Once Pined (A Riley Paige Mystery—Book 6)

After a deadly virus shattered civilization, a new world rose from the ruins—one ruled by Alphas.

Females are claimed. Controlled. Bred.

Alex swore she would die before becoming any man’s possession.

Fiercely independent and determined to escape the fate forced on women like her, Alex has spent years surviving under the radar. But everything changes when the powerful Vandicoff brothers—three ruthless Alpha rulers—discover she is their true mate.

The moment they claim her, war ignites.

Alex refuses to submit to their bond, their authority, or the dangerous pull between them. She fights every command, every touch, every instinct threatening to drag her under. But the more she resists, the more obsessed the brothers become.

What begins as a battle for control soon sends shockwaves through the entire Alpha world, threatening the Vandicoff empire itself.

Can Alex survive three possessive Alphas without losing herself in the process?

Or will the one thing she craves most—love—become the very thing that destroys her?

Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother.

"What is wrong with me?

Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?

It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.

He’s my boyfirend’s brother.

This is Tyler’s family.

I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.

**

As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.

Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.

When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.

I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.

**

I hate girls like her.

Entitled.

Delicate.

And still—

Still.

The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.

Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.

I shouldn’t care.

I don’t care.

It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.

It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.

I’m not here to rescue anyone.

Especially not her.

Especially not someone like her.

She’s not my problem.

And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.

But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐋𝐲𝐜𝐚𝐧.
𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧. 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐀 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬.

To survive the mating ceremony and compete against twenty candidates, Maeve ventures into District 3, seeking a vampire to teach her the art of seduction.

Instead, she stumbles into Nikolai’s room—a Crimson vampire who bites her.
He teaches her with his own body.

“Did you catch it? My name.”
He licks her throbbing bud.
“I spelled it with my tongue.”

He claims her virginity, makes her beg, makes her shatter beneath him. She falls hopelessly in love.

Then he rejects her.

Heartbroken, Maeve attends the ceremony—only for Prince Bastian, a Lycan, to discover she’s his fated mate.

His rough hand slides to her neck, finding his enemy’s mark.

“Tell me this wasn’t consensual,” he growls, his erection hard against her.

Vampire and wolf. Ancient enemies. Both want her.

“If I take you, I won’t stop.”

“If you choose him, I will hunt him.”

But Maeve is not weak.
Because when her blood awakens, choosing one man won’t save her—it will start a war, and only one of them will survive it.

❧ 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 · 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 · 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐱 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 · 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐦 · 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 · 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 · 𝐄𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 ☙
🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Five years ago, during a passionate sexual encounter, Freya Myers stole sperm from a mysterious and dangerous man, intending to have a genetically superior child. That man was none other than Declan Castle, the ruthless, enigmatic CEO of the globally renowned Castle Group.

Five years later, Freya Myers returns to the city with a pair of exceptionally gifted twins, desperately trying to conceal their existence from the world. But when she interviews for an internship, she unexpectedly encounters Declan Castle—the very same man from years ago—as her interviewer. From then on, Declan Castle becomes a persistent, demonic force haunting her!

Five years ago, a single, desperate mistake changed Freya Myers's life forever. Intending to secure a future with the man of her dreams, she ended up in the wrong room, stealing the 'seed' of the wrong man. That man was Declan Castle—the cold, ruthless, and enigmatic CEO of the world-renowned Castle Group.

Now, Freya has returned to the city as a struggling single mother, hiding a pair of genius twins from the world. When she lands an internship at the Castle Group, she hopes to remain invisible. But fate has other plans. Declan Castle, a man who has remained mysteriously untouched by any woman since that fateful night, instantly senses something familiar about the new designer. He has spent years searching for the woman who 'ruined' him, and now that he has found her, he has no intention of letting her go.

Forced into a high-stakes marriage of convenience with the domineering CEO, Freya must navigate the treacherous waters of high society while desperately guarding her children's true identity. Between a scheming stepmother, jealous socialites, and a series of deadly secrets, the walls are closing in.

What started as a game of cat-and-mouse and a quest for revenge soon ignites into a passion that neither can control. In a world where power is everything and betrayal is a way of life, can Freya protect her heart and her children, or will the relentless Mr. Castle claim everything she’s been trying to hide?

Sonia Bliss lost her father in a car crashed leaving debts for her to settle. There was nothing Sonia could do and debtors were on her neck. In order to pay, the only solution that came in was to work as a dancer for had exotic club owned by the debtor. A twisted tale unfolded in Sonia life after she was drugged and had a one night stand with the ruthless billionaire Antonio Jackson. Antonio Jackson saw Sonia predicament as had opportunity to trap Sonia in had agreement of becoming his fuck buddy until she graduate from the university. At first, they didn't have a good partnership because all Antonio desired from Sonia was pleasure and lust but eventually, Sonia fell in love with Antonio and became pregnant. Antonio didn't reciprocate his love for Sonia until it was already too late and when the agreement ended, Sonia left Antonio because of the endless torment of his fiancee.

