Unsettling Crossword Clue

Vampires, I'd never seen one up close before. That is, until one tried to kill me. But he saved me, the Reaver Raphael. I know I'm only Human, but the more I learn of him, the more intrigued I become. He scares me, much more than I'd ever admit. My instincts scream at me to run. I know he's one of the four brothers who control the Underworld. I know he kills people without warning or trigger. I know the other Supernaturals fear him, and I know what he says goes… period. Yet, I find myself drawn to him, my fear tempered by a morbid curiosity. Being around someone as powerful as Raphael is daunting, yet every time I'm near him, I feel a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. But I'm aware of the danger. I've studied the Reavers, and I know their charm is designed to lure you in. Raphael doesn't even have to try… he exudes an effortless allure that draws me, and everyone else, to him. I know I should run, I want to run. But I'm frozen in place, and the warning signs only seem to heighten the allure. I've danced with danger for too long, but playing with fire has never felt so satisfying. That was, until I woke up in a strange place, surrounded by an unsettling array of supernatural creatures. Reality hit me like a slap in the face. And it's in this moment that I regret ever pursuing the man in the silver suit, who meets me in the diner... I've read enough love stories to know that love could be a fatal flaw, or a mans greatest strength. Could I be his? Or would our love become a fatal collision course from which neither of us would escape?

ADRIAN'S POV My head was pounding, a dull throb that echoed the frantic beat of my heart. I was hot, too hot, my skin slick with an unfamiliar sweat. I knew it instantly: drugged. One moment I was escorting Aria, basking in the glittering lights and dancing with her in the ballroom at her birthday party. Next, a wine from a waiter, a trip to the bathroom, and then… darkness. I blinked, trying to focus on the blur above me. Damien. My stalker. The man who’d been haunting the edges of my life for weeks, whispering cryptic claims of a shared past I couldn’t recall. He was on top of me, pinning me to the plush velvet of some unfamiliar bed. His eyes, usually so intense and unsettling, were filled with a disturbing mix of guilt and desperation. "I’m sorry, Adrian, I'm so sorry I had to do this, but I can't stand seeing you with her. Watching you rewrite our history... please, remember me. Remember us." He leaned down, his breath hot against my ear. "I promise, I'll cherish you this time." Then, his lips crashed onto mine, a fierce, possessive kiss that stole my breath away. His hands moved over me, desperate and knowing, igniting a fire that both terrified and strangely thrilled me. Maybe it was the drug blurring the lines of reason. Or maybe… just maybe, deep down, my body recognized something my mind couldn’t. It responded to his touch with a shameful eagerness, a desperate need that mirrored his own. All I could do was surrender to the moment, to the heat, to the undeniable connection I felt with this man, Damien, as I returned his kiss with a fervor that shocked us both.

No matter how far I ran, no matter how deep I hid, I knew one truth… He would always find me. Knock. Knock. I jolted up from my sitting position, with my heart hammering in my chest. Just as I was saying... He had found me. But by the time he broke down the rickety door, I was already standing and facing him with a knife to my wrist. I'd rather die than return home with him as his mate. *** Eve thought she and her mother had successfully escaped her abusive father by getting married to the former Alpha of a pack far away from where they lived. But all her hopes were cut short the moment she realized her new stepbrother, Alpha Saint, who was also the current Alpha of her new pack, was the same man she had a one-night stand with eight months ago, along with his best friend, Beta Kyrie. And on that fateful night, she had stolen very valuable items from these men. Hated and controlled by her stepbrother, Saint, who saw her as nothing but a thieving whore, Eve decided to find solace in Kyrie, who was already falling madly in love with her. But Saint would rather fight his best friend to the death than let him anywhere close to the woman he was secretly obsessed with from the day he set eyes on her – Eve. All hell was let loose when Eve turned twenty-one and found out that not only was she mated to the man she loved and desired – Kyrie. She was also mated to her overly possessive stepbrother, whom she dreaded with her life. *** TRIGGER WARNING! This is a dark romance novel, which might contain some unsettling themes rated 18+. It is everything dark and forbidden. Please, be guided.

