Dark – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Dark – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Dark – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 Aquarius (The Zodiac Queen #11) Read Online Gemma James http://www.wownovels.com/aquarius-the-zodiac-queen-11-read-online-gemma-james Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:32 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/aquarius-the-zodiac-queen-11-read-online-gemma-james Genre: Alpha Male, Dark Authors: Gemma James Series: The Zodiac Queen Series by Gemma James
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Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)

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Twelve men. A virgin queen. One arranged marriage.

Hugo Alexander.
Philanthropist.
Protector of children no one else will save.

A man not interested in my body, only my talent.
He offers a partnership, not a price…
A gown for his foundation’s charity auction.

By day, Hugo and I form a genuine friendship. By night, screams tear through his walls, and I learn the gentlest man in this tower is the most haunted of them all.

But his ghosts aren’t the only ones in this house.

I’ve got secrets, too.
Ones I can’t reveal to a single soul.

Because the love of my life isn’t dead.
He’s gone underground, on the hunt for answers.
And one slip from me could put him back in danger.

A night was all it took.
An unexpected reunion.
One unbreakable rule broken.

Now I’m protecting the most miraculous secret of all.
And the stakes have never been so high.

Part 11 of The Zodiac Queen. Intended for mature readers who enjoy dark and explicit themes. Reader discretion is advised

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

January 13th

My name echoes through the dark, colliding with the rush in my ears. Dizziness sends my head into a tailspin, and I stumble back until the door braces me, holding me upright as my eyes reject what’s in front of me.

Because my mind is splitting down the middle—one half still drowning in weeks of crushing grief while the other processes the miracle of his presence.

That hoarse whisper shapes my name again, and I know it’s him.

The ghost of Sebastian Stone.

Moving toward me in the darkness.

Flesh and blood.

Alive.

Just as my knees buckle, a small squeak escapes my throat.

“I’ve got you,” he says, catching me before I hit the floor.

His arms lock around me as the world tilts, and the steady thump-thump of his heart drags me back, beat by beat. I can’t get a single word out to question the how or why. None of it matters.

Because Sebastian is alive.

That word loops in my mind as my eyes adjust to the unlit room, bringing his face into focus. Inky black hair falls in disarray, no trace of the blond I used to run my fingers through. Suddenly, the masked man I glimpsed at the ball comes back to me.

So familiar in stature, yet so out of place with that hair color.

“I thought I saw you…that was really you downstairs?”

“It was me.”

“How?”

“It’s a long story.” He buries his face in the crook of my neck, and we hold each other while the unbelievable trembles through us both. I have no idea how long we stand together, fused as one. I only know that everything feels right in my world.

Eventually, he pulls back and cradles my cheeks, thumbs wiping away drops of fragile hope, and we stare at each other.

Soundless and unmoving.

The kind of quiet that hums with life and reunion, bearing witness to souls bound, lost, and found again. I could live forever like this, wrapped in his arms without the clutter of words.

But even forever has a time limit.

An electronic chime slices through our sanctuary, followed by a sharp click as the mechanical lock disengages.

Sebastian’s blue eyes flash.

Someone is seconds away from entering my suite.

With the grace of a lion, he pulls me deeper into the room before slipping into the wardrobe alone.

I don’t have time to gather my wits. Light from the hall spills across the floor, outlining the familiar silhouette of Oliver. He steps inside, and the door shuts behind him as he flicks on a lamp. I blink against the sudden brightness, my gaze locking on the man who reshaped the ruins of my life these past few weeks.

Now I wish I could take back every treacherous second.

“You’ve been crying,” he says, reaching me in three long strides. His warm brown eyes track the wet streaks on my cheeks, the uneven rise of my chest, the way my arms hang limp at my sides. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I…” My heartbeat fumbles as I try to think of a believable lie. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.” He lays a hand on my shoulder, as if to steady me. As if I might collapse. “You’re shaking. Are you upset about the circle?” His frown deepens. “Did I hurt you?”

I shake my head, eyes downcast, but he won’t let me avoid him.

With a coaxing finger, he lifts my chin. “Then what happened since I saw you downstairs?”

What happened is standing ten feet away, hiding in the wardrobe.

“Nothing happened.” I pull in a breath, preparing to skirt the edge of honesty. “It’s the elixir. I think it’s still affecting me.”

“That’s not surprising. Dr. Morgan designed it to last for hours.” He reaches into the pocket of his dress slacks and withdraws a vial. “That’s why I brought the antidote, as promised.”

The small glass tube catches the lamplight, and something inside me recoils. An hour ago, I would have taken it without hesitation. Now it’s akin to betrayal.

For a heartbeat, neither of us moves. Words of objection, or at the very least, resistance, almost tumble from my mouth. But then he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and my thoughts scatter.

“Open,” he says, stepping closer and lifting the vial to my lips.

God help me, I follow his command.

The antidote hits my tongue, tasting of the power Oliver has over me. For several suspended moments, I hover somewhere outside myself, watching my body obey what my heart refuses to surrender.

His fingers glide down my collarbone to the top of my bodice. Then he dips lower, tracing lazy circles around my nipple, his thumb dragging the silk across the hardened peak. That single touch unravels me faster than it should. Before I can stop it, a shameful whimper slips out.

“There she is,” he says, voice low with satisfaction. “You have a tell, sweetheart. You flush when your pussy needs attention.” His mouth hovers at my ear. “I want the taste of you on my tongue.”

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Boys Who Crave Read Online Clarissa Wild http://www.wownovels.com/boys-who-crave-read-online-clarissa-wild Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:20 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/boys-who-crave-read-online-clarissa-wild Genre: Alpha Male, College, Dark, Mafia, Virgin Authors: Clarissa Wild Advertisement

Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 160041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >160

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…

The day I was found in the woods covered in blood, I decided the world would know my wrath.
I was betrayed by the people I trusted the most, so I crafted a plan. During the daylight I attend college, but at night, I have my vengeance.
Spine Ridge University is my playground, and I can make any student bend to my will with the snap of a finger to get my way.
Until two depraved boys of the Tartarus House, a secret society filled with debauchery, discover the trail of bodies I left behind … and decide they’re going to help me.
I don’t play by the rules, but my twisted games only make Xavier and Orion that much more possessive of me. They yearn so badly it haunts me, and their filthy proposition soon becomes irresistible.
We’re a perfect macabre match and a killer’s dream come true.
But time is ticking…
Because Atreus, an obsessive cop, is hunting me down. His righteousness is just the right amount of unhinged for my kind of crazy, and we can’t stay away from each other.
A thrilling game of cat and mouse was just what I needed to stay on my toes …
Let the carnage begin

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PLAYLIST

You can listen to the music used for writing this book on the Youtube Playlist.

