6789 Book(s) Related to The Princess and the Vampire King

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.

"Oh, it's you. My useless wife."
"You should've seen it coming. Our marriage stopped working a long time ago."
"You're useless as a wife, Ivy. You've never supported my career. And after all this time—you're still not even pregnant."
Kim Evelyn—known to those closest to her as Ivy—never imagined her third wedding anniversary would turn into a nightmare. Her husband, Rico, didn't just betray her—he brought his mistress into their bed. The pain and humiliation scorched her heart, leaving her no choice but to walk away from the home that once symbolized their love.
But Ivy's escape led her into a night that would change everything. Beneath the glimmering lights of an upscale bar, she met Joshua Miller—a dangerously charming man with a captivating smile and an offer too tempting to resist.
"Help me get revenge on the man who betrayed me—my husband. Can you do that?"
"I'll help you get your revenge—but in return, you'll have to treat me the same way you did last night."
Revenge. Sweet, calculated revenge.
But there was a catch: Ivy had to surrender herself to a game far more seductive than anything she'd ever imagined. As vengeance ignited and passion flared, the line between game and reality began to blur. Dark secrets loomed. Hidden dangers stirred. And Ivy was forced to make an impossible choice—move forward and risk losing everything, or retreat into the scars of her past.
Can Ivy take control of this wicked game? Or will she end up the pawn—consumed by desire, ambition, and a betrayal more dangerous than the one she fled?

My daughter has passed away, and my ex-husband abandoned us.

In my darkest hour, my first love, Lysander, reappeared; he covered the medical expenses, married me, and provided me with a home.

For five years, I believed I was the luckiest woman in the world.

Until that fateful day, four months into my pregnancy, when I overheard his conversation with a friend—

“To save Celeste, I thought... who knew it would lead to the death of Seraphina’s daughter?”

“As for Seraphina, she is a good wife, but alas... I do not love her.”

It turned out that my daughter’s death was no accident.

It was revealed that these five years of marriage were merely his quest for atonement.

The one he had always truly loved was Celeste—my ex-husband’s current wife.

As I lay on the operating table, I made a decision—

Since he had taken my daughter’s kidney, I would seize everything from him.

Including what he believed he would never lose: me.

The sound of the gurneys almost deafen my ears, and the light from these doctors' torches is blinding me but I keep running towards the scene. It is 12 o' clock. In the midnight, I know even though I don't look at the clock over my head. With sweaty palms and terrific faces, five gurneys are wheeled towards the emergency rooms by the late night doctors. Even though their mouths are shut tight, I can hear millions of inaudible sounds coming out of them. Each of the gurneys are being wheeled by two personnels, and each time they pass me by, i peer into them to see the victims' faces clearly because I can not see them from where I am.

The first face I see is badly disfigured. It's got a big mark from the forehead down to her upper eyelid, her lips are charred and her jaw is almost totally detached from the rest of her face. Hot drops of blood trickle down her head to her chest and her dress is soiled. She looks like she is no longer breathing and just as the ambulance pass by me, I see something in her hands-A red neck piece. She is clutching it tightly like it is her whole life. My red neck piece. Yes, this victim is my only sister, Jamie but I do not cry. I mean, I always want to cry but I can't. So my face is firm and peaceful, but I am screaming inside me. My legs are hitting the air and I'm ripping my hair inside of me, but outside? I am standing tall. Somehow, with all the swiftness as they pass by me, her hands shake and she loses hold of the red neck piece. As thick and shiny as my hair, our hair(hers blonde and mine black). It falls from her hands and drops at my feet just as soon as the second ambulance approaches me. I bend to pick up my red neckpiece-the one thing that binds my sister and I together but whoosh...it is air. I can see it on the cold tiled floor but when I try to pick it up, it is not there.

Earth has been invaded by aliens for years, and only a few places on Earth have natural resources. Lana becomes an alien prisoner after helping an ungrateful woman. Unfortunately, the king or leader of the aliens fucked Lana that day and Lana could not get out of the alien base. Nearly desperate, Lana finds out that there is a civil war going on and is offered a deal to dethrone the alien king. What happens next?

"You're... you're leaving me here? I'm your Luna!" I stammered. My body felt like it was burning from the inside out. I barely recognized it as my own.
"I'm sorry, Lyra," he said, already turning away. "My pack's safety comes first." With that, he turned his back on me.


What happens when the man you chose... chooses fate instead?
Lyra believed she had already won against destiny. She and Cassian were not fated mates, but they chose each other anyway. Together, they built a powerful united pack, ruled side by side, and vowed to reject whatever fate tried to steal from them.
Until the day Cassian returned from the border carrying another woman in his arms—Liora.
She was fragile, gentle, and completely different from Lyra. And most importantly, she was Cassian's fated mate.
Cassian refused to let either woman go. So, he offered Lyra an ultimatum: An open marriage.
Humiliated in her own home, accused of cruelty, and forced to watch her husband protect another woman with a devotion he had never shown her, Lyra's heart shatters piece by piece.
But fate isn't done with her yet.
Her longtime enemy, Ethan—the Alpha of the second-largest pack in the North—claims her as his contractual Luna.
As zombie rogue attacks escalate and secrets begin to surface, Lyra must choose between staying in a marriage that no longer wants her or walking away from everything she helped build.

