Nert Kirschner

My union to Alpha Archer Fitzpatrick was supposed to secure my family's future. But on our wedding night, I slapped his hand away and screamed in absolute terror. "Don't touch me!" In my past life, his cousin Jonah had assaulted me, locking me in a dark cellar until my mind shattered. When Archer reached out to comfort me in the dark, I thought he was Jonah. My violent rejection turned my fated mate's heart to ice, breaking our fragile alliance. Without the Alpha's protection, Jonah and his mother Eleanor turned the pack against me. They slaughtered my family, left my young son's body cold in my arms, and pushed me from the highest tower. Even Archer died alone on a desolate peak, fighting to protect a pack that was already rotting from the inside. As the wind rushed past my ears during that fatal fall, the regret tore at my soul. Why had I let fear blind me? Why did I push away the only man who could have saved us all? Opening my eyes again, the scent of cedarwood and a coming storm filled my lungs. I was back on my union night, untouched and eighteen again. Hearing Jonah's drunken footsteps approaching my locked door, I didn't cower in the shadows. Instead, I gripped a wickedly sharp brass letter opener, waiting for him to step inside.

I transmigrated into the body of a doomed mafia princess, engaged to the ruthless Don of the Syndicate. Right before a high-stakes gala, I caught his childhood sweetheart walking out of his private suite wearing his clothes, begging me not to misunderstand. Then, she forged official documents to steal my family's priceless diamond donation, projecting her name next to his to present them as a unified power couple. Instead of punishing her, the Don fiercely protected the weeping sweetheart. He accused me of being a jealous tyrant, ordering me to drop it because she was unwell. His mother, the Matriarch, threatened me to stay quiet and swallow the humiliation to protect the family's face. They expected me to just stand there while she stole my wealth and my position. The original Gianna would have thrown a hysterical fit and sealed her fate as the crazy villainess. But looking at their blind favoritism, my love for him completely died. Why should my family's blood and money be used as a pedestal for a manipulative thief? I refused to play their game. I projected the security logs to the entire ballroom, exposing her forgery to the Five Families. Then, I pulled off my blood-oath engagement ring and demanded every single dollar I ever invested reimbursed. "This betrothal ends tonight," I declared, walking away. But hours later, my phone lit up with a text from the furious Don. "I am going to tear apart whatever illusion of freedom you have built, and when I do, I am coming to collect you."

On their seventh wedding anniversary, Kiley's billionaire husband, Aden, slid a thick stack of papers across the restaurant table. It was a petition for divorce. He was leaving her for his college sweetheart. Thanks to a ruthless prenup, Kiley was being thrown out with absolutely nothing. That very night, their young son Jules was rushed to the ER, bleeding profusely. The doctor's diagnosis was a death sentence: acute leukemia. When Kiley frantically called Aden for help, he dismissed the emergency as a simple nosebleed. "I'm not paying for this. Deal with it," Aden sneered, the sound of his mistress giggling in the background. To force Kiley to sign the divorce papers, Aden froze all her credit cards and canceled their son's health insurance. He refused to pay a single cent for the chemotherapy. Even Kiley's adoptive parents sided with the wealthy Aden, calling her a burden and telling her to stop fighting him. Driven to the brink of despair, with a dying child and no money, Kiley didn't understand how a father could be so monstrous to his own flesh and blood. Until a news article on a friend's phone caught her eye. It featured a fallen 9/11 firefighter hero from the ultra-wealthy Whitfield family. The man in the photo looked exactly like Jules, down to the very bone structure. Kiley's mind raced back to the fertility clinic and the anonymous sperm donor. Could this dead billionaire hero be her son's biological father? Looking at her sleeping, fragile boy, Kiley wiped her tears and crushed the divorce papers in her hand. She was going to find the Whitfield family, save her son, and make Aden lose everything he held dear.

