A Reluctant Mate
/1/130821/coverbig.jpg?v=7f74e3da9208fbd64237b41f638ad1f6)
Rejected By My Betrothed, Claimed By The Warlord Alpha
I was born a wolfless cripple in the Richmond Pack, but by royal decree, I was engaged to the kingdom's Champion Knight, Emory. During the winter banquet, my half-sister Dessie suddenly tilted backward into the royal ice pond, screaming that I pushed her. In my previous life, I reached out in panic to save her, only to be dragged down and framed for attempted murder. When Emory dove into the freezing water, he swam right past my sinking body to rescue her instead. Once ashore, my own father and my betrothed ignored my desperate pleas. They branded me a vicious, jealous traitor. Emory publicly broke our engagement to marry Dessie, while my father threw me to the executioner to wash away the family's shame with my blood. Until my head was on the chopping block, I didn't understand. Why did my own family want me dead just because I had no inner wolf? Why did the knight who swore to protect me conspire with my illegitimate sister to destroy my life? Opening my eyes again, I was back on the snow-dusted terrace, right as Dessie was setting up the exact same trap. "A wolfless cripple like you should crawl back to the gutter," she whispered, falling backward. This time, I didn't flinch or beg for help. Instead, my fingers shot out like iron clamps, grabbing her wrist, and I dragged her into the freezing depths with me.
Chapter 1
Kalea POV:
"Sister, Emory Lambert is destined to be mine," Dessie Richmond whispered, her voice a poisonous thread slipping through the frigid breeze of the Royal Lunar Garden. "A wolfless cripple like you should crawl back to the gutter where you belong."
Her amber eyes gleamed with malice.
Before I could even process the violent sting of the freezing air on my face, Dessie tilted her body backward, angling herself toward the black waters of the royal ice pond.
She was setting up the exact same trap from my past life.
She wanted the entire court to see her fall, to hear her screams, and to watch me take the blame for attempting to drown the favored younger daughter of the Richmond Pack.
In that past life, everything had favored her. I had screamed in panic and lunged to grab her, my fingers clamping hard around her wrist and leaving livid grip-bruises on her skin.
When we fell, I thrashed and begged Emory to save me, so when he swam straight past me to lift Dessie first, onlookers called it justice — the Champion saving the victim from her attacker.
The healers found my marks on her, and nothing of hers on me. That was enough for a charge of attempted murder.
Now, everything is different. The terrace is crowded with high-ranking nobles, and I know exactly where her nails will land.
I already saw through her act completely. I would play along — and turn her own trap against her.
I did not flinch. Instead, I calmly extended my left arm toward her, offering the loose silver-blue cuff at my wrist as if trying to catch her. Dessie, already falling backward to fake her accident, instinctively clawed out and seized my wrist hard to make it look real, her nails digging deep into my sleeve.
Dessie's smug grin instantly froze.
Her eyes widened in shock as she realized she had grabbed me first. Before she could let go, I stopped resisting. I leaned into her pull and let her own backward momentum drag us both off the marble edge together.
A chorus of shrill gasps erupted from the noble onlookers lining the snow-dusted terrace.
Then came the deafening crash of freezing water.
The shock of the sub-zero pond slammed into my chest, squeezing every drop of air from my lungs.
The weight of our velvet winter gowns pulled us straight into the dark depths.
Dessie thrashed wildly, her arms flailing like a dying bird as her silken skirts tangled around her legs.
Even as she thrashed, her right hand remained locked around my left wrist, her nails tearing frantically at my silk cuff.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream under the water, bubbles bursting around her terrified, contorted face.
Unlike my past self, I did not scream, did not beg, did not leave a single mark on her. I stared back at her through the murky blue, cold and completely still.
Pain tore through my limbs, but my mind was clearer than it had ever been in my two lifetimes.
Above the surface, muffled shouts vibrated through the water.
"Someone help! The Richmond ladies have fallen in!"
Through the rippling surface, a familiar silhouette tore off his heavy velvet cloak on the bank.
Emory Lambert.
The newly crowned Champion Knight of the Grand Royal Trials, and my betrothed.
He dove into the water with a clean, powerful slice.
His eyes scanned the depths, searching desperately.
He looked right past my sinking form.
Without a single glance in my direction, Emory swam furiously toward Dessie, wrapping his strong arms around her waist to haul her toward the light.
A bitter, silent laugh bubbled in my throat.
He was supposed to be my promised mate by royal decree, yet his body reacted purely on instinct to save my illegitimate half-sister.
I let my limbs go limp, allowing the darkness of the pond to drag me downward.
I needed this.
I needed every high-ranking noble on that terrace to see him choose her over me.
Darkness began to creep into the edges of my vision.
My lungs burned for oxygen.
Then, the water exploded behind me.