“What do you do when the love of your life wants to love someone else?”
"I want an open marriage. I want sex. And I just can’t do that with you anymore."
“How can you do this to me, Tristan? After everything?”
Sophia’s heart breaks when her husband, Tristan, pushes for an open marriage after twelve years of marriage, saying her life as a housewife and mom has killed their spark. Desperate to hold their twelve-year bond together, Sophia reluctantly agrees.
But what hits worse than the open marriage is how quickly her husband dives into the dating pool, even going as far as to violate their set boundaries.
Hurt and angry, Sophia escapes to her art school, where she meets Nathaniel Synclair, a charming new sponsor who lights a fire in her. They talk, and Nathaniel suggests a wild idea: he’ll pretend to be her fake lover to get back at her husband’s double standards.
Caught in the love triangle between her broken marriage and Nathaniel’s pull, Sophia hesitates, sparking a mix of want, lies, and truth that shakes up all she knows about love, trust, and who she really is.

Warning: Smut! Smut!! Smut!!! Rated 18. Captured by an Alpha Daddy for Christmas contains possessive alpha behavior, forced proximity, age-gap romance, plus-size heroine, daddy-dom dynamics, jealousy, obsessive protectiveness, power imbalance, and holiday-season intimacy. Not suitable for readers under 18.
Dumped a week before Christmas, Annabelle "Belle" Evans forfeits her plan to spend Christmas with her narcissistic boyfriend in New York, and agrees to travel back home to Big Bear Lake with her perfect model sister and her nerdy brother-in-law. But a funny Christmas wish has other plans for her. When their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Belle wanders off for help and finds herself cornered by a wolf in the snowy woods. Just when she thinks she's about to be torn to pieces, a massive stranger appears—tall, broad, and sinfully hot, his eyes glowing amber in the moonlight.
He saves her life—and claims her as his.
"You'll be safer here," Jaxon murmurs, his gaze cold yet magnetic. "The full moon rules these woods. You'll be free once it's over."
"When will that be?" Belle asks, heart racing.
"After Christmas," he replies, leaving her unable to look away.
In his secluded cabin, every glance, every touch ignites a fire she hadn't expected. He's possessive. Obsessed. Dangerous. He's everything she wished for when she jokingly wrote to Santa for a "hot werewolf boyfriend." And the way he looks at her curves, the way his presence overwhelms her, makes her question what's real and what's forbidden. Now she's trapped in his arms, a prisoner to his touch, his heat, his growl, and the wild, wicked love burning between them might just make this her best Christmas ever.

Rejecting her one true mate, Alpha Anton Bates, after all the horrible things he and his father had put her through. Nala thought moving into a new land and studying to become a doctor, her life would run smoothly, and she would have a wonderful new start, but it is not as she seems. Her being away from Alpha Anton his love for her has turned into an obsession one that is not healthy for him and dangerous for Nala. But that is not all happening within poor Nala's life. While trying to ignore her alpha mate another alpha's eyes met her. How will Nala get away from these two now or does she don't want one to leave her side.

"Get engross in an intriguing read."

**Social media accounts:
**Facebook page: A.K.Knight
**Instagram: Athan941

In the sixth year of my life as a Scale-Stripper, I finally gathered the hundredth vial of Dragon Breath Essence.

I knelt before the altar, cradling the crystal bottle in both hands. The golden light swirling within it cast a warm glow across my scarred knuckles. Six years — six years of wandering the most dangerous battlefields of the Five Clans and the plague-ridden wastelands, using dragon breath to heal the wounded. For every person I saved, I had peeled away a living scale from my own flesh, baring the raw, bleeding meat beneath.

Seven scales left on my back.

Only seven.

But as long as it saved my brother Lucien, it was worth it.

Six years ago, during the Dragon Slaughter War, our parents had been assassinated by humans. An ancient curse had struck Lucien; his scales were crumbling away, day by day. He told me that only a hundred vials of Dragon Breath Essence could break the curse.

I held the crystal bottle out to him, my voice trembling with barely contained emotion. "Lucien, a hundred vials. We finally have enough."

Lucien took the bottle and glanced at it.

Then he tossed it off the altar without a second thought.

I went rigid.

Lucien stood at the top of the altar.

"I was never cursed," he said.

My hands were still cupped in the shape of holding the bottle, all ten fingers suspended in midair.

"Our parents never died, either."

"The Dragon Slaughter War six years ago, I planned it. The only one left crippled, with broken wings, was you."

Every night when my daughter comes home, she looks different.
On the first night, a little of her hair was gone.
On the second night, she was missing one hand.
On the third night, half of her body had vanished.
I jolted awake in a sudden start, thankful it had only been a nightmare.
Right then, my daughter came back home.
A patch of her hair was missing.

I've been married to billionaire Joseph Miller for three years. Pregnant three times. Aborted three times.

Every time, my husband stood outside the operating room, watching them wheel me in.

The first baby, my mother-in-law Victoria said had spinal deformities. The second, my father-in-law Richard showed a "report" claiming heart defects.

I believed them. I thought it was my fault, something wrong with my body.

Until the third pregnancy.

This time I secretly went to another hospital—DNA showed 99.9% match with Joseph, every prenatal indicator perfect.

I rushed home clutching the report, thinking I could finally save my child.

Victoria glanced at it and tossed it on the coffee table. "You are carrying a healthy baby. But the Miller family doesn't need it."

My in-laws forcibly dragged me to the clinic. I screamed to Joseph for help: "That's your child!"

His eyes were red, but he still let them kill my baby.

Desperate, I demanded a divorce. He coldly refused, tearing at my clothes: "Stop being dramatic. Time for the fourth."

