In the quiet town of Silver Peak, Luna Blackwood, a werewolf is hoping to abandon her life and start a new one altogether but her past quickly catches up to her when a string of murders happen in the town just a few days after her arrival. A local detective named Alex Carter quickly jumps on the case and his path eventually crosses with Luna's own. Two of them are immediately attracted to each other but they have to confront their pasts if they want to have a future together. And for that to happen, Luna has to embrace a side of her that she has been trying to run from while going against an enemy far more ruthless than anything she has ever faced.........
1: First encounter
Luna's POV
"What do you think?" A voice said behind me and I shifted my attention away from the dead body to see an extremely handsome young man dressed in a striped, blue shirt walking towards me. The hands of the shirt were folded halfway and they revealed hairy forearms.
"What do I think?" I asked, wondering what he was talking about. He thrust his hands into his pocket as he came to stand beside me.
He stared at the dead body for a few moments before bringing his eyes up to meet mine. "Of the corpse. Brutal, isn't it?"
"Oh," I said and returned my attention to it. "I don't know. Probably an accident or something."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No. I'm serious," I answered. I could feel his eyes on me and I avoided meeting them.
"We both know this isn't an accident. Doesn't even look close to it. This is something more....." he struggled to find the words, ".......deliberate. And calculated."
"Yeah, I guess," I said, feigning disinterest.
"I don't think I've seen you around here before. You're new to the town, yeah?"
"Yes. I've only been living here for a week now."
He crouched suddenly and with his other hand, he pulled out a pair of gloves from his pocket. "These marks," he said as he wore the gloves, "they don't look normal. Have a look."
"I don't think that would be necessary. The cops are responsible for that, aren't they? And I can tell you are one. I am nothing but a concerned citizen."
"Are you?" He asked as he traced the large slashes across the victim's chest.
"Excuse me?" I said, surprised by his question. I had a very good idea of what caused those slashes but I dare not mention it to anyone. Not if I intended to live a quiet life like I planned to do in the town.
He grunted as he rose to his feet then he removed the gloves from his hand. "This is the second murder in three days and this is also the second time I am seeing you, the first being at the scene of the first murder. I doubt if that is a coincidence."
"What are you accusing me of?" I asked. I was starting to get irritated by him and I felt the need to leave.
He smiled and said, "Relax. I am not accusing you of anything. I am just stating my observations." He held out one slender, well-manicured hand to me. "Alex. Detective Alex Carter."
"Luna Blackwood," I replied as I shook his hand. "If you don't mind, Detective Carter, I have to head back to work."
"Oh. Where do you work? I might have a few questions for you later."
I eyed him skeptically and he chuckled. "Don't worry. I am not trying to hit on you or anything. All I care about is solving these murders and I would stop at nothing to achieve that. If you don't want to tell me where you work, then you can just give me your contact information instead."
He was reaching into his pocket for his phone when I said, "Josie's bookstore. It is-"
"The small bookstore on Glendale," he interrupted. "I am familiar with it. I guess I'll see you later then, Blackwood."
He smiled at me again and I returned a half smile to him before walking away. He seemed very friendly and I wondered if he was like that with everyone or it was just me. As I made my way back to the small flat I lived in, I found myself more and more interested in the detective. He hadn't seemed surprised by the corpse and that made me suspect that he knew more than he was letting on.
The sun was already rising when I got to the bookstore and I checked the time on my watch. It was just a few minutes past eight yet the bookstore was almost filled with people. I made my way to the small area with a desk which served as my workspace and I was just setting in when Josie appeared.
"You're late," she remarked.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I had to attend to something important," I replied as I turned on the computer on my desk.
"Have you seen Mrs. Winslow? She's been asking for you since she got here."
I jerked my head up to look at her when I heard that. "What for? I already did everything she wanted yesterday."
"If there's one thing you would have learned by now, it is that you can never satisfy that woman. I'm even surprised she hasn't gone bananas on you yet." She turned sideways and her eyes widened in mock surprise. "Uh-oh, here she comes. Goodluck." She winked at me and hurried away.
The old woman appeared before my desk and the look on her face told me that a storm was coming.
"Mrs. Winslow. Good morning," I said in a very polite manner. "What can I do for you today?"
She sized me up with her eyes, ignoring my greeting, then she brought out a small list from her bag which, as it turned out, contained a list of ridiculous books she wanted. I spent the next hour trying to fulfill her request only for her to tell me that she would no longer be needing them and she left before I could even react. I was so furious that I nearly yelled after her as she walked away. Instead, I sighed and returned to my desk to do other things. I had barely been in my chair for two minutes when I noticed someone looming over me.
Looking up, I found myself staring at none other than the handsome detective from the murder scene.
