One year after her passing, Darius, the Alpha, still carries the weight of guilt over his family. Rebecca, a determined young woman, becomes pregnant at her own free will. As Rebecca's belly grows, Darius discovers the shocking truth - she is his mate. In this tale of unexpected connections and love's complexities, they must confront inner demons and find healing for their wounded hearts, embracing a future together.
Darius POV
"It's been a year. One year since you left me," Darius wrote for the first time in a year in his journal. He had stopped writing in his journal ever since she left. He just couldn't anymore. She was his inspiration, his muse. But not anymore. Death had claimed her when he took her from him. Not just her, but his whole world. Their baby. His baby.
The weight of that loss had been unbearable. Each day was a struggle, and the nights were even worse. He could still hear her laughter in the wind, feel the warmth of her touch in the sun's embrace, but she was gone. All he had left were memories, and they were slipping away, fading like an old dream.
Darius had never known pain like this. It was a relentless ache that gnawed at his soul, a void that could never be filled. He had tried to drown his sorrow in alcohol, seeking refuge at the bottom of countless bottles. It had become his way of coping, or perhaps, his way of not coping.
In the early days after her death, the burn of whiskey had provided a brief escape. It dulled the sharp edges of his grief, numbing the pain for a while. But it was a dangerous path he had walked, and it had only led him further into darkness.
'Thank God for Damian', he thought, his thoughts drifting to his Beta, his friend. Damian had been a steady presence in his life since that fateful day, when Darius had lost not only his Luna but also his sense of self.
He glanced at the door, where Damian had been waiting patiently. Damian had seen him at his lowest, had witnessed the once-mighty alpha reduced to a shadow of his former self. But through it all, Damian had never wavered in his support.
"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Alpha,"Damian had told him more times than he could count.
Darius sighed, acknowledging Damian's wisdom. "I know, Damian. I just... I don't know how to be the alpha they need anymore."
His voice was a mere whisper, a reflection of the hollow man he had become. Darius felt as if he were adrift in a sea of pain, unable to find his way back to solid ground.
Damian's hand on his shoulder was a comforting presence, a reminder that he wasn't alone in this journey. "You're still our alpha, Darius. Your pain is real, but so is your strength. You just have to find it again."
Darius couldn't find the words to respond, but he gave Damian a grateful nod. The pack needed him, and he needed them. That much was clear.
He rose from his desk and moved to the window, gazing out at the moonlit night. The full moon was a painful reminder of what he had lost, of the love that had once filled his life.
"What am I now?" he wondered, his voice a mere thought in the stillness of his mind. "Without my wolf, my Luna, and my soul mate, what am I?"
He closed his eyes, trying to connect with the part of him that had once been fierce and unyielding-the part that had been Toha, his wolf. But there was nothing. In the past year, Toha had fallen silent, leaving Darius feeling like a mere man, stripped of his primal connection to his wolf and his Luna.
"Toha, where are you?" he thought, sending a silent plea to his wolf. "I need you now more than ever."
As he stared out at the moon, a profound sense of loneliness washed over him. The once-constant presence of his wolf, even in silence, had been a source of comfort. Now, it was as if he had truly lost a part of himself.
The moon that had once been a painful reminder of his loss now held a glimmer of hope. He knew that he would never stop missing her, but he had learned that life went on, and so did love.
"For you, my Luna," he thought, gazing up at the full moon one night. "I will be the alpha you believed I could be".
And with that promise in his heart, Darius embraced his role as alpha, his connection with Toha, and the love of his pack. His journey was far from over, but he was determined to face the future with strength, resilience, and the memory of a love that would never fade.
But there was a void that still remained unfilled-the silence of his wolf. Despite Toha's return, their connection remained broken. Darius had hoped that with Toha's presence, the bond between them would be rekindled, but it was not to be.
As the night wore on, Darius remained in the den with the pack, but a palpable sense of loneliness lingered. He longed for the days when Toha's presence had been a constant, even if they didn't speak. Now, the silence felt deafening.
Damian continued to watch him with concern, but Darius couldn't find the words to convey the depth of his isolation. He had lost his mate, their child, and now, the connection to his wolf. It was a triple blow that had left him adrift in a sea of sorrow.
