Elena Grace has always lived a simple life, with two supportive and loving parents, she has never felt anything has been missing from her life ā except for the first 10 years. As a child she never thought much about it, but nearing her 21st birthday Elena finds herself constantly being reminded of her missing memories. Delving into the mystery of herself, she finds she isn't alone in the pursuit of uncovering what happened one fateful night over a decade ago, the series of disasters that plague her past, and a life she had long forgotten. Along her path to discovering who she is, and who she once was, she meets a whirlwind storm in the shape of a dark and mysterious man named Dmitri Vasilek. He appears out of nowhere and claims Elena as his, ready to lay his life down for her. As the two continue to entangle themselves together, she discovers his appearance in her life isn't coincidental ā and Dmitri just might be the key to uncovering her past self, and many more secrets she never knew laid deep within her. || All Rights Reserved Alice Marie 2022
Looking up at the decaying brown building, Elena heaves a heavy sigh while trying to practice her server smile in the smudged front window. A routine she practices every day and has for the last a year since moving to the great state of New York, and landing herself right in the heart of New Jersey, where dreams come true, they say.
"More like where dreams are crushed," she mutters to herself. Tossing aside her long, thick mane of brown hair that she can never seem to tame, she finally settles on a half-hearted smile and trudges in the diner door.
Genevieve's pudgy form and sweaty red face is already waiting for her at the front desk, profusely checking her watch like the minutes are ticking by like seconds.
"What must I do to get you to be here on time, girl?"
"I still have 2 minutes until I'm supposed to be clocked in, and my uniform is already on. I'm always in the dining room by 3PM, I don't understand how that's being late."
"Didn't your mother ever tell you; you aren't walking in the door at 3PM, you should already be working by 3PM!"
Her mother did the best she could raising Elena, but anyone with or without kids could tell that her mother never wanted the role. Not that she wasn't fit to be a mother, Elena couldn't be happier with the way she grew up and the wild adventures she and her family often found them in because of poorly planned trips or immature hijinks.
Growing up, her mother felt more like her childhood best friend rather than a mother, and she never minded it. But she knew she was also missing out on the mother-daughter things that most other girls were getting from their mothers; the sex talk, putting on make-up for the first time, shaving your legs or all the other stages of life girls go through.
Her mother at times seemed more like a tom boy than a girl, and despite wanting to become a professional make-up artist growing up, Elena inhabited a lot of her mother's quirky traits, always making dating for her difficult. She was born with naturally tanned skin that never seems to burn and long, luscious brunette hair and honey brown eyes.
People often told her she could be a model or actress with her height and beauty, that is until she opens her mouth. The face of an angel but the mouth of a sailor, Elena has always found it hard making or keeping friends, or even pleasing her employers. Genevieve was no exception, she will jump down Elena's throat over the smallest things, like being 2 mins early instead of 20.
Ignoring the already bad start to her shift, she puts on her apron and grabs her pen and paper pad before going out, praying that the dinner rush this night won't be so hectic.
3 hours into her shift and everything seems to be going fine, a few big tippers and a handful of dashers hasn't set her mood back too far. With only 3 more hours to go before she can finally clock out and have the few hours of peace she can enjoy at home, before coming back to do it all over again.
"Elena? Where is Elena?" the frantic voice of Sophie, another waitress, calls out through the kitchen. Elena pokes her head out from the office where she was hiding out and resting. "Oh, thank god. Please, I really need your help, it's only my second week here I can't do anything to upset Genevieve or she'll have my head!"
"Slow down, Soph, tell me what happened."
"This group of guys came in, covered in tattoos and really intimidating, but Genevieve said they are really important clients. I messed up, Elena! I got one of them the wrong drink, and he threw it all over the table and accused me of purposely giving him something he can't drink. I didn't hear him properly and I was too scared to ask him to repeat what he said. Oh no, what am I going to do? He doesn't want me serving their table anymore, he demanded a new server, but everyone else is occupied with 2 tables or more, you're the only one on break right now."
Elena holds back the groan she feels trailing up her throat and slaps on a smile. "Sure, I'll take over, come sit down and have a rest. I'll take over the rest of your tables, leave yourself logged into the system though."
Sophie mumbles her thanks over and over as she takes a shaky seat where Elena was just napping. Putting her apron back on, she tries to spot out the table before getting there to see just how difficult these customers are going to be.
She feels her blood run cold when she finally spots them, there is no way that can't be the table she is talking about. A group of four men sit in a booth, each one of them having more tattoos then the next, all sharing an equally pissed off and agitated look.
"Well, this should be fun."