“Sonne” by Rammstein (Slowed) – best part

“Who Is She” by I Monster (Slowed & Reverb)

“Angry Too” by Lola Blanc

“Here Come the Wolves” by Lola Blanc

“La Leçon Particulière” by Francis Lai & Christian Gaubert (Slowed & Reverb)

“The Summoning Ending” by Sleep Token

“Dangerous” by Sleep Token

“Chokehold” by Sleep Token

“Particles” by Viliam Lane (Slowed & Reverb)

“Haunted” by Beyoncé (Slowed & Reverb)

“Peggy” by Ceechynaa

“Novinho Depressivo” by Mc Lullu (Leo Motoko Remix)

“Looking For the Hoes (Ain’t My Fault)” by Sexyy Red

“M.I.A” by KATSEYE

“Only God” by Speciimen

“Siren” by Eiby (Slowed & Reverb)

“The Machine” by Reed Wonder & Aurora Olivas (Slowed & Reverb)

“Human” by Anavae

“Love You to Death” by Type O Negative

“So Far So Fake” by Pierce the Veil (Bridge only)

“the boy is mine” by Ariane Grande

“Bootleg_Mov” by Dark Triad x Jordan Barrett (Slowed Best Part)

“Stacks From All Sides” by Skai Is Your God (instrumental)

“Government Hooker” by Lady Gaga - D00nik Remix (Slowed)

“50 BMG” by Jake Hill

“Sudno” by Molchat Doma (slowed & reverb)

“pretty little lies” by Kiraw

“Apathetic” by Lxzt

“Maneater” by Nelly Furtado (sped up)

“Happy Go Sucky Fucky” by Die Antwoord

“Treat Me Like A Slut” by Kim Petras (Slowed & Reverb)

“Drüg” by Lucky Luke (Slowed & Reverb)

“TRRST” by IC3PEAK

“fragment” by slxughter (slowed)

“Rasputin” by Boney M.

PROLOGUE

Three headstrong, vicious men stand before me, their obedient eyes locked onto mine. I broke them and reshaped them according to my needs, and they gleefully obliged to my every dark whim. These boys would kill for me if I asked them to.

“Kneel for me,” I growl.

With a single index finger, I manage to bring all three devilish boys to my heel.

It’s such a high to watch such reluctant boys bend to my will after I’ve killed off their resistance. My murder sprees are what brought us together, and their devotion to me keeps them tethered to this earth.

But God … our collective vengeance was delicious.

Xavier, the neediest of them all, slips off my boot and kisses my leg, while Orion begs for my attention at my side.

Atreus, the greediest of the three, grabs my face and says, “We’re yours.”

I never could’ve imagined in my wildest dreams I’d have not one, but three of these wicked men at my beck and call, ready to serve.

A devilish smirk spreads across my lips. “How badly do you crave me?”

“More than anything,” Xavier says, kissing my thigh.

“I would die for your attention,” Orion says, kissing the top of my hand.

“I rearranged my soul to come close to yours,” Atreus says, bringing his lips closer to mine.

“Good boys deserve to be chained forever,” I say.

I snap my fingers and wait for Orion to bring the bag with the new toys I bought. I pull out the three spiked collars and watch their eyes glow with both excitement and fear. “Now, who’s ready to be mine?”

CHAPTER 1

Sunny

I crawl across the ground, nails digging into the mud, as I leave a trail of blood in my wake.

I can’t die here.

Not now.

Not yet.

Not like this.

Despite the crippling pain, I keep putting one hand in front of the other in a desperate attempt to get to safety. I don’t know where or how, but I will make it. I’ve gotten so far already, and even though I can’t fucking walk on my own two feet anymore, I will not quit.

My teeth grind together as I shove my knees forward, groaning from the agony, but I refuse to give up.

I’m a motherfucking Reed, and Reeds never fucking give up.

I will not quit on myself, even if the world has decided I should.

Another drag across the mud, and my legs slide sideways, while blistering pain shoots up my thighs and belly, and I screech.

“Fuck!”

BANG!

The sudden gunshot makes me stop.

That came from somewhere close.

Was I followed?

Are they coming to finish the job?

I crawl and crawl, trying to get as far away from the area the gunshot came from, exerting myself over my physical limit. As my hands slip away, my chin drops down into the mud, which splatters all across my face, and I lie there with my eyes closed for a moment to breathe through the pain while the rain pours down on me.

I’m going to make it. I have to…

So I can rain hell on the motherfuckers who betrayed me.

Xavier

I hold the paper against the wooden board and smash the tape against the flyer, making sure it’s tightly secured and clearly visible before I move on to the next board I can find on this campus, which is on the second floor of the building.

I have already plastered these all over campus under the judgmental gazes of plenty of students, but I don’t care what they think of me. I won’t stop pasting these flyers all over Spine Ridge University until I’m out of paper.

I run up the stairs without looking and nearly bump into my half brother Silas.

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Broken Mercy – A Dark Mafia Arranged Marriage Read Online B.B. Hamel http://www.wownovels.com/broken-mercy-a-dark-mafia-arranged-marriage-read-online-b-b-hamel Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:16 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/broken-mercy-a-dark-mafia-arranged-marriage-read-online-b-b-hamel Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Mafia Authors: B.B. Hamel Advertisement

Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >85

I accidentally flashed a brutal mafia beast…
And now he’s my future husband.

I only tried to cool off on a steamy afternoon… and ended up giving a gorgeous monster the view of his life.
I’m absolutely mortified, until his peep show turns into something more.
My afternoon delight is Brenden McGrath, a sinfully gorgeous mafia thief with ice in his veins, blood on his hands, and no patience for fools.
I thought it was a one-time mistake until my father informs me that I will be marrying Brenden whether I like it or not.
My new husband’s frozen on the inside but blistering behind closed doors.
He takes me apart but never reveals an inch of himself.
We want nothing to do with each other, right until my younger brother gets in trouble with the Armenian mafia.
Now Brenden’s the only man who can save my family, and I have to convince my impossible, secretive husband to help, no matter what it costs him.

All he asks for in return is my obedience… and my body in his bed every night.

Broken Mercy is a full-length standalone novel with plenty of steam, banter, and a guaranteed HEA

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER 1

TALIN

I’m about to rip my shirt off.

It’s mid-August in Baltimore and this house is sweltering. The Davis couple is ancient, and I mean that with all due respect: I’m pretty sure the husband is like ninety-seven and his wife is a few years older than that. Their Fells Point townhouse is wildly stuffy and I swear they’re running the radiators. Everyone’s sweating at this packed garden party, held at the height of day, and there’s no escape from the heat, but I can’t take it anymore. The first chance I get, when Papa and Annie are distracted by mingling and laughing and doing the whole social thing to perfection, I slip away from the crowd and sneak up the back steps.

I find an office with its door standing ajar. I storm in, already unbuttoning my cream silk blouse. “Oh my god my tits are melting,” I groan to myself and gasp with delight when I spot a fan standing in the corner. I run over, switch it on, and let out an erotic sigh of relief as the air blows over my exposed chest.