I finally understood—I wasn't his wife. I was their breeding machine.

But why? Why force me to keep getting pregnant, only to kill every healthy baby?

Until that night, I pushed open the attic door that had been locked for three years—

And finally understood everything.

Alice, pregnant and vulnerable, is coerced onto a perilous ride by Frank, goaded by his malicious sister Amelia. "You love danger, don't you?" Frank sneers, ignoring her desperate cries that their child is at risk. After losing the baby, she's abandoned in the hospital. "Pull the plug on the ECMO," Frank coldly orders over the phone, amidst the clatter of mahjong tiles.

Amelia torments Alice further, screeching, "You're nothing but a charity case!" and framing her for corporate crimes. When Alice discovers Amelia caused her mother's suicide, she exposes their schemes.

Frank, ruined, exacts a brutal revenge on Amelia, screaming, "This is for our child!" before taking his own life. In the end, Alice, stronger than ever, finds love and peace running a seaside motel, Frank's final letter laying bare Amelia's treachery.

I was driving my dad's luxury car to pick up a friend when his secretary stopped me on the spot.
She mistook me for the lover who had sex with my dad in his office.
So she used car theft as an excuse to drag me into the basement, beat me up, and took nude photos of me.
When my dad found out, he asked me to apologize to her.
That's when I realized that in his eyes, his reputation mattered more than his own daughter.
If that's the case, he doesn't need to be the figurehead CEO anymore.

Looks weren’t all that important. Those bullies want to smear it in her face that she was less important.
Kiera John. She was proud of her name. When at middle school she got rained with different insulting names, she didn’t find it very funny.
Well things changed when her long lost boy best friend came back to their part of the town and soon she got exposed to a less toxic world.
She even got to be friends with a popular guy at school and thought perhaps her life could change to be the “ideal teen girl's life”. But of course, bullying is still part of teenage life.
Becoming popular at school was the least of her wants but if she had to be to earn her respects and protect her friends, then she would.
Cara Adams, a heartless shitty girl who was crushed on by virtually all the boys from the top best schools at Washington, was set to destroy her by all means. Not wanting to share her crown as Queen of Javin high school, Cara devises ways of shaming our young fighter.
Of course, when your boy best friend is a popular teen model and your school half-crush is the popular and cute Jasper, you might get an inch of survival from a devil like Cara.
Still Cara wasn’t buying it.
Friends and families play an important role in changing Kiera’s perspective of life. She realizes she need not hate her looks and aimed more on accepting herself.
Fate also slowly made her realize that “Hate is taught. Love is natural”.
Her family later was revealed to be the powerful Martinez family with a dirty secret and bad name. Creating another seemingly endless case of courts, rights and inheritance.
She is to prove to the world.

Elizabeth is fresh out of college, and starting her new life. But her new life comes with betrayal, and her very wrong reaction to it.

Despite coming from different social classes, Aspen and Lexa were best friends... Inseparable... until that fateful day that changed everything. When Lexa shows up out of the blue again, years later, desperate for help to save her friends and her people, and Aspen refuses. Aspen has always been a good girl who never asked too many questions, but to ease her own mind, and her old friend's, she decides to go prove herself right. However, nothing is as it seems, and it sends her spiraling on a hunt to discover a truth that has been kept from her. But choosing between her family and what's right, is hardly an easy choice, and Lexa is nothing like the girl she once knew. But to save themselves, they have to risk everything. And nothing is more terrifying than that.

He wanted an open marriage. I gave him exactly what he asked for—with the three men he fears most.
"You gave your body to a man who didn't know what to do with it," Cane murmured, his breath hot on her skin. "Let us show you what it means to be wanted… by three."
Riley gave everything to her marriage until she walked in on her husband and his stepsister cheating on her.
The betrayal shattered her… but only for a moment as she proposes to the one thing he's always wanted: an open marriage. He thought she'd crumble.
Instead, she chose revenge. And nothing stings more than the fact that she picked his three best friends to help her get it.
Three ruthless bikers.
Three men who don't share unless it's worth the risk.
Three Alphas who made Riley theirs the moment she said yes to them.
Now every night, she gives them what her husband took for granted—moans, surrender, and something dangerously close to love. He watches from the sidelines. Burning. Regretting but it's too late.
Because she's not just taking back her power—she's making sure he feels what it's like to be replaced.
And the worst part? He never expected she'd fall for them. And that they'd fall for her. And Riley? She's only just started.

Step into a world where desire knows no boundaries and every touch carries the weight of temptation. From forbidden nuns to jealous stepsisters, shy girls discovering their deepest cravings, and unsuspecting maids in the opulent mansions of billionaires—these stories explore lust, power, and the thrill of the forbidden.
Experience moments that blur the line between control and surrender, as characters navigate hidden passions and broken vows. Every encounter promises intensity, whether it’s a possessive grip, a commanding voice, or a longing that can’t be ignored. These affairs don’t just ignite—they consume, leaving both the willing and the unwilling craving more.
Warning: these tales are for readers who dare to explore the raw, unrestrained side of desire, where lust always wins, and every story leaves a lingering ache.

Three years ago, I was the sole surviving legendary mage of Ash Valley. To fulfill my comrade's dying wish, I married into the Robert family, becoming a despised and bullied son-in-law . For three years, I endured torment and humiliation; my entire family treated me like trash . My wife handed me divorce papers , then accepted the marriage proposal of a nobleman. On my wedding day, I walked into the hall in old clothes, and everyone laughed, thinking I was crazy. Until I shattered all magic with a wave of my hand, my legendary presence overwhelming everyone present, the woman who had once despised me finally cried and asked me: Why did you lie to me?

