
Introduction
Candlelight. Steam curling over marble baths. Her body trapped between silk sheets and a man who owns her life. Matteo Russo’s hands are ruthless, possessive—claiming, testing, reminding her who holds the power. Desire burns sharp and dangerous, turning hatred into something filthy and irresistible.
Lila Moreno was kidnapped to pay her father’s $3 million betrayal.
A Palermo nightclub dancer dragged into a forced marriage with Sicily’s most feared mafia don.
She swore she’d kill him.
By day, she plots. Steals secrets. Turns allies against each other. Seduces rivals just to watch them fall. By night, their war turns physical—control versus defiance, rage colliding with need. Every touch is a challenge. Every kiss tastes like violence and surrender all at once.
Then the explosions start.
Bombs ticking down. Enemies closing in. Bodies pressed together while death waits outside the door. Passion becomes reckless. Addictive. Impossible to stop.
The truth shatters everything—her father once saved Matteo’s life. A rival family plans his execution. And Lila is carrying his twins.
When Matteo falls into a coma, the captive takes the throne.
Lila orders bloodshed. Executes traitors. Rules the empire meant to destroy her.
She was taken as a debt.
She stayed for power.
And now, she owns both the man who broke her…
and the mafia that will burn for her.
Chapter 1
Lila POV
I woke up to pain in my wrists and a the smell of gun oil and sea salt. My own black lace scarf, the one I wore on stage at Club Nero, was stuffed between my teeth. It tasted like sweat and my cheap perfume.
I lay on my back on a big bed, silk sheets under me, cool and slippery. My arms were pulled up and tied to the headboard with red silk ropes. It was tight, not enough to cut skin, but enough to burn when I moved. My legs were free, but my dancer heels were gone, my fishnet stockings ripped at the knees. The short black bodysuit I danced in clung to me, sticky with dried sweat.
Moonlight peered through tall open windows as the white curtains moved in the wind. I could hear waves crashing from a distance. When I tugged at the ropes, I heard a slight crack in my shoulders but the knots didn’t move. Whoever tied them knew what they were doing. I tried to scream but only a muffled grunt came out.
The room was huge, decorated with marble floor, gold lamps on the walls, a fireplace, paintings of ships and storms. My blurry eyes searched the room, then I found two. One carved wooden door and a glass door leading to the balcony. Both were closed.
Then the footsteps came slowly from the hallway and the wooden door opened. A man walked in, tall and broad shouldered. His liked shirt hugged his muscles and was unbuttoned all the way to the waist, exposing his wild traditional tattoos, his hair messy like he had been in a fight. Then a thick scar cut straight through his chest.
He stopped at the foot of the bed, his eyes locked on mine.
“You’re awake,” he said. His voice low and rough, with a thick Sicilian thick. “Good. We have a wedding to plan.”
I shook my head fast and the scarf slipped a little so I spat it out and it fell wet on my chest.
“Who the hell are you?” My voice cracked. I hated that it did.
He smiled slowly. “Matteo Russo.”
The name hit me like a slap. Russo. The Russo cartel. He was always associated with drugs and bodies in the harbour. Everyone in Palermo whispered it.
I pulled at the ropes again. “Let me go.”
“No.” He stepped closer and sat on the edge of the bed.
He reached out, pressing his thumb on my neck, right on the pulse. “Your father stole Three million from me and he ran. You will have to repay the debt.” He smirked.
My Dad. Enzo Moreno. I hadn’t seen him in six months. Last time, he packed cash in our tiny apartment and kissed my forehead. “This will keep you safe, Lila.” Then he was gone.
I swallowed. “I don’t have your money.”
“True. But you have you.” His thumb slid to my bottom lip. Pulling it down slowly. “Your body, blood, name... all mine now.”
I bit his thumb so hard that his blood filled my mouth, but he didn’t move or blink. He just watched me, then laughed out loud. “Fight all you want, piccola fiamma. My little flame. You’ll wear my ring at dawn.”
He stood and walked to a table and poured red wine into a glass, his eyes never leaving me as he drank.
I twisted my wrists, the silk cutting deeper. “My sister. Sofia. If you touch her...”
“I won’t.” He set the glass down. “If you behave.”
He pulled out an old worn leather book from his back pocket and tossed it on the bed beside m, then I turned my head to see my dad’s handwriting. I saw numbers, dates, three million euros, Russo cartel and a red thumbprint at the bottom. Dad’s thumbprint. My stomach turned.
“He signed in blood,” Matteo said. “His word were his debt.”
I kicked at him and my foot hit the book, sending it to the floor, but he didn’t flinch.
“You try to run,” he said, “I find Sofia. You try to kill me, I kill your father. You scream, I gag you again. You behave…” He leaned over me. His face inches from mine, his breath warm with wine and smoke. “You live. Maybe you’ll even like it.”
I hated the heat that crawled up my neck when he came close. Hate, not want. I would never want him... or so I thought.
He straightened and walked to the balcony, looking out at the sea. The moonlight casting his shadow long across the floor.
I studied him for a few seconds. He has more scars on his hands and neck, maybe even his back, from knife, bullet burn... he wasn’t soft like the men who watched me dance. This one killed.
