Winters Bone

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.

When Love Becomes a Prison After twenty failed IVF treatments and four years of heartbreak, Lily Collins finally has everything she's ever wanted: she's pregnant with the miracle baby she and her husband James fought so hard for. But the man she married is becoming someone she doesn't recognize—controlling, secretive, and increasingly dangerous. When James strikes her for the first time, Lily tells herself it's the stress. When he isolates her from friends and monitors her every move, she convinces herself it's concern for the baby. But when she discovers he's been lying about their fertility treatments, she realizes the father of her unborn child might be hiding something far more sinister than she ever imagined. **Meanwhile, across the city...** Alpha werewolf Ace Winters has spent years searching for his destined mate. When the bond finally calls to him, leading him to a pregnant woman living in fear, his protective instincts roar to life. But his mate is human, fragile, and already running from one dangerous man. One wrong move could send her fleeing forever. One right move could save her life. Two men. One woman. A baby caught in between. As Lily fights to uncover the truth about her husband's deceptions, she has no idea that her salvation might come from the mysterious stranger watching over her or that accepting his protection will thrust her into a world where fairy tales are real. Love can be written in the stars. But first, she has to survive long enough to discover that monsters don't always look like monsters... *And heroes don't always look entirely human.*

After Cain called off our mate-bonding ceremony for the ninth time—calling it off for the sake of his childhood sweetheart—the Alpha himself came to the Abel family estate to deliver an apology in person. "We are prepared to offer an additional 300kg of frost iron, three hunting territories west of Silvermoon Forest, and nine forges in the pack compound," he announced. "Consider this reparations for the nine broken betrothals." Before his words even faded, Cain's laughter crackled through the phone speaker. "Dad, is she honestly worth that kind of price? I could toss her a half-rotted beast bone soaked in moonlight and she'd still come crawling. You'd be better off funneling those resources into Lina's beast-training arena." The old Alpha ended the call without a second thought. His golden wolf eyes shifted toward me, heavy with visible unease. The gathered wolves stifled their snickers, their throats rippling with suppressed laughter. Every pair of eyes fixed on me, gleaming with anticipation of the show. They all expected me to swallow the humiliation, just as I always had. After all, every wolf in Silvermoon Pack knew the tale: I, the Abel family daughter, had been pining for Cain, the Alpha King's youngest son, for years. Pathetic and devoted. But I'd endured this exact scene eight times before. I was done with it. And more than that, I was done with him. A beat of silence passed. Then I lifted my gaze, searching the crowd until I found the one face Cain despised most: his older brother, Cass. A slow smile curved my lips. "Whoever I claim as my mate inherits the Alpha title," I said. "Does that promise still stand?"

Whenever the Alpha's little sister suffered an episode, my Luna ceremony would end in disaster. On the first attempt, my wine was laced with honey, and I ended up having a stroke from an allergic reaction, with the entire pack laughing at me. On the second attempt, I was stabbed three times in the stomach, rendering me infertile. On the third attempt, a lunatic rogue wolf barged in and crushed every bone in my finger, cutting short my pianist career right then. Whenever I tried to express grief, Yohan Schmidt would always take Eva Brown's side. "She suffered mental regression to save me. Be the bigger person and don't hold it against her." "Next time—the next ceremony will be perfect, I promise." He made that promise 99 times over three years, and on the 100th attempt, Eva gave up on all pretense and set the wedding hall on fire. I was burned to a crisp and had to heal for a month. Through it all, Yohan nursed me and fed me a ton of medicine… until I overheard him talking to Andy King, the shaman. "You're truly ruthless, Alpha. She was thoroughly burned because she was trying to save you, but you're feeding her a suppressant that stifles her regeneration. Over time, she will succumb to her injuries!" Yohan shrugged nonchalantly. "I just can't stand her bullying Eva. Eva saved my life—so what if Yvie Stark pays for it with my life?" Tears rolled down my cheeks in silence. So even his warmth and tenderness was nothing more than cold deception. In that case, I should just leave.

