358 Book(s) Related to marissa meyer cursed

Six years of marriage, and I thought that if I tried hard enough, she would see me someday.
Yet she never gave me a hug, never called our son "sweetheart" once, and couldn't even stand him calling her "Mom."
She said I was calculating, that I was shameless.
I laughed. So, in her eyes, my love was a scam from the very beginning.
So, I signed the divorce papers and left town with our son.
I thought it was all over.
But then she said,
"I'm not leaving you."

Six wives have died trying to break his curse. Now the kingdom demands an heir and his enemies are waiting for him to fall.

King Alaric, called the Alaric the Avenger, has lost all hope. Rebellion is rising and an old prophecy threatens his rule. Tired and broken, he leaves his crown behind for one reckless night. He never expects to meet Freya, a strong hybrid warrior who makes him question fate itself.

One night. One hidden bond. A connection that should never exist.

When Freya is betrayed by her own family and handed over to Alaric as a prisoner, both are forced to face a truth they are not ready for. Freya hates Alaric for destroying her world. Alaric fears that if Freya dies, his curse may still be alive. Yet the pull between them is powerful and dangerous.

As lies spread through the royal court, enemies move closer and war breaks out across the land. Freya becomes the key to everything: Alaric’s hope, his ruin and the future of two kingdoms at war. But love built on secrets has a price and betrayal hurts most when it comes from those closest to the throne.

In a world ruled by prophecy, power and blood, will love finally break the curse or destroy them both?

After being lost for ten years, I was finally brought home by my biological parents.
They stood in the cramped basement and asked me, "The family went bankrupt a month ago. You won't hold it against us for being poor, will you?"
Overcome with emotion, I hugged them tightly and shook my head fervently.
Later, my father was diagnosed with uremia and needed a large sum of money for surgery. To earn money, I worked three jobs a day, eventually collapsing from exhaustion and being diagnosed with a brain tumor. With no time for treatment, I rushed to deliver food orders.
Unexpectedly, I ran into my father—who should have been in the hospital undergoing dialysis—having booked an entire shopping mall to celebrate the adopted daughter's birthday. My mother, wearing an gorgeous gown I'd never seen before, smiled as she embraced the girl.
"Lily, our precious, Mommy and Daddy will give you everything you want."
My brother, who they said had died in an accident while searching for me, was dotingly putting a diamond necklace on the girl.
It turned out the family hadn't gone bankrupt at all—I just wasn't worthy.

His breath comes out sharp. “You’re so fucking full of yourself it's ridiculous.”
“You haven’t told me to stop,” I murmur.
His fingers twitch like he wants to hit me or grab me, maybe both.
He turns his head away like he’s trying to find oxygen, but I can see it, the flush in his neck, the pulse beating fast under my thumb, the way his body gives him away even while his mouth keeps lying.
I press my body into his, chest to chest, heat to heat.
“You want to hate me. Fine. Hate me all you want. But don’t fucking lie to yourself. Don’t pretend your cock doesn’t get hard every time I say your name.”
He groans, a sound caught between frustration and need.

Xander never meant to get involved. Two years ago he stumbled into an alley and locked eyes with a stranger beating someone bloody.
That stranger was Jax.
Since then, he's found himself thinking of the guy an unhealthy amount. He was a fantasy for two whole years...until he wasn't. Now they circle each other like fire and gasoline...sparking, burning, never quite touching without leaving marks. Xander isn’t used to being overpowered. But Jax dominates like he was born to, and Xander hates how much he craves it.
It’s push and pull. Bite and bleed. Want and denial.....
Jax hides behind silence and shadows. A violent past, darker urges, walls built out of barbed wire. But Xander keeps digging, keeps fucking showing up, and that scares Jax more than anything. Because Xander isn’t just scratching the surface.
He’s reaching in and pulling Jax apart. And the deeper they fall, the more dangerous it gets.
✨He was supposed to be a pastime. Not a craving. But some obsessions don’t burn out. They burn through.✨

It took her five years to follow her own wishes and marry him. Yet he sold her to the Resorts World LA, killed their baby with his own hands...... What he did reduced her to the unprecedented misery and uncountable unhappiness. However, when she finally got rid of her love for him, which was like a poisonous thorn, he changed his mind and begged her to stay as if he"s gone mad. But for her, none of them mattered--love or reputation. He"d rather die than crawl back to the grave he built for her!

Alice, pregnant and vulnerable, is coerced onto a perilous ride by Frank, goaded by his malicious sister Amelia. "You love danger, don't you?" Frank sneers, ignoring her desperate cries that their child is at risk. After losing the baby, she's abandoned in the hospital. "Pull the plug on the ECMO," Frank coldly orders over the phone, amidst the clatter of mahjong tiles.

Amelia torments Alice further, screeching, "You're nothing but a charity case!" and framing her for corporate crimes. When Alice discovers Amelia caused her mother's suicide, she exposes their schemes.

Frank, ruined, exacts a brutal revenge on Amelia, screaming, "This is for our child!" before taking his own life. In the end, Alice, stronger than ever, finds love and peace running a seaside motel, Frank's final letter laying bare Amelia's treachery.

My brother Miles blames me for our parents' deaths.
So he chose to adopt the deaf Vivian instead of keeping me.
Later, I met Sullivan.
He gave me a grand confession. He chose me, resolutely.
He also said I hired someone to assault Vivian—that I didn't deserve sympathy.
Five years after being cast out of my family, a dismembered female body was found inside a carnival mascot costume.
Miles, now a police officer, led the investigation. Sullivan, now a forensic pathologist, performed the autopsy.
They saw the bloodstained hearing aid and immediately called Vivian.
"I'm fine. I just saw the news—some big case. Should we tell Sis to be careful too? What if something happens to her?"
They refused, almost in unison.
"The moment she killed our parents, she stopped being my sister."
"She was jealous of you. She did too many terrible things. If she's dead, she had it coming."
My soul hovered in the air, watching them. I laughed until I cried.
But when they found out the victim was me—
Why did they both go mad?

