251 Book(s) Related to melissa mathews

Desiree the human girl clocks eighteen and finds out that she is extra-ordinary--an Elven princess. A secret her parents had been hiding from her.
She endures being bullied in school because of her smallish and calm nature. She is yet to discover herself and embrace her true powers, when she stumbles upon her new mates, Triplet Alphas who are half human half angel, ghost and incubus.
They chase after her and make her the envy of the whole school.
She tries to avoid them but finally accepts them in the end and they help her to harness her power in the fullest means.....

"Mum? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Amelia begged, trying to leave Fernando's side but he didn't let her.

"How could you commit such a sin, Amelia?"


My mother was a lot of things but I never knew she would dare leave her Billionaire husband on the Alter stranded.

My soon to be stepfather was a lot of things, but he wasn't one to accept humiliation. And for that reason, he made me Amelia, the daughter of my runaway mother to take her place on the alter.

In my previous life, on the very day of our marking ceremony, my Alpha fiancé met his fated mate at the banquet.
He didn’t break off our engagement. Instead, he chose silence and completed the ceremony with me. He chose to trap me with a twenty-year mate bond.
For twenty years, I fought wars for the Pack, bore him an heir, and ruled the main hall alone as Luna.
Meanwhile, in another Pack’s territory, he spent his entire life with that woman.
Before I died, he told me he was sorry.
But he also blamed me—saying that if I hadn’t insisted on taking the Luna seat, he could have left more completely.
Only then did I realize something cruel. Not only was I never the one he loved, I was also the obstacle to his freedom.
When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of the marking ceremony.
This time, the mate bond had not yet formed, and the mate mark had not yet been sealed.
Whether he would abandon me for his fated mate no longer mattered.
Because this time—
I would never step aside for any Alpha again.

Damien's hands clamped hard around my thighs, spreading me wide, making me feel obscene.
His stare pinned me even before his mouth touched me—black fire in one eye, molten red in the other, daring me to resist.
My breath snagged. Every part of me ached for him to finally do it, to stop teasing, but he only smirked mischievously.
His breath feathered hot against the slick ache between my legs.
That was all....just air, just heat and my hips betrayed me, jerking up toward his face before I could stop them. Shame scalded me but his chuckle was darker as if he'd been waiting for me to surrender.
"You want my mouth here?" His voice rumbled against my skin, cruel amusement dripping from every word. "Then you'll beg."


I didn't ask for a new family, and I certainly didn't expect to meet them..the two dangerous, devastatingly hot biker Alphas my mother married into. They're rough, possessive, and rule the roads with iron fists.
And now, they've come home.
They barely speak to me. They keep their distance. But their eyes burn. And when the truth unravels—that I'm their destined mate everything shatters.
Now I'm caught in a web of forbidden desire, biker wars, and a bond I can't escape. I was just a girl trying to survive her mother's reckless choices.
Now I'm the obsession of two ruthless Alphas who would burn the world for me. And I'm not sure I want to stop them.
This book contains big of mature content, readers discretion is advised.

Jace is a wanted criminal. Out of sheer luck or fate, as most people would say, he landed a job as a household manager—a position that didn't require a background check, which felt like a miracle. However, he soon finds himself drawn to the quadruplet bosses he serves.

Damon, Peter, Jacob, and Garrett were the first quadruplets in the Bloodlust Pack to survive. Before their birth, quadruplets were seen as abominations and were to be killed immediately after birth. It was only because their mother, the Luna, and their father, the Alpha, had tried for years to have a child but to no avail that they were allowed to live. This brought about mixed feelings among the members of the pack, especially the elders.

The quadruplets lived their lives trying to prove to everyone that they weren't abominations. For every good deed other members of the pack accomplished, they had to do ten times more to gain acceptance.

What happens when they discover that they have a mate, and not just any mate, but a human male mate?! Will they accept him? Remember, they are already hanging by a thread in their quest for full acceptance into their pack. Will being gay jeopardize all their years of hard work?

What about Jace? He is a victim of abuse but somehow was convicted of murder. Is he in the right mental state to fall in love?

Let’s say he eventually does fall for the quadruplets—will he accept them, knowing they are werewolves? Even if he does accept the fact that they are werewolves, who will he choose to mate with?

If the quadruplets accept Jace, what comes next? Can they fight against their pack for his sake?

Love lost, love chased, and love reborn—this collection of werewolf short stories weaves together tales of passion, heartbreak, and redemption.

From powerful Alphas who regret letting their fated mates slip away to strong-willed heroines who rise above betrayal, each story explores the raw emotions of second chances and self-discovery. Some wolves fight to reclaim what they've lost, while others learn that true strength lies in walking away.

As the moon guides them through pain and healing, they must decide: cling to the past or embrace the future?

In "Fated Mates Torn by Hate", experience stories of chasing love, finding self-worth, and letting go of old wounds to step into the light of a new dawn.

“Mate is back,” Cyan retorted with excitement in her voice. “Let's go see mate, Evie; let's go see him.” She urged.

