Having survived the River, Akara wakes alone, and with a decision to make. Find Marek, the mysterious hunter who saved her life through deception and lies? Or find Taius, the King, who's lies are coming to the surface. And through the decision on who to trust, Akara must battle through her emerging powers, and her torn feelings between Marek and Tai. And her decision will reveal a connection far deeper than what she ever thought she was capable of.
A horrid, foul smell rouses me.
For a long moment, it's like I'm submerged, fighting desperately to reach the surface. And then consciousness knocks me square in the chest, and I'm sitting up, gasping for air.
Violently coughing, I lean over, overwhelmed by the smell shrouding me, by the bitter taste rising up from the back of my throat. My body aches, muscles weak as I finally allow my eyes to crack open, bracing my arm up against the shadowy light.
Looking up, I realise I'm in some kind of shallow hole. Trees surround it, roots creeping down through the dirt and into the hole I'm in, protruding unnaturally from the ground...Wait, are those really roots?
Glancing down around myself, I realise with horror they are bodies. Dead bodies.
Scrambling back, I skate over soft limbs and rotten flesh, the jagged edges of sharp bones jabbing into me as I press back against the base of the hole. With each alarmed breath I drag in, the horrid smell of decaying bodies consumes my senses, my stomach heavy as a result.
Leaning over, I throw up profusely, gagging at the disturbing taste burning in my throat. Everything I've thrown up is thick and black, pooling on the dirt in such a way I have to turn, squeezing my eyes shut.
My mind is swimming, trying to grasp what is going on. I'm in a hole, filled with bodies in all different states of composition. On some of their bodies, the familiar colours of Tai's old guard are visible.
What is going on?
Turning, I scramble through the damp dirt, sprawling out the forest floor. My entire body shudders as I breathe in the earthy scents cutting through the decay. Yet I'm covered in death, fluids and debris clinging to my clothing pressing into my skin.
Resting my cheek against the ground, I close my eyes, my vision swirling with bright colours. I'm fading, I can feel it, my conscious slipping away...ever...so...slowly.
***
Waking up is suddenly much harder.
Pain rolls over me in waves, mainly isolated to my head. First I allow my fingers to twitch, feeling slowly seeping back into my limbs. It's silent around me, aside what might be the crackling of the fire. I've been sweating. I can feel it all over my body, clinging to the surface of my skin.
My eyes flutter open.
I'm staring at a ceiling, painted yellow. Frowning, I lift my arm, running the back of my hand over my eyes. My head feels like a foggy mess. No matter where in my mind I retreat to, I'm met with a thick haze, revealing no evidence of where I am, and where I've been.
A creaking sound echo's beside me, and when I turn my head, I realise it's a door opening, and unfamiliar woman steps in.
"What's going on?" I question, coughing past the scratchiness in my throat.
The woman approaches, pulling a chair from the corner of the room to the bed, sitting on it. I'm sitting up now, pressed back against the wall, staring at her warily. This room, her, this feeling in my body...It's all unfamiliar, and I hate it. I want out of this place, even if I don't know where I should go.
"Oh you're awake...I'm so glad," she exclaims softly, chewing her nail as she looks over me.
I don't feel injured, and yet at the same time I do. Looking down at my arms, I'm bruised all over, my skin littered with scratches. Even under soft sheets, each movement makes me keenly aware that this isn't isolated to just my arms.
"Where am I?" I question, looking around. This is some kind of bedroom, in what I imagine is a cottage. The furniture, the walls and even the ceiling have been hand painted, and there is a hand knitted quilt draped over the bed. The woman even looks like she has made her own clothing, her dress swinging loosely from her body.
"I know you're probably confused," she soothes. Her accent is strange, not from the Jade Province. "We found you, on the verge of death in the Azure Province."
Burying my face in my hands, I rake back through my mind.
My last memory was at home, with my family. Father has been at war, so I've been at home with my mother, studying about the Beast, my Tani...Her smile is the last thing I remember.
So how did I end up at the Azure Province, where I've never been in my life?
"How did I get there?" I question, pressing my fingers between my brows. It seems there are memories missing, like there's something large I should be remembering, and yet I no matter how far I delve back, I can't seem to scramble anything together.
"Well, I was hoping you could tell us," she says, almost sounding nervous. "You were quite battered when we found you. My husband and I immediately brought you back here, to our home."
A gauzy curtain covers the one window in the place, which is a blessing for my sensitive eyes, but a curse for my bearings.
"Where am I now?"
"Emerald Province." The woman offers up the information so kindly, and yet I'm struck back, a sour taste gathering on my tongue. Emerald Province. I've never been to the Emerald Province before, but at least it's not too far from my home, in the Jade Province.
Or maybe I have been to the Emerald Province. Something about it seems familiar, right on the tip of my tongue, that I can't quite grasp...I need to be here, to get to someone who needs me.
My parents.
A hollow pit opens up in my stomach, as I consume that fresh information. My parents don't live in the Jade Province, they live here, in this Province. But why? I don't remember them moving, or me, for that matter. And yet I know they are here. It's the first certain feeling that I've been able to grasp since coming back to consciousness.
"My head is killing me," I mutter, palms pressed against my temples.
"Chew on this, it will take the edge off," the woman offers, grabbing a box sitting atop the dresser. When she opens it, she reveals some kind of green stalk, which I take warily. "My husband is a healer. He's out right now getting supplies, but he will be back soon."
The stalk tastes sweet when I bite into it, a welcome relief from the bitter taste in my throat.
