the witching hour anne rice

“What can you pay in return for my protection, Ms Ferrari?” His deep velvety voice greeted my ears. “Anything!” I breathed out without weighing my options. Because I was more than desperate at that moment. He stood up and stepped near me before caressing my cheek with an unrecognizable glint in his eyes. “Then be my bride, Bella.” And just like that I sealed my destiny in his tainted hands. It was my first mistake. Second was, to fall in love with him, madly and irrevocably without knowing his hidden lethal identity. ……. Aaron Salvatore Knight! He emanates power, affluence, confidence, and the luggage of forbidden deeds. His eminence stirs the souls of the city with his domination, elusive games and title of ruthless Heir of the Knight family. Eligible billionaire? Not only that. He is the next boss in line of 'Cosa Nostra', one of the crime families in New York. He is known by the name of "Velenoso" in the underworld because whoever meddles with him or becomes a barrier in his way, has tasted his poisonous side. But Even The Devil is bound to some Traditions. To get the title of ‘Capo dei capi’ He needed to follow the tradition of marrying the Italian breed so He began his search for his prey. But what happens when some ordinary religious girl, a believer of Mother Mary's teachings, strikes his life unexpectedly with her not-so-called appearance and shakes his identity among the people? Would He be able to get her into his twisted life or would she try to escape his entanglement of games? Would she serve him the purpose of finding something He wants? The Italian Bride! Well, dive into this dark journey of these two different burning spirits where The Devil meets his innocent Angel!

Amy didn't expect that her husband whom she had loved and trusted earnestly for many years would be cheating on her by having sex with his secretary. When she confronted him, he and his secretary mocked and ridiculed her, they called her barren to her face, afterall, she had not conceived for the past three years that she had been married to her husband, Callan. Terribly Heartbroken, she filed for divorce and left to the club, she picked a random gigolo, had a hot one night stand with him, paid him and dissapeared to a small city. She came back to the country six years later with three identical cute boys and three identical cute girls of the same age. She settled and got a job but soon find out that her CEO was the gigolo she had sex with six years back at the club. Will she be able to hide her six little cuties from her CEO, who happens to be the most powerful man in NorthHill and beleived to be infertile? Can Amy and the most powerful man in NorthHill get along considering the social gap between them?

BOOK TWO of COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE: When the line between allies and enemies blurs, a king and queen must trust each other—even when trust seems lost. A rogue pack seems to possess almost impossible knowledge to evade capture as King Alexandar and Queen Lucianne learn a difficult truth - the leader of the rogue pack is bonded to one of their allies. To make matters more difficult, something is stirring in the vampire community. Rumors, reports, whispers of kidnappings and invasions. With threats pushing in from every angle the king and queen must fight to protect their kingdom, their allies, their friends, and even one another. As bonds are forged and broken, the royal pair must face a sinister thought—perhaps the threat looms within their circle. And as their love and trust for another are put to the test, they must remember that dark forces are no match for their bond. But how can anyone fight an unseen threat with the ability to bring the kingdom to its knees? When all seems lost, even a pinprick of light can ignite the fires of hope… *** BOOK ONE: The 5-time Rejected Gamma & the Lycan King BOOK THREE: The Indomitable Huntress & the Hardened Duke

A ruthless alpha. A gifted omega. A burning passion. For taking her mother’s life during childbirth, Sihana is condemned to be hated all her life. Desperate to be loved, she works hard to please her pack and prove her worth but her pack only uses her as a servant. After years of working as a pseudo-slave to people who hate her, Sia decides to leave her pack. The bitter experience of being mated to her bully who promptly rejects her puts her off mating but the goddess gives her a second chance mate in the person of Alpha Cahir Armani. The Alpha of the strongest pack in the world, Cahir Armani has a reputation for being bloodthirsty, cold and cruel. Cahir is ruthless, a man who kills without remorse, laughs without humour and takes without asking. What no one knows is that underneath his bloody armour is a scarred man. Cahir has no place for a mate in his life but the goddess throws Sihana his way. Although he sees no use for a mate, he can’t resist the pull of the mate bond any more than he can resist Sia’s seductive curves. Sihana needs love. Cahir does not know how to love. Kissed by the goddess and gifted healing abilities, she becomes a treasure her ex-mate and his pack refuse to let go of but who can stop a man like Cahir from claiming his mate? Can Cahir learn to love and can Sia heal his wounds? Will a relationship between two broken people work or are they better off without each other?

Deborah was abused all her life. During her childhood, she was mistreated by her stepmother and stepsiblings, causing her to lose her ability to speak due to the trauma. As an adult, she thought things would change when she married the man she loved, Roger Peterson, but he hated her with a passion and considered her a nuisance for being mute. Roger was always distant and never cared about the pain he caused her. Instead, his attention fell entirely on his childhood sweetheart, spoiling her and making her his mistress. Afraid of being alone, Deborah endured her marriage to Roger for three years, thinking that if she loved and understood him, he would notice her worth and leave his mistress. But she soon realized that would never happen and had reached her limit. Deborah wanted a divorce to seek her own happiness. Even if Roger refused to out of pride, she wouldn't give up because she had found a reason to fight for her right to live a happy life.