Ember accepted her lot in life. On the run, she only wishes to find out the truth behind her dreams and solve the memory of her past. Keegan has only cared about protecting his pack, but when he sees the beauty dancing on stage and the flicker of flames in her eyes his body screams, Mate! Can Keegan tame the flames of Ember and together solve the mystery of her missing past? Or will they all burn together? Excerpt: “This is the reason I’m always tired,” I think to myself. Twenty-four years of coming here and still not a single clue, but every time I close my eyes, I return to this place. I know my surroundings perfectly. Oddly the place is beautiful to the eyes. The old house sat among flowers growing around all sides. The aroma of honeysuckle and jasmine fill my lungs filling me with a moment's peace. I’m sitting in my usual spot. Gripping the ropes of a swing in the front yard held by a large oak tree. Waiting I begin pushing my legs back and forth sending me in motion. I know something is about to happen. It happens every night. The house moves in front of my eyes. I see the shadows coming, but I don’t stop swinging. They are black as night but I can see smiles within the shadow grinning bright. “What is this place!” I cry, fed up with this nightly repetition, but no sound emerges. A noise can be heard from the back of the house. One of the shadows turns toward it. I jump down to follow only to have the other shadow hold me back. “Don’t go. Not yet. Listen to me!”

I'm Caleb Jennings. When I announce my early retirement, everyone in the city cheers. Only Nathan Sloan, my junior from the police academy, who claims to be able to see things from the criminal's perspective, panics at the news. During the party organized in his honor, he openly states his intention to find me. "I owe my success to the guidance Caleb Jennings has provided me all along. I hope everyone can help me find him and bring him back into the police force." Scoffing, I choose to ignore that. … In my previous life, I was the celebrated captain of a criminal investigation team. Yet, whenever I uncovered a clue, Nathan, a rookie in the city police department, would announce it first, beating me to it. After multiple incidents like this, everyone started saying that I was past my prime. To prove myself, I worked myself to the bone for three months before finally locating the hideout of a human trafficking ring. However, when I arrived on the scene with my team, Nathan had already swept through the place. He was launched into stardom, becoming the rising star detective that everyone adored. As for me, the public mercilessly tore me apart, labeling me as incompetent and shaming me. Due to the pressure from work and the negative public opinion directed at me, my mind was distracted. I ended up getting killed while hunting down the remnants of the trafficking ring. When I open my eyes again, I find that I'd gone back in time—to the day we launch a raid on the human traffickers' hideout.

Sa labis na kagustuhan ni Gabrielle na mabawasan ang guilt sa pagkawala ng kanyang kapatid ay sinikap niyang gawin ang lahat para sa ikabubuti ng kanyang mga estudyante lalo na at buhay na ng mga ito ang nakataya. Para sa kanya, wala nang mas lulungkot pa sa naging buhay niya. Walang pamilya. Mag-isa. Miserable. Hanggang sa dumating sa buhay niya ang isang lalaki sa katauhan ni Zierelle Montefalcon. Hindi niya alam kung biyaya ba ang pagdating nito sa buhay niya o isang pagkakamali. Pagkakamali, kung hahayaan niya ang kanyang sariling tanggapin ito sa buhay niya at umasa siyang mayroon ulit siyang taong maaasahan sa tabi niya. Sa ilang taong namuhay siya nang mag-isa, natuto na siyang walang ibang inaasahan pa kundi ang sarili lamang niya. She became an independent woman as she wanted to be. But fate interfere. Some things won't go as planned. Namalayan na lamang niya ang kanyang sarili na unti-unti nang nanghihina ngunit sa isiping nasa tabi niya lang ang lalaki ay nanatili siyang malakas at natuto siyang magtiwala na tutulungan siya nitong hanapin ang kapatid niya. How about the boy with yellow umbrella? Patuloy niya itong inaalala dahil naroon ito sa tabi niya noong mga panahong nawala ang kapatid niya. Pagkakatiwalaan niya kaya ang isang aroganteng police officer para mahanap ang dalawang taong matagal na niyang hinahanap? How will she find them when her only clue is.... That summer...the rain pours.

Her eyes widened when his tool sprang free from constraint. He glanced down and winced, understanding her surprise. He was harder than he’d ever been in his life. His tool strained upward, so long and thick. **************** “What on earth were you doing there tonight Sandra? Do you have any clue what Craig could have done to you? Let me tell you. He would have had you bent over while he did unpleasant things to your body. It would have been all about his own pleasure and satisfaction. What were you thinking?” “I know exactly what I was doing, you will never understand".... His eyes widened in confusion..... ********* Sandra had loved her late husband with all her heart, and after 5 years of mourning and resignation, she has decided to move on with her life. She has a deep desire and an ache in her which she felt her late husband couldn't give her, no matter how much he loved her and could give her everything as a multi billionaire. Now that he's gone, she begins her search for the one thing her beloved late husband couldn't give her. What she doesn't know is that someone she had considered as a good friend of her husband for many years has a strong feeling for her, and had been waiting patiently for an opportunity to prove it to her. Little did he know that she has a deep desire, a huge void in her, which her late husband was not able to satisfy or fill. Having been in love with her for a long time now, he was determined to go the extra length, to ensure that he will be the only man to fill that void and grant those desires in her. But what if there's a competitor?

