Cruel Love
/1/118699/coverbig.jpg?v=1bf72c7e122ab2ea31302562a1751bd1)
His Defiant Mate: The Lycan King's Chosen Luna
I was waiting at the Registry Hall to formalize my mate bond with Gabe, my childhood sweetheart and the Alpha of our pack. He was thirty-two minutes late. When I finally found him in a private VIP lounge, his hands were buried in my cousin's hair, their lips locked together. Hailee was supposed to be my maid of honor. Instead of apologizing, Gabe looked me dead in the eye and used his Alpha authority to publicly reject me. The severing of our ten-year bond tore my soul apart, but the nightmare didn't stop there. My grandfather immediately called, demanding I clean up a mess Hailee had made. When I refused, he disowned me on the spot, froze every single one of my bank accounts, and stripped me of my family name. Within hours, my entire pack erased my existence, gleefully announcing Hailee as their new Luna. I had given my entire life to a family and a man who discarded me like worthless trash the second I became inconvenient. I was left broken, humiliated, and utterly penniless in the blink of an eye. But as I stumbled out of that sterile hall, a terrifyingly beautiful stranger stepped out of the shadows, radiating a primal power that made my knees weak. He was Caden Sinclair, the ruthless Lycan King, and he was dodging a forced political union of his own. "You need a shield. I need a wife. Marry me." Without hesitation, I signed the Eternal Vow.
Chapter 1
Audriana POV:
"I'm sorry, Ms. Sullivan, but Mr. Black's appointment was for half an hour ago."
The clerk's voice was polite, but his eyes held a pity I refused to acknowledge. I glanced at the sleek watch on my wrist. Thirty-two minutes. He was thirty-two minutes late.
"He's on his way," I said, my voice smoother than I felt. My stomach was a tight knot of cold dread.
I stepped away from the polished walnut desk, the scent of lemon cleaner and old paper filling my nose. The North American Inter-Pack Alliance Registry Hall was designed to be imposing, with its marble columns and vaulted ceilings, meant to impress upon werewolves the gravity of the contracts signed here. Today, it just felt cold.
The air conditioning ghosted across my bare arms, raising goosebumps. I unconsciously twisted the delicate silver chain bracelet on my wrist, a nervous habit I'd had since I was a child. The tiny links were cool against my skin.
My phone buzzed in my clutch. A message from my assistant, Maya.
'Apex Ventures deal is ready for your final review. They're getting antsy.'
I typed a quick reply, my fingers flying across the screen.
'Tell them to hold their breath. I'm handling something personal.'
Personal. That's what this was supposed to be. The final step. Gabe and I, registering our intent to bond, a formality before the ceremony that would tie our packs, our families, our futures together.
I closed my eyes for a second, focusing, trying to pull his scent from the air. It was a game we used to play as kids. I could always find him. That familiar, comforting scent of pine and damp earth.
But all I could smell now was a cacophony of strangers-stale coffee, cloying perfume, the metallic tang of anxiety from a dozen other wolves waiting in this sterile hall. A wave of nausea rolled through me. Something was wrong.
My phone buzzed again. Not a work message this time. An unknown number.
The message was short, brutal.
'VIP Lounge 3. He's waiting for you.'
My breath hitched. VIP Lounge 3. I knew the layout of this building. It was at the end of the private corridor, reserved for Alphas of significant standing. Gabe's father had used it last year to finalize a trade agreement.
My fingers tightened around my phone. It was a trap. A cruel joke. It had to be.
But the knot in my stomach pulled tighter, a cold, hard certainty.
I pushed open the heavy glass door that separated the main hall from the private corridors. The sound of the bustling hall was instantly muffled by the thick, plush carpet. My heels sank into the crimson pile with each step, silencing my approach.
As I moved down the hallway, a new scent cut through the sterile air.
Cherry blossom. Sickly sweet and artificial.
Hailee's scent.
My steps slowed. My heart, which had been hammering against my ribs, gave a painful lurch and then seemed to stop altogether. It couldn't be. She was my stepsister. She was supposed to be my maid of honor.
I reached the door. Room 3. It was heavy, dark redwood, and slightly ajar. Just a crack.
Through the gap, in the dim, intimate lighting of the lounge, I saw them. Two figures, tangled together on a leather sofa.
Gabe.
His hand was buried in her blonde hair, the same way he used to touch mine. Hailee's head was thrown back, her laughter a low, throaty sound that made my blood run cold.
The world narrowed to that sliver of a view. The sound of my own blood roaring in my ears drowned out everything else.
I didn't think. I acted.
My hand shot out and slammed the door open. It crashed against the interior wall with a sound like a gunshot.
They sprang apart, their faces a blur of shock and panic. Gabe scrambled to his feet, his shirt rumpled, his face flushed.
"Audriana! What the hell are you doing?"
Hailee, true to form, immediately dissolved into a picture of terrified innocence. She shrank behind Gabe, her eyes wide and already filling with tears. "Audri, it's not what it looks like."
A laugh escaped my lips, but it was a harsh, ugly sound. "Not what it looks like? You're half an hour late to our registration, and I find you with your tongue down my stepsister's throat. Please, Gabe. Enlighten me."
