Two Badges: The Lives Of Mona Ruiz

Everyone in the Blood Moon pack is whispering that Alpha Cassian Ward only allows his pack to spend ten dollars a day. Yes, ten dollars. It's not a pack tradition, nor a decree from the elders. The rule comes from his new financial planner, Mira Langford. Even as Luna, the moment they discover I've spent a single dollar more—on medicine, no less—they drag me out and whip me 20 times in public. By the second lash, my back splits open, blood soaking through my skirt. My personal maid, Elsie Quinn, throws herself forward, sobbing. "Stop, please stop! Luna Sutton is fragile! She won't survive this!" But Mira only lashes harder. "Alpha Cassian said 20 lashes for every extra dollar. Who dares defy him?" I clutch my belly and manage a whisper. "Bring Alpha Cassian here..." A while later, Cassian arrives with his entourage. When he sees the blood streaking down my back, a flicker of pity crosses his eyes. "Mira, that's enough." Tears brim in Mira's eyes. "You said everyone would answer to me when you brought me back. I haven't even begun to be strict, and you're already going back on your word?" With that, she turns to leave. Cassian catches her hand. "Fine. I won't interfere. Don't tire yourself. Let the guards finish it." As the whip strikes me again and again, a warm, sticky pool of blood forms under me. A caustic laugh escapes my lips as tears streak down my face and into my tangled hair. By the time Cassian remembers me the next morning and finally sends for a healer, Elsie is bent over my body, trembling with grief. "Luna Sutton, how could this happen? You're gone, and so is the pup."

When I was reborn, Horace was pressing me down on the bed. His phone rang with a piercing ringtone, interrupting him from undressing me. After seeing the caller ID, the desire in his eyes instantly disappeared. Throwing a random bath towel on my body, he said, "Leave. My new girlfriend doesn't like it when I smell like someone else." Without another word, I got dressed and left without any complaint. In my past life, I wasn't willing to leave, and clung onto him, throwing away all my dignity, and I even became crippled after saving him during a car accident. As I wished, I became his wife, only because he said, "Let's have a baby. Then, even if I was no longer around, our child would be able to take care of you." I endured several life-threatening medical crises during my pregnancy, but then I overheard him talking to Vivian, "Vivi, you'll be saved once the kid is born." "But that's you and Rose's child, isn't it? Wouldn't she get mad if she knew?" Horace's voice was ice-cold. "I only let her live because she could still give birth. Did she think that I'd fall for a cripple?" In my anger, I pulled out my oxygen tube, and both I and my baby died. Now that I was reborn, I would never walk the same path once more.

“Are you trying to punish me? I…I don't know how many times I can apologize even if it wasn't my fault that I almost—” “I never asked you to. You do whatever you want, Niya, and I really don't care. Neither should you bother with what I do.” “You're hurt. You're hurt, Alex, and you're acting out. Don't worry we could talk this through. This isn't you.” I try to reach him again but he shoots me a deadly glare that pierces through my skin like a dagger. “Sure it is. You've just never seen me like this. You don't know what I look like when I'm not in love with you,” his brows grow together. “Now we’ve had enough of your drama. You'll find the papers and enjoy the party or use the fucking door.” He pulls away and my eyes cloud again. My ears and heart find it hard to process what is actually going on. The looks on their faces tell me it is awfully too late—I have already lost everything. “Niya, careful now,” my grandmother slowly tugs at my arm as if that will somehow make everything better. “We have guests. Don’t cause a scene.” A scene? I have literally just seen a whole movie, ma. ************* My name is Niya Kendrick. I’m 25, an author who once believed she had the perfect life. But how quickly can everything I love be stripped away in the blink of an eye? Or worse, what if the life, the family I’ve cherished has always been a blatant lie, a mere fragment of the truth? Now, I’m awake, and reality is far harsher than any dream.

I have died twice. And both times, the same man killed me. My name is Amara. I am an Omega, which in this world means I am the last to eat, the first to be sold, and the easiest to forget. I was born into a cold house, into a family that looked through me like glass. And I carry inside my chest the memories of two other lives, two other versions of me who stood in the same place I'm standing now and did not make it out. I know his name. Corvus. Dark Alpha. The man who rejected me the first time like I was something he scraped off his boot, and the second time handled me like something he needed to erase quietly before anyone noticed. I know what he's capable of. I know what his eyes look like right before the end. And I know that whatever arrangement my useless excuse for a family has made with his people, I am not going to stand here and let it happen a third time. I have a plan. It has holes in it. It might get me killed again. And then two men kick my door open and the plan becomes irrelevant. "We're taking you with us," the serious one says. Just like that. Like it's already done. Like I don't have a single thing to say about it. And then there's the other one, leaning against my wall with that infuriating almost-smile, who adds: "You can say no. It won't change anything. But you can say it." I say no. It doesn't change anything. I go with them anyway, because Corvus is coming and these two impossible men are the better option. That's what I tell myself. That's the only reason.

After being reborn, I decide to stay far, far away from Jasper Swanson. I resign from his company. I sell our future wedding house. I go overseas to expand our family's business. In my previous life, I used a pregnancy to force him to marry me. But on our wedding day, his beloved first love jumped off a rooftop. Jasper acted like nothing had happened. He smiled and went through with the ceremony. On our wedding anniversary, he took me and our daughter to go bungee jumping. Then, he cut the cords himself, making us fall to our deaths. Afterward, he stood over my body and laughed manically. "If it weren't for you, Coco wouldn't have killed herself! Now, go to hell and atone for it!" When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the night I used the baby to force his hand.

Samantha Clarkson is a woman in need of a new start. On her way to a new start, she takes with her the lessons learned from her past, and one of them is that love is not for her. She can’t trust it. All she needs in her life is her best friend, a job, and a way to forget the past. “Yes, I am a man known for fucking. I love women, all different types. I love the way it feels when I’m pounding into them. I love hearing them scream my name, but most of all I love it when they go home.” This is how the CEO of Maxwell Publishing, Charles Maxwell, thinks. He’s never had a woman turn him down. That’s until he meets Samantha Clarkson. Samantha and Charles are on a collision course, but will the past pull them apart, making the course harder to bear, or will they both get the surprise of their lives? Shattered Lives Book One is full of suspense and hot, steamy love scenes. Make this your new guilty pleasure.