Calista had always believed the past was meant to stay buried, hidden in the shadows of memory. But why, then, was her past creeping back into the light, intertwining with her present? She spent her days in a fractured state-broken, miserable, angry at the world. But at least she had carved out a semblance of peace, until Jaxon Castillo stepped into her life. With his hot body and expressive eyes, he shattered her fragile calm, dragging her into a tumultuous conflict she wanted no part of-a life that haunted her more than anything else. She had convinced herself she was free from the ghosts of her past, that they had perished along with her family. Yet, as she found herself drawn deeper into Jaxon's orbit, his intense gaze unraveling her defenses, shadows of her history began to resurface. With every stolen glance, she felt herself surrendering pieces of her heart to him, pieces she had sworn to protect. Both held secrets-dark, potent truths that threatened to dismantle everything they had built. Secrets capable of turning the world against them. Calista was fire and rage; Jaxon was cool water and soothing. They would risk everything to protect each other, even if loving each other was what could destroy them both. –– TRIGGER WARNING; Sexual content, PTSD and trauma responses, Violence. Reader discretion is advised.
Blood.
It was everywhere.
In her hands, in between her toes, in her hair. It was everywhere! Why... Whose blood is this? And why was she standing in it? Why was she fucking covered in it?!
And all of a sudden, the scene changes and her family is here, covered in their own blood, getting killed.
"No," Calista screamed, reaching out for them but the floor vanished from under her and she was falling... falling...
Calista woke up with a start, her heart pounding hard against her rib, every single inch of her body covered in sweat. Her room was silent, the only sound was her harsh breathing.
She blinked slowly, her eyes taking time to adjust to the darkness before she looked over at her clock. It was barely five and she was now awake.
She knew she wouldn't be going back to sleep.
She sighed deeply as she rubbed her trembling hand on her face, pushing her wet hair away.
It was going to be a long day.
***
The bright overhead lights buzzed faintly, casting a harsh glare on the blood-soaked sheets beneath her hands. The smell of antiseptic mixed with the thick, metallic scent of freshly spilled blood was heavy on the nose-so much blood.
Her mind flashed back to a different scene with so much blood, screams. But she blinked that away. This wasn't the time to be thinking about that. She needed her hands straight, her head clear.
Calista's hands were steady but her heart was hammering hard in her chest. She barely noticed the surgical mask pressing against her nose or the sweat gathering beneath the gloves clinging to her skin.
"He's crashing!" someone yelled, panic heavy in their voice.
She ignored the panic in their voice, focusing instead on the deep, gaping wound in the man's abdomen. The bullet wound had torn through muscle and lodged itself dangerously close to his liver. If she didn't get it out he was as good as dead.
"Scalpel," she ordered, her voice calm, even though she also wanted to panic. But she couldn't. The man's life depended on her remaining calm.
A trembling hand passed it to her. She wanted to scowl at them. She didn't have the damn time for fear.
Her movements were quick, memorized, and precise. A small incision. A delicate probe. There! The bullet. Her breath hitched. It was deeper than she expected, wedged tight, but she couldn't hesitate. Not now. Carefully, she reached in with a forceps-
Bang!
The doors to the operating room open.
Calista's head snapped up, a sharp reprimand on her tongue, but the words died on her tongue when she saw them-men in black suits, guns at their sides, their eyes cold and empty.
Her heart dropped to her stomach.
What the hell?
The men parted and one man with blonde hair stepped forward, his hard eyes fixed on Caliste. He had that air of anger around him, the quiet hum of danger surrounding him like a dark cloud, a black omen. "Miss Calloway," he addressed her, his voice smooth. "Do you know who you're operating on?"
Calista has always been quick to anger, always quick to snap. It was one of her many flaws, one of the things that made her a loner and bitter. Because people were so damn annoying, and nosy, and she was quick to lash out. And now she was damn close to snapping but she kept her mouth shut and glared at the man, her heart racing.
"I wouldn't bother with names," the man continued, his expression blank. "All you have to know is that you shouldn't let him die."
Calista wanted to throw her head back and laugh, and she also wanted to stab the man with the forceps still in her hand. Who the hell were these people?
"Do you think threatening me is going to make him miraculously live if he's meant to die?" she snapped, her voice muffled by the nose mask, but that didn't dull the sharpness in her voice.
She was scared. Goddamn it, she was fucking scared and she fought to keep her hand steady. But she was also angry. And the anger suppressed the fear. It was better rage than fear.
The man's eyes flashed with something dangerous before it cleared and he opened his mouth to probably spit more threats but Calista didn't give him the chance.
"You're the one currently endangering his life, mister," she told him, trying to keep her voice calm, but she didn't stop glaring at him. "With every minute you spend here, throwing unnecessary threats, you're delaying me and his life is being more at risk. Get out."
The man eyed her, his jaw clenched tight, before he made a motion with two of his fingers and the men cleared out just as suddenly as they came, the man's eyes lingering on her far too long for her taste.
Once the door closed behind them, the room seemed to release the breath they'd been holding and Calista's hands shook a little, regret twisting her insides.
She should have kept her mouth shut, for goodness sake. Why did her mouth always have to go running before her brain? These people were bad news. She knew this wouldn't be the end.
She looked down at her patient's face, searching her brain to see if she would know him. She didn't. He had an unforgettable face, so she knew she wouldn't have seen him before.
She didn't care about who he was. She just hoped this was the last time she would see his face.