On the morning of our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, I found a cream-colored document tucked inside my husband's suit pocket. It was a twenty-million-dollar asset transfer for his former receptionist, Carmen. But what made my blood run cold was the contingent beneficiary: Leo, my newborn son who the hospital claimed was kidnapped twenty-three years ago. When I confronted Devonte, he didn't even try to explain. He handed me a fake Cartier watch, canceled all my credit cards, and publicly called me delusional. The next day, he moved Carmen into our mansion and emptied all our joint accounts into offshore trusts. "If you don't sign these papers and walk away, I will have you committed," he threatened, his mother nodding in agreement. They had orchestrated the kidnapping of my baby, hiding him with the mistress while I spent half my life sedated and screaming in grief. Now, to keep his secret, Devonte was going to lock me in a psychiatric ward and bury me in debt. I didn't understand how the man I loved could be such a monster. Why did he steal my child? What else was hidden in that confidential adoption file? Pushed to the absolute brink, I refused to be his victim. When his goons came to my temporary apartment to drag me away, I turned to the rugged union electrician who had just fixed my lights. "If you need a husband to keep you out of a psych ward, I'll marry you," he said, offering himself as my legal shield. I took his hand. It was time to tear my husband's perfect life apart.

I stood at the airport in a worn wool coat, shivering as I waited for the husband I hadn’t seen in seven years. My dented 2014 Camry sat idling nearby, a pathetic contrast to the sleek private jets lining the tarmac of Teterboro. When the Gulfstream finally landed, Julian Sterling didn’t emerge alone. He stepped off the plane holding the hand of Serena Pembrooke, the flawless socialite who had been his "business partner" in Zurich for nearly a decade. He looked at me with the cold assessment of a stranger, his eyes bypassing the luxury SUVs to lock onto my fading paint and cracked phone screen. Julian forced me to drive them, letting Serena claim the front seat while he watched me from the back like a hired chauffeur. When a minor traffic accident left me trembling in the middle of the FDR Drive, he didn't offer comfort; he took the wheel with a look of pure disappointment, treating me like an incompetent child. "A quiet place for a mind like yours to rot," he whispered, mocking the simple life I had built in Queens. The humiliation peaked at a high-society gala where Serena framed me for corporate espionage, accusing me of stealing code from Nebula—the very company I had built in secret. Julian stood by and watched as my reputation was shredded, his silence a deadlier weapon than Serena’s lies. He even went ring shopping for the Sterling family heirloom while I was being investigated by the police. I couldn't understand how he could be so blind. He didn't know I was the lead architect of the AI firm he just invested in. Most importantly, he didn't know I was hiding his son—a six-year-old genius with Julian’s eyes and a lethal talent for hacking. To settle the debt for the car, I sold my mother’s last pearls and threw the check at his feet, finally ready to disappear from his world forever. But as I walked away into the rain, Julian’s phone buzzed with a digitized threat from an anonymous source that stopped him cold. "Stay away from my mother," the voice warned. My son had just declared war on his father, and the secrets of the Aspen Scandal were finally about to explode, forcing Julian to realize that the wife he abandoned was the only person who could save his empire.

I was given three months to live. My fiancé, however, decided that was far too long. I overheard him with my stepsister, Krista, calling our three-year relationship a "charade" he was tired of. The bone marrow I donated to him after a car crash-the very act that triggered my fatal illness-wasn't a sacrifice. It was a transaction. He had manipulated my guilt to use me as a placeholder while he waited for his true love, Krista. He abandoned me bleeding at our engagement party to tend to her fake injury, then gave her power of attorney over my critically ill brother, forcing me to agree to her cruel demands. My love was a lie. My sacrifice was a punchline. The man I thought was my savior had orchestrated my death sentence and then buried me with his betrayal. So on my wedding day, as he waited at the altar for Krista, I faked my own death. I left him with one final wedding gift: my terminal diagnosis and the truth of his deception. It was time for my revenge.

