Audrina, a powerless omega, becomes entangled in a web of deception created by her own flesh and blood. Her crafty stepsister sends her into the arms of MistyMoon Pack's Alpha, James, where she meets a guy whose icy demeanor conceals his powerful and fair character. With chiseled features and a stare that could melt steel, James is both hot and gorgeous. Their one-night affair suddenly blossoms into a lifetime commitment with the news of a kid on the way, leaving them divided between desire and danger. But behind the surface of their undeniable mate bond, there lies a hidden identity and buried truths that could ruin the spark that was just beginning to ignite.
CHAPTER 1
~Audrina~
My eyelids flickered open, and the warm glimmer of morning filtered through the curtains. As I took in my surroundings, disorientation flooded over me, and the events of the previous night faded from my mind.
Next to me sat a tall figure, his silhouette outlined against the faint light. Even though he was already dressed, I couldn't help but feel uneasy when I saw him because of the little strain in his broad shoulders and the well-defined muscle shapes that suggested an unquestionable power.
As I glanced at him, the sensation of our fingertips brushing prompted a crushing surge of passion to run through me. The fragrance of pine and earth filled the air, and a low growl from his lips.
And when he looked directly into my eyes, a raw intensity like that of a predator sizing up his prey, and I knew that I might be lured in with his irresistible charm.
Even with his face obscured by the darkness, I could see the harsh lines on his face and the suggestion of tension in his posture.
My heart raced as I attempted to recall his face, but the features eluded me in the early fuzz.
"What's... What's happening? And who are you?" I managed to croak, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my own pulse.
He turned to face me again, his expression unreadable in the dim light. "Here," he said, extending a piece of paper toward me.
I blinked, my eyes focusing on the object in his hand. "What? What's this?" I stammered, my fingers trembling as I reached out to take it.
"Compensation," he replied tersely, his tone clipped.
Confusion clouded my thoughts as I tried to make sense of his words. "I don't understand," I murmured, my head spinning with uncertainty.
"There's no need to pretend," he continued, his voice tinged with impatience. "You knew what you were doing."
Panic surged within me as I struggled to piece together the fragments of memory from the night before. "I don't remember," I confessed, my voice trembling with uncertainty.
He let out a heavy sigh, his frustration evident in the tension on his shoulders. "It doesn't matter now," he stated, his tone resigned. "But don't expect anything more from me."
"What? I never asked for this." I told him in return.
His alluring eyes turned cold before he rolled them with irritation. "Who wouldn't want to accept a check for 100 million dollars? That's more than enough to change your life."
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the mention of the figure, but at the same time, I needed to make it clear that no amount could sum up my worth.
"Definitely, not me." I pushed it back toward me.
Letting out a snort, he replied, "That's your problem, and I won't be taking it back."
My face fell as I was yet to understand why I was in a room with a total stranger who was offering me money like some roadside harlot. "Why not?!"
"Because I don't want you to ever dream about Luna's position, and I'd be devastated to get married to you because of some silly one-night stand." He declared, his voice devoid of emotion.
That was it, leaving me alone with my thoughts while his strong aura, the mark of a dominant Alpha, lingered behind him. The truth continued to elude me, slipping through my fingers like grains of sand, despite my best efforts to make sense of what had recently transpired.
Was I hallucinating again? I had to pinch myself to confirm this.
Just when I reached for my phone, my heart was pounding with apprehension as I saw Nicholas's name flashing on the screen. With trembling fingers, I answered the call, trying to keep my voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside me.
"Hey, babe," I greeted him, forcing a note of casualness into my tone.
"Where were you last night?" His voice came through the line, tinged with concern and confusion. "We were supposed to meet, but you never showed up."
I bit my lip, struggling to find the right words to explain. "I'm sorry," I stammered, my mind racing to come up with a plausible excuse. "I must have fallen asleep or something. I didn't mean to stand you up."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and I held my breath, waiting for his response.
"I see," he finally said, his tone guarded. "Do you realize how worried I was throughout yesterday? I thought something happened to you; I even had to call Paige."
A pang of guilt stabbed at my chest as I listened to his words. Nicholas had always wanted this, yet I deprived him of it, and here I was, lying to him without a second thought.
"You did? I didn't mean to put you through so much stress." I apologized again.
"But you did; are you sure you weren't with anyone last night?"
At that point, recollections of what had happened the night before began to swirl in a cloud of uncertainty and terror.
Every picture burned into my mind, crystal clear. I recalled lying in bed and seeing the world become dark around me as sleep took hold of me. Then, though, something changed-a nagging discomfort that twisted in the pit of my stomach.
Under the control of an unseen force, I tossed and turned, my body writhing in pain and my face burning with heat. I felt myself thrashing against the blankets, and I could taste blood on my lips-a metallic tang.
