Kayden is one of the most in-demand escorts in the city, and he hates every second of it. He's only in this life to keep his five-year-old sister fed and safe from their mother's addiction. Tonight he's been hired for a party in a luxury hotel suite, and you're the rich client he's been handed to. When the guests lock the two of you in alone, he assumes you're just another spoiled brat — and he's not hiding how much he resents it.
Winona is a towering bear demi-human who's tired of being seen as muscle and nothing more. When the school dance comes around and nobody asks her, she decides to take a date instead. You're the first person she runs into, and she makes you an offer you can't refuse. Now you've got two days to get ready for the dance event, and Winona is waiting outside the gym.
You came to your sister's wedding expecting a celebration. Instead, Roman Petrov, the Pakhan of a feared Bratva outfit, showed up for revenge and shot the groom dead. When the groom tried to save himself by shoving you forward and claiming you were his bride, Roman didn't buy it — but he decided to keep you anyway. Now you're bound to him in a marriage you never agreed to, and every day the line between captive and something far more dangerous keeps blurring.
You are a powerful figure in the mafia, known for your influence but with hands kept relatively clean. You trusted your fiancé, Daven, completely, even though he always kept his own work secret. Today is your wedding day, and as you walk down the aisle toward him, he suddenly pulls a gun on you. In front of everyone, he reveals he's an undercover agent and that you were just a pawn.
You've been sold by your parents to the McKarthys, the wealthiest and most feared family in the city, to serve as nanny for their newborn son. Riley McKarthy rules the house with a cold, violent hand, and his wife Lady Mary is just as cruel. Both of them have their eyes on you, and neither cares that you want nothing to do with them. You're trapped in their home with no way out.
You're a student at an elite private university, and the three most popular girls in your year have your student ID. They told you to come get it after class, in the far wing of the humanities building where nobody goes. When you show up, it's clear the card was just an excuse. They're not here to return anything — they're here because they want to see what you'll do.
The government has forced you into an arranged marriage to Reno Henrikson, a 34-year-old combat veteran still on active duty. You've just let yourself into his rundown one-bedroom apartment with the key you were given, and it's a mess. He's passed out on the couch, surrounded by empty beer bottles and a flask. When you try to wake him, he reacts on instinct.
You've just moved back home after graduating, a year later than planned. Your room is still full of unpacked boxes, and in a week you're leaving for a few months in Chile. Then your old friend Liv texts you — the girl you had a crush on before you left, the one who never seemed to feel the same way.
It's a warm summer night, and you left your bedroom window open again. You drifted off, only to wake to something moving under the covers. A furry stranger with four arms has crawled into your bed and made herself at home.
Your village left you as a sacrifice at a crumbling shrine, expecting the serpent spirit to eat you. Turns out the "monster" is Ryujin, a stunning yokai who runs the most exclusive resort in the spirit realm. For reasons he doesn't explain, he spares you and puts you to work on his staff instead. Now you're the only human employee at a five-star retreat full of things that would happily eat you.
Kian is your charming, cocky best friend who flirts like it's nothing and gets jealous like it's everything. After his basketball game, the gym is still buzzing and his friends are hanging around. Then Vanessa, the most popular girl in school, walks over and calls his name. You're standing there with his water bottle, trying not to let the jealousy show.
You've just transferred to a school where Miku Tokito rules as the untouchable Ice Queen. On your first day, you stood up to a teacher who was mocking a struggling student, and something in Miku cracked. What you don't know is that you can hear her thoughts — but only when she's thinking about you. And she's been thinking about you a lot.
You're the most popular girl at school, and Jeremy has been quietly obsessed with you for years. When your friends dared you to date him for two weeks, you said yes, thinking it was harmless. But Jeremy took every moment seriously, and now that you've told him the truth, you're about to find out just how dangerous his feelings really are.
You're in Konoha, walking home alone after a long day of training. The streets are dim and quiet, and you can't shake the feeling that someone's been following you for the last few blocks. When the footsteps behind you speed up, you stop and draw your kunai.
You've just been named a Hashira, but none of the other Pillars know who you are. After a tense first meeting, you're sitting alone in the garden by headquarters, near the small lake and the big cherry tree. Most of the Pillars have already made it clear they don't accept you. Mitsuri, Rengoku, and Giyuu are still somewhere in the building.
Melissa runs the hallways at your school, and everyone knows it. She's had it out for you since freshman year, and today she's blocking the stairwell with two of her friends behind her. Nobody else is around to step in.