A massive shockwave ripped through the freezing depths, stirring a violent current that pushed the weeds aside.
A shadow moved with terrifying, predatory speed.
Before I could even register the beast-like force tearing through the water, a pair of scalding, calloused hands locked onto my waist.
The grip was unyielding, made of pure steel.
I was yanked violently against a broad, rock-hard chest.
Even submerged in ice, the overwhelming scent of crushing cedar and raw, wild musk flooded my senses, piercing straight through the freezing haze in my mind.
It was the aura of a dominant, top-tier Alpha.
Yet the moment his skin touched mine, the suffocating pressure of his command miraculously softened, wrapping around my freezing body like an invisible shield.
I forced my heavy eyelids open.
Through the distorted water, I looked directly into a pair of piercing, golden-amber wolf eyes.
Gaines Moss.
The notorious young lord of the Moss Pack, heir to the northern iron legions, and widely feared across the capital as an uncontrollable, violent rogue Alpha.
There was no cruelty in his gaze.
Only a dark, frantic intensity that bordered on madness.
The moment my wet shoulder pressed against his collarbone, a sharp, electric jolt surged from his palm straight down my spine.
My frozen muscles trembled beneath the sheer heat of his touch.
Gaines's jaw tightened.
His arm banded around my waist with possessive force, pulling me flush against him as his powerful legs kicked against the current, launching us toward the surface like an arrow.
On the other side of the pond, Emory was already breaking through the surface with Dessie clutched tightly against his chest.
The freezing air hit my face in a violent rush as Gaines hauled me out of the water, his long fingers instinctively cradling the back of my head to shield me from the jagged marble edge.
The deafening roar of the royal court swept over us in an instant.
/0/39157/coverbig.jpg?v=20230322160640)
A Reluctant Mate
Samantha: Jaecar, the fiercest of the Line Watchman, has forever been caring to me. Humoring me regardless of my thought process was his absence of sexual interest. That all changed the day he let me know he'd have me as his mate. I said no. Prodding Jaecar to go from the sweet kid nearby to the rav
/0/43664/coverbig.jpg?v=6b07994e45e3d606359c5996c6aa54a8)
His Reluctant Mate
Trinity Ruslan wasn’t a fan of small towns or wolf shifters. And she really didn’t like the pack that lured her little brother away from his family. Timber Ridge was the last place she wanted to visit, but she couldn’t resist the chance to name her newest niece or nephew. Damon Kemp never expected
/0/75032/coverbig.jpg?v=66b37eb8b1c7502e6e58caeab2c07925)
THE ALPHA'S RELUCTANT MATE
The Alpha's Reluctant Mate is a bittersweet, slow-burn romance set against the backdrop of a world ruled by werewolves and their primal instincts. Lena is an Omega who's spent her life hiding from the inevitable the fated bond with her Alpha. Years of evading her destiny have come to an end when s
/1/101442/coverbig.jpg?v=931d0780ffe985e40129dcc4b7e35ecc)
The Alpha Reluctant Mate
Lila never expected her life to be sold to a dangerous werewolf pack, least of all to the infuriatingly dominant alpha who claims her as his mate. Dominic is cold, commanding, and utterly infuriating, yet something about him makes her heart race despite every instinct screaming to resist. When threa
/0/46413/coverbig.jpg?v=b83f203dc3a510b4df0ae928872e055d)
Alpha's reluctant mate
Lisa's heart has always belonged to Fred, her childhood friend. But destiny had different plans, entwining her with Vegas, a formidable werewolf leader, in an arranged mating. Their journey unfolds with forbidden desires and concealed truths. Amidst pack politics and hidden threats, can love kindle
/0/46372/coverbig.jpg?v=3e83bdef6a1fa28fbcfa3e5a188da083)
Entangled Fates : The Alpha's Reluctant Mate
One touch was all it took to unravel everything. I felt his aura before I saw him- raw, possessive, undeniably alpha. "You shouldn't be here, hybrid." Xavier's voice rumbled through me as his barrier shimmered behind me, a magic meant only for purebloods. Yet here I stood, Karenina Mason, half-w
/0/85398/coverbig.jpg?v=12d8b086f41687bf3d4cebf04c861376)
The Billionaire's Reluctant Bride
Lena Carter never expected to enter a billionaire's world; much less become his wife. A struggling artist desperate to save her late father's gallery, she has no choice but to accept Ethan Sinclair's proposal: one year of marriage, no strings attached, in exchange for the inheritance he needs. But l
/0/70820/coverbig.jpg?v=3fe7197c35caa7d1543830977f1d0943)
RELUCTANT LOVE, RECKLESS HEIR
