Alysscia Nowak

It should've been a dream. A new life on the coast, running a beautiful country hotel with my husband. It should have been everything I'd ever wanted. Worth every scrap of investment. A hotel business we'd sunken every single penny we owned into, only to find out there was a big chain rival opening just a stone's throw away. Slowly, day by day, the dream became a nightmare. Bills. So many bills. Sleepless nights, tossing and turning. No way out in sight. Until there was him. The man at the bar. The man with a proposition we should never have considered in a thousand years.

Who am I? I've forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I've only ever walked in stolen shoes.

The men in the secret society known as the Lords think they rule the world. And in a way, they do. Each has sold their soul to the devil at a young age in exchange for power and wealth. Like anything else, they have different levels of success. The more they’re willing to serve, the more power they have. Among them are the Spade brothers, who run Carnage. It’s where the Lords who have not held up their oath go to live out the rest of their lives in shackles. Tucked away from the world as if they never existed.

I was to wed a Lord of my parents’ choosing. Wealth can’t buy you everything, or I would have had freedom years ago. Instead, my strict parents made sure I lived a dull life in a mansion resembling a prison. But on my wedding day, I was handed over to another man—an even more ruthless Lord that my family hated. Tyson Riley Crawford only wanted me for his revenge. I’m nothing more than a debt to be paid. I didn’t have a say in the matter. So when I said my vows before the congregation, I knew I’d break them. Consequences be damned.

When your eyes land on a complete stranger on the train, and the world around you stops. When the stranger says hello, and your heart stops, too. When the universe answers your prayers and he's there, next day, on the train. A man so powerful—brooding with darkness and secrets. I knew there was going to be more. I wanted more. When the stranger is reading one of your favorite novels, and you're reading one of his. When you think the universe can't be any kinder, but it truly delivers the jackpot of all jackpots and two opposite worlds collide, as though it was meant to be.

Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one.

I want him to be my first. I want him to be the one. I want him to be my everything. I didn't expect to spend my 18th birthday stranded in the pouring rain with no way to make it home. I didn't expect to be rescued from the worst night of my life by the most amazing man I'd ever seen. His name is Nick, and he says he wants to take care of me, says he'll look after me, says I don't need to be alone anymore. He treats me like a princess, like the fragile little girl he saved from the cold. But I like him...I like him like that. I've never liked anyone like that before....

Three years ago, Jacob Price walked away. After a whirlwind steamy affair, my father's best friend broke my heart. He told me things were too complicated. Messy. Wrong. That we could never be together. I knew he loved me, but the fear of ruining our family was too great. With too much at stake, he sacrificed our hearts and ended it. Now, he's back, and he still wants me. He still loves me. But now, I'm engaged to another man.

Once Upon A Time, there was a wicked girl. She lost everything that mattered, causing darkness to unfurl. Impulsive and intelligent, she helped her family name grow strong. But then one day a man without a heart came along. An undercover agent, meant to spy and bring back tips. Following down her hidden path of faded yellow bricks. She hated him, he wanted her; she was too good to be true. But a woman can be great … and terrible too.

Once upon a time, there was a king who passed. He left behind two sons, one beloved and one outcast. The older of the two was set to take the throne, but before he could, he had to find a queen to call his own. The younger one was known to be unruly and unhinged. The chosen queen was warned to keep far away from him. Beautiful and cunning, in the light is where she stayed. But late at night, it was the shadowed lands in which she played. Mistakes were made and secrets forged; forgetting duty and her sense. And while the new king had her hand, her heart belonged to the scarred prince.