A traitorous history. A vengeful spirit. A heart caught somewhere between love and hate. A story that tells it all. Marissa Randall's 20th birthday and awakening takes a turn she never saw coming. The alpha of her pack turns out to be her mate and her wolf is the exact replica of a woman whose name no one mentions. When the sins of a mother come back to haunt a child, how far must she go to free herself from the bondage? Alpha Lazarus is beyond elated to meet his mate after so many years of waiting. But what happens when his destined partner is the daughter of the biggest traitor in the history of the pack, whose treason cost the lives of his parents and many more loved ones? Will it really be that easy to put the past behind? Or....will the powerful drive for vengeance mark the beginning of the end? Let's find out.
Marissa's POV
I stare at my image in the full length mirror and pull my dress lower nervously. Mum had chosen the dress, it's a short, fitted black ensemble, with ruffles adorning the off-shoulder neckline all the way round. I've never worn anything this short before. But then again, I've never turned 20 before either.
I'm 20 today, and that officially makes it the day of my "awakening". Not only do I finally get to meet my wolf today, but I also find my mate. Both thoughts send nervous shivers down my spine. I wonder what my wolf will be like, and my mate too. Perhaps would he be tall.... blonde....cocky....
"Daydreaming about Jordan again?".
I jump at the sudden sight of my mum standing behind me in the mirror, a wide knowing smile on her lips. "Mum!!! I wasn't!!!".
Even as I deny it, I know the telltale patches of pink have spread on my cheeks and neck. Jordan is my best friend and has been for over 14 years. I will never understand when or how I started seeing him as anything more than a brother. Perhaps the day he had playfully planted a kiss on my lips....a year ago.
"I wanted to see how that would feel". He had said while smiling down at me with amusement in his eyes. "To trigger the mating bond in case it's dormant. But nah that just felt....". He had laughed and I had laughed along awkwardly, not sure what to say. "....that felt bland....and weird". He had chuckled some more and I had chuckled along. "You are really not my mate. I can't wait to meet her though".. He had said longingly and stared at the far horizon. By the flutter I had felt in my heart in that moment, I knew something had changed in the way I felt about him. Too bad my mum had noticed too.
"You'll meet your mate today, Marissa. And trust me, it'll be magical. You will forget all about Jordan".
I give her a side glance and pout. "I never said I wanted to forget him".
She gives me a kind smile. "Well you will. At least, in that way". She raises a hand to my hair and tucks a styled curl behind my ear. "Now smile, sweetheart".
I grimace at my reflection instead. "You sure about putting the hair up? Shouldn't I let it down?".
"You know nothing about fashion, do you?". My mum chuckles. "The updo shows off your elegant neck and shoulders and the curls soften those cheekbones".
I snort and eye myself warily. "At least the makeup looks good". I grumble.
My mum gives my upper arm a squeeze and turns to go. "Wait.....". I call out frantically. She turns back to me, a brow raised in quiet inquiry. I don't know what to say. How to say it. Instead I plunge myself into her arms and feel a calm descend on me as her arms wrap around my shoulders in a warm embrace. "I'm scared". I whisper. "What if my wolf doesn't come? What if I don't meet my mate?".
My mum's arms wrap around me tighter and I close my eyes and breathe in her musky scent. "I was just as nervous as you are right now, my love. But at the end of the day....when everything turned out perfect, it was well worth it". She pulls back and looks me in the eye. "Everything will be fine, honey. You need to trust me on this one".
I stare back into her beautiful green eyes and feel my eyes water at the love I see in them. I nod back and give her a small smile. "I trust you. With my life".
Her smile widens and she pulls me into her embrace one more time. "Then everything will be fine". I hold onto her for so long that I lose track of time but finally, she pulls away and wipes a small tear off my cheek. "They'll call the celebrant out soon. Are you ready?".
I take in a deep breath and chuckle nervously. "I think I am".
"Good. Now that's.....".
"Riss?" We both turn to the voice at the door. It's Jordan. My heart instantly does a leap. He's wearing a blue tuxedo and his unruly dirty blonde hair has been sleeked back, obviously with much effort. "Mrs. Randall..... didn't know you were in here". He flashes my mum a bright smile.
"I was just on my way out". My mum smiles back before turning away and giving my hand a last squeeze as she goes. "Drag her down in a minute will you, Jord?".
Jordan laughs and steps into the room, making way for my mum. "I will ma'am".
I see the last of my mum's back as she goes down the stairs and Jordan closes the door behind her before turning to me and flashing one of those smiles again. "And how's the birthday girl feeling?".