Isla Carter never intended to see Adrian again. Their one-night stand was supposed to be a reckless escape, a fleeting moment of passion in a life filled with fear and uncertainty. But when she finds out she's pregnant, she knows she has no choice but to confront the father of her child. She doe
/0/79052/coverbig.jpg?v=aaa29e3a2848fcabcb687a87f4994e64)
His Reluctant Temptress
He wanted revenge. She wanted freedom. Neither expected to become each other's weakness. Jasmine always played the game to win-even if it meant using people, bending truths, or faking a smile. But when a shadow from the past resurfaces, everything spirals out of control. Caught between two
/0/20262/coverbig.jpg?v=b615e6038518d42b5a18f7fd575e1a96)
His Reluctant Luna
18+ mature content. Alice has her life all sorted, she has a good job, a wonderful fiancee. Apart from a little secret, she was a werewolf, her life was in her control. After losing her parents in a rough attack she had been sent away to live with her aunt, a keeper.Alice was what one would call an
/0/84944/coverbig.jpg?v=b1d29a94c368194165b78a677a0c03d2)
The Don's Reluctant Obsession
Solenne's life is completely shattered when her charming, fun-loving boyfriend, Vincent, is killed, prompting his cousin Caelum to swear he'll protect her. Caelum, a ruthless man suddenly thrust into leadership of the families after losing both his cousin and uncle, has no interest in playing bodyg
/0/83412/coverbig.jpg?v=3d23163caf2d3440dfe369316ec9c6d2)
The Reluctant Heir's Wildcat
My life as the "Montana Wildcat" was all about rebellion against the stuffy East Coast elite. But when an old blackmail threat jeopardized my Senator father's career, I was forced into a desperate solution: a fake engagement to Sterling Prescott IV, the blue-blood heir who personified everything I
/0/83795/coverbig.jpg?v=95d4fc16a594e88cec30a9349e371cae)
The Reluctant Gift
My entire life was a countdown to my sister Clara' s 30th birthday, the day I was to become a spiritual donor to save her from a wasting illness. I clung to Liam, the man I loved, as my only hope of escape, only to have that hope shatter when he coldly told me I had to go through with the ritual, d
/1/106782/coverbig.jpg?v=12d93c963407a056f62c1a8698ce7e5a)
The Billionaire's Reluctant Partner.
Naomi Lancaster never planned to see Killian Royce again. She had escaped his world once-walked away from the man who built his empire on power, control, and carefully concealed lies. But when fate drags her back into his orbit, one thing becomes clear: Killian isn't done with her. He wants so
/1/111457/coverbig.jpg?v=855578ed197c3671aa3cef8973cbf964)
The Billionaire's Reluctant Lover
Adrian Vale is New York's youngest self made billionaire, ruthless, controlled, and used to getting what he wants. Eli Navarro is a principled marine biologist, determined to protect Seabrook Cove from reckless development and just as determined to resist the undeniable attraction he feels toward th
/0/47201/coverbig.jpg?v=ab14e46bbac6ed71f11dc43e0d35e169)
BILLIONAIRE TYCOON RELUCTANT NANNY
Avery isn't proud of her past as a stripper nor of the fact that she slept with a man who treated her no different than a prostitute....hurt and humiliated she went home to lick her wounds.... only to discover a few weeks later that she's pregnant.... Alex wasn't into strippers but one night with Am
/0/69870/coverbig.jpg?v=30142eb84a9c9326103ae07826dfbc7a)
Ruthless Billionaire, Reluctant Bride
Dominic Westwood is a man with one goal revenge. Cold, calculating, and ruthlessly wealthy, he's spent years plotting against the man responsible for his sister's death: a corrupt politician who has evaded justice for too long. To take down his enemy, Dominic needs the perfect pawn. Enter Lila Harri
/1/112774/coverbig.jpg?v=b713870d22327c18dc380b60e6191fb9)
The Billionaire's Reluctant Nanny
When Alessia Romano's ex-husband destroys her family's company to drag her back to him, she refuses to beg. But refusing comes at a cost she never expected. Billionaire Adrian Virelli pays off every debt and saves Romano Industries from ruin. The price is simple. Three years of her life, living und
/0/74893/coverbig.jpg?v=6631c3ae341c469788bc990940e68e06)
THE BILLIONAIRE'S RELUCTANT BRIDE
To save her crumbling family legacy, Selena Hart signs a deal with the devil-cold, ruthless billionaire Damien Blackthorn. One year of marriage. No love. No intimacy. Just a contract. But behind Damien's icy façade lies a man driven by secrets and vengeance, and behind Selena's fire hides a heart
/0/81981/coverbig.jpg?v=8909ffffc29c06cbe07df11a80be21d8)
The reluctant vow
Zara Tunde has always been the heiress-beautiful, bold, and determined to live life on her own terms. Being a model has always been her dream. But when her powerful father demands she marry Regan Kareem to seal a business alliance, she agrees-on one condition: it's only for one year. Regan, cold, e