Straightening her back and chanting the mantra over in her head; three more hours, three more hours, keep it together just three more hours, she calmly makes her way over to the table, slamming her paper pad on the table to grab their attention. It's clear they were just being difficult with Sophie because they could tell she was new, and they seem like powerful people. What else do powerful people do when they're bored.
Step on those weaker than them, or their case, bully them.
"Hello gentlemen, I'll be your server for the night. Can I start anyone off with drinks or are we ready to order?"
She is met with a deafening silence and dares a peek over her notepad. The man closest to her with a lip ring and pale grey eyes is looking her up and down, not being shy about it either, and the two other men opposite of him are doing anything they can to not look at her.
It's the man in the middle that is giving her intense chills down her spine and the sudden urge to run as fast as she can in any direction. He seems to be covered head to toe in black ink, each design more intimidating than the last, his deep blue eyes piercing through her.
The moment their eyes meet, she finds it hard to pull away, and feels almost as if he is silently trying to tell her something with how intense his gaze is.
One of the men on the left of her speaks up and breaks whatever trance she has fallen into. "We'll take four double rum and cokes, miss."
Not needing to write that down, she nods her head and scurries off towards the bar, wanting to get away from the group as quickly as possible so she can breathe. Once she is behind the bar, she takes a few deep breaths and gets to work on the drinks, careful not to mess anything up and testing each one with a straw before walking back over.
"Have we decided on anything to eat?" she asks, setting the drinks down and taking her notepad out again.
Once again, she is met with silence, this time all the men looking to the one man in the middle, as he continues to grill her.
"We're still deciding," he finally answers, a smooth, thick Russian accent rolls off his tongue and sends shivers down her spine.
Elena shakily nods her head and scurries off again, this time running straight to the kitchen in the back. She takes another few gulps of air and reaches for the pitcher of water they keep out for servers and kitchen staff.
"Hey, you okay?" Will, the line cook, calls out to her with a concerned look.
She manages a smile and nods her head. "Yeah, I'm good, just a long day."
He frowns and throws down his tea towel, walking up to her to examine her face more closely.
"We've worked together awhile; I can tell the difference between an exhausted Elena and a scared one. I'm aware of the customers you have at your table, Sophie told me everything. Are you sure they aren't giving you trouble? I'll be cooking their food; I got no problem going out there and taking their order."
Elena tries to laugh off his hostile request, but she is tempted to take up his offer. She can't shake the chill from the look that man was giving her, the intensity alone is something she has never seen in a person.
Like he was being reunited with a long-lost love or relative. Wracking her brain, she tries to think of ever meeting a man like him and she can't recall ever meeting someone with nearly as many tattoos as him anyway.
Shaking it off, she composes herself and walks back out there, hoping they are ordering something small and quick so this transaction can be over and done with.
To her surprise when she gets back, the three other men have left and only the one with the pretty blue eyes remains. He is looking intently at what seems like a candid photo of something when she approaches, clearing her throat to grab his attention.
"Will you be dining alone from now, sir?" she asks, hating how her voice still trembles despite trying to calm herself earlier.
Why does this man make me so nervous?
"Do I look like a man who would be dining alone?"
His accented voice and blunt question catch her off guard, but before she has the chance to even be confused, he reaches out and grabs hold of her hand, tugging her just enough for her to fall into the booth next to him. With little effort, he tugs on her skirt and pulls her closer to him.
"I'll be dining with you."
Meet Rylee Parks. JV Cheerleader, kick-ass bowler - and she is in love with her best friend's brother. Meet Aiden Reed. A varsity Football player, he can drink Ireland under the table, and would do anything to protect the friend he sees as a brother. This is Rylee's first year of University and her last year of fawning over a boy who will never look at her the same. But what happens when Aiden is finally woken up to the realization that Rylee won't stay the small and innocent girl she always has been, and his time with her is quickly running out?
Isla Thatcher has given up everything she has ever loved: her looks, her confidence, and her passion for dance. The day a drunk driver takes her mother is the day her beautiful life turns bleak, and to make it all worse, she gains a personal bully. Ace Huxley, star hockey player and captain, has rigid good looks and he will do anything to pick on Isla Thatcher and remind her that her life is miserable. There has never been a particular reason why, but anyone would find someone as mysterious as her weird. But what happens on the day they are reunited, but only one can recognize the other? Isla has regained her confidence and is ready to take life head-on with everything she has missed, but she never expected she would also be given the chance of a lifetime - to bully the bully!
