A girl is chosen as a sacrifice to an ancient being, but instead of killing her, he marks her as his. Now bound to a dark force she doesn't understand, she must navigate a world of powerful creatures while resisting-or succumbing to-the pull of the one who owns her soul.
The chains dug into her wrists, the iron biting so deep it felt like it had fused with her skin. The march had been endless, the cobbled streets slick with filth and her own blood as she was dragged through them.
The onlookers had gathered, their faces twisted with malice, some throwing rotten food, others merely watching with cold, detached eyes. She stumbled. A hand fisted in her tangled hair yanked her upright before she could collapse, the force snapping her neck back. The executioners were merciless-jealous of her beauty, her mind, her defiance.
They had relished in her suffering from the moment the sentence was given.
"She thinks herself above us," one sneered, his boot slamming into her ribs. A sickening crack followed.
"She'll learn." Another grinned, his nails raking cruelly down her cheek. The square loomed ahead, a towering monument of suffering, where countless before her had met their end. And now, it was her turn.
They threw her down on the cold stone platform. Her arms were wrenched behind her, the rough coils of rope biting into her torn flesh. A whip cracked in the air, the first lash searing across her back. The crowd roared. The second blow came, and the third, but she bit her tongue, refusing to cry out. That was when the executioner leaned down, his breath hot against her ear.
"Oh, but we have something special for you." Something worse. A shadow moved at the edge of the square. Something ancient. Watching. Waiting. And it was not yet finished with her.
The executioner stepped back, wiping the blood from his whip with slow, deliberate movements. The crowd had quieted, sensing something shifting in the air. The torches flickered, their flames guttering as though something unseen had stolen the very breath from the night.
Her chest heaved, every ragged inhale sending fresh agony through her battered ribs. Blood dripped from her back onto the cold stone, pooling beneath her in a dark, glistening halo. Then, the sound. A deep, guttural growl that didn't belong to any man. The executioners hesitated. They had planned something worse, something that would break her, body and soul, but now-now something else had come to claim her.
The high priest stepped forward, his crimson robes billowing as he raised a hand.
"We offer this one to the Ancient One," he proclaimed, his voice steady, though his eyes darted nervously into the shadows beyond the square.
"A sacrifice, a gift to appease the darkness." The crowd fell silent. The ground trembled beneath her. A shape emerged from the blackness-a figure too tall, too broad, moving with an unnatural grace. It did not belong to this world. The executioners scrambled back, their bravado faltering. She tried to lift her head, but her strength was failing. And then, a cold hand-impossibly strong-closed around her throat. The creature loomed over her, its touch freezing her veins, its grip firm but careful, as if testing her fragility.
"You do not beg," it murmured, its voice a whisper against her skin, ancient and knowing. Her cracked lips parted, but no words came. A single claw traced her jawline, tilting her chin up so she was forced to meet the void where its eyes should have been.
Then, instead of the death blow she had been expecting- It marked her. A searing heat, a brand burned into her skin, invisible but undeniable. Gasps rippled through the square.
"She lives," someone whispered in horror.
"The sacrifice was accepted," another choked out. The Ancient One lifted her as if she weighed nothing. The last thing she saw before the world blurred into darkness was the faces of her executioners-pale, terrified. Because they knew. She was no longer theirs to torment.
She belonged to something else now.
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
Mia's life is spiraling out of control. Abandoned by her mother, bullied mercilessly at school, and thrown into a household of four dangerously attractive stepbrothers, she's desperate to find her footing. "You look absolutely edible," Sean growled, his eyes devouring her. Mia felt a rush of heat between her thighs "Oh, you think so?" she purred, turning to face him. She reached out and traced her fingers along the ribbon that wrapped around his waist. "Well, I've been waiting for this all day. And I'm starving." Sean's smile grew into a predatory grin. "Then let us feast," he said, and in a flash, the ribbon fell away, exposing his rock-hard length. He stepped closer, and Mia felt the warmth of his breath on her face as he whispered, "You're going to take every inch of us tonight, aren't you?" With Rolex's teasing smirk and Sean's quiet, hot stares, Mia doesn't know where to turn-or who to trust. Every glance, every touch leaves her breathless, confused, and craving more than she should. Will Mia survive their games, or will she lose herself in a dangerous world of secrets, seduction, and forbidden desire? One house. Four brothers. Endless temptation.
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."