He excused himself from the den and ventured outside, the cool night air providing little relief from the weight of his emotions. The moon, once a source of solace, now seemed like a cruel reminder of what he had lost.
"Toha, why won't you respond?" he thought, his voice a silent plea into the night.
But there was no answer, only the rustling of leaves and the distant howls of the pack. Darius felt a tear slide down his cheek, a stark reminder of the pain that still gripped his heart.
He returned to his empty room, the silence echoing around him. The loneliness was suffocating, and he longed for the days when he had felt whole.
As he lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, Darius couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of being alone. It wasn't just the absence of his mate and their child; it was the absence of the very essence of who he was-his wolf, Toha.
Darius was enveloped in a profound sense of loneliness, the weight of his losses pressing down on him like a suffocating blanket.
In a treacherous medieval quest, Elena's mission to escort her sister's betrothed to Wessex becomes a dangerous dance of desire when she's drawn to the prince. As her sister plots for power, Elena's loyalty and heart hang in the balance.
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
In the eyes of the public, Elijah was ever the gentleman, always distant and reserved. But behind closed doors, he was an animal who relentlessly ensnared Ashley in a web of lust. No one knew of their secret relationship, yet at the same time, no one dared to bully her again. Then one day, she was hit with morning sickness right in front of everyone. To everyone’s shock, the aloof and domineering Elijah quickly knelt in front of her and caressed her pregnant belly. “Babe,” he crooned, “let’s go public with our relationship. I will give you my everything.”
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
My family was on the poverty line and had no way to support me in college. I had to work part-time every day just to make ends meet and afford to get into the university. That was when I met her—the pretty girl in my class that every boy dreamt of asking out. I was well aware she was out of my league. Nevertheless, I mustered all my courage and bravely told her that I had fallen for her. To my surprise, she agreed to be my girlfriend. With the sweetest smile I had ever seen, she told me that she wanted my first gift for her to be the latest and top-of-the-line iPhone. I worked like a dog and even did my classmates’ laundry to save up. My hard work eventually paid off after a month. I finally got to buy what she wanted. But as I was wrapping my gift, I saw her in the dressing room, making out with the captain of the basketball team. She then heartlessly made fun of my inadequacy and made a fool out of me. To make things worse, the guy whom she cheated on me with even punched me in the face. Desperation washed over me, but there was nothing I could do but lie on the floor as they trampled on my feelings. But then, my father called me out of the blue, and my life turned upside down. It turned out that I was a billionaire's son.
Billionaire Bennett Graham urgently needed a wife to close a business deal but his fiancée wasn't ready to tie the knots yet. So his grandmother picked the most unassuming maid for him. Everything was supposed to go incredibly well, and all he had to do was wait until he divorced her a year later. But after seeing Maliyah's ocean eyes.it wasn't looking simple anymore. *** Before I could get her up, it was as if she felt the light and an uncomfortable sound came out of her mouth. "Uh-huh..." She raised her hand to cover her eyes. But I didn't have time to wait for her to wake up, so I told her to "Get Up." My voice seemed to scare her, and her light-fearing eyes suddenly widened and she kept moving to the corner. The only voice in the quiet art room was her fear-filled voice, "No...please...go away...don't come close to me." She was afraid of me? I hadn't even spoken to her before, what was she afraid of? This was definitely not going to work, I couldn't talk to her if she couldn't calm down. Then I moved closer to her, my hand on her trembling shoulder, and I whispered soothingly "Calm down.I'm not going to hurt you.I'm not going to hurt you."I assured and then she moved her hair away from her face as if to stare at me properly. Our eyes met.It was that moment. It felt as if I was enchanted for a moment. Those ocean eyes were the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.
For three years, Shane and Yvonne were wed, sharing heated nights, while his devotion clung to his ex. Yvonne strove to be a dutiful wife, yet their marriage felt hollow, built on desire rather than real warmth. All changed when she became pregnant, only for Shane to thrust her onto the operating table, warning, “Either you or the baby survives!” Broken by his cruelty, she vanished in grief and later returned, radiantly accomplished, leaving everyone awestruck. Haunted by remorse, Shane begged for another chance, but Yvonne only smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, men no longer interest me.”