“We'll see him tomorrow during the ceremony,” I replied.

“What if he doesn't know you anymore? Aren't you at least curious about his looks?” she retorted.

She had a point, though; it's been ten whole years since I last saw him, and I'll be turning eighteen tomorrow, which is the perfect time to get a mate. I stood there contemplating between going to bed or satisfying my curiosity.

After much thought, Cyan won. I turned sharply, heading for Kieran's room. Even though it was just a glimpse of him as he slept, that would be okay, I thought.

I climbed through the walls, peeping through the window, but was met with great darkness. I stepped into the room, scrutinizing through the darkness until I found the switch, taking back my full shape, leaving me with ripped and torn clothes. I turned on the lights as my eyes danced through every corner of the room.

I felt my shoulders slump in defeat as nothing had changed; the room remained untouched, as the surfaces were filled with dust. The only thing that changed was the sheets. The beautifully colored sheets I had placed the last time I came here to clean had been changed into a sparkling white one.

I turned around in disappointment about leaving when I felt an intimidating presence behind me.

“Looking for someone?” A husky voice echoed, making me freeze. “You're trespassing, little wolf; care to explain why?” he added in a stern voice. I inhaled sharply, the rich scent of Bourbon filling my lungs. My eyes widened in shock.

The Series of Tempting My Offish Mates and Saving Her Grumpy Mates.
[Multiple mates story, lots of steamy scenes.]
Rain is starting her college life, ready to meet all sorts of new creatures. A werewolf herself only having met other werewolves, she's ready to befriend dragons, fairies, witches, vampires or elfs. However, she wasn't expecting to run into her mate as well as her estranged ex boyfriend on campus. Men keep getting thrown at her left and right. How will she balance these new males with her studies?
What happens when she discovers the secrets her father kept from her? Will she be able to handle everything that will be thrown at her this year?


Ember has grown up believing she had no wolf, magic or dragon. Her twin, Ash, on the other hand has had it all. Deciding it best to transfer to a human high school, she ends up meeting her mate, a hybrid just like her. Her mate brings out her dormant wolf and Ember's life starts to unravel. She thought she would be happier once she got her wolf, instead her life has only gotten more complicated.
Having been deceived before, Ember has a hard time accepting the mate bond. Can she overcome her past to find happiness with her mate? Can he overcome his darkness and help bring Ember out of hers?

Kieran Silvermane was never supposed to be mine.I was the girl he paid to finish his assignments, fill his attendance, and disappear when his real life walked in.So when the Moon Goddess bound us together—choosing me as the Alpha heir’s mate—I believed, for one foolish moment, that I was finally someone’s first choice.I was wrong.He rejected me under a full moon. In front of his pack. In front of everyone who already thought I wasn’t enough.Shattered and unable to even shift, I was ready to leave Northcrest and never look back.Until his father made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.Now I live under the same roof as the man who destroyed me—the man who swears he rejected me to save me.Because Kieran Silvermane is cursed.And loving me might be the one thing that kills us both.

19 year old Bellatrix finds herself exiled to an enemy pack priorn to the destruction of her pack. And to worsen things, the one who brought her into the world of misery, widely feared and known for his cruelty, Alpha Anslan Robertson, turned out to be her mate.
What was the way forward for this timid young lady who even found it hard to shift?

“I just gave you pleasure,” Valen skited like it was a great achievement to boast about. He felt no guilt for his earlier sin.
“I did not ask you to.” I retaliated. It was wrong of me to fall victim to his allure. It was purely Zeus’ fault. His wolf was nicer.
“You like it though.” His voice was low and throaty with a triumphant grin. Damn his ego! “You didn’t want me to stop before.”
Blood rushed to my face and I blushed in shame as he stared at me. I stretched for a pillow and sailed it at him. He caught it with a devious chuckle.

Alpha Prince Valen, the next in-line to be Alpha King, has been Raina's crush since childhood. For years she yearned for the attention that he never gave. She was ecstatic when Valen turned out to be her mate. He was hers.

Sadly, something’s wrong with the mate bond. The old books refer to them as unfortunate soulmates. This implied that the bond would never last.

Forced to reject her and sever the bond, the painful separation exposed Raina to numerous challenges and dangers. A glimpse of the future has left her torn between the desire for her mate and the doom of their fate.

Will Raina and Valen have their happy ending or did the moon goddess have something else in store for them? Should she fight for her mate or let the course of destiny unfold? - Find out as Raina embarks on a journey filled with heartache, revelation, and an uncertain future.
^-^
This is Book 2 from the Mates series. Can be read as a standalone, however, to understand the characters, you might want to read Book 1 - Mates: Regrets and Redemption
© All rights reserved.

Silver poisoning struck, and my mother's life hung by a thread.
I knelt and begged my partner Selene to use the 100,000 gold coins from our war spoils to purchase Moonlight Holy Water, but she coldly refused with a sneer: "An ordinary silver poison patient isn't worth wasting resources on." She then turned and spent 80,000 coins on a necklace for her male lover.
My mother died in my arms as I ground my teeth and swallowed my tears of blood.
But when the patrol came to collect the body, she finally discovered—the one sent to be buried deep in the mass grave wasn't my mother at all, but her own biological mother.
She had personally buried her own mom!