“Oh my god that’s heaven,” I say, tilting my head back with a groan of pleasure. Sweat dribbles down my underarms. It’s sticky and gross, and I’m sure I’ll have big dark circles soon if I don’t dry off. This fan is exactly what I needed; it blows through my thick, dark hair, the bane of my existence, even though Mama and Annie both say it’s beautiful and I shouldn’t complain about it so much, but I’d love to see them hefting all this around when it’s a hundred degrees and humid.

I fan my blouse, letting my bra dry. I’m aware this is not how a lady is supposed to act, but come on, it’s wetter than a dog’s dick out there and just as miserable. Besides, Annie’s got enough perfection going for the both of us. My older sister can walk into a room, flash one pristine smile, and have everyone fawning over her in moments. It doesn’t hurt she’s blond, beautiful, outgoing, smart, and funny. I love her to death, but those are some impossible standards right there. She’s everything Papa always wanted in a daughter, and since Mariam got married and moved to Boston, and Tate’s out in DC and not really a part of the family anymore, it’s up to me and Annie to carry on the Sarkissian female legacy.

Which Annie does with grace and talent, while I stumble around behind her, the awkward youngest girl, neither good enough or willing to try much harder than I already am.

Once my boobs are sufficiently cooled off and my head’s starting to work, I put my hands on my hips, blouse still very much open, and look around the room.

Which is when I notice the man standing near the window watching me with a bemused smile.

I freeze. My mind goes blank. I rushed in here thinking it would be empty and didn’t bother checking the corners. I opened up my top, exposed my breasts to the cool breeze, and didn’t have a single care in the world.

While this guy got to enjoy the show.

“How… how long… have you been there?!” I’m stuttering and off balance.

“The whole time.” His voice is low and resonant. There’s not an inch of embarrassment in him, while I’m mortified. What would Annie do in this situation? She’d probably make some clever remark about how nice her tits are and how lucky he is, and everyone would forget this silly faux pas.

I’m not Annie.

“Who the heck are you?! And what are you doing in here?” I blurt my questions out with about as much tact as the floor fan blasting sweat from my ample cleavage. I don’t have much working for me, but at least I got my figure from my mother’s side of the family. Curves all the way down.

The man’s older than me. I’m guessing late twenties, so around my brother Gor’s age. He’s got light brown hair beginning to grow out from a buzz-cut, a sharp jaw, a nose that looks like it’d been broken not too long ago, and eyes that seem to take in every inch of me all at once plus the whole room too. His clothes are simple, a plain gray shirt tucked into dark slacks, the sleeves rolled above his elbows to show off his muscular and veiny forearms. He’s fit and athletic, but rangy in a way that surprises me, like any ounce of fat and softness he once carried got burned away in some vicious fire.

“My name’s Brenden. I came up here to see if there was anything worth stealing.”

His answer knocks me sideways a second time. My jaw opens to snap out a sharp reply, to yell at him for not saying something right away when he saw me opening my shirt, but instead I’m too caught off guard to be angry. He’s not moving and I’m trying to decide if I should scream or throw something at him, but instead can’t help making another bad decision.

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By Blade I Protect (By Blade #1) Read Online Penelope Sky http://www.wownovels.com/by-blade-i-protect-by-blade-1-read-online-penelope-sky Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:11 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/by-blade-i-protect-by-blade-1-read-online-penelope-sky Genre: Alpha Male, Crime, Dark, Mafia Authors: Penelope Sky Series: By Blade Series by Penelope Sky
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Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >86

My father runs the only arms operation in Sicily, and now that the Skull King is monopolizing the drug empire in all of Italy, we’re in hot water.

Because everyone wants to take our business for themselves—because they aren’t strong enough to handle the Skull King.

Just when things are looking bad, Wolfe shows up looking for a job. He was born to inherit the throne of Cosa Nostra, but a mysterious falling out has forced him to turn his back on the only family he’s ever known.

None of us are sure if we can trust him, so he has going to start at the bottom and prove his loyalty. With a cocky smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, he does what he’s told.

But the second he sets eyes on me—I become the real thing he wants. But I’m not dumb enough to get involved with one of the guys at the syndicate, no matter how insanely hot he is, so I tell him it’s never going to happen.

But this man doesn’t stop.

I’m a nurse that stitches bullet holes and keeps my father’s men alive on top of everything else I do for the business, and Wolfe continually cuts and stabs himself because he knows it’s the one way to get alone me alone. While I stitch him up, he stares and smirks at me…like I’m already his.

Even when my father is present, he stares at me the same way—like he doesn’t care if this obsession gets him killed. He’s honest and passionate and smart—but I also think he’s a little crazy.

I finally give in, saying it’s just for the night, but this man wants all of me before he ever touches me. An affair somehow turns into the most intense relationship I’ve ever had, and Wolfe wants to be straight with my father about us even if it gets him killed.

But that’s way too risky, not when our enemies are moving in, not when there’s a snitch in our midst—and everyone thinks it’s Wolfe. Our relationship becomes clandestine and forbidden, and while that would be fun for other men, Wolfe disagrees.

Because he wants me—forever.

When so much is set against us, I’m not sure if our relationship will survive.

But Wolfe believes it will—because he’ll die for it

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

WOLFE

I drove through the quiet streets of Palermo sometime between two and three in the morning, dried blood still on my hands because I hadn’t had time to scrub it off. I turned down a side street and then another, pulling up to the large wall with a black gate.

A small slab of steel slid open to reveal a pair of dark eyes. They looked at me for a millisecond before it quickly shut again.

“You know it’s me, asshole.”

The large gate opened inward, and I drove into the open courtyard where other cars and motorbikes were parked. I left the car there and hopped out.

Matteo, the guy who checked the peephole, walked up to me with a cigar in his mouth. His eyes were on my hands, which were still covered in blood. He wordlessly reached into his back pocket and grabbed a cloth, tossing it at me. “It went alright?”

I caught it then grabbed a bottle of whiskey from one of the nearby crates and poured it over my hands before I started to scrub my skin. “It always goes alright.”

“You sure about that?”

I swiped the cloth underneath my fingernails to catch the drops that had spread. “It’s not my blood, is it?” When my hands were clean, I tossed the cloth back at his chest, and he caught it.

“Don Russo is waiting for you inside.”

I headed to the double doors, flanked by several guards, and then entered the three-story villa hidden in plain sight in this coastal city of Sicily. I exchanged head tilts with some of the men as I headed to Don Russo’s office on the second floor. I had to cross the seven-thousand-square-foot villa, make my way up a marble staircase, and then I ended up in his office.

The other guys were already there, Uncle Marco and Costa, and a few of the others.

Don Russo was in the middle of a heated conversation with Uncle Marco, but he dropped the discussion the second I stepped inside. “You handled Raphael?”

“Yep.” My knuckles were bruised, and the barrel of my gun was empty.

