8815 Book(s) Related to the vampire diaries books in order to read

Death by Seduction (Book #13 in the Caribbean Murder series)

DEATH BY DEVOTION is Book #9 in the Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with the free book DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five star reviews on Amazon! Before they get engaged, Cindy urges Mattheus to meet his long-lost Caribbean daughter, whom he has never met. Sixteen years ago, after a one night stand, the woman became pregnant, and Mattheus quickly left. Mattheus’ beautiful, volatile, fifteen year old daughter, Andrea, badly needs him, and she wants him to come to Anguilla, where she lives, so they can get to know each other. One caveat, though: he has to come without Cindy. Andrea has a mother, and one mother is enough. Mattheus feels his daughter is in trouble, feels compelled to go, and abruptly leaves Cindy behind. Convinced that her relationship with Mattheus is over, Cindy returns to the States, ready to start her life again. A few days after she gets back, amidst the excitement and a wonderful job offer, she receives a startling call from Mattheus down in Anguilla: Andrea’s stepfather has been killed and Andrea was found beside him, covered in his blood. Mattheus, desperate, begs Cindy to come down and help. Not only has his daughter been taken into custody—but now he is a suspect as well. Unable to say no, Cindy returns to the Caribbean to help find the true killer and to attempt to free both Mattheus and his daughter—but she soon finds that she’s up against an underground web of danger on the island, and it may be too late to save all of them—including herself. DEATH BY DEVOTION is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder series.

DEATH BY ENGAGEMENT is Book #12 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)—a free download! It is also a standalone novel.In Death by Engagement (Book #12 of the Caribbean Murder Series), Cindy and Mattheus joyously head to Aruba to search for a wedding venue for their destination wedding. Thrilled, they enter the magical, romantic world of wedding planning and along the way, meet another recently engaged couple, also looking for a place to be wed. But the beauty of Cindy and Mattheus’s time together is suddenly interrupted, when they learn that the young woman they had just met has plunged to her death at a nearby cliff.Although she left a suicide note, the girl’s devastated father refuses to believe she took her own life. He begs Cindy and Mattheus to investigate and see if foul play was at work. Although Mattheus refuses, Cindy is compelled to give it a chance, a decision which causes increasing tension in Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship, and which brings out aspects of each of them never seen before.As Cindy explores the inner workings of the young woman’s life and family, many shocking surprises also take place in her relationship with Mattheus. Not only does Cindy have to remain strong and persistent in uncovering the cause of the death, she must go through many personal changes to deal with what’s happening in her own life.A surprise end on all fronts turns all expectations upside down.

DEATH BY BETRAYAL is Book #10 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a FREE download on Amazon! Cindy and Mattheus part ways, and while he stays in the Caribbean to protect his daughter and her mother, she returns home. Cindy’s sister, Ann, meets her at the airport to welcome her back to this new chapter of her life. Cindy starts to settle back in, to meet old friends and make plans to take on a new job—when a shocking call suddenly comes. It is a call Cindy never could have expected in her wildest dreams, a call that rips her world apart. Someone close to her—too close—has been found murdered in Bermuda. Cindy has no choice but to get on the next plane to Bermuda and hunt for the killer. Before long, Cindy finds herself enmeshed in an underworld of big business and crime. Beside herself, hitting dead ends, Cindy is forced to call Mattheus to help. Once again, their stormy relationship deepens and takes a new turn, as they plunge into solving this crime together. But it all may be too late….

When an old friend’s husband goes missing, she calls Cindy for help. Fresh from her own tragedy, Cindy returns to the Caribbean, this time to the gorgeous, lush island of Grenada, to find him.Cindy, still grieving her own husband’s death, stays at her friend’s incredible villa on the ocean, as she does her best to help track down her friend’s husband, Ames. As Cindy investigates, she meets the different characters on the island, some local, some fantastically rich, all of whom seem to be involved with each other, either romantically or in shady business dealings. As Cindy uncovers secret affairs, odd money dealings and drugs, she realizes there is a complex web on the island, hidden from public view. And as she digs deeper into Ames’ life, she is shocked to discover how many secrets he had been hiding from his wife—and that she never really knew the man she loved. The police at first refuse to take her seriously, but they soon gain respect for her tough intelligence, courage and determination. Cindy’s relationship with one cop in particular, Mattheus, develops in unexpected ways, as they give each other solace from their losses.But Cindy digs too deep. Soon, she finds her own life in peril, as she heads into the dark underside of the island. Startling developments in the investigation lead to a shocking ending, as a body is discovered, and Cindy alone must find out if they’ve convicted the wrong person…DEATH BY DIVORCE is Book #2 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1).Book #3 in the series--DEATH BY MARRIAGE--and Book #4 in the series--DEATH BY DESIRE--are now also available.

In the kingdom of the Alpha King, Janelle, a trusted servant, conceals a burning desire for revenge against her parents' killers. When she discovers her true mate is the prince, her world is thrown into turmoil. Torn between love and vengeance, Janelle's quest for justice takes a dangerous turn as secrets unravel and betrayal lurks at every corner. Will she choose love or succumb to the darkness of her past?

Medici and her two vampire lovers.

"Guys, this is Isabella" Sarah introduced me,

"Okay guys so Isabella is apparently a first year, and from a random orphanage and didn't even know that her Dom is a king" Sarah laughed to me.

"You're with Edward? I couldn't handle him" Payton said.

"Handle him?" I asked, the girls all giggled.

"I didn't even make it past his manners phase" Sarah told me.

"Edward shares the throne of England and Russian territory with his father" Veronica explained to me,

"Wait what, England and Russia? What do you mean, England has a queen?" I told them,

"Not the human queen silly, the Vampi-" Payton was cut off by Edward strictly calling my name.

I turned around, terrified,

"Isabella, come here" he called to me, and beckoned for me to come to him. I walked over to him shyly, feeling the glare of jealously on the back of my neck.

"Yes sir?" I asked him when I approached, he sat in between other doms.

