Wylding Hall

In the crowd of people, his eyes were fixed on her. From the twitch of her lips to the blink of her lashes she was the only thing his eyes wanted to see, his hands to touch and his stupid heart, who he believed never existed want to beat for. He was not only following her every move but was making sure no other eyes look at her the way he was looking at her because he knew the beauty in red is going to be the desire looming in every men's eyes at the party. He was claiming his possession just by fixing his look on her because he knew very well, that every living being in this hall knows when he fixes his eyes on something it's his and everyone knows better than challenging him. Because a battle with the devil is a battle you lost even before you step into the battlefield. It was becoming too much for him to maintain the distance, he wanted to walk her side, put his hands around her waist, bring her closer to the warmth of his chest, he wants to kiss the hell out of her in front of everyone, the scenario made the blood rush to his southern region, every passing second was like a torture to him, which he was enduring for the time being. He knew she is not meant to be his, but hell he will take her by hook or crook doesn't matter if he is bringing her to the hell he rules. Is she your queen? the sane part of his mind asked. The question made the devil smirk at the thought of what she is to him, a knowledge he confined to himself.

I was born with a one-track mind—I take everything seriously and do exactly as I'm told. When my adoptive father cursed a rival company, calling them bloodsucking vampires, I immediately went out, bought ten pounds of garlic and a crucifix, and stormed into their CEO's office to perform an exorcism. When my adoptive mother said she was willing to sell a kidney for the sake of the company, I contacted an underground black-market clinic on the spot and asked when they could schedule her surgery. Over time, no one dared joke casually around me anymore. Everyone in the family chose their words with extreme care, terrified I might take them at face value. That is, until the day of the family reunion banquet—when the fake heiress, who refused to leave no matter what, showed up as well. She hooked her arm through my brother's and flashed me a provocative smile. "Arista, Benji dotes on me the most," she said sweetly. "He said if anyone dares to make me unhappy, he'll chop them into pieces and dump them in the river to feed the fish." The banquet hall erupted in laughter. I was the only one whose face went deathly pale. The next second, I kicked my brother, Benji Collins, straight onto the dining table. I grabbed the silver steak knife and pressed it against his throat. "Everyone, stay calm," I announced loudly. "I've already called the police! For publicly advocating premeditated murder, desecration of a corpse, and antisocial personality tendencies… The minimum sentence is the death penalty!"

"Sign the contract, or lose everything." I stared at the papers that would seal my fate—a three-year marriage to Julian Blackwood, the ruthless billionaire they call the Ice King. My family didn't ask. They demanded. My father's company was drowning, my stepsister's engagement had exploded, and I was the replacement bride they could sacrifice. Just another transaction. Julian made it clear on our wedding day: "Don't expect affection. Don't expect companionship. Certainly don't expect love." He refused to kiss me at the altar. He gave me a bedroom down the hall and told me to stay out of his way. I was Mrs. Blackwood in name only—a contract, a convenience, a means to an end. I accepted it. I had survived twelve years of abuse in my own home. I could survive three years of indifference in his. But then Nate, Julian's best friend, showed me kindness, and suddenly my cold husband became possessive. When my sister attacked me, he became protective. Now the man who promised me nothing is fighting his own father to keep me. The marriage that was supposed to be fake is becoming terrifyingly real and the secrets about my mother's death are threatening to destroy everything. They said Julian Blackwood destroys everything he touches. What they didn't tell me... is that sometimes destruction is exactly what you need to be reborn. With a pregnancy involved, how was I going to end this three-year marriage peacefully?

After writing an essay about the future I wanted, I made a desperate appeal to my parents, just as Aaron Wade was likely doing in the hall of a business his family owned. The appeal lasted two days. Our demand was simple: annul the engagement between us. Others might have found this confusing, but I knew exactly why it mattered. In my previous life, I married Aaron and gave him everything. I devoted my career to him and stood at the peak of his business empire. He repaid me by forcing me to take the fall for Rebecca, a so-called heiress. I was arrested and sent to prison. "Had you not forced us into an engagement the moment you got into Iale University, I would have ended up with her instead," he sneered. "You owe her this, Bernadette. It's time you paid up." Even my own parents joined in. "You robbed Becky of what she deserves. Think of this as your divine retribution!" They had supported the engagement back then. Rage overwhelmed me and triggered a cardiac arrest. I died on the spot. While my body lay cold in the morgue, Aaron and Rebecca held a lavish wedding at a five-star hotel to celebrate their union. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day I had written about the future I wanted. Now I knew what that future looked like. It had none of these people in it. This time, I would live for myself.

I'm reincarnated a week before the college entrance exam. Despite being the soon-to-be top scorer, I stab my eye with a syringe. In my past life, Marianne Quentin, my boyfriend Lance Russell's childhood friend, reported me for cheating off her during the final mock exam. The teacher compared our papers and found that my essay was identical to hers. He harshly criticized me and warned me not to repeat my mistake. However, Marianne reported me for copying her answers again during the math exam. Once again, my answers were found to be identical to hers. The teacher scolded me for being incorrigible and sent me home to reflect on my actions. I couldn't understand what had happened. Clearly, I'd never cheated, but my answers were nearly identical to Marianne's, whether in writing and language or in math. As the SAT exam loomed over me, I could only suppress my doubts as I stepped into the exam hall. I finished the writing paper and thought I was safe. However, Marianne stepped out and accused me of cheating again. I tried to defend myself, yet the answers on my paper were identical to hers. In the end, I was disqualified, kicked out of the exam hall, and banned from taking any exams in the next two years—just because I "cheated". I succumbed to despair and leaped from the rooftop. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to one week before the SAT.