"You were following me?" he roared, his voice bouncing off the wood-paneled walls. He took a step forward, trying to use his Alpha presence to intimidate me, to make me shrink. It was a tactic that had stopped working years ago.
"Don't be stupid," I snapped, my voice like ice. "I can smell her on you. You reek of cheap perfume and betrayal."
Hailee let out a sob. "We couldn't help it! The bond... it's just so strong between us. We never meant to hurt you."
The bond. She dared to speak of the bond.
I ignored her, my eyes locked on Gabe. On the man I had loved since we were children. The man my wolf had recognized. The man who was supposed to be my future.
"Give me an answer, Gabe," I said, my voice dangerously quiet. "A real one. Now."
He looked from my face to Hailee's tear-streaked one. She gave a little whimper and tugged on his arm, the perfect damsel in distress. And in that moment, I saw his decision. His jaw tightened. His eyes, which I once thought held the whole world, turned to stone.
"I, Gabe Black, Alpha of the Blackwater Pack," he began, his voice formal and loud, ringing with the ancient power of the rite.
The air in the room crackled. The words were a physical force, slamming into me.
"Reject you, Audriana Sullivan, as my mate."
Pain. It wasn't emotional. It was physical. A spear of white-hot agony that started in my chest and ripped through every nerve in my body. It felt like my soul was being torn in two. My breath was stolen from my lungs. My knees threatened to buckle.
I bit down on my lower lip, hard. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. I would not scream. I would not cry. I would not give them the satisfaction.
My fingernails dug into the soft leather of my clutch, the leather groaning under the pressure.
For a flicker of a second, I saw something in Gabe's eyes. A flash of regret. Of pain. But it was quickly smothered by the cold, hard wall of his decision. Hailee's hand was on his arm, a triumphant possessiveness in her touch.
I forced myself to stand taller, to straighten my spine, even as the world tilted around me. I met his gaze, and I let him see the abyss that had just opened between us.
I cleared my throat, my voice a raw, broken thing. But it was steady.
"I, Audriana Sullivan," I rasped, each word costing me a piece of my shattered soul, "accept your rejection."
The bond snapped.
It was a sound no one else could hear, but for me, it was a cataclysm. A final, brutal severing. The pain intensified for a blinding moment, then settled into a deep, hollow ache that I knew would never truly leave.
Behind Gabe, Hailee's lips curved into a small, victorious smile.
I looked at them, and in that moment, the labels fell away-fiancé, stepsister, family-until all that remained were two strangers, standing on the ruins of my life. Two pieces of trash I had found on the side of the road.
Worthless.
Without another word, I turned my back on the wreckage of my life. I walked out of the room, my steps even and measured, down the long, silent corridor, and away from the man who had just ripped my heart out of my chest.
/0/60901/coverbig.jpg?v=0bbe70bed49b0829ec1f53edf47510c3)
Cruel Love
Briana Clooney wakes up in a house on the outskirts of the woods with some of her memories missing. Sean Brosnan, a cold foreign man, rescued her from a near-fatal accident. He told Briana nothing about how she could have traveled hundreds of kilometers and ended up in that strange place. Briana's f
/0/85432/coverbig.jpg?v=5af327a7c2b3c53a82fbbe69aa2f2211)
His Cruel Love: The Feather's Betrayal
For twenty years, I was the heart of Havenwood, the boy with the miraculous feather that brought life to barren fields and healed the sick. My gift built their prosperity; I gave them everything, believing I was blessed to serve my people. Then, the blight came, stubborn and unyielding, and sudden
/0/90623/coverbig.jpg?v=d204ae2976ccceef799d8817c8c3025a)
His Cruel Love, My Broken Heart
For three years, I was Bradley Porter's bodyguard. And his substitute. Tonight, I took a bullet for him, the wound in my shoulder still fresh. But he didn't care. His assistant pulled me out of the hospital, my wound infected and feverish, because the woman I was a substitute for, Kylie Tyson, was
/0/23467/coverbig.jpg?v=2ec7ce48f801b1e7f33857af88ab67b5)
Cruel Love of My Baby Daddy
"A worthless bitch is what you will ever be! " Her husband yelled, his hands swung to hit her across her face! "Why don't you just go and die already, can you stop forcing yourself on him, he will never love you, you're so pathetic! " His mistress spat in disdain and hatred. Aurora James thought s
/0/58918/coverbig.jpg?v=4f9eeb5727e119fc4ea6027415bb7218)
Toxic Love: Falling For My Cruel Lover
"What, worried people would find out you're practically a whore?" "You asshole!" Brynn was a slave to Lawrence's whims as he switched between humiliating her and doting on her. Then one day, he dropped the bomb on her. "I'm getting married." But Brynn was relieved. She took it as closure and m
/0/44188/coverbig.jpg?v=20250902154416)
Devil's CRUEL Love (Book 3 in Possessive Series)
