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.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!