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Skylar

Ally just finished examining my side, her eyes full of concern. "Take these. It will help with the pain. And no more moving. You need to take it easy, no matter what." She casts a glance toward Chris. "I'll leave you but call me if you need anything. I'm right outside."

"She can't be moved." Ally gives Chris a pointed look as she leaves. Geez, they were treating Chris like a criminal, as if he had done this to me. This is precisely why I never went back to the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Chris. Everyone thinks it's your fault. I will set things straight as soon as I can." After everything he has done for me, the last thing I want is for him to be painted in a bad light.

"Why didn't you tell me, Skylar? I could have helped you." He speaks quietly as he approaches the bed. I sit up, shifting as he perches on the side of the bed, taking my hand in his. He seems sad and angry all at once.

"I didn't want to be even more of a burden. After everything you have done for me, helping me set up a new life in a new town. Letting me stay at your place long past the time that I should. You've done so much for me already. And I thought this would go away. I don't even really know what is happening to me."

"It doesn't matter. You should have told me. And I was too blind to see what was happening to you." He cups my cheeks gently, his face inches from mine. I hope to god he isn't going to do something stupid.

"Don't you realize how I feel for you? How I have always felt for you...I love you, Skylar." To say that I am shocked is an understatement. I know he has feelings for me, but love? That is not a feeling I reciprocate. I don't know if I would ever feel that feeling with him or anyone else. The man still in my heart was the cold-hearted prick that humiliated me earlier. There didn't appear to be room for anyone else.

His face is edging closer and closer to mine. "Don't, Chris," I say quietly, shifting my head to the side, causing his hands to drop as he moves back. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way. I like you, but I don't love you. And I don't want to string you along. I care about you too much to be that cruel."

He gets up, stepping back as he turns his back to me. "It's because of him, isn't it? Dmitri. This is his fault. We should never have come to this event. We wouldn't be in this mess if he had just stayed away like he was supposed to. And maybe you would learn to love me the way I love you. This is happening because you are around him."

"I can't choose who I love, Chris. I wish I loved you, I really do, but I don't. I don't want to lie to you."

He continues standing with his back to me, our breathing being the only noise filling the silence. "I brought you some tea. Don't forget to drink it. It will make you feel better." He puts it on the table beside me, and poof, he is gone, just like that.

I would call him later once he has had time to process what I have just said. But I would definitely need to move out asap. After what happened, I couldn't continue living with him and pretending to be a couple. Now that I know how strong his feelings are and how weak mine are, it was time to find my own way. Alone.

First things first, I needed to understand what the hell was going on with my body. I couldn't carry on like this. Literally. And the cat was out of the bag, so there was no need to hide anything anymore. I just wish it had been in another setting, not Dmitri discovering my secret.

Dmitri. Thoughts of last night come tumbling forward. Savannah isn't his mate. The baby isn't his, either. He had been lied to. Tricked. This must be so difficult for him. All the deception for a whole year. He must be hurting. I mean, he lived with her for a year. There must have been some feelings there. And for the baby that he thought was his. Maybe he was excited to be a father. I could only imagine how he felt, tears welling at my imagination.

"You should get some sleep," Ally says, returning to the room. "He left. I was worried he might take you with him." I like her. I can see why she is a healer. She has a calming energy about her that makes me feel comfortable and safe.

"Yip, he left. He brought me some tea. Says it will make me feel better. He grows the best herbs if you are ever looking for anything." I am rambling, not really sure what to say now that I am awake and to someone who clearly has questions. I can see it in her eyes.

"We need to talk about...this," she says, gesturing to my entire body as she sits in a chair near the bed.

"Let's start with the most important question. Was it Chris?"

"No, it was not Chris. I need to make that crystal clear." I say, shaking my head as if that will help get my point across.

"When did it start?" Ally has now taken out a small book where she is writing notes.

"A couple of days after I left Willow Falls."

"What happened that first time? Where were you? What were you doing? What were you thinking? I need the details." Ally looks at me expectantly, waiting for my answers like a doctor would.

"Well, the first time it happened was on the ninth of May last year, a couple of days after the party Dmitri held at his place. I remember the date because I was supposed to visit my aunt and uncle for a month while I sorted things out. But they canceled last minute. My aunt was quite sick, and they didn't want me catching anything, so they thought it best to push the visit out. That's how I ended up staying with Chris. I was staying in a motel, but he said he has a place he barely uses because he travels a lot and that I should move in there. I thought I would eventually move back to my aunt and uncle, but then Chris said he would help me set up shop again. He offered to stock my products in his shop until I found a place of my own."