"Sit here darling" he told me and motioned to his lap. My cheeks were bright red,

"On-on your lap Edward?" I asked him.

"How DARE you address him by his name-" another dominant said to me, Edward help up his hand to silence him.

"Sweetheart, I know you're still new to this, but you will address me as 'sir' or 'master' here. Now sit on my lap" he told me. I sat on his lap.

Edward whispered something to Eros,

"Punish the girls for the gossip" he said calmly.

"Girls" Eros said harshly, they all looked over

"You all are being punished together for talking about things that are not yours to tell" Edward said calmly. They all look mortified.

"Go wait in the red room, I'll be watching your punishment with my sub" he said calmly.

Arkhaios is a very secret society. Isabella, however, as a human girl was invited. No one knows that Isabella is a pureblood royal child.
"Why would a royal child be orphaned?" someone would asked. Purebloods were rare, powerful, and honored. Royal families rarely concieved.
Because she's a Medici.
The Medici's, the thirteenth royal family. Previously the most powerful royal vampire family, until the twelve Royal famlies voted to have their line ended for war crimes.

Isabella is orphaned at birth. She gains admission into prestigious academy outside of London. When she attends the academy, she meets Edward.
Edward is commissioned by his father and the headmaster to mentor and protect her. While Edward is annoyed with the task, he falls in love with her. Isabella learns that she is not an orphan, but in fact a very powerful, yet-to-shift vampire. Attacks begin on her life.
Damien, Edward's half brother was hired by Edward to protect her full-time at the Academy. Isabella and Damien fall in love.
The three are told their relationship is untraditional and forced to keep it a secret...
It won't be a secret as you guess.

"I can smell your arousal... your pussy is small and delicate like the bulb of a flower, pink, swollen and shaved. Do you like my touch, slave?" the vampire prince asks, spreading my thighs as I sit on his lap in front of everyone almost naked.

"Fucking wet," he whispers, pulling my thighs together and apart, obviously enjoying the sound of the wetness between my legs. "Your mind may not be mine, your will not quite... but your body? Your body responds to me. I am the master of an aroused little virgin slave," he growls passionately into my ear.

Calista never imagined her fiancé would sell her as payment for a debt. Now she's part of an ancient and cruel vampire tradition: The Blood Hunt. In it, the damned run for their lives while the vampires get their kicks hunting them down and claiming them as slaves.

Her captor is the Dark Prince, the most feared of all. A deadly predator who has found nothing to interest him for centuries... until now.

Trapped in a world of shadows and desire, Calista must face deadly trials, resist the prince's seduction, and discover the truth about her existence. When two enemies doomed to destroy each other cannot live without each other ... the only choice is to embrace the darkness.

"Hey! Who do you think you--oh!" The man dragging her had stopped moving, which caused Serene to crash against his back. Or as her fingers pronounced it, chest.

As she looked up into his face, she met blue eyes shining through a gold colored mask with red linings. There was no amusement in his eyes nor were there any signs of a positive emotion.

As he stared back she couldn't help but wonder, 'we've met before, haven't we?'

Her eyes widen as his frown turned into a cheeky grin that Serene only saw at school.

"Who am I? I'm your new Daddy."
......................................................................

Serene had a vicious stepmother and stepsister just like Cinderella and met her prince at a midnight dance. But the difference was he was a vampire prince, and she was not his original chosen mate. He approached Serene by mistake.

Two years later, Serene secretly became a maid in the palace, wanted to investigate her family’s death and took revenge. The arrogant vampire prince Leo would be her first aim. But the murderer turned out to be the person by her aside. It was her stepmother! Will Cinderella Serene and Prince Leo defeat evil and happily live together just like in a fairy tale?

Blair Evans is a nurse working in downtown Chicago, living day to day. She has seen lots of odd things in the ER, but never did she expect to cross paths with a man—Raven Black—a vampire. After saving Raven’s life from a vampire hunter, Raven is dedicated to protecting Blair’s life in return.
But Raven isn’t just a vampire. He’s a vampire enforcer for the Luciano mafia coven, ruthless and feared by many, but not Blair. With her attraction to Raven comes the wave about to turn her entire world upside down.
Can the two fight against all odds to live happily ever after? Or will their world come crashing down around them?


“You’re burning up,” mutters Raven, his eyes boring into mine.
“We can’t help what we like,” I say, mouth drying as every nerve spark like a live wire.
“And I can’t help that I want to bury myself inside of you.” Raven’s eyes darken with lust.
Falling for the Vampire Enforcer is created by Claire Wilkins, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

I was just an ordinary girl—until the Vampire King claimed me as his cursed mate. Now my blood holds a power I can’t control, one that awakens only when I’m threatened… which in Lucian’s deadly court is every moment.

Training under a king who is as dangerous as he is mesmerizing, I’m thrown into duels, missions, and political traps designed to break me. The rival princess wants me destroyed, the council wants me tested, and a prophecy says my blood could change the entire vampire world.

I must learn to wield a weapon that is my own self.

“Mr. Cross, why have you been suffering from insomnia for ten years?”

“Because… I’ve been waiting for someone.”

“A woman?”

I looked at the mysterious man in front of me and realized for the first time that my patient was far more complicated than I had imagined.

My name is Mila Thorne. I’m 26 years old, and I’m a psychologist.

I used to be the top psychologist at the most prestigious private hospital in Dusk City. But after being betrayed by my best friend, I lost my job and everything I had worked for. With my rent due and no other options, I accepted a high-paying offer—to become the private psychologist of Draven Cross, the CEO of Darke Group.

Everyone in Dusk City warned me about Draven Cross.

He was a cold and dangerous man. He controlled the largest multinational corporation in the city, possessed unimaginable wealth and power, yet he had been suffering from severe insomnia for years.

But after spending time with him, I realized he wasn’t anything like the rumors described.

He would treat my injuries when I got hurt, remember the foods I liked, and quietly take care of me after my long days of work.