A blind Alpha who’s never been in love and has a hard time trusting anyone. Even unmated females that his parents partner him with doesn’t want to mate with a blind Alpha. Anthony Alpha is going to wait for his true mate and hope she can see past his blindness.

After being hated and rejected her entire life, for a mistake she made in the past, Lady Rihanna, daughter of the Beta decided to leave Black Hills.
Wandering off as a rogue, she heightened her powers and became the fearsome dread called Your Silver.
Accompanied by her silver wolf, she was ready to unleash hell on all who rejected her but then she meets her second chance mate, Alpha of Black Rose, who she couldn’t refuse.
An evil is rising that'd need the blood of the silver wolf to succeed. Would Rihanna forsake her pain and work with her mates, old and new?
Or would she charge head-on to the evil risking her own life? Enjoy this enthralling read!!

Synopsis:

When twin sisters are exact opposite but somehow gets entangled with the same guy.

Michael Louis was a twelve year old young CEO who after the death of his mother lost interest in this world. He was tired of living hence attempted suicide.

Claudia Larabee, the opposite twin of Clara Larabee, had suffered much unfairness by her family.

For the twelve years of her life, her sister had been a thorn in her flesh. Amidst the wickedness her sister had shown her was forcing a nurse to suck blood from her as donation to some young heir. The consequence of that action, Claudia didn't really recover from.

Claudia, unknown to her, had become a reason a young boy had to live.

Yearning to meet her for once in his life, Michael stumbles upon her wrong twin, Clara.

Years later, he returns to find her again.

The journey he makes to establish a lasting relationship proves dangerous to Claudia, as her wicked twin gets a rich and dangerous friend.

Would Michael realize he's falling for the wrong twin? Or would fate forever give Claudia painful smiles?

They gave him 24 hours to hand over the girl.
He gave them 30 seconds to regret it.

Jack Cole was supposed to be nobody—just another quiet college student.
No records. No past. No trace he ever existed.

But when a powerful family tries to take his cousin as part of a dirty deal…
and a billionaire heiress becomes the target of a professional kill team…

Something buried comes back.

The campus?
Just his cover.

The truth?
He’s a weapon trained for war—
the kind governments deny, and enemies never see coming.

Now the richest family in the city wants him dead.
A private army is moving in.
And a global biotech empire is pulling strings from the shadows.

They think they’re hunting him.

They’re wrong.

Jack isn’t running.
He’s choosing who dies first.

On a stormy night, a horrific crash unfolded on the overpass. The victim was brought to the city forensic center.
My husband, Ethan, slipped on his gloves and expertly examined my shattered body, his voice detached. "Record this: Female, approximately twenty-five years old, suffered severe trauma before death."
His assistant sighed. "That's rough. Not a single family member showed up."
Just then, the assistant slid a misshapen silver band off my mud-streaked finger.
"Sir, this ring... isn't it identical to the one you keep in your desk drawer?"
With a sharp clatter, the scalpel slipped from Ethan's hand and hit the floor.

Trigger/Content Warning:
This story contains mature themes and explicit content intended for adult audiences(18+). Reader discretion is advised.
It includes elements such as BDSM dynamics, explicit sexual content, toxic family relationships, occasional violence and strong language.
This is not a fluffy romance. It is intense, raw and messy, and explores the darker side of desire.


“Take off your dress, Meadow.”

“Why?”

“Because your ex is watching,” he said, leaning back into his seat. “And I want him to see what he lost.”

••••••••••••*
Meadow Russell was supposed to get married to the love of her life in Vegas. Instead, she walked in on her twin sister riding her fiance.

One drink at the bar turned to ten. One drunken mistake turned into reality. And one stranger’s offer turned into a contract that she signed with shaking hands and a diamond ring.

Alaric Ashford is the devil in a tailored Tom Ford suit. Billionaire CEO, brutal, possessive. A man born into an empire of blood and steel.
He also suffers from a neurological condition—he can’t feel. Not objects, not pain, not even human touch.

Until Meadow touches him, and he feels everything. And now he owns her. On paper and in his bed.
She wants him to ruin her. Take what no one else could have. He wants control, obedience… revenge.
But what starts as a transaction slowly turns into something Meadow never saw coming.

Obsession, secrets that were never meant to surface, and a pain from the past that threatens to break everything.

Alaric doesn’t share what’s his.
Not his company.
Not his wife.
And definitely not his vengeance.

She was his fated mate… and his wife in name only.
Every night, Damien claimed her body, while his heart belonged to another woman. Elias endured it all, playing the perfect Luna, holding together a marriage filled with desire, but no love.
Then she became pregnant.
She believed the child would finally soften him, that the mate bond might at last mean something.
Instead, her mate personally sent her to the operating table.
"Elias," he said coldly, "you and the baby—only one can survive."
Her world shattered.
Her love meant nothing.
Her pleas meant nothing.
Completely broken, Elias vanished from his world without a trace.
Years later, she returned, no longer the obedient Luna he discarded, but a radiant, untouchable woman who stunned the entire pack. Only then did Damien realize what he had destroyed.
He fell to his knees, desperate.
"Come home, Elias."
She smiled calmly.
"Sorry. I'm no longer interested in mates."
His eyes darkened as he stepped closer.
"Then explain why you begged me to stop last night."

