Willow lost her mother when she was six years old from an attack by rogue wolves. She listened to her mother die while hiding in the kitchen pantry. She vowed that day to learn to fight to protect her pack and kill the rogue wolves that took her mother's life. But female warriors aren't allowed. When her father steps down as alpha, and gives his position to a new warrior, Willow is devastated. Any chance of her becoming a female warrior is gone. Especially when she finds out the alpha standing in her way of becoming a female warrior is her alpha mate.
I woke with a start. My sweaty sheets were twisted around my waist as I gasped for breath in the early morning air. It was the same thing every time. The same nightmare had haunted me since I was a little girl.
The death of my mother.
Swinging my feet to the floor, I grabbed my glass of water from my nightstand and took a drink to quench my throat. The early morning sunshine brightened my room enough that I didn't turn on my light.
I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms and stared at my closed bedroom door. The sound of the pack rising and bustling around downstairs made me smile. I'd grown up in this pack. My father-the alpha-had too.
The floor was cool against my feet. The smell of breakfast from the dining hall made my stomach grumble. Snagging the clothes I laid out for myself, a T-shirt and jeans, I walked toward my bathroom and shut the door.
The person staring back at me looked more like my mother each day. Bright blue eyes and chestnut-colored hair. It was a constant reminder of her death. The missing person in our lives.
I turned on the shower and stepped into the warmth. My father requested I meet him this morning for breakfast in his office, which was rare. We normally ate with everyone in the dining hall.
Knots of excitement danced in my stomach. I'd completed my four years at our local university last week, per his request, and I was sure he wanted to speak about my place in the pack. About my ambition to become a warrior.
Female warriors weren't allowed. They were the midwives, cooks, and gardeners. They only fought if our pack was ambushed, which was how my mother died. The feeling of dread from that night slunk down my spine like a snake.
She'd been cooking us dinner when the sirens rang out. I'd never forget her dropping her spatula and her blue gaze turning toward mine. She hid me in the kitchen pantry moments before our house was attacked.
I listened, shivering and crying, while they killed her mere feet from me. I stayed there for hours, too afraid to walk outside and face reality. Being six, I couldn't have fought off a grown wolf.
However, when my father opened the door and pulled me into his arms, I knew. I knew by the shaking of his body, and the smell of his sorrow that mother was gone. I vowed that day, I would do anything to learn to fight.
I would protect the pack that my mother died protecting. If we were ambushed again, I would be amongst the wolves that avenged our pack. No matter what. And when my father finally found the rogue pack that killed her, I would rip their throats out one by one.
My father stood behind me through the years. He promised I would have a chance to train as a warrior when I completed my degree.
The time had come. My wolf was excited as I finished my shower, got dressed, and walked down the hallway toward my father's office.
The door was cracked, but I knocked nonetheless.
"Come in."
I slipped into the room, his spice and pine scent hit me square in the chest. "Good morning," I said, noticing our breakfast sat on his desk.
His dark gaze shifted toward mine, and he smiled. His salt-n-pepper hair was disheveled which was off. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days.
"Everything okay?" I asked, grabbing a chair and dragging it over to his desk.
"Yeah, yeah," he said, looking down at his plate. "I know you don't like coffee. I had the cooks make some hot chocolate for you."
I lifted a brow. "It's ninety-eight degrees today, Dad. Are you okay?"
He chuckled but did not give me an answer. I felt something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I sipped the goodness, despite the summer-time heat, and began on my omelet.
"So," I said. "What did you want to talk about?"
Dad cleared his throat. "Do you have any plans today?" he asked. "Have you heard from the university about graduation yet?"
Oh, a smooth dodge at my question. Something was definitely wrong here.
"Sometime next month," I mumbled, placing my silverware down. "Can you please tell me what's-"
Someone knocked on the door, and I stopped talking to allow him time to answer it. He walked over, and I instantly noticed Keith, Dad's Beta, at the door. "-he'll be here soon, Sir. I just got off the phone with him."
"Give me ten minutes. I need to speak with Willow before he meets her."
"Yes, Sir."
Dad shut the door and scratched his head on his walk back to his desk. "Who's coming today?" I asked.
Dad sighed and closed his eyes.
I waited, feeling more and more anxious as the seconds passed. "You're scaring me, Dad-"
"I'm stepping down as alpha, Willow."
I blinked several times, my breath suddenly dancing just out of reach. Why would he step down so suddenly? Right when I graduated, and he promised I could become a warrior.
"What-why? I don't understand. It's so sudden. I thought we were going to train together. What about you bending the rules and letting me try out to become a warrior?"
The sadness in Dad's eyes hit me harder than his stepping down. He reached across the table and took my shaking hands in his palms. "Baby Girl. I know your mother's death was hard on you. It's been hard on me. Until the last couple of years, I've searched for the rogue pack that attacked us that night. It's worn me down, Willow. I can't continue to harbor this hate. They're gone. Your mother is gone. And I have to tell you the truth now. I don't want you to become a warrior-"
Everything coming out of my dad's mouth felt like stabs to my chest. His mouth continued to move, but I couldn't make out the words. He didn't want me to become a warrior? I'd snuck around for years practicing with Derick, my best friend and leader of our warrior pack.
For what? For nothing?
And when had Dad decided to give up the hunt for Mom's killer? No one had been looking for over two years? My entire world was tilting upside down.
"-Dad," I said, slicing through his words. "I have to become a warrior. I have to protect the pack if we're attacked. You promised I could learn to fight. Look what happened to Mom-"
"Exactly, Willow. Exactly. Look what happened to your mother. If I send you out to defend our pack, it'll happen to you. What happened to your mother was an act of god. It was a one-in-a-million thing. If you are on the pack's warrior team, it will happen to you. I can't lose you, too. You're all that I have left."