For three years, I was Bradley Porter's bodyguard. And his substitute. Tonight, I took a bullet for him, the wound in my shoulder still fresh. But he didn't care. His assistant pulled me out of the hospital, my wound infected and feverish, because the woman I was a substitute for, Kylie Tyson, was back. At the private airport, he embraced her with a love I had never seen. Kylie looked me up and down with disdain. "Bradley, make her carry my luggage." He saw my pale face, the bandage peeking from my collar, but his voice was sharp. "What are you waiting for? Get the luggage." There were five large suitcases. Just moments before, Kylie had faked a sprained wrist, and he had examined it with panicked concern. When I took a bullet for him, he just glanced at me and told his men to "clean up the mess." That night, I went home and added another black stone to the glass jar on my dresser. I made a promise to myself: for every time he hurt me, I would add a stone. When the jar was full, I would leave him forever. Tonight was stone number three hundred and sixty-eight. The jar was almost half full.

The first sign of trouble arrived as a notification on my phone. It was a screenshot from my friend, Joanna, of my husband' s new executive assistant, Chloe Miller. She was smiling brightly, her hand touching a diamond necklace sparkling against her skin. A necklace I recognized immediately. It was the star piece from an auction Liam had attended two nights ago, two million dollars. He' d mentioned it was a "stunning piece of craftsmanship." He just failed to mention who he was buying it for. A quiet anger, cold and sharp, settled in my chest. This wasn't about jealousy; it was about respect. Our marriage was an arrangement, a merger of his new money ambition and my old money influence. The foundational rule was simple: public respect. Liam had just broken it. I scrolled through the comments, gushing over her "amazing boss." Chloe was actively fanning the flames of speculation. It was a deliberate, public provocation. I put my phone down, stood up, and walked calmly to the intercom. "Please have Liam' s car brought to the front," I said. My husband had forgotten who I was. My family hadn't built their empire by being passive. He was about to be reminded.

The promotion came with a dream office, a Seattle skyline view, and a salary that made my eyes water. But it also came with Mrs. Jenkins, my personal assistant of five years, and the difficult conversation I had to have with her. When I told her I was relocating and she' d have three months' severance, her warm smile froze. "A recommendation and severance won' t be enough, Sarah," she declared, her voice flat, demanding a lifetime pension or my multi-million dollar condo. I laughed, thinking it was a joke, but her dead-serious expression sent a chill down my spine. She then morphed into a full-blown manipulator, blaming me for "ruining" her life and threatening to spread rumors in our tight-knit community. The fight escalated from extortion to outright betrayal when her daughter, Emily, aided by a supposedly incarcerated ex-cop, illegally occupied my condo with a forged lease. The police, thanks to the corrupt officer' s connections, shockingly classified it as a civil matter. I felt outrage and disbelief that I was being targeted and dismissed, my property snatched by a family I had once trusted. The unsettling truth hit me when I saw the "jailed" ex-cop, Kevin, laughing with Mrs. Jenkins and Emily in front of a real estate office, overhearing their plot to forge documents and steal my condo outright. My rage turned to icy resolve; they had underestimated me. I immediately contacted the FBI' s Public Corruption Unit, armed with concrete proof of their conspiracy, knowing this was no longer a petty dispute but a federal crime. My decision to fight back was made.

For a decade, I played the role of Eleanor Vance, Senator Alistair Hayes' s wife. I endured his icy indifference and his stepdaughter Brittany' s cruelties, clinging to the hope of a stable home for my daughter, Clara. But at the annual charity gala, the illusion violently shattered. Brittany, with a triumph in her eyes, forced me into her deceased mother' s gown, then publicly humiliated me by crushing a cherished locket I' d made for her with my own hands. Alistair, far from defending me, stood by, his cold gaze stripping me bare, blaming me. He had dangled Clara' s return as bait for my compliance, and now his lie was exposed, alongside my public shame. My world, built on fragile hopes, crumbled. I was nothing but an outsider, always second best to a ghost. The raw injustice, the betrayal, and the horrifying truth of their manipulation ignited a quiet, chilling rage within me. My efforts, my sacrifices, all for nothing. So when Alistair, eager to control the narrative, suggested I 'disappear' for a 'break' at the remote family cabin, I agreed. He thought I'd break and crawl back. He didn't know Eleanor Hayes was already gone.