The strangest thing was…

The man who hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully for ten years could finally fall asleep whenever I stayed by his side.

He said the scent on my body made him feel safe.

He said that as long as I was there, he could sleep.

I thought it was just a special psychological dependence.

Until I discovered that he was hiding a secret.

He lived in darkness, couldn’t be exposed to sunlight, had an unusually cold body temperature, and drank a strange “red wine” that didn’t smell like alcohol at all.

All of this reminded me of the person who saved me sixteen years ago.

When Selene Raine is sold to the Vampire King by the father who despises her, she expects death to follow shortly after. Instead, she finds herself trapped inside Ravenwyck Castle — a place of silver halls, ancient secrets, and a ruler far crueler than the monsters from her childhood nightmares.

King Lucian Drax is cold, merciless, and cursed. He should hate her for the witch blood running through her veins.

He does.

Yet the longer Selene remains at his side, the more dangerous their connection becomes.

Because her blood grants him something no vampire should possess:
the ability to walk beneath the sun.

Now Lucian refuses to let her go — not when kingdoms are preparing for war, enemies are closing in, and Selene may hold the key to a power capable of changing the supernatural world forever.

But in a kingdom built on blood and betrayal, falling for the Vampire King may prove far deadlier than being his slave.

This story is about a girl named Lila who was born to a human mother Melody and vampire hybrid father Lance . Lance did not know what he was until his father a vampire king came looking. His bloodline will allow vampires to eat human food and walk in the day. Lance was drawn to Melody because she was a direct descendant of Adam and Eve. A hybrid can only make another true hybrid if their mate is a descendant of that bloodline. Melody had to go through a test by having sex with multiple other vampires during a one night ritual to prove she is going to be loyal to Lance. Once the test is past she will be properly married in the eyes of the vampire coven. Lance and Melody eventually have a baby girl, Lila, that they hide from the king. They know her fate will be the same as Melody's and they do not want their daughter to suffer the same awful experience as she did. An opposing coven figures out Lila is a hybrid and does a recon mission to get close to her. Eventually they have to hide within the vampire king's coven. Lila will propose a list of men her grandfather and father approve of and they have to apply to date her. She falls for two of them, but one of them will betray her and she is able to make her choice, but not after going through hell.

In a country ruled by vampires, becoming a pet means losing everything—your dignity, your rights, your freedom.
But Aria, with her golden eyes and warm brown skin, ends up as the only pet no one wants to buy. She’s an outsider, treated like a flaw in the system, pushed aside and looked down on her whole life.
Until fate twists.
The vampire prince, Dorian, chooses her—the one girl everyone else rejected.
And from that moment on, Aria’s world turns upside down.

This is a m/f/m erotica

With the witches at war with the werewolves and vampires, it's up to King Allesandro to step up and eliminate the threats. But then something happens. He finds his beloved. He never thought he and his brother could ever find their mate. They never wanted one... until her. The obedient servant to the twin vampires. They love to share her and make her succumb to their needs. And she loves to serve them.

I hid in shadows for six years while my vampire husband played duke with his mistress.

Lucian kept our marriage secret, called our daughter "the half-blood bastard," and rushed to comfort Seraphina's twisted ankle while five-year-old Vanessa nearly died from silver poisoning.

His precious lover had "gifted" my child deadly perfume. While I held my convulsing daughter, he was cutting cake with his real family.

So I handed him divorce papers during his next dramatic rescue mission. Fool signed without reading—too busy playing hero to notice he just legally abandoned his wife and child.

Now the mighty vampire Duke burns under holy sunlight, chasing us to territories his undead flesh can't survive.

Begging on scorched pavement for a second chance he'll never get.

Camilla. An Italian American whose parents were allegedly killed in an auto accident, is attending law school in New York City. Camilla was oblivious to what her parents had actually been doing with their careers, kept in the dark by her family for her entire life. Her brother completely cuts off contact with her after he graduates from high school. The only family she speak with is her Nonna, who took her in when her parents died.

What Camilla doesn't know about her parents and the past suddenly comes back around to her front door. Camilla is a beautiful and intelligent woman who is extremely perceptive. When notices that she is being followed, her world starts to change. Will her parents' deceit end up getting Camilla killed, or will it be her savior?

Camilla is desperate to speak to her brother, asking her Nonna for assistance as things start to get scary for her. She feels paranoid and unstable, wondering if she's imagining everything around her that seems off.

The Chicago Mafia boss is after Camilla and she has no idea. The boss of the biggest mafia family in New York City was asked to track her down and send her back to Chicago. Something about the entire situation doesn't seem legitimate to the NY Mafia, and they use her roommate unknowingly as a source of information. It's possible that Camilla's savior is her absent brother. Will he communicate in time?

My husband, Arthur, forced me to take private training sessions with his buddy Marcus, saying my body wasn’t good enough for him to really enjoy himself in bed. But on the very first day, Marcus started getting handsy with me.

“Coach, stop. I’m here to work out, not have an affair,” I bit back a moan, trying to push away the “help” he was giving me with my squats.

What I didn’t expect was for him to start rubbing his thing against my pussy.

Mei Liu learned suffering from an early age. After experiencing great loss, she spent years enduring abuse at the hands of a sadistic pack of wolves, while hiding her identity. All until the day she was saved by her fated soulmate arriving at her doorstep.

Mei was finally free, loved and accepted, with her happily ever after on the horizon. But an unknown enemy has been searching for her and once he finds her he has no intention of letting her go.

Dark secrets will be revealed, and she will be pushed beyond her limits. Can she rise up and fight back and become the strong woman she was destined to be? Or will it all be too much for her to handle?

A Queen Among Snakes is the 2nd book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends I recommend reading the full series. Here is the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under the A Queen Among Alphas book)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under the A Queen Among Alphas book)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - A Queen Among Tides Prequel Spin-off (coming soon)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (coming soon)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - A Queen Among Darkness spin-off (coming soon)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (short stories focused on side characters within this universe, exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadows Next Generation series coming soon.