“You will be mine and mine alone, you can’t refuse nor can you abscond. You will be my fucking slave forever”. “I won’t; I will never give in to your silly threats,” I spat, moving backward until my back touched the cold wall. “Is that really what you think, wife?” He whispered in my ears, one of his hands rested on the wall while the other hand trailed down my cheek to my lips. I swallowed hard. I felt weak to the bone, and even his words sent shivers down my spine. I can't refuse, nor can I deny. This is my crimson fate, and I have to accept it. Sold to this mafia tug all in the name of allying, I can only cry in silence. A mafia princess becoming a lady of responsibilities, a free woman becoming a caged one, a happy lady becoming a lady who sheds tears as a routine. ******************** Camila was married off to a Ruthless mafia lord by her parents. She loathes him and everything about him feels disgusting to her. Her life became even worse after ending up in a one-night stand with a stranger which resulted in pregnancy. She terminates the pregnancy, she dies. He found out, she dies. She can't run away nor can she let him find out. Now caught in a deadly web of power, control, and forbidden choices, Camila is left with one haunting truth. “What if the only man who can destroy her… is also the only one who was ever meant to love her!?” “What if surrendering to him isn’t the end but the beginning of something far more deadly… and intoxicating!?”

Arabella Winters made a desperate choice to save her father’s life: sabotage Sebastian Bancroft’s engagement to the Windsor heiress. Her mission was simple, create a scandal that would destroy his wedding plans. And she succeeded. But Sebastian Bancroft is no ordinary billionaire. As the ruthless head of the Bancroft mafia empire, he’s a man who never forgives betrayal. To make Arabella pay, he traps her in a dangerous game of revenge, a contract marriage designed to humiliate and control her at every turn. What starts as cold, calculated vengeance begins to turn into something darker and far more dangerous. The lines between hatred and desire blur as Arabella finds herself falling deeper into Sebastian’s complicated world. Now, she must decide whether to play and submit to his rules or risk everything to rewrite the game against the mafia billionaire who refuses to let her go. Excerpt: “Did you really think you could cross me, Arabella? That you could disrupt my plans and simply walk away unscathed?” Her voice faltered, though she tried to hold her ground. “I… I didn’t have a choice.” “Oh, you had every choice,” he murmured, stepping closer. His breath brushed against her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. “But now, my vixen, you’ll live with the consequences.” He tilted her chin up with a surprisingly gentle touch, though it only amplified the tension in the air. His tone dropped, low and dangerous. “You’re mine now.” Before she could respond, his lips claimed hers, not gently, but a claim. It wasn’t the kiss of a man seeking affection; it was the kiss of a man who wanted submission. And, despite every instinct telling her to resist, Arabella found herself unable to pull away…

He was supposed to be hers. He chose a crown instead. When Cole Winters rejected Mara Voss in front of the entire pack council to marry the Lycan Chairman's daughter, she told herself she could survive it. Rejection hurt. Betrayal healed. Life moved forward. Then he dismantled her father's business piece by piece. Then he showed up at her door with a bottle of wine and a quiet smile, expecting her to become his secret, as if a soul bond could be folded and hidden inside expensive hotel rooms. Mara looked at him and said the truest thing she had ever spoken. "I would rather be with your father-in-law than waste one more second on you." She said it to wound him. Fate heard it as a direction. Caden Holt does not do second looks. He built his entire life around that rule after grief hollowed him out. He runs empires. He settles pack disputes that have lasted generations. He has never in twelve years met a woman worth a second night. Then a she-wolf with amber eyes and nothing left to lose walks into his private study and refuses to apologize for existing. He tells himself it is curiosity. By the third time she crosses his path, he has stopped telling himself anything at all. But Cole is still watching. And as Mara steps deeper into a world of lycan politics and old money, she begins to uncover something that changes everything. Her rejection was not an accident. It was arranged. Someone needed her away from Cole before the bond could complete. That someone has been inside her life the entire time. She walked into his world with nothing left to protect. Now she is the most valuable thing in it. And the most hunted.

