The Brief Bedford Reader 15th Edition Novels & Stories

In my last life, Enzo Saletta saved me from the fire. Chiara Bellini died in my place. For months, he cared for me like a devoted husband. He guarded my hospital room. He bought gifts for our unborn child. He told me none of it was my fault. I believed him. Until the night after I gave birth. Our son was asleep beside me. I was too weak to move, still aching from labor, but for one brief moment, I believed we were safe. Then I smelled smoke. The door would not open. Outside the locked door, Enzo’s voice cut through the smoke. “You took Chiara from me. Now burn with your child.” I screamed his name until my throat bled. No one opened the door. The flames swallowed me and my newborn son. When I opened my eyes again, I was back inside that burning warehouse. Five months pregnant. Smoke in my lungs. Chiara still alive. This time, I did not call Enzo. I waited until he came. I watched him carry Chiara out first. Then I crawled through the fire alone, bleeding for a child he would never get the chance to kill. Everyone believed I had set the fire. Everyone called me jealous, vicious, and insane. But they had forgotten one thing. Before I became Enzo Saletta’s wife, I was the woman who helped build the Carmine family’s security system. Chiara deleted the main footage. She did not delete mine.

At my mother’s funeral, I discovered that my future mate, Arthur, was cheating on me. The Omega had posted a photo of the newborn pup she shared with Arthur on social media, captioning it: “Thank you, Moon Goddess, for blessing me with this unexpected bond.” As I broke down, Arthur calmly tried to soothe me. “Don’t get distracted. The most important thing right now is finishing the funeral.” The next day, he skipped the burial ceremony entirely, leaving me with nothing but a brief phone call. “She’s too weak after giving birth. I have to take care of her.” Sensing my silence, he let out a long sigh. “Don’t overthink things. You'll still be my most beloved Luna. The pup is just an accident, and she never intended to ruin the alliance between our two packs. But the pup carries my bloodline. As an Alpha, I will spend Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with her and the pup, and I will come back to you on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.” I clenched my fists, fighting back tears until my eyes burned red. “Alpha Arthur, this is your official notice: our marking ceremony is canceled, and my pack no longer requires an alliance.” Arthur froze, his voice instantly turning cold. “Don’t be like this, Bella. Your mother just passed away. Stop throwing a tantrum at a time like this.” Without hesitation, I hung up the phone and walked straight toward the fiercest nemesis of the Silver Moon pack. “Mark me, and let’s join forces to destroy the Silver Moon Pack. Do you have what it takes?”

Alexa loved him when he was untouchable. Hulio wanted her when it was too late. Now, she’s the woman he never saw coming. Alexa Hills was always the overlooked one, the awkward girl with plain looks and a heart too tender for a world obsessed with appearances. She was rejected by all. But behind her timid eyes burned the legacy of a dynasty, and the will of a queen in waiting. Hulio Ripples, one of the heirs to Ripples Investment Firm, was every woman’s dream, charming, arrogant, and hopelessly smitten with Alexa’s glamorous older sister, Ashley. To him, Alexa was a nobody. To him she was a reject. Until his world crashed, quite literally, and she was the only one who stayed. When tragedy strikes, Alexa gives up everything to care for the man she’s always loved. For a moment, it seems like her devotion will be enough. But when Hulio recovers, he returns to the woman who once broke him—leaving Alexa shattered and pregnant with his child. Now, she’s back. Not the shy girl he once ignored, but a stunning force of power and poise—CEO of Hills Fusion and a woman with nothing left to lose. With the help of his brother, Helia, she rises from heartbreak to empire, crushing Hulio’s pride and reclaiming her throne. But in a tangled web of love, betrayal, and revenge… can a heart once broken ever trust again. A provocative tale of passion, pain, and power, Ripples and Hills is a revenge romance that will leave every reader spell bound and lost in a world of entanglement and revenge and unrequited love.