I only wanted to survive senior year. Keep my head down, graduate, and leave Blackthorne Academy behind. But the moment I stepped through its iron gates, I became prey. The Academy is wrong in every way—no mirrors in the dorms, wolves howling during study hall, and strict orders to never leave your room on red moon nights. And then there are the four Alphas who have marked me with their eyes, their obsession, and their danger. Ronan Veyr, the storm-eyed heir destined for the crown, who recoils at my touch yet can’t seem to stay away. Cassian Drax, the golden boy trickster whose dangerous smile hides a ruthless streak. Malachai Frost, the untouchable prodigy who shadows me like a silent warden. And Professor Adrian Vale, the man who looks at me as if I’m a memory he can’t bury. They shouldn’t want me. I have no wolf, no pack, no power. But whispers of a legacy trail me through Blackthorne’s haunted corridors—a bloodline strong enough to crown kings… and dangerous enough to kill for. Strange visions tear through my body whenever one of them is near. My strength is rising, my secret unraveling, and I’m beginning to understand why my mother died to protect it. Because I am not wolf. I am something older. Something every Alpha was born to obey. And if I want to leave Blackthorne alive, I must decide: Will I let one of them claim me— or will I rise to command them all?

“Do you know how many nights I’ve thought about those? How I imagined sliding your dress up and seeing you in them… in my room, or my office… gagged so you wouldn’t scream my name?” “Say the word, Renata,” he whispered, voice rough. “And I’ll have you right here… where anyone could knock. Where you could get caught with your husband’s father’s cock inside you.” She gasped. But she didn’t say no. ******** One reckless night. A stranger’s touch. Her ruin. The night before her wedding, Renata surrendered to a man whose name she didn’t know… A man who made her tremble, moan, and beg for more in the shadows. The next morning, he was at the wedding hall too…Watching her walk down the aisle to his son. Domingo Serrano. Powerful. Predatory. Possessive. And he’s not done with her. He wants her again. And again. Once a week. No excuses. No escape. But Renata isn’t just drowning in lust and shame. She’s chasing answers. Her parents were murdered under the guise of an auto accident. The killer is hiding behind the walls of the Hidalgo empire. Santiago, her charming husband, has secrets. Lady Constanza, his mother, wears lies like pearls. And Domingo? He’s the darkest of them all. Now Renata’s playing with fire, and carrying a secret that could burn everyone: She’s pregnant. And she doesn’t know if the father is her husband… or his father.

When I was in college, my mom had terminal cancer, and our family company collapsed due to heavy debts. Just when I was at my lowest, my childhood friend Zach Hall rushed back from overseas. For seven years, he stayed by my side and helped me heal. …Until the night before our engagement ceremony, when I was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. I wanted to tell Zach, but instead, I overheard a conversation between him and the lead surgeon who had operated on my mother. "Zach, your fiancee's mother could've been saved back then. But you stopped me from treating her, just so Jessica could get that poor woman's corneas. If Jessica is the one you love, why marry your fiancee?" "I do feel guilty toward Annie, but I don't regret it. It was the only way for Jess to pick up a brush again and keep chasing her dreams." Through the crack in the door, I saw clearly the tenderness on Zach's face when he mentioned Jessica. "What if Annie finds out?" the surgeon asked. Zach fell silent, rubbing the band on his ring finger. "I don't know. I've already decided to marry her. I'll love her, protect her, and spend the rest of my life making it up to her." The pain hit me so hard at that moment that I almost collapsed, as if my heart was being ripped out.

Laila Jones has spent eight years building a quiet, beautiful life for herself and her daughter, Malaya. After her high school boyfriend caved to his racist grandfather and chose football and family approval over her and their unborn baby, Laila left Ohio, moved south, and raised Malaya on her own. Now Malaya is eight, there’s a daddy–daughter dance coming up, and her one Christmas wish is simple—and heartbreaking: she wants to meet her dad. Going home for the holidays was hard enough. Running into Jordan Hall, now the golden-boy quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, is worse. He’s famous, gorgeous, and acting like he has the right to look at her with regret. Laila is ready to avoid him, yell at him, or both. What she doesn’t know is that after his grandfather’s death, Jordan discovered every letter she ever sent—proof that she kept their baby, begged him to come, and raised their daughter without him. The truth wrecks him, and this Christmas, he’s determined to fight for the family he should have had all along. But Laila isn’t interested in being anyone’s redemption arc. Especially not while his nasty fiancée is calling her a liar to the press and the internet is tearing her apart. As secrets unravel and emotions explode in front of cameras, Laila and Jordan have to decide what matters more: anger, pride, and old wounds…or the little girl who still believes Christmas wishes can come true.

I am the wife of the capital city’s esteemed tycoon. We were married in secret for three years. At the celebratory banquet, I was about to make our relationship public. However, his first love, Juvelia Shaw, stumbled into the hall clutching her torn collar. “Edwin, save me! Peri Sanders brought along her penniless brother. He just forced a kiss on me in the lounge! “He says he’s your brother-in-law. If I want to get into the Gough family, I have to please him.... Argh! I have been defiled!” The room fell deathly silent before erupting into a chorus of finger-pointing and curses. They accused me of forcing my brother to assault the esteemed tycoon’s woman just to secure his favor. Edwin Gough’s eyes blazed crimson. He ripped off his coat and wrapped it tightly around Juvelia. Then, he flung a glass of red wine at my face. Gritting his teeth, he glared at me. “Peri, bring out that beast of a brother of yours!” “Since his mouth is so vile, let’s pull out his teeth and cut his tongue off to feed the dogs! Otherwise, I’ll make the entire Sanders family pay with their lives!” Amidst the crowd’s looks of contempt and disgust, I burst into laughter. My brother had long since lost his voice. Three years ago, in a fire, he had inhaled excessive smoke while saving Edwin, which had destroyed his vocal cords. His tongue was gone too.