"Friendship is a curse!" It binds like a spell and cripples like the sting of a scorpion. Isn't it so powerful that it breaks even the strongest being? Whitney Summers, the CEO of a startup publishing firm, took vows with her childhood friend, Stefflon Meyer, to bind their twenty-year-old friendship and keep it immune to wrecks of any sort. They two swore to grow old together and take their gray-haired selves across the world's most fanciful places with clutches in their seventies. But...life read from an awry script. Whitney Summers loses her friend to ovarian cancer and can't help but obey her last wish-to bear her frozen egg; to groom the only remaining memory of her. But, that isn't all. Stefflon wants Whitney to groom the baby with someone she hates more than death, Ken Cavalieri, her friend's husband. It is possible to slide a cow through a needle than these two to coexist...be what it may, the promise must be kept. Can she keep the promise in the company of Stefflon's monster husband or would she break it?
It was a day that left a scar in the sky. A terrible day to die.
Not that there was a day when dying felt good but the sky was too clear and the day was too bright. A perfect day to die wouldn't have such an innocent atmosphere.
Whitney stole a glance at the lively blue sky tainted with white clouds that took the shape of life itself. The sun. It was gold-crisped and warm, holding no sign of grimness. Her eyes trailed behind the cluster of flying birds that made themselves artwork in the skylines. Their flappy wide wings outstretched as the wind tossed them from north to south.
It seemed more like a day to drink coffee and laugh. A day to seat by the river bank and listen to the sweet gurgles of fine pebbles when thrown into the water. A day to spoil oneself with a cupful of fun. A day to admire the alluring radiance of white clouds ...but it was not a day for all of that.
It was the day Stefflon ceased to breathe.
The day everyone close to Stefflon would cry their eyes out while combing through their boxes and rummaging through their wardrobes and alcoves for black clothes as tears clouded their vision and made their eyes sore. The storm greeted all except Whitney.
No, she was always in black. She had, for long, been swallowed by blackness the moment she got the news of her friend's passing away.
Black raven hair, black pants, black shirt, black designer bag, and black shades. She needed the shades to conceal her sore eyes sac. She hated it when people peered into her grimy and sore eyes like they were reading her heart. She hated watching people witness the unending streaks of tears drip down her eyes.
A minute or even an hour passed since she received that call that had left her frozen for a handful of seconds. The call of Stefflon's death. It felt like a sharp pain. A thrust by a blunt object. A sudden hole in her heart. A heart-wrenching emotional wreck. But, she knew the moment she shifted away from the window, she would have to accept it, embrace it and marry it-the fact that her best friend no longer breathes. The pain was an illusion of what she felt.
It could not be true. It cannot be true. It shouldn't be true. Why should it?
She mopped the tears that were pudding down her face without breaking her gaze on the sky. She wondered if Stefflon was somehow one of those birds or perhaps, the wind itself. Some people liked to believe that they'd return to the universe as birds when they die, some believe they would become butterflies, and some, the wind.
Stefflon herself always said she wanted to return as the sky and she always said she wanted Whitney to return as the cloud so their friendship would be forever.
Right there in the heart of the vast blue sky where they'd be free from the tassels of the painful and chaotic world. Whitney hated the cloud, not in a real sense, but she rarely bought the belief of returning as one when she died. To the amazon, a raven was preferable, or even a crow but now, as she peered at the sky, she had a desperation to be the cloud, to be close to Stefflon. Can I just be the cloud already?
Whitney finally broke her gaze from the sky, she ambled over to her office desk and collapsed on the black swivel chair beside it. Beside her desktop was a framed picture she had taken with Stefflon four years ago. She picked the picture and ran a finger through it. Her heart ached and more tears escaped her swollen tears-logged eyes at the thought of never seeing Stefflon again. It was so hard to believe.
They had been best friends since they were only nine and they had even gone to the same high school. They built a bond that withstood even the strongest turbulence between them.
Stefflon was mostly misunderstood; she had a strong personality; others misinterpreted it as being rude. The picture on her desk was from their high school graduation day. They had both shed tears afterward because they feared going to college would be the very end of their friendship; the same bond they spent the rest of their lives building.
Whitney smiled as she remembered it. They had been wrong; college did not break their bond. She peered at the frame and thought about the day they took that picture. There was no way either of them would have believed that seven years down the line, there would be no more Stefflon.
One time, Stefflon had kissed a boy Whitney liked and even went ahead to date him when they were seventeen. Blake who was Whitney's younger sister by two years had misunderstood and called Stefflon a bad friend for that but Whitney knew Stefflon enough to know she was not. She had only wanted to prove to Whitney that the boy was not good enough for her and he wasn't. That was Stefflon's reason for averting the friendship between the not-so-good boy and Whitney.
Stefflon had saved her from heartbreak by getting herself heartbroken. It came off as the height of sacrificial love.
Another one of the times when Stefflon was misunderstood by others was when she leaked one of Whitney's insecurities on the school website in high school. Whitney had been so upset that she had refused to speak to Stefflon for days until one evening, Stefflon came to Whitney's house and explained she had thought that was the only way Whitney would accept her insecurities and see them as weaknesses that had to be addressed and not disregarded.
