Peter Clayton was never one for hatred. Orphaned by the very Alpha sitting on his throne and neglecting his people, all he was after was their freedom and safety. Led by dreams of a brightly lit stone and a girl, he learns more about his heritage as the true Alpha of Laredo pack. Unfortunately, hopes and dreams can be a fickle thing. Enamored by two very different women, his heart is in major conflict. Who can he trust? Who should he trust? Embry, an orphan like himself driven by hatred or Celene, a daughter seeking the approval of the very man he sought to dethrone? But distractions are costly and there is only so much loss and betrayal a person can take before they snap.
Cobblestone streets, carts full of bountiful harvests, beautiful architecture, perfectly polished silver, gold weightier than a fully grown man and gems that sparkled brighter than the fullest moon. Laredo pack really had it all -- an outsider's view point.
With the magical barrier that kept werewolves of other packs out of the inner circles of the pack territory every Luna cycle, it was easy to play the part of a happy and prosperous pack. The man behind the cabbage cart to Peter's right had a bright smile plastered on his face as though he hadn't seen a major loss in crops due to substandard fertilizers. The woman at the seamstress store to Peter's left acted all chipper as though she didn't have to pay ridiculous prices for her materials and ludicrous taxes to secure her shop in the outer circle. The delicious meals in the food stalls could never tell the story of the hunger of the people. The ever flowing ale and laughter at the pubs could never reveal the shut down of most of the brewery factories. The brawls at the gambler's den would never give an inkling of the poverty that gripped the minority without a position or dirty deed to their name.
It was all just a simple puppet show written and directed by one puppet master, Lincoln Fierce, the great Alpha of Laredo pack.
"Peter!" He heard someone call out his name and turned to answer. It was Ian, a Delta of the Skywalker Pack where Peter grew up.
"Oh, Ian. I almost lost you in the crowd," he answered. That was a joke considering how trained his sense of smell was.
Ian, being a huge guy with a height that was an added advantage for his job as a Delta, laughed at Peter's commentary because he knew that he hadn't been looking for him at all. "Man! This place is huge." He exclaimed as he came up to him and Peter laughed. This was not the first, second or third time they had come to the Laredo Pack and yet, Ian always marveled at the sight.
Peter shrugged off the excitement he was feeling. Ian's cheerfulness was always contagious. Because of his build, one would mistake him for a mean guy who got angry at the slightest provocation but Ian wasn't like that. Currently, they were both excited and for different reasons.
While Ian dragged him to every food vendor lined up with free tasting samples, he couldn't deny that his interest lied somewhere else - the section of the market where new inventions by random wolves were displayed.
"Where are you going?" Ian asked. He looked ridiculous holding three skewers in his right hand while stuffing his face with the meat bun he held on his left.
Peter smiled as he dragged his best friend forward, his own half eaten skewer forgotten in his left hand. There was a new invention on display and a small crowd was gathered there.
"Another invention?" Ian whined as he put the last of his meat bun into his mouth. He gave a satisfactory moan as he chewed on it. Glancing back at the food stall he got it from, he wondered if they could double back and get more. But Peter was already at the front of the crowd staring with amazement at the weird contraption being displayed.
"Wow," Peter exclaimed as the man showed them how it worked. He had no idea what this one was but he liked it. "Ian, check out the next stall," he whispered to his side without looking. His eyes were at the next stall where a middle aged woman displayed strapped socks that could hide tiny weapons.
Peter found himself at that stall. He watched her take out each weapon hidden in between straps in her socks. A tiny knife, a dozen silver needles, something that looked like a clamp and two daggers. Soon everyone was clapping and he joined them. If he had come here to actually shop, he would purchase those socks right away. They would be really useful even though they looked like they belonged more with a female.
"Man, you walk fast when it comes to these invented things. How do people even come up with this stuff?" Ian complained. He held one last skewer and it looked like he wasn't going to eat it.
"I told you that we should check out the next stall," Peter retorted, noting a shop owner with a straw hat signalling him beside the woman's shop.
"Told me? I wasn't even standing near you. How'd you tell me?"
Peter sighed the moment he saw the giant's signature annoyed frown. Let the nagging begin.
"This is what you do every single time we visit the markets. You always disappear whenever you enter the streets of Laredo. One minute you're beside me, the next you're off to God knows where-"
Peter zoned off, focusing on the man in the next stall where paintings were displayed. As he nervously fiddled with a paper having a worthless drawing, it was obvious that this was this man's first time acting as a beacon for the rebels. The illustration on the paper was about a building in a circle and stick figures were bent over around it. The man glanced at the crowd with a smile as children gathered around to mock the drawing.
Peter got the message. The laughing man along with the children would throw any investigator off. The little troublemakers probably thought themselves more of an accomplished artist than the shop owner. The ugly drawing was depicting a temple and he knew that was exactly where he should go.
He glanced at an armory store a few paces behind them. "Is that a ginger bread store?"
"Where!" Ian gasped. The only thing that would buy his attention without fail was a good snack.
As soon as the giant turned around, Peter masked his scent and blended in with the crowd.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Ian groaned, eyes searching the sea of bodies around him as soon as he stopped catching a wiff of his best friend's scent. "That's it. I'm going home," he huffed, knowing better than to embark on the fruitless exercise of scouring the market for the pain in the ass he was charged to protect.
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
Blinded in a crash, Cary was rejected by every socialite—except Evelina, who married him without hesitation. Three years later, he regained his sight and ended their marriage. "We’ve already lost so many years. I won’t let her waste another one on me." Evelina signed the divorce papers without a word. Everyone mocked her fall—until they discovered that the miracle doctor, jewelry mogul, stock genius, top hacker, and the President's true daughter… were all her. When Cary came crawling back, a ruthless tycoon had him kicked out. "She's my wife now. Get lost."
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”