Gabriella is a no-nonsense kind of woman. She loves deeply and fights for what matters to her. Her life was going along just fine, that is until she catches her boyfriend cheating on her.

That should have been the worst of her issues, but soon a cheating boyfriend pales in comparison to being fated to a God, and a brooding one at that.

Quickly, Gabriella will be pulled into thousand-year-old drama and find out she is part of a prophecy that could potentially destroy the world depending on what choices she makes.

How will this simple human handle carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and a possessive God on her back?

A Queen Among Gods is the 6th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)

Cindy and Mattheus, finally together, prepare to take time off and live together—when a stunning upset in their relationship tears them apart. Cindy flies home to New York, resigned to never work as a detective—and never see Mattheus—again.And then a shocking phone call comes out of the blue: it is Mattheus. A new body has turned up. Cindy at first refuses—until he tells her who it is: his wife. They finally found her, on the shores of Key West. Brutally murdered, they suspect, by an abusive boyfriend.Mattheus’ world is upside down, and Cindy has no choice but to fly back down to the islands and help him uncover what really happened. Why did she turn up now, after so many years? How did she turn up in Key West, so far from where he’d last seen her? Why had she never contacted him? Who was she dating? And have the police caught the right man?Their investigation takes them deep into the underworld of Key West, a gorgeous, idyllic place where the locals gather to watch the sunset every night with an evening drink. It is an enchanting place—but as Cindy learns, it is also a place with a dark underbelly. Cindy prods deeper into the murder and her investigation takes her into the world of an abused woman’s shelter. Soon, she is convinced the police have the wrong man. She and Mattheus, thrown together again, reconsider their feelings for one another. But there may not be time: Cindy finds out too much and comes in danger herself. As the murder hits too close to home, it may be too late for them both.DEATH BY DECEIT is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2) and DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3) and DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4).

DEATH BY REQUEST is Book #11 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1). It is also a standalone novel.In Death by Request (Book #11 of the Caribbean Murder Series), Cindy and Mattheus are given a shocking case they have never faced before: a clear-cut case of euthanasia might turn out to be something more ominous. Tara and Owen Danden, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Jamaica, are on the water, in a boat he rented, when the weather shifts and Tara falls overboard. As Owen tries desperately to save his wife, the boat spins and hits her head—sending her into a coma. Pulled out of the water, barely alive, Tara is airlifted to an elegant hospital on the island, and remains in a coma for two months. When she finally dies, however, there becomes a question of whether she truly died of natural causes. Based on scanty evidence, Owen is taken into custody and quickly hires Cindy and Mattheus to clear his name and find out who wanted Tara dead. Cindy and Mattheus’s journey takes us through an intriguing exploration of comas, euthanasia and what happens to those in altered states. As the investigation proceeds we watch Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship ripen, and take a new turn. We also meet Tara’s crazy family, learn the secret they’ve been hiding, and see what bearing it might have on the case. As a new suspect finally comes into focus, all is not what it seems to be…

DEATH BY MARRIAGE is Book #3 in the Bestselling CARIBBEAN MURDER series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (#1) and DEATH BY DIVORCE (#2). A well-known criminal lawyer is found dead in a back alley in St. Thomas, and Cindy and Mattheus are called in to investigate by the grieving widow. The local police have pinned her for the murder, and Cindy and Mattheus are her last hope in vindication. As Cindy and Mattheus dig deeper into the victim’s past, they learn that all was not as rosy as it seemed. They discover mistresses, gambling debts, vendettas, and a number of people who had motivation to want him dead. Most shocking of all, as they dig even deeper, they discover a whole secret life that he lead, one so lurid that the people who knew him best can hardly even conceive it. As a hurricane closes in and the police are insistent, despite all evidence, to arrest the widow, Cindy and Mattheus find themselves in a race against time to find the killer. When another body turns up, all involved realize the stakes may be even higher than they seem. And as Cindy and Mattheus develop feelings for each other, each grieving from the death of their own spouse, Cindy comes to realize there is even more at stake than she thinks. Books #4--#16 in the series are now also available.

Mothers were supposed to love unconditionally. Mine didn't. In fact, she tried to kill me on my thirteenth birthday, when she saw just how different I was. My dad saved my life that night. He also took her away on an extended vacation, leaving me with an ever-absent uncle.
Five years later, solitude was something I lived by. I had to because I was different and people tended not to cope well with the unusual. In fact, they hated me for it, were even scared of me because of it.
I thought I was meant to live alone, until Isaac Grey took notice of me. He changed my life, taught me I wasn't the only one who was different, and I didn't need to be alone.
But with love comes sacrifice and then pain. Could I ever escape living in the dark?

In The Dark is created by Lila Rose, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Author

Warning – adult themes, 18 plus, abuse, violence, sex scene.

"Rumi! It's time to get up!"

​

What the hell is wrong with this woman? She keeps shouting for no reason. I was not looking forward to today. I'm starting my new school today in the middle of the semester. I got expelled from my other schools for fighting and arguing with the staffs. I have a big mouth and it seems to put me in a lot of trouble. I got expelled from my last school because I beat the hell out of three guys and the reason I got expelled from my other school was for beating the hell out of the security guard and arguing with the principal. A lot of people are afraid of me just because I don't talk too long, I don't argue for too long one wrong word or move from you and you're getting knocked out. I don't care who you are as long as my hands can reach you you're getting hit. My name is Rumi Richards. I am 18 years old and I live with my father and step mother. My father remarried after my mom died and I don't get along most times with him and his new wife. Don't ask why.

​

Oh and i'm also gay.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​

"Rumi, it's time to go."".

​

I sighed. "I heard you the first time lady."

​

"Rumi don't be rude!" My father said as he walked pass my room.

​

Why do parents have to be so annoying. I got up and went to the bathroom and took a shower and combed my hair. I got dress and went downstairs I sat at the table while my step mom brought my breakfast but I ignored her and use my laptop to push the plate away. I don't mean to be rude so early but I'm not in the mood to deal with my parents or to acknowledge her burnt pancakes.

