Novel-novel oleh Tina Kent

The first time I saw him again in the light of day, I forgot how to breathe. I never imagined that the man who had haunted my dreams and whose child I bore would be the CEO of the company I was to work in. It seemed like something out of a ridiculous soap opera.Jasper Kent stood at the head of the conference table, a wall of glass behind him spilling sunlight over his broad shoulders. He was exactly as I remembered, sharp jaw, eyes like storm clouds, but there was no trace of the disoriented man from that night. Here, he was power formed into flesh, a man who owned the room simply by existing.And he didn’t even know me.“Miss Gray,” he said, voice low and clipped, as if testing my name on his tongue. “You’ll be presenting your proposal today, correct?”For the briefest second, his eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared almost imperceptibly, as though he’d caught a scent he couldn’t place. His gaze lingered too long, unsettled.My breath hitched and palms dampened instantly once his atte

The knock at my door came long after the moon had risen. Three raps, sharp and insistent. Not the kind of knock you could ignore. I’d been poring over spreadsheets, numbers bleeding into one another until I wasn’t sure if I was reading profits or losses anymore.When I opened the door, Emilia stood there, her face taut with worry. “Mami wants to see you. She said it is urgent.”My stomach dropped. Midnight summons were never good, especially in this pack. One of the elders would have complained about me again. But I had no choice but to appear.The elders’ chamber smelled of smoke and cedar, heavy and suffocating. A circle of faces turned toward me as I entered, their eyes glittering with judgment. My grandmother, regal even in age, sat at the head of the table, her cane resting across her knees.“Sit, Liora,” she said.I lowered myself into the chair, my pulse thudding in my wrist.One of the older males wasted no time. “We’ve heard your plans, child. You’re pouring our last resource

Liora’s POVJohnathan’s laughter was the one sound that could still cut through the heaviness pressing on my chest.It echoed now, high and wild, as he darted across the clearing with a stick in his hand, pretending it was a sword. The late morning sun lit up his messy curls, and his bare feet kicked up little clouds of dirt as he ran. He was five—too small to hold the weight of our world, yet somehow he was the only reason I hadn’t already been crushed by it.“Careful, pup,” I called, leaning against the porch rail. “If you fall and break your nose again, I’m not fixing it this time.”He stopped, grinning at me, dimples flashing. “You always fix it, Mama. You’re magic.”I laughed, though it cracked at the edges. Magic. If only. My life felt like a string pulled too tight, ready to snap. But I never let him see that. To Johnathan, I was unshakable. That lie kept us both going—until it wouldn’t.He ran back toward me, clutching his stick-sword. “When’s Papa coming back?”The question t

Liora’s POVI don’t remember how my feet carried me back to the pack lands that night. All I know is that when the first streaks of dawn stretched across the sky, painting the world in pale gray, I was still running, barefoot, my clothes torn, skin stinging where branches had whipped me. My body felt foreign. Every step was heavy with shame, but my mind kept replaying the same fragments, looping mercilessly.His hands, his voice, the way my body betrayed me. I mated with a human—an action that could cost me everything.I didn’t even know his name. He was only a stranger with lost eyes and a stunned, hazy clarity, caught in the same storm as me. And yet the heat in my blood hadn’t cared. My wolf had clawed for release, and I, weak and humiliated, had given in.When the gates of the pack estate came into view I slowed, clutching at my chest. I couldn’t let them see me like this. Not torn and ruined. Not smelling of a man who wasn’t my mate.I slipped into my quarters unseen and bolted t

Liora's POVThe mating ceremony was meant to be the happiest day of my life.The air outside the hall was thick with incense and tree musk, with whispers of blessings from elders who seemed like they didn’t mean them. Their words slid off me like water on stone, the polite masks barely hiding the obvious disgust they held for the daughter of a rogue Alpha. My grandmother, Mami, stood at my side like a fortress, her wrinkled hand squeezing mine. Without her, I would’ve been crushed by the whisper and scorn years ago.But tonight—tonight was supposed to change everything for the better. I would get my mate, the one who would love me more than anything. Alex, son of the Silvercrest Alpha, was my fated mate. The Moon Goddess herself had chosen him for me. For once, I thought the world might finally give me something instead of taking.I stepped into the hall, heart pounding, as Alex’s eyes caught mine across the room. Blue eyes, sharp as ice, he had the kind of gaze girls melted under. M