Ravenous Souls

Ravenous Souls

gabrielabatista.1996 · Ongoing · 30.3k Words

643
Hot
743
Views
193
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Coraline Hazelwood is a talented suspense author who has just become a partner in a bookstore, and for the first time, she feels confident that she will achieve the life she’s always dreamed of. However, she should have known better.

On the night of the highly anticipated opening, her plans are destroyed when she becomes the sole witness to a sadistic crime. Spiked to the shelves of her bookstore, Coraline discovers a corpse with its face carved into a grotesque smile.

As new victims are found and an unexpected connection between Coraline and the killer is uncovered, it becomes clear that she’s not just a witness, but a key figure in the investigation. Her once quiet life transforms into a horror story, and Coraline is forced to assist the police in the hunt for the criminal. However, as she becomes more involved in the case, she begins to be stalked and watched by the man she is trying to capture, threatening not only the resolution of the case but also her very life. In this scenario, understanding how their lives are intertwined becomes crucial.

While trying to uncover the killer’s motivations, Coraline realizes that she is caught in a complex web of violence and attraction, slowly forming a dangerous connection with the one man she should never become involved with – her stalker. At a crossroads between duty and desire, she must unravel the mysteries surrounding her pursuer and stop the cycle of deaths, all while fighting not to succumb to the dark longing for what is most terrifying in him and, worse, within herself.

Chapter 1

POV Coraline

"You know how it works, darling. Make a move."

Darling.

Darling had nothing to do with us.

What we had was hunger.

Hot tears streamed down my cold skin, which curled and agonized under the weight of his gaze, that hungry, disturbed, and uncontrollable look. Although his voice sounded controlled, his eyes and soul leaked excess. I couldn’t see myself, but I knew my body was leaking the same disorder that possessed him, albeit for different reasons: he felt pleasure; I felt fear.

"I don’t want to play."

He smiled at me, but didn’t answer immediately.

His silence heightened my discomfort, forcing me to look away. The problem was, what surrounded us was almost as violating, as visceral, as the darkness in his black eyes.

"If you don’t make a move, I’ll understand it as you giving up your turn to me. Do you understand what’s going to happen if I win?"

I looked at the chessboard. I didn’t want to play, really didn’t want to, but my options were limited. Reluctantly, I examined each of my pieces and thought about what to do. He was great at chess, which meant that if I wasn’t careful, his next moves could destroy me.

Destroy us all.

I bit my lip harder than I should have. I moved the next piece, knowing that any mistake could be fatal.

"Very well."

I received another smile.

In silence, we conducted the game for what seemed like hours. Each of his moves increased my discomfort and fed my paranoia. I couldn’t stop analyzing his plays, trying to understand his possible strategies and traps. My pieces seemed to be well-protected, safe, and well-positioned. I became so focused that, for a while, I forgot where we were and what was happening around us – it was just the two of us at that table, each trying to beat the other, just like the old days. As the game progressed, I managed to capture most of his pieces and gained a numerical advantage.

He was a good player, but so was I.

"That’s the magic of chess," he said before his next move. "You can be an excellent player, but skill alone isn’t enough. You need to predict the other player’s behavior, foresee their actions, act before they can see what you’ll do next."

I furrowed my brow, inspecting each piece once again. He made his move, moving the queen, but I still didn’t understand what he was trying to do with that. Searching for flaws, I tried to anticipate his next move, but I couldn’t foresee any risks for me. The game was practically won.

"Your turn," he reminded me.

He left his bishop unprotected. Smiling, I took his piece, leaving him with only the king and the queen. I still had two rooks, four pawns, a knight, a bishop, my king, and my queen. Ten pieces against two.

I shook my head and looked at him.

"I think the odds are against you."

"You’re a good player, Coraline," he complimented. "My turn."

He moved his queen, putting my king in check. I moved my king to H2, gaining the possibility of checkmate on the black king, which was on H8. He attacked again with his queen, putting me in check once more. Annoyed, I searched for another piece to move, but with the way the board was destroyed, we’d just keep going in endless loops. For the third time, I moved my king to another position.