Pelican Bay Business is full of hot billionaires, crime, and a bakery full of women waiting to cause trouble and break hearts.

I met the love of my life in elementary school, but she hates me. It’s going to take drastic measures to win her heart. And a whole lot of money.

Step one: Make her jealous.

Join in on the excitement with this Pelican Bay spin-off series featuring the super-hot and wealthy Kensington family. There’s age gaps, opposites attract, enemies to lovers, second chance, contract marriage, and more kidnappings than any series needs jam packed into these billionaire stories.

#explicit #Suggested age 18+

Pelican Bay Billionaires is created by Megan Matthews, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

"Today, with the moon goddess bearing me witness and under the eyes of everyone here, I reject Alpha Carter as my mate."
Suddenly, the voice of my wolf, long silenced, roared back to life: Mine.
Alpha King Draven reached out to touch my face, his voice soft with surprise: "Mate."
"Where the hell is that bitch! Someone, drag her out for me!" Alpha Carter yelled, stalking toward me, eyes blazing with fury. But by the time he reached for me, his hand was caught in the iron grip of Alpha King Draven—and crushed in the strength of the Northlands' most feared ruler.
"You're the Alpha King, but surely you wouldn't interfere in pack disputes between an Alpha and his pack members? This is a private matter," Carter sneered.
Draven's gaze was cold, every word deliberate: "No, I won't interfere in your pack matters. But I will interfere when my mate is being threatened."
Elena Reed's life was shattered ten years ago. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, she was found at the scene of her mother's murder, framed by her own cousin. Stripped of her status and cast into a life of servitude, she endured a decade of cruelty, betrayal, and humiliation—while her enemies thrived.
Now, the Alpha King has come to her pack, searching for his Luna. Standing before everyone, Elena finally seizes her voice, her power, and her destiny. But the path ahead is treacherous: ancient powers stir within her, enemies lurk in every shadow, and even love brings its own dangers.
Will Elena finally reclaim her fate and the mate she was destined for or will fear once again hold her captive?

"I think it's about time you devour me." I heard him say and I blinked.
What was he talking about? A frown creased my face. His confidence and graceful poise seem to unnerve me. He had something about him I couldn't figure out, yet.
"Wh-a-t did you say?" I stuttered, forcing myself to tear my eyes away from his face.
He chuckled, then leaned closer to my ears. "I asked when you were going to devour me."
I flinched. What was he playing at? Was he flirting with me so openly? I willed myself to ignore his statement. I had a bigger task at hand to let myself be bothered by a pretty man.
I cleared my throat and his eyes were now focused on me. "I have no time for your gimmicks. Excuse me." I was leaving when I felt his hands draw me back.
"You leave only when I ask you to." He growled and I instantly felt my knees weaken. His voice carries with it some kind of authority. I felt my wolf curl inside of me. I have so many questions racing in my head.
Who was this handsome stranger with so much nerves?


When Ava's mother fell ill, Ava vowed to go to the ends of the earth to save her. Ava got more shattered after finding her boyfriend in bed with her best friend. With her boyfriend's betrayal fresh in her mind, Ava moved on with a promise to lock her heart from any man. But the Moon Goddess has another plan for her.
Dylan Gibson, the Savage Alpha had set his eyes on her. She had something he wanted. Something no one else could give him.
Will Ava find love or she's just a means to an end?

"You lost our baby! You lost the only good thing."
He paused, breath shaking with anger.
"The only thing that ever came out of this sham of a marriage. And now it's gone."
My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. His words sliced through me like a blade. How could he put this all on me?
"We have nothing binding us anymore. Nothing."
A cold smile curled on his lips.
"Thanks to you, we're finally free to walk away from each other."


When the truth about her marriage came crashing down in the cruelest way imaginable, Sophia's world shattered.
Donald demanded a divorce to return to his childhood sweetheart, insisting their marriage had been nothing but a lie. Their unborn child became the first casualty of his betrayal.
Still bleeding from the physical and emotional devastation of the loss, Sophia could only stand there as Donald blamed her for everything.
Just as despair threatened to consume her, a billionaire named Mark Lance stepped into her life with a truth she never imagined: he was her biological father, a man she had never known existed...

