In a world where loyalty is tested and love is both a weapon and a shield, two young men find themselves caught between family feuds and unbreakable bonds. Luca, the heir to a powerful mafia family, struggles with the weight of expectation and the burning desire for freedom. Adrian, fiercely loyal and willing to do whatever it takes to protect his friend, faces a heartbreaking decision that could shatter their world. When a betrayal rocks their foundations, they must navigate a treacherous landscape of deception and danger. As lines are drawn and alliances are tested, will they sacrifice everything for their love, or will the shadows of their past consume them both? The delicate balance between loyalty and love in a world where power is everything, and trust can be the deadliest weapon of all.
The night was thick with heat and the scent of cigars, curling lazily through the dimly lit back room of Romano's, one of my family's high-end restaurants.
The golden glow of chandeliers dripped from above, casting shadows that stretched like dark tendrils across the polished mahogany table. I sat in the middle of it all, feeling the weight of centuries of tradition pressing down on my shoulders like a heavy mantle.
Across from me sat Vincenzo Romano, my father. His face was etched with the lines of age and power, a man who had built the Romano empire with ruthless precision.
He watched me with the same cold detachment as always, eyes dark and sharp. Around him, his most trusted men lingered like shadows, their faces unreadable, but I could feel their gazes piercing through me.
Every move, every word had become a test. I wasn't just Luca-the son. I was Luca, the heir. The next in line to carry the Romano legacy. And if I faltered, even for a moment, they'd tear me apart.
Family was everything, but in the world we lived in, it could be your greatest enemy. Tonight, though, felt different. Darker. The tension was thicker, heavier, as if the room itself was holding its breath.
"Your uncle's been getting sloppy," my father finally said, his voice a low growl that cut through the silence like a knife.
"Someone's been feeding information to the Ferraras. If it isn't him, it's someone close. I want you to handle it.
The Ferraras. A family name whispered with venom in the streets of Verona. The Ferrara and Romano families had been locked in a bitter war for generations.
A war that had no victors, only survivors. Each move was a chess piece on a bloodstained board, and right now, it seemed one of ours had betrayed us.
My stomach twisted at the thought of Uncle Rocco. He'd been with us for as long as I could remember. Loyal. Or so I thought. But loyalty meant nothing in this world unless it was proven every day.
And the whispers... those goddamn whispers... they had started to get louder.My father pushed an envelope across the table, its edge catching the dim light.
"I had my guys do some surveillance. He was last spotted at the airport, heading to New York. You'll get on the next flight. My contacts there will take you to where he was last seen," he said, his voice cold and matter-of-fact. I swallowed hard, fighting the knot tightening in my chest.
The duty was clear. Rocco needed to be reminded of where his loyalty lay-or he would meet the consequences. This wasn't just a family squabble. It was a test of my ability to act without hesitation.
And in our family, hesitation was as good as a death sentence.I sat up straighter, keeping my expression neutral even as doubt waged war inside me.
"What do you need from me?" His eyes gleamed with something dark, something calculating.
"Rocco needs a reminder of where his loyalty lies. Make sure he gets it." The words were like lead, sinking into the silence between us.
I understood the unspoken order. If I showed any weakness, if I hesitated, I'd lose more than my place at the table. I'd lose everything.
Without another word, I pushed my chair back and stood. My father's voice, calm but as cold as ice, followed me.
"Prove you belong at this table, Luca. Show me what you're made of."
The night air hit me like a wall when I stepped out onto the streets of Verona. The city, with all its ancient beauty, glittered under the moonlight.
But to me, it felt like a cage-a gilded prison that I could never escape from.I pulled out my phone, dialing the one person I could trust: Marco Rossi, my best friend and right-hand man.
He picked up on the second ring, and the first thing I heard was the noise of people, loud music booming in the background.
"Where are you?" I asked, pulling the phone away from my ear as the volume spiked.
"Out with friends," he slurred, clearly intoxicated. I pinched the bridge of my nose, shaking my head.
Marco's love for partying was no surprise to me anymore, but tonight wasn't the night for distractions.
"Meet me at home. We have someone to find."
The line went silent for a moment. When Marco spoke again, his voice was sharp, precise. All traces of intoxication gone.
"Who crossed the line?"
I hesitated for a heartbeat, but then the words spilled out like a confession.
"Uncle Rocco." Silence again. Marco understood what that meant. In our world, betrayal wasn't a word thrown around lightly. It was treason. And treason was punishable by death.
By the time I got to the house, Marco was already waiting for me, his tall figure standing like a sentinel in front of the building. He was wearing a long dark coat, and his face was set in a grim line.
We didn't need to speak. We both knew what had to be done.Inside my apartment, we grabbed what we needed-cash, knives, guns. Each item felt heavier than the last as I packed it away.