Blake had the misconception that Stefflon went after the boys Whitney liked out of spite but it truly was not. She had gone after them to prove to Whitney that they weren't good for her. That was how much of a friend Stefflon was to Whitney.
Although she did unreasonable things at times, Whitney always knew Stefflon could never hurt her. She always had good intentions and most people did not see that except Whitney. Perhaps, that mutual understanding was one of the many strings that kept them as best friends for sixteen whole years. Stefflon's cheerful attitude was another one of those reasons but that changed quickly after she got married to Ken Cavalieri.
Whitney hated him.
He had made the last years of Stefflon's life miserable. He had squeezed the Stefflon Whitney knew right from when they were kids into a gloomy Stefflon. A ghost of her true self. Stefflon was never the type to cry but merely a few months after she got married to Ken, there were days she would cry nonstop for hours.
Stefflon did not leave a single detail out every time she told Whitney of Ken's ill-treatment towards her. He put his own family before Stefflon and let them maltreat her. Some nights he would stay away from home and Stefflon always feared he was cheating. Although it was evident in her emotional well-being in some way, Stefflon was never able to get proof of it.
Of course, the sly bastard is sleek in his infidelity. Good enough to sweep every crumb of evidence under the rug.
He had even once wanted a divorce from her. Stefflon had not wanted to go through with the divorce, she loved him too much. Way too much for her good. She had only managed to convince him to remain married to her. And for God knows why he did.
Whitney hated that he agreed to remain married to Stefflon despite the abuse. He should have left her. He should have insisted and maybe, Stefflon would have found a little more happiness in the few years before her death. Maybe even love.
She despised the notion that despite everything he had done wrong, she still had to plan Stefflon's funeral with him. She could not avoid giving her last respect to her friend simply because she was married to such a despicable man no matter how much she hated him.
She would endure his gruesome presence till they successfully plan the funeral and after that, she would never have to see him again.
Not when Stefflon lay in the morgue breathless. Never.
My name is Katia, and I am just trying to survive until my fated mate arrives. Which may be easier said than done. Rejectection is the last straw. Whispering my acceptance of his rejection. I run through the pack house, out across the manicured lawn into the forest. "I'm sorry, my sweet girl," I say to my wolf. I'm sorry you have been stuck with me and have had to suffer everything I have. She whispers," it's not your fault, Katia. We came to a cliff with a waterfall. The hurt keeps pounding at me. I need it to stop. My sweet girl, and I just want peace, I keep running and leap off the cliff. Spreading my arms wide, with tears streaming down my face, I fall, not making a sound, waiting for sweet oblivion where we feel nothing ever again. "I love you, my sweet girl! Until we meet again, "My wolf replied just before we hit the water, "I love you too, Katia. I have never regretted a moment with you." The Snow Moon pack is having their last barbecue of the summer next to the waterfall on their land. The adults are laughing and joking while watching the pups play. The alpha, beta, and gamma are swimming with some of the older children and playing a game of Marco Polo. Someone yells, "Oh my goddess, someone just jumped over the waterfall!" Everyone is frozen as they watch what looks to be a child falling arms spread wide, no one makes a sound. The small body hits the water like a plane crashing into the side of a mountain. The alpha, beta, and gamma, spring into action, swimming towards the area the person went under. The alpha is screaming his wolf is going crazy repeating, "Find her. Find her...find her!" They dive and the beta surfaces with a small person in his arms. Alpha takes the girl from his beta, laying her on the ground. The men are shocked by what they see. She is covered in scars and injuries. Her body is twisted and broken. The Beta asks, "Who could have done this to someone so defenseless?" Alpha drops to his knees, repeating, "MATE...MATE...MATE!"
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
When they met again, Jason cast aside his paranoia and pride, warmly embracing Chelsey. "Please, come back to me?" For three years, she had been his secretary by day and his companion by night. Chelsey had always complied with his requests, like an obedient pet. However, when Jason declared his plans to marry another, she chose to stop loving him and to let go. But life took unexpected turns. His unyielding pursuit, her pregnancy, and her mother's greed gradually pushed her to the brink. Eventually, she endured tremendous suffering. Five years later, when she returned, she was no longer the woman she once was. Yet he had spiraled into five years of chaos.
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!"
Leanna's life had been full of hardships until her Uncle Nate, who wasn't related to her, offered her a home. She fell deeply in love with Nate, but as he was about to get married, he ruthlessly sent her abroad. In response, Leanna immersed herself in the study of andrology. When she came back, she was renowned for her work on solving problems like impotence, premature ejaculation, and infertility. One day, Nate trapped her in her bedroom. "Seeing various men every day, huh? Why don't you check me out and see if I have any problems?" Leanna laughed slyly and quickly unbuckled his belt. "Is that why you're engaged but not married? Having trouble in the bedroom?" "Wanna try it out for yourself?" "No thanks. I’m not interested in experimenting with you."
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?