"How long have I been unconscious?" I ask softly, unsure of how I came to be unconscious in the first place...
The woman's gaze turns soft, sad. "About two weeks since we found you..."
My chewing ceases, as I just stare at her blankly. Two weeks? How long was I unconscious before they found me?
I realise, with a chilling coldness, that I'm alone. I've lost my memories, my bearings...everything.
I'm truly alone.
Sienna has been in love with her Alpha since she could remember. He's rough, dangerous and the epitome of raw sex appeal. The problem is, he is her best friend, and strictly off limits. Tradition mandates he marry a woman of noble birth, and that is not her. She knows this is for the best, until she becomes his mistress, and things start to change. As she falls for her best friend, she must reconcile a deadly secret she has been keeping from him for years, that could change everything. Onyx has sacrificed everything to become Alpha. So, not marrying for love shouldn't be such an issue. His entire life he has denied his feelings for his best friend, until he is forced to take her as his mistress to grant her protection. With threats growing against them, and when his prospective wife candidates start showing up murdered, he make some difficult decisions.
On a quiet Spring morning, Avila awoke, six months after her death. By some miracle, she was suddenly alive, with no memory of her life. Confused, Avila is thrust into a world of where she is a Princess with a secretive family who battles a vicious rebellion. And, she is engaged to a wealthy, handsome Prince who couldn't stand who she was before she died. Avila is forced to piece together her previous life while making sense of her current one, but with a rebellion member who is in love with her, and the attraction growing between her and the Prince, things are only getting more complicated.
"I can't tell what is real and what is a dream," I murmur, looking up to his silver eyes, glistening mist swirling within his irises. "But I know I can't hold myself back from you any longer. Luella has been having the same dreams every night involving two silver eyed men, who remain elusive during the day, but come alive from the shadows by night. After visiting a therapist who tips Luella off on what could be the cause of these dreams, the start to become more frequent, to the point she can no long tell the difference between dream and reality. Who are these silver eyed men? One wants her desperately until he doesn't, while the other is always there when she needs him, until he is not. That is, until she swears she is seeing them in her waking life. And suddenly, her dreams might just be coming to life.
“I...I’ve never had an orgasm before!” I blurt out, backing away a few steps. He sits up, dark hair ruffled and messy from the fingers I ran through it. His eyes, once wide, slowly darken. “You what?” He breathes. *** Running from a dark past, a girl stumbles into a territory ran by a notorious Alpha. He's cold, dangerous and poisons her, forcing her into his proximity. But she harbours a dark secret, which when revealed to the wrong people, causes her to become tied to the Alpha in an arranged marriage that reveals more about them than anticipated... Including the bond they share when they touch. And the Alpha too has a secret, an obsession. For her. __ Themes: Fated Mates, Forced Proximity, Arranaged Marriage, Werewolf (Alpha), Romance, Smut, Dominance. (18+)
"So you're a virgin, then." He says it so blatantly it rattles me to the core. "No! I mean, would it matter if I were?" "I suppose not," he muses, his gaze shifting back to me. "But when I look at you, I want to violently fuck you until you cannot move for days." ---- On a hiking trip with a friend, Meara accidently breaks an ancient curse, releasing a powerful Alpha from another time. He wants revenge from who imprisoned him as much as he wants her, and Meara may be the only one who can stop him. But she has a life she isn't ready to give up. And yet, there is no escaping a seductive Alpha and a deadly curse that has been unleashed across her Pack that threatens her life.
*Mature Content* (First installment of the Trial Series) *English Version* Juliette Kerson does not want to fall for the Alpha Kings scheme of luring in Wolves, forcing them to compete for a place in his pack by attending the Thirty Day Trial. She wants freedom, not discipline. But this year, she is nominated to compete, and she is no loser. Free spirited, Juliette catches the young Alpha's eye. But she also is the product of an unspeakable species called Skinwalkers. She's different, but keeping that from an interested Alpha proves harder then it seems, especially with Ace, the deadly Skinwalker with a secret lurking around.
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
Cailey had managed to outlive her husband, becoming a young widow. Then, at his funeral, she found herself at risk of being evicted from her home. In a bid to secure her share of the estate, Cailey decided to seduce her stepson and bear him a child. Unfortunately, he saw right through her tricks. "I'm not as gullible as my father." No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to win the man over. Cailey had no choice but to change her plans. But then, one night, the same stepson suddenly pinned her against the wall. "You want something from me? Beg for it."
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
Kayley returned to Brayden's side for the sake of her dancing career. By day, they were step-siblings. By night, they were lovers. As her feelings deepened, she came to realize that she was a mere substitute for his lost love. They broke up. Kayley reinvented herself and became a beloved star. Seeing her perform in front of so many adoring eyes, Brayden panicked. "Please come back to me!" "You're the one who broke things off." "And I deeply regret it!"
"The wedding is canceled. Furthermore, all collaboration between the Barkers and Larssons will cease from today onward!" After saying that, he coldly peeped at Samantha as if he was mocking her, or maybe he was even laughing at himself. He did not say anything more and strode off. Samantha stood there dumbfounded. The mocking chattering from all directions instantly drowned her. She felt a stiff cold as if thousands of swords were piercing her heart. ************* Samantha Larsson became a laughing stock when Timothy Barker publicly denounced their marriage. Two years later, she was tricked into going home and married a mysterious man, who was known to be disfigured and physically disabled! Nonetheless, she would fight until the end and destroy the scums, slowly getting her justice!