Don Russo took my word for it and moved on. “It’s come to my attention that Celso is making a lot of money. Hand-over-fist kind of money. The Polizia look the other way without a bribe, so that’s even more money in their pockets.” He leaned against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest. “I think it’s time we get in on the action. You know…” He cocked his head to one side and then to the other. “Get in on the action.” He wore gray slacks and a button-up, collared white shirt, dressed for business meetings with suits rather than the streets. He was about to leave his fifties and step into his sixties, but he was still sharp as a tack.

“What kind of action are we talking about, Don?” I was the only one brave enough to ask, or they all already knew the plan.

“Prostitution,” he said, his dark Italian eyes on me.

“Prostitution?” I asked blankly. “We’re American pimps now?”

“We would hand the specifics to a different crew so we can keep our focus on our existing accounts,” Don Russo said with patience. “It won’t interfere with our normal affairs.”

I thought it was beneath us, but I knew I shouldn’t resist him too much in front of the others. Could give him an earful when it was just the two of us with a couple glasses of wine—or preferably whiskey.

When I had nothing else to say, Don Russo turned his attention to Uncle Marco. “We get the girls from Armando from the mainland. We can get them to the docks and bypass customs, as with everything else.”

My eyebrows immediately furrowed in confusion. “Get the girls from Armando?”

Uncle Marco took over. “We purchased them from the Skull King. Wasn’t cheap, but they’re broken in, so there won’t be much resistance.”

Now my eyes flicked from Don Russo to Uncle Marco and then back again. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, maybe a few seconds, but the shock made it feel like minutes. I wasn’t shocked or disturbed by much, but this was despicable. “You’re serious right now?” My eyes were on Don Russo, the man responsible for every decision made by Cosa Nostra. “We’re traffickers now? That’s not who we are.”

Uncle Marco shook his head slightly so I would quiet down.

I ignored him. “That’s not who we are.” I focused on Don Russo. “I’m not saying we’re saints by any means, but we stick to our side of the street and let everyone else pass without interference. We may be criminals, but we’re decent ones. When did that change?”

“Wolfe—”

My eyes flicked back to Uncle Marco. “Does it look like I’m speaking to you?” I snapped.

Uncle Marco stared me down like he wanted to slice a knife down my cheek.

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Cash (Kiss of Death MC #15) Read Online Marteeka Karland http://www.wownovels.com/cash-kiss-of-death-mc-15-read-online-marteeka-karland Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:10 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/cash-kiss-of-death-mc-15-read-online-marteeka-karland Genre: Alpha Male, Biker, Dark, MC Authors: Marteeka Karland Series: Kiss of Death MC Series by Marteeka Karland
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Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >67

I’m losing the fight to protect my daughter from invisible monsters. Cash may be our only hope.

Eliza – My daughter Lily’s plagued with mysterious injuries. We’ve spent far too much time in the ER. Doctors push me away when I ask for answers. Insurance denies our claims. Then Child Services decides I’m the monster. I’m out of options — until Cash steps between us and the people trying to tear us apart. He’s dangerous – a biker and an ex-con. He’s also the first person who believes me. And that might be the most dangerous thing of all.

Cash — Prison taught me to keep my head down, not get attached. Then court-ordered community service puts me in a pediatric ward, where a terrified little girl with a pink cast asks me to sing her to sleep. Lily isn’t mine. Her mother, Eliza, isn’t my problem. Except the second I see the system closing in on them, I know better. Eliza isn’t hurting her daughter. She’s fighting for Lily with everything she has. But when no one else listens, I bring in Kiss of Death, Haven, and every weapon we have that doesn’t require blood on the floor. Yet the more I try to protect them, the harder it is to pretend I don’t want them both

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Cash

I pushed through the sliding glass doors of Nashville General with my shoulders squared, wearing my Kiss of Death cut proudly. I’d spent five years inside Terre Haute, and my parole dictated I do community service. Thanks to the lawyer who worked with the club’s women’s shelter, Haven, I got stuck here. A few hours three times a week seemed a light sentence considering all I’d dealt with the last five years, so I took it. Even if I didn’t particularly like it. My boots squeaked against the polished floor as I made my way to the service elevator, ignoring the disapproving glances following my leather cut.

The security guard at the front desk raised his eyebrows but nodded at me. We’d reached an understanding after my first week. He knew I was here on court-mandated community service, and I knew he was watching me. Neither of us liked the arrangement, but we respected the boundaries.

“Evening, Cash,” he said, checking my ID badge against his clipboard.

“Good day?” I kept my voice neutral, careful not to reveal how much I hated being here. The badge clipped to my cut read “Volunteer,” a joke if there ever was one. Nothing voluntary about my presence.

He shrugged. “Same as always.” It was our standard exchange.

The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped inside, pressing the button for the fourth floor. Pediatrics. Of all the places they could have stuck me, they put me on the kids’ wing. I suspected the suggestion had been Lana Thompson’s doing.

Lana had negotiated this particular hell for me, thinking she was doing me a favor. Better than highway trash pickup, she’d said. I wasn’t convinced. But Lana had a way of making things happen. The lady lawyer had connections everywhere, from courthouse to clubhouse. She typically stuck to legal counsel for Haven’s residents but occasionally helped a brother out.

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened to a burst of primary colors. Cartoon characters paraded across the walls, their frozen smiles at odds with the serious business of healing sick kids.

“There he is,” The charge nurse, Paula, looked up from her station. The woman typically had a permanent scowl on her face. Except when she looked at me. “Our favorite volunteer.”

“At your service.” I tipped an imaginary hat, playing the role she expected. Harmless flirtation was part of my shield, keeping people at a comfortable distance while making them think they knew me. I’d perfected the technique when I used to perform in every bar in Nashville. Served me well now.

Paula pushed a clipboard across the counter. “Same routine today. Floors need mopping in the east wing, then stock the supply closets.”

I signed the form without looking at it. “Any special requests?” I kept my voice light, playing along with the fiction I was just another volunteer, not an ex-con working off his debt to society.

“Just try not to scare the parents this time.” Her tone was joking, but I caught the seriousness underneath. My presence tended to make people nervous, which was why I worked in the evenings. The tattoos crawling up my neck, the general aura of threat I carried without trying all screamed danger to the middle-class folks whose kids ended up here for whatever reason. I figured those parents had more to worry about than some creeper with a mop, so I had no problem doing my service whenever they thought appropriate.

“I’ll do my best impression of a choirboy.” I flashed a grin, making her roll her eyes, though I caught the ghost of a smile she tried to hide.

The supply closet was my first stop. I gathered the mop, bucket, and cleaning supplies. The bucket wheels squeaked as I pushed it down the corridor toward the east wing, the sound louder than it should have been in the otherwise quiet hallway.

The hall lighting had been dimmed and safety runner lights lined the hallway’s floors. The staff tried to keep lighting minimal for patient comfort.

