Roses Without Thorns Novels & Stories

Aiden Hale tends to deceased souls in a funeral home, amidst quietness, darkness, and lingering spirits’ whispers. To everyone else, he is merely quiet and aloof, but to some, he holds a lethal secret: he sees spirits. The restless spirits beckon to him, calling for peace, confession, and sometimes vengeance. But recently, there has been something else haunting him. A living person. A masked stalker has been trailing Aiden. This stalker has been leaving Aiden roses and messages, which are sweet and frightening all at once – always with the presence right behind. And suddenly the stalker’s victims begin to appear in the body bags Aiden prepares every day, further muddying the distinction between the living and the dead. And then there's the stepbrother, Ezra Grayson. Charming. Brilliant. And ridiculously overprotective. He's always on hand when Aiden needs him—perhaps a little bit too much. His eyes linger on his face for a fraction of a second too long. The softness of his voice is just a fraction too soft. The smile that stays on his lips for a fraction of a second longer. The more Aiden fights to get out from under the stranger's mask, Until the truth bursts open like a coffin lid. The stalker and his half-brother are the same individual, a male who will kill anyone who dares to threaten Aiden, resulting in a trail of angry spirits and a love plagued by obsession. Aiden finds himself poised between saving Ezra’s soul or being overwhelmed by the darkness that holds not only him but the stalker. Because it is inasmuch as love, being born from sin, that it dies not in silence

Billionaire Isaac Lloyd viewed his impoverished wife Emily merely as a tool to appease his family's incessant pressure for his marriage. He consistently neglected Emily's feelings, often leaving her alone in their mansion while he would be out all night. It wasn't until Emily had had enough and sought a divorce, moving out, that Isaac realized he had grown accustomed to her company. He regretted his actions deeply, resorting to every possible means to bring Emily back to his side. Despite his efforts with roses, luxurious dates, and jewels, nothing could win back Emily's heart. She had already found her own world where she transformed and grew into a movie star, adored by all of Hollywood. Holding the Oscar’s best actress trophy, Emily said, ‘I would like to thank my ex-husband. Had it not been for his neglect and abandonment during our brief marriage, I would never have had the opportunity to build my acting career.’ Emily's fans exclaimed, ‘Divorce was the best decision Emily ever made!’ The Best Actor winner smiled, ‘I believe no one dares to ignore Emily now!’ Meanwhile, Isaac was hidden in the audience, watching as the spotlight illuminated Emily's path forward. He incessantly searched on his phone: 'How to win back my ex-wife who has become the Best Actress?' 'What to do if my ex-wife doesn't love me anymore?' 'Why didn't I cherish the love of my life when I had the chance?'

This is not a tale about roses and first kisses. It is a tale of primal lust and irresistible attraction between mates that were never meant to be together. Soon to be eighteen, Seraya will be mated to her childhood sweetheart on her eighteenth birthday and finally be able to trigger her shift. But what if he betrays her and claims another? Seraya is devastated, heartbroken, shunned and abandoned by the pack, perfect prey as she falls into the Drazien's lap. Drazien is everything her childhood lover is not, harder, rougher, older, and much more ruthless. Often called Fenrir's heir, he is the one of the five Lycans that rule the werewolf community from the shadows. His name alone is enough to strike terror in his enemies's hearts. When he is not killing, he is fucking and he never touches virgins. He offers her a contract; a fake mate bond for a month and in exchange, he will trigger her shift and get revenge on the ones that betrayed her. For a month, they must pretend to be in love but in private, the line is clear. Drazien wants nothing to do with virgins so why is it the most difficult thing in the world to keep his hands off this one? But Drazien is a man with many enemies and they just found the only weak link in his armor. Threats begin as warnings, and then her life becomes targeted such that it is now a full time job to keep her alive, forcing them even closer. In a month of danger, lust, drama and betrayals. Can Drazien keep his oath to abstain from her? And what if he cannot protect her all the time from the threats? Step into Seraya and Drazien's world to find out!