"What is the ultimate favoritism your partner gives you?"
On the third day after the IVF procedure, I came across this trending question on a werewolf forum.
Just as I was about to scroll past, a highly upvoted answer pierced straight through my eyes.
"I'm newly pregnant with the Alpha's cub, so I can answer this question."
"The favoritism is this: even though I’m not his official mate, he lied to the one at home—claiming she’s infertile due to health issues—just so I could conceive."
"He said: 'A human body is like a broken vessel. Only a strong she-wolf like me deserves to carry his cubs.'"
In the photo, the ruby necklace that belonged exclusively to me was hanging around her neck.
Trembling, I finished reading every word.
So this was his idea of a beautiful future—sowing his seeds in his lieutenant's bed.
So the agony of egg retrieval I endured was, in his eyes, nothing but the useless struggle of a broken vessel.
I laughed until tears fell.
Back then, I defied my father and even cut ties with my family just to marry this stray wolf.
"Ella, sooner or later, you’ll come crying back, begging for our forgiveness."
Now, it turns out I really have failed.
I pulled the IV needle from the back of my hand and dialed the number I’d blocked five years ago.
"In three days, I will return to the Hunters' Legion."

I was reborn twelve hours before the anomaly occurred.

In my previous life, I died tragically in a sea of fire, unable to even protect my three-year-old daughter.

In this life, I returned from hell with the "Shadow" that rules the abyss, only to discover that the only antidote to ending the wasteland lies in my daughter's palm.

Her ex-wife, who was possessed by a monster, the greedy military, and even "myself" who went mad across parallel universes all tried to tear her apart and suck her blood.

You want to harm my daughter? Fine. Then let's see if you can withstand this all-consuming polar night!

The remote vacation villa was saturated with suffocating male testosterone.
Deep in the night, my life-saving suppressants inexplicably vanished. The moment the drugs wore off, my unspeakable secret—my sex addiction—unleashed its most violent, lethal backlash in history.
What was even more fatal was that, through a twisted twist of fate, the man I was forced to share a room with tonight was my stepbrother, renowned for his absolute abstinence and cold, iron-fisted ruthlessness.
I thought that once my embarrassingly out-of-control, in-heat state was exposed, he would treat me like a monster and kick me away in disgust.
But I never expected—
This aloof man, who usually wouldn't even spare me a glance, now carried an irresistible, scorching aggression, ruthlessly sliding his large, rough hand straight up my thoroughly soaked panties...

Victoria discovered that I hadn't submitted any supplemental medical expense claims for two weeks.
She assumed I had finally been disciplined and had given up what she called "the exploitative nature of the lower class."
Little did she know, my backpack held the signed divorce papers and my mother's death certificate.
As I turned to leave, I was still wearing the discounted trench coat she'd casually given me three years ago when we got married.
What she didn't know was that I, a deep-sea geology genius from MIT, willingly endured three years of her humiliation and ridiculous rules, just so my mother could stay in her conglomerate's private hospital to prolong her life.
Now, my mother has died because of unpaid bills , and even her ashes are carried by me in a cheap canvas bag.
Now that my loved one is dead, there's no need for me to continue being her obstructive dog on Wall Street. The lives she owed with those approval forms, I will settle with the collapse of her entire conglomerate empire.

My chosen mate used his Beta authority to give the entire moonbloom compound to his fated mate's daughter.
The healer had said to split it—half for each child. Both would live. He overrode her. Gave the full dose to Rosalie Blackwell.
He wanted a full recovery. Just not for ours.
Three days later, my daughter Wren's organs shut down. She died on her birthday, still asking why Daddy wasn't there. The dress I'd made her—white with little silver wolves along the hem—she never got to put it on.
That same day, his fated's daughter walked out of the healing hall completely cured. He even threw a feast for the whole pack.
I collapsed at the border of Thornecrest territory. The healers told me it was cancer. Late-stage. Nothing left to treat.
Now I sat alone in our empty house with Wren's unworn birthday dress across my lap and drafted the dissolution papers.

Maddie finds out that her fiancé was sleeping with her best friend at the night before her wedding. She hid in the closet and watched them have s3x in her bed. Hurt and betrayed, Maddie formulate a plan to get revenge. She took a video of them and planned to play it on her exact wedding day.

She went to the bar and drowned herself in alcohol, hoping it would ease the pain. Then she met the most gorgeous man she ever laid her eyes on. With only revenge playing on her head, she slept with the man on the bar to get even only to find out the next morning on her wedding day that the man she slept with was her fiancé's uncle, Hades Atticus Grant.

To make the matters worst, Maddie found out that her father was on the verge of bankrupt and she has no choice but to marry Wyatt to save her families business.

It was a complete rollercoaster ride when Hades suddenly announced that they just got married!

Maddie doesn't know Hades reason for doing that, but she had no choice but to go along and pretend to his wife.

"Are you rejecting me? You know that if an Alpha and Beta reject a fated bond, we both die." My voice cracked, tears streaming down my face on my twenty-fifth birthday. Sam, my brother's Beta and the only man I’ve ever wanted, stood frozen in the kitchen. He gripped the counter until his knuckles turned white, refusing to look at me. "It’s not a rejection, Halley," he lied, his voice rough. "Because there is nothing to reject."
Liar. I could feel his wolf howling for mine. But the pack laws were absolute: An Alpha female cannot mate with a Beta. To admit our bond was a death sentence. To deny it was torture. He walked away, leaving me to be paraded in front of thirty hungry Alphas my father invited to "breed" me. He would rather watch me in the arms of strangers than break the law.


