Reina Carlo moved like a shadow through the quiet streets, her hand brushing against the cold steel of the knife strapped to her thigh. She wasn't just on a mission; this was personal. She didn't remember the face of her mother or the warmth of a father's embrace. All she remembered was the Stingers-their discipline, their ruthless training, their unspoken code. They'd taken her in, raised her, and molded her into a weapon. To her, they were the closest thing to a family. And family was everything. But one man had dared to strip away her last shred of innocence. He thought he could take from her and vanish into the shadows, but Reina was the shadows now. The Stingers had taught her many things: patience, precision, how to read a man's fear before delivering the final blow. Tonight, she would use every lesson, every scar they'd given her. Her grip tightened. She whispered his name under her breath, a curse and a promise all in one. By sunrise someday, he wouldn't just pay. He'd be erased. Every kill left a mark on her soul, though she pretended not to feel it. Reina told herself it was a fair trade: the world got rid of another monster, and she earned enough to survive another day. She didn't care for redemption or forgiveness-those things belonged to someone who hadn't been shattered like glass. She was just a tool now, a blade for hire, slicing through the darkness one job at a time. But the nightmares never stopped. Faces she didn't recognize, voices she couldn't place, fragments of a life stolen from her. They whispered of a family-a real one, somewhere out there. She tried to bury the thought, but it clawed its way back into her mind, gnawing at her when she was most vulnerable. If they were alive, why hadn't they come for her? Had they abandoned her, or did they think she was already dead? Reina let herself believe they didn't matter anymore. She had the Stingers, and she had herself. That was enough. Or so she told herself every time she cleaned blood from her hands and tried to sleep. But deep down, she knew the truth: forgetting them wasn't the same as letting them go. --- Reina Carlo didn't believe in love, not anymore. But power? Power was something she could trust. It could bend the world to her will and, maybe, help her piece together the broken fragments of her life. Marco Alessandro was everything she needed-and everything she despised. A man of unshakable control, feared and respected by everyone who spoke his name. His empire was built on ruthlessness, yet there was something magnetic about him, a quiet storm beneath the surface that drew her in. The contract between them was clear: a marriage of convenience. She would stand by his side, adding to his power, while he gave her access to the resources she needed to carry out her revenge and find the family she thought she'd lost. But nothing about Marco was simple. He saw through her sharp edges and deflections, pushing past her defenses in ways no one else had dared. Reina told herself it was a game, part of the plan, yet each shared glance and unspoken moment felt dangerously real. Would love complicate her mission, or would it become her greatest weapon? And when the time came to choose-between vengeance, her newfound family, and the remnants of her past-would she risk losing everything? The line between ally and adversary was razor-thin, and in this deadly game of power and loyalty, only one thing was certain: Reina Carlo never played to lose.
~Reina~
Being a rich ass 20 year-old gang leader was not on my bucket list but I freaking love it. The smell of blood, people's cries that sounded like music to me made me happy.
I never had a family that brought me up to be 'normal'. My family was made with the Stingers.
I became their weapon, their shield, their ruthless enforcer. Killing was my trade, my survival. Money was the only currency I recognized. My parents? A blur, a distant echo. The lonely, scared child I once was is a ghost. The Stingers were my family, crime my inheritance.
I'd grown up in a world where violence was as commonplace as breathing. The scent of blood was familiar, the rhythm of gunfire a lullaby. My childhood was a blur of shadows, punctuated by the harsh commands of my superiors. I learned to suppress emotions, to replace empathy with indifference. The world was a chessboard, and human life was merely pawns to be sacrificed.
Now, as they circled the house, I stepped into the lion's den. Each guard that fell was a victory, a coin in my growing empire. The adrenaline coursed through my veins, a potent and intoxicating elixir. There was a cold satisfaction in the efficiency of my actions, a perverse sense of accomplishment. I was a predator, and this was my hunt.
"Happy family, huh? Pathetic." My words made some flinch their way to face me while other just faced me.
I circled the table, a predator stalking its prey. My hand snaked into the waistband of my black cargos, emerging with the cold steel of my pistol. A quick glance at my blood-splattered reflection in the glass confirmed the chaos I'd wrought. Their fear was palpable, a sweet scent amidst the metallic tang of iron.
The sound of a loud fired gun echoed throughout the room. I smiled as I saw the woman who I suppose was the mom going down, her body stiff. She was gone. I placed the gun on his head making him close his eyes shut ready to meet with the devil. Tears flowed down his cheek like a running waterfall.
"patetico"I spat.
(Pathetic)
I squatted to his level, lowering the gun.
"Don't cry you little fagot. You'll soon be reunited with your wife and children." He looked at me confused because his kids were alive.
Bang! Bang!
Each bullet for each child dropping them dead. I always hated the Mafia. They think they are superior but I just made this fucking Dick bag Italian mafia dump cry.
"You crazy godforsaken bitch, you'll pay with your blood." He said like some chaotic deranged bastard.
"First of all, I'm no bitch, I'm a fucking assassin. Secondly," I responded while opening his mouth "I pay with the blood of others not mine" and with that, I cocked the gun, realizing the bullet down his throat. I peeled his blood off my face and licked it. I could feel his gagging on my gun in fear before I pulled the trigger.
Bunch of freaks.
Their hands, entwined in death, were a macabre tableau of love's fragility. A pathetic display of vulnerability. Such weakness was a foreign concept to me. Love was a luxury, a distraction that could blind even the sharpest mind. I'd traded emotions for efficiency, heart for cold calculation. No one would ever hold me captive with such a foolish thing.
Love is just a stupid mistake made by many ignorant souls.