​

"Ready for your first day honey?" she ask.

​

"No, I don't want to go."I replied.

​

"Well you're going." My dad said. He was rubbing my step mother's belly and smiling like he's crazy, She's pregnant with my sibling.

​

Ness is tired of her predictable life—arguing with her family, working a dead-end job, and daydreaming about the kind of grand adventures she reads about in books. So when her best friend Joe suggests a trip to the infamous RoseWood Park, a forest rumored to swallow people whole, she doesn’t hesitate.

Trapped in a nightmare world where time moves differently, they encounter two boys who disappeared decades ago yet never aged.

The forest gives adventures... but at what cost?

My sister climbed out her window the night before her wedding. So my family pinned her veil over my face and sent me in her place.
I'd been her stand-in my whole life — same face, same hair, the daughter they could afford to lose. Nobody looks twice at a bride behind a veil.
The Falcones figured out I was a fake before the vows. They broke my hand for the insult. And the don himself — the man this whole city only says quietly — took one look at the mess they'd made of me and told them to throw me out with the trash.
Then his eyes dropped to the locket my dead mother left me, lying on his marble floor.
And the most feared man in the city went very, very still.
He had no business knowing my mother's name. So why did he say it like a prayer?

"You will be married to the King of Grok on the fourth night, and that's final!"

I fell to my knees, the cold marble digging into my skin. I had studied for years in the flickering candlelight, memorizing every herb and poison to pass the healer's exam. I wanted freedom. I wanted to save my mother from the servant's quarters. I placed second. I thought I had won my life back.

But the King didn't give me a badge of honor. He gave me a death sentence.

"Raven Thorne shall be wed to the King of Grok," he announced, his voice echoing in the silent hall. Princess Ellie, the woman who had tormented me for years, slapped her hands over her mouth to hide her cruel laughter. She was supposed to marry the Beast. Now, I was the lamb being sent to the slaughter in her place.

They say King Liam drinks the blood of his enemies. They say he is more monster than man. And now, I have to walk into his bedroom, wearing the Princess's silk gown, and pray he doesn't tear me apart.

I looked at the King, tears streaming down my face. "I'll do it," I whispered, my voice trembling. "But my mother must be safe."

I sold my body and soul to a monster to save her. But when the carriage door opened and I finally looked into the Beast's golden eyes, I realized the terrifying truth...

He wasn't a stranger. He was the man I met in the woods.

“I’ll die in ten days without my second chance mate…just claim me, Asher… before it’s too late.” I pleaded.

“If I do, I’ll never love you again. That's worse than you dying…”

Banished. Cursed. Unclaimed.

Phina thought being chosen as a mate by a powerful Alpha would save her. Instead, she was used, betrayed, and thrown to the wolves—literally. Now cursed to die unless she's claimed within ten days, she's dragged before the one wolf feared by all: Asher, the ruthless Rogue Alpha King.

When their eyes meet, sparks fly. One word seals their fate: “Mate.”

But Asher is cursed too—one night with any woman, and he loses all ability to love her. He fights the pull. She begs for survival. Every moment burns with forbidden heat…
Until desire wins.

Will claiming her break the curse—or destroy them both?

Hell No! I can't marry this man! I know I know he is hella handsome, a masculine man, a man with achievements being the war god, but heck I really don't want to get married, especially to someone I don't love! Another thing is that being an Emperor and a fucking war god is problematic, just like what happened one year ago there are for sure many people who want to kill him.

"Your sister is about to die, do you not even feel any pity or remorse, Daphne?" - the man said which is her major in the military and the person beside him is none other than her own sister

"I don't have a sister, David - that woman is not my sister and will never be one" - her sister said which immediately shattered her heart and soul at the same time, anguish and anger filled her whole system for what she had heard. She wants to stand up and kill them both however she knows that she no longer has strength in her body so there is nothing else that she could do. She just closed her eyes and let her soul leave her body.

My sister and the major? They are the ones who killed me. Who knows if my parents are behind this as well?

Dawn Scarlet Johnson - she is a licensed doctor and a military officer. 27 years old and currently on the field taking care of the soldiers injured in the recent fight between the terrorists.

Aurelius Shen is the mysterious yet also heartless leader of a noble and large country called Xinan. Based on rumors that are circulating around the globe, the leader is cold and brutal

With the paths of the two characters colliding, will there be love or will there be hate? Either way, one thing is for sure, Dawn Scarlet just wants to live her life in the other world she is living in, fulfilling her duties and responsibilities and doing whatever she wants.

I never thought I would die so young. I also never thought I’d wake up again.
But when I did, I wasn’t the same. My body burned with a hunger I didn’t understand, my senses sharper, my skin colder. I was no longer human. I was something impossible—an omega vampire, the first in centuries. And that made me either a miracle or a curse.
I tried to run, to disappear, but the moment he found me, my fate was sealed.
Lucian D’Arcy. An exiled alpha vampire with a past as dark as his silver eyes. He should have turned me in. He should have feared me. Instead, he claimed me.
Our bond is unstable, wild, dangerous. My very existence could destroy him, and yet, he refuses to let me go. But there are those who would kill to possess me, and others who would see me erased from existence. In a world where supernatural politics decide our fate, our love might be the most dangerous threat of all.
I never asked for this life. But now that I have it, I will fight for the one thing they say an omega should never have—a choice.

Alice Brown is an outlier in the shifter palace. She is weak and cannot transform, and is the lowest maid in the palace: everyone can bully her, and every man wants her. As such, Alice upholds an innocent mask and a vicious and selfish heart. One that shows when the new palace warrior, Simon, calls her weak. Weak? She will prove him wrong. And she will start by learning showing him what she's truly capable of.
**

"You will have to find the answer to that question yourself," he teased. "I can't tell you."

