How Does Bab 48 End?

The children of the Guardians have grown up together. Emlyn Gunnar has known Richard Holstin her entire life. She gives her virginity to him when she is 16, on the night of his Alpha ceremony. For the next year and a half, they date in secret. Emlyn has fallen in love with Richie and dreads the day he finds his mate. But as her 18th birthday draws near, she is feeling more confident that he is her mate. Due to an impromptu moment of unprotected sex a couple of weeks before her birthday, Emlyn finds herself pregnant with Richie's baby. On her birthday, when she realizes he is her mate, she is relieved. She knows Richie wants to have a baby, they just weren't planning on one so soon. At her birthday party, the moment her wolf howls that Richie is her mate, saying it out loud for everyone to hear, Richie also cries mate. Only, he isn't looking at Emlyn. He is looking at a female from another pack. When Richie refuses to reject her, letting her escape the pain of his romance with his “mate”, she will have to be the one to reject him, causing him to feel the pain of the shattered mate bond. Before he can decipher what is going on, Emlyn leaves. She goes to Araphyra, to the Fae King, to find out how she can break her Guardian bond with Richie. If he's not her mate, then she isn't going to be his Guardian. Richie will have to race against time and Emlyn to figure out why they have a mate bond he can't feel. But will he be fast enough to keep her from breaking the Guardian bond, the last bond tying her to him, or will their bonds be shattered forever?

The Empire of Suramy is the strongest amongst all the Kingdoms in the African continent, ruled by the tyrant, Emperor Zule, and his son, Prince Habeb. When they set their sights upon the kingdom of Muzagah, destruction is certain. Two siblings carry the fate of Muzagah on their shoulders. Banabella, the most beautiful woman on the continent, whose beauty is the cause for the war; and her younger brother, who blessed with the kiss from the gods is destined to subdue their enemy, and restore Muzagah's glory. The role of the gods will be questioned, as the pair face two defining paths: for self, or for glory?

After I fainted from the pain, I learned the truth about my mate Kaelen’s position as Alpha of the Grayswood pack. He had inherited it from his older brother, who had died in battle. Not only did Kaelen take his brother's power, but he also inherited his brother's widow, the former Luna, Lydia. I wanted to reject him and break free from our mate bond, but Kaelen wouldn’t let me. He begged me with tears in his eyes and promised, "I have to bear a pup with Lydia to truly inherit the pack. Violetta, I swear that you're the only one I love. Once Lydia is with pup, you and I can finally be together openly!" That year, Kaelen spent 54 nights in Lydia’s bed. At first, it was once a month, but soon it became nearly every two days. Finally, after the 54th night, the news came that Lydia was carrying his pup. And that was when I finally gave up hope. But when I faked my death and escaped with our pup, Kaelen went mad. He didn't care about the Alpha title he had just obtained. He searched the world over for us, desperate to find me and our pup.

Alpha Fabian's first reaction to learning I was his fated mate? Rejection. But drunk at the bonfire festival, he couldn't fight the pull of fate. He marked me. Marking a rejected mate came with a price. His power weakened. Forced into a bond with me, he despised me. For two years, I bled for him. I did 100 impossible things, just hoping for a single glance. I snuck into forbidden lands for rare herbs. I negotiated with enemy packs. I fought on the front lines for him in pack wars, always coming back covered in scars. But the one he truly loved was my adopted sister, Gloria. Even my own parents, the pack's Beta, hated me. I was their lost daughter, raised by rogues for fifteen years. But they only had eyes for their perfect, obedient adopted girl. Then, on my 100th task, I nearly died in the Valley of Shadows. When I woke up, I had amnesia. I was done chasing a cold mate and a family's love I'd never have. And when I finally walked away, Fabian discovered the truth. It was never me who couldn't live without him. It was always him.

After five years in a marriage without intimacy, I finally called my wife, Suzanna Jones, the youngest commander in the military, and asked her to spend the night with me. Five hundred and twenty times. That was how many times we had been interrupted over the years. Every time we came close to being together, an urgent call from her widowed brother‑in‑law, Eric Gibson, pulled her away before anything could happen. Then, on our wedding anniversary, Suzanna promised she would finally give me the perfect wedding night we never had. I held her by the waist and was about to cross the final line between us when Eric’s ringtone shattered the moment. “Suzanna… I was injured in an explosion down there. What if I am crippled for life…?” Panic filled her face. She pushed me aside and rushed for the door. I grabbed her wrist and tried to stop her. “Send him to the military hospital first.” She turned on me with anger and slapped me across the face. “Shane! Eric is seriously hurt! How can you be this heartless?” She pulled on her dress and ran out. When I caught up with her, the sight in front of me stopped me cold. The woman who once promised to give me her first night was wrapped around Eric in a position far more intimate than anything she had ever shared with me. When I asked for an explanation, she looked calm and unbothered. “Eric is in critical condition. Was I supposed to stand there and do nothing? It is not that important. If it bothers you that much, I can fix it later.” Something inside me went numb. For five years, I had been the only one trying to hold our marriage together. At that moment, I realized I was exhausted from fighting for something that had ended long ago.

On the fifth year anniversary of my marking ceremony with Alpha Gabriel Blackhound, I got sprayed by a blast of high-concentration silver powder that was ejected from the jewelry box I had opened. It resulted in me going blind in both eyes. Gabriel practically tore down the entire jewelry store out of rage. He vowed to find the culprit and exact vengeance on my behalf. Since then, he served as my walking cane. Even if he was dealing with pack matters, he insisted on making me sit on his lap. The entire pack sang praises about how devoted he was to me. I was insanely grateful for what Gabriel had done for me, so I took great care of the "orphaned pup" who was left behind by a Beta in the pack my whole life. But when I lay on my deathbed, I overheard Gabriel's murmured conversation with my best friend, Isabelle Barker. He was even hugging her at that time. "Gabriel, our son will be officially taking over as the pack's Alpha tomorrow. I suppose we have that blind she-wolf to thank for being a free nanny to him." "Yeah. If we didn't blind her back then, she'd never have agreed to taking care of our heir, who looks very similar to me." It turned out that the suffering and gratitude I had gone through in this lifetime was nothing more than an elaborate scheme Gabriel and Isabelle had woven for me in order to get their bastard pup crowned as the next Alpha! Overwhelmed with immense resentment and hatred, I breathed my last on the bed. When I open my eyes again, I hear Gabriel urging me to open the gift. The lethal jewelry box, which is still sealed and untouched, is currently sitting right in front of me. That's when I know that I've gotten reborn. I do my best to suppress the roiling waves of hatred as I gently push the box filled with silver powder into Gabriel's arm. Then, I act all cutesy in front of him. "Darling, since this is a surprise that you've prepared for me, why don't you open the box and put the jewelry on for me?"