I couldn't shake the feeling of dread crawling up my spine, but I buried it. If I showed weakness now, my father would send someone else to finish the job.
And that would make me look weak. Unreliable. I couldn't afford that-not now. Not ever.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Marco asked, breaking the heavy silence.
He was leaning against the doorway, his eyes dark with something close to concern.
I paused, sharpening one of the knives, letting the weight of it settle in my hand.
"I'm named heir. If I don't do this, who will?"
The flight to New York was long and torturous, the hum of the engines doing little to quiet the storm raging in my head.
The city was a world away from Verona, but the weight of what I had to do followed me across the ocean like a shadow.
We landed just after midnight, the city's neon lights flickering in the distance as we made our way to a small bar downtown. It was a hole-in-the-wall, the kind of place where people disappeared into the crowd and stayed invisible.
Marco slipped inside first, and I followed, scanning the room with quick, practiced eyes. That's when I felt it-the brush of a shoulder against mine.
A man, dark-haired and lean, moved past me, his gaze focused ahead, but something about him made my pulse quicken.
It was only a moment, a fleeting glance, but there was a charge in the air, like we'd just crossed paths with destiny. I pushed the thought aside.
I couldn't afford distractions. Not now. Uncle Rocco was holed up in a dingy apartment on the edge of the city, a place so far removed from the luxury of our world that it felt like another lifetime.
When we finally found him, he was sitting alone, a bottle of whiskey half-empty in his hand.
He looked up when we entered, his eyes bloodshot and full of something that wasn't quite regret-but close enough.
"You've made a mistake, Uncle," I said quietly, my voice carrying the weight of what was about to happen.
He looked at me, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of recognition, of understanding. Then he nodded, slowly.
"I know." The silence stretched on, heavy and thick, until finally, I raised the gun.
Marco stood beside me, watching, waiting.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, though I wasn't sure who I was apologizing to-him or myself.
And then the shot rang out.
Mate. Something every werewolf looks forward to. The thought of finding someone tailor-made by the moon goddess for you alone in the entire world is exhilarating. At least it was for me. For a while. I waited for what felt like forever. Everyone finds their mate once they turn eighteen. I'll be eighteen in a few days. I wanted to keep myself for my mate. To be pure but who was I kidding. Nobody could have prepared me for who my mate was. Not even my adoptive parents. The alpha's son. Maverick Tatum. The same boy I used to think of as a scum after watching how he treats the female in the pack. That same boy was my mate. I'm Ares Powers. My parents said they found me in the woods with my name engraved in the wood of the beads I was wearing. They have tried taking off the beads multiple times when I was growing up. They couldn't. They took me to the pack seer and he said only my true mate can help me remove the beads and unlock my wolf's highest potential. I wonder why my birth parents would want to keep my powers locked. The day I found out Maverick was my mate was the same day he rejected me. In front of everyone. The next day, I was banished from the pack. I swore to get my revenge then. But until then, I have to find a way to unlock my wolf's full potential because my mate turned out to be unreliable.
She was hurt. She was bullied and made fun of. And the only hope that kept her going was finding her mate. She has always been weak. Weak to the world. Why? Because she was a lantern. She didn't have a wolf. That's what everyone thought about her. When she found her mate, he wanted her to be his slut and not a wife. She might be an omega, but it doesn't mean she will take disloyalty and betrayal lightly. So she did something that no one in history ever did. She rejected an Alpha. "I, Alexis Clark, reject Brandon Sterling, the alpha of Black mist pack, and consider myself a free soul until I decide so."; Were her last words before she left that torturous place and became a rogue. A rogue that everyone was fearing and finding. Why? Because she was the rogue that has become one of the biggest problems of almost all the packs in the country. She was Alexis Clark. A rogue that rejected an Alpha, stealth food, kill other rogues, and more than that was living with humans and studying with them. What will happen when her case is given to the world's most dangerous alpha, Sebastian Sinclair, who has taken it upon himself to punish this rogue. The one who hated rogues and omega to a level that was beyond understanding. Why? Because his mate was an omega, who betrayed him with a rogue before dying. How will Alexis tackle this alpha, in whose College she was studying and living under hiding for almost a year? What will Sebastian do when he finds out the new girl he had been talking to is none other than the rogue omega that he had decided to kill? "To love you with all my might was my only wish, but you were the only one who gave me endless suffering. So today, I promise myself to not fall for anyone."; A simple saying that both Alexis and Sebastian had vowed upon. Will they be able to find their love amidst all these problems?
Jennifer Bennett, the rightful heiress to the Bennett legacy, fought hard for her family's recognition, only to be eclipsed by an impostor. Faced with false accusations, bullying, and public humiliation, Jennifer eventually gave up trying to win their approval. Vowing to rise above the injustice, she became the bane of those who wronged her. The Bennett family's efforts to break her only fueled her success, leading her to heights her rivals could only dream of. Someone asked, "Do you feel let down by your parents?" With a calm smile, Jennifer said, "It doesn't matter. In the end, power prevails."