"Is there a reward for answering correctly?" I boldly asked as I leaned back to look at his face.

The longer I sat on his lap, the more confident I was getting. Goddess, help me.

His eyes darkened and his words came out more like a growl. "Yes."

Seducing My Older Alpha Mate is written by A.B. Elwin, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

I once thought that marrying Gabriel was my redemption in a time of despair, but little did I know, it was an eight-year-long hellish scam.
On the day of the wedding, my fiancé abandoned me for Lily, and during the pursuit, my parents were involved in a car accident — one dead and one severely injured.
It was him — Don Gabriel of the mafia family, who used his influence to send my mother to the best hospital, personally performing her surgery, but couldn't save her.
In the hospital, he publicly proposed, saying he would protect me for life, and I, desperate, agreed, clinging to it like a lifeline.
For eight years after marriage, every month, he used a syringe the size of a baby’s arm to draw my blood, saying that my blood type was rare and was being stored as an emergency reserve.
Even though I became weak and sick, I foolishly believed this was his care.
Until I became pregnant, joyfully sharing the good news, only to overhear his conversation in his study on Christmas Eve: The car ac

He kissed me he devoured me; my pussy was getting so wet just by him kissing me. He moved to my ear nibbling on it then he moved to my neck, I was waiting for him to push his fangs into my neck, but he didn’t he was just smelling me, probable trying to relax me, and then then I felt it, him pushing his fangs into my neck.  “Oh my God” I moaned as he started to drink from me. I started to move on top of him, looking for some friction on my pussy, I could feel him grow in his pants as I moved up and down him...


I am a human. One day, I was accidentally captured by a vampire and became the vampire’s servant. I wanted to escape before my blood stopped flowing, but the vampire discovered my plan. I thought I would lose my life but instead, the vampire placed their life in my hands and said, “I don’t believe in love, but I love you.

He was meant to die on the altar—naked, bound, sacrificed.
But instead, Arvin caught the eye of a monster in silk and fangs.

Now, he belongs to Prince Lester.
Not by choice. Not by vow. But by blood, contract, and the cruel twist of fate.

In the palace of knives and whispers, Arvin is paraded like a pet, touched like a prize, and watched like prey. But he isn’t meek. He isn’t obedient. If Lester wants a submissive, he’ll have to break him—and Arvin doesn’t break easy.

“Love me or hate me,” Lester murmurs, pressing him down, “either way, I’ll fuck you every night.”

But Arvin won’t be taken without a fight.
Not by a vampire. Not by a prince. Not by the devil himself.

This isn’t a romance. It’s a war of lust and dominance.
And in this castle, the one who kneels… might just survive.

🔞 Blood. Power. Pain.
Let the games begin.

Duncan is the head of the Vampire clan, ruthless and cold-hearted. To secure victory in the war against the werewolves, he seeks a bride instead of a mate.
Out of revenge, he takes Clarissa captive, forcing her to serve as his personal source of blood. But when told that his mission can only succeed if he mates with his fated mate, he discovers to his fury that Clarissa is his mate...

Ivy Hayes has one dream: escape to the Solaris Sanctuary where sunlight keeps vampires away forever. But when she encounters her dying high school classmate Lucien Sinclair at the blood lodge, everything shatters.

Lucien is now a vampire, poisoned by silver and descending into madness. His brother Valerius—the ruthless head of the Blackwood family—kidnaps Ivy and drags her into his estate. Her scent is the only thing keeping Lucien sane. She's not a nurse. She's a living sedative, monitored and controlled, her body no longer her own.

Valerius underwent an ancient ritual that severed his empathy. To him, Ivy is just another possession to manage. He controls her every movement, destroys her escape routes, and tightens his grip until she's utterly trapped. But his cold precision hides something far more dangerous—a dark obsession that hungers for more than obedience.

While caring for Lucien, Ivy finds unexpected tenderness with the gentle vampire who still remembers her. But when Valerius corners her in shadowed hallways, his touch blurs the line between punishment and twisted desire.

Then Seraphina arrives—Valerius's fiancée and the woman who once shattered Lucien's heart. Her return ignites a vicious war between brothers, with Ivy trapped at the center.

One vampire offers her broken tenderness. One demands absolute surrender. One wants her destroyed.

Can Ivy reclaim her freedom—or will she discover that some chains are forged with blood, desire, and darkness?

WARNING: Dark paranormal romance with explicit content, dubious consent, captivity, and morally complex relationships. 18+ only.

Twenty-year-old Milan Atlantici thought her life had already hit rock bottom.

A terminal stomach cancer diagnosis, her fiancé tangled up with the returning "true heiress," her identity, her love, her health——everything she thought mattered shattered in the same season.

If it's already destroyed, then let it burn all the way down.

Pushed by her best friend Heidi, Milan walked into a high-end nightclub and asked for the one man they said was impossible to get——Sorensen.

She thought he was a male escort.

He was actually a crime lord who made the entire underworld tremble——a dangerous man who had grown tired of the human world's power and glory, searching for some reason to keep existing.

But the more dangerous secret was hidden beneath his skin——he wasn't human. He was a dragon.

Strange things started from the very first touch. Whenever Sorensen came close, the stomach pain that had tormented Milan for so long would quietly recede. She didn't know why. She only knew that he made her feel better——so she made a shameless decision. She threw down eight thousand dollars to rent a bed in his shared apartment and planted herself at his side.

She wanted to fall. She wanted to burn. She wanted to live recklessly before death came to collect her.

But Sorensen kept stepping in her way, watching her with those eyes calm as a bottomless abyss, pulling her back from her own hands every single time.

She told herself it was just pity.

Until the night Sorensen pushed inside her——and something between them snapped into place, a connection that no human language had words for. Her cancer cells began to retreat. Her body began to heal. And her heart began to beat for a dragon.

But just as she realized she had fallen in love with something that wasn't human, another gaze emerged from the shadows.

