A Worn Path

Mia Halstead, a 26 year old surgeon who’s learned to measure life in precise incisions and careful routines. When a bittersweet goodbye to childhood friends becomes an eight year leap into a town that still holds the ache of first love, Mia finds herself drawn back to the one man who haunted her heart from the start: Dawson Lane. Dawson, scarred by war and shadowed by nights of sleepless thunder, is the quiet storm she never stopped craving. He’s returned home, tall, guarded, and carrying a history that refuses to stay buried. As Mia navigates high stakes hospital corridors, a meddling sister who runs on caffeine and chaos, and a provocative doctor eager to rewrite her fate, old memories collide with present danger. A lingering crush becomes something more dangerous: the truth that love can heal what fear has kept apart and break what’s never been rebuilt. When a stalker shadows Mia’s steps, and a pregnancy tests the future in unexpected ways, Mia and Dawson must decide what they’re willing to risk for a chance at a future that isn’t dictated by memory or duty. With Liberty Lane’s unflinching loyalty and a town that aches to belong, Storm-Worn Hearts is a slow burn romance about choosing love when the weather inside you refuses to clear.

Seven years ago, my mafia husband, Sergio Wexler, had me committed to a psychiatric ward. On the day I was released, I changed my name, cut my hair short, and vanished like a ghost. Seven years later, we meet again at the grave of my brother, Luca Lorusso. The bouquet in his hand falls with a soft thud. Sergio clenches his fists tightly, barely holding back emotions that threaten to break through his usual calm. "Janella, why the short hair? I almost didn't recognize you. Where have you been all these years? After that fire at the psych ward, I pulled every string I had, but I never got any leads on you. I've been looking for you for seven years. I even thought you were… dead." When I stay silent, he rubs his red-rimmed eyes. "You're avoiding me, aren't you? Do you still hate me for having you locked up? Believe me, I had no choice." I let out a bitter laugh. Sergio killed Luca to become the Don. He slept with Luca's woman and locked me in that dark, windowless "special ward", nearly erasing me from existence. And now, here he is at Luca's grave, playing the victim. To me, any love and hate I had for Sergio died long ago in that tiny, suffocating ward. Now, he's just a stranger to me.

Betrayed twice by James, Alex became broken, cold, and depressed. Then he decided to end it all, but Lucas stepped in with kind words and pulled him out from his darkest edge, and left him with a good luck charm. Alex swore off love and locked his heart away. He became a man with one motive...revenge against love proposals. Any gender that crossed his path was used and dumped. His only desire was to meet his lucky charm guy (Lucas) again. Two years later, they met, and his love bloomed. As the feelings grew, so did Alex’s fear… and with it, his anger. How could he love again when the past still haunted him? Out of jealousy, his love for Lucas suddenly turned to hatred. Why did he hate the one person who made him feel alive again? Can Alex overcome his fear of betrayal, or will he destroy the very love that could heal him completely?

The first thought that rose within Noah's mind as he awakened after his rebirth was to attain to cast away the pain that followed him from his last life. The pain of betrayal. That twisting agony that came from the continuous betrayals from loved one, especially when it implicated a friend who actually stood by his side. Noah took in his rebirth in great strides, vowing to never reveal such a weak side to himself in his new life. And for that he needed power. Power to topple over every being that stood in his way.

You're always one decision away from a completely different life. Ezra made a choice like this in his youth. As the next alpha of one of the most powerful werewolf packs, he had big plans for his reign. That all changed when he realized his mate was a human girl named Cass. Believing a human mate would make him weak, he chose a path for the both of them that he thought would keep him strong, and her out of his life. What happens when their paths cross again years later, and he sees the consequences of his choices? What will Cass do when she finds out the truth about the choice she never got to make?

After being reborn, I make up my mind to stop chasing after my childhood crush, Emil McLaren. When he puts up a sign banning my presence at his birthday party, I pack my bags and decide to go to Wanoki Island. When he says my scent makes his house feel nauseating, I quietly move out without complaint. When he says he doesn't want to breathe the same city air as me after our graduation, I leave and never look back. Then he tells me my existence might make his beloved first love uncomfortable. I nod and soon go public with someone else. In this life, I do the opposite of everything I did before. Because in my past life, I got what I wanted—I married Emil. But then his first love jumped off a cliff. He called me her murderer and tormented me. In the end, I jumped into the sea in a state of mental confusion and died. This time, all I want is to live. So, I find myself someone new. However, Emil blocks my path, his eyes bloodshot as he glares at me. "Penelope, I'll forgive this little joke of yours if you come with me right now."