Unscramble Touched

“You murderer!” No A resounding slap followed those words from Katrina’s Mother-in-law. The entire extended family gasped in shock but no one made a move to help. Not even Katrina’s husband, Damon Winchester. He just stood there, watching lazily, like he always did while his mother berated her for every little thing. But this wasn’t little, no. This was more than the fine china dishes that were one of the family’s heirlooms which Katrina broke last thanksgiving and earned her harsh insults from her mother-in-law. This was nothing like the family dinner she made last Christmas that caused half the kitchen to catch fire, needing a renovation. This couldn't be compared to that afternoon in summer, when she knocked over an antique vase while dusting, freezing as it cracked clean down the middle and her mother-in-law murmured that Katrina’s touch spoiled anything of value. No. This was the death of the only woman who loved someone as unlovable as Katrina. The woman who raised her. The woman who constantly fought for Katrina’s place in the Winchester Family even when she didn’t belong. Alana Winchester, Damon’s grandmother. Like every other thing, it was all her fault. Everything Katrina touched turned to ashes.

On my twentieth birthday, my father asked me to draw from a box of straws. It was to pick a husband between William Smith and Austin Smith to inherit North Town. The short straw represented Austin, while the long straw represented William. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the long straw. However, I was certain that I did not want to marry Austin. I drew straws for three years, but it was to no avail. I had no choice but to tamper with the straws to marry William as I wished. However, ten years into our marriage, he was no longer gentle and kind. He had turned into a really cold person. He neither returned home nor touched me. Even when I threatened him with a knife, he refused to talk to me. Despite feeling hurt, I was unwilling to let him go. That was until I watched him kick away the only medicine I had for my asthma while I was writhing on the floor. “I was the one who switched out the straws. There was no long straw, yet you forced me to marry you. Mandy died from a broken heart, so you should pay with your life.” When I opened my eyes again, I was holding a short straw. I calmly said, “Since it’s the short one, I choose Austin.”

Charlotte always hoped for forever with her college sweetheart, Jonah, but after their marriage, the man she gave her heart took her freedom and turned her into a shadow of herself. He married another woman for her money and dumped Charlotte to the curb because of his greed. Broken, with no hope from anywhere, her savior comes in form of the man she least expected, her ex’s uncle. Xavier Roman is the wealthiest man in the state, a zillionaire whose income cannot be counted. He proposes a contract marriage to his nephew’s ex-wife in order to silence the ugly rumors surrounding him and she agrees out of desperation. In return, he promises to help her exert her revenge on everyone who wronged her, and spoil her beyond imagination. Driven by hate and jealousy, her ex-husband returns with his family, tarnishing her image in every way they can to get back at her, but she cannot be touched because of the man whose name she is affiliated with. What happens when she starts to want more than just his money? What happens when he realizes that it was never just business for him? How will she ever get over him, when coupled with his money, he shows her in more ways than one, what it means to be truly pleasured by a man…?

On my wedding night, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a tampered condom left me in excruciating pain. The surgery took over twenty-four hours, and the story spread like wildfire. My husband, Alexander, let it be known that anyone who managed to photograph me in my post-surgery state would be rewarded with ten million dollars. Overnight, I went from being a billionaire's new wife to the laughingstock of every elite circle in New York. The next day, Alexander's childhood sweetheart Dahlia showed up at my door. That was when I learned the truth: she'd coated the condom with industrial-strength adhesive as part of what she called a "social experiment." She didn't show a shred of remorse. Her tone was flippant and cruel: "It was just an experiment. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd react like that? Besides, we both know you were never good enough for Alexander. So drop the act." Alexander stood beside her, his gaze cold and dismissive: "If it weren't for the marriage contract, no one would've touched you. You know that, right?" What he didn't know was that the woman he was calling a slut had saved his life more times than he could count.

When my younger sister gave me a blessed pendant, I immediately hung it around the neck of a pregnant sow. In my past life, my sister and I got pregnant at the same time, and she bought an expensive blessed pendant from Tenezia to ensure my baby and I would be safe and sound. I was touched, and I wore the pendant every day. Months later, my sister and I went into labor at the same time. I gave birth to a deformed, dead fetus, while my sister gave birth to a healthy, chubby baby boy. My in-laws thought I had cursed my son to death and would also end up bringing misfortune to their family, so they drugged me and sold me to Tenezia. I was turned into a freak show and placed inside a vase to become a public spectacle for all who came to see me. It was only after my death that I found out it had all been my sister's doing. She had known from the start that there was something wrong with her baby, which was why she got me the blessed pendant to exchange the fates of our babies. When I opened my eyes again, I smiled as I stared at the round belly of the sow…