When I saw what was about to happen, I hesitated.

He put my piece in check again.

"I want to start over," I asked.

He refused, standing up.

"We already have a result."

"No."

I denied more vehemently, but he just stood there, ignoring the humanity in me. Around us, in the vaulted room lit by the dim yellow light, a corpse stained the floor with scarlet while four people watched in absolute horror. Each of them represented part of a result I refused to accept, a condemnation, a sentence.

He had played with me in the dirtiest way, and I, in my eagerness to win, hadn’t realized. His intention was never to win but to distract me enough to do something else – something much, much worse. This was the outcome of a game that began months earlier in that dark room full of books and amidst an unspeakable tragedy. There was no redemption for him, and now, there was no salvation for me. It wasn’t checkmate; it was worse. When I looked at him, I knew I had lost the twisted, piled remnants of my soul, because, even though the game had come to its final end, the game seemed far from over.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

The Biker's Fate

The Biker's Fate

867.3k Views · Completed · Piper Davenport
"You are absolutely my fucking woman, Dani. Got me?"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

623.1k Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

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!
His Mission

His Mission

351.8k Views · Completed · Sakz Hussain
Meet Emily Wentworth. Since the death of her father, she's been living a home life full of abuse. It's remained a secret for years until she meets the town's bad boy, Jake Melvin. It doesn't take long for him to figure out her secret.

Emily is suddenly thrown from one world of danger and uncertainty into another. The two teens ride the rollercoaster of love, unbelievable betrayal and heartache.
Accardi

Accardi

178.8k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
Mated by Contract to the Alpha

Mated by Contract to the Alpha

243.7k Views · Completed · CalebWhite
My perfect life shattered in a single heartbeat.
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

169k Views · Completed · Jessica C. Dolan
Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.
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.
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

415.5k Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

215.7k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
On the day Evelyn thought Liam would propose, he shocked her by getting down on one knee—for her stepsister, Samantha. As if that betrayal wasn’t enough, Evelyn learned the cruel truth: her parents had already decided to sell one daughter’s future to a dangerous man: the infamous War God Alpha Alexander, who was rumored to be scarred and crippled after a recent accident. And the bride could’t be their precious daughter Samantha. However, when the "ugly and crippled" Alpha revealed his true self—an impossibly handsome billionaire with no trace of injury—Samantha had a change of heart. She was ready to dump Liam and take Evelyn's place as the family daughter who should marry Alexander.
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
THE ALPHA'S NANNY.

THE ALPHA'S NANNY.

205.3k Views · Ongoing · Fireheart.
‘She’s my daughter’s nanny. And my mate.’

Lori Wyatt, a shy, broken twenty two year old with a dark past is given the deal of a lifetime when she is asked to be the nanny of a newborn who lost her mother at childbirth. Lori accepts, eager to get away from her past.

Gabriel Caine is the Alpha of the revered Moon fang pack and the CEO of Caine Inc. A drunken one night stand leads to the birth of his daughter and he finds her a nanny following the death of her mother. When he meets Lori, he finds out that she is his mate and vows to protect her from his enemies.

The two of them cannot stop the instant attraction between them. Lori, who believes she is unworthy of love, cannot explain why the powerful billionaire is after her and Gabriel who is totally smitten with her is unsure of how to be totally honest with Lori about him being a werewolf.

Fate has brought them together and now together they must fight for their love, amidst the conflicts between packs and secrets that Lori’s past holds.

Will their love survive?
A pack of their own

A pack of their own

1.1m Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.
Goddess Of The Underworld.

Goddess Of The Underworld.

270.8k Views · Ongoing · sheridan.hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her. Then finally into lycan princess, stronger, faster, the moon finally answering back, giving her exactly what she needs to protect her family.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armor, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of a border pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to stay; of cake, iron, and daylight negotiations. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

602.3k Views · Completed · Veejay
"No... You can't do this to me..." I almost squeezed the words through my teeth, my voice trembling.
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."