An old law claims alphas and betas are forbidden to be together, but what if fate deems you perfect? Halley, the daughter of the alpha, is fierce, loyal, and destined to obey the ancient laws that keep the packs in order. But one reckless night ten years ago in the woods changed everything. Her brother's best friend and future beta to the pack saves her and something unspoken sparks between them. Something forbidden. Now, at twenty-five, Halley is feeling the pull of a mate bond more than ever. Sam, her brother's best friend and now beta, is off-limits by every law that governs their world. Still her heart aches for him and her wolf demands answers. As tensions rise inside the pack and threats loom beyond it, Halley must choose. She can either defy the rules and risk war or they deny the bond and possibly die due to rejection.

“You are mine,” Riven growled, his hand tightening on the back of my neck.The cafeteria went dead silent. Everyone was watching—my sister, my best friend, even Marcus, the arrogant Alpha heir who thought he could claim me. But Riven didn’t care. He pulled me against his hard chest, his red-gold eyes burning with a possessiveness that should have terrified me.
“We’re mates, Callista. Deal with it.” He didn’t wait for my answer. He didn’t care that we were only sixteen, or that the bond wasn’t supposed to manifest for another two years. He just claimed me in front of the entire school. Marcus stepped forward, his face twisted in rage. “You can’t claim her. It’s against the rules!” Riven smirked, a dark, dangerous look that made my wolf howl in satisfaction. “Rules? I make the rules when it comes to her.”


Callista, the daughter of the Blood Moon Alpha, was born with the gift of prophecy. Pampered and protected, she has never known true danger. Not until one nightmare changes everything.
In her vision, her entire pack is slaughtered by a ruthless Alpha with power beyond imagination. She thinks it’s just a nightmare until she meets the son of the Shadowfang Alpha, Riven.
Riven is dangerous, arrogant, and everything she should hate, but something about him draws her in like no other.
Now Callista must navigate a shifting world of loyalties, forbidden attraction, and a prophecy that could demand her to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Her one true mate.

Valeria has spent years as a servant to the ruthless alpha family, trapped in a life of obedience and suffering. The only escape she knows comes in her dreams where she is free, loved, and a mysterious man holds her heart. But he isn't real.
Kendric is a lone alpha, unbound by any pack for reasons only a few know. When he and his friend are called to investigate the mistreatment of a pack member, he expects cruelty, but what he doesn't expect is her. The woman from his dreams standing right before him and within reach.
Their connection is undeniable and their bond is real. But breaking Valeria's chains won't be easy. The alpha family won't let go of their servant without a fight, and Kendric will have to unleash thebeast within to claim what is his.
Can Valeria find the strength to trust him? Or will the ghosts of their shared pasts keep her caged forever?
"No one will ever take you from me again."

Banished. Betrayed. Left for dead.
Adele is cast out of her coven and sent to the Isle of the Forgotten, a place spoken of in hushed fear and where no one sent there is ever seen again.
She expects to die, but what she finds is far more dangerous.
Deep in the shadowed woods, surrounded by an unforgiving sea, Adele is saved by something she never imagined. The forgotten didn’t perish. They survived, adapted, and are nothing like the monsters she was raised to fear.
Everything she’s ever been told is a lie.
Some of the banished crave revenge. Some seek redemption. And seven of them hope that she might be one of their mates.
As Adele begins to unravel the truth behind her exile, one thing becomes clear. The real threat was never the Isle.
It was the ones who put them there.
So what happens… when the banished bite back, but Adele finds a home she never expected with the seven men who took her in?

Maya, who is a fiercely independent young woman, is sold to the ruthless billionaire Damian Blackwood to settle her family’s debts to his family. She is furious and determined to escape him, but she soon discovers that Damian isn’t just any ordinary man. He’s the powerful alpha of the Inferno Pack and a werewolf burdened by a dark past. To her shock, Damian eventually reveals that she is his fated mate, a bond that ties them together against her will.
As Maya struggles to resist her growing attraction to Damian, she becomes entangled in his dangerous world, where other packs and betrayal threaten to ruin him and his power. Damian’s cold and commanding exterior begins to crack, revealing a haunted man. He only wishes to protect her and is desperate to do so.
When Maya learns that Damian initially brought her into his life to fulfill a prophecy that could save his family and pack, she feels betrayed and leaves him because she questions everything about their connection.
But as Damian’s enemies close in and his authority as alpha is tested, Maya realizes her feelings for him run deeper than she thought. She returns to help him face both the rebellion within his own pack and a final, supernatural threat that might just be what ends them all.
In the end, Maya and Damian must accept the bond, trust each other, and fight together to secure their love and their newfound family. Their journey is one of passion, power, and redemption, proving that even in their world of shadows, love can win.

A crime. A love from the past. A woman torn between guilt and the truth.

Fernanda seems to live a perfect life: she is the wife of a powerful real estate mogul. But when he is brutally murdered, she becomes the prime suspect.

The detective assigned to the case?
Hermes—her unforgettable, passionate love from the past.

They once shared an intense romance that neither could forget. But fate tore them apart. Now, they meet again under the shadow of a crime with dark motives and buried secrets.

Is Fernanda a cold-blooded killer, capable of eliminating her own husband?
Or is she the victim of a cruel conspiracy?

Amid twists, long-hidden truths, and desires that never died, Hermes will have to face both his feelings—and the truth.

