Smoke And Steel

Cesare Xandri, the rising gangster of the Nalitan mafia, unexpectedly lost a bet at an elite private casino in Ithel, the kind that smells like cigar smoke and blood money. The penalty was simple, he had to call his hard-to-tame pet. The phone was on speaker. The men circled him, whistling and hooting, waiting to be entertained. He asked what I was up to in a relaxed and amused tone. I replied softly, insinuating he was sinful, hiding my defiance behind innocence and fake devotion. When I finished my insult, the room fell silent, then burst into loud and uncontrollable laughter. The call ended. Less than thirty minutes later, the mansion gates were smashed open. He stormed in smelling of gunpowder, a Beretta still in his hand. He pushed me against the wall furiously beneath the Virgin Mary statue. I leaned into him without hesitation, fingers brushing the heated gun, and I met his gaze without fear. I chose virtue and rejected him in my past life, in return I was thrown into the open sea to die. I intended to be his temptation when I got a second chance at life, I wanted to be a beautiful sin that ends his story under the Cecilian sun.

The news that Angelo Rizzo was becoming the new Don of Brucklin District had spread throughout the entire family. Everyone knew except me, Lila Bennett, his fiancee. He had always thought I was childish, like an irritating tail he couldn't shake off, sticking to him wherever he went. "I've only managed to bag Brucklin District all thanks to Cyrus." The study door was ajar as the scent of cigar smoke drifted out along with his voice. "Lila? Why bring her up? She's annoying. Like a piece of gum stuck to your hair." I crouched on the hallway carpet, lost in thought. Before, it was always Angelo leaving first and me realizing it too late. This time, I wanted to surprise him by going to Brucklin ahead of him. When he saw me there first, he'd realize that I was smart. But the next day, at the bus station, when the driver asked where I was going, I mixed Brucklin and Mannattan up. The driver grew impatient. Afraid he'd call me an idiot like Angelo would, I hurriedly shove the money at him. "To Mannattan! I'm going to Mannattan District!"

A forgotten bite. A fake bond. A power no wolf was meant to command. Twelve years ago, Kira watched her home burn under a blood moon. Smoke in her lungs. A mother’s scarf in her hand. And a golden-eyed boy who bit her—not to mark her, but to silence her. He told her to stay quiet. To wait. Then he left. Now, Kira is back. Not to forgive. Not to forget. But to survive. To infiltrate the pack that destroyed her people. To find the boy who abandoned her and burn his world from the inside. But things have changed. That boy is now Alpha Ronan Vale—cold, ruthless, untouchable. When Kira is captured during the sacred Pack Trial, the Council calls for her execution. Ronan claims her instead, announcing a trial mating bond that isn’t real. At least… it’s not supposed to be. As secrets unravel and an ancient power stirs in her blood, Kira discovers she’s not just an omega. She’s something the world thought extinct—a Royal Omega, born to command alphas and destroy empires. And the fake bond? It starts to feel terrifyingly real. But the past has claws. The Council has plans. And someone is still hunting her—someone who once paid a killer to make sure she never lived long enough to be chosen. The bond was a lie. Until it wasn’t.

"Why did you buy me? Someone like me can't possibly be your mate." He chuckled low, exhaling the toxic smoke from his cigarette. "Darling, I'm not looking for a mate. I am looking for a slave." ---- After the tragic massacre of her pack, eighteen-year-old Alora Augustus was forced to enter an auction block, bruised and beaten. With her hopes washed down the drain, she decided she wouldn't go down without a fight. Mysteriously, she found herself bought by Alpha Conrad, the feared leader of the Ironfang pack, and a man whose heart is said to be as cold as ice. Even so, rumor has it that he has the charm to make every woman he beds to fall for him. If he thinks that she'd become one of his collections, then he's dead wrong. But little did she know, Conrad did not choose her randomly. He has secrets connected to the murder of her family. He thought she'd be a submissive and obedient slave. He didn't expect to see the fire in her eyes and the stubborn courage she carries with her like a crown despite being ripped off of dignity. In a world where power is everything, Alora struggles to survive while playing the dangerous game of love and trust. Is falling for her heartless captor be the end for her?

I was performing the hundredth "restoration" surgery on my mafia husband's latest mistress when I finally decided to leave him. For five years, I, Isabella Rossi, have lived a double life: the respected wife of a powerful Don, and the personal physician tasked with "purifying" the women he discards. Vincent's twisted religious conviction is his law: only a wife untouched by any other man can bear his legitimate heir. I was that pure wife, yet he treated me as his most unclean possession. My love for him died a slow death. A thousand empty nights. It was killed by the cold steel of my own operating table. By the sounds of other women boasting about his touch. The five-year prenuptial agreement that bound me to this hell was set to expire at midnight. I had already called my grandfather, the only man Vincent truly fears. My escape was hours away. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late.