Seavora, Carmoria After seven years of a long-distance marriage, I was finally transferred to Leah Lambert's city. On Valentine's Day, I crossed Carmoria with my transfer papers, a big bouquet of roses, and a new diamond ring hidden in the bouquet. I waited outside her office, ready to surprise her. "Babe, where are you?" The second she walked out, I video-called her. I'd been counting down to this moment for years. Her voice was as gentle as ever. "Just got off work. What's up?" "Nothing. Just miss you. Do you miss me?" "Of course I do." A smile tugged at my lips. Thinking about her reaction when she saw me, I stepped toward her. "Really? Then turn around and—" My voice cut out. I froze. Her arm was wrapped around a man in a suit. Then she lifted her head and kissed the man. "If it's not urgent, I'll call you when I'm free. I have something important to do right now." She hung up. I stood in the cold and heard the man tease, "Babe, what's so important?" The woman I'd loved through college and seven years of marriage didn't hesitate. "Being with you." Tears hit the roses. I stared at the diamond ring nestled in the bouquet and let out a bitter laugh. So that's all I am to you? Someone who only matters when it's convenient.

On my five-hundred-and-twentieth flight into Chicago, my boyfriend finally came to the airport for me. He held a bouquet of air-flown Blue Moon roses, and the diamond ring inside the velvet box caught the terminal lights. The moment he dropped to one knee, I heard the shocked gasps around us. “Eliana Lowe,” he said, his gray-blue eyes lifted to mine. “Marry me.” My fingers tightened around the handle of my suitcase. I held out my hand, my voice already shaking. "Luca, we--" The ring had barely slid over my finger when Luca laughed. He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was looking over my shoulder at the row of black SUVs idling by the curb. "Told you she'd say yes. Hand over the key to Warehouse Three." Laughter burst from the SUVs. Luca's circle spilled into view: casino managers, dock supervisors, rich kids who lived off the Moretti name, and Vivian Gray at the front in pale fur, laughing hard enough to wipe at the corner of her eye. “No wonder she stayed at your heels for ten years. If I had a pet this obedient, I wouldn’t have the heart to throw it out either.” Luca smiled and patted my head soothingly.“Eliana, it was just a joke. Don't be angry. I’ll make it up to you later.” I looked at the ring on my finger, then at the people laughing behind him. For ten years, I had played along with his games. This time, I didn’t want to anymore.

Grace Anderson is a striking young lady with a no-nonsense and inimical attitude. She barely smiles or laughs, the feeling of pure happiness has been rare to her. She has acquired so many scars and life has thought her a very valuable lesson about trust. Dean Ryan is a good looking young man with a sanguine personality. He always has a smile on his face and never fails to spread his cheerful spirit. On Grace's first day of college, the two meet in an unusual way when Dean almost runs her over with his car in front of an ice cream stand. Although the two are opposites, a friendship forms between them and as time passes by and they begin to learn a lot about each other, Grace finds herself indeed trusting him. Dean was in love with her. He loved everything about her. Every. Single. Flaw. He loved the way she always bit her lip. He loved the way his name rolled out of her mouth. He loved the way her hand fit in his like they were made for each other. He loved how much she loved ice cream. He loved how passionate she was about poetry. One could say he was obsessed. But love has to have a little bit of obsession to it, right? It wasn't all smiles and roses with both of them but the love they had for one another was reason enough to see past anything. But as every love story has a beginning, so it does an ending.