I woke up in 1983, miraculously young again, clinging to the hope that Mark, my husband of thirty years and partner in our theater supply business, would also be here, ready for our second chance together. But the moment I found him at the community center dance, my world shattered: he looked at me like a complete stranger, then walked past, straight to Brattleboro's "golden girl," Tiffany Hayes, as if our intertwined history never existed. He wasn't just indifferent; he had spent two years cultivating a new, ambitious life, actively pursuing Tiffany, then brazenly claimed my deepest creative work-an intricate theatrical gown concept-as his own in a public design competition. His cruelty escalated when he publicly shamed me over a piece of chocolate in our local bakery and later tried to legally trap me in our small Vermont town with a fabricated non-compete clause, his malice a chilling contrast to the man I thought I knew. How could the man I' d loved for three decades, the one I had mourned and hoped to rebuild a life with, so utterly forget, betray, and aggressively try to destroy me, turning our sacred past into a weapon of bitter cruelty? From that profound agony, a new, fiery determination ignited: I would reclaim my talent, prove my worth, and independently forge an extraordinary New York life, establishing my own success story far from his toxic shadow.

Sarah Miller, the uncredited engineering genius and 65% majority shareholder of NextGen Innovations, knew this meeting at a high-end Silicon Valley steakhouse was pivotal, poised to secure a game-changing deal with Synapse Corp's CEO, a company she allowed her husband, Mike, to publicly lead. Just as the deal was nearing completion, Mike stumbled through the restaurant entrance, visibly incoherent and draped over his executive assistant, Chloe Sanders, who was clinging to him and cackling, making a spectacle for the entire power-lunch crowd. Spotting Sarah, Mike's drunken bravado twisted into pure accusation, shouting, "Sarah! What are you doing here? Spying on me?", while Chloe chimed in with, "She just gets so insecure, you know?", turning a critical business negotiation into a humiliating public circus. A cold knot of disbelief and fury tightened in Sarah's stomach, as she watched the deal of a lifetime, years of her relentless efforts, and her professional integrity crumble because of her husband's grotesque betrayal and his assistant's conniving insolence. As Mr. Peterson raised an eyebrow in polite concern and Chloe audaciously lashed out at him directly, Sarah made a decision: she looked Mike dead in the eye and, her voice devoid of all emotion, declared, "We need to talk. At home. About a divorce."

The Yale scholarship email glowed on my screen, a testament to years of grueling work and quiet ambition. I, Emily, had finally achieved my dream, a full ride to an Ivy League. But my triumph shattered when my older brother, Mike, stormed in, his eyes blazing with a fury I’d never seen directed at me. He accused me of stealing my adopted sister Sophia’s destiny, blinded by her manipulative claims of having her ‘luck stolen’ and a fabricated illness. His rage escalated, culminating in a brutal attack in a remote cabin, where he bound me, then deliberately cut my arm with a hunting knife. Knowing full well I suffer from real hemophilia, he left me there, miles from anywhere, to bleed out, dismissing my desperate pleas as mere dramatics. My own parents, swayed by Sophia’s charade, tragically remained unaware of my brother's monstrous act. How could the brother who once vowed to protect me now be trying to kill me? Every drop of my blood pooling on the cabin floor was a testament to their chilling deception and my utter helplessness. Was I truly doomed to die for a lie he believed and a future she coveted? Yet, from the depths of despair, an unexpected tool emerged – a Swiss Army knife Mike himself had given me, ironically, for protection. This wasn't an end; it was the beginning of my fight back, a meticulous plan to expose their heinous truth and reclaim my life.