***
A WEEK LATER
Calista sighed as she stepped into her apartment, inhaling the warm and inviting smell of her home.
"Hi, baby," she said to her house. "Missed me? Because I sure as hell missed you."
Talking to herself or objects around her was one habit she had never outgrown. Well, that and her deep pit of rage. That rage had been with her for as long as she could remember. And it only increased when her–
She immediately felt something was wrong when she stepped deeper into her apartment. The hair at the back of her neck stood up, a chill sense of dread wrapped its icy fingers around her spine.
She felt eyes on her.
Her trembling hand reached for the light switch and she turned it on. Her heart dropped to her toes when she saw who was sitting in her living room, legs crossed as if he owned the place.
She knew it. She goddamn knew that wouldn't be the last time she saw his face.
He stood up, straightening to his full height until he was towering over her and she felt tiny.
"Hello, Miss Calloway."
!! Rated 18+ | Mature Content | Trigger Warning: Abuse, Suicide (Off-page)! ! - -- Camille knows she's being watched. The feeling lingers in every shadow, in every stolen glance from the unnervingly beautiful stranger who seems to know her better than she knows herself. Lucien is dangerous, obsessive-and utterly inescapable. But danger is nothing new to Camille. She has spent years outrunning her past, drowning in darkness until Lucien pulled her from it. She... loved him for it. She was captivated by the exhilarating danger he wove into her existence. The electrifying chaos, the seductive darkness, and the intoxicating pleasure pulled her in like a moth to a flame. Then, she is taken. Victor swears she belongs to him, and Lucien will tear the world apart to get her back. But as the walls close in and the nightmares begin, Camille starts to wonder if this war between them is about more than just her. Her heart is caught between two monsters. Two obsessions. Two impossible choices. Will she choose none of them, one of them... or both? Fate has drawn them together once more, and this time, the choice is hers: break the cycle, or be utterly, entirely ruined by it.
"A one-year contract marriage. I know you're investigating something,"-Lena's heart sped up and she fought to keep her features blank- "and I can help you with that. In exchange, for one year, my resources will be yours. Full access. No strings attached-except the ones in the contract, of course." Lena's heart raced. A marriage proposal, but with a twist. *** Betrayed and burning for vengeance, Lena Santoro-now Selene Costa-enters a deadly game of love and lies with Rafe Moretti, a mafia don with secrets of his own. In Naples, where power and passion collide, their marriage of convenience becomes a battle for survival. Can they trust each other, or will betrayal tear them apart?
Book Ravenna was born a disgrace-wolf-less, exiled, and left for dead by her own pack. But death refused her. Rescued after a near-death incident, she awakens with untapped powers, far more dangerous than any wolf. Stolen away by Alpha Darius, a ruthless leader feared across all packs, their meeting sparks chaos: they're fated mates. Bound by a prophecy drenched in blood, Ravenna discovers her lineage holds the key to either salvation or destruction. With an ancient war on the horizon and dark forces hunting her, Ravenna must decide-embrace the unstoppable force within her or let it consume them all.
Marrying her best friend was a dream come true for Kelly, but everything truly has a limitation. Pierce is Kelly’s first love, but as his best friend, she knew well there was always another woman deep in his heart. Lexi Gilbert. The woman Pierce could never forget even if he had already been arranged to marry Kelly. *** Kelly finally realized their happy marriage of the last three years was just a beautiful dream when Pierce asked for a divorce just because Lexi returned. She could only be his best friend even if she was carrying his baby. *** Since their friendship had become a cage, Kelly chose to set him free, as well as the miserable herself. But why then, it was Pierce who became the one who refused to move on? To make matters worse, her devil stepbrother also domineeringly stepped in at the same time, asking her to be his. *** Her Prince Charming vs. Her Devil Stepbrother? How could Kelly save her heart in this battle of love and hate?
She thought she was the love of his life, and he became the love of her life that fateful day she had seen him at the pack's party. Selene Grace was only a replica of Alpha Leo's real mate, and when he spotted her, Leo immediately claimed her as his Luna in order to suppress the rumors of him being mateless. Being unable to conceive turns Selene's marriage into a nightmare, and as if that wasn't enough, Alpha Leo finally reunites with his long time lover and mate, rejecting a pregnant Selene as a result. 5 years later, Selene, a now successful doctor, receives an invitation to the moon shadow pack in order to rid the pack of a deadly disease which has struck it. Will Selene return back to the pack which had caused her so much pain, and what would she do when she realizes that she is mated to the Alpha who had betrayed her in the past?
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."
"I heard you're going to marry Marcelo. Is this perhaps your revenge against me? It's very laughable, Renee. That man can barely function." Her foster family, her cheating ex, everyone thought Renee was going to live in pure hell after getting married to a disabled and cruel man. She didn't know if anything good would ever come out of it after all, she had always thought it would be hard for anyone to love her but this cruel man with dark secrets is never going to grant her a divorce because she makes him forget how to breathe.
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
For three years, Shane and Yvonne were wed, sharing heated nights, while his devotion clung to his ex. Yvonne strove to be a dutiful wife, yet their marriage felt hollow, built on desire rather than real warmth. All changed when she became pregnant, only for Shane to thrust her onto the operating table, warning, “Either you or the baby survives!” Broken by his cruelty, she vanished in grief and later returned, radiantly accomplished, leaving everyone awestruck. Haunted by remorse, Shane begged for another chance, but Yvonne only smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, men no longer interest me.”