Her marriage has been unsuccessful since that day she got married to him. One sided love, and his unknown hatred towards her. "I'd rather sleep in the guest room than with you". His threatening voice echoed inside the room before he left. She finally understood the reality, married to him for a whole five years, only to discover now that he only used her to claim his inheritance. She was so heartbroken when she caught her own husband and his Mistress on a date that he has never taken her to, not even once. Anyways, who was she to call her his Mistress?. She should have understood that the Lady was his only Love of his Life, on the other hand, she was just an urgent second choice because his family didn't support his marriage with a lowly class. But now he actually became the Boss that he was, he didn't care about any bullshit from his family. "I guess, I won't regret what I'm about to do, I'm tired". Night falls, her drunken Handsome Husband she had admired all those years was finally at her own mercy. "There's no backing down this time around!. I won't always be treated like some pushover!". When the morning time arrived, a document "DIVORCE AGREEMENT" could be seen at the top of the bed. "Where is she?!". "E…. Em…. Your wife already left Boss".

Her father was killed by her own people in front of her eyes and she was accused of betraying.Banished from her own pack by the very man she loved, at the mere age of 17. Eirene Water's was left to die in the rogue lands. 10 years later ,a choas rises in the werewolf world in the name of Viper. The man in the mask, who was the most wanted criminal. What happens when the werewolf King is hell bound to find this person and kill him? What happens when he almost gets hold of him , to only loose him and instead find. The very girl he banished 10 years ago in his lands, unconscious. And on verge of death? Will he take her in? Will he able to hate her despite knowing they are mate's now? Will she just be a girl his wolf needs for his nightly urges or their could be a missing spark, waiting to be lighted between them. Was she already dead from the inside or could she learn to love again? She was the girl who died. Yet the girl who rose and survived. She was Eirene Water's, the girl he banished. Aka Viper

Sebelum mereka menikah sang Pria berkata, “Pernikahan ini hanyalah sebuah perjanjian kerjasama di atas kertas. Di kehidupan nyata, masing-masing kita tidak ada urusan apapun." Setelah menikah, setiap kali Susan mengalami masalah, Sang CEO manja akan membantunya. Ketika Susan dibuli. ia akan melindunginya. Susan mematuhi perjanjian dan menyembunyikan status pernikahan mereka, tetapi malah sang CEO yang mengumumkan kepada dunia bahwa ia adalah istrinya.Suatu saat sang CEO diam-diam datang ke tempat tidurnya. Susan merasa terganggu “Apa sebenarnya maumu?” Dengan muka polos ia memelas “Tolong peluk aku, cium aku. Tolong…” Menghadapi CEO yang membingungkan ini, Susan hanya bisa mengaku kalah. Beberapa tahun kemudian, akhirnya dia sadar bahwa sebenarnya sang CEO sudah menyukainya dari sejak lama.

Stella Sullivan is your normal seventeen-nearly eighteen-year-old girl. She likes shopping, taking selfies on her phone and hanging out with her friends until she had to move as her mother has just died and her father couldn't cope. He got into a lot of debt with his boss, and the only payment his boss would take was his daughter. So, as a cover for selling her, her father told her he got a promotion and that they had to move to a quiet country town as part of that promotion. What Stella didn't know was that she was about to be introduced to a new kind of not only living but an entirely different species. Axel Echethier has just turned five hundred years old. He is cruel, ruthless, violent, strict, savage, brutal, and a lot would call him bloodthirsty and barbaric, but that is only to others outside his pack because outsiders cause trouble and then pack members get killed. He is the King of Alphas and nothing gets done with a soft hand. Axel learnt that the hard way when he lost his chosen Queen. He has given up on finding his true mate, but this doesn't faze him as a true mate would just be a distraction and a weakness he doesn't want... **** WARNING **** The first part of this story contains mature scenes, implied rape, and some violence. In the extension "SOLD TO THE ENEMY ALPHA KING" Please read at your own discretion, as this part contains some violence, including physical, mental, and sexual abuse, including some rape, which may trigger some readers. Again, please read at your own discretion.

[MATURE CONTENT] Not suitable for young audience. R-18 Lumaking sunod sa luho si Adrianne Cueva. Lahat ng gusto niya ay nakukuha niya. Pero paano kung malaman niya na ang lahat ng tinatamasa niya pala ay hindi naman pala sa kaniya at sa mga magulang niya? Kundi sa isang taong hindi niya pa nakikilala. At sa pagtungtong niya ng labing-walong taon ay isang rebelasyon ang nagpaguho ng mundo niya. She was sold to be a billionare's wife. Siya ay bayad ng utang ng kaniyang mga magulang. Pero paano siya ngayon dahil tila wala itong balak na gawin siyang asawa, instead she will be a SLAVE, but not only an ordinary slave but His SEX SLAVE.