I pointedly keep my gaze from straying to the exposed skin on his chest where he has left his top buttons undone. Instead, I walk forward and twirl when I get to where he's standing.
"How do I look? Be honest". I quickly added.
He chuckles and drives his hands into his pockets. "I wouldn't even think of lying. You look gorgeous, Riss".
I feel like my heart stops for a moment but I quickly ignore it and nod at him instead. "Yeah I thought so too".
He chuckles and I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, Jordan's hand is on the door knob and he raises a questioning brow. "Shall we?".
I give a quick nod. "Let's do this".
A fallen heiress. A broken alpha. A plot for revenge…..and an unexpected twist of fate. When calamity strikes her pack, Valeria does everything within her power to save her people. Even if it means begging for help from the arrogant alpha of the rival pack. But fate has other plans in store for her and when things take an interesting turn, she's left with two choices. Sign her life away to her unexpected mate, or watch her people die. Beneath the icy demeanor and long sleeved clothes of Draaven Ventura lies a den of secrets….and a vengeful heart. When his feisty mate comes breezing through his door, seeking for help, he doesn't hesitate to use the situation to his advantage. His long assembled plan for vengeance is finally coming together, and he has the perfect pawn to use in his game.
A billionaire who hides his bleeding heart with a tough exterior and a soft, family oriented 24 year old woman. Who would have ever thought? Vanessa Higgins lives in constant reminder of how indebted she is to her aunt for taking she and her sister in when they lost their mum. But the ultimate favour was asked of her when she was asked to marry a man she barely knew to enable the family business. In an unexpected turn of events, she ends up marrying another man on that same day, a cold hearted billionaire who is willing to go to any length to have the debt he's owed paid back. Damien De Luca never imagined he'd be getting married when he woke up that morning. But after a look at Vanessa, he had to keep her around him, even if that meant entrapping her with her family's debt. He has married her alright, but not for the reason everyone thinks. What happens when his true reason dares to burst out, exposing the man in him whom he has spent so long trying to erase? A marriage based on a contract might not be so bad after all, but what of a marriage based on lies, warped truths and secrets?
Kimberly Powers is a 28 year old artist and gallery owner who is all too familiar with the dark alleys of life. But if that's what she has to go through to protect her younger sister, so be it. Finally living the life she has always wanted, she knows it's only best for her to stash her ugly past away into the dark cellars of her mind, away from the woman she has become and all that surrounds her. With her daily interactions, she's had to hide the dead part of her soul and the internal mess she is from the world. She's determined to keep her demons in her head but exactly how much can the expensive three piece suits and sleek haircuts hide? Especially when she meets a man whose honey coloured eyes seem to unravel her being and pierce right through her soul. Will she finally be able to embark on the journey of self love? And when the shadows of her past begin to creep up into the open, will she be able to face her fears and let love lead?
"You feel it don't you?". He whispered. She gulped nervously and remained silent, her gaze holding his firmly. "You do feel it. You are my mate, Ariella". And before she could get a word out, his lips came crashing down on hers. Ariella has lived all her life in hiding among humans as a werewolf who could be killed if discovered. While she hates that her mother had been cast out of her pack, she's mostly content with her quiet life among mortals. But everything comes crashing down one day when her family is arrested for owing taxes. Right as things seem to take a turn for the worse for her and her family, a stranger appears and saves her. He's Draaven, her mate whom she would be meeting for the first time and alpha of the Lycans, a pack which has had a lifelong feud with the Cecils, her mother's birth pack. Draaven manages to save only Ella and while he realizes she should know the truth, he refuses to tell her for fear of losing her. Will their love be able to triumph over secrets, rivalry and pack wars? Will Ariella finally be able to own her wolf identity and take her rightful place in the same pack that her mother had betrayed? Read on.
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
Amy didn't expect that her husband whom she had loved and trusted earnestly for many years would be cheating on her by having sex with his secretary. When she confronted him, he and his secretary mocked and ridiculed her, they called her barren to her face, afterall, she had not conceived for the past three years that she had been married to her husband, Callan. Terribly Heartbroken, she filed for divorce and left to the club, she picked a random gigolo, had a hot one night stand with him, paid him and dissapeared to a small city. She came back to the country six years later with three identical cute boys and three identical cute girls of the same age. She settled and got a job but soon find out that her CEO was the gigolo she had sex with six years back at the club. Will she be able to hide her six little cuties from her CEO, who happens to be the most powerful man in NorthHill and beleived to be infertile? Can Amy and the most powerful man in NorthHill get along considering the social gap between them.
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.