He made sure he protected her, till she got on her feet again.

Megan White, who was nineteen years old, lived alone and moved a lot out of concern that her tormentors would track her out and find her. She is the Alpha's daughter from the Phobos pack, where her father and the rest of the pack hate her just for being there. He became vicious and started abusing drugs and alcohol. At age 5, he began abusing her since she was too young to understand what was occurring or why. He was out of money and his pack was disintegrating. So, when she was 15, her father sold her to a group of rogues. She has never experienced love or compassion, making her distrustful.

The Mountain Ridge pack's 21-year-old Alpha is named Jason Lars. From a young age, he learned how to respect and behave decently with women. Because of his power and capacity to guide and protect his pack. Since his first shift at age 16, he has been waiting for his mate, but she has never appeared.

Will Megan turn out to be Jason's mate and also get rescued by Jason?

Will Jason be able to win her trust?

Arriving in a strange world filled with cultivators, Chu Che suddenly becomes the owner of an Entertainment system... Specifically, he becomes the owner of an Entertainment Park.
[Chu Che: What? I get to own an Entertainment Park in another word?
Author: Zip It MC. I'm talking.
Chu Che: ("")] ....
The young Chu Che begins his rise to the top.
And along his path, he becomes a legendary master who countless people dare not offend.
[Emperor Hoshi]: Hahahahahahaha! I've just broken through after watching the 7th season of one piece! As expected of the entertainment park!"
[The Great Elder Pei Mo]: "Damn You Park Owner! How can you close the park now? I was just about to rank up in the Elder Scrolls game!"
[Fairy Wei Wei]: "This game is too much! How can I fall into a pit of snakes just like that? No way. I'm not reconciled! I, Fairy Wei Wei, must become victorious in this game of snakes and ladders."
[Goddess Laila]: ... ~Oooooooooo! Why is it so tragic? What happened to senior John Snow? How can he be dead? Owner, you go in there and save him now!"
(--)
...
The mighty Chu Che opened an 'Anime, Gaming, & Fantasy Entertainment Park, which shattered the reality of many and led to the rise of countless experts.
Thus, the young man became the most invincible man to all.
.
Thank you, everyone!
I will post daily, so stay tuned!
......

“Mate is back,” Cyan retorted with excitement in her voice. “Let's go see mate, Evie; let's go see him.” She urged.

“We'll see him tomorrow during the ceremony,” I replied.

“What if he doesn't know you anymore? Aren't you at least curious about his looks?” she retorted.

She had a point, though; it's been ten whole years since I last saw him, and I'll be turning eighteen tomorrow, which is the perfect time to get a mate. I stood there contemplating between going to bed or satisfying my curiosity.

After much thought, Cyan won. I turned sharply, heading for Kieran's room. Even though it was just a glimpse of him as he slept, that would be okay, I thought.

I climbed through the walls, peeping through the window, but was met with great darkness. I stepped into the room, scrutinizing through the darkness until I found the switch, taking back my full shape, leaving me with ripped and torn clothes. I turned on the lights as my eyes danced through every corner of the room.

I felt my shoulders slump in defeat as nothing had changed; the room remained untouched, as the surfaces were filled with dust. The only thing that changed was the sheets. The beautifully colored sheets I had placed the last time I came here to clean had been changed into a sparkling white one.

I turned around in disappointment about leaving when I felt an intimidating presence behind me.

“Looking for someone?” A husky voice echoed, making me freeze. “You're trespassing, little wolf; care to explain why?” he added in a stern voice. I inhaled sharply, the rich scent of Bourbon filling my lungs. My eyes widened in shock.

Alicia's life takes an unexpected turn when she is forced to marry Tobias Wilton, the mysterious brother of the powerful Alpha of the Golden Moon Pack. But their marriage is anything but conventional. Alicia never sees Tobias, and her life remains the same, except for her new status as a married woman. She wonders if she is doomed to a loveless, lonely life.
But one fateful night changes everything. Alicia accidentally sleeps with her mate, Damian Howard, and suddenly, her whole world is turned upside down. But little does she know, Damian is actually her husband Tobias, who has been living a double life in his quest for revenge against his uncle and grandfather.
Tobias’ past is shrouded in secrets and intrigue. All he did was to take revenge, including choosing an ordinary girl as his wife in his old role. For him, the fact that his wife is his mate is just an entertaining game beyond revenge, because he never believes in love and mate things.
As they navigate the treacherous waters of love and betrayal, secrets and lies threaten to tear them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles in their path and build a future together? Or will the forces working against them keep them apart forever?
This is a story of passion, loyalty, and love filled with lies. Join Alicia and Tobias on their journey and it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Ethan interposed his finger on her lips and gently silenced her. "Shh, babygirl," he cooed, "It's alright. I am here now." And without warning, he strode over to his desk and, in one fluid motion, bent Ava over it.
He lifted the exquisite gown, exposing her lissome frame and revealing her slender legs. With a primal instinct, he used his teeth to rip off her panties, relishing the sound of the fabric tearing. Her scent, a mix of jasmine and musk, was alluring, and he could feel his arousal growing with each passing moment.
He traced back up her spine with his lips, teasing her with light feathery kisses. With one hand, he reached down between her legs, caressing her clitoris, his fingers moving in slow, circular motions that made her lose herself. The way she responded to his touch was electric, and it made him crave her even more.
Will they continue their secret affair after a family member threatens to expose them? What happens if Ava's fiancé and Ethan's wife find out?
What will Ethan do when both his wife and mistress discover that they are pregnant?
Is he the father?