Dying, physically and emotionally bankrupt, I watched my wife, a celebrated Air Force Major, accept an award. Decades sacrificed for her career and our daughter, Lily, had cost me everything. Katherine praised her unit’s psychologist, Dr. Vance, as her “confidant,” utterly ignoring me. Then Lily’s chilling bedside whisper: “Mom and Dr. Vance are so good together. Maybe let go. So Mom can finally be happy with him.” My heart gave out. Darkness. I jolted awake, young and healthy, reborn 20 years earlier in 1993. A second chance! Yet the betrayal replayed. Katherine planned her Greenland deployment with Vance. Soon, Lily, barely six, clung to Vance, asking, “Can Dr. Vance be my new dad?” My world crumbled. The betrayals escalated. At school, Lily publicly introduced Vance as her “Dad.” The ultimate blow: after Lily fell (due to Vance’s neglect), she lied. “It was Dad’s fault! Dr. Vance saved me!” Katherine raged, “You did this on purpose! You’re a failure!” This was a cold, calculated erasure. My past agony solidified my resolve. “Fine,” I stated, emotionless, “Let Dr. Vance be her father then.” I walked straight to the courthouse and filed for divorce. The doormat they knew was gone. The man who dreamed of piloting jets was finally flying. This time, I'd reclaim *my* life.

I'm an easily fooled little fool. Today, I received a scam text message. The sender wanted me to seduce Isonstinthe richest man and then dump him, promising to give me one hundred million after I succeeded. Heh, I'm a little fool, but I'm not really an idiot. I randomly replied to him, "I've experienced it; the other party's stamina isn't great." The next moment, I received a bank transfer notification for fifty million, with a note saying it was a deposit. Well, that's not too bad. Later, there were indescribable activities below the neck that lasted until late at night. Connor gently wiped away the tears from the corner of my eye. "Melina, am I good enough now?"

I was waiting at the Registry Hall to formalize my mate bond with Gabe, my childhood sweetheart and the Alpha of our pack. He was thirty-two minutes late. When I finally found him in a private VIP lounge, his hands were buried in my cousin's hair, their lips locked together. Hailee was supposed to be my maid of honor. Instead of apologizing, Gabe looked me dead in the eye and used his Alpha authority to publicly reject me. The severing of our ten-year bond tore my soul apart, but the nightmare didn't stop there. My grandfather immediately called, demanding I clean up a mess Hailee had made. When I refused, he disowned me on the spot, froze every single one of my bank accounts, and stripped me of my family name. Within hours, my entire pack erased my existence, gleefully announcing Hailee as their new Luna. I had given my entire life to a family and a man who discarded me like worthless trash the second I became inconvenient. I was left broken, humiliated, and utterly penniless in the blink of an eye. But as I stumbled out of that sterile hall, a terrifyingly beautiful stranger stepped out of the shadows, radiating a primal power that made my knees weak. He was Caden Sinclair, the ruthless Lycan King, and he was dodging a forced political union of his own. "You need a shield. I need a wife. Marry me." Without hesitation, I signed the Eternal Vow.

Fear follows Alpha Samson wherever he goes. As the ruthless leader of the Blackthorn pack, he and his beast, Savage, bow to no one. But when a haunting scent leads him to a neighboring pack's dungeon, he finds his fated mate-bloody, broken, and chained to the wall. Alora is a half-wolf, half-witch hybrid falsely accused and left to die. But her abusers made one fatal mistake: they touched the mate of a monster. Rescued by the fierce Alpha, Alora begins a journey of healing that uncovers a lifetime of lies. She isn't just a survivor; she's a weapon. Together, Samson and Alora will unleash hell on those who wronged her, unearthing dark family secrets and claiming the crown that was stolen from her birth.

