"You can't be weak, wife. You now have three husbands to please. Tonight's the night we claim you. You can't let a simple wedding tire you, for our nuptial night holds trials far more demanding." Ezra whispered huskily, tucking my hair behind my ear. -- "Oh god!" I cried. "Not god, baby. We are your demons," Ezra growled, pounding faster. -- "Call my name, Xanthea," Asher groaned and a tight flutter erupted in my belly. -- "I can't... I can't take this... anymore..." And then he hit a spot, and he kept hitting it again and again with every thrust. Sparks charged throughout my body like the lightning cracking in the stormy sky again and again until it was too much to hold back, too hard to... resist. *** Xanthea Plath, an illegitimate child of the Alpha of Virgo pack, was an omega and omegas weren't allowed to dream, yet she never stopped dreaming. She wanted to be a doctor just like her mother but the luna of the pack, her stepmother would break her physically and mentally and stop at nothing to crush all her dreams. Xanthea had still found a way though all the abuse her steps put her through. But one day her world came crashing down right before her entrance in a medical college when she found out that she was being offered as a bride to the ruthless triplet alphas also known as the demon lords of the Infernal pack of the underworld. Xanthea had heard the horrifying stories of several suitors who had come before her, all of whom had met a gruesome end. *** Dark reverse harem romance with 18+ explicit content. Readers discretion advised.
"I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." - W. B. Yeats
~~~
[Xanthea Plath]
I limped into the graveyard, clutching my broken arm with the other hand. Blood mixed in the rain trailed down from my shoulder to my elbow, down my wrists, making its way to my fingers that clutched the small bouquet of forget-me-not flowers.
Every flower of the bouquet was crushed and marred with blood-stains. The blue ribbon that once tied the flowers together was long lost.
The white gown, soaked by the downpour, hugged my body as if it sought to suffocate me. Inked scarlet, its hem absorbed the black tint of the ground as it glissaded over the sharp blades of overgrown grass.
Today was my mother's twenty-third death anniversary and my twenty-third birthday.
I forced another step on the muddy grounds of the graveyard with my sprained leg. A thick curtain of rain obscured my already blurry vision. Streaks of rain trailed down my cracked glasses that hung loosely on my nose.
Panting and stifling my moans, I dragged myself closer and closer to my mother's grave.
Perhaps it was the tears in my eyes, or perhaps it was the rainwater tracing its way down my face. The only sensation that wasn't a struggle was feeling the coldness of the rain being absorbed against my feverish skin.
My ribs hurt with every breath.
'No matter how much of a struggle it is to breathe, you never stop breathing. Because you know the struggles are only temporary. What's permanent is life that death has not yet kissed.'
My mother's words echoed in my head. I gritted my teeth, taking a deep breath even when it hurt.
Tears stung into my eyes as I gulped down the trembling lump clogging my throat.
I found my mother's gravestone.
Freya Plath
And below her name carved on the white marble gravestone was the epitaph - "Forget me not."
I didn't need much effort as I sank to my bruised knees and offered the blood-stained flowers to my mother's memory.
I bowed until my nose touched the ground and finally broke into tears. The flood of emotions that had sustained me through the harrowing journey finally snapped.
I had never met my mother when she was alive, but now she lived through me.
And through her diaries, she had come alive to me. My heart filled with an unfathomable warmth and the utmost respect when I thought of her. I knew her closer than any daughter would have ever known their mother.
I knew her like a friend, like a secret keeper, like an equal. Through her words, I knew her heart and now it feels as though my heart had been replaced by hers, filled with her smiles and laughter that I never got to see or hear. Yet I felt them all so closely, it hurt.
I fell in love with everything this woman was and everything she could have become only if the alpha's eyes didn't fall on her.
My mother was an omega, just like me. It was a world of cruel hierarchy, where the alpha commands over all the dreams of everyone in the pack. Under his command, an omega wasn't allowed to dream of anything greater than their rank granted. We dwelled at the bottom of the food chain. Our value was confined and limited to serving the ones who held the higher ranks.
But my mother dared to dream. She dared to have wings to fly high and higher were her ambitions. So high it seemed impossible for an omega to achieve in this world of power, ranks, and politics.
Her wings that I broke by coming to life. Because after that, my mother's eyes were too lifeless to dream anymore. So I replaced my eyes with hers, transplanted her dreams into the sole reason for my existence.
And now, if I am not her dreams, her words, her ideals, I don't know who I am.
They say you can't miss a person you've never met, but I miss every second of my life as I imagine how my life would have been if she were still alive.
Maybe my bones would have broken less, perhaps I would have lesser scars. Perhaps then I wouldn't be so lonely. Perhaps I'd know what love felt like.
But my mother died during the delivery and so the illegitimate daughter of Alpha Valdimir Virgo was born of an extra-marital affair.