Five years. That's what I gave Vaelor, Crown Prince of the Dark Elves.
I was already dressed for the betrothal ceremony when I caught his voice through the gap in the council hall door.
"You're really going through with it? The human?"
"Of course. The Alliance has kept a blade at our throats for years. Their leader's apprentice, given to us in marriage—that puts it away."
"But if she suspects—"
"She won't."
"And Lyseth—"
"Lyseth is who matters. The human is manageable."
I didn't make it out of the courtyard. A blade came from the darkness before I could summon a defense.
When I woke up, I remembered everything. Aldric. Isara. The Alliance. Five years of roads, every step.
Just not his face.
Aldric's messenger stone was on the nightstand. Short, direct: Return to the Alliance. Political marriage. Orc Royal House.
I wrote back: Seven days.

Victoria discovered that I hadn't submitted any supplemental medical expense claims for two weeks.
She assumed I had finally been disciplined and had given up what she called "the exploitative nature of the lower class."
Little did she know, my backpack held the signed divorce papers and my mother's death certificate.
As I turned to leave, I was still wearing the discounted trench coat she'd casually given me three years ago when we got married.
What she didn't know was that I, a deep-sea geology genius from MIT, willingly endured three years of her humiliation and ridiculous rules, just so my mother could stay in her conglomerate's private hospital to prolong her life.
Now, my mother has died because of unpaid bills , and even her ashes are carried by me in a cheap canvas bag.
Now that my loved one is dead, there's no need for me to continue being her obstructive dog on Wall Street. The lives she owed with those approval forms, I will settle with the collapse of her entire conglomerate empire.

My life with alpha Caleb was a never - ending nightmare.

Manipulated by Amara, he became my tormentor.

I endured his infidelity, false accusations, and brutal abuse.

Amara framed me for her miscarriage, and Caleb, without hesitation, believed her lies.

He forced an abortion on me, broke my legs, and stood by as Amara caused the death of my mother.

Every hope I had for our relationship was shattered.

Finally, I found the strength to break free and sever the mate bond.

In Nathaniel, my childhood friend, I discovered true love and support.

Despite Caleb’s desperate attempts to win me back, I refused to return to the darkness...

“You will not sleep until you are finished with AGENT ZERO. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. The description of the action scenes transport us into a reality that is almost like sitting in a movie theater with surround sound and 3D (it would make an incredible Hollywood movie). I can hardly wait for the sequel.”--Roberto Mattos, Books and Movie ReviewsIn this much-anticipated debut of an epic spy thriller series by #1 bestseller Jack Mars, readers are taken on an action thriller across Europe as presumed-CIA operative Kent Steele, hunted by terrorists, by the CIA, and by his own identity, must solve the mystery of who is after him, of the terrorists’ pending target—and of the beautiful woman he keeps seeing in his mind.Kent Steele, 38, a brilliant professor of European History at Columbia University, lives a quiet life in a New York suburb with his two teenage daughters. All that changes when late one night he gets a knock on his door and is abducted by three terrorists—and finds himself flown across the ocean to be interrogated in a basement in Paris.They are convinced that Kent is the most lethal spy the CIA has ever known. He is convinced they have the wrong man.Do they?With a conspiracy around him, adversaries as smart as he is, and an assassin on his tail, the wild game of cat and mouse leads Kent on a perilous road—one that may lead back to Langley—and to a shocking discovery of his own identity.AGENT ZERO is an espionage thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night.“One of the best thrillers I have read this year.”--Books and Movie Reviews (re Any Means Necessary )Also available is Jack Mars’ #1 bestselling LUKE STONE THRILLER series (7 books), which begins with Any Means Necessary (Book #1), a free download with over 800 five star reviews!

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone) LEFT TO DIE is book #1 in a new FBI thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. FBI special agent Adele Sharp is a German-and-French raised American with triple citizenship—and an invaluable asset in bringing criminals to justice as they cross American and European borders.When a serial killer case spanning three U.S. states goes cold, Adele returns to San Francisco and to the man she hopes to marry. But after a shocking twist, a new lead surfaces and Adele is dispatched to Paris, to lead an international manhunt.Adele returns to the Europe of her childhood, where familiar Parisian streets, old friends from the DGSI and her estranged father reignite her dormant obsession with solving her own mother’s murder. All the while she must hunt down the diabolical killer, must enter the dark canals of his psychotic mind to know where he will strike next—and save the next victim before it’s too late.An action-packed mystery series of international intrigue and riveting suspense, LEFT TO DIE will have you turning pages late into the night.Books #2 and #3 in the series – LEFT TO RUN and LEFT TO HIDE – are also available for preorder!

