Shadows on her heart
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.
Shadows on her heart
"Two hearts. Two realms. One destiny." Arabella Nightshade fled her ancestral pack, vowing never to return after Alpha Asher Darkheart shattered her heart. But years later, a rogue attack forces her back into the shadows of her past, where she uncovers a terrifying truth. Caught in a deadly battl
Shadows of a Billionaire's heart
I never wanted to marry a billionaire-especially not one like Richard Blackwood. Cold, calculating, and infuriatingly handsome, he swept into my life with a business proposition I couldn't refuse: pretend to be his devoted wife for a year in exchange for enough money to erase my father's debts and
On Her Terms
A future,a new beginning, a dark past. Riley finally accept there isn’t one soul meant for everyone.After a failed love,Riley is ready to spread her wings and explore but she wouldn’t settle for any less after her heart has been broken so many times.Would she finally believe in love? The road to a h
On Her Daddy’s Bed!
“You shouldn’t have disobedyed me, Hazel.” His voice came out hard and husky and she thril at the soothing undertone that sent chills down her spine, her pussy, already gaining lots of wetness. “I am sorry Daddy,baby girl needed some alone…” she tries to explain, but his next action shut her up
Reaping Her Heart
In "A Night with a Reaper," a girl seeks love beyond the ordinary, entwining her fate with the grim reaper. Together, she will navigate a world where passion and darkness collide, finding the man of her life despite of the unordinary.
HIS HEART, HER RULES
Aria was the girl who loved too deeply and paid the ultimate price. When Aria Monroe found her fiancé in bed with her best friend, her world crumbled. She left behind the small town that mocked her pain, swearing off love and vowing never to be anyone's victim again. Now in New York, she's determi
Tattoo on her Face
Isla: A missing child who had been presumed dead for several years. Is she, however, truly dead? Tricia: An heiress and the daughter of a powerful Empire businessman. Was that life, however, truly meant for her? Violet: An Assassin’s Guild Founder and the reigning Queen of the Underground City. Is
On Her Knees
The back of his hand hit my face for the third time but this slap really stung. The force of it rocked my head back but it wasn't enough to knock me off my feet. "Kneel," he commanded again, his voice thick with fury. I brought the back of one of my hands, that were bound in front
HOOKED ON HER
One glance. One touch. One note of her mesmerizing voice, and I'm undone. Like a dream I never want to escape, she draws me in, wrapping me in her presence. Consumed. Overcome with need. Fueled by an unshakable desire to claim her as mine. One night, I take more than she's ever given, and it only
On Her Daddy's Bed!
"You shouldn't have disobeyed me, Hazel." His voice came out hard and husky and she thrived at the soothing undertone that sent chills down her spine, her pussy, already gaining lots of wetness. "I am sorry Daddy, baby girl needed some alone..." she tried to explain, but his next action shut her u
Defrosting Her Cold Heart
Raised by wolves, trained by bandits, forged in violence, she was a cold-hearted warrior, but forced to conceal her true gender to survive in the city of Los Angeles. Confined in an orphanage, she became entangled with Lucas Blackwood. Casey Angeles eventually found herself selected to be trained at
Taming her wild heart
Hazel-Rose Knight, the woman with the wild heart, and the soul to match. She came into my life without warning and turned it upside down. I have not met anyone like her. She was one of a kind, with her smart mouth, live in the moment attitude and wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted. She has ke
HER BROKEN HEART
Her heart was broken from her childhood. She has no way to find, but she fought with every obstacle in her life and reached the goal of her life. Her life is not a fairy tale. She is not a princess. She is a common girl who faced the wrath of society and was betrayed by the people whom she trust
His Heart, Her Sin
She loved him. Then she ruined him. Sabrina once chased Cedric like he was her whole world - until one night, she crossed a line that can't be uncrossed. Now his grandmother is dead. And everyone says it was her fault. Years later, she's back. Flawless. Fearless. And asking for another chance. He sh
His Deal, Her Heart
For ten years, my world had revolved around Mark. I went to his lavish engagement party to finally cauterize the wound, to watch him promise his life to another woman and force myself to move on. Then the music stopped. The massive crystal chandelier above us wasn't just glittering anymore; it was
Her Racing Heart
Meera had a happy life, she never felt sad about her poor economic status or complained about working hard to support herself and her mother. Her life was so simple and bright until she met him... Vikranth is a man who has everything but lacks one thing that is sympathy. He was irresistibly smitte
Mending her broken heart
"Understanding is an art and not everyone is an artist." Addilyn Ruby Garcia is a 16 year girl with a very bad past. She is know as Ruby Smith. She is the youngest multibillionaire in the whole world. When finally her life is somewhat better a tragedy happens and that makes her move back to her f
His Betrayal, Her Shattered Heart
I lost my leg saving my husband, Kingsley. My ballet career was over, but my dying mother had secured a perfect heart transplant for my sister, Julia. We had hope. Then Kingsley gave her heart away. He and his mistress traded it for a business deal. Julia died. When I confronted him at the hospit
From Shadows, A Queen Reclaims Her Reign
For years, I secretly bankrolled my father's extravagant lifestyle. I was the silent founder of King Ventures, the source of his immense wealth, but I preferred to live in the shadows. But at the opening of a gallery I owned, his fiancée, Kesha, publicly accused me of being a gold-digger trying to
Her Vengeance, His Broken Heart
They called me Liam Miller, the luckiest man in New York City. My son, Leo, was the center of my universe, and my wife, Sarah, seemed to worship us both. Our perfect life shattered one rainy day on the highway, a blinding flash of light, twisting metal, and then, nothing. I woke to the sterile wh