Dipping my hands in my pocket, I removed my phone and dial a number. "
"è fatto, vengo per i miei soldi"
[It's done. I'm coming for my money]
The pistol slid into the waistband of my trousers, a cold comfort against my skin. I pulled on my coat, a futile attempt to shield myself from the chilling reality that had just unfolded. The house was a macabre tableau, a silent testament to the violence I'd unleashed. My men, once a formidable force, were now mere echoes in the empty rooms. Their lives, extinguished with careless abandon, haunted the silence.
A cold dread seeped into my bones as I realized the implications of my actions. Innocent people, caught in the crossfire of a war that was no longer a game. The weight of their deaths pressed down on me, a crushing burden. I was no longer just a survivor. I was a destroyer. And the world, it seemed, was closing in.
I didn't care.
They were all just distraction. I knew they wouldn't be able to make it. I hopped onto my motorbike and speed off. The first rule of being a stinger was to get ready for death. They deserved it for being so clueless, untactful and bunches of fools. I had to no heart. I killed without mercy and I love it cause that what has kept me till this time.
I arrived at and saw Mr. Luciano waiting for me with a suitcase. Money. I packed off the road and went to meet him. As I approached him, two guards popped up from nowhere to kill him.
Playing smart with me, hell no.
"Do you want them injured, dead or unconscious" I shouted to his hearing but he stood still with a bug grin across his face. I wasn't scared, I was angry and going to kill here and here. I didn't care who the fuck he was. He just got me at gunpoint but he doesn't remember, does he?
I'm the fucking gunpoint. Ha!
Immediately, I pulled out my gun and shot one of his guards in the chest. I was opened and that made me obtain a bullet to my thigh. I fell to the ground grunting in pain and leaned behind a burnt bus. I could hear him approaching slowly to finish the job I laid flat on the ground and saw his leg.
Bingo.
I shot his leg making him drop to the ground releasing his gun. I dragged myself to him and smiled.
"ci vediamo all'inferno, puttana" and I shot the bullet right through his skull.
[See you in hell, bitch]
Mr. Luciano looked stared me with wide open eyes. I knew those were his best. Attempting to run away, I shot a bullet I'm sure affected his spine, making him paralyze instantly. I got closer to him and whispered in his ear, "no one double crosses me and lives" I smiled and killed him. I picked my suitcase and took his car. Putting my bike in the boot, I headed to the road to meet my family, 'the stingers.'
I turned the radio up and Sza's kill bill was playing. My favourite. I sang along and smiled as the wind blew my curly hair. I've always thought what normal was. I'll be a poor, broken, looked down on orphan if I didn't choose this life.
This life wasn't awesome but it bought me a family and happiness, I think. I arrived home, to my family with blood on my thigh. They received me quickly and took me to the bed where the doctor cake over and blood drip was set up. Though the blood ran through my veins, I was losing blood more than I was gaining. Soon enough, I fell asleep.
One casual visit to her father's study; an unplanned collision with the malevolent Russian Bratva mafia boss plunged her life into a downward spiral. Forced to marry him for an alliance that bordered on keeping her family's business stronger, she had no choice but to accept her fate after an unsuccessful attempt at absconding right before the wedding. But with each new discovery about him, she realized that the masked husband she despised so much had several layers that tugged at her heartstrings, giving her no choice but to fall deeply for him. However, what happens when the dreary and dark secrets from his past resurfaces and threatens to disrupt not just their blooming relationship and his position as Capo, but their existence as well?
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”
"Who is she?" I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "He met her at the Alpha training camp," he said. "She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice." My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks. Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna. **** Emily never shifted on her 18th birthday and became the laughingstock of the pack. When her old crush, Alexander Black, returns from Alpha Training, she never expected him to be her mate. After a night of passionate love, Emily finds out that young Alpha Alexander has taken a chosen mate. Heartbroken and humiliated, Emily runs off and disappears from the pack. Now, five years later, Emily is a high-ranking warrior in King Alpha's army, specializing in sensitive matters. When her best friend invites her to a night of music and laughter, she never expects to run into her mate, Alexander. Will Alexander figure out it is Emily? Will he chase after her, and most of all, will Emily be able to keep her secrets safe?
It took only a second for a person's world to come crashing down. This was what happened in Hannah's case. For four years, she gave her husband her all, but one day, he said emotionlessly, "Let's get divorced." Hannah's heart broke into a million pieces as she signed the divorce papers, marking the end of her role as a devoted wife. Within Hannah, a strong woman awakened, vowing never to be beholden to any man again. Embracing her new life, she embarked on a journey to find herself and command her own destiny. By the time she returned, she had experienced so much growth and was now completely different from the docile wife everyone once knew. "Is this your latest trick to get my attention?" Hannah's ever-so-arrogant husband asked. Before she could retort, a handsome and domineering CEO pulled her into his embrace. He smiled down at her and said boldly to her ex, "Just a little heads-up, mister. This is my beloved wife. Keep off!"
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Feared by many but seen by few, Alpha Dominic Grimstone is a name whispered with trepidation across the world. His reputation for cruelty is legendary, his ferocity and that of his pack the stuff of nightmares. Stories of those who have crossed his path and met their end at his hands are countless. Katarina Nightshade, the Beta's daughter, has led a life of simplicity within her pack. But as the Moon Ball approaches-a gathering of every pack in the United States-an overwhelming sense of dread begins to consume her. What will happen when Katarina is thrust into the arms of the most feared and ruthless Alpha known to mankind? Will she be the one to defy his cruel nature, or will she fall victim to the same fate that has befallen so many before her?