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) CITY OF PREY (An Ava Gold Mystery—Book 1) is the debut novel in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. In the rough streets of 1920s New York City, 34 year-old Ava Gold, a widower and single mom, claws her way up to become the first female homicide detective in her NYPD precinct. She is as tough as they come, and willing to hold her own in a man’s world.But when a psychotic serial killer unleashes a rampage, murdering young women across the city, Ava will have to search the dark canals of the twisted killer’s mind if she has any hope of hunting him down. With psychological profiling still in its infancy, and mocked by most, Ava will be even more alone as she follows her instinct, and hunts him down in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.Just when it seems the stakes couldn’t be higher, Ava comes to an awful realization: she herself may be the next target.Amidst the speakeasies, jazz clubs, mafia-run prohibition rings, horrific mental asylums and dangerous back alleys of the city, can Ava achieve what all the men cannot: enter the sick mind of a killer, and stop him before more women die?A heart-pounding suspense thriller filled with shocking twists, the authentic and atmospheric AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES is a riveting page-turner, endearing us to a strong and brilliant character that will capture your heart and keep you reading late into the night.Books #2 and #3 in the series—CITY OF FEAR and CITY OF BONES—are now also available.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense: CAUSE TO FEAR (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 4).When a body turns up floating beneath the frozen Charles River, the Boston Police summons its most brilliant and controversial homicide detective—Avery Black—to close the case. It doesn’t take Avery long, however, to realize that this is no isolated murder: it is the work of a serial killer.Other bodies begin to turn up, all of them sharing one thing in common: all are trapped in ice. Is it all a coincidence—or the signature of a particularly deranged killer?As the media converges and Avery suffers pressure from her bosses, she struggles to crack the inexplicable case, too bizarre even for her brilliant mind. At the same time she tries to keep her own depression at bay, as her personal life spirals to a new low. And she does it all while trying to enter the mind of a psychotic and elusive killer.What she will find will shock even her, and make her realizes that nothing is what it seems—and that the worst darkness may sometimes be closest to us.A psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO FEAR is book #4 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #5 in the Avery Black series will be available soon. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.Homicide Detective Avery Black has been through hell. Once a top criminal defense attorney, she fell from grace when she managed to get a brilliant Harvard professor off—only to watch him kill again. She lost her husband and her daughter, and her life fell apart around her.Trying to redeem herself, Avery has turned to the other side of the law. Working her way up the ranks, she has reached Homicide Detective, to the scorn of her fellow officers, who still remember what she did, and who will always hate her.Yet even they cannot deny Avery’s brilliant mind, and when a disturbing serial killer strikes fear into the heart of Boston, killing girls from elite colleges, it is Avery that they turn to. It is Avery’s chance to prove herself, to finally find the redemption she craves. And yet, as she is soon to find out, Avery has come up against a killer as brilliant and daring as she.In this game of psychological cat and mouse, women are dying with mysterious clues, and the stakes could not be higher. A frantic race against time leads Avery through a series of shocking and unexpected twists—culminating in climax that even Avery could not imagine. A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO KILL marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the Avery Black series will be available soon.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense—the AVERY BLACK SERIES—which continues here with CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6), also a standalone novel. The series begins with CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)—a free download with over 200 five star reviews!A woman turns up dead in her own apartment, locked in her closet, her body crawling with poisonous spiders, and the Boston police are stumped. As all of their leads collapse, they are dreading the killer will strike again. Desperate, the police have no choice but to turn to Boston’s most brilliant and controversial homicide detective—Avery Black. Now retired, Avery, in a low point in her own life, reluctantly agrees to help with the case. But when other bodies start turning up, murdered in grotesque and unusual ways, Avery can’t help but wonder: is there a serial killer on the loose?With the intense media pressure and the stress of having a new, inexperienced partner, Avery is pushed to her limit as she struggles to crack the bizarre cases—and to keep herself from falling into the abyss. Avery finds herself falling deeper and deeper into the twisted mind of the killer, who holds more secrets than Avery could imagine.The most riveting and shocking book of the series, a psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO DREAD will leave you turning pages late into the night. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

At the engagement party, Adrian walked in with pregnant Celeste: "Sorry, the engagement is off."

"Why?" I stared at him intently.

"The baby is Adrian's," Celeste sobbed, "I can't let my child grow up without a father..."

"You're just an orphan with no money or connections," Adrian looked at me coldly, "You're not good enough for me."

Just when I was completely humiliated, butler Steven found me. "Miss Hayes, we've been searching for you for twenty-three years. You're the long-lost heiress of Hayes Corporation."

A week later at the family reunion banquet, Adrian knelt before me: "Iris, please give me another chance!"

"You can stay by my side," I looked down at him condescendingly, "but not as my boyfriend—as my servant."

But when Celeste accidentally miscarried, the truth shocked everyone...

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense: CAUSE TO HIDE (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 3).Bodies are being found in the outskirts of Boston, their corpses burned beyond recognition, as the police realize a new serial killer is roaming the streets. As the media converges and the pressure is upped, the Boston Police Department must turn to its most brilliant—and controversial—homicide detective: Avery Black.Avery, still trying to pick up the pieces of her own life—her budding relationship with Ramirez, her reconciliation with Rose—suddenly finds herself thrown into the most challenging case of her career. With scant evidence to follow, she must enter the mind of a psychotic killer, try to understand his obsession with fire, and what clues that offers into his personality. Her trail leads her deep into Boston’s worst neighborhoods, to confrontations with its worst psychopaths—and finally, to a twist she could never possibly imagine.In a game of psychological cat and mouse, a frantic race against time, Avery is led too deep into the maze of a killer’s mind, and to places darker than she’d ever wish to see.A psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO HIDE is book #3 of a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #4 in the Avery Black series will be available soon. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense. In CAUSE TO RUN (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 2), a new serial killer is stalking Boston, killing his victims in bizarre ways, taunting the police with mysterious puzzles that reference the stars. As the stakes are upped and the pressure is on, the Boston Police Department is forced to call in its most brilliant—and most controversial—homicide detective: Avery Black.Avery, still reeling from her last case, finds herself up against a rival precinct and a brilliant, cunning killer who is always one step ahead of her. She is forced to enter his dark, twisted mind as he lays clues for his next killing, and forced to look into places in her own mind she would rather not go. She finds herself compelled to seek the counsel of Howard Randall, the twisted serial killer she’d put behind bars years ago, all while her new burgeoning life with Rose and Ramirez is falling apart.And just as things cannot get any worse, she finds out something else: she herself may be the target.In a game of psychological cat and mouse, a frantic race against time leads Avery through a series of shocking and unexpected twists—culminating in climax that even Avery could not imagine. A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO RUN is book #2 of a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #3 in the Avery Black series will be available soon. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense: CAUSE TO SAVE (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 5)—the final installment in the Avery Black series.In the epic finale of the Avery Black series, serial killer Howard Randall has escaped, and the entire city of Boston is on edge. Women are turning up gruesomely murdered, and everyone suspects Howard is at it again. When Boston’s most brilliant and controversial homicide detective—Avery Black—is herself stalked—and when people close to her are brutally killed, one by one—it seems the city’s worst fears are confirmed.But Avery is not so sure. The murders remind her of something she once saw in her past. They remind her of something too close to her heart—something that had to do with a secret she thought she had buried long ago….The most riveting and shocking book of the series, a psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO SAVE is the finale that will leave you turning pages late into the night. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