"Anyway, that day, I was moving my stuff into the main room when I suddenly felt pain under my right breast. It was so intense I buckled over. When I made it to the bathroom and had a look, there was a bruise bigger than my fist and black like the one on my side. The pain was shooting from that spot down my arms and then vanishing into the marks on my wrists. It's like these things were eating the pain," I say, holding my wrists up for Ally to see.

"Once that first one appeared, it was never-ending after that. I think the longest I went without one was for a week max. Sometimes they were small, other times bigger. They seem to have been steadily increasing in volume and severity over the last couple of months, the one on my side and lower back being the absolute worst so far. I was taking prescription painkillers to manage the pain. Initially, I saw the doctor, but they started suspecting Chris of abusing me. I didn't want him to get in trouble, so I stopped seeking medical attention and told them I had severe migraines instead so they would issue the painkillers. Chris doesn't know about any of this." I explain, hoping that they leave Chris out of this.

"I see. You're also extremely underweight and malnourished. Have you not been eating?" Ally asks, her pen at the ready to jot down my answers.

"So, this whole thing happening with my body has probably impacted how much I eat. Sometimes I would be so wrapped up in the pain or in hiding the pain that I would forget to eat. Other times, especially lately, whenever I do eat, my stomach can't seem to tolerate it, and it ends with me throwing everything up."

Ally pauses for a while, just processing what I have said.

"Okay. So, we will keep you on pain meds and a special mixture of herbs I will prepare that you must drink three times a day. That should manage the pain and allow you to keep your food down. We will also start you on a meal plan and some vitamins. We need to understand what is happening with your body and why this is happening. Raina seems to suspect that it has something to do with your curse. She left to make inquiries with some of the witches in our network. She should be back later this week, and hopefully, she has some news. You must tell us if you know anything or suspect anything, Sky. You can't keep doing this on your own. Your body literally cannot handle it."

"Why do you even care? I mean, I'm not anything to you guys." The question bothers me. Maybe it's unfair, and I have just been so used to doing things on my own that when someone tries to help me, I think there is some ulterior motive. Look at Chris. He was only helping me because he loved me and wanted me to reciprocate his feelings. I know I sound like a bitch. Someone doing something because they love me. But now I feel that because I don't feel the same way I somehow owe him for everything.

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Gathering of the Eastern Packs. A mandate I cannot refuse. And one that changes my life forever.
Ava
I'm a rogue. Happily have been since the age of eighteen when my mate, and the Alpha of my old pack, rejected me.
Living amongst the humans for the last nine years with my bestie and staying far away from the werewolf world that showed me nothing but abuse and heartache changes with one event and one sniff.
The King of the Werewolves, my second chance fated mate... strong, dominant, and the sexual tension between us is off the charts.
But with wet panties comes the bubbling up of long-hidden secrets and a man I would rather forget, The Butcher. I have something he wants, and he will stop at nothing to get it.
Braiden
At thirty-four years old and still, with no fated mate in sight, I have finally chosen my Queen, a carbon copy of my mother.
Until I scent her.
My mate, the white wolf, is an exact match to my black one. She just has to realize it.
My Queen wants none of this world, her past standing in our way, along with secrets that reveal our connection long before now.
With every fiery interaction, I can feel her resistance crumbling. Soon, she will see that there is no escape.
She is mine. She is The Alpha King's Queen.

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Dark Mafia Romance - Corrupting Lily

Check out my dark mafia romance with weekly chapter updates on Sundays and a chapter or two loaded early on Patreon. It is called Corrupting Lily, and you can find it here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/371550201-corrupting-lily or on my profile.

Six months ago, Lily barely escaped with her life, forcing her into hiding. But when she is discovered by Mafia boss Dominico, will this little flower be able to bloom in the shadows or be forever corrupted by the darkness?Little Lily Valentine is hiding, biding her time until she has saved enough money to move far away from her past and start fresh, where no one knows her. Where he can't find her. But when Mafia Don Dominico Sante walks into the club where she works, he knows there is more to the little flower who blushes at his words and reacts to his touch, not with fear but desire. He only intended to keep her as a pawn in the game of power he was playing and corrupt her in the process. But as time goes on, he realizes she may very well be the Queen he has been looking for. With a powerful syndicate on the rise in his territory, a rumor of his replacement in the works, and powerful players with a connection to Lily's past in the mix, will Dominico risk it all for the little flower that blooms in his darkness? And will she let him?

This is a dark romance. Explicit sexual scenes and other triggering topics. Strictly +18.