Experience love when it’s least expected with four full-length, heartwarming sweet romances in the One Night to Forever box set by USA TODAY Bestselling Author Melissa McClone.Fiancé for the Night: When a fake engagement spirals out of control, Cassandra fears losing her heart. Will she end the fake engagement, or could Troy be her perfect husband for life?The Wedding Lullaby: After an impromptu wedding that was just for fun, Laurel discovers she’s pregnant. Will she get the marriage and family she dreams of having with Brett?A Little Bit Engaged: A PR nightmare drags Cara into a fake engagement with A-list actor—and former crush—Brody. What will it take for her to survive the ruse with her heart intact?Love on the Slopes: The one person who can help her is the last person she’d ever trust…again. Can Ryland and Brynn overcome their painful pasts and make their dreams come true—together?With fake engagements, a surprise pregnancy, friendship to love, and hate to love storylines, these four novels will take you from San Francisco to Portland to Sun Valley. Treat yourself and find out how one night can lead to forever…

Visit the quaint coastal town of Indigo Bay where love is always in the air…From vacation romances to second chances, you’ll find sigh-worthy, small-town romance in this complete collection of Melissa McClone’s stories from the multi-author Indigo Bay Sweet Romance series. These four stories form their own miniseries, so find a cozy reading spot, and escape to Indigo Bay, South Carolina where happily ever afters are guaranteed. Also included is Jenny, the prequel to the rest of the books. This set includes:Jenny (prequel): 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. Could he be her dream hero come to life?Sweet Holiday Wishes: Frequent deployments and training exercises kept Army Ranger Staff Sergeant Mitch Hamilton away from home, and he had no idea how taken for granted Lizzy felt until she asked him for a divorce. He'll do whatever It takes to save his marriage. But will it be enough?Sweet Beginnings: Josh Cooper's journey to sobriety inspires Hope Ryan to take charge of her own life. But as their relationship straddles the line between friendship and romance, can Hope and Josh find the strength to overcome their pasts and build a life together?Sweet Do-Over: When architect Marley Patterson turns down Von Ryan's marriage proposal, she realizes too late she made a huge mistake. She wants a second chance, but after breaking his heart once, will he give her a do-over?Sweet Yuletide: Two strangers end up how housesitting together over the holidays. A sprig of mistletoe makes Sheridan DeMarco and Mikey Patterson forget their plans to stay away from each other. But will their happily ever after get tossed out along with the discarded wrapping paper and tinsel?If you enjoy romance and beach reads, you’ll love these stories set in the quaint, coastal town of Indigo Bay!

Duty requires her to marry—but she’s having second thoughts.Princess Julianna dreams of marrying for love, but no one cares what she wants. The future of her kingdom—and countrywomen—depends on her arranged marriage. Too bad, her intended’s brother is the one who captures her interest with his good looks and sailing skills. She’ll just have to push aside her attraction and do what’s right for everyone else, if not herself…Prince Alejandro wants nothing more than to relinquish his title. He can’t wait for his older brother to marry and have a child. That is, until he meets the beautiful princess destined to be his country’s future queen. Julianna holds the key to his freedom, yet he recognizes a kindred spirit—someone trapped by the demands of being royalty—and finds her utterly irresistible.Knowing the royal wedding must occur for the sake of their countries doesn’t stop them from wanting to be together. A happy ending could be theirs if they are willing to accept the consequences of following their hearts. Will duty or love reign supreme?

One little public scandal—and now they’re engaged…sort of.When Cara O’Neal finds herself dragged into a PR nightmare with A-list actor—and former crush—Brody Simmons, a pretend engagement seems to be the only way to stop the madness. But she’s not an actress, and faking anything with Brody has epic failure written all over it. It’ll take nothing short of an Oscar-worthy performance to survive with her heart intact.Brody enjoys playing the role of Cara’s adoring fiancé way more than he should. Acting like he’s in love with the pretty bookworm isn’t exactly a chore. She’s always been a good friend, but he can imagine her as more, which complicates their charade. When the lines between make-believe and reality blur, can Cara and Brody turn their fake relationship into a true happily ever after?* Parts of this 51,000 word novel were previously published in a Kindle World novella called The Wedding Charade. *One Night to Forever series:Book 1: Fiancé for the NightBook 2: The Wedding LullabyBook 3: A Little Bit EngagedBook 4: Love on the Slopes

A little hope changes everything...Artist Hope Ryan dreams of seeing her artwork displayed in top galleries again, but a devastating betrayal left her unable to paint as she once did. Instead, she settles for creating unique items for tourists and wedding couples in her hometown. Although Hope longs for more, she refuses to venture outside her comfort zone, fearing the heartbreak and disappointment of failing again.Highly paid sportscaster Josh Cooper never overcame his bitterness after an injury on the football field sidelined him for good. Finding his solace in alcohol and women only made matters worse until he finally hit rock bottom. Now, he’s looking for redemption. When he’s asked to fly a wedding gown across the country for one of the victims of his wrongs, he doesn't hesitate.Arriving in Indigo Bay, Josh finds himself captivated by the artist creating the wedding favors. He knows exactly what he wants—Hope—even though she deserves someone better. Can Josh prove he’s more than a broken has-been? Or will he not only lose Hope but also lose himself?

The only thing more awkward than falling in love on national television, is having your heart broken in front of millions of viewers.When public school teacher Millie Kincaid signed up for the popular dating show, The Groom, falling in love was always a possibility. But then Jace proposes to someone else on the season finale, and her hurt and humiliation leave her desperate to escape the glare of Hollywood's spotlight...until a new reality TV show provides her a shot at money that her school desperately needs.Former star of The Groom, Jace Westfall, went from fan favorite to villain overnight. Hurting the sweet and shy Millie cost him everything: his reputation, his endorsements, and his heart. It was the last thing Jace wanted to do, but he had his reasons. Now on the verge of financial ruin, Jace finds himself left with no choice but to do another reality show.Neither expected to face each other again, but both need the money. As they race from country to country, trying to put the past behind them, it quickly becomes clear they have a real shot at the million dollar prize…and a second chance at love.But only if Millie and Jace can overcome the biggest obstacle that stands in their way: each other.