He ruined her reputation—now she wants nothing to do with him.Brynn Windham loves being a member of the US Ski Team. But after learning a disturbing family secret, she loses her focus and puts her spot on the team in jeopardy. Her coach assigns a skier to help Brynn regain her competitive edge. Unfortunately, the one person who can help her is the last person she trusts.Ryland Guyer might be the heir to his family’s sportswear company, but skiing is his priority. As he recovers from an injury, his coach asks him to help another skier salvage her season. The only problem? He and Brynn have history. They haven’t spoken in five years, and he doubts she’ll want to talk to him now.Not wanting to give up on her dream, Brynn struggles with skiing and Ryland. He wants to make amends for the hurt he caused her and start over, but being around him stirs up old feelings and new, deeper ones emerge. Being on her own is better…safer. But he isn't ready to give up on her. Or them.With a mountain of struggles to face, can Brynn and Ryland learn to forgive so they can reach the top—together?* Parts of this 54,000 word novel were previously published in a Kindle World novella called Race of Love.*One Night to Forever series:Book 1: Fiancé for the NightBook 2: The Wedding LullabyBook 3: A Little Bit EngagedBook 4: Love on the SlopesBook 4: Love on the Slopes

One couple, a pending divorce, and a baby who needs a family...No matter how hard Kate Malone strives to be perfect, everyone she's ever loved leaves. She foolishly believed "I do" meant "forever." Now, her wedding ring is in a jewelry box, and she's alone once again. But when Kate and her soon-to-be ex-husband become the sole guardians of an infant, divorce is not an option with a new baby counting on them.Jared Reed loves Kate more than anything—even if he did push her too far. Now he's determined to keep his promises to his best friends and especially to his wife. A marriage of convenience sounds rather inconvenient, but Jared will do whatever it takes to get Kate back and provide their new little girl with parents who not only love her, but love each other, too.Parenting brings them closer, but their undeniable attraction makes Kate want to keep her distance. Jared, however, won't give up on having the family and marriage he wants. Can Jared prove to his wife that he's the husband she's always wanted before it's too late?

One tech entrepreneur, one blond bombshell, and two rival dating sites.When Dani Bennett lands a new marketing job, she can't wait to prove herself. But her excitement fizzles when her new boss insists she create an online dating profile to spy on the competition. Quitting isn't an option; she needs the money. Now, she must meet the charming guy who's been messaging her. Dani, however, has played this game before. She knows exactly what he's after—what they're all after. It's a good thing she has a foolproof plan to keep her date from being interested in her.Bryce Delaney works hard to keep scammers from infiltrating his dating website. He'll do anything to keep his clients and his company safe, like asking a potential corporate spy to meet him for coffee. When the woman turns out to be more hobo than hottie, he's intrigued. She has no idea he founded the dating website, and he plans to keep it that way until he can uncover her agenda.As one date leads to another, sparks fly. Dani knows a relationship built on lies will never work, but she's not the only one with a secret. Will the truth bring her and Bryce closer or send them back online to find someone else to love?

A marriage proposal gone wrong—a second chance to get it right.When architect Marley Patterson goes out with Von Ryan, she never expects her practical, cautious life to be turned upside down by the handsome contractor. Von is the definition of fun, until his proposal sends her into a panic. Marriage is too serious a commitment to make after dating for only six months. Even though she cares for Von, they are too different, so she breaks up with him.Being rejected hurts, but Von blames himself for not reading the signs or Marley better. He finds solace in work; however, his construction company’s success isn’t enough. He wants to share his life with a woman who’ll love him as much as he loves her. She’s out there. All he has to do is find her and, this time, be patient for the relationship to develop on its own.After Marley is assigned to Von’s new project in Indigo Bay, he treats her the same as everyone else—professionally and with respect—though neither can deny a strong mutual attraction still exists. Soon Marley realizes she may have been the problem with their relationship, not just Von’s proposal. She wants a second chance, but after breaking his heart once, will he give her a do-over?

My name is Gemma and I'm the white wolf.

My life has been really, really shitty.

At 3, the pack I stayed at was attacked, I lost my mother, was kidnapped and abused by some people. They asked me to reveal the identity of the white wolf. I was only 3 for goddess' sake! How was I supposed to know? After I was deemed useless to their search, I became their maid. I lost 12 years, 12 freaking years, to these people but I escaped.

I had planned it for a long time and managed to get from America to England. I met my mate there. Alpha Conner Hughes. I love him. He helped me figure myself out and taught me about gifted wolves.

I'm a gifted wolf, scratch that, His Gifted Luna.

Everything was quiet for four years, four beautiful years, until fate just decided to just fuck with me and send me back to my old pack to deal with hunters.

Secrets will be revealed, hardships will be overcome and hearts will be broken. I just hope i can get through it all with Conner by my side.

One beach cottage, two strangers, and a kiss under the mistletoe that changes everything…Sheridan DeMarco wants to be anywhere but home for the holidays. She’s happy to spend Christmas house-sitting in South Carolina, far away from her parents’ new blended families. Too bad when she arrives at the charming beach cottage, she isn’t as blissfully alone as she planned.Michael "Mikey" Patterson needs to stay out of sight until his attorney gives him the all clear. He finds the perfect place in a small coastal town, but there’s a problem. Mikey isn’t the only one staying at the beach house, and his surprise roommate pushes all his buttons.A sprig of mistletoe and one memorable kiss make Sheridan and Mikey forget their plans to stay away from each other. But when family gets in the way, will their happily ever after get tossed out along with the discarded wrapping paper and tinsel?