For three years, I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into building Blackwood Group for Alec, my Alpha and the man I thought was my mate. But on the day of our work anniversary, I stood outside his office door and heard him talking with his Beta, shattering my entire world. "Kay is just a wolfless Omega, useful for paperwork," Alec sneered coldly. "The bonding ceremony is just a show for the elders. The real Luna, the one who carries the bloodline that matters, is Breanne. I'm transferring all of Kay's core project files to Breanne tomorrow. Let her take the credit." He even texted me later, telling me to wear a blue dress to the upcoming gala because it made me look "obedient." I had turned down a Wharton scholarship for this man. I had spent countless nights fixing his mistakes, building his empire, and giving him my youth. Yet to him, I was nothing but a disposable placeholder, expected to smile and bow while another woman stole my life's work and my place by his side. The agonizing pain in my chest didn't break me; it forged me into ice. I didn't cry, and I certainly didn't beg. Instead, I wiped his servers clean of every strategy I had ever created, left a wax-sealed resignation on his desk, and accepted a job offer from his most ruthless rival.

I was three months pregnant when the car hit me. Lying there, barely hanging on, I called my husband-Alpha Ethan-over and over. No answer. When I finally woke up from the pain, I saw a post from his first love, Ivy. "Thank you, Alpha, for knowing how scared I am of the dark and staying with me all night. He even cleared his whole schedule today to take me to the auction, just to give me the best gift in the world. I'm so happy!" Right then, it hit me. While I was fighting to protect our child, he was with another she-wolf. I calmly liked her post and put my phone away. Since he chose his first love, I chose to let go. Seven days from now, I'd leave his world for good-with our child.

I died once before, framed for a murder that never happened. I am Princess Fiona Avery of the Blackwood Pack, forced by my father into a political union with Bowen Mayer, heir to a powerful house. In my first life, my husband's mistress faked a pregnancy, accused me of pushing her into a lake, and watched as I was condemned as a murderer. I spent my final days in a mental ward, broken and drugged, until a lethal injection silenced me forever. But the dead don't always stay dead. I opened my eyes on the very day it all went wrong. My tea was still laced with sedative. My husband's footsteps were already pounding down the hall. His weeping mistress was ready to play her part. This time, I don't beg. I don't cry. I don't kneel. I summon the ruthless Gamma of the royal Shadow Guard. I demand the pack doctor examine his precious lover-right here, in front of everyone. I stake my life on a wager I know I cannot lose. They think I'm still the weak, wolfless princess they once destroyed. They have no idea what I've become.

"This is Virella, my wife." Three years. And that was all Alpha Kaelen gave me. No welcome. No touch. No recognition. Just another woman at his side, carrying his child. While I ruled in his absence, I was nothing more than a placeholder. A Luna he never chose. So I gave up. And I left. One rejection was all it took to break the bond. When I returned, I wasn't the Luna he abandoned. I was untouchable, respected, and feared. And no longer his to claim. Now he watches me like a man drowning... Because the woman he discarded came back as something far beyond his reach. And this time, I didn't come alone. The Alpha of Ebonmoon stands beside me, his presence crushing, and his hand firm on my waist... "Careful, Kaelen," his voice drops, dark with warning. "Rowena isn't yours anymore." His lips brush my temple, possessively. "She's mine. If you try to take her, I'll end you."