When the truck crashed into us on that rainy Boston night, I heard my dad's final scream: "The Winters found us!" The next time I opened my eyes, the doctor who saved me turned out to share that cursed last name—Julian Winters, son of my parents' killers.
He took me, the "amnesiac girl," into his family’s mansion. His fingers brushed my wound as he said, "I'll protect you." What he didn’t know was that I'd hidden the evidence of the Aetherium scandal—proof my parents died for—inside my collar. Every night, I played along with his tenderness, plotting to destroy his family. But when he turned against his fiancée to defend me, panic hit: Why is this heart, set on revenge, now aching for the son of my enemies?

When I got a second chance at life, the first thing I did was swap arranged marriages with my twin sister.
In our past life, she was pawned off to Daryl Forrester—the cold-blooded Prez of the Iron Riders Motorcycle Club. In all those suffocating years, he never once had her back in front of his crew.
His fragile adopted sister played the "blood debt" card daily, weaponizing her tears to hijack everything that rightfully belonged to my twin. My sister withered into a ghost on his turf. No status, no dignity, completely erased.
And me? I got hitched to a pretentious cellist who hated my rough edges. Eleven months later, we were done.
This time around, I took the MC deal. I hopped on my Harley, rode straight through a twenty-four-hour storm, and rolled up to his outlaw compound reeking of mud and motor oil.
His precious little saint pinched her nose in disgust at my scent.
She had no idea what was coming.
I don't cry. I don't swallow my pride. And I sure as hell wasn't going to stand at my own wedding and watch another woman shed pitiful tears about how "jealous" she is—
I grabbed the ruthless biker boss by the front of his leather cut, yanked him down to my level, and bit his lower lip until it bled, right in front of dozens of patched members.
Then, I followed it up with a brutal knee to his gut.

In the Dragon Empire, bloodline determined everything. Only a female capable of hatching royal-grade golden dragons could wear the crown.
In my past life, I was nothing but a Red Drake—bottom of the food chain, not even blessed with wings. Yet after marrying into the royal family, I miraculously hatched a pureblooded Golden Hatchling.
But when my husband Valerius ascended to the Dragon Throne, his first act as king was to rip out my dragon crystal with his bare claws.
My own son Draken then ordered my body hacked to pieces and fed to the Abyssal Carrion Wolf-Lions in the depths below.
All of this because my half-sister had faked a bloodline awakening, transforming herself overnight into a so-called "Sacred Crystal Dragon."
My cruel husband had looked down at me with utter contempt: "Without my noble genes, how could something like you possibly birth such a gifted golden pureblood? Your filthy swamp bloodline has no right to the Queen's throne."
My son's disgust cut even deeper: "I don't want a flightless cripple for a mother. You make me sick. Only someone as noble and beautiful as Seraphina deserves to be my mother—she'd never force me to practice boring magic like you did."
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back at the Empire's quinquennial Bonding Ceremony.
My husband wasted no time choosing my sister as his mate. My son, Draken, eagerly dove his soul into her womb, ready to be reborn.
But this time, what crawled out of that egg was a Blind Mud Runt.

Seven months pregnant, I watched the thugs Vivian hired drag us both into the warehouse.
I didn't fight for that phone. I let Vivian—Sean's ex, the woman he never stopped loving—make the call herself.
Because in my past life, I'd begged desperately for Sean to save me from this carefully orchestrated nightmare.
And he did come. He chose me over her.
Vivian was left behind. Raped. Tortured. Murdered—by the very men she'd paid to stage this.
Afterward, Sean said he didn't blame me. He took care of me through the entire pregnancy. Never missed a single appointment.
Then on the day I went into labor, he handed me over to another pack of monsters.
Everything Vivian endured—the gang rape, the abuse, the humiliation—became mine.
Before burning me alive, he threw our dead baby at my feet, his face twisted with rage:
"You wanted to survive, didn't you? This is the price. I'm going to make you feel everything Vivian felt. Not just you—this bastard that should never have existed."
Those months of tenderness were all an act. Carefully orchestrated torture designed to make my suffering absolute.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in that warehouse—watching Vivian's hired thugs hold up the phone, forcing us to choose who gets saved

Lizzy Hamilton wants to skip Christmas this year. Working as a nurse while holding her marriage to an Army Ranger together has drained her energy and joy. She’s a pro at caring for others, but she needs someone to look out for her, too. However, when her soon-to-be ex-husband, Mitch, asks if she’ll spend the holidays with him—just as friends—so he won’t be alone, she can’t say no because, other than his platoon, she’s the only family he has.Staff Sergeant Mitchell Hamilton wants only one Christmas gift—his wife. Frequent deployments and training exercises sent him away from home, and he had no idea how taken for granted Lizzy felt until she asked him for a divorce two months ago. Now his mission is to show his wife he’ll do anything to save their marriage. He only hopes his plan to win her back with a holiday vacation to Indigo Bay, a coastal resort town, works. He can’t—won’t—lose Lizzy forever.This is a short, sweet holiday romance set in the Indigo Bay world and can be read as a standalone.

The doctors gave me three days. And my husband Donald used that time to beg me to give my uterus to Hailey, the "sister" I'd rescued from the streets.
"Her need is greater," he said.
So I smiled and signed over the design empire I'd spent fifteen years building to the girl who once shivered in my doorway.
My daughter Flora curled in Hailey's lap. "I love Hailey Mommy best!"
I nodded. "Be good for Mommy Hailey."
My parents squeezed Hailey's hands. "Sometimes, she feels more like a daughter to us than you ever did."
Even Donald looked at me with soft eyes. "This is the Audrey I always hoped you could be."
Dying, I had finally become their perfect woman—quiet, generous, and uncomplaining.
With the clock ticking down, I stitched the final thread into a wedding gown. Let them have their perfect ending. They'll discover, when the last breath leaves my body, that some gifts are curses in disguise.
Was it a devoted wife's final sacrifice... or a dead woman's ultimate revenge? The answer will unravel in the silence after my heart stops.

