Hope Wallace was just a normal high school girl-until the Hawthorne brothers arrived. Desmond, the erratic and dangerous vampire, is as captivating as he is lethal, and Solomon, his calm, enigmatic twin, harbors secrets of his own. Drawn to Desmond, Hope soon finds herself entangled in a world of supernatural chaos: werewolves, witches, ancient family vendettas, and a love that transcends lifetimes. As forbidden passions ignite and enemies close in, Hope learns shocking truths about her lineage and the child she carries-a being with the power to reshape their world. With war looming and sacrifices mounting, the Hawthorne family and their allies must fight to protect the future, but salvation comes at a devastating cost. Love, blood, and destiny collide in this dark tale of immortality, sacrifice, and the kind of love that refuses to die.
WINEKOVE, 1020 AD.
Desmond
I could hear the sounds of my breath bounce off the walls of the cold and quiet cave. Mother had given me instructions not to leave until she had returned. She was gone for a long while, and all I could do to kill time was to listen to the sound of my breath on my knees.
I looked around the cave to gather knowledge from my surroundings. It was so dark, and all I could see was a tree at the far end on my left and a large puddle of water a few feet before me; it looked more like an oasis.
After what seemed like forever, I heard footsteps coming through the entrance. It was my mother with my twin brother, Solomon. She let him kneel beside me, and he gave a smug look. Only the spirits knew how I would love to slap that smile out of his face.
"Susana! I have brought them", I heard Mother shout. "Let us keep the end of our bargain."
Susana was the chief priestess of our village and also a very powerful witch; I did not know why Mother would strike a bargain with her.
Suddenly, everywhere became bright through the fire that caught the torches on the stands on the cave walls. Susana appeared in front of us in her usual attire; a red robe with a long stick on her right hand decorated with pomegranates and white beads.
"We shall, Philomena," she said calmly.
She looked down at me and then at my brother, smiling. She dropped her stick on a rock as she walked past us and returned to where she came from. After a few moments, she returned with a wooden bowl and a dagger. The dagger was somewhat covered with blood already.
She walked over to us, chanting some words. I still could not understand what was going on. The torches flickered, and a great wind blew into the cave. Fear gripped me, and I trembled while my brother laughed at me.
Susana stopped chanting, and the wind and the torches stopped dancing. She spread her hands, which held the bowl towards me. I collected it with trembling hands and looked into it.
It was blood!
I was terrified.
"Behold," I heard her say," The blood of the Quetet."
I looked at her, confused.
"Drink, boy, and be filled with the power of the impossible; speed, agility, strength, immortality, and hunger," she said.
"Drink it, Desmond," Mother, who knelt beside Solomon, ordered.
I grimaced and gulped the blood down my throat. I gave the bowl to Solomon, and he drank it too, same as Mother.
Susana picked up the dagger and raised it in the air, chanting once more. The wind returned, and torches began dancing again.
When she was done, she approached me and slammed the dagger into my chest. I felt the cold metal of the dagger pierce through my heart, and then she dragged the dagger out forcefully. I fell to the cold, stony floor, and everything went dark.
Annika Pleton moved to San Diego for a fresh start, but her new beginning takes a chaotic turn when she becomes the personal secretary to Ashton Maverick-a billionaire CEO with a reputation for charm, scandal, and getting what he wants. Ashton's relentless pursuit of her sparks a fiery battle of wits and wills, but Annika has no time for games. Especially not with her abusive ex-boyfriend back in town, determined to drag her into the nightmare she left behind. Caught between the seductive pull of her new boss, Ashton and the haunting shadows of her past, Annika must decide if she has the strength to fight for the life she's always dreamed of-or if the chaos surrounding her will tear it all apart. In a world of passion, danger, and high-stakes emotions, can Annika rise above it all, or will the weight of her secrets crush her?
Meghan Marcher escapes her stifling life when she discovers her father has orchestrated a wedding she can't bear. A one-night stand in Japan with the enigmatic Aaron Wilburn offers her a taste of freedom-but returning home brings a shocking twist: her younger sister Chloe is now engaged to the very man Meghan had just shared a passionate night with. With a secret baby on the line and emotions running wild, Meghan must navigate a tangled web of love and betrayal. Can she keep her past from crashing into her sister's future, or will the truth destroy everything she holds dear?
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
"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!
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."