"Hi, Blackwood," he said. He looked very worried and I was about to ask him what happened when he produced his phone and thrust it at me.
I looked at what he was showing me and I found myself staring at something I had never expected to see again in my life
Abigail Winter has always lived a shy, secluded life, until she meets and falls in love with bad boy Lucas Westmore. While hanging out with her best friend, Emily Collins on her twenty-sixth birthday, Abigail is directed to Lucas' path and she soon finds out that there is more to him than there is on the surface. Events quickly roll into one another and they find out that they are connected to each other in various, unexpected ways. As events unfold, Abigail is left with a very hard choice to make, a choice that could possibly change her life forever. But, will it be in a good way or a bad way?
Catherine swallowed with her eyes closed and her lips slightly open, a moan escaped her lips when Lucas slid two fingers under her panties, "Lucas..." She moaned, lost in the sinful desire as her ex-boyfriend's dad moved his fingers against her rosy flesh... *************** Catherine, a young mother of two who came to the city with the hope of finding her twin's father only to be denied and deserted by him, found herself entangled in a forbidden web of craving. As the flame of passion ignites between her and the CEO, Lucas Leonard—her ex-boyfriend's father—their affair takes them on a journey of temptation and sinful desires.Struggling with society's judgment and their own inner desire, Catherine and Lucas must steer the treacherous judgemental waters of the society and either fight for their love or let it crumble especially when her ex-lover came back to claim her and the twins. Will their love withstand the dishonorable whispers, or will it crumble under the weight of societal expectations and her ex-lover's conspiracies to win her back?
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
On her wedding night, Natalie's stepmother set her up to marry Jarvis, a disfigured and disabled man. Fortunately, she managed to escape, but little did she know that later she would fall for the man she was betrothed to.Jarvis pretended to be a poor man, but he didn't think that he'd fall head over heels for this woman.Their life went on until one day, Natalie found out her boyfriend's little secret."Huh? How could you have billions of dollars' worth of assets?" she asked in disbelief.Jarvis didn’t know how to respond.Being met with silence, she gritted her teeth angrily. "They said that you couldn't walk, but as far as I can see, you're strong enough to run a marathon."Still, he remained silent.Natalie continued, "They even said that you only have a few years to live. What about now?"Finally, Jarvis opened his mouth to explain. "Honey, this is all just a misunderstanding. Please calm down. Think about the baby.""Jarvis Braxton!"The man knelt down immediately.
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
For three years, I waited to become the perfect Luna for my pack, to give the Alpha an heir. Three years of lies, of being the outsider in someone else's love story. Three years of grieving the loss of my baby and plotting revenge against the man who disfigured my face and ruined my womb. I had two choices: die at the hands of my own pack or escape and survive. I chose to hide and live. The Lycan King, Fenrir Lycros-the most bloodthirsty, ruthless ruler to ever lead the werewolves with an iron fist-made me his personal maid. It was the most dangerous role I could have, where even the slightest mistake could cost me my life. But no one from my past would think to look for me here. "Always be submissive, don't speak unless spoken to, don't listen, don't see anything, don't disturb the Lycan or you will die," were the simple rules I followed. I thought I was doing well-until one day, the King made me an offer I couldn't refuse. "Do you want me to save those people? Then give yourself to me tonight. Be my woman. I desire you, and I know you feel the same. Just once, Raven, only once..." But it wasn't just once. Passion turned into something deeper, something neither of us could deny. That cold, untamable man had somehow conquered my heart as well. However, when the past returned to haunt me and the truth about my birth came to light, I faced another choice: run from the Lycan King or wait for his mercy. "I'm sorry, but this time, I won't lose my pups again-not even for you, Fenrir Lycros."
In their three years of marriage, Chelsea had been a dutiful wife to Edmund. She used to think that her love and care would someday melt Edmund's cold heart, but she was wrong. Finally, she couldn't take the disappointment any longer and chose to end the marriage. Edmund had always thought that his wife was just boring and dull. So it was shocking when Chelsea suddenly threw divorce papers at his face in front of everyone at the Nelson Group's anniversary party. How humiliating! After that, everyone thought that the formerly-married couple would never see each other again, even Chelsea. Once again, she thought wrong. Sometime later, at an award ceremony, Chelsea went onstage to accept the award for best screenplay. Her ex-husband, Edmund, was the one presenting the award to her. As he handed her the trophy, he suddenly reached for her hand and pleaded humbly in front of the audience, "Chelsea, I'm sorry I didn't cherish you before. Could you please give me another chance?" Chelsea looked at him indifferently. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nelson. My only concern now is my business." Edmund's heart was shattered into a million pieces. "Chelsea, I really can't live without you." But his ex-wife just walked away. Wasn't it better for her to just concentrate on her career? Men would only distract her—especially her ex-husband.