The red carpet to Adrian Thorne's side was never paved with flowers. It was a killing floor, meticulously designed.
Two years. Nineteen wedding attempts. And every single one ended in blood.
The fifth attempt: brake failure on the bridal car. I spent three months in the ER with a shattered left arm.
The twelfth: botulism at the menu tasting. I had my stomach pumped and nearly asphyxiated on the table.
The eighteenth... that remains my waking nightmare. I fell down a marble staircase polished to a lethal shine, losing the child I never even got to hold.
Everyone called me the "Thorne Curse." For a long time, even I believed it—that bad luck was just etched into my bones.
Time and again, I crawled out of pools of my own blood. I did it for a decade-old promise of repayment. I did it for the man I had loved for ten years.
Then came the nineteenth attempt. A floral arch weighing hundreds of pounds collapsed during our vows, crushing me into the ICU.
Ribs snapped, organs bleeding, I fought for three days just to claw my way back to the living.
But the moment I woke, through the crack in the door, I heard Adrian’s voice.
"Mr. Thorne, that was too close. If Elinor had actually died..."
"I didn't have a choice." Adrian’s tone was so cold it felt foreign. "Her father died saving me. I’m shackled by that debt. But I love Serena. She is the only one I want to marry."
His voice dropped, lethal and precise. "To clear the path for Serena, I don’t care if I have to stage nineteen accidents or ruin Elinor beyond repair. I will do whatever it takes."
Lying there, staring at the map of scars on my body, something inside me finally shattered.
I realized my suffering wasn't a twisted joke of fate. It was a love letter to another woman—his devotion to her, carved into my very skin.
Since his "debt of honor" kept him from kicking me out, I decided to play the villain and cut the cord myself.

Seven years of marriage turned to ash the moment I discovered my husband had arranged for his sister-in-law to carry his dead brother's child—using his own sperm to continue the family bloodline.
Lorenzo Corvino—New York's most ruthless don—would drive three hours through a storm just to get me imported cherries. He held me at my mother's funeral, crying until dawn. He hospitalized a man for disrespecting me at a charity gala.
I thought I was the center of his world.
Until the private investigator's flash drive revealed the truth: Lorenzo at the clinic for Claudia's prenatal appointments, his hand on her pregnant belly, whispering "Marco would be so proud."
In the end, on the Corvino family's scale of priorities, continuing his dead brother's bloodline would always outweigh his infertile wife.
The night the yacht exploded, the New York sky burned red. The news reported the mafia don's wife had perished in the flames. He collapsed on the dock, clutching the charred wreckage, breaking down completely.
But he didn't know—
That "dead" woman was across the Atlantic on the Amalfi Coast, one hand on her seven-week baby bump, protecting the secret he'd never discover.
Seven months later, when he stepped into my new life and saw the infant with his deep brown eyes cradled in my arms—
This man who'd built an empire on violence and fear finally understood what he'd truly lost.
And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure he knows: some betrayals are so deep, even "I'm sorry" is more than he'll ever deserve.

I was hospitalized with a high fever, and my boyfriend stayed by my side 24/7.
The nurses all praised him as the "perfect boyfriend," and 5 million live stream viewers were green with envy.
He looked into the camera and poured his heart out: "She's my entire world. I could never leave her, not in this lifetime."
Tears streamed down my face as I felt like the luckiest woman alive.
Until 2 AM, when his phone buzzed with a message:
"Miss you 💋"
He thought I was fast asleep.
I wished I was just dreaming.

Noah, usually inseparable from his father, had spent the entire week insisting that only I take him camping. His declared mission: mastering "real survival skills"—a not-so-subtle jab at his dad's preference for cushy glamping.
Liam played along, hamming it up as he swung our son goodbye. But beneath the teasing jealousy, something felt off. He packed the trunk too fast. Checked the gas without being asked. Almost assembly-line efficiency.
And that line about a last-minute client flying in from Chicago? Didn't sound like bad luck. Sounded like an excuse.
All week, he never pushed back. Just quietly, almost eagerly, waited for us to leave.
I figured he wanted the house to himself: scotch, cigars, silence.
Then the call came—and I got it.
He hadn’t cleared the house for peace and quiet.
He’d cleared it for her.

"What gives a scarred freak like you the right to stand next to him?"
Four years ago, a brutal attack left a hideous burn scar across the left side of my face. Ever since, I've hidden behind a black mask, fading into the darkest corners of St. Oak High. I thought if I just stayed perfectly invisible, I could survive high school in peace.
Then Michael came back.
He's the President of Model UN, an Ivy-League-bound genius, and the golden boy everyone revolves around. And me? I’m just a damaged outcast too terrified to show my own face.
The harder I pushed him away, the closer he got.
But when a video from four years ago surfaces—showing him throwing a punch just to defend me—his flawless future is suddenly on the line. That's when I knew I couldn't hide in the shadows anymore.
This time, even if it means exposing my ugliest scars to the harsh light of day, I will do whatever it takes to protect him.

"Aveline, a world without you means nothing to me."
The dragon's scalding blood splattered across my tombstone, melting the thick blanket of snow.
Five minutes ago, he had severed the crimson fox's head—vengeance for me.
I died at the hands of my most cherished companion, died in a carefully orchestrated betrayal. I'd wielded the full power of the Court to elevate that pitiful low-born wretch to godhood, only for him to join forces with my dear sister and plunge a blade into my heart from behind.
And the dragon war god I had scorned—the one I'd humiliated and treated as nothing more than a beast slave—defied imperial decree, razed an entire city, and severed his own life force. All for me.
I watched his dragonfire extinguish completely in the bitter cold. My soul reached out to embrace him, but passed through nothing but endless snow.
Until a blinding light pierced through my vision.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself staring up at the familiar domed ceiling of the Celestial Hall.
I had returned to three years ago, to the Binding Ceremony that sealed my fate.
Reborn into a second chance, those vermin who climbed to power on dragon bones will finally get the hell they deserve.

