The Unmentionable Series by L Ford

They say blood ties are unbreakable, but no one tells you what to do when those ties wrap around your throat and choke you. Ebonwood Manor wasn’t meant to be mine. It was supposed to devour me, the way it devours everyone who dares to step through its doors. My grandfather’s will made sure of it—a house of shadows, a game of control, and a year trapped with the one man I should have run from the moment I saw him. Julian Hawthorne. My tormentor. My undoing... moreThey say blood ties are unbreakable, but no one tells you what to do when those ties wrap around your throat and choke you. Ebonwood Manor wasn’t meant to be mine. It was supposed to devour me, the way it devours everyone who dares to step through its doors. My grandfather’s will made sure of it—a house of shadows, a game of control, and a year trapped with the one man I should have run from the moment I saw him. Julian Hawthorne. My tormentor. My undoing. We were never supposed to be more than blood and bone, never supposed to share anything but a name. But Ebonwood has a way of twisting things, of turning want into need, and need into obsession. I wanted to hate him. I tried. But Julian is everything this house was built on—darkness, power, seduction—and he pulls me under like the lake on a moonless night. Every challenge we face together pushes us closer to the edge. Every secret uncovered binds us tighter. And every whispered confession, every stolen touch, feels like a sin we’re destined to repeat. Edwin thought he could destroy us with his games. But he underestimated one the way we burn. This isn’t a love story. It’s a confession. A sin. A choice. And when the year ends, I’m not sure who will walk away unscathed—if we walk away at all. less

I don’t know what’s worse—trusting a stranger who might kill me, or realizing I don’t care if he does.Hawthorne Manor was supposed to be an opportunity—a twisted game with one million dollars at stake. All I had to do was survive long enough to win. But survival isn’t as simple as keeping your pulse steady when there are rules designed to break you and people who will do anything to see you fail.And then there’s Toby.Cunning. Ruthless. Dark in ways I shouldn’t find intriguing. He’s not a hero... moreI don’t know what’s worse—trusting a stranger who might kill me, or realizing I don’t care if he does.Hawthorne Manor was supposed to be an opportunity—a twisted game with one million dollars at stake. All I had to do was survive long enough to win. But survival isn’t as simple as keeping your pulse steady when there are rules designed to break you and people who will do anything to see you fail.And then there’s Toby.Cunning. Ruthless. Dark in ways I shouldn’t find intriguing. He’s not a hero. He’s not a savior. He’s the kind of man you team up with only because the devil you know is better than the devil waiting to stab you in the back. He calls me little mouse like he’s waiting for the moment I’ll scurry, but what he doesn’t realize is, I’m not running.I don’t trust him. I don’t even like him most of the time. But he’s made it clear—if I want to survive this game, I need him. And if I want to get out of here with my sanity intact… I might have to play his game.Because Toby doesn’t play fair. He doesn’t play nice. He’s the kind of man who will burn everything down just to see what rises from the ashes. And somewhere in this maze of alliances and betrayals, I can’t tell if he’s my partner or my punishment.But one thing’s certain.In a place like this, the real game isn’t about winning. It’s about knowing when to strike—and who to trust when the flames start closing in.And if I’m not careful, Toby might be the one who destroys me before anyone else gets the chance. less

I didn’t ask for a hero.Callum is my sister’s husband—a man who smiles too easily, with golden retriever charm and a relentless sense of duty that ties him to a marriage that’s slowly rotting him alive. He’s untouchable. Off-limits. Everything I shouldn’t want.But now, we’re running for our lives, and I don’t know who’s protecting who anymore.It started with a flat tire, a kind gesture, and a man who stepped out of the shadows with a shotgun and a smile that still makes my stomach churn... moreI didn’t ask for a hero.Callum is my sister’s husband—a man who smiles too easily, with golden retriever charm and a relentless sense of duty that ties him to a marriage that’s slowly rotting him alive. He’s untouchable. Off-limits. Everything I shouldn’t want.But now, we’re running for our lives, and I don’t know who’s protecting who anymore.It started with a flat tire, a kind gesture, and a man who stepped out of the shadows with a shotgun and a smile that still makes my stomach churn. He told us to run. Gave us a ten-minute head start like this was a game he’s played before. Like he knows exactly how it ends.Callum says he won’t let anything happen to me. He says he’ll keep me safe.But the woods are dark, and the river is colder than death, and no amount of promises can drown out the sound of the psycho’s voice in the distance—soft, taunting, so sure he’ll find me.I’m going to find you, Josie. And when I do…I’m not ready to die. But I’m not sure I’m strong enough to survive what comes next.This isn’t just a chase. It’s a reckoning.And I think the real danger isn’t what’s hunting us—it’s what’s building between us in the dark, what Callum and I are too afraid to name.If we survive the night, nothing will ever be the same. less