Blurb. He was supposed to marry the eldest daughter of the Moretti but he fell for the younger daughter. Maximiliano Bianchi(ML).The heir to the most feared and dangerous mafia empire in New York agrees to an arranged marriage. His betrothed is everything the underworld wants.Sophisticated, beautiful. But on the day of their engagement,Max meets Aaliyah Moretti.Soft-spoken,hazel eyes and innocent but beneath all that,is a ruthless and defiant girl. Amidst everything,Max can't seem to stay away from her. As their forbidden connection goes on. Iris has some skeletons and when the truth is out,might love be enough to save them. Hearts will be broken, loyalty will be tested,ties cut off but only one sister will be able to wear the crown. Characterization. Aaliyah (FM)is a smart,strong-willed young lady who doesn't scare easily.She has hazel eyes,curvy and blonde shoulder length hair. She has her own scars and struggles.She challenges the mafia king any chance she gets. Aaliyah grew up not getting involved in their Mafia affairs. Aaliyah struggles between taking revenge and accepting her feelings for the man she hates. Maximiliano Branchi (Max)is a cold hearted, ruthless and dangerous mafia heir who is feared not only in the underworld but across New York.Physically,he is tall with broad shoulders and bone chicks as sharp as a blade.He has piecing blue eyes that is cold and calculating. He was betrothed to Iris but got eyes for her younger sister Aaliyah. Iris Moretti is a beautiful, sophisticated and well mannered young lady with long dark hair and the shape of a model. She was betrothed to the heir of the Bianchi mafia.She loved Max but loves power and money. She pretends when everyone is watching.

Blurb Location: America Damon walked unlawfully into the meeting of the Fearless Wolves pack and there was an immediate silence around the cave as even the sound of the ticking of the clock could be heard. The Alpha was shocked as to what could have brought Damon here, knowing he despised them. "How dare you come to my abode?'' Damon said angrily to Bryan as his voice sounded loudly all over the cave shaken vigorously. His voice sent shivers down the bone marrows of all the werewolves present at the meeting as they shook in fear. The eyes of Damon turned Cold bloody Red as he flamed in anger. "I.am.m.m. very sor.sorry" Bryan begged in fear as he knew that Damon could kill him this very minute and no single one including the Alpha will do anything. Damon charged toward him and roughly took him up in his hand. He raised him above his feet and squeezed life out of him. Bryan struggled hard to breath but he could not survive it as he suddenly gave up the ghost. Damon threw him to the floor dead as the werewolves in the cave looked at Damon in fear. "No one of you should dare come near my abode" He warned, walking out fearlessly and wickedly... Mara stood by the window staring at the sky in the cold night, making a wish to the moon. She said some words inaudibly that even the moon could see that she is desperately in need of her wish to be fulfilled. What is her wish? And who is Damon, that even the Alpha can't hurt his hair? What would happen if Mara found herself falling helplessly in love with Damon, the devil? Let's watch out for the first thrilling episode.

I am the white wolf princess of the Coyote Pack. By the Moon Goddess’s decree, Barry was meant to be my fated mate. But during the peace negotiations, he gave me away—to Bayport’s crippled warrior, Colin—as a “hostage bride.” Barry smiled carelessly, his voice cruelly tender. “Emily, let me complete the bond with Evelyn first. This is just a deal. You are still my true Luna.” My nails bit into my palms, pain hollowing out my chest. Evelyn was nothing but a low-blood she-wolf he had rescued from the border. Yet for her, he used a truce marriage alliance to force me into surrender. Later, when I sought him out, I found him tending Evelyn’s wounds, wrapping her with gentle hands. He looked up, his tone light as if it cost him nothing. “If you let Evelyn be my mate alongside you, and divide half of your inheritance for her, I will withdraw the marriage alliance order.” I took off the bone pendant he once risked his life to give me and held it out to him. But he let it slip from his hand, shattering it against the floor. “If you don’t want it,” he said coldly, “then throw it away.” On the eve of the wedding alliance, Evelyn fell to her knees before the pack, sobbing as she accused me of hiding the Alpha’s Contract Stone—to help Colin breach our borders. The crowd erupted in whispers. Barry admitted it was he who had gifted me the stone, yet still turned on me, demanding: “If I ask for it back, will you return it?” At that moment, I finally let every hope die.