The current head of the Atlantici family——her uncle, Kaeya. A vampire with an endless lifespan and an obsessive soul. His feelings for Milan were suffocatingly real and dangerously consuming. She once stumbled upon him using her underwear to pleasure himself——that sight sent ice down her spine, and for the first time made her understand just how deep this man's fixation on her truly ran.

A dragon. A vampire. And a human girl with half a life left, still burning as defiantly as she could.

Love and possession. Salvation and ruin. A triangle that tears everything apart at the seams.

In the end——who will be the one left standing?

I had one plan for the summer after my college classes ended. I needed a job since I recently lost mine and my apartment. I can’t stay with my brother forever. I need my space back, and I am sure he needs his, too.

But all that is about to change when my brother’s best friend Paxton comes to stay for the summer, and my plans go out of the window.

To the rest of the world, Paxton is a millionaire rockstar who is a bad boy who screws around and is always getting himself into trouble he shouldn’t be. To me, he is the guy who was always around until he left and forgot about me. My first crush. My first love when I was a teenager, even though I knew he would never be mine. Back then, he was a good guy with a huge heart and someone who would do anything for anyone. He had become a shadow of himself.

What I didn’t expect was that one summer would change everything. I didn’t expect Paxton to see me in a different light. I tell myself I am over him and have been for a long time, but things change when we begin to spend more time together. I see the old him coming through, the real him, the one I fell in love with all those years, but none of it matters because nothing can ever happen, no matter how close we become. My brother would kill him. We would never work. I am just an ordinary nerdy girl who loves to lose herself in the world of fiction. And someone like me should never be with someone like Paxton. I would never fit into his new world. He would never be around in mine.

My husband, Julian, tells me he's flying to Italy for a month, business trip.
I check the calendar and freeze. His birthday falls right in the middle of that month. Alone, in a country where he knows no one outside of work.
I tell Margaux, my mother-in-law. She doesn't hesitate.
"Then we go," she says. "We surprise him."
My brother Dante is the only family I have left. For years I've told the Whitfields he just runs some business in Italy. They don't know the rest, and they never will if I can help it.
The second we land, I call him, give him the hotel name.
"Got it," he says, distracted. "I've got things to handle first. I'll come see you after."
Margaux and I check out the hotel restaurant before Julian even knows we've landed. Dinner, and a look at how the family's investment is running.
Food's good. Service is fine. Then the bill comes.
I glance down at the bill.
Dinner for two: 180,000.
Market-price seafood surcharge: 45,000.
Imported wine corking fee: 20,000.
Private dining ambiance fee: 60,000.
A dozen more line items after that, none of them making any sense.
Numbers that don't make sense. Charges I don't recognize. Margaux and I trade a look.
"Get us the manager," I say. "Now."
A woman walks over, chin already tilted up.
"I am the manager," she says. "If you can't pay, what's the point of complaining?"
I almost laugh. What kind of place is my own family running here?
"I'll take this up with the owner myself," I say.
She smiles, slow and pleased. "My husband happens to own this restaurant."
My stomach drops.
This restaurant belongs to the Whitfields. Belongs to Julian.
Since when did my husband become someone else's?

My five-year-old daughter is being bullied at school, and the one behind it is the son of someone who claims to be the Luna. That means one thing: my Alpha mate has cheated on me. I am the daughter of the wealthiest Alpha, and after my mate bonded with me, he inherited my father’s Alpha title. Little did I know, I had been hiding my true identity as an Omega for years, only to end up in this tragic situation. Now, I’ve decided to stand up for my daughter and take revenge on that scumbag! It’s time to show these wolves who the real Luna is!

Cliff always felt his life was different from others. He was always locked up in a dark room with barely any light by his mother. He also can't eat the food that other people usually eat. Just smelling the food, he will be nauseous and vomit. Only blood can be his food. He was surprised because his skin would burn if exposed to sunlight. He doesn't understand life.

Once upon a time, Cliff went to the forbidden forest at his mother's request in a will. There, he met a man who claimed to be his father. Cliff could hardly believe it when he discovered he was a half-blood vampire because his father was a pure-blood vampire. At his father's invitation, he lives with his father's family, which is none other than a noble vampire family.

Cliff's suffering worsens because his new family does not recognize him. He is considered a family disgrace. His life gets more complicated when he falls in love with his brother's fiancé. However, a tragedy has changed Cliff's life. Now, his heart is full of hatred and revenge. He decides to become a vampire hunter. He was determined to eradicate all vampires under the Dawson Clan bloodline, even though, in the end, he had to kill his father, the leader of the Dawson Clan.

Follow the story of Cliff Dawson, a half-blood vampire who experiences all kinds of suffering and his ambition to destroy his clan.

He feeds me his blood.
He locks the doors.
And he tells me I belong to him now.

I wake up in a vampire’s mansion with no memory of how I got here—only the hunger, the burning sunlight, and the man who refuses to let me leave. Thad Samford is cold, commanding, and absolute. He says my transformation isn’t finished. Until it is, my life—and my body—are under his control.

When I try to escape, the sun nearly kills me.
When he saves me, he binds me to him in blood.

The bond changes everything. His voice settles the hunger. His presence pulls at something deep inside me. I should fear him—but my body craves his blood more than freedom.


As Thelma learns how to exists in this new world, she starts piecing together the truth he's been hiding. Her turning wasn't random. She was chosen, and Thad knows why. Even if he won't tell her.

The more Thelma uncovers, the less she knows what to believe. Thad claims he's protecting her, but from what? Why does his protection feel like a prison? As rival clans close in and dark secrets come to light, Thelma has to decide if she can trust the man who helped steal her humanity or if she should walk away before he destroys her completely.

MURDER IN THE MANOR (A LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY—BOOK 1) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace. Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, needs a drastic change. She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?Book #2 in the series—DEATH AND A DOG—is also available for preorder!