After a devastating betrayal and heartbreak in her modern life, Isabella thought her story had come to a tragic end. But fate had other plans. She awakens in the body of Lady October Catherine Windsor—an outcast noblewoman in a world pulled straight from the pages of a manhwa.
October’s life is far from a fairy tale. Born of a scandalous love between a Duke and a common pianist, she is scorned by the nobility and tormented by her own family—especially her twin sister, May, and the cunning Anna Marie. Her existence in the Windsor estate is a careful dance of survival.
But Isabella is no longer the girl who suffered in silence.
With her soul reborn in October’s body, she carries the strength of two lives, determined not to repeat the heartbreak of the past. As she navigates courtly intrigue, cruel siblings, and the weight of her family's legacy, she refuses to bend to those who want her broken.
Everything changes when she meets Emperor Baldwin of the Northern Kingdom—stoic, guarded, and dangerously alluring. What begins as a chance encounter soon becomes something deeper. In Baldwin, October finds not only unexpected tenderness, but the possibility of a second chance at love.
But love in this world comes with a price.
Enemies lurk in silks and shadows, and her presence threatens delicate alliances. October must choose—cling to her past, or risk everything for the future she never dreamed she'd get.
Will she rewrite her fate, or be swallowed once again by a world that was never kind to girls like her?

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) GIRL, ALONE (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1) is the debut novel in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. FBI Agent Ella Dark, 29, is given her big chance to achieve her life’s dream: to join the Behavorial Crimes Unit. Ella has a hidden obsession: she has studied serial killers from the time she could read, devastated by the murder of her own sister. With her photographic memory, she has obtained an encyclopedic knowledge of every serial killer, every victim and every case. Singled out for her brilliant mind, Ella is invited to join the big leagues.But when a killer strikes in the swamps of Louisiana, Ella soon comes to learn that the real thing is nothing she could expect. Face to face with a real murder, a real killer, and a real ticking clock, Ella realizes she can’t rely on her knowledge. She must learn to trust her instinct, and allow herself to enter the dark canals of a real killer’s mind. If she gets it wrong, her career is at stake.And so is the next victim’s life.Will Ella’s talent be an asset? Or the source of her downfall?A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the ELLA DARK series is a riveting mystery, packed with suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.Books #2 and #3 in the series—GIRL, TAKEN and GIRL, HUNTED—are also available.

"Turn around. I want to fuck you."
I blinked. "What?"
"I said turn...around."
Before I could speak again, he had me on my stomach, face buried in the sheets. I could smell the heat of myself in the fabric. His weight hovered behind me, knees against the bed, strong thighs pressed to the outside of mine, holding me still. My skirt was hiked up around my waist. I wasn’t wearing anything underneath.


Kristen Lockwood never expected to fall for her father's best friend. She only met Leo Moretti after her father’s death, when a stranger on a motorcycle showed up with a scar across his knuckles, a gun under his jacket, and eyes that looked at her like she was already dangerous.
He says he’s here to protect her, that it’s what her father wanted. But he watches her too closely, speaks too little, and sets rules she can't help but break. He acts like touching her would ruin them both.

The worst part is, she wants him to.

Leo Moretti is the leader of the Bloodhounds, a supernatural biker gang that guards the borders between worlds. He never met Kristen until now, never even knew she existed and definitely didn’t expect her to come crashing down his walls with her presence.
Now every moment between them feels like something waiting to snap. She wants to get under his skin. She wants to see what happens when he finally loses control. She wants to see how far he can go before he slams her into his bed.

Leo is not allowed to want her.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t.

Warning: Contains strong language, graphic sexual content, supernatural violence, and dark themes. Recommended for mature audiences only.

TITLE: MARRIED TO AN OLD BILLIONAIRE, IN LOVE WITH HIS SON.

Eve has no choice but to give up her own dreams and marry the old billionaire who could even be her grandfather ...due to her father's illness and the expensive operational costs.
Despite the sex harassment she faces on a regular basis, the humiliation she receives from the old man's son, Liam is another source of pain for Eve. Then, Eve's only thought is to make as much money as she can and get away from the family.
Nevertheless, as Liam works with Eve, he gradually falls in love with the girl he used to loathe.
What will he do about his hidden feelings for his stepmother?