small mercies dennis lehane

When Chloe came to Leighton High for the first time, in a small town, she didn't expect to come into a bully's radar. All her life, she had always stayed out of people's way, and was never really noticed. She had also always had to make an effort to make friends, but never enemies. Not that she didn't think she was way past getting one, but she didn't think it would be someone as Handsome as Zach was. The first time they met was a disaster, and she tried her best to stay away from him, the only problem was, he wasn't letting her, and soon, the hate he showed her, soon turned into something she had never experienced before. Would she be able to get rid of the unwanted feeling she was getting for him, or the unwanted attention he was showing her? Find out in the intriguing story.

The forest within the quiet village of Gashea is a dangerous place. Within the trees lies something dark, cursed, and wicked. For centuries, a demon with malevolent power terrorizes the villagers of the small valley home. He had brought droughts, disease, and famine. To ensure that he will keep his powers at bay, the village of Gashea offers a bride to the demon every night. And by dawn, without fail, they would see the corpse of the offered brides floating along their bright, shining river. With the next choosing fast approaching, the head villagers made a shocking decision. They had chosen Fyn. A man. When Fyn starts to slowly fall in love with the demon within the forest, secrets of the past unravel. The truth makes them wonder whether it’s the right monster Gashea fears.

"There's a problem with your theory," he murmurs, the touch of his fingers down my jawline, down my neck, a silent warning. I'm in the midst of a cold, calculated predator. "One side of me wants to preserve that precious innocence of yours, while the other, well, wants to absolutely destroy it." Not much is known about Alpha Ren. Simply that he lives in a small island in a big estate away from everyone. His secrets remain hidden within the shadows of his distance. He's untouchable. Homeless, Brielle stumbles upon a job at the docks. Whispers speak of better jobs upon Ren's island. And when his ship sails in, Brielle gets a chance, and takes it. Smuggling herself on, she finds herself as a servant within his endless estate, working to keep herself alive. However, as curiosity increases with the elusiveness of the Alpha, Brielle finds herself finding out Ren's terrible secret. Perhaps the Alpha everyone sees on the surface has another side to him. A side, so dangerous, there's only one person who can keep it at bay.

I heard a small "come in" from the other end. Grabbing the knob, I twist it before pushing the door open. My eyes widened as I saw the scene unfold in front of me. Xavier stood there in the room along with a woman whose brown hair ruffled all over the place. Her blood-red lipstick was smudged. She was dressed in a revealing top. Her breast almost spilling out of her dress and extra tight and small skirt as if she'd just come from some club, her arms crossed and her features amused. She looked strangely familiar for some reason, and it took me a while to identify her, but I did. She was the same woman I had bumped into on the market. My eyes swiftly turned to Xavier. He was dressed in a suit identical to the one Xavier wore with the top few buttons open. What caught my eyes the most was the lipstick stain on his neck identical to the one the woman had on. My heart slumped in deep dejection. It wasn't any science- rocket to know what had occurred here before my arrival.

As the hybrid orphan of the Blood Moon pack, Lisa's life had never been easy. She is mistreated by everyone, the only reason she wasn't killed off was because the Alpha of her pack pitied her. She thought life could never get worse, but boy was she wrong. Due to a small mistake, she is shipped to the most dangerous place in the werewolf world. A place where rogue and dangerous Alphas were detained. And guess what, she was the only female there

Gemma thought that she was like every other typical seventeen year old girl. Until she moved to the small town of Harbors Landing, and the beast within her was awoken.

Blair is the wild child of a successful IT developer and a perfectionist socialist mother. Everyone in their circle has their life designed for them except Blair, who even in college didn’t know what she wanted to be. A one night stand leaves her pregnant, and she finds out the father is not who he seems to be. It was supposed to be one night for Alpha Lucian, he didn’t even bother asking for her name but he couldn’t get her out of his mind and he plans on keeping her by his side, no matter what it takes. When he finds out she is having his child, it just makes his ploy easier. But he should know, what you see is not what you get when it comes to people. And maybe her small town of rich socialists have more to it than what meets the eye. They certainly have skeletons in their closets. Just how scary are they? EXCERPT: “This is your fucking fault!” I scream at the suited man standing in front of me. I would normally pride myself with being a level headed person. His little amused smile on the other hands makes me want to tear through his skin until there is nothing but bones. “I never wanted any of this. I don’t want you, get that through your thick skull.” He takes a step forward and all the other colorful words I planned to haul at him disappear from my brain. This, this is exactly why I can’t stand the man! He is insufferable and I hate that I want him so much. My body aches with the need whenever he is near. “Why don’t you repeat that? Directly to my face.”

I never wanted wealth, power, or the responsibility that goes with it. Making a difference by fighting fires was my dream. That and a pretty girl to love at night. But life didn’t ask me. After struggling through the business world, I finally have a chance to return home to chase my dreams. The girl next door, my best friend’s little sister, was there waiting. And she's all grown up. But she’s not too thrilled to see me back. But I’ll change that. I can’t help but fight for what I know we could be, no matter what it costs me. When I finally start to melt her heart, life calls me back to the city, back to the grind thanks to tragedy. It’s her or my future, and I have no choice in the matter. My father’s company is my only legacy, or is it? A little life is growing inside of her, and that changes the game. My self sacrifice doesn't seem so damn important anymore. I might have been forced into becoming a billion dollar man, but I’ll always be a small town guy at heart. And that pretty girl that stole my heart all those years ago? She's gonna be mine. Like she always has been.

"I'll build you thousands of empires and mansions, adore you with precious pieces of jewelry, you will be the only known queen of this ruthless man," Azrael Thorn Execroz whispered words that marked Andromeda's heart. His minty breath lingers in her senses, particularly in her nose. She wanted to be consumed by the fire of his heart, deep until they can no longer grasp for air. His shoulder shuddered in the darkness, while his body remains to cage the woman who captivated his iron heart. "Azrael..." she said softly with her heart beating erratically. "I...I don't desire your wealth nor your heart," she replied, slightly shivering. She was lying to the young man but mostly to herself. "Then what do you want?" he replied with his eyes beginning to shine as the tears warn to fall. He is breaking. "Let me leave," Andromeda spoke, each word like an arrow piercing through his heart. Sliding her right arm to his chest, she tiptoed momentarily to whisper what ended them. "Free me." And with that, the mighty and dignified Azrael Execroz felt his world crumble into small shards of glass. She tamed him. She was his escape. His solace. And now, she's gone.

He is a demon! He is ruthless! He is bloodthirsty! He sold his heart to the devil! These were the words you would hear when you asked who the rogue alpha was. Kane Miller was the formidable rogue alpha who had built his empire on the blood of his enemies. His pack was made of only the strongest of warriors, as he believed the weak shouldn’t survive, and all he aimed to do was conquer and destroy. He wasn’t a small name in the human world either, as he was one of the feared mafia that deals in the sales and distribution of ammunition. He had gotten a contract to raid one of the packs, killing and burning everything to the ground until he heard the cries of his mate. Kane was distraught to learn of his mate and couldn’t come to terms with it. He decided that sending her out of the country was the best decision. Seven years have passed, and Ariel was set to return to the place she had known as home, but that was only the beginning of her problem. She has lived all her life believing she was a human, but hell seemed to let loose when she found out the truth and that everything she had known about herself was a lie. Ariel’s return is marked by lies and untold pain that threaten to tear them apart. How much can she endure for love, or will she be able to love her father’s killer?