Zeus Shield Crossword

I've been married to Salvatore Falcone for seven years. He's a mafia Don who drills raw terror into everyone's minds. While I'm the Donna whom he has announced to the world, in truth, I'm just a mistress who serves as his human shield that can warm his bed on the side. Salvatore has betrayed me countless times over the past seven years. The first betrayal occurred when he took my ring off on our first wedding anniversary and gave it to one of the escorts in the clubhouse on a whim. The second betrayal occurred when I collapsed in the kitchen out of exhaustion. Instead of saving me, Salvatore blamed me for not preparing the hangover tonic for him in time, so he had someone dump iced water onto me to wake me up. The third betrayal occurred when I suffered from massive bleeding when I was five months pregnant. When I begged Salvatore to go to the hospital with me, he told me that he was keeping Valentina Caruso, his childhood sweetheart, company while her cat was getting fixed. For 2500 days, I swallowed all of my grievances, agony, and tears. Last night, at the banquet of our seventh wedding anniversary, Salvatore had taken Valentina's hand and sat her down on the Donna's throne that was meant to be mine. At that moment, everyone looked forward to seeing me humiliate myself. This was the 101st time he betrayed me. After the banquet was over, Salvatore didn't even bother looking me in the eye. He just said icily, "Don't forget that you're only a mistress to me despite our marriage." At the crack of dawn, Salvatore wakes up with a hangover. He tosses his soiled shirt at me out of habit. "Wash this shirt immediately. I'm going to wear it tonight." As I gaze at him, I caress my belly, which is slightly swollen. "Sorry, Mr. Falcone. This is no longer my duty." Salvatore most likely has forgotten that we've signed a contract when we first got married. The clause states that we will get divorced seven years later. Today is the third day before our contract comes to an end. I toss the marriage certificate and the pregnancy report into the shredder on the spot. In three days, my unborn baby and I will disappear from Salvatore's world permanently. This time, I will never look back.

Caitlin Paine wakes to discover herself back in time. There, she learns of her destiny and her mission: to find her father and the ancient vampire Shield needed to save mankind.

But Caitlin’s heart still pines for her lost love: Caleb. She desperately needs to know if he has survived their trip back in time. She learns that her mission requires her to go to Florence, but if she wants to pursue matters of the heart, she must go to Venice. She chooses Venice.

Caitlin is overwhelmed at what she finds. Venice of the eighteenth century is a surreal place, men and women dressed in elaborate costumes and masks, celebrating an endless, lavish party. She is thrilled to discover and reunite with some of her close friends, and to be welcomed back into their coven. And she is excited to join them in Venice’s Grand Ball, the most important costume dance of the year, where she hopes, once again, to find Caleb.

But Caitlin is not the only one who can travel back in time: Kyle soon arrives, too, and is determined to hunt her down and kill her once and for all. Sam, too, arrives, determined to save his sister before it is too late.

At the Ball, Caitlin searches everywhere, and finds no sign of Caleb. That is, until the very last dance. She dances with a masked man who takes her heart away, and she feels certain that it is him. But as the partners change, she loses him again. Or does she?

Caitlin soon finds herself torn between the two loves of her life, and discovers that she has to be careful what she wishes for. Her joy at finding what she wants might just come mixed with tragedy and heartbreak.

In a climactic, action-packed ending, Caitlin finds herself up against true evil, Rome’s ancient vampire coven, and the most powerful vampire coven that ever existed. Surviving will demand all her skills, as she finds herself battling for her very life. She will have to sacrifice more than ever, if she is to save the one she loves….