I worked my way from the far end of the corridor and moved backward toward the nurses’ station. A young nurse walked past, her shoes making soft padding sounds on the wet floor. She smiled shyly and I nodded back, watching as she continued down the hall, looking back over her shoulder once before disappearing inside the medication room.

I was halfway down the hall when a doctor walked through my freshly mopped section, leaving footprints in his wake. He didn’t acknowledge me, didn’t apologize. I gripped the mop handle tighter, my knuckles whitening around the wood. In prison, disrespect had consequences. Out here, I had to swallow it.

“It’s not just you,” a voice said behind me. A female aide with tired eyes pushed a cart of linens past. “He ignores everyone and everything.”

I forced my fingers to relax as I smiled at the woman. “Good to know.”

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >67

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Forged in the Fire (Crimson Crows #1) Read Online A.L. Jackson http://www.wownovels.com/forged-in-the-fire-crimson-crows-1-read-online-a-l-jackson Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:55 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/forged-in-the-fire-crimson-crows-1-read-online-a-l-jackson Genre: Alpha Male, Biker, Dark, MC, Suspense Authors: A.L. Jackson Series: Crimson Crows Series by A.L. Jackson
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Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >168

It was a terrible idea to agree to protect my enemy’s sister…

The second she stepped out of her brother’s car, I knew she was a wildfire.
Spitting mad and so stunning she stole my breath.
She thinks her brother made a deal with the devil, and by working for me, she’s paying off his debt.

She doesn’t know the real reason she’s here.
Doesn’t know the danger that surrounds her.
Soon, she realizes there is something sinister lurking in the shadows.

She hates me for keeping her in the dark.
I want to hate her back, but with every sassy thing that fires from her mouth, she gets deeper under my skin.
With each heated glance, I feel myself losing control.
And when I crawl into bed with her, I combust.

I know better than thinking I can keep her. My life is nothing but secrets and peril.
But as outside threats begin to infiltrate, I’ll do anything to keep the oath I made to keep her safe.
Even expose her to the monster that I am…

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

ONE

SILAS

It was a little before five when I stepped out from an open bay at Torque & Talon Autobody Shop, wiping my hands on an oil-stained rag.

My guts in fuckin’ knots as I let my attention travel over the gravel drive that led onto the property.

I squinted against the sunlight pouring from above. A thick, stagnant heat saturated the summer air and slicked my skin in sweat.

Or maybe it was just the irritation boiling inside me that made me feel like I was getting burned alive.

Trevan was already out there, leaning against the white exterior wall and sipping from a bottle of beer.

His own anxiety rolled from his burly frame as he eyed me from the side.

“You think this is a good idea?” he finally asked, hard voice cutting through the tension, verbalizing the same damned thing I’d been asking myself all day.

A heavy sigh pilfered from between my lips as I looked in his direction.

Dude was pure beast.

Dark brown hair and even darker eyes. A mountain of muscle that was covered in ink and oozing the type of ferocity required of my second in command.

He was also my oldest friend. With me from childhood. I trusted him more than anyone else.

I scoffed at my own expense. “Afraid it might be one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made.”

Inviting more danger onto our property than we were already facing.

We’d packed our shit and left Moonlit Ridge to get my sister farther away from the bullshit I’d gotten us mixed in there, and we’d come here to Crimson Creek, a small town in Southern Oregon.

But it seemed no matter where I went, peril loved to hunt me down.

He took another swig of his beer, dark eyes narrowed back at me. “Then why are you making it?”

He was the only one with balls big enough to question me. More than that? He was the only one who’d earned the right to do it.

“He was intrinsic in saving my sister. I owe him the favor.”

Trevan chuckled a disbelieving sound. “Thought that favor was leaving him alive? Not that the bastard won’t end up dead, anyway.”

Air heaved from my lungs, and I sank back against the wall next to him as I dove frustrated fingers through my hair. “Have to believe there is some kind of good in him since he came to me and offered the information.”

“Or did he know he was a dead man otherwise?”

Uncertainty bound up my insides.

I considered myself a damned good judge of character. You didn’t live long with a life like mine if you weren’t.

But there was something about Dereck Webber that I couldn’t put my finger on.

Instinct told me he couldn’t fully be trusted.

“Don’t know. But the one thing I do know is that his sister is innocent of the whole thing.”

Trevan’s brows raised like he was questioning that, too. “You sure about that?”

“As far as I know, she doesn’t know a thing.”

Was clueless as to what her brother was really involved in.

“Only thing that matters is that this arrangement gets us what we need,” I insisted. “He’d never dish if he didn’t think he was getting something out of it.”

Incredulity heaved out of Trevan. “There are other ways to get information out of someone.”

“Can’t take the chance that he would remain tight-lipped before Phoenix killed him.”

Phoenix was the club’s sergeant at arms.

Amused agreement huffed from Trevan before he shook his head. “You’re breaking every fuckin’ one of your own rules, man. You know that, right?”

I scrubbed a palm over my face. “Yup.”

It didn’t matter, though. With one thought of my baby sister, Elena, I knew what I had to do.

Dereck Webber might have been a low-life scumbag piece of shit, but when he’d had the barrel of my gun shoved down his throat, his one concern had been his sister.

To me, that counted for something.

“As long as you don’t mind when I tell you ‘I told you so’,” Trevan goaded around another gulp of his beer.

“As long as you don’t mind when I kick your ass when you do it,” I tossed back.

“Would like to see you try.”

Fucker tried to hide his grin before he sobered. “Seriously, though. I get it. Just worried it’s gonna bring us trouble, and God knows we already have plenty of that.”

Nah, trouble wasn’t anything new to us.

Being a part of a brutal MC tended to do that to you, and you could be sure the Crimson Crows were no strangers to strife and turmoil.

Funny that motorcycle club acted as a front for what we really did. The minor crimes we let fly flagrant used as a distraction from the monsters we became under the shadows of the night.

But it was my one big fuckup that brought us here, and I’d do anything I had to in order to rectify it.

“We’ll handle it if it comes to that,” I told him. “We always do.”

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >168

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Forsaken Fate (Darkest Destiny Trilogy #3) Read Online Pepper Winters http://www.wownovels.com/forsaken-fate-darkest-destiny-trilogy-3-read-online-pepper-winters Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:53 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/forsaken-fate-darkest-destiny-trilogy-3-read-online-pepper-winters Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal Authors: Pepper Winters Series: Darkest Destiny Trilogy Series by Pepper Winters
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Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >110

The third and final book in the Darkest Destiny Trilogy by New York Times Bestseller, Pepper Winters.

Rook never had any goals apart from staying alive.
But now she has a few…
Find a way to bring Lucien back.
Figure out a way to survive the ascension.
And somehow become the first bonded pair to become immortal.
Lucien only has one goal.
Wage war on fate and win…

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Playlist

Fall Out Boy - Centuries

Imagine Dragons - Natural

My Immortal - Evanescence

Within Temptation - Fire and Ice

The Night We Met – Lord Huron

Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You into the Dark

Alice Cooper - Poison

Imagine Dragons - Battle cry

Sleep Token - The Love You Want

Muse - Madness

Prologue

THEY SAY THE GREATEST FORCE ON Earth is love.

