent my life training to inherit a title I never asked for. Son of a dying Alpha. Heir to a bloodline soaked in expectation and control. I don’t have time for distractions – especially not a delicate, sharp-tongued outsider like Tae Yang Shin. The moment I see him, something inside me twists. A dangerous, primal instinct I refuse to name. I push him away, torment him, but the bond coils tighter with every cruel word. I can’t want him. Can’t need him. But fate is cruel — and it’s about to take away our choice. In a world where bonds mean power, desire is weakness, and fate never asks for permission… two souls on opposite sides of pain and pride are bound to collide.

Without warning, Ezra drags me over to his desk in the corner of the study room and shoves me towards it. There, he rips my dress and pulls my arms behind me, tying both my wrists with the torn cloth. It hurts. I shake my head and a strangled sob escapes my lips. “Part your legs, Alayna.” he growls I try to free my hands but this results in him tightening the cloth further. Ezra presses his himself against my back. “Spread. Your. Legs.” *** The black sheep. The unwanted one. The second choice. Those were the names I grew up with. But when my sister mysteriously vanished on her wedding day, I was forced to take on another name, the Luna. “I never loved you. You’re nothing to me but a substitute.” Ezra's words burn in my mind every night as I lay in his bed, letting him ravage and abuse my body. Tears spring to my eyes with every thrust, with every slap, with every bite of his wolf fangs. It was never meant to be like this, I was never meant to be his Luna, I was never meant to be his whore. He was meant to marry my sister, the beautiful, strong and brave she-wolf of our family. Instead, he ended up with a mute omega; me. My name is Alayna Morningstar. And this is my story.

So this is how the mate bond feels. A rush of energy, a pull like gravity tightening around us, and an almost maddening awareness of the other person. I wasn’t about to let it sway me though. Sure, the man in front of me is ridiculously perfect, but I wasn’t some love-struck fool who’d drop everything at the first spark of fate. I had a life, plans, and a fiancé waiting for me upstairs. I raised an eyebrow, forcing myself to stay calm even as my heart raced. “Take a number and get in line, sweetheart,” I said coolly, flashing the engagement ring on my finger in front of his gray eyes. “I’m otherwise occupied right now.” …Five years later, when I pushed the door open, my mate remained motionless on a leather couch, his piercing gaze boring into me with a cold detachment that sent shivers down my spine. He leaned back, the casualness of the gesture at odds with the intensity in his eyes. His arms rested lazily on the backrest, but there was nothing relaxed about him. His body was coiled tight, like a predator ready to pounce, and the air between us crackled with tension. “Is my number finally up?” he asks, his tone laced with bitter amusement. “My dear mate.” The words sting, but I can’t deny the truth in them. He is my last chance.

"I like her," I said as I sat across from my mother unable to keep the frustration from boiling over. "Like who?" "Callie," I admitted, my chest tightening as I said her name. Her expression froze for a moment before she set the papers aside and leaned forward. "You’re joking, right? Callie is your brother’s girlfriend." "I don’t care," I snapped. "I can’t stand seeing him with her. She should be mine, and I’m not going to just sit back and watch them together." "Well, well. This is interesting." She sat back, steepling her fingers. "You really want her all to yourself?" "More than anything," I confessed. A slow smile crept across her face, and it sent a chill down my spine. "Don’t worry. I have a plan.” Whatever she had in mind, I knew it wouldn’t be simple. But if it meant having Callie… I was willing to do whatever it took. **************** Callie was given a choice by her new boss: either lose her job or act as his escort for his family’s Christmas and New Year celebrations, pretending to be his girlfriend. Left with no other option, she reluctantly agrees to be his escort but what she doesn’t realize is that she’s walking straight into a trap. Dive into a story of love, betrayal, romance, suspense, and a Christmas miracle. Second Chances Under the Tree is a gripping and intriguing read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

“You want me to pretend to be your fiancée?” Paige’s voice trembled quietly. Leonardo D’Angelo, her boss, the man she’d spent way too many nights secretly pining over, was holding her by the shoulders. His eyes beseeching. Paige, I know this might come as a surprise to you,” Leonardo’s voice was softer, almost hesitant. “But I need you to be my fake fiancée.” Her heart slammed against her ribs. This had to be a joke. “I—what?” she stammered, staring at him like he’d grown another head. “It’s only for three to four weeks,” he pressed, his grip tightening slightly on her shoulders. “I’ll pay you double, or a vacation, whatever you want. Just say yes.” Paige opened her mouth to refuse, because this was insane, but the look in his eyes stopped her. For once, the arrogant, self-assured Leonardo D’Angelo looked… vulnerable. “Please,” he added, his voice barely above a whisper. She should have said no. She should have walked away. Instead, the word slipped from her lips before she could stop it. “Yes.” The relief on his face was immediate, but Paige’s stomach twisted with nerves. What had she just agreed to? And yet, somewhere beneath the chaos, was the dangerous thrill of being the woman by his side.

“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.

