
Ravenous Souls
gabrielabatista.1996 · Ongoing · 30.3k Words
Introduction
On the night of the highly anticipated opening, her plans are destroyed when she becomes the sole witness to a sadistic crime. Spiked to the shelves of her bookstore, Coraline discovers a corpse with its face carved into a grotesque smile.
As new victims are found and an unexpected connection between Coraline and the killer is uncovered, it becomes clear that she’s not just a witness, but a key figure in the investigation. Her once quiet life transforms into a horror story, and Coraline is forced to assist the police in the hunt for the criminal. However, as she becomes more involved in the case, she begins to be stalked and watched by the man she is trying to capture, threatening not only the resolution of the case but also her very life. In this scenario, understanding how their lives are intertwined becomes crucial.
While trying to uncover the killer’s motivations, Coraline realizes that she is caught in a complex web of violence and attraction, slowly forming a dangerous connection with the one man she should never become involved with – her stalker. At a crossroads between duty and desire, she must unravel the mysteries surrounding her pursuer and stop the cycle of deaths, all while fighting not to succumb to the dark longing for what is most terrifying in him and, worse, within herself.
Chapter 1
POV Coraline
"You know how it works, darling. Make a move."
Darling.
Darling had nothing to do with us.
What we had was hunger.
Hot tears streamed down my cold skin, which curled and agonized under the weight of his gaze, that hungry, disturbed, and uncontrollable look. Although his voice sounded controlled, his eyes and soul leaked excess. I couldn’t see myself, but I knew my body was leaking the same disorder that possessed him, albeit for different reasons: he felt pleasure; I felt fear.
"I don’t want to play."
He smiled at me, but didn’t answer immediately.
His silence heightened my discomfort, forcing me to look away. The problem was, what surrounded us was almost as violating, as visceral, as the darkness in his black eyes.
"If you don’t make a move, I’ll understand it as you giving up your turn to me. Do you understand what’s going to happen if I win?"
I looked at the chessboard. I didn’t want to play, really didn’t want to, but my options were limited. Reluctantly, I examined each of my pieces and thought about what to do. He was great at chess, which meant that if I wasn’t careful, his next moves could destroy me.
Destroy us all.
I bit my lip harder than I should have. I moved the next piece, knowing that any mistake could be fatal.
"Very well."
I received another smile.
In silence, we conducted the game for what seemed like hours. Each of his moves increased my discomfort and fed my paranoia. I couldn’t stop analyzing his plays, trying to understand his possible strategies and traps. My pieces seemed to be well-protected, safe, and well-positioned. I became so focused that, for a while, I forgot where we were and what was happening around us – it was just the two of us at that table, each trying to beat the other, just like the old days. As the game progressed, I managed to capture most of his pieces and gained a numerical advantage.
He was a good player, but so was I.
"That’s the magic of chess," he said before his next move. "You can be an excellent player, but skill alone isn’t enough. You need to predict the other player’s behavior, foresee their actions, act before they can see what you’ll do next."
I furrowed my brow, inspecting each piece once again. He made his move, moving the queen, but I still didn’t understand what he was trying to do with that. Searching for flaws, I tried to anticipate his next move, but I couldn’t foresee any risks for me. The game was practically won.
"Your turn," he reminded me.
He left his bishop unprotected. Smiling, I took his piece, leaving him with only the king and the queen. I still had two rooks, four pawns, a knight, a bishop, my king, and my queen. Ten pieces against two.
I shook my head and looked at him.
"I think the odds are against you."
"You’re a good player, Coraline," he complimented. "My turn."
He moved his queen, putting my king in check. I moved my king to H2, gaining the possibility of checkmate on the black king, which was on H8. He attacked again with his queen, putting me in check once more. Annoyed, I searched for another piece to move, but with the way the board was destroyed, we’d just keep going in endless loops. For the third time, I moved my king to another position.
When I saw what was about to happen, I hesitated.
He put my piece in check again.
"I want to start over," I asked.
He refused, standing up.
"We already have a result."
"No."
I denied more vehemently, but he just stood there, ignoring the humanity in me. Around us, in the vaulted room lit by the dim yellow light, a corpse stained the floor with scarlet while four people watched in absolute horror. Each of them represented part of a result I refused to accept, a condemnation, a sentence.
He had played with me in the dirtiest way, and I, in my eagerness to win, hadn’t realized. His intention was never to win but to distract me enough to do something else – something much, much worse. This was the outcome of a game that began months earlier in that dark room full of books and amidst an unspeakable tragedy. There was no redemption for him, and now, there was no salvation for me. It wasn’t checkmate; it was worse. When I looked at him, I knew I had lost the twisted, piled remnants of my soul, because, even though the game had come to its final end, the game seemed far from over.