It can heal and destroy. Create and annihilate.

It can also turn mortal into immortal because love never dies.

But what if you’re no longer human?

What if the power you were never meant to wield breaks apart the very bones you were born with?

Do the old rules still apply?

Or does it mean you’re no longer part of this world?

And what happens if you accidentally destroy it?

Chapter One

WINTER ROSE FROM NOWHERE AND EVERYWHERE.

A scream of wind.

A blast of cold—

Power tore out of me—viciously cruel and dangerously strong, ripping across the burning mountains, hurling icicles, smiting snow, delivering extinction to everything it touched.

Lucien’s hell didn’t stand a chance as ice clawed over flaming rock, frost surged over rivers of magma, and the entire night shocked white as winter stole everything—ending the lives of a million fires with a single exhale.

For one fragile heartbeat, I felt monstrously powerful.

I balanced the scales of destruction Lucien had unleashed and proved I was his perfect opposite, but...that fleeting triumph crumbled instantly, replaced by a grief so deep, it felt as if my soul was carved out with a rusty spoon.

Grief.

Bone-breaking, soul-tearing grief because he’d left me.

Left me!

“Don’t you dare do this!” Flinging myself on Lucien’s corpse by my knees, I balled my hands and struck him. “Wake up!” I punched him over and over, wanting to tear apart that despicable piece of metal in his chest. Each strike cracked something deeper inside me. Every blow was a plea, a prayer, a curse. “Wake up! Come back. Wake up!”

Without him, I wasn’t capable of holding back the ice.

Without him, I would die.

I could feel it rising, building, snarling. A raging apocalypse...a catastrophe that would plummet the world into an icy coffin.

“You don’t get to leave me!” I struck him again. “You’re not allowed, do you hear me? I forbid it. I need you.” I slapped his cheek, sending his head snapping to the side. “Open your damn eyes! Don’t you dare do this. I won’t let you do this. You can’t!”

He couldn’t abandon me.

He couldn’t just suddenly unexist.

I hated him.

Hated that I couldn’t find him, save him, keep him.

And the longer he was gone...the longer his heart didn’t beat...the worse my power became. It didn’t just open its eyes, it stretched and yawned and prepared for war.

Was this what Lucien had felt when he’d succumbed to his fire’s wrath? This level of agony as it built and built and built?

“Lucien!”

He was my balance.

The only force keeping my body from utterly destroying itself.

“Please, Luxin!”

He didn’t respond to either name.

Didn’t open his eyes or blend his blood with mine so we could reverse this awful nightmare.

He just...left me.

Wrath and horror and heartbreak splintered my frozen bones as the world continued to smoke and shatter.

The icy power no longer wanted to share my body. It wanted all of it. All of me.

With a howl of arctic rage, it crested and swallowed me.

I screamed as my heart became a glacier. My veins solidified, my blood crystallised, and my organs became lumps of frosty glass.

I gagged. I cried. I tried to fight—

Another blizzard tore free, tearing toward the stars and ricocheting outward with a storm of icy knives. Silver blood sprayed from my lips. I coughed and choked, quaking beneath pain. I coughed again, raining Lucien in sterling droplets as he lay dead and smoking on the ground.

I folded forward as ice webbed outward beneath my knees, blanketing the earth. I moaned in despair as every tree became a twinkling statue—every burning rock and bramble nothing more than a snow-covered relic.

I screamed again as the ice kept building, building, carving through my veins and tearing through my flesh. Jagged lightning bolts carved their way through my skin, matching the shards tearing through the sky.

I jerked as the power evolved and twisted. I could smell death again. I tasted all the lives that’d ended and knew where every bone rested. The world was littered with mementos and pieces of those who were loved and lost. I felt them decaying. I knew why they’d died and how long they’d been gone.

And the ice fed on those remnants.

It hunted down the whispers of their memories and drank on the tiny echoes of their energy, feeding me, hurting me, driving me closer and closer toward the very death so many had already suffered.

My body contorted as another scream tore through my throat. It became all-consuming, blinding, shoving me into a grave already lined thick with snow.

My broken bones turned to dust beneath the pressure.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >110

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His Obsession – Sinful Mafia Daddies Read Online Natasha L. Black http://www.wownovels.com/his-obsession-sinful-mafia-daddies-read-online-natasha-l-black Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:41 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/his-obsession-sinful-mafia-daddies-read-online-natasha-l-black Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Forbidden, Mafia Authors: Natasha L. Black Advertisement

Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >67

I went to my brother's house expecting dinner.
Instead, his best friend looked at me like he wanted to ruin me.

Sebastian De Luca.
My brother's oldest friend.
Dark eyes. Controlled. And not the kind of man you say no to.

I should have kept my distance.
Instead, I let him pull me onto the dance floor of his nightclub.
Then into his bed, before I could remember why men like him are dangerous.

One night was supposed to get him out of my system.
Instead, two pink lines changed everything.

Then my violent ex found me.
And suddenly, nowhere felt safe anymore.

Sebastian moved me into his mansion that night.
Guards at every door. Eyes on every camera.
He didn't ask. He decided.

Now it's not just protection. It's possession.
And God help the man stupid enough to come for what's his.

This is a full-length, standalone age-gap mafia romance packed with danger, possessive heat, and a guaranteed HEA. No cliffhanger

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

VALENTINA

The bar line is backed up, the champagne needs more ice, and a girl with six million followers is about thirty seconds away from having a meltdown in the middle of the venue. As far as I’m concerned, the night is off to a perfect start.

I stand just outside the private elevator bank at the top of the hotel, phone in one hand, earpiece in, and my eyes sweeping the rooftop in quick, practiced passes. The venue is stunning, overlooking the ocean. One thing I’ll give LA is that the views blow Manhattan’s out of the water. The décor I’ve selected for tonight only adds to the ambience. Candlelight flickers across glass tables and white orchids hang over the main bar in soft, dramatic clusters. The skyline stretches beyond the low glass wall, glittering against a dark velvet sky.

“Valentina,” a voice calls.

I turn toward the service corridor just as one of the catering servers comes out carrying the wrong tray. He’s young, nervous, and moving too fast, which means he’s about to make a mistake.

I step into his path before he hits the floor. “Hold on.”

He stops so abruptly the tray rattles. “What?”

I glance down at the tuna cones on his platter. “These aren’t for the first pass. These go out after the founder speech.”

His face goes blank. “Chef told me these were up.”

“Chef is wrong,” I tell him, keeping my smile in place. “First pass is burrata crostini and truffle tartlets. Take these back and tell Mario I said if he pulls this again, I’m keying his car.”

The server blinks, then laughs nervously. “Okay.”

“You’re not in trouble. Just move.”