When a message in a bottle unwittingly brings together two vastly different strangers, will opposites attract, or will their worlds collide?Jenny Hanford never expects anything to happen the night she whimsically throws her requirements for true love into the ocean. Thirteen months later, however, she hears back from the man who found her bottle.Exchanging carefree emails and texts with Dare is as exhilarating as it is nerve-wracking. He's a complete stranger, and though his humor and kindness keep her replying, she worries her heart is on the line.Flirting long-distance is fun and safe, but when Dare, a soldier, is injured in the line of duty and Jenny's given the opportunity to visit him, will she seize the opportunity? Or will her fear that Dare can't possibly be her real dream hero stand in their way?

At 2:47 AM, half-asleep, I made the biggest mistake of my life—I posted my forty-seventh secret love letter to the anonymous school forum instead of deleting it.
Even crazier? Star pitcher Caleb Sullivan found me in the cafeteria the next day, got down on one knee in front of everyone, and asked me to be his girlfriend. I thought I was living in a dream.
Until Mom told me she was getting married.
When her fiancé walked in with his son, I saw Caleb standing in our doorway—face white as a sheet, eyes wild with panic.
First love. Boyfriend. Stepbrother.
He said Mom and I were gold diggers scheming our way into his family. By Monday, he had his arm around the cheer captain, destroying my reputation in front of the entire school and turning me into the biggest joke at Seacliff High.
Just when I thought I'd drown, Zane Knight—the transfer everyone whispered about—found me in the abandoned art room.
He crouched down, those black eyes cutting right through me: "Crying won't change a damn thing, Daphne Pierce."
Brutal, guarded, but the only person who'd looked at me like I was still human.
As he walked away, something buried deep in my memory suddenly surfaced—that voice, the angle of his jaw...
Had we met before?

I clicked the anonymous link, and my world shattered. There was my perfect fiancé, in a live stream, entangled with the woman who was supposed to be my maid of honor—my best friend.
He was the hero who donated his bone marrow to save my life. Now, he was defiling our future marriage bed in the most vile betrayal. I thought this was their twisted idea of a game, until I dug deeper and uncovered the truth: our "fateful" connection three years ago was nothing but a calculated lie.
My savior, my soulmate, the father of my child... it was all a facade. Now, I've vanished into the night, carrying a secret they know nothing about—his child. Their little show was just the beginning.
My revenge? It's just getting started.

Two years ago, at the Mating Ceremony, my fated mate, Alpha Jason, rejected me in front of the entire pack. He chose my stepsister, Maggie, simply because she had pure blood, and I was just a "Wolfless" waste.
Two years later, I returned to the Blackwater Territory with my new mate.
I met Jason at the forest entrance bordering the territory. For the sake of his pack’s "interests," he dared to order me to warm my stepfather’s bed and serve his new mate as a maid.
He had no idea that the "Wolfless" waste he was sneering at was now the most revered woman in North America—the Luna Queen.

At the Falcone estate's riding ring, I watched my eight-year-old son Leo mount Starlight, preparing for the most important performance of his young life.
Before the third obstacle, the horse spooked. The instant Leo was thrown, I rushed forward to shield him—the cost was three shattered ribs and a kicked left lung.
When I woke from unconsciousness, I found myself in Dante's private clinic downstairs. From the adjacent room came the doctor's angry voice: "We agreed this was just a marrow extraction. Why did you set up what happened with the horse?"
My husband Dante Falcone's response made my blood run cold: "Leo was Mia's donor. Now that the procedure is complete, there's no point in continuing treatment. Mia is the real heir."
Eight years of marriage. I'd always believed that beneath Dante's cold exterior, Leo was still a son he treasured.
Only now did I understand—from the moment of his birth, Leo had been nothing more than a living donor prepared for his stepsister Mia.
The cruelest irony? Mia, the girl Dante loved so deeply, wasn't even his biological daughter.

I thought drowning while trying to save a little girl was the end of my story. Turns out, it was just the beginning of my empire in the Land of the Dead.
Now, I'm the infamous owner of the afterlife's most intimate boutique. My clients? A community of skeletons so conservative, they excuse themselves before holding hands and have been sleeping in separate beds for thirty years of marriage.
To make sure my boyfriend Carlos doesn't forget me, I convinced him to become my interdimensional supplier. But my thriving business comes at a deadly cost: every product he sends drains his life force. And just as I make this horrifying discovery, I learn the little girl I died saving is in deadly danger once again, as her stepmother plots against her again.
With the love of my life fading away and an innocent child's life on the line, what price am I willing to pay for a second chance at life?

I was the most envied mafia wife in Chicago, until his Tibetan Mastiff tore apart what remained of our child.
Everyone called it an accident. I knew it wasn’t.
While I was bleeding out on the operating table, my husband was in the VIP ward, personally attending to his “traumatized” adopted sister. The whole family coddled her delicate state. Only I saw the smirk she couldn’t hide behind every calculated “panic attack.”
Then the Feds gave me a choice: keep playing the perfect, miserable wife, or vanish into a classified program so secret, I’d be dead to everyone I ever knew.
I signed. I uploaded the audio proof of their affair. I watched my old life disappear.
You swore you’d protect the family above all else, darling?
How fitting. My new mission is to protect this country from all threats.
Starting with you.