She belongs to a wolf. She's married to the hunter. To the world, Elira Malven is the villainess who stole a princess's betrothed. But her gilded marriage to the legendary war hero, Kael Rennar, is a cage, and her husband has a deadly secret: he is a Wolfhunter, the sworn enemy of her kind. “Why?” The word was a crack in her composure. “Why did you push for this marriage? What do you want from me?” He didn’t turn. A faint, hollow smile touched his lips. “I don’t know why I insisted,” his voice was barely a breath. “I don’t know why I didn’t kill you the moment I suspected what you are.” Her only hope seems to lie with Thane, her true mate, whose touch awakens a primal bond in a dusty library. But he is the one who shattered her heart. “Then why leave?” she asked, raw and painful. “After I begged you—” “Because I was protecting you!” The words tore from him. “You were nobility. The Wolfkiller's wife. And I— I was nobody.” Torn between a hunter haunted by his mercy and a mate haunted by his sacrifice, Elira must choose: remain in a marriage built on a tragic mystery, or risk a love that demands a price neither of them may survive.

Lyra Cross knew exactly what she was doing when she walked down that aisle. Marrying Killian Maddox wasn’t love, it was strategy. A peace treaty in a leather jacket. The Crimson Fangs’ princess had just one mission: infiltrate the Iron Revenants, spy on the enemy, and burn their empire from the inside out. What she didn’t plan for was Dominic “Grave” Maddox. Her new father-in-law. Forty-two. Billionaire. Biker king. Deadly in every way that mattered. One kiss from him, and the mission started to crumble. Somehow he saw through her lies, stripped her walls bare, and made her forget who she was supposed to be. The way he looked at her wasn’t right… it was sinful. And when he touched her, it felt like a war she didn’t want to win. Back home, her father and her biker-boyfriend Marcus were waiting for the signal. They thought she was still their weapon. But Grave made her something else entirely. His. Now she is trapped between blood and desire, vengeance and addiction because the man she’s falling for isn’t just her enemy… he might be the monster who killed her mother. When that truth comes out, it won’t just break their twisted bond. It will start a war that leaves nothing but ash and sin behind.

He said I was too weak to stand beside him. Adrian Thorn - my fated mate, my first love rejected me before the entire pack. I remember his words more clearly than his touch: “You’re not the Luna I need.” So I did what every broken Omega does. I ran. I hid my smell, my heart, and my dreams of ever being his. But fate is cruel. Because when Kieran, his cousin, the exiled heir, the playboy Alpha with danger in his smile returned, everything I’d buried came roaring back to life. He saw me. Not the weak Omega I’d been told I was, but the woman who could bring an Alpha to his knees. And when he touched me… my wolf didn’t shrink. She claimed. Now Adrian wants me back. Kieran wants me too. And the pack? They want blood. Because what none of them know is that I carry a secret one that could crown the next Alpha… or destroy the entire Moonlight Crown pack. He refused me. But I’m the one fate chose. When love turns to war, who will I betray the mate who broke me, or the Alpha who burns for me?

Sierra Bennett thought she was doing her father a favor—fake dating his star hockey player to buy him time with the pack elders. One dinner. A few public appearances. Simple. Then she touched rival alpha Sebastian Crane and had a vision of blood on ice. Suddenly, Sierra discovers she's not human. She's a late-blooming wolf with psychic abilities, and Asher Kane isn't just her fake boyfriend, he's her destined mate. But Sebastian knows her secret. He knows she's actually his niece through her mother's hidden Silvermoon bloodline. And he's willing to use pack law, blackmail, and a death challenge to claim both Blackpine territory and Sierra for himself. Now Sierra has four days to master her wolf abilities, learn to play college hockey, and decide if she's ready to complete a mate bond that will change her life forever. Because when Sebastian moves the challenge up and her own mother's betrayal puts everyone at risk, Sierra must choose: run from the destiny she never wanted, or fight for the mate she's falling for. Some bonds are worth fighting for. Even if it means facing the monster who shares your blood.

"You think I am a fool?" he whispered in my ear, coming closer. He was pissing me off. "Why the hell do you want to marry me?" I gritted my teeth. He touched my cheeks, and something flashed in his eyes. "No," I said, stepping back, keeping space between us. He was about to speak, but I cut him off. "I will not marry you." ********************** Gurans lives a very depressing life with her parents, who don't have any love for her. With the continuous hatred from her parents and frustration from her own life, she tries to end it. Her suicide attempt turns into another failure in her life as she finds herself in a stranger's house. She tries to leave the house but as the stranger doesn't let her go she starts to believe that she was kidnapped.  Tired of her questions, the stranger puts out a deal for her. Although the details of the deal have not been fully revealed, for her freedom, she accepts it. Finally, she gets free from his hold, but it's not long before he comes to claim her back. Once they start to live together the truth of the deal is slowly revealed turning her life upside down. Cover credit - ** Art Created by ImperialSkyGod using Midjourney **