I pulled my hands from his and placed them in my lap. My body was turning cold and distant. My entire life, I'd planned to fight. Why would he do this to me? "I can do it," I said, nodding, meeting his desperate gaze. "I can learn to fight. I've been working with Derrick for years. You can ask him. I'm good. You have to let me. Who is going to take your spot? Are you appointing someone? Is that who is coming today?"
Dad retracted his hands and stood slowly. "When I went to the alpha meeting last month for the region, I picked out a young, strong alpha that I think will be good for our pack. He's a warrior. He's fought in many wars. He is a good replacement. It's time to stop letting the guilt eat at me. I want to step down and let someone else take over, Willow. I'm tired-"
"He won't let me train," I said with a dry mouth. The reality was sinking into my veins. "You know that. You know it's against the rules for females to fight. You did this on purpose!" I shouted.
I stood up swiftly. My fight or flight took over. I wanted to scratch my own father's eyes out. "I dream of mother's death almost every night. I'm reminded that I let her die because I was weak. I don't want to be weak anymore. Let me train. Tell him to let me train-"
Another knock came on the door. Father's heavy footsteps thumped in my mind as he walked over and opened it.
The smell that wafted in hit me square in between my legs. I knew that smell. It was the smell of my mate.
My gaze shifted toward the door where my father welcomed someone. The someone who would seal my fate. He'd drill the final hole into the coffin of my dreams.
Those dark hazel eyes shifted to mine, ignoring my father's words as he stared at me. He was gorgeous. Tall. Handsome. Dirty-blond hair and a smooth, strong jaw. His fingers were twitching against his thighs as if he wanted to walk over and claim me right then and there.
Those thick lips opened, but I didn't wait around for 'mate' to come from them. Despite my wolf's pleading to run to him, I didn't. I couldn't. My pride wouldn't allow it. I walked toward the stained-glass windows in my father's office, pushed them open, and jumped out.
Ava and her twin sister, Charlotte, couldn't be any different. Ava is a struggling artist who waits tables to make ends meet, while her sister runs a successful real estate agency in the city. Charlotte begs Ava to take her spot at a bachelor auction because she becomes ill to bid on a dream date with Fletcher Hines, Houston's most eligible bachelor. If only she would have known the reason behind his participation in the event.
Jessica feels pressured when her grandmother passes and leaves her estate in the backwoods of Louisiana to Jessica. It was never her dream to move down south. She wanted to become a journalist in Denver, not the hills of the bayou. Though, to honor her grandmother, she moves into the quaint mansion nestled in the woods. There she's greeted by her cousin, Jacob, and his oddly handsome friends. It isn't until she's thrust into the middle of their secrets that she realizes she's the key to their survival and one of his friends has been starring in her dreams for months.
Claire Summers is finally free of her bullied high school life and living on her own while she attends college. Finally free of her prison, she thinks her troubles are over, until her high school bully shows up and crashes her chances of enjoying her college years. Axel Davers realizes as soon as he steps foot into his first college class that his mate is in the room. However, it blindsides him when he sees Claire Summers, the one girl he loathed in high school, sitting there with a rebellious snarl on her face. Not only did he hate her growing up, but she's also human and doesn't know anything about supernaturals. Knowing he has no choice but to pursue his mate, he finds it harder than ever to break down that wall he built when he bullied her years before. When lycans begin to terrorize the neighboring packs and the college campus, Axel finds himself doing whatever it takes to protect his mate. However, Claire hates the sight of him, and even if she feels an invisible pull, she pushes him away until she breaks. She never realized that Axel held so many secrets, and when they come to light, her entire existence flips upside down, and she's bombarded with a truth she never knew was real.
Sandra Hill, the long-lost real heiress of the Hill family, was shunned by her own kin. Instead of embracing her, they bestowed their affection upon an impostor. They even arranged her to marry a vegetative man in place of her so-called “sister”. Sandra sneered, refusing to put up with this humiliation, cut off ties with the Hill family immediately and ran into the flash marriage with Wesley Cooper, her unconscious billionaire husband. With her incredible medical skills, she defied the odds and revived him. Little did she expect that her husband spoiled her with all his love... A medical genius, a computer prodigy, a national treasure in painting, and a racing legend... Her husband revealed her various identities, leaving the Hill family regretful. Her father came pleading, "It's Dad's fault. Please come back." Her mother wept, "Mom will protect you from now on. Please come back." Even her five brothers knelt before he, begging for forgiveness. Yet, Sandra's smile held a hint of mockery as she vowed, “Never!”
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
"I'm going to tell you what I have in mind," he murmured. "First you're going to strip down until you're completely naked," he whispered against her ear. "Then I'm going to tie you up so you're completely powerless and subject to my every whim." "Mmm, sounds good so far," she murmured. "Then I'm going to insert a plug to prepare you for me. After that I'm going to spank that sweet ass of yours until it's rosy with my marks." She shivered uncontrollably, her mind exploding with the images he evoked. She let out a small whimper as he sucked the lobe of her ear into his mouth. God, she could cum with just his words. She was already aching with need. Her nipples tingled and hardened to painful points. Her clit pulsed and twitched between her legs until she clamped her thighs together to alleviate the burn. "And then I'm going to f**k your mouth. But I won't cum. Not yet. When I'm close, I'll flog you again until your ass is burning and you're on fire with the need for relief. And then I'm going to f**k that ass. I'm going to take you hard and rough, to the very limits of what you can withstand. I won't be gentle. Not tonight. I'm going to take you as roughly as you can stand. And then I'm going to cum all over your ass. Are you ready to be completely and utterly dominated?"
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
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."