On the anniversary of our Mating, my legs were wrapped around my Alpha, Adrian, as we shared a deep kiss. My fingertips brushed against the hidden pocket of my silk dress, my hand tightening around the pregnancy test I had concealed there. I felt the faint flutter of a new life inside me, planning to give him this surprise as the perfect end to our evening. Just then, Adrian's Beta, Ethan, spoke in a low, teasing tone, using the Old Tongue. "Alpha, that little sister-in-law of yours… the newly matured she-wolf, Zoe. How did she taste?" Adrian's low, suggestive chuckle reached my ears, quiet yet piercingly clear. He replied in the same ancient language. "You know a freshly ripened pepper? Hot, with a real kick." His palm was still caressing my waist, yet his gaze had drifted elsewhere. "Just keep it quiet. If my Luna finds out, it's all over." The other Betas let out knowing chuckles, raising their glasses in a silent promise to keep his secret. But a chill washed over me, and my inner wolf went still, as if it had died. He didn't know I had studied the Old Tongue for my research on werewolf trauma. I understood every word. I held back my tears, forcing myself to appear unfazed, maintaining the composure expected of a Luna. Instead of confronting him, I sent a magically shielded message to Elder Slone of the Werewolf Healers' Association, accepting the invitation she had extended to me. In three days, I would join a secure werewolf rehabilitation program as their new Lead Therapist and disappear from Adrian's world forever.

"Submit!" He growled at her , his grip on her neck tightening but not enough to hurt her. To only have her smirk in return. "Many have tried mate" "I am not others dammit! I am your mate! Your superior!" He screams agitated , looking at her with helpless eyes.While she looks unaffected. "You can try" "But remember. You will never succeed in it." He could end her existence with just a little more pressure. Giving her a fate like others who have ever dared to defy him. Yet the fire in those brown eyes. We wanted to extinguish it. To make her beg him to continue as he denied her. To see her eyes rolling back as he entered her. He wanted her to submit to him completely . Body, soul ,mind everything. To let her be her protector,her dominant, her punisher ,her lover , her mate. Her everything. And he will lay the entire world at her feet. But little did he knew that his mate was not an ordinary Luna who submits to a man's whims and orders. She was the infamous Rebel The mysterious bringer of justice and protector of women. The very person who every male fears in the werewolf world. If only the world knew Rebel was not a man , but a women called Vera Red ....... "The day I submit to a man will the last day of my life life Mate. Vera Red was born as a Rebel, will live as a Rebel and also die as a Rebel. With or without a cause"

Blurb. " You kept my son from me for five years?" Alexander's voice cracked with disbelief , anger radiating off him as he towered over Daniela.She squared her shoulders, though her hands trembled. " I didnt think it mattered back then. I was nothing to you Alexander . Just a distraction- a side chick you could forget the moment I walked out of your life". " That's not fair !" He snapped , his jaw tightening . " You knew what my life was like. I didnt...." " You didnt think about me did you?" She interrupted her voice rising. " After that one night, you moved on as if nothing happened. But i was left with something i couldn't ignore- our son". Alexander froze his piercing gaze searching hers . " You could have come back. You could have told me" . " I tried!" Daniela shot back her voice breaking. " But when i saw you again, you were with her - the perfect fiancee , the love of your life. I realised I'd just be a complication in your already perfect world ". " You don't get to make that choice for me,"he said, his voice low and trembling with restrained fury. " I deserve to know . Noah deseves to know who is father was". Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. " Maybe I was wrong , but i didn't want my child growing up feeling unwanted ... like i was nothing more than a mistake to you ".

Being the only human in a school full of supernatural beings is hard. But being fated to the son of the Alpha your father killed? That’s a death sentence. ******** Carnemore Academy was never meant for someone like Claire: the daughter of a head hunter who used to kill supernaturals in the past. But when the peace treaty between hunters and supernaturals start to crack, she’s sent straight to the heart of danger— a school where everyone hates her and wants her dead. No one despises her more than Zane Wolfe Ravenscroft, her mate and the son of the Alpha her father murdered. And then there’s Caius Valerius, a vampire prince who should hate her just as much, only he doesn’t. And Lorien Feyrune, the Fae prince with a shattered heart and dangerous obsession. As Claire navigates the dangers of Carnemore and her complex relationships, more secrets about her father is revealed. Now, she must choose. Duty or desire? Family or fate? Love or survival? Because in Carnemore, secrets are deadlier than silver bullets. And some bonds were never meant to be broken. ************* Her stomach twisted, her nails digging into her palms. “You rejected me,” she reminded Zane, her throat tightening around the words. “You didn’t want me, remember?” “That doesn’t change anything.” Her heart pounded. “It changes everything.” He reached up, brushing his fingers against her jaw, tilting her chin so she couldn’t look away. “You don’t get it, do you? You’re my toy, Claire.” His thumb grazed her bottom lip, sending a shiver down her spine. “And I’m the only one who gets to play with you.” ************ This book is rated 18+. Fantasy Romance Morally Grey ML Smut Bullying Violence No Reverse Harem