My eyes snapped open, and I found myself standing on wobbly legs, my body shivering from exertion. And then, all of a sudden, I was awake. With a flurry of panic and bewilderment racing through my head, I staggered toward the door.
But before I could get to safety, there he was, his offer of salvation hanging before me like a cruel temptation, his piercing gaze, his intimidating presence, barring my route.
"Save me," he had said, his voice cutting through the chaos like a knife. "I'll give you 100 million."
I recoiled at what he said, the enormity of his offer crashing down on me like a wave of water. That's when it became clear that he was the reason I was suffering and the skilled manipulator who decided what would happen to me.
But even as I struggled with him, a part of me kept thinking: What if what he had said was accurate? What if this rescue turned out to be a disguised blessing? After all, I was an omega, helpless.
At one point we were both abandoned in the woods. Our meeting started with distrust. His wounds were more than the gnashing scratches of the wilderness, it extended to trash his memories and kept him from truth more than once. Her wounds were more than the bruises of the poisonous wilderness, it extended to crush her security and increased her self doubt. It was an exile that led a prideful yet underestimated prince and an tortured daughter of a successful merchant. Our tale only began when we acknowledged our desires, yet the world around us conspired to thwart our every step. The both of us didn't want to doubt, yet, would our resilience and trust be enough to navigate through the jungle of doubts?
She was wolfless. All her life, Holly Ambrose had been longing for her family to reciprocate the love she had been working hard to get from her father and her sister, Irina. Unfortunately, they only saw her as an embarrassment to the pack and used her instead so that Irina could refuse to marry Alpha Evander Edgerton: the ruthless and cold-blooded Alpha of the Blackwood Pack. Thinking that it was the only way to escape them, Holly accepted the proposal. Alpha Alec, her former mate and her sister’s fiance begged her not to. He confessed he still had feelings for her and wanted her back as his mate. Too late because there was no stopping her from having her freedom. But would Holly be truly free if Irina had no intention to stop destroying her life after Alec left Irina to claim Holly back? Would she stay with Alpha Evander even after she found out that his former mate came back and was pregnant with his child?
His body collapses into mine as my back slams on the wall. “You were touching yourself because of me weren't you” his musky scent suffocating me. My core immediately picks up a heart beat with our proximity as he pins my hands above me on the wall. My bare nipples harden at his touch. I can only think of two words at this moment. Touch me. ***************************************************** Never in Ivy Carter's life did she ever think that she'd fall for a man she couldn't have,especially when the man was not only her professor but also her new step brother. Caden's heart has always been where his pack is, gilded by the pack's legacy but the minute he lays eyes on Ivy Carter his walls come crashing down. But he can't have her even though she's his mate. Their worlds collide with an irresistible force and it's only a matter of time till they cross the line, breaking all restraints with an unholy attraction.
Aurora Everley has always been the overlooked daughter, the one that gets shadowed by her sister Margot. She thought that once she turns eighteen and meets her mate, she would have someone whose attention would just be on her. But she is wrong. Because her mate happens to be the one her sister brings home, introduced as her boyfriend and Alpha Heir, Mason Chase. Now, she has to sacrifice herself again. She has to sever their mate bond, even when her heart screams not to do it. But what happens if someone else is waiting at the sidelines for her? Someone who's been watching her every move, desiring her in ways no one ever did before?
Leaving everything Lily had behind, she moved to a far countryside Pack and made sure no one would be able to find her anymore. Her perfect life back then turned upside down raising twin children with her under a small Pack a kind-hearted stranger brings them into. She was determined to live her life being tied and stuck to her poor situation when out of nowhere her ex-boyfriend, Wade, whom she left hanging years ago when she ran away came to visit the Pack she's currently residing in. The worst part is that he will spend his stay under the same roof with her. Would their interrupted love rejoin this time around? Or the bitterness of the past will prevail.
Betrayed by the one she called her mate, and sister, Bella was humiliated and thrown from the pack. She vowed to take revenge on those who hurt her. When Alpha Arthur found her bleeding and left for dead by the side of the road, he healed her and took her to his pack. After rejecting Bella, he regretted it very much. When he met Bella again, there was Arthur by her side.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
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.”
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
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?
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!"
"Miss Brown, I am the butler here at your service," the butler replied. "My master wants to buy the baby in your belly." "What?!" Does that mean the abortion didn't take place? Did they kidnap her from the operating table just to buy the baby? But why her? "You..." Alice was about to ask a question, but the man in front of her calmly continued, as if he had expected her question, "You're pregnant with his child, and he needs a child. That's all I can tell you." Alice was forced to sign a surrogacy contract and eight months later gave birth to two healthy babies. Fortunately, the man was unaware of her daughter's existence. It wasn't until five years later that fate brought them together again...