Emma Taylor's summer wasn't filled with parties or beaches as she'd hoped. Instead life slams her into a dark reality that seems to be drowning her. And she doesn't let anyone in to save her, neither her family or her friends. But life is full of unexpected twists, bad and good. Emma begins to connect with Austin Moore, her brothers best friend, who just might be able to save her from the cold water's clutches and show her that sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith.

'A scared little girl, that's you, Willow. That's all you've ever been and all you ever will be, do you understand?' He spits venomously, getting so close to me that all I can see and hear is him, all I can feel is him and I hate it. I try my hardest to swallow the lump in my throat and ignore the tears threatening to spill over as his hurtful words echo in my head. Shaking my head feebly, I try and take a step back but he clamps his hands tightly onto my shoulders, forcing me to meet his dark eyes. I can't even find it in me to feel embarrassed anymore when a traitorous tear escapes my eye, prompting a scoff from Eli. I just need to get away from him, even if it's just a few steps, I need to put some distance between us so I can escape his painful words. But despite my struggle, his grip on my shoulders only tighten and soon the corners of his lips are lifting in malice when he sees how desperate I become to get out of his hold. 'So stop trying to play the hero when you're such a coward yourself. Because that's all you are- just a weak, pathetic, littl-' And that's when I slap him. And I regret it instantly- because no-one, and I mean no-one, slaps Eli Walters and gets away with it. --- I was only thirteen when my best friend was taken from me. Up until that point, we had practically been inseparable. And then she was gone, and overnight I had to learn to adapt to a life without the light of Ciara Walters in it. Doing even the simplest of things suddenly became a hundred times harder and walking into school that following fall without her by my side felt like one of the worst things I had ever had to face. Especially since I knew who was waiting for me inside, because the day I lost my best friend was also the day I gained an enemy in the form of a boy called Eli Walters, Ciara's twin brother. • TW: mentions of death. | @oreoz4milk x.9.20

When Ayla Moore finds her fate sealed by a 600-year-old Canon that acknowledges a man's primal right to vengeance, and sanctions murder in the name of honor, she has no idea how much her life is about to be turned upside down. At twenty, Ayla becomes the unwitting currency in a transaction she never agrees to. Her life, exchanged to salvage the honor of a mobster, she's forced to atone for a crime she never committed, at the hands of man who knows no mercy. Roman Berisha claims her, demanding a life for a life, claiming Ayla's as the price that must be paid for his brother's death. Claiming the only life she's ever known, he reduces it to a mere token in an archaic system of justice. Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of abduction, abuse, sexual activity, violence, and questionable consent.

𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 & 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Revenge Countless souls have fallen prey to its grasp, their lives shattered as deeply as those they sought to harm, if not more so. For most, mere death isn't the end It's not enough to satiate their thirst They crave retribution, wish for something beyond the grave. They want misery upon those who've wronged them. Long for the torment of those who've wounded them But at the end of the day, it's merely a wish, A burning desire for- well, nothing realistic, really For they are weak. Powerless Some may even deem them useless But then, there exist the select few- those who refuse to settle for anything less than the worst, denying death's grasp to unleash a living hell upon their enemies, Those who take matters into their own hands, seizing control & becoming the architects of their own vengeance, Now those, those are dangerous. For in their eyes, the concept of contentment is a foreign notion, replaced by a searing ache for more- More agony, despair. More misery, more wails. More destruction, chaos. People like him, they feed off of fear, thrive in causing pain. They're cunning, calculating, heartless But frankly, even the most twisted of them seem like harmless amateurs in comparison to him. He reeks of death Exudes darkness, sorrow Death is all that shadows his steps, making his existence a reminder of the inevitable fate that awaits his victims. And whispers in the Russian underworld speak of him as Mors- The god of death So, what happens when a girl, who abandoned her family, her life & the very empire bestowed upon her- just to escape the sight of death, catches the eyes of the reaper? What happens when he pulls her into the abyss of his world, intent on destroying all she has fought to be in pursuit of vengeance? And what happens when, as the day wanes, the embodiment of her deepest fear captures her eyes as well?

It's the arranged marriage from hell. A deal with the devil. 𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐕, daughter of the Bratva's feared Pakhan, knew she wouldn't marry for love. But she never expected she'd be dragged down the aisle toward the Mafia's arrogant, devilish playboy either. 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎 is the devil too proud to wear a disguise. Morally bankrupt and cocky as hell, he's every good girl's nightmare. He gets off on chaos, bleeds temptation, and kills for fun. Marriage is the very last thing he wants. Especially to a stubborn, uptight, and (worst of all) 𝘱𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 Russian princess. Nothing can make the torture of monogamy worth it. Until he discovers his innocent little wife has an innocent little secret. Irina has spent her life in a gilded cage, molded to be the perfect daughter, all grown up into the perfect wife. Always doing what's expected, never asking for more. But she's always craved adventure. Ached for the thrill. Maybe her daredevil of a husband can give it to her... that is, if they can survive each other first. Because it's a deal with the devil until the day the devil bleeds for you. If only she didn't have that one last nasty secret. The one that could ruin everything. ╋━ Proud Devil is a slow burn, enemies to lovers, dark mafia romance with mature content and themes. Read at your own discretion. [ Book 3 in the Romano Brotherhood Series | COMING SOON! ]