Last Chapters
#22 Chapter 21
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#21 Chapter 20
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#20 Chapter 19
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#19 Chapter 18
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#18 Chapter 17
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#17 Chapter 16
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#16 Chapter 15
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#15 Chapter 14
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#14 Chapter 13
Last Updated: 1/17/2026#13 Chapter 12
Last Updated: 1/17/2026
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On this day, I lost my husband and also lost the child in my womb...
I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French
At my birthday party, my husband whispered to his mistress in French that he missed her. His voice was low, but I heard it all—the black lingerie, the bit about how pregnancy makes you more sensitive. His French clients around us were laughing. He turned and put his arm around me, claiming he was just helping his clients come up with sweet nothings.
He doesn't know I understand every single word. Just like he doesn't know that inside my body, I'm carrying his other surprise. And his mistress—she's pregnant too. Two wombs, one secret.
Confrontation would be too cheap. Tears are worthless. I quietly started cataloging the hidden networks my father left behind, activating the Swiss accounts.
In seven days, Zoey Smith will cease to exist. And what will my husband's reaction be?
He Never Loved Me, Until I Left
I put away the divorce agreement with a wry smile.
When he and my son completely disappeared, he finally panicked.
Three months later .
He knelt down on the streets of Chicago in despair, begging me to remarry him.
My six-year-old son looked coldly at his biological father and said, "Get lost, you bad uncle! You don't deserve to be my dad!"
When I Disappeared, He Regretted It
The moment the screen lit up, my entire world came crashing down.
The woman on the bed was Calista - that girl who grew up with us since we were kids. And that hand caressing her skin was wearing the wedding ring I had personally put on Matteo's finger.
"I've missed you so much..."
"You drive me crazy, baby..."
Those sweet words I knew so well completely destroyed me.
Everyone said we were the perfect couple, but who knew this marriage was built on nothing but lies?
Since he's so good at acting, I guess it's time I gave him a show of my own. I'm going to make sure everyone sees what this "perfect husband" really is...
He Thought I'd Never Leave
When he said he was being bullied, I believed him. When he kissed me on that rooftop, I thought he felt the same. When he asked me to transfer schools with him, I said yes without hesitation.
Then I heard him bragging to his friends: "She'd save her first time for me. Hell, she'd still be thinking of me on her wedding night."
The bullying was staged. The kiss meant nothing. He just wanted me gone—so his new girl could feel more comfortable.
He thought I'd beg. He thought I'd cry. He thought I'd never actually leave.
I left the country.
And ran straight into his stepbrother.
I Died While They Threw Her a Party
Their real daughter came home. She'd only been back two years. That's all it took to erase twenty-four.
When kidnappers grabbed us, I used my body as a shield. They beat me until something inside me ruptured. I was dying from internal bleeding, but no one could tell.
My parents wouldn't even look at me. "This is your fault! None of this would've happened if it weren't for you!"
"Get downstairs and apologize to your sister. If you can't, pack your things and get out."
They threw her a party at a downtown hotel while I died alone in my room.
I thought they'd be relieved. Maybe even glad. I thought they'd just move on like I never existed.
But when they finally learned the truth, they fell apart.
Bury Me in His Regret
The kidnapper pressed the gun to my temple and asked, "Choose your wife or your sister-in-law?"
Zachary didn't hesitate. "Let Valerie go," he said.
He actually chose to save his sister-in-law! In that moment, even the baby in my belly seemed to stop kicking.
Later, they locked me in the basement. Drugs to delay labor were pumped into my veins over and over. Zachary wanted to save the "firstborn son" status for his sister-in-law's child.
When warm blood finally soaked through my skirt, I dialed the number I knew by heart with shaking hands.
"Zachary," I whispered into the phone, "our child... can't wait any longer."
The Kidney That Killed Me
A few months ago, my sister was hospitalized with kidney failure. The doctor said she needed a transplant. My family's first thought was me—the backup daughter they'd kept around all these years.
When my husband Allen took my hand with tears in his eyes and said, "Only you can save her," I agreed without hesitation.
When the doctor explained the surgical risks and potential complications, I smiled and nodded my understanding.
My parents said I'd finally learned what sisterly love meant.
Even Allen, who'd always been cold to me, held my hand gently and said, "The surgery's safe. You're so healthy, nothing will go wrong. When you recover, I'll take you to Hawaii."
But they don't know that no matter how the surgery goes, I won't be around to celebrate.
Because I just got my own test results—I have terminal brain cancer. I'm going to die anyway.
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination












