"Stop. Stop, please." I sob as the whip comes down on my back once more. "Shut up yo-" my tormentor's words are cut off by a ferocious growl. I sense another masculine figure in the dark room, but can't make out a word he's shouting. The burning and searing pain that I'm experiencing is just too much. A sickening snap is heard and something drops onto the cold, stone flooring. The chains around my wrists and ankles are broken along with the tight metal collar around my neck. "Mate." my rescuer growls, gently cradling me in his arms. ********************* Charlotte Beck has been tortured and abused by the Red Stone pack ever since she turned eight. She doesn't know why they hate her or how she ended up a lower rank than the Omegas; no one even bothered to label her as a slave. She has never known the true meaning of love or how it felt like, all Charlotte knows is that her pack surely doesn't feel that way about her. Finding a mate was a dream that was thrown out the window long ago; all of the verbal abuse led her to believe that she didn't deserve one. It's not until she attempts to escape again that she realizes that she has a chance of living a better life, one where abuse isn't an everyday thing. Xander Reynolds, Alpha of the Lunar Shadow pack, finds her when she's taken to his cells as a trespassing prisoner. Known as the strongest Alpha in the continent, he does everything he can to protect his mate. The only problem is that she's too emotionally scarred to allow him to. His dark and violent reputation is the only thing that Charlotte knows about him. The memories of their childhood together beaten out of her mind. Traumatized and high on fear, she struggles to let down her walls. Her real home is with a man who she cannot remember and a brother who she wishes she remembered. Can Xander get his mate to love him? Or will Charlotte let her past keep them apart?

Malik "Ghost" Carter spent six years in prison learning to be a better man. Now he's home, working at the community center and trying to prove that people can really change. But the streets don't forget, and old enemies are waiting for him to slip. Janelle Price owns the neighborhood salon and trusts her own judgment above all else. She's watched too many women fall for men who promise change but never deliver. When the infamous ex-con starts showing up outside her shop, she's not buying what he's selling. But when they both step up to help Marcus and DeShea-teenage siblings trying to survive on their own-everything changes. Suddenly Malik and Janelle find themselves fighting the same battles: protecting the kids they've come to love, building something real in a neighborhood that tears dreams apart, and learning to trust each other with hearts that have been broken too many times before.

Milan Ren Vaughn and Kairo Benton have spent months turning their apartment hallway into a silent warzone. She's convinced he's loud, messy, and allergic to respecting her peace, while he swears she was born to complain about anything he does. Their neighbors know the tension. Management knows the tension. And Christmas is the only thing keeping the building from falling apart. So when the manager assigns them to co-run the annual Christmas charity event, neither of them takes it well. Still, the holidays won't wait, the toy drive needs saving, and someone has to hang the lights - even if it means working side by side with the one person they can't stand. But as the season settles in, something unexpected begins slipping through the cracks. Late nights of planning feel calmer than they should. Their banter softens. The glow of the holiday lights makes everything seem a little less harsh, and a little more... possible. Moments that should've meant nothing start to feel like something they can't explain. They promised their truce would end after Christmas. But the holidays have a funny way of revealing gifts you never knew you needed - especially when they're wrapped in the person living right next door.

"I see nun wrong with seeing gangsta's cry..." the rewritten, heartfelt version. cover by: wordsbykay

"𝐈 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 '𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮... 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."

"𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭." 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

***WARNING: THIS STORY INCLUDES MATURE CONTENT AND VIOLENCE**** Malaysia grew up in an average household. She hadn't been around of a lot of crime nor ever had anything bad really happen to her. One day she meets a big time drug dealer and within five months her whole world changes.

"You're not a luna. You're a rogue. Your word means nothing." Maddie says. "Alpha Kairo, I hear you don't have a luna yet. If you ever need a backup, I have experience being trained." Maddie says, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Training to sleep around until you get a luna ranking? You really are a desperate, pathetic bitch." I say. "Well, at least I'm not going to die alone. Out of all of us, I'm going to find my mate first." Maddie argues. "What makes you think I'm not with someone?" <~~~~~~~~~~> ~Published on March 16, 2021~ ~Completed on January 2, 2022~

-COMPLETED- Audrey Allen had lived her entire life in the Dark Root pack, and every minute of it had been dreadful. Well, perhaps not every minute of her life, but every moment she had endured since her mother's death ten years ago had shaped her into the pathetic excuse for a woman that she was today. Or at least, that's how she viewed herself. A decade of neglect and abuse would do that to a girl. All Audrey believed she was good for was cooking and cleaning the pack house, and her father had her doubting even those abilities. Alpha Dean Whittaker had ruled as Alpha of Dark Root for eight years by himself. Although he secretly craved his mate, his Luna, to appear in his life and allow him to strengthen his pack even more, he knew his chances of ever finding her were slim. He was feared by both his own pack members and surrounding packs, so even if he ever did find his mate, he'd likely have to force her to stay. Not that that'd be a problem - Alpha Dean did as he pleased. When a chance encounter brings Audrey and Dean face-to-face, both of their lives are turned upside down. As they endure the new challenges life has presented them, they find that they possess the power to either build each other up, or tear each other apart. ______________________ #1 in Werewolf 4/12/2020 #1 in Love 4/16/2020 Cover by @victoriapinkglitter LUNAS SERIES ORDER: -Luna Hana -Luna Lena -Luna Audrey -Luna Zahra -Luna Skylar -Luna Brenna -Luna Melody **Luna Hana and Luna Lena are the first two books in the series. Although it may be helpful, it is not necessary to read them in order. Please just know you may have questions about things related to their stories while reading this, but the answers are not pertinent to Audrey's story.** **Contains very mature content.**