For years, Elara Park endured being called "half-breed" and "weak blood" at pack meetings. Because she was a hybrid wolf, she trusted Zack Blackwood's sweet promises. Then he rejected their fated mate bond moments after claiming her body. Before she could even breathe through the soul-crushing agony, the news was already celebrating his engagement to her vindictive stepsister, Selina. The headlines gushed about their "perfect pureblooded union." Her mother's call came like a final blow: "Elara, you're twenty-three now. It's time you contributed to the family." Marry the worthless second son of a prominent Alpha family or lose her father's empire forever. They had her trapped, ready to steal her birthright and leave her powerless. But as the heartbreak bled out, ice-cold determination took its place. Elara went to the arranged meeting at the city's most exclusive club, determined to turn her mother's matchmaking scheme to her advantage. She would agree to marriage-but on her own terms. When she found who she believed was Damian Sterling in the private suite, she cut straight to business: a contract marriage with clear boundaries, separate lives, and a guaranteed escape route. What she didn't know? The devastatingly dangerous man who'd just signed her contract with a predator's smile wasn't the pathetic playboy she expected. He was Dominic Wolfe-the Alpha King who'd been relentlessly hunting her for years. And now, she'd just signed herself over to him completely.

For sixteen years, I was the cherished noble lady of the Powers Werewolf Manor, spoiled and treasured by everyone around me. But a sudden truth shattered everything I had-I was not of Powers bloodline. After the truth came out, all the love and favor that once belonged to me was completely taken away. The Lord and Lady Powers poured all their tenderness on Corie, their long-lost biological daughter. For Corie's sake, the people who had once doted on me stood by coldly as she framed me and got me wrongfully accused of crimes. They stripped me of my noble status and exiled me to the brutal Blackore Mines, where I was enslaved for three entire years. No one cared for me, no one asked after my wellbeing. Three years passed in the blink of an eye. The Powers couple, who had abandoned me cruelly, came crying to me to repent. "Kara, we were wrong. Come home with us." My arrogant and domineering elder brother Aden knelt outside my small cottage all night, begging me in a low, humble voice. "Kara, can you forgive me?" Derrick came to me covered in fresh, hideous unhealed scars, worn out from endless hardships. His eyes were filled with nothing but regret and longing. "Kara, I'm sorry. Be my mate again." But my heart had died long ago, buried in those endless dark torments and repeated desperate disappointments over the three years. Feel anything for them? I let out a cold laugh. My heart had long withered and turned to dust, without a shred of warmth left. Later, I met someone who loved me wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He protected me at all costs and gave me a peaceful, joyful life I had never had before. Watching me live a happy and stable life, all those who had hurt and wronged me could only stand far away, too timid to take a single step closer. Drowned in remorse and cowardice, they lived in fear that one day, they would even lose the right to watch me from afar for the rest of their lives.

For eight years, Cecilia Moore was the perfect Luna, loyal, and unmarked. Until the day she found her Alpha mate with a younger, purebred she-wolf in his bed. In a world ruled by bloodlines and mating bonds, Cecilia was always the outsider. But now, she's done playing by wolf rules. She smiles as she hands Xavier the quarterly financials-divorce papers clipped neatly beneath the final page. "You're angry?" he growls. "Angry enough to commit murder," she replies, voice cold as frost. A silent war brews under the roof they once called home. Xavier thinks he still holds the power-but Cecilia has already begun her quiet rebellion. With every cold glance and calculated step, she's preparing to disappear from his world-as the mate he never deserved. And when he finally understands the strength of the heart he broke... It may be far too late to win it back.

Emilia Taylor was the most unwanted daughter of the Frostridge Pack. She had no wolf, no status, and no one who truly loved her. After failing to awaken at the age of twenty-two, she was betrayed by her lover, abandoned by her family, and finally sent by her father to the Silver Moon Pack-to become Sebastian Simons' seventh bride. Sebastian was the Alpha everyone feared. Rumor had it that none of his first six wives had met a good end, and every woman who married him eventually became another name on the list of the dead. Everyone was waiting for Emilia to die. But they did not know that her failed awakening had not left her with nothing. Instead, she had gained the ability to read minds. She could hear the malice and lies hidden behind every smile. Everyone's thoughts were open to her. Except Sebastian's. She could not hear his mind, nor could she see through his secrets. When a wolfless girl abandoned by everyone meets a cold-blooded Alpha haunted by the mystery of six dead wives, will she become his next victim-or the only one who can break the curse?