I thought the orchestrated assault was the most profound betrayal of my life. Then, from the shadows of the wine cellar, I heard my husband and his brothers toasting to their success.
"The slow-motion capture of her climax, paired with those broken whimpers... it was cinematic perfection."
"She played her part beautifully. After all, she’s just a Valenti."
I learned the devastating truth: my agony was their scripted entertainment. My husband. The director.
He married me to claim his inheritance.
He branded me to mark his property.
He caused my miscarriage in that dungeon, coldly calling it "tidying up loose ends."
But they overlooked one ancient law—the Moretti blood oath: should the Don betray his vows, everything becomes his wife's.
Now, I stand in the penthouse of his casino.
My fingers trace the scar on my shoulder—now transformed into a dagger.
"Darling, you celebrated the anniversary of your production. My gift to you is a lifetime behind bars."
Now, the final cut is mine.

Those beautiful dark golden eyes of Cassius should have been filled with dependence and longing for me.
Not like now—bewildered, innocent, like a lost fawn.
I perched high on an oak branch, watching the man below who was being ordered around like a servant by the knight squad gathered around their campfire.
The most feared top-tier human assassin, and... my devoted hound who warmed my bed.
Three days ago, he'd vanished without a trace after getting caught in a spatial rift while searching for abyssal crystals for me.
Never imagined when we'd meet again, he'd not only lost his memory but been picked up by a bunch of self-righteous fools.
I pulled out my communication crystal and reached out to my vampire bestie Lilith: "He's gone from attack dog to puppy dog, and I'm not sure how to handle it. What should I do?"
Her reply came instantly: "Easy—make him remember who owns him."
I curved my lips into a smile, my gaze piercing through the darkness to settle on the man by the flickering campfire below.
The dancing flames illuminated his half-wet, tattered shirt, clinging to outline that lean, muscular waistline in exquisite detail.
I stared at him, silently clenching my jaw.
I wondered—when night fell and I slipped into his tent, when I bit down on that strong nape of his neck again... would this sweet, innocent pup still be able to hold back those enticing gasps of his?

In the third year of my marriage to Damian Spencer, I accidentally scratched his first love.
For that insignificant little scratch, on the evening of my birthday, he personally brought his bodyguards and cornered me in a damp, cold alley.
Without flinching, he had them crush my right hand—the one that held my bow—bone by bone.
He looked down at me coldly as I slumped in the mud, his voice devoid of any warmth: "Just be a good Mrs. Spencer. You don't need this anymore."
Yet later, this same man caged me in his arms like someone possessed, begging again and again—pleading with me not to forget what we'd been.
But all that met him was my empty gaze—hollow, confused, as if he were no one to me.

The spring semester at the Academy had barely begun when Mother's enchanted letter burst into flames on my desk, that familiar acrid smoke already filling the air.
The smoke swirled and her voice emerged, sharp with anxiety:
"Cecilia, have you found a human man yet?"
"Less than a month left before we must present our tribute to the tribe. Noah is your own brother—can you really stand by and watch him die?"
Surrendering Noah meant certain death.
Over eighty Medusa females in the tribe were of breeding age. Noah had been frail since birth, his scales pale as paper.
If he were dragged onto that cold stone altar to serve as a breeding tool, he wouldn't survive the first night.
But where the hell was I supposed to find a human man?

Three years ago, Marco Ferraro stepped over the corpses of the Vancetti family to claim his throne, delivering my sentence with cold indifference: "Don't take it personally, Noelle. It's just business."
Three years later, he is the untouchable new Godfather of New York, while I am nothing but a ghost in a threadbare coat.
His classless fiancée didn’t just buy my mother’s legacy—she took that rare pink diamond and dropped it, right in front of everyone, into a glass of whiskey thick with spit.
"Thirsty, fallen princess?"
She kicked the backs of my knees hard, forcing me onto the glass-strewn floor. Her sharp stiletto heel ground into my knuckles. "Drink it, or die."
Marco stood to the side, lighting a cigar, his eyes filled with nothing but boredom.
I tightened my grip on the shard of glass hidden in my palm, ready to drag us all down to hell.
But before I could strike, the deafening roar of rotor blades tore through the dome of the auction house. A pitch-black military helicopter hovered just outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the violent rotor wash instantly shattering every champagne tower in the room.
A voice that made the entire underworld tremble boomed through the speakers:
"Which one of you suicidal bastards touched my woman?"
A dozen crimson laser dots instantly painted a target on Marco’s forehead.
Rafael, "The Phantom," had arrived.
Tonight, no one makes it out of here alive—except me.