Warning: 18+ content for mature audiences. Book Excerpt: Donovan's POV Her enchanting green eyes that were alive with passion the day I told her she could go shopping are pale with only despair dancing in them. "Oh, I'm quite aware of my duties as your wife, Mr. Castellano." My eyes darken at the formal use of my name. I've told her to stop doing that. It feels wrong. Like she doesn't belong to me. I clench my jaw as I wait for her to finish her sentence but her cold smile widens. "Ah, you don't like when I call you Mr. Castellano, right? Too bad. You can't force my mouth to say what you want to hear." Blood rushes to my groin as her words settle in the tensed air between us. Does she realize the gravity of what she'd just said? Does she know she'd moaned my name while I had her wet cunt in her mouth? Does she know how needy she'd been when she wanted me to take her even though she wasn't awake? And is she aware that I know how bad she wants me in her dreams while she pretends in real life to hate me? She glares up at me while I seethe, looking down at her. "It's Donovan," I say darkly, resisting the pull of her lips and maintaining my vision at her eyes. "Mr. Castellano," she retorts. My face draws closer, getting ready to give her a punishing kiss but a harsh sound fills the room and then I realize, belatedly, that I'd just been slapped as my face swings to the side, turning away from Eliana. Eliana slapped me. Luis Santario's daughter just slapped me. Just like her father had done many nights ago. Shame fills me but it's quickly trampled upon by hot, violent anger. How dare she? How dare the whore?! Her cheek instantly goes red with the imprints of my fingers. Blood trickles from her nose and her hair that was up in a messy bun scatters all around her face. Eliana's head remains bowed as the blood from her nose drips onto her white bedcovers. ***** Eliana's POV I know I'm signing my death warrant by provoking him like this but what else can I do when he's already planned to kill me? I could just as well make it easier for him to by getting on his nerves. If I don't push him away, I'm scared I'll start to blur the lines between my dreams and reality. The Donovan in my dreams is drastically different from the one in real life. If my plans to escape from this marriage don't work, I may end up dead or worst, in love with Donovan Castellano. And I'd rather die now than to fall in love with him and die later. *** Many years ago, Donovan Castellano went through something that irrevocably changed him for the worst, and Eliana's father was to blame. Years later, Eliana's father dies. Eliana doesn't know her father's dark past or why Donovan Castellano bought her and then married her. But she knows he's out for blood and wants to kill her, but how long will she continue to defend herself when the way he touches her and kisses her in her dreams is starting to blur the lines between reality and fiction? Will Donovan succeed in finally getting revenge on Eliana for what her father did to him and will Eliana succeed in resisting her possessive mafia husband's advances even when he says he wants her dead? Read on to find out.
"Do you think I will ever walk hand in hand with a girl three times my size? I only dated you because I wanted to know what it feels like, being with a plus size". That statement got her speechless,her heartbreaking so hard it hurts. "Look ,shit happens sometimes". "Tim.... it's... my first time". She sobbed loudly. "Get over it, not like I forced you to give me your virginity,I had to go, clean up the red stains before leaving". He snarled. Beauty's heart pounding, and her tears flow endlessly. He left and slammed the door after him. **** Bullied for being a plus size since her childhood. Beauty Hills had to deal with insecurity ,trauma and depression, most especially self hate. Her name( Beauty) was said to be the exact opposite of her appearance. After many failed toxic relationships, she moved on and got a job in a fashion company. There she had a one sided crush on her terribly handsome and reserved boss,but Who wouldn't! Not every day you get to see a terribly good looking billionaire who isn't arrogant or proud of his looks,a top green flag! Every single beauty queen in the company is head over heels! Beauty knows she got no chance to compete with them It's useless to dream that big! Maybe not...
Scarlett was left betrayed and broken beyond repair when her best friend Megan set her up with the male escort who stole her virginity...Or at least, that's what she thought he was. There was something odd about the strong and strikingly beautiful man that she spent a night with. Despite the pure hatred she felt for him, the deals he ended up offering wasn't one she could refuse. Scarlett always thought she'd marry her soulmate but turns out, that won't be the case for her. But could her mysterious husband make his way through her broken heart and fix it? It's hard to imagine but love has funny ways to manifest in places where it's least expected....
When he woke up early in the morning, the woman he had a crush on lay beside him, but she was afraid. "President Miller, rest assured, I will not entangle you. I'll pretend nothing happened last night!" He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "So, aren't you going to be responsible for me?" Emma Wood was shocked, "What ?!" Did she hear it right? After the night, she bore a baby and had to marry him. She asked, "It's all your benefit, what can I get?" The man looked at her and slowly said, "As long as you want, as long as I have."