She watched as he settled on the black couch while she stood a few meters away from him, with her luggage right beside her.  Her gaze lowered to the floor as her eyes met with his stiffened, icy face which wore a demeaning look that sent shrills all over her body.  Her heart palpitated with fear as she became overwhelmed by the thoughts of being strangled tonight by her newly wedded husband who was sitting right in front of her.   She had heard him rumored to be ruthless, arrogant and hostile just like his father.   After the collapse of his marriage with a billionaire's daughter whom he had tried to murder, he became feared by many, and every lady would see it as a death sentence to be married to him.  But here she was, the daughter of a peasant farmer, married to the ruthless Billionaire's son. How did she get here?  Her name is Alex, and this is her story with ADRIAN STEEL, SON OF THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE

Kaya built the perfect quarterback to break her ex. She never expected him to steal her heart… again. After sacrificing everything to help her arrogant ex-husband Tom rise as captain of the nation’s biggest football team, Kaya is left humiliated and betrayed by her husband But Kaya isn’t just anyone. She is the hidden heiress of the very team Tom plays for and a Tech genius undermined by everyone, only known for her precise physics and game play. Determined to destroy him where it hurts most, Kaya uses her family’s cutting-edge tech to build Tom 2.0 a flawlessly handsome AI quarterback robot programmed to dominate the field… and drive Tom mad with jealousy. But when Tom 2.0 starts acting strangely, showing tenderness, jealousy, and even calling her by a name only one boy ever knew, Kaya’s world unravels. Because inside the steel and circuits is there a heart that beats? As secrets crack open and passions ignite, Kaya faces an impossible choice: Will she finish her revenge? Or risk everything to love what she thinks is a robot?

Xavier Blackwood is the man every girl at my college dreams about at night, myself included, but I'd never let anyone know that. Standing at 6'8 with steel grey eyes, he's a walking dream, but he's also a world-renowned jerk. Who would have thought that one night, after dragging myself home after doing double shifts at the diner, I'd be jumped by three men...only to have Xavier come to my rescue. Oh yes, Xavier bloody Blackwood saved my life...but the thing I saw, the CREATURE that ripped those men to shreds wasn't the Xavier everyone knows. He wasn't human... He was a wolf, a demon, a creature from myths, and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen until he attacked me too and knocked me out. Humans that learn about the existence of werewolves have to die. ...There are NO exceptions. The Werewolf Xavier saved me, but now I am condemned to death To make things worse, both Xavier and Axel claim I am their mate ...this can't be good.

During a mission overseas, I shielded my younger brother from an explosion—only to wake up months later, my body broken, my mind trapped in the void of a coma. Grateful for my sacrifice, he repaid me by marrying my wife. When I finally clawed my way back to consciousness and rushed home, I found my son kneeling on the ground, sobbing as his college acceptance letter lay shredded in his fists. My nephew loomed over him, slamming a steel pipe into his back. "Lick my shoes clean," he sneered. "Who are you to think you deserve an education?" And there was my wife clapping in delight, dabbing the sweat from my nephew’s brow like a doting servant. "You’re just like your deadbeat father," My wife spat. "Born to be my stepping stone." My eyes bloodshot, I tightened my fists. Every last one of them would pay for this dearly.

I wake up to find the entire room shrouded in thick smoke and flames. I grab my phone and call my boyfriend, a fire captain I've been dating for five years. The phone rings seven whole times before he finally picks up. His sharp, irate voice comes through before I can get a word out. "Bella! How many times have I told you not to make false fire reports out of jealousy! You're a Warrior. Don't you feel ashamed of yourself for constantly picking fights with an Omega like Laura?" Suddenly, I hear Laura Knapp's sweet, pitiful voice on the line. "Thank you, Daniel. I'm safe because of you." As the flames spread, I have no option but to dial the emergency hotline. But the dispatcher tells me, "Sorry, ma'am, but all firefighters in your area are currently tied up. The earliest we can send help is in 30 minutes. Please hold on." I hang up with a bitter smile and see the news of a fire captain rescuing an injured pregnant woman. The flames close in around me, and just before death takes me, I send Daniel Ingram one last text. "Farewell. I wish you a happy life together."