Noel Ashford is the only child of Scott Ashford, famed law attorney of the small town of Bisbee, Arizona. Life for the two is rather simple. Until the day her father brings home a stray criminal in the form of a 6-foot devil, by the name of Harken Lewis - who makes it his everyday mission to uproot Noel's simple life and welcome her to the dangers of his. At the loss of her mother at the age of 10, Noel has depended on herself in the absence of her father, counting down the days until she can leave her small town and finally start living her life outside of her shut-in home. Harken Lewis has lived his 18 years in and out of juvie and foster homes, never knowing the meaning of a home, never allowing himself to be tied down. Shacking up with his lawyer and her daughter is meant to be a means to an end, a pit stop on his journey to greener pastures. He doesn't expect to find the one thing to shake his resolve and shatter everything he thought he knew about himself. Stick a shut-in hermit and an adrenaline junkie delinquent under the same roof, what do you get? Disaster.
Nathanial Galloway, head of the biggest Irish mobster family in New York, soldier and war hero. The economy is thriving, and his family is on top of the world. He has everything at the tips of his fingers, and is steps away from obtaining the immortality he always joked about having in the war. But he still can't fight the nightmares that haunt him at night. The gruesome scenes that play behind his eyes every time he tries to close them. He can't find anything to silence the demons he befriended in the war, and took home with him even five years after. Grace Miller is all to familiar with the demons you don't choose to befriend. Her life has been plagued since the day the war came to her little home in Venice, taking from her, her brother and father. Her mother is stolen from her not long after, before they have the chance to reach their freedom on the American border. Grace is thrust into a life of survival, and fights tooth and nail to achieve the freedom her family handed to her to carry on and find. She does what it takes to get close to her goal. Only a step away, she has one more task she needs to complete. He wants to escape his head. She wants to escape her life. They just might be the key the other one is looking for, but fate has a funny way of playing with those or try and tempt it. A story of love, betrayal and family. || All Rights Reserved Ā© Aubrey Wolfe 2020
*Originally named Changing Her Fate on other platforms* Chloe Brass works her entire life for a goal she never achieves, dying at the young age of 25 after working herself to death - quite literally. On the verge of her last breaths, she prays that if she is given a second chance, she will not take advantage of her life and waste it again. Her prayers are answered when she wakes up in the body of 21-year-old Athena Rose, a successful model and heiress daughter to a wealthy fortune. It seems all her prayers have been answered, and life couldn't be any better. It It seems everything she could ever want is at the tip of her fingers; but all good things must come to an end. While trying to live the life she always dreamed of having, Chloe is quickly learning why even Athena couldn't stand her own life, and tried to harm herself to get out of it. With new goals in mind, Chloe sets out to change her previous fate, and get revenge for the former soul of her new body. All Rights Reserved Ā© Alice Marie 2022
This book is part of a sub-series that is associated with Her Sweet Revenge, but is not a sequel series. || What would you do if your life was snatched away from you, before you had to chance to live it? Would you cease the chance when the opportunity arises; or succumb to the darkness? Tristan Burke is sentenced to 10-years in prison, at the young age of 14-years-old. Accused of a set-up murder, he is saved by a stranger, and given a second chance. Little did he know, that second chance came with a price, which landed him right back where he started. 10-years later, Tristan is released and now faces an entirely new society, carrying with him the demons and trauma he gained from his time spent alone inside. Now, 24-years-old, he must try to function with the growing anxiety and shadows that threaten to consume him Until he meets her. A simple brush of her skin is enough to chase the shadows away. She is a wildflower among roses. He finds comfort unlike anything he has felt before between her arms. She is a heaven send, gifted to him to banish his demons. Can he become the Prince Charming he thinks she deserves? Or will he let the darkness overcome him? || All Rights Reserved Ā© 2019 Aubrey Wolfe
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
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.
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. Whatās worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldnāt thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesnāt seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that heās different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
In the eyes of the public, Elijah was ever the gentleman, always distant and reserved. But behind closed doors, he was an animal who relentlessly ensnared Ashley in a web of lust. No one knew of their secret relationship, yet at the same time, no one dared to bully her again. Then one day, she was hit with morning sickness right in front of everyone. To everyoneās shock, the aloof and domineering Elijah quickly knelt in front of her and caressed her pregnant belly. āBabe,ā he crooned, āletās go public with our relationship. I will give you my everything.ā
Eliza Greer was abandoned by her mother, raised in an orphanage, and sold to the Burns family at 19. Even though she marries Mason Burns, the other people in the Burns family look down on her for her poor identity and want to try every way to bully her. Unexpectedly, they all failed. Eliza's hidden identities are gradually revealed in one incident after another, which astonishes everyone.