When American engineer Evan Hart arrives in Rome, he expects worn stones, ancient architecture, and a chance to quietly rethink his failing marriage. He doesn’t expect Livia Moretti—the enigmatic archivist whose fragile intensity pulls him into a slow-burning, dangerous affair he never meant to start. Livia is brilliant, secretive, and a little broken… and Evan can’t stay away. But when he finally tells his wife Leah he wants a separation, she collapses, claiming she’s been diagnosed with a devastating neurological disease. Overnight, Evan’s guilt becomes a trap. Then Livia disappears without a trace. Anonymous photographs of him and Livia arrive in the mail. A stranger begins watching his apartment. And Leah—sweet, steady Leah—starts behaving in ways he can’t explain. When Evan finds hidden documents and photographs connecting the two women in his life, he follows a clue to a remote coastal village, where he learns Livia once lived under a different name… and may have been running from something far darker than heartbreak. As Evan digs deeper, he uncovers the edge of a conspiracy built on identity, memory, and manipulation—one determined to keep its secrets buried. Someone is pulling strings. Someone is rewriting the truth. And someone wants Evan to stop asking questions. Caught between a wife he no longer understands and a lover who may not be who she claimed to be, Evan is forced to confront the one question he never thought to ask: If the women in his life are wearing borrowed identities… then who has been shaping his? In a story of seduction, deception, and emotional obsession, All the Names She Wore explores the dangerous terrain between love and control—and what happens when the truth becomes the most terrifying lie of all.

My company had arranged a wilderness survival retreat deep in the heart of Moonshadow Forest—a place where even seasoned wolves tread cautiously. That night, a sudden downpour ripped through the campsite, drenching the earth and filling the air with the thick scent of damp moss and shifting soil. I woke abruptly, the cold seeping into my bones. Instinctively, I reached out to the space beside me, seeking the warmth of my mate. Empty. A sharp pang of unease clawed at my chest. My wolf, dulled by the suppressant herbs I had taken to blend into human society, stirred restlessly. Fumbling in the darkness, I grabbed my phone and dialed Nigel. The line barely had time to connect before he emerged from the undergrowth—disheveled, breathless. His grip was iron-tight as he seized my wrist, pulling me downhill. His scent was sharp with adrenaline, but beneath it—something foreign, something wrong. We ran, my boots sinking into the mud. My keen vision caught glimpses of his rumpled clothing, the way his collar was misaligned—and the faint imprint of lips on his jaw. My pulse pounded in my ears. Betrayal. I wrenched my arm from his grasp, my claws itching to unsheathe despite the human form I forced myself to maintain. "Where were you?" My voice came out low, edged with the danger of a wolf barely leashed. The suppressants in my bloodstream faltered under the weight of my fury. The storm had driven everyone into their tents, leaving the clearing eerily silent as we reached the base of the mountain. But she was there. A woman stood beneath the flickering glow of the emergency lanterns, her hair tousled, her fingers gripping Nigel’s jacket as if it belonged to her. I knew her. The new intern. Her face held an unsettling resemblance to mine, as if the Moon Goddess herself had carved her from the shadows of my reflection. The realization struck like a silver dagger to my chest. Even the mate who had once sworn to fight the world for me had given in to betr

"Does it feel good when my brother touches you?" Edmund's expert hands were caressing her body, making her want more. "Edmund! We shouldn't be doing this! I am your brother's girl…" breathless Emily was shuddering under his touch. "Mine!" Edmund groaned in her ear, his warm breath was driving her crazy. "This is soo.. wrong.." Emily bit her lower lip to suppress the emerging moan when Edmund kissed her jawline. She can't wait to feel his cushion soft lips pressed with hers in a passionate kiss. Emily groaned in frustration when he intentionally left her lips untouched. "You are greedy, my sweet little Emily!” "Does my brother make you feel this good?" His rough voice sent shivers of pleasure and excitement to her entire body. "Ask me to take you! I am planning on pleasuring you all night" He planted soft kisses on the burning skin of her neck before nibbling on her sweet spot roughly to leave his mark. "Mmm" Emily moaned, her eyes rolled back on her head by the thrilling sensation. "EDMUND! Leave my MATE at this instant!" growled Brian furiously from behind. "She is my MATE too!” ………………. Emily Donavon, a rogue, who was blissfully enjoying her human life, having no clue about her true identity. Everything in Emily’s life was going smoothly like a fairytale until the day of her parent’s sudden accident which caused them their lives. Her normal existence took an abrupt U-turn when two equally gorgeous Alphas entered her life and tried to claim her. What will happen when she will discover that under the disguise of successful billionaires, they are untouchable Alphas of two equally powerful packs? How will she react when she will get to know the truth about her own identity?