Tiyanna, born of two Alphas, is a member of the Red Dawn Pack though her parents were not the Alpha and Luna. They came from another pack and when it was destroyed, they left and joined as the new Betas. Her life was great as she and the Alpha’s daughter were best friends and were practically inseparable until a rogue attack took the life of her parents while they were protecting the Alpha and Luna. Jealousy of her beauty as well as greed for her parents’ fortune that was left to her upon their deaths took hold and they treated her as a slave. She dreamed of turning 18 so that she could finally claim her inheritance and leave this god-awful pack. She never anticipated that when she found her mate, he would reject her for her ex-best friend or that she would get a second chance mate in the form of the most feared Alpha of the strongest pack in America, Alpha Cameron of the Black Diamond Pack. Will he reject her as well or will he take her as his mate?

Alpha Cameron is the strongest Alpha in America and the most feared, but he has a secret. He doesn’t want a mate because of this and has decided to take a chosen mate to become his Luna in name only. His mother, sister, and beta urge him constantly to rethink his decision as the woman he has chosen is a nightmare. They believe that he should wait for his fated mate, but their pleas fall on deaf ears. What happens when he visits the Red Dawn Pack for the Alpha daughters’ coming of age party and finds his fated mate being beaten? Will he save her or reject her?

"I reject you," he says clearly. Loudly. Making sure everyone hears. "I, Ronan Nightbane, reject the false bond between us. I reject any claim you think you have on me."
"Why isn't it working?" he demands.
"Because it's real," I whisper. "Whether you want it or not."
"Then I'll make it clear another way," he says.
He turns to address the entire cafeteria. His voice carries to every corner of the room.
"Let me be perfectly clear," he announces. "She's not my mate. She's not my anything. She's just a sad little girl who needs to learn her place."
The silence that follows is deafening. Hundreds of students stare at me with pity. With disgust. With relief that they're not in my position.
I sit there shaking. My wolf curls up in a corner of my mind and whimpers.
But he's not our mate anymore. He made that clear.
He's nothing to me.


She came to survive. He was born to rule. Fate made them mates. And that’s where the nightmare began.
Evangeline has spent her whole life on the edge, unwanted, unclaimed, and surviving in the shadows of Crescent Moon Pack. A omega by blood and an outcast by choice, she’s learned to keep her head down and her scars hidden. But when her dying uncle asks her to enroll at Blackclaw Academy, a school built on bloodlines, brutality, and unforgiving rules..... she agrees. For him, not for herself.
She expected whispers. Glares. Even cruelty.
What she didn’t expect was Ronan Nightbane.

Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.

Amie's wolf hasn't shown herself. But who cares? She has a good pack, best friends and a family who loves her. Everyone, including the Alpha, is telling her she is perfect just the way she is. That is until she finds her mate and he rejects her. Heartbroken Amie flees from everything and start over. No more werewolves, no more packs.

When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.

Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.

When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?

Elara, the daughter of Nikolas and Saphira, has been sheltered and protected throughout her life from dangers that came for her, but she doesn’t see it that way. Elara remembers feeling isolated and controlled, and now that she has turned 20 and is expected to begin training to succeed her parents, she feels more controlled than ever. Things worsen when she is told she will be taking a mate through the Matchmaker, who will be the face of the pack while she helps in the background. Feeling like she has no other choice, Elara decides to run away, where she meets Kaelan, the Alpha Werewolf from the forgotten pack. A bond begins to form, but Elara has not been truthful about who she is, and now she faces a difficult choice. Should she reveal her true identity and risk everything, or return home and figure out what happened to the parents she grew up hearing about?

Please note: this story contains strong language and mature scenes.

This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a stand alone.
The first book is The Matchmaker.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy.

Loving him will cost them everything…

Not loving him will cost more.

Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.

As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.

Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.

Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.

So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?

Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.

But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.

As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.

Because the heart wants what it wants….

And it never asks permission.

TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior

“Was she the one who sent you?” he growled “Did she pay you to whore yourself to me?”
“Please… Nick, wait.” He pulled out, thrusted back in. “How much? Twenty thousand? Fifty? Hundred?” With every question, he thrust harder and harder. My neurons are frying with the confusing feeling in my brain. Torn between pleasure, fear, and panic. I couldn't utter a single sentence to save my life.

His cold eyes pinned me in place while he plundered my body with deep thrusts, which only added to my confusion. My dumb body mistook the mixed signals, my pussy becoming even wetter than before.

“I hope she'd paid you well, because I'm going to fuck you all night long, hard,” he growled. “Sleep, then do it all over again. I want to feel you come for me, Andrea, want to feel you squeeze my cock, milking me.

Begging for me to give you the high only I can, I'm going to fucked you until I fuck all my wife's money's worth, I want you to remember how hard I took you while you're meeting her.” I sobbed, moaned, and tried to scramble out under him.

“No, please…Nick, let….let me explain.” Nick abruptly pulled out. His eyes were cold but hooded.


Andrea was sent to take down billionaire magnate Nicklaus Montgomery.
Her mission was simple: get close, seduce him, find the proof, and disappear. Instead Andrea finds herself exposed—cornered into signing a contract that binds her to Nicklaus's side as his lover. Now she’s living in his world of wealth, danger, and secrets… and the deeper she falls into his bed, the harder it becomes to remember what side she's on.