They say a bond is better than a title... right? That's what everyone tells Ruby, but somehow, she's always the one left feeling shortchanged. Her relationship with Demetrius has never been simple-it's been a wild ride of passion and pain, love and disappointment. Up one moment, crashing the next. No middle ground. Years later, when fate brings them face-to-face again, those same familiar sparks hit just as hard. But this time, Ruby's not sure if she can handle another emotional merry-go-round. Has Demetrius finally grown into the man she always needed him to be? Or will he keep holding on to the bond... while refusing to claim the title?

"He was a great lion and she was merely a gazelle. He was stalking her in the tall grass, crouching on his mighty hinges, his claws extended, his teeth bared. She sensed him, peered through the tall greenery for him but saw nothing, confusion clouding her senses. Was there nothing there? Was she merely guessing at nothing? Being deceived by her own fear and paranoia? Then she heard a growl, the sound of crunching grass growing near. But she could not run, it was too late, she was pounced on. And then she screamed, her cries ignored, for she was the prey of a predator, a meal for a starving creature." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ife was gifted, she had sight and the ability to read eyes. She had been taught all her life that soul did not lie... Prince Fumnaya was filled with a growing idleness that he could not seem to fill. No amount of respect or bed partners could quite encompass the void he had in him....until the night he laid eyes on Ife. Moonlight bouncing off of soft brown skin tended to raise any man's libido but what he felt for her was so quick, so carnal, he had to have her. Ife had seen him before, in her dreams, dreams that haunted her constantly, his eyes called to her, beckoned her closer. Begging her to save him, to wash away the melancholy inside him, to brighten his view of the world. All her life, she thought she knew what she was to do, to save other, to give advice . But now that she has fallen into Fumnaya's explosively passionate haze of desire, she is lost. She wants to save him...the need is stronger than anything in the world but his sexual passion frightens her, for his need of her is far too great. Will he fall victim to his dull view on life, tarnishing his soul or will she finally realize that what he needs most in life is her?

Liberty Bell is in her last few months of high school. She's excited about graduation and is hoping to be a future author. This blossoms when she meets Bryson Johnson who also likes to write and encourages her to show her work off. They share stories and poems and through their writing become closer. Liberty starts seeing Bryson more often which grows the attraction between the two. Of course, there is a downside; Bryson is about to be a college graduate, much older than her. The two don't see much of a problem, but how about her parents. But do her parents even deserve to have a say when they're keeping a huge secret from her?

Is it possible to love when you've never truly been loved? How do you recognize a feeling you've never known? When the very person who was supposed to love you first became the source of your pain, how do you tell the difference between love and hate? What happens when two broken souls cross paths - each carrying their own scars, their own secrets, and their own idea of survival? Do hurt people always hurt others... or can two damaged hearts somehow make each other whole? Follow Olivia-Kai and Gunna as they navigate the thin line between love, pain, and redemption - trying to learn if love can heal what life once shattered.

VERSION ORIGINALE.