It was the kind of cold that seeped into your bones.
In my past life, I was locked in the abandoned freezer beneath St. Jude Preparatory Academy.
Outside the door stood my biological brother Spencer, along with Landon—my boyfriend of three years. And between them, wearing Landon's oversized football jacket, was my stepsister Lacey.
"Blythe, just admit you bullied me. Post an apology video to the whole school, and Spencer will let you out." Lacey's voice trembled, fake tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
Spencer's voice cut through the metal door like ice:
"Blythe, you brought this on yourself. You've been terrorizing Lacey at school, pushed her to the edge. Maybe some time in there will teach you what decency looks like."
Landon's voice dripped with disappointment: "Jesus, Blythe. I thought I knew you. This isn't who you are."
I pounded on the iron door until my fists were raw, screaming until my voice gave out.
I told them the truth—that I never touched Lacey. That she was the one forcing girls to their knees in the bathroom. That she stole my exam. That every shred of "evidence" was manufactured.
No one believed me.
I froze to death in that sub-zero hellhole.
As the cold claimed me, staring at my blue-purple fingers, all I felt was pure, burning hate.
Then I opened my eyes again—back to the day it all began.

In my past life, I was a wild, pureblood witch who tamed my own nature for love, willingly playing the submissive, perfect Luna for my fated Alpha.
But to him, I was just a savage that "needed to be brought to heel." When enemy wolves ambushed us, he held my manipulative, magicless adopted sister tight, leaving me to be ripped apart.
When I opened my eyes, I had been thrust back in time to the day of our Mating Ceremony.
Staring at the white gown that symbolized nothing but my submission, I slapped a thirty-million-dollar price tag on my "fated mate" and sold him right to my sister.
Using a pureblood glamour, I sent her to the altar in my place. Then I hopped on my motorcycle and rode straight into forbidden territory—right into the arms of the ruthless, unhinged "Mad Wolf" Alpha. He didn't want an obedient pet; he wanted a lethal queen to rule the wild by his side.
That night, when my arrogant ex sealed the irreversible mate bond, lifted the bridal veil, and realized the woman eternally bound to his soul wasn't me...
The icy, untouchable Alpha who spent a lifetime trying to break me completely lost his damn mind.

After the catastrophic war between the four great races ended in ceasefire, the Supernatural Council established an ironclad law—the Pact of Heirs.
Every hundred years, a Mating Season would open, where eligible heirs would compete to determine who would rule the world for the next century.
In my previous life, I chose to marry the wolf prince Darius, desperate to escape my status as a black-feathered orphan in the eagle clan.
The wolf clan's rule was brutally simple: whoever bore the first child carrying the matrilineal eagle-eye bloodline would claim dominion over all. I gave Darius that child. My son secured his throne and granted him absolute power.
My sister Cecily—the chieftain's true daughter—had set her sights on the vampire heir, drawn by their ancient nobility and dark allure. She married into their clan willingly.
But vampire bonds were cold as death itself. Her human-adjacent body couldn't sustain their offspring. She lost her fertility and became a cautionary tale whispered at every gathering.
Twisted by jealousy and shame, she decided I was to blame for her failures. She drugged my wine at a feast, then hurled me off Storm Cliff while I was too weak to spread my wings.
As I plummeted toward the rocks, someone tried to catch me—Kade, the exiled wingless dragon, his dark-scaled hand reaching desperately from a ledge.
But above us, Cecily stood at the cliff's edge, smiling as she cut through the safety rope he'd thrown. I hit the stones and everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I could still feel the phantom warmth of Kade's hand and the venom in Cecily's smile.
But somehow, impossibly, I was back—returned to the very day the Mating Season began.
Through the one-way scrying glass at the Observation Altar, I looked down at the moonlit sacrificial platform below. Cecily was already there. And she wasn't alone.
She'd been reborn too. I was certain of it.
But she didn't know what I knew—that Darius was a monster to his lovers.
During the full moon, when the wolf took over completely, he'd killed more than one partner in his bed.

The agony of dragonfire tearing through my flesh still seared my memory.
But I had been reborn.
I touched my reflection. No scorch marks. No melted skin. My eighteen-year-old face stared back.
The door burst open. Zephyra swept in, her dragonfire pendant gleaming.
"Megan, don't be nervous." Her voice dripped honey-sweet. "Even if you can't sense dragonfire, the Dragon God won't judge you harshly."
My father's legitimate daughter. Pure dragonblood. The family's pride.
And me? The bastard. A half-blood who couldn't even conjure a spark.
"The prophecy bond isn't set in stone." Her hand landed on my shoulder, grip too tight. "If Lord Roran feels overwhelming, bond with a lower-tier knight. I'll support whatever you choose."
Support me? The word tasted like ash.
Roran was the empire's youngest Dragon Knight Commander. In my past life, I'd believed her lies and married him.
I thought it was salvation. Instead, I became his shield while he slept with Zephyra.
At Zephyra's ascension ceremony, when a wyvern lunged for her, he shoved me into the beast's path.
The wyvern's claws tore into my abdomen. My unborn child died inside me.
Then came the dragonfire.
Roran unleashed it to save Zephyra. The flames swallowed everything: the beast, me, and the dragon egg I'd carried for months.
Through the agony, I watched him scoop Zephyra up. "Save Zephyra! The child—"
My child was already ash. He mourned hers.
"If I hadn't been pregnant, Megan wouldn't be so jealous..." Zephyra whispered.
"If there's a next life, I'll make this right." Roran's hollow guilt.
Next life?
Your dragonfire burned my child alive. You let me bleed out. And now you want redemption?
Not a chance.