Abigail Winter, is a survivor who has rebuilt her life with a singular focus: to graduate from Northwestern with a nursing degree and start anew. Her carefully laid plans are upended when she crosses paths with Ruslan Mikhailov, a former bratva enforcer, at The Den-the iconic men's club where she works. Ruslan embodies everything Abigail has spent her life avoiding. Yet, on one fateful night, their worlds collide, irreversibly altering their destinies. Abigail finds herself caught in a dangerous web, forced to choose between the life she's fought to reclaim and her freedom. Blurred Lines is the story of Abigail Winter's journey into the Russian mafia. It's the first instalment of a two part novel. Part 2 - The Bratva Wife, is out now. Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of sexual activity, abuse, violence, abduction and questionable consent. Photo Credit: Focus Features Eastern Promises, 2007

"Give me a reason to stay that won't piss me off." "Stay... so you can hurt me as much as I hurt you." "You're not afraid of what I might do?" "To me?" "Yeah, to you. Know what I dream about every night?" I offer in hopeful tones, "My tits?" "Try again." "My ass?" Scowling, Dax shakes his head. "Making me cry?" He finally smiles. "And ripping your heart out." ✘✘✘ Everyone at school knows that Cleo Fitzgerald is to blame for putting her boyfriend, Fairmont High's golden boy, Travis Reynolds, in a coma, and they hate her for it. Bitch has shown no remorse over causing her boyfriend's accident. There are even rumors that she's cheating on Travis while he's unconscious in the hospital. When an outsider, Daxton Cole, enters Fairmont's social scene, he befriends Cleo's brother, Brookes, and is immediately drawn to Cleo despite her reputation. She's nothing like the psychopath everyone paints her out to be. The two troubled young lovers strike up a brief but fiery romance that ends in heartbreak when Travis wakes up from his coma. After graduation, Dax joins the military, and Cleo returns to Travis' side. Years later, Dax has yet to forget Cleo. He learns that a traumatic event has triggered Cleo to act out in violence against Travis. After Cleo is committed to a mental institution, Dax gets himself hired to become a guard there. As Dax is forced to follow Cleo around day in and day out, he begins to notice troubling cracks in the veneer of Cleo and Travis' seemingly perfect relationship. Old feelings begin to resurface, and Dax realizes that Cleo's secrets have secrets, and she needs him now more than ever.

Skylar Miller was only ten years old when everything began to fall apart. First, it was the quiet disappearances-one sibling at a time-until only three of her siblings remained in her life. Then came the accident, a day that left her with more than just physical scars. The trauma buried itself deep, woven into her every breath, her every fear, her every heartbeat. Now sixteen, Skylar lives with the weight of what happened, unsure if she's ready to face the memories she's locked away for so long. But something is shifting. One by one, the siblings she thought she had lost forever begin to reappear-some with open arms, others with walls just as high as her own. As old wounds resurface and long-held secrets begin to unravel, Skylar finds herself pulled between the pain of the past and the fragile hope of what could be. Can she let them back in? Can she trust the people who left when she needed them most? And most of all, can she find herself again in the midst of the chaos? The Beach Accident is a poignant story of loss, healing, and the complicated, beautiful mess of family. __________________________________________________________________ *TW: some themes and language may be distressing for some* __________________________________________________________________ Started: 6.01.22 Updated: 19.04.25 Finished: -

A man claimed by the devil. A woman claimed by no one. Until him. 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎 is a monster. His family relies on him to torture and kill. It's his birthright, curse, and the most delicious punishment for a gluttonous sinner. He's no stranger to violence and depravity. Soldier of the Romano crime family, he might be stranger to everything else. 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐄 is an outcast, the hidden gem of the Genovese crime family, shunned by her father and forgotten by the world. She's utterly alone, until she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kidnapped by the man with dark eyes, tattoos, and a soul to match. And he isn't planning on letting her go. The deviant killer with the angelic name, her intended torturer, the devil of the underground. Santo is quickly becoming something to Nina that seems impossible, something that neither of them are ready for. She threatens to uproot everything he's always known and been, and when secrets are revealed, when demons come out to play, it's not only a matter of how willing Santo and Nina are to salvage something that seems to be the only beautiful corner of both their worlds. It's a matter of whether any kind of beauty can survive in a world so dark. ✚ Dark Saint is a slow burn, enemies to lovers, dark mafia romance with mature content and dark themes. Read at your own discretion. [ Book 1 in the Romano Brotherhood Series | COMPLETED ✔ ] Featured on @Romance Featured on @StoriesUndiscovered

"I haven't even done anything to you and you're already crying." Xavier murmurs. I can only sob harder in response. "You're going to show everyone aren't you?" He grabs a lock of my hair, almost endearingly and tucks it behind my ear. "If I was going to show everyone, I would have done it already." "Then delete the video." I say, hating how wildly desperate I sound. "I'm begging you please, Xavier." Those last two words hang in the air between us in a way I don't fully understand. Xavier tilts his head slightly and there's a darkness that's filtering through his gaze. It makes my face burn under his scorching stare. ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── When Isa Carrow transfers from Oakbridge Highschool to Cedora Hills Private Highschool, with the help of her rich aunt, she believes that she is granted an opportunity at a fresh start, a way for her to redeem herself and prove that her past does not define her. But when the very secret that she is running from falls into the hands of the one person she'd wanted to stay away from, she will quickly come to understand that what she had viewed as a path to liberty was nothing short of a trap in disguise.