He nods and disappears back through the doors. I peer through the glass into the prep area and catch Mario’s eye immediately. He puts a hand over his heart like I’ve wounded him. I point two fingers at him. He grins.

I swear under my breath, then cut across the terrace to head off the next problem.

An influencer in silver sequins is leaning over the east bar, giving one of the bartenders hell because she wants into the roped-off lounge. The bartender looks about one second away from telling her off, which would inevitably end up all over TikTok.

I slide in beside her.

“You look stunning, Melissa,” I say warmly, like we’re old friends and she’s not currently terrorizing my staff. “I’m so glad you made it.”

She turns, ready to fight, then hesitates. People like being greeted by someone who looks like she’s in charge. I learned that a long time ago.

“Someone’s fucked up the VIP room,” she snaps.

“I’m so sorry you feel that way,” I tell her gently. “The front lounge is reserved for press during the first hour, and then we’ll be rotating guests through after remarks. You’re at the top of the list.”

Her mouth tightens. “I don’t wait in lines.”

“Neither do I.” I lean in like I’m about to do her a favor. “That’s why I’d hit the west photo wall right now, before the actresses get here. The lighting is better on that side, and once the bigger names start posting, the line is going to be impossible.”

That gets her attention. She glances toward the west side, already calculating her own face from every angle.

“Perfect,” she says, a gleam in her eye, and stalks toward the west wall.

A launch party like this is controlled chaos. The clients think they’re paying for beauty and exclusivity. What they’re actually paying for is the woman sprinting in heels behind the scenes so no one realizes the ice delivery was late, the logo plaque on the flower wall shifted half an inch, and one of the assistants nearly cried.

I catch a hostess near the private lounge and straighten the angle of her name badge without breaking stride.

“Relax your shoulders,” I murmur to her.

She straightens. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” I tell her kindly. “Just breathe. It’s a catering job, not World War III.”

Gia appears beside me like she was summoned by my stress level alone. She looks incredible in her bronze slip dress, with long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and sharp, smoky eyes that miss almost nothing. She works in branding and publicity, which means we cross paths constantly. Somewhere in the middle of that, she became my best friend.

“Mrs. Reynolds is panicking in the powder room because she thinks one side of her contour looks muddy,” she says.

Jacqueline Reynolds is the wife of Harold Reynolds, the founder of the company launching tonight. She’s the kind of woman who thinks this party is all about her, and she’ll milk every last second of it.

“I already sent up a makeup artist.” I sigh.

“Of course you did.” Gia laughs. “You don’t miss a thing.”

I grin and take a sip of water before scanning the room. The DJ is spinning bland, nondescript music that’ll serve as background for the evening. The bartender has a small crowd, but he moves like lightning, keeping the wait time low. Out of habit, I note where every security guard is stationed.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >67

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Hold Me Close (Dangerous Obsession #3) Read Online Nikki Sloane http://www.wownovels.com/hold-me-close-dangerous-obsession-3-read-online-nikki-sloane Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:39 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/hold-me-close-dangerous-obsession-3-read-online-nikki-sloane Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Mafia Authors: Nikki Sloane Series: Dangerous Obsession Series by Nikki Sloane
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Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >102

The only thing more dangerous than trusting him — is falling for him.

One last job. Once Captain Olivia Wallace flies her employer to South Africa and back . . . she’s free. Next time she won’t unwittingly agree to work for criminals, but when you’re running from your past, you can’t afford to be picky.

She quickly discovers the savanna is full of predators and the most dangerous of all is her boss’s new bodyguard. This man is intense. Lethal. Gorgeous.

Even when he’s wrapped in lies.

His name is fake, but their attraction is blisteringly real. He may claim he’s not a good man, but when violence erupts, he risks everything to save her—including his cover.

Except putting his desires above the mission sets them on a dangerous collision course with the Italian mafia, and its impact threatens to destroy so much more than just their lives.

TROPES:
- Alpha Hero
- Spy / Hidden Identity
- Mafia
- Guarded Hearts
- Protector
- Military
- Only One Bed
- Strong Heroine

Hold Me Close is a standalone romantic suspense. However, it is book 3 in the Dangerous Obsession series which is best read in order to avoid spoiling previous booksShe’s a flight attendant. He’s the billionaire who sat in 1A…until he bought the airline to keep her close.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

OLIVIA

Elephants were on the runway, making landing impossible. This wasn’t a delay I’d encountered before. My co-pilot Rory and I guided the Bombardier down to buzz the landing strip, startling the impressive beasts on their way, before we maneuvered to make our approach.

It wasn’t much of a runway. More a level strip of grassy land that the luxury game lodge groomed for their wealthiest clients, so they had somewhere to set down their private jets. The only alternative was to land at Johannesburg and drive three hours to the middle of nowhere.

There was no way the eldest son of the Abramo family was going to put up with that.

The plane bounced and shuddered down the runway, and I had to fight the yoke in my hands to bring the aircraft to a stop on the dirt-packed, uneven road. Then I powered down the engines and the jet slowed to a crawl with South African soil beneath the wheels.

A few more flights and my trial contract as the Abramos’ pilot would be up. Usually, I flew for the patriarch, an intimidating man whose scrutinizing gaze made me break out into an uneasy sweat. I didn’t let people scare me, but every hair stood on end in his presence.

The Abramos didn’t speak English.

It was like that language was too ugly to come out of their refined mouths. The entire flight crew spoke no Italian, and this was by design. During my interview for the job, the translator explained the language barrier was so the Abramos could discuss sensitive business information in flight, but I wasn’t a fool.

I knew what type of business they were really in.

I unlatched the cockpit door and collided face-first with a man’s hard chest. I shot him a perturbed look, like it was his fault I’d walked into him.

Nathan.

The unfamiliar American was enormous, at least six and a half feet tall, all muscle stretched across his lean frame. Dark, straight hair that was longer on top and swept to one side. His eyes were magnetic. As black as the gun I’d seen holstered under his arm. I didn’t like armed passengers on my bird, but it wasn’t as if I could ask Giovanni’s private security guard to stow his weapon in the hold.

I couldn’t ask him because Nathan scared the hell out of me.

Giovanni’s usual bodyguard and translator for this safari had come down with the stomach flu at the last minute, and Nathan had taken his place. The moment I’d seen him, something tightened in my chest and my breath went shallow.

I’d spent most of the flight down here trying not to think about him, or how embarrassed he’d been when he realized I was the captain and not the flight attendant. After his apology, we’d had a quiet moment together. His job was to ensure nothing dangerous made its way onboard, and I told him I thought the most dangerous thing was probably standing in front of me.

He didn’t deny it.

In fact, there’d been no reaction at all from him.

He appeared to be the same age as I was, but maybe he was older than thirty-five. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept during either leg of the flight. Even tired, this man still looked dangerous. That gun, those muscles, those furiously intense eyes.

Predatory and beautiful.