Three years ago, in that deadly barrier, I carved out half my progenitor heart and dragged Theron back from death's door. The wound on my back has never healed.
I thought it was a soul blood pact—bound in life and death. Then Samaela appeared, that fragile human with barely a century to live, and it all became a joke.
He believed her lies. Swallowed every word about how I'd murdered her parents in cold blood.
For that pathetic creature who couldn't even bear sunlight, my carefully groomed blood vassal sawed off my pureblooded wings, ripped out my progenitor fangs with his bare hands, and threw me into the Silver Cathedral.
Three years. Nailed to a cross with pure silver chains, I endured concentrated UV rays and holy water burning through me day and night.
Everyone waited for me to go mad, to beg, or turn to ash. I didn't.
Listening to their wedding bells toll outside, I simply watched—in the silence of my flesh charring and regenerating—as the silver light on my chains fractured inch by inch.
Then I tore out the silver spikes embedded in my rotting flesh, dragged my bleeding wreck of a body forward, and kicked open the doors to the Crimson Blood Moon Gala's hall.
Theron had forgotten one forbidden clause in the blood pact: The oathbreaker's life belongs not to the gods, but to me.

To save my sister, my husband carved open my chest with his ice blade and ripped out my phoenix heartblood.
He doesn't know the true phoenix bloodline runs through my veins, not hers. Doesn't know I was the one who threw myself into the abyss to pull him from death's grasp.
He doesn't know I am the First Phoenix—the Fire God who descended from the celestial realm for one purpose: to survive this mortal trial.
After my body crumbles to ash, when he finally watches the truth unfold in that memory crystal, madness will consume him. He'll prostrate himself before my fading remnant and beat his head bloody against the stone.
But the divine grant no mercy to betrayers.

Six months after our bonding ceremony, I was ambushed by rogue wolves while searching for rare herbs in the Black Forest.
Their poisoned claws shredded my abdomen—and with it, any chance of ever carrying pups.
But my mate held my hand and wept. My mother swore she'd save me. My father said everything would be fine.
How pathetic—
Right before they wheeled me into surgery, I heard them through a cracked door, calmly discussing how to harvest my heart for the adopted sister who'd been waiting six months.
Turns out the "accident" was a gift from my loving family of four.
Turns out the last six months of "coming home" was just them fattening up my heart for harvest.
What they don't know? The voice memo on my phone caught everything.
What they really don't know? Six months from now, I'm coming back—
With a Dark Moon Alliance badge. And a heart much colder than the one they stole.
Shh. Listen.
That stolen heart? It's starting to reject.

The day the butler of Sterling family came to claim me, the folks back in my dusty hometown lined the streets with tears in their eyes, waving goodbye like I was headed somewhere better.
The moment I stepped into that mansion, armed guards pinned me down in the first-floor medical suite, demanding I donate bone marrow to their precious adopted daughter, Celeste.
I responded by ripping out Celeste's dialysis machine.
My biological parents, Richard and Eleanor, went ballistic. They locked me in the attic storage room to "reflect on my behavior."
That night, while the house slept, I crept down to the basement and twisted open the main gas line valve.
I was halfway through rigging a candle delay fuse when the thermal imaging system caught me. Armed security tackled me before I could finish the job.
They'd had enough. They blindfolded me, tossed me onto a private jet like garbage, and flew me overnight to the most notorious hellhole in America—Deadwater, Texas.
The car had barely stopped in front of the bullet-riddled town sign when Richard leaned in with a cold warning:
"Listen to me. These people don't show mercy. An ungrateful brat like you? Three days, tops, before they pick your bones clean."
Eleanor stood beside him, dripping with fake concern:
"Willa, just agree to donate your marrow to Celeste, and you'll still be a Sterling. Stay here in this godforsaken wasteland, and you're dead."
I spat blood at her shoes. Eleanor's mask shattered. She ripped off my hood and shoved me hard into the dust.
I pushed myself up slightly, staring coldly at the yellow sand beneath my hands, and shook my head.
I squinted up at the familiar landscape—the rusted water tower, the butcher shop with skinned hogs hanging in the window, the faint smell of gunpowder in the air.
Funny. Nobody ever told me that the place I'd spent twenty years calling home was what rich people called "Deadwater."
Well. Since I'm here anyway.
Nobody's leaving this town alive today.

We were ambushed by rogue wolves and chased all the way to the cliff's edge.
Caleb—my mate, Alpha of Ravenrock Pack—was covered in blood, barely strong enough to carry one person across the chasm.
Forced by the alliance marriage between our packs, he ultimately chose me.
Laura was left behind. The feral rogues tore her apart, piece by piece. They didn't even leave a body.
Three days later, Caleb acted as if nothing had happened and completed our mating ceremony on schedule.
After the wedding, he stripped me of every dignity of my position as Luna. He treated me like a prisoner, a punching bag for his rage, making me pay for Laura's brutal death.
When I learned that my entire pack had been slaughtered, I was locked in a freezing dungeon, wanting nothing more than release.
I used the last of my strength to rip apart our mate bond. But Caleb, driven completely mad, tore me to pieces with his own hands.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day of the rogue attack.
This time, I chose to step back and give the one he truly loved a chance to survive.