~NEIL KHANNA, CO-CEO of K.K corporation with Arjun Kashyap (The BEAST) is a 28 year old hottest Sexiest business tycoon of India. He is the cruelest creature "DEVIL" of God and he doesn't believe in "FORGET AND FORGIVE"

"I'm Good but Not an ANGEL", NEIL KHANNA aka DEVIL

~AASHMAAN, An Angel. Her name is Aashmaan, only a name, she doesn't have any surname.

"Coincidence and Fate are interconnected to each other because I believe in both ", AASHMAAN aka ANGEL

But what will happens when unknowingly an Angel enters DEVIL's life?

What will Neil do when he get to know Angel's hidden secret? Will he trap ANGEL in his hell?

What Aashmaan would do when she got to know that Her Family took everything from her, completely ruined her and left her all alone on the street?

Now she is an Orphan, 18 years old bubbly and shorty and innocent Angel without any higher education, wandering alone in the winter's Street of the capital city, running away from her DEVIL.

What will happen when she encounter the DEVIL again? Will she able to protect herself from his cruelty or will she give up on her fate?

"What are you doing here? You duck face?", Devil was approaching her. His steps were slow but threatening. Hie eyes were digging into her soul.

Angel shuddered under his hard intense devilish gazes. His deep hazel eyes were staring deeply into her angelic soul.

"Are you here for me, huh?", His smirked were making her cringed.

"I. I. I am not here f. for y. You Sir", Angel stuttered as she was scared of him and took her steps back but the wall hold her to the place.

Devil chuckled darkly, "You are"

"No, I'm not here for you Devil", She said and ran from there.

Devil smirked wickedly, "Run! Run! Little lady, I'll see how far you can run away from me.. I'll break You and you'll only cry, cry and cry because I never forgive and Forget. Now it's a payback time".

{Aashmaan means Sky. Neil means blue So it's a dark romance story of BLUE SKY}

....

~DANIEL MILLER, a 25 years Old the CEO of MILLER EMPIRE.

A Smiling Demon in human disguise who has been know of man of few words, hardworking, Dangerous and Lovable but only for his family and friends.

~SAPPHIRE MARIA STONE, A Teenage 18 years old girl whose world is around her family. An Honest, faithful, Obedient and a young SOUL.

But she made a mistake. Her mistake was only that Demon laid his eyes on her and she dared to run away from his claws.

"How Dare You!",, Demon took threatening

"How Dare You!",, Demon took threatening steps towards her.

She was scared because of the negative aura were coming from him.

"I'll cut Your wings and cage you in my castle" Daniel said and his each words were like a molten lava and his eyes were red.

"I'll never accept You", Maria said and tried to run away from him.

"I'll fuck this sweet little mouth of yours", Demon growled loudly. He rubbed her lower lips with his thumbs and with his other hands were on arms, gripping tightly enough to left marks.

"Let me go", Soul screamed and started pushing him away from her body. She Cried and hot tears were streaming down from her eyes

"Never", Demon said and claimed her mouth furiously and wildly thrust his tongue in her mouth. He tasted her tears, blood and saliva at the same moment.

What would happen when Demon really caged her soul in his Demonic love?

How will soul escape from the trap and find a way to get to know the hidden identity of the demon?

Will Demon's true self break her or will she able to fight back to him?

Rebecca was raised in the Romani culture commonly known as a gypsy she would travel from fair to fair. Performing dances signing and fortune telling. She was bullied all her life as well. But she never knew why. Her mother talks a prophecy about a half vampire half human vampire princess. She had purple eyes and pale skin which was contrasted with her black hair. She is beautiful. On the evening of her eighteenth birthday she started to be able to smell blood. After being bullied by one of the other teenagers. Then beaten in the wo by her so called mother. She notices a man and a women in the woods behind her camp. She sees a mysterious stranger who is holding a girl and sucking on her neck. She starts to feel a strange pull towards him. Who is this man? Why am I so attracted to him.

The STORY comprises of the most dangerous mafia, he is also a handsome young Man of about 24 years of age by name Harrison McCall He is known to be the leader of the Mafia group be the name, “Black Jaguars” these group are feared by many in the country and with this he doesn’t “NO” for an answer especially when it comes to his personal needs.
He is mostly feared by people except his family members who know nothing about his dangerous life style.
Harrison has always been a jerk, a cheater and a dangerous bi***h he hated the word Love because he never believed in it but he like to flirts around. Until, the day he met Elena.
A 20 year Old young lady by name Elena Morgan, She’s a very beautiful, Kind but timid at times, smart, and little bit shy young Lady and the only daughter of her parents.
The STORY got thrilled when both families got the two different individuals married.
Harrison and Elena got married but it was a love less marriage. They were living like enemies but as time goes on things began to change.
But, when the two couple decided to take their new found love life to another turn, Jason came in the picture.
Jason, Harrison’s cousin brother is the opposite of him.
Jason hates everything about Harrison. Firstly, he took away his love for his ex-girlfriend Sara and now the one true love he had which is Elena he took her away and got married to her too.
Jason is verge to take REVENGE on him and pay him back in double folds.
Jason planned on making Harrison’s new found happiness to be shattered and he is determined to KILL for it.

Will he succeed with his plans???

A slave, that’s what he called me, what they all called me, his property to do with whatever he wished, and by definition he was right. He owned me.

It began with my ancestors something along the lines of my great great great grandfather owing the stupid warlock a favour and not having the means of paying the conventional way. So, he did what anyone would I suppose, he sold his daughter to him, signed a contract that would give my master full control over her and all her children, then her children’s children and so on. Until me.

When I decided to run away, I met another Alpha who claimed me as Mate.

“Who did that to you?!” He growled deeply, causing me to jump and step back. Alpha scowled menacingly, his eyes skimming over my body in anger, stopping at my neck and wrists.

Why was he so angry?

I looked down at my body, at the old scars and new bruises that lined my petite form, the welts still present on my wrists from the silver chains. This is what happens when Balthazar takes a liking to you, he hurts you, torments you.

“I’m a slave.”

“A slave?” Blue eyes gasped in horror, some of the wolves around us whining.