I pulled at the ropes again, quietly this time and my left wrist slipped a bit. The silk was smooth, maybe if I twisted...
He turned and caught me. “Don’t.” Just one final order.
He walked back and knelt beside the bed and his hand moved to my hip, finding the old scar there from a stage fall when I was nineteen.
His thumb traced it slowly like he owned it. “Every mark,” he growled. “Every curve. Mine.”
I jerked away, the headboard creaking. He smiled again. “Sleep. Dawn is soon.”
Then he walked away and I was alone again.
I lay still in the silence, listening to the waves, the wind and my heart beating hard against my ribs.
I thought of Sofia, she was just nineteen and innocent. If I ran, he’d find her and if I fought, Dad would die. I needed to play smart.
I twisted my wrist again slowly this time and the silk loosened just a little.
Suddenly, I heard gunshots. Pop. Pop. Pop. It came from away, down the cliff.
Matteo’s door flew open somewhere in the hall and boots on marched on the marble floor. Then I heard shouts in Italian. There were more gunshots, closer this time.
A window shattered downstairs, then everywhere went silent again. I pulled harder and the left rope slipped, freeing my hand.
I froze again and listened, then I heard footsteps running towards my room. The door swung open and Matteo stood there with a gun in hand and blood on his cheek. I knew it wasn’t his.
“Someone wants you dead,” he said. “Or me.”
He looked at my free hand, narrowing his eyes. “Looks like the wedding just got interesting.”
He stepped in, closed the door, locked it and then smiled.
Last Chapters
#45 Chapter 45 Forty five
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#44 Chapter 44 Forty four
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#43 Chapter 43 Forty Three
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#42 Chapter 42 Forty Two
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#41 Chapter 41 Forty One
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#40 Chapter 40 Forty
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#39 Chapter 39 Thirty Nine
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#38 Chapter 38 Thirty Eight
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#37 Chapter 37 Thirty Seven
Last Updated: 2/7/2026#36 Chapter 36 Thirty Six
Last Updated: 2/7/2026
You Might Like 😍
The Prison Project
Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?
Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.
Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.
Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...
At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…
Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?
Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?
What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…
A temperamental romance novel.
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Surrendering to Destiny
Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.
From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.
Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
The Human Among Wolves
My stomach twisted, but he wasn’t finished.
"You're just a pathetic little human," Zayn said, his words deliberate, each one hitting like a slap. "Spreading your legs for the first guy who bothers to notice you."
Heat rushed to my face, burning with humiliation. My chest ached — not from his words alone, but from the sick realization that I had trusted him. That I had let myself believe he was different.
I was so, so stupid.
——————————————————
When eigteen-year-old Aurora Wells moves to a sleepy town with her parents, the last thing she expects is to be enrolled in a secret academy for werewolves.
Moonbound Academy is no ordinary school. It's here young Lycans, Betas and Alphas train in shifting, elemental magic, and ancient pack laws. But Aurora? She's just...human. a mistake. The new receptionist forgot to check her species - and now she's surrounded by predators who sense she doesn't belong.
Determined to stay under the radar, Aurora plans to survive the year unnoticed. But when she catches the attention of Zayn, a brooding and infuriatingly powerful Lycan prince, her life gets a lot more complicated. Zayn already has a mate. He already has enemies. And he definitely doesn't want anything to do with a clueless human.
But secrets run deeper than bloodlines at Moonbound. as Aurora unravels the truth about the academy - and herself - she begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Including the reason she was brought here at all.
Enemies will rise. Loyalties will shift. And the girl with no place in their world...might be the key to saving it.
Invisible To Her Bully
Shattered Girl
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.
“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.
Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother
who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.
When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully
My back hit the desk. Pain exploded through my skull.
"Girls like you don't get to dream about guys like Kai." Bella's breath was hot on my face. "You don't get to write pathetic love letters."
She shoved me again. Harder.
"Maybe if you weren't such a desperate little—"
I fell. My head cracked against the corner.
Warmth trickled down my neck. Blood.
Their laughter turned to gasps.
The door slammed.
I tried to stand. Couldn't. The room was spinning, fading to black.
Someone... please...
Angelina, the most powerful Alpha who conquered forty-nine packs, dies in a yacht explosion—only to wake up as Aria Sterling, a fifteen-year-old Omega's daughter who just died from bullying.
The original Aria's life was a nightmare. Humiliated when golden boy Kai Matthews posted her love letter online, then shoved to death by his girlfriend Bella Morrison. But that's not all her family faces:
"You got until Monday," the tattooed gangster sneered at Aria's mother. "Ten grand cash. Or I'm taking collateral—your kids' organs fetch top dollar. That pretty daughter of yours? She could make us money another way too."
Now Angelina's lethal combat skills awaken in this fragile body. No more hiding. No more fear.
Armed with an Alpha's ruthlessness and a mysterious blood-red pendant, she'll dismantle everyone who hurt this family—one calculated move at a time.
Balance of Light and Shadow
Little did she know how much both worlds need her to bring peace and true freedom.