He stared down at me now, his face expressionless, but there was something lurking in his gaze. Curiosity? I’d always been good at reading people, which made me great at poker, but didn’t help with much else.

“Sorry if the landing was a little rough,” I said.

He shrugged as if he couldn’t care less, but again, there was an edge to his expression, hinting at something . . . else. “It was fine.”

His voice was deep and sent my stomach uncharacteristically twisting.

“We’ve both had rougher,” announced Rory, who lingered in the cockpit and finished powering down the electronics. He was Scottish with gray hair and a few extra pounds around the midsection, and an easy-going calmness that I admired.

He was right. I’d certainly had rougher landings, but I kept my face blank.

Nathan’s dark eyes narrowed, discerning. Like he saw past it, right to the dark memory of that crash I tucked away. I ripped my gaze from his and turned my attention to the young British cabin attendant who was setting the stairway in place. Stuart was nice. He was bright and happy and so polite that sometimes I felt inferior when he was around. Like there was something wrong with me for not being able to find a smile as quickly as he could.

It was pleasant outside, probably sixty degrees in the shade and warmer under the sun. Spring even though it was late November. Being south of the equator messed with my head.

On the tarmac, a collection of people waited, staff of the private game reserve. Nathan translated our boss’s demands to them, and while some began to unload the luggage, the travel party of two, plus my flight crew, were ushered into a waiting van.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >102

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Mate of a Royal (Lords of Rathe #3) Read Online Meagan Brandy, Amo Jones http://www.wownovels.com/mate-of-a-royal-lords-of-rathe-3-read-online-meagan-brandy-amo-jones Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:31 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/mate-of-a-royal-lords-of-rathe-3-read-online-meagan-brandy-amo-jones Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal Authors: Amo Jones, Meagan Brandy Series: Amo Jones
Series: Lords of Rathe Series by Meagan Brandy
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Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >97

LEGEND DEVERAUX was raised to rule. Son of the late king of Dark Magic, he is the youngest king Rathe has ever seen.
Haide wasn't raised at all. Born on Exile Island, where the royals of Rathe toss their most vile creatures, chaos isn't all she knows. It's
When their worlds collide, the king's ancient magic calls to her.
The bond ignites instantly, volatile, undeniable, dangerously wrong
She isn't the mate he expected. Her power is stunted by the cursed land that shaped her. Yet she sets fire to his veins, the only person who makes his fractured soul feel whole. So, Legend takes her to Rathe University to awaken what lies beneath her skin.
His brothers warn him against her. His people detest her very existence. He doesn't care. He wants her at his side, on her knees, and in his bed. She is his.
Then the murders begin. The gifted fall without warning Bloodlines vanish. And with every death, Legend's magic begins to die with them. Something ancient, violent is rising in Rathe, and every accusation points to the king's fated mate.
If she truly is his at all

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Haide

“Run, little rabbits,” I whisper, drawing back the bowstring, each step calculated against the soft forest floor.

The bow in my hands feels like an extension of my body. Exile Island pulses around me, its strange consciousness brushing against my mind like fingers through hair. It’s as if no time at all has passed since I returned from Rathe and all of London’s drama.

Three figures dart between the twisted trees ahead. Newcomers to the island. Fresh meat. They don’t understand anything yet. Don’t know that everything here is a game without consequences.

Distant wingbeats cut through the air above. I exhale as I tighten the bow further.

I track the first one. He’s tall with panic written across his face. The arrow tip follows his frantic movements. I could pierce his throat before he takes another breath.

I smile and shift my aim.

The second target stumbles over a root and falls to her knees. Terror makes people clumsy. She looks up, somehow sensing my presence, and our eyes lock through the foliage. I wink and draw the string tighter.

“Please,” she mouths.

I shift my aim again.

The third one is smarter.

He moves in a zigzag pattern, making himself a harder target. But not hard enough. I track him easily, the arrow finding his heart.

“Which one dies first?” I ask the forest. The trees don’t answer, but I feel the island’s hunger ripple through the soil beneath my feet.

I release the tension in the bowstring, lowering my weapon just enough to let them believe they’ve escaped. They’ll run deeper into the island’s embrace. The game is always better when they think they have a chance.

“You’re toying with them again.” Zevryn’s voice comes from behind me, rich and deep.

I don’t turn. “Took you long enough to catch up.”

He steps beside me, brown skin gleaming with sweat from the hunt. “Not all of us were born part animal.”

“Excuses.” I nock another arrow, tracking the fleeing figures through the trees.

Zevryn grabs my wrist, forcing the bow down. “Do you need a recap on how to pull this bow, Luda?”

“Fuck you!” I jerk away from his grip. “I’d still be able to beat your ass.”

“Bullshit.” His eyes narrow. “What’s the matter, Haide?”

Okay, now he’s pissing me off.

He sighs in clear boredom. “You had three clean shots. You didn’t take any of them.”

I bare my teeth. “I was savoring the moment.”

“You were giving them a chance.” His mouth quirks up. “The great Haide secret softie.”

I swiftly draw my knife and press it to his throat. “Call me soft again.”

He doesn’t flinch, his mouth spreading wide. “Sof—”

My blade melts into his skin, blood spraying over my face. Life dies from the pits of his eyes, not with shock, but something else.

He smirks before his body hits the ground with a thud.

“Asshole!” I snap, cleaning my blade on my shoulder and slipping it back into the holster.

Lifting the bow again, I crack my neck and find my first target. “Looks like we’re gonna have to keep this one short.”

I release the bow right into her panicked face. It splits in half from the force.

I smirk, grabbing the next one and quickly finding the smartest newcomer.

He zigzags again. The moment he peers over his shoulder, I aim my arrow right into his eye.

Ten points to Haide!

I barely have the third locked in when the sound of wings beats through the air.

With a thud, boots hit gravel just as I unload the next arrow.

“Booyah!” I yell, smile wide just in time for Zev to swing at me.

I dodge his punch and swing behind him, wrapping my arm around his throat. “Nah, uh, bestie! You know you love me.”

“Fuck you, Haide. You know I hate cracking through those damn fucking things.”

I release my hold when I feel the tension leave his body. Only a pool of blood remains in the spot where I killed him.

“You can get me next time,” I tease, the sound of large wings bashing through the air once more.

“Bullshit,” Zev murmurs, plucking scales off his neck. “You damn well know I won’t get one on you.”

Actually, he could. He just chooses not to.

A blue dragon slams into the cliff with enough force to send rocks tumbling into the darkness below. His massive claws scrape deep grooves in the stone as he lands.

I turn over my shoulder just as the beast flings two fresh borns off his talons like they’re nothing more than garbage. They hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop near the blood pool from Zev. Smoke curls from the dragon’s nostrils in thick, angry streams while he stomps his foot again, making the whole cliff shake beneath us.

“Aw, come on!” I bat my lashes up at him, knowing full well he can see through my bullshit. “You know you love that I keep you guys busy! What would you do without me? Nap all day?”

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