[Warning heavy 🔞 mature, sensitive content and age gap. R18+] "What are you doing here, You duck face?", Devil was approaching her. His steps were slow but threatening. Hie eyes were digging into her soul. Angel shuddered under his hard intense devilish gazes. His deep hazel eyes were staring de
/0/89118/coverbig.jpg?v=4a1aa7c26d46cdf7786ecf971dbbdd5b)
Collateral Love, Cruel Betrayal
I was a foster kid with a talent for art. My benefactor, Declan, gave me everything: an education, a home, and a future. I loved him, and I agreed to be his wife. Then his adopted sister, Faye, decided she wanted my brother. When my brother rejected her, Declan had his hands broken, destroying his
/0/59055/coverbig.jpg?v=828561361c2655cb34e774756bd3bfe8)
Trapped in Cruel Fiancé's Love
Due to her genuine love, Nayla doesn't care how harsh Elvan is towards her. In fact, she continues to love him even when she finds out that Elvan prioritizes his female friend, Emma. However, when Emma suddenly confesses her feelings to Elvan, Nayla becomes anxious and restless. Should she end h
/0/86838/coverbig.jpg?v=a7cdd6069d0bb0a174bd07b02772e3e0)
Love Curdled into Cruel Hatred
My mentor, Emily Stone, had me admitted to Serenity Hills Wellness Center, claiming it was for "stress." I knew it was to control me. But I had a secret purpose stronger than her grasp: my body donation agreement for ALS research, the only thing I had left to give as my life slipped away. Just as I
/1/108789/coverbig.jpg?v=e84458f207f65bc3b9b26f6df662fb3a)
Cruel Capone
Whitney Rivers, a plastic surgeon who dreams of owning her own practice, crosses paths with Casio Capone. Her life takes a turn in a way she never would have expected. What started as a chance encounter in the busy streets of New York City turns into a whirlwind connection she can't resist. Until
/1/127199/coverbig.jpg?v=4c86cf1d42b79f5c2ebca9eecd759706)
Cruel Alpha
"Very well. Try another escape, and I have you bend over my knees and spank your ass raw until you can't walk for a week. And I will lock you up in the cage until you learn your lesson. Do you fucking hear me?" *** A 20-year-old Red Klein doesn't know the other world exists until a devastatingly h
/0/74107/coverbig.jpg?v=5fd53b598e80ce82685782b114082b42)
Cruel Obsession
I believed I had found my happily ever after with my high school lover, however, fate had other plans. After a painful divorce, I'm starting over in the city, focused and determined to rearrange my life. That is when I started receiving a mysterious package that has put me on a path of discovery an
/0/28283/coverbig.jpg?v=b1fc567b9c5c07df7e25e67fcf819be3)
Cruel Summer
Two best friends. One summer vacation like no other, that changes everything. When Sasha Miguel gets dumped by her billionaire sugar daddy, a week away at a beach resort seems like a great opportunity to get over a breakup. Sun, no-strings sex, and sundae will be the perfect boost to help her move
/0/30808/coverbig.jpg?v=20220917114606)
Cruel Attraction
Bound with the blood of the leading MOB families in New York, Gabriela Santoro scuffles to find her way out of the life that is already planned for her. Guns and danger always flare in her direction. Choices are considered being privileges and peace is always not given even her marriage is now being
/0/43597/coverbig.jpg?v=93a903592dacf81729713e2a935f6bfa)
Cruel Billionaire
“I will make you suffer so much! We will see!” Alexander Xavier said. . “Why did you turn so rude after marriage! What did I do wrong?" Jennifer asked. . Alexander returned from Canada. Through a drama that he designed to be a fluke that was more than a happening, he made Jennifer fall in love wit
/0/84826/coverbig.jpg?v=317b1f7ce5c3f835b3be725e4f2e93b8)
A System's Cruel Joke
My body was a battlefield of pain, every nerve screaming as I grasped for control. A chilling, mechanical voice echoed in my mind, a death sentence: "Mission failed. Countdown initiated: 30 days." I was Olivia, or rather, the soul inhabiting her body, given a second chance by a mysterious System to
/0/89662/coverbig.jpg?v=0ca64e51c955e32eb1fe866ad8cecd95)
The Billionaire's Cruel Obsession
Allie Mclean secretly booked a sensory-friendly movie screening for her autistic brother, Devon, a rare act of defiance against her controlling fiancé, Griffin Ryan. Griffin, a powerful real estate heir, found out and retaliated by remotely torturing Devon with strobe lights and discordant screeche
/0/67010/coverbig.jpg?v=f55b0b4461b0cea4026e9471c68589a4)
Luna's Cruel Fate
Blurb: Once rejected, always destined. Luna Ashford has spent years as a pawn-a "breeder" controlled by a ruthless pack, stripped of freedom and love. Haunted by her mate's rejection, she's resigned herself to a life in chains until a shocking twist reignites her past. Alpha Kieran Thorne, the ver
/0/80684/coverbig.jpg?v=b33e6c6c34c6e05412e2c703cd33b5ff)
The Husband's Cruel Secret
Today marked our fifth wedding anniversary, sweet with the scent of blueberry pancakes, and I hummed, cradling the secret joy of our twelve-week pregnancy. I couldn't wait to surprise Mike tonight with the news we'd finally conceived after years of trying. But a sudden, chilling suspicion washed ov