⚠️WAR‌NING: For mature‍ re‍aders​ 18+ only. Themes​: Body‌ worship, dominance, primal play, an​d​ MFM/thr​eeso​me⁠ con‍tent. "Sto‍p f‌ighting it, S‍loane," he growls, his fist knotted in my hair. He ya⁠nks my head back until my thro​at ar‌ches, e⁠xpo‌sing my⁠ frantic p⁠ulse. His th​umb shoves pas‍t my lips,‍ pressing down on my​ tongue with bruising for⁠ce, marking me before h‍e even tastes me. I ch⁠ok‍e on a gasp, thighs trembling ag‍ainst‌ the wall. "We can’t." "Shut the fu‌ck up," he snarls, his teeth g‌ra‍zing the sensitiv⁠e cord of my neck. "I’​ve‍ s⁠pent years tr‍ackin​g every prim step you t‍ook. I’ve fantasized about the moment I finall​y cornered my prey." ‌ He s‍inks​ his teeth into th‌e junction of my shoulder, a sharp, posse‌ssive bite that will leave a jag⁠ged purple brand by morni‍ng. "Now,‍ you’re loc‍ke‌d in this c⁠age‌ with us​. I’m going to leave my​ mark on every i‍nch of your skin." Beh‌ind him, his twin l⁠ooms. A​ s‍ilent, lethal pre‍da⁠t‍or. I’m c⁠aged betwe‍en them, the ai‍r thic⁠k with the scent of‌ woodsmoke and ruin. Fo​r four years​, I‌ was the invi​sible shield for the St​erling empire. To me, they were⁠ liabilities. To them, I was the hun⁠t​. Zurich cha​nged e‍verythin‌g. The boy I once scheduled i‍s n‍ow a man who pins me do⁠wn, whispe‌r⁠ing​ filt‍h while his b​rother wa‍tches, his‌ eyes dar‌k wit‌h the same starving in‍tent. ​I was⁠ paid to guard the Sterl⁠ing legac⁠y. Now, I’m the pr⁠ize​. I‌ want them t​o hunt me. I w​an‍t them to worship me. I‍ want them to⁠ b‍reak me until there‍ is‍ nothing left​ but surren⁠d⁠er. ⁠

No one knew that I, the one they called the Angel-Faced Executioner, had been tangled up with the heir of the Grahams more times than I could count. In the latest model sports car, Doug Graham pressed a marriage certificate into my hand, his teeth grazing my lower lip as he murmured, "The Grahams have enemies on both sides of the law. I found a shield, a way to protect you." I was ecstatic and completely swept up in it, giving him whatever he wanted. I never imagined it was the beginning of a nightmare. Doug publicly announced his engagement to the Sowles heiress, making a show of it, and he clarified that I was nothing more than a low-level enforcer in front of everyone. But that night, he left marks all over my body, whispering against my skin, "The less I care about you, the less anyone will suspect you're my real wife." From then on, he and Lindsey Sowle humiliated me at every turn. Only when we were alone would he finally show the truth, his voice strained with pain. "I know this isn't fair to you. Once I'm done using her, I'll kick her out for good." When Lindsey caused me to lose the baby, he dropped to his knees in front of me, slapping himself over and over. "That idiot keeps ending up kidnapped and abused. Serves her right!" Until one day, I was taken in a setup by Doug's rival, Chad Conner. He grabbed me by the throat and forced me to look inside the room. Lindsey was blindfolded and gagged, crying and gasping as Doug lashed her with a pink whip. "They've run this whole kidnapping stunt seven times already. You'd think they'd be tired of it by now." Tears poured down my face. So I was the fool all along, the one who got played by Doug's so-called love.

Alpha Terrence and I had been pup-less mates for five years. But one day, Terrence had accidentally ingested wolfsbane, leading to a diagnosis of severe poisoned decay. His agonized whimpers shredding the silence of every night, plunged our pack into despair. It was then that a mysterious witch whispered a prophecy to his parents: only a she-wolf bearing the "scent of silverfern and cold moonlight" could save him. So, in order to pull him back from the brink of death, he slept with the she-wolf his parents arranged for him. After every time they mated, he would frantically slap himself, then kneel before me in tears, confessing everything. Later, the she-wolf, Rebecca, succeeded in getting pregnant. Terrence hugged me and cried bitterly, "Lila, my Luna," he choked, his golden Alpha eyes dimmed with grief, "I've fulfilled my parents' dreams, so from now on, I'll live for myself. My heart, my wolf... they belong only to you." But two years later, I saw Rebecca was being fawned over by everyone in Twilight Pack. A pup stood beside her, as her belly was swollen high with another one. Terrence instinctively shifted to shield her, explaining, "Luna, my parents... they just wish for a son and daughter to complete my family. Once Rebecca safely delivers this pup, I'll send her away. Right away." "You didn't want pups with me, so Rebecca carries this burden for you. It will be yours. I did this... because I love you too much to leave you alone in this world, these pups are the gifts I leave behind. They will carry on my love for you, even after I'm gone." I nodded without crying. Terrence didn't know. I came today to share joyful news because I was pregnant. But this pup... would never draw breath under the moon. When the truth crashed upon him, that very night, under the full moon's indifferent gaze, his desolate howl became a tangible cry for my pardon.