TRIGGER WARNING: The book contains highly explicit and detailed depictions of sexual abuse, including childhood abuse, grooming, and assault. It also addresses severe trauma, self-harm, suicide, physical violence, substance abuse, and emotional and physical pain. Reader discretion is strongly advise. -------------- Tales who have a strong obligation to live no matter what, was taken as a sex slave because of his mother's debt to an organization, and he was being subdued by what he despise the most, gangsters, but because of his poor physique he was tossed aside and will likely be killed. That's when he tried to murder the boss, if he'll gonna be dead, might as well take the boss to hell with him. His naive thinking and strong sense of living captures the interest of the delinquent Ra Ja. 'You completely turned me on. ' Is what he said after being stabbed by Tales on his left hand. Ra Ja then makes him as his personal bodyguard. Can't figure out what the man is thinking, Tales can't help but be wary as he devise a new plan to escape the lion's den while carrying the head of the leader. Will his plan be successful or will it go astray and takes him to unfamiliar bloody dark path? A lot of secrets will be uncovered. What he thinks he is now might not actually be him. But seems like he's not the only one scheming the next move. Raja kept making actions that will drive him mad, crush his will and push him to the corner with no escape. A thug of war with rotten love, prideful altercation and bloody relationships.

“By all means, do as you please. Run away as far as you can but keep one thing in mind, I'm going to find you. I'll follow you, Jaselyn. I'll stalk you like you're my prey and I'll catch you.” His warm breath brushes against my neck and I realize just then that he'd somehow bridged the distance between us. “I’ll make you mine over and over again till I become embedded in your DNA. You'll never be free of me.” His hand brushes against the side of my face, caressing almost lovingly while he says such chilling words to me. All of this feels like a farce, one big stupid comedy but a sad smile tugs at my lips when I realize this is my life. “I’ll give you everything and then I'll take it away. You'll always be mine, Jaselyn Everhart. Always.” *** Jaselyn just wants to make it out of the Pack. Living with her abusive uncle after her parents' death, she dreams of saving up enough to finally run away. That's until she meets her mate at the annual Peace ball and is claimed by him, only to be rejected the very next day. But here's the catch, her mate and the Alpha of the Pack, Zane Black, has kidnapped her and he demands that she bear children for his Luna. This book explores dark themes, reader discretion is advised. FB: Author Ireti.

I was a human, but my husband Damien was one of the noblest vampires. When I was two months pregnant, I was kidnapped by a traitorous vampire whom Damien had banished, and tortured to death. But my husband Damien, was with his first love Vivienne, accompanying her for her Blood Withering treatment. This is an extremely rare vampire disease that requires human blood of a rare blood type for treatment. Three days ago, he demanded I give my blood to Vivienne. When I refused, telling him I was two months pregnant with our child, his eyes had turned cold. "Stop lying," he had snarled. "You're just being selfish, trying to let Vivienne die." He drove me to the edge of the territory and left me there — a human, alone in the wilds after dark. "Find your own way back since you're so heartless." I stood there in the darkness and was taken by Silas — a rogue vampire Damien had once condemned to punishment. He cut off my limbs. With cruel satisfaction, he called my husband. But Damien simply didn't believe it. His response was brief and cold: "Whatever it is, Vivienne's treatment is more important. She needs me right now." Silas let out a dark laugh. "Well, well... Seems like the great Enforcer values his ex over his own wife." When Damien arrived at the crime scene hours later, he was horrified by the brutality inflicted on the corpse. He raged at the killer for being so savage to a pregnant woman. But he didn't recognize that the mutilated body before him was his own wife — me.

At 7am on the dot my alarm rings on my nightstand. After a brief moment of irritation I sprung out of bed to get ready for school. While brushing my long curly ember hair my phone dings incessantly on the bathroom counter. After picking up the phone the dread I already felt in my heart was amplified. It was my best friend Jesse wishing me a happy birthday but I for the life of me couldn’t understand what an 18 year old girl had to be happy about. When a woman turns 18 she is mated for life, she’d be made to quit school, produce children and satisfy their mates every need and urge. That’s all a woman was good for in this town and I’d be damned if I was going to sit down and shut up about it. After ignoring Jesse I finished dressing and strolled down stairs where my mother and father were still having their morning meeting with their subordinates. Alfa John and Luna Kate or not, I’d doubt they’d even notice I was leaving if I hadn’t slammed the door on my way out. I wonder if they were disappointed by my lack of interest of the ways of the pack or if they were just disappointed I didn’t have a penis between my legs. Regardless, I have no intention on going to my mating ball tonight. My parents have invited every male in our pack but there’s no way I was going without a fight! As I lift my fingers from the door handle I come to an abrupt stop eye to eye with my fathers beta Josh. In a low growl all I hear is “You didn’t think you could actually leave did you?”