One month until the SAT.
Staring at my phone screen—at the pulsing number on "Oracle," the mandatory score prediction app that Elite Prep forced every student to install—I couldn't help but think it was all a joke.
In my previous life, every time I finished a practice test, this garbage system would automatically dock twenty points from my predicted score.
But skip class for a day? The number would mysteriously jump up twenty points.
Back then, I actually believed in this bullshit algorithm. I completely gave up for an entire month, watching that predicted score skyrocket all the way to 1550.
But when I finally logged into College Board to check my real results, I'd scored a pathetic 400.
And that brilliant 1550? It appeared on my stepsister Dahlia's score report instead.
Disgusted that I'd embarrassed the Wright family, my father Harold froze my credit card without a second thought and threw me out of the family estate, clearing the path for Dahlia to claim Grandpa's ten-million-dollar trust fund all for herself.
That night, homeless on the streets, I was cornered by some thugs in a filthy Brooklyn alley and beaten to death.
Lying in a pool of my own blood, fading fast, I heard Dahlia's voice.
"Your GPA's been crushing mine since we were kids. I thought you, the so-called 'Straight-A student,' were supposed to be so smart."
She stood over me, mocking. "Turns out you got played by a prediction app. Pathetic."
That's when it finally clicked. My Oracle prediction system had been completely rigged from the source code—by Dahlia.
I shot up in bed, gasping, my shirt soaked through with sweat. I'd actually gone back in time—one month before the test.
Right now, the Oracle widget glowed eerily on my phone's home screen, displaying a single number: 1350.

In my third year at the Eden Center, I forgot how to play guitar, forgot the rhythm of rock and roll, and forgot the name Melody.
They used twelve thousand electric shocks and seven hundred hours of sleep deprivation to scrub my name down to Number 2963.
Now, I'm their perfect instrument. No preferences, no pain, only commands.
My parents finally got the perfect daughter they'd always dreamed of—until the day they ordered me to die.

I'm Ophelia, a design student about to graduate.
I've been pulling all-nighters at my aunt Millicent's adult store, frantically working on my graduation project.
Aunt Millicent's shop sells all sorts of bizarre stuff - from massage chairs to aromatherapy products, the works. The demo area is constantly busy with customers wanting to try out the newest items.
Seeing me looking like a complete zombie from exhaustion, my aunt handed me a bottle of sleep aromatherapy and a matching eye mask, swearing they'd have me out like a light till morning.
Well, that sleep did more than knock me out cold - it landed me in the biggest mess of my life! A mortifyingly embarrassing situation was about to hit me out of nowhere!

Aston Whitmore thought I loved him. Truth is, his mother bought a year of my life for a million dollars.
He thought those 3 AM study sessions were about redemption and romance across class lines. He didn't know I was never watching his pretty face—I was watching the countdown to my mother's kidney transplant payment.
I froze this trust fund prince's credit cards, cut his internet, and nailed him to that desk until his eyes went bloodshot cramming calculus.
When he turned into a guard dog in front of the whole cafeteria, publicly staking his claim on me, all I was calculating was the date that final payment would clear.
Today, he burst through the mansion door clutching his Yale acceptance letter, ready to give me some grand confession.
I was already thirty thousand feet up on a flight to Zurich, staring at that million-dollar deposit notification, face blank as I pulled out the SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it in the trash.
No note. No goodbye.
Just one notarized Service Completion Certificate sitting on that empty desk. Terms fulfilled. Transaction closed.

When I accepted the Global War Photography Award at the ceremony, a reality TV crew crashed through the velvet ropes, their cameras flashing like strobes at a crime scene.
"Ms. Evelyn Vance!"
The host shoved a microphone in my face. "After twenty years of silence, are you still holding a grudge against your father? Just because he saved the neighbor's orphaned child first and left you in that burning building?"
I looked up, past the blinding lights, toward the figure at the edge of the crowd. Robert Bennett.
He pushed through and stepped forward, his calloused hands trembling as they closed around my cold fingers.
"Nora, Kayla's parents didn't make it out. Under those circumstances, I had to get that newly orphaned child to safety first."
His eyes pleaded with me. "You're my daughter. You understand, don't you?"
I stared at those hands imprisoning mine, then pulled my lips into a cold smile and wrenched free.
"You've got the wrong person," my voice was ice. "There's no Nora here. My name is Evelyn Vance."

He was supposed to be my way out, but he was the one who pushed me into the pit all along.
I used to think Carter was the one good thing in this hellhole of a high school. He'd stand up for me when the whole class mocked my stutter. He'd hand me a clean jacket when my locker got stuffed with dead rats.
For him, I gave up my Ivy League dreams, willingly settling for some mediocre state university.
Until that Friday outside the locker room, when I heard him brag to his teammates and the head cheerleader—the same girl who'd led the charge in tormenting me—about his "conquest" in the most casual tone imaginable.
Turns out, I was just the prize in their sick bet.
In that moment, everything I'd believed in shattered.
I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just quietly changed my college application, and then, at the height of their triumph, I watched with cold eyes as they destroyed themselves.