Obviously, everyone in the palace hated me. Maybe things would have been different if I inherited my father's alpha genes. But I was grateful that I didn't.
I'd rather have a strong mind and a warm heart than brute strength and a cold ego.
More than anyone else, I was an eyesore for Luna Meesa Virgo. She couldn't tolerate the mere sight of me. She wanted to throw me out of the palace the moment I was born, but Alpha kept me in the palace until I turned eighteen and then he asked me to leave.
I shifted into a small house that my mother owned, which itself was an exceptional feat for an omega, since most couldn't afford it. They lived in either the servant quarters or in the shabby slums.
I didn't even know how badly those eighteen years of my life had broken me. But after beginning an independent life in my mother's home, I started healing.
My mother worked as a florist in the royal palace. She loved her job of cultivating flowers and medicinal plants. Her knowledge in herbology surpassed every book I've read so far. She wasn't just cultivating, but creating new varieties, new species.
She mentioned it all in her journals, diaries and books, the legacy she left behind for me.
Alpha now had an heir to the throne, twenty-two-year-old Nikolai Virgo, the crown prince. And a legitimate daughter, nineteen years old Nathalia Virgo.
Both of them were born with true alpha genes.
I received monthly maintenance money from him, but I never used that money.
Ever since I left the palace, I have worked to support myself and my studies.
I didn't want anything to do with the royal family or its people. I had been preparing for the International Medical Entrance Exams for years. After qualifying for that exam, I was planning to leave the pack for good.
Or that's what I thought. The entrance exams were tomorrow.
"They knew, mom. Luna knew how important this exam was for me. That is why they did this to me..." I broke down into sobs. "How do I write the exams with a broken hand?"
Elicia, once an ideal luna, mysteriously falls ill with an illness with no cure right after her pregnancy. That's when her husband and her mate, Damian, married and brought Nia the palace. He assured Elicia that Nia was only there to fulfil the luna duties which Elicia failed to perform because of her illness. He told her to concentrate on her health and their child. Losing almost her everything to Nia in a year, Elicia had just one hope to live, her child. But right after his birth, Damian took her son away from her, rejecting her the moment she gave birth. The illness and rejection took a severe toll on her body leading to her death. But she found a miracle in the darkness of the dungeon she was thrown in right before her death and the next thing she knew was... she had returned to time when Nia had come into her life as her personal doctor. With complete knowledge of the future she is determined to no longer be the Weak Luna she once was. But little does she know that she has become the obsession of the darkness who wants her all for himself.
Alan Rush is a sloppy potato as he claims himself to be, but one must never judge a book by its cover. Charlie Swift, the typical bad boy of his college has somewhat entangled fate with this potato. A contractual marriage brings the two close but it brought alongwith itself eyes of a psychopath killer on Alan. Just when things between Alan and Charlie started getting better, a psycho not only brought Alan's past in front of Charlie but also conspires to separate the two and keep Alan locked with himself. Will Charlie love Alan and will be able to save him from the Psychopath?
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.
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." Darcy stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You're not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She stared at me in the mirror. "You can't even glance at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of gazing at that scar?" Heather Bailey got a surprise from her husband: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. She was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman. After signing the divorce papers, shockwaves caught her up. Her flower shop was burned to the ground. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers from influential families, she started her revenge on Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted, but that was just the beginning.
When Corynn mustered up the courage to tell Elliot about her pregnancy, she unexpectedly found him gallantly helping another woman from his car. Her heart sank as three years of effort to secure his love crumbled before her eyes, compelling her to leave him behind. Three years later, life had taken Corynn down a new path with someone else, while Elliot was left grappling with regret. Seizing a moment of vulnerability, he pleaded, "Corynn, let's get married." Shaking her head with a faint smile, Corynn gently replied, "Sorry, I'm already engaged."
It's true what they say about marriage: one partner's always happier than the other. ~~~ Julie's world is shattered when her husband, Ryan, reveals that he wants an open marriage. His reason: he needs a child as they've been unable to have one. Julie reluctantly agrees to save her marriage. The next day, Ryan returns home with his secretary, confirming Julie's long-held suspicion that their affair was taking place behind her back. Julie, heartbroken and enraged, seeks solace in a bar, where she meets a fascinating stranger named Luke, who changes the game. Julie confides in Luke over drinks, and he proposes a risky plan: he will act as her "boyfriend" to turn the tables on Ryan. Julie agrees, setting off a chain of events that will challenge everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Rejected by her mate, who had been her long-time crush, Jasmine felt utterly humiliated. Seeking solace, she headed to a party to drown her sorrows. But things took a turn for the worse when her friends issued a cruel dare: kiss a stranger or beg her mate for forgiveness. With no other choice, Jasmine approached a stranger and kissed him, thinking that would be the end of it. However, the stranger unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, "You're mine!" He growled, his words sending shivers down her spine. And then, he offered her a solution that would change everything...