*Book 3* Yildiz was created by the Goddess Zarseti for one purpose: to uphold truth and justice in the supernatural world. Unlike her sisters, Yildiz came into being blind, but she sees beyond what others can. For tens of thousands of years, she and her sisters continued their duties as the Delegation, but life just got more interesting for Yildiz. She learns her creator blessed her, of all people, with a soulmate – an unwilling soulmate at that. Darkness surrounds this mystery man, but he is far more than he seems. Yildiz finds herself pushed away at every turn, but she's never been known to give up her pursuits. Will she capture his heart and unravel his secrets? Or will she be consumed by the darkness and left heartbroken? *Excerpt* "Is this the part where you say you'd die for me?" "Death is easy. It's brief and over in an instant, but living? Living is hard and living for eternity is even harder. So no, I won't die for you… I'd live for you." A Queen Among Blood is the third book in the Queen Among series. Each story is set up in the previous book, so reading the books in order is recommended. Here are the books in the series: A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1 Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2 Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel A Queen Among Blood - Book 3 Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4 Dark Invocation - A Queen Among Darkness spin-off A Queen Among Tides - Book 5 Valor, Virtue, and Verve - A Queen Among Tides Prequel Spin-off A Queen Among Gods - Book 6 A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7

She needs freedom and he needs a wife for convenience. They both agree to have a fake marriage by mutual consent, something that would benefit them both in their lives, without even foreseeing the mess they were getting into. Brenda Harper thinks there is no worse place than her home, where her overprotective parents suffocate her with rather backward ideas about marriage and life. That's why she decides to find a prospect for herself before her parents choose a repulsive old man for her. Giovanni Romano is an old family friend, although the last time they saw each other they were children, but thanks to Giovanni's mother, they arranged a date where they talked about their interests and desires, something they had in common and led them to a brief marriage of convenience. Living together begins, where they have to adapt to each other's routines and comply with the terms they both set for their marriage, although it becomes increasingly difficult for them to be apart from each other's lives. Brenda starts feeling jealous, which is a problem since Giovanni clarified that he had his sexual life covered, although he hadn't told her that he had a special woman he planned to marry after finishing the deal with her. Things go wrong when the sexual attraction they feel leads them to a night of passion, but the intrigues of Fiorella, Giovanni's love, and misunderstandings, separate them and Brenda discovers shortly afterward that she is pregnant, so she leaves for another country without saying anything. The problem is that Giovanni realizes his feelings and goes to look for her, which causes a lot of tension between them when a third party appears on the scene.

My fiance, Eric Powell, hopes that I can give up on my spot as a candidate and transfer him the 5% of shares I have in order to become the biggest shareholder in the company. He promises me that once everything is done, he'll host the grandest wedding of the century for me. I accept his conditions. But the next day, I notice his first love, Eunice Decker, posting a share transfer agreement on her social media feed. Eric's name can be seen scrawled on the person who's making the transfer. After a brief moment of shock, I leave a comment. "Now that you've already accepted his proposal gift, when can we attend your wedding?" Eunice breaks down on the spot. Then, she screams about wanting to jump off the 22nd floor. In order to coax her, Eric demands that I delete my comment immediately and apologize to Eunice in front of everyone. He also wants to pay Eunice my three months' worth of salary just to compensate for her mental health. All of my colleagues begin murmuring to each other, hoping to see me humiliate myself on the spot. I let out a cold chuckle. But not only do I apologize to Eunice, but I also take the initiative to transfer the project I'm in charge of to her. Having noted how understanding I am, Eric says to me happily, "I'll definitely make sure that you're the center of the attention in our upcoming wedding that will be held half a month later. On top of that, I'll also reward you with a honeymoon around the globe!" What he doesn't know is that our wedding will never exist the moment he decides to absorb my shares.