Three days after I died, the morgue called my husband Sebastian to collect my ashes.
He was kissing another woman when he hit speaker, his voice cold and dismissive: "She's dead? Cremate her. Don't call me again."
And just like that, my body was wheeled into the cremation chamber.
When he finally showed up to collect my remains, he smashed the urn on the floor and ground every fragment of my ashes into the tile with his shoe.
"Playing dead? What a pathetic stunt," he sneered. "Tell her the anniversary of my mother's death is coming up. She'd better show up at the cemetery on her knees, or even if she really is dead, I'll scatter her ashes in the sewer myself."
But he didn't know—I truly was dead.
My soul was bound to him, forced to drift at his side as he planned a lavish wedding with his adopted sister Claire—his mother's true killer.
By the time he discovered the truth and exposed Claire at the altar, I had already vanished.
He lost his mind, racing to the ocean to search for my ashes.
Never knowing that the remains he'd crushed like garbage under his shoe—the "fake ashes" he'd dismissed as part of my act—
Were all that was left of me.

When my boyfriend of three years won the student body presidency, I rented out the entire bar to celebrate. But when I came back with the cake, I heard deafening jeers from the private room.
"I bet ten grand I can get her to ditch the engagement her family arranged and elope with me before graduation."
"That uptight bookworm? Sweet-talk her a little and she's wrapped around your finger."
"Guess what would happen if she found out—even the money for my off-campus apartment with Marie came from her part-time jobs. Think she'd go ballistic?"
The cake box slipped from my hands. Cream splashed onto my white sneakers—the ones I'd worked three part-time jobs to afford, the ones he said he loved because I looked so "pure" in them.
Turns out what he loved wasn't my purity, but how cheap and controllable I was.
I didn't storm in and confront him. I simply turned around, stepped over the mess, and walked away.
Everyone seemed to forget—Calvin and I were never equals.
I am Athena Stavros, only heir to one of Europe's old money families.
And this three-year charade of being just another student was about to end.

I am Mandy Langley, 42 years old, CEO of Sterling International. In Manhattan's cutthroat business world, I'd earned the name "Ice Queen."
Five years divorced, my ex-husband's parting words still stung—he'd called me cold as stone, said I was nothing but a dictator even in bed.
He had no idea my frost was a facade, hiding an emptiness and a craving no one could touch.
I controlled billions in assets, yet I lay awake every night, consumed by a single thought: I wanted a man to make me let go, to force me to surrender completely.
That man walked into my office three years ago, and I'd been drowning ever since.
Allen Thorne, my chief assistant, 28 years old—too young, shamefully young, and yet I couldn't resist him.
A year ago, I discovered the truth: he was the CEO of Vortex Capital, my rival, planted here to destroy me.
I should've fired him on the spot. Instead, I kept him close, pretending it was to watch him, when really, I just couldn't let him go.
Dangerous, magnetic, ruthlessly in control—he was everything I shouldn't want. I never exposed him. I fell harder instead.
I buried this forbidden desire, but every day he was there, right in front of me, taunting me.
What was I supposed to do? Cut him loose—or let him claim me?

"Please—I can't—not like this—"
The Abyss was chaos. A masked stranger pressed against me from behind. The lace corset and thong weren't protection—they were an invitation.
His hand slid under my skirt, palm scorching against bare skin. The music was so loud no one could hear me.
Everything spiraled too fast.
The crowd shoved forward. I stumbled back—
Something thick and burning pushed inside me.
I went rigid.
My first time. In the middle of a crowd. With a man I couldn't see.
The mask covered his face. I didn't know his name. Didn't know what he looked like.
I didn't know if this was the worst mistake I'd ever made.
But I couldn't make myself pull away.

For five years, my crime boss husband made me take off my wedding ring nine times—all for his precious damsel in distress.
When we first married, he promised me: "From now on, you're my queen, the queen of New Orleans."
But whenever Odette came crying for help, he'd change his tune: "Mr. Laurent saved my life, Cordelia. I owe his family everything."
And like a fool, I believed him eight times.
Eight times I watched from the shadows as he took another woman to our favorite restaurants.
Eight times I explained to the crew that our "separation" was just giving each other space.
Eight times I watched her move into my bedroom, use my dishes, sleep in my bed.
All for a man who kept making me slip off my ring, then slide it back on, over and over again.
Until the ninth time, when he said he needed to provide sperm for her fertility treatment, and I offered to leave.
He still thinks this is just another temporary break, expecting me to come crawling back in a month like always.
He'll never know I've already booked my ticket out of here.

When the fourth victim from the Chicago arsonist landed on my brother's autopsy slab, I watched from above, a ghost trapped in the room.
As the city's star medical examiner, he recited his findings with detached precision. "Female, twenties. Evidence of controlled, prolonged burning prior to death." He had no idea he was cataloging my murder.
Three days earlier, in that same warehouse, I'd begged into my phone. His fiancée, Harper, held it for me, her smile a blend of sugar and venom. "Call him again, Ivy. Maybe he'll answer for his poor little sister this time?"
A click. Then, his voice.
"Julian, please—"
"Not now, Ivy. I'm choosing our wedding rings."
The dial tone pierced the air. Harper struck the match.
Now, in the morgue's fluorescent glare, I see the blood drain from his face. The report trembles in his hand. Every measurement, every scar—they all whisper my name.
Oh, Julian. With every incision, you were reading my last words.
The killer is right beside you, already in her white dress.