Anger, in all shades, blared into his eyes as he pushed me against the wall, growling. “Don’t let any man touch you ever again!” My blood boiled at his audacity as I spat out. “You have already rejected me, Alpha Vincenzo. Now, you can’t …” The rest of my warning died down in my head as he lunged forward and wrapped his hand around my thro@t. Despite his maddening rage, his gruff voice sounded eerily calm, sending shivers down my spine. “Rejected or not, you are mine, Ashley. Touch another man, and trust me, I’ll make sure you see me tear him to shr£ds!” … Rejected, banished, and tormented. Ashley’s life was another name of hell as she struggled to survive in the rogue pack every single day. She loathed her ex, Alpha Vincenzo, the reason behind her endless misery. However, life wasn’t exactly a bed of roses for Vincenzo as well. Burning in the fire of regret, his love turned into obsession, driving his wolf to the edge of insanity. His only goal was to bring Ashley back, no matter how long it took. After five years of separation, their paths crossed again in a fateful encounter, entangling their fates with a bizarre backlash of rejection. But Ashley was sure of one thing, she would never forgive Vincenzo! As her hatred clashed with Vincenzo’s obsession, the old feelings surfaced, reigniting the spark. Would she be able to resist the temptation of the bond that still simmered between them? Or the storm of true love would wash away all the grievances of the past?

Ten years ago, Eli Voss left Cedarwood Falls without a word — without an explanation, without looking back. Now he's back to restore a crumbling Victorian inn, and the only contractor available is the one person he never stopped thinking about. Noah Callahan spent ten years building walls under his easy smile. He's fine. He's moved on. He just needs to get through six weeks of working side by side with the man who shattered him at eighteen — without letting it happen again. The problem is, Cedarwood Falls is a small town. The inn needs both of them. And the distance Eli keeps trying to maintain keeps shrinking. Some things don't stay buried. Some feelings don't care how many years you put between them. And some men fall harder the second time.

The first thing I do after being reborn is dump my devoted boyfriend and immediately say yes to the obsessive man's pursuit. In my past life, my so-called best friend, Sarah Cole, bound herself to an app that could transfer all of my boyfriend's love for me to her. My boyfriend was Luke Spencer. The golden roses he prepared for me ended up with her. The hotel he bought for me suddenly had her name on the deed. The way he looked at me shifted from fierce desire to cold disdain, but when he turned to her, his eyes overflowed with the tenderness I once knew so well. When I cried and demanded to know why Luke had changed, he just looked at me with disgust as he spat, "We broke up a long time ago. Leave my girlfriend alone!" On my birthday, Sarah went live online, flaunting how Luke had rented out the entire amusement park for her. Fireworks lit up the sky behind her in a blaze of color. And me? They worked together to have me thrown into a mental hospital. They called me a crazy woman obsessed with someone who never loved me back, and in endless rounds of electroshock therapy and forced medication, I died in despair. When I open my eyes again, I'm reborn. This time, I no longer feel anything real for my ex-boyfriend. Instead, I play along with Ethan Grant. I find it funny when Sarah opens the app again, siphoning away every drop of Ethan's overwhelming love. I really want to know if she can handle it.

I have been hopelessly in love with Don Lorenzo Greco since the first time I saw him ten years ago. As the only daughter of the long-established Messina mafia family, I have set aside my pride and chased after him for a decade. On my 25th birthday, the way Lorenzo looks at me finally changed. He's not seeing a child anymore. He's looking at a woman. Lorenzo says yes to me, and I finally kiss the mouth I've been dreaming of all this while. The next day, Lorenzo announces to the world that he will hold the wedding of the century. 9,999 roses, fireworks all night, and a spectacle so grand it will shock every family in Northern Darvent. I stand there with tears in my eyes as the fireworks spell out another woman's name. Elena Lagioia. The assistant who has always been at Lorenzo's side, the girl I have never once taken seriously. I plan to confront Lorenzo with a gun in my hand. However, I stop outside the door when I hear him speaking to his consigliere. "Elena's parents are gambling addicts and owe a large debt. If I don't marry her, she'll be sold to a brothel in Malicuria tomorrow. Let's keep Cinzia in the dark for now. After this is over, I'll divorce Elena and marry Cinzia. After all, she loves me so dearly." On Lorenzo's wedding day, I'm wearing a wedding dress and resting in the arms of a far more powerful Don of the Argento family from Southern Darvent. I look at Lorenzo and smile. It drives him crazy. He swears to do whatever it takes to win me back.