Is 'The Traitor Baru Cormorant' A Standalone Novel?

"Do you still hate me?" Ace smirked, as he rubbed his thumb against Gwen's bottom . At that moment, her heart wasn't the only thing that throbbed. "Well that all depends on what happens next..." * Some say that hatred is unhealthy. Some say that wasting energy hating someone will do no good for you in the end and only make you miserable. Gwen disagrees. Her entire life has been spent hating the Queen of Paria-Drae. She has ruined the lives of her people and even the people of other countries. She is a power-hungry witch that has no right sitting on the throne. A throne that she stole. And Gwen will her for it. And in order to do that Gwen joins the army, not the army of Paria-Drae but of their enemy, Estril. There, she plans to be a part of the group that defeats the Queen and be the one who retakes the throne. So she hides her identity as someone from Paria-Drae and plans to keep a low profile and only focus on her mission. That is until she meets Ace Puckett, the son of a famous army veteran, who has grown up on a military base his entire life. She immediately hates him upon meeting him, he's arrogant, picky, a show-off, and so, goddamn, sexy. Trying not to get distracted by his panty-dropping smile, she gains his attention because of her determined nature and the fact that she isn't begging for his attention. With the pride of being a citizen of Paria-Drae on the line, Gwen is desperate to take back her country and save its reputation before it's too far gone. But it gets harder to do that when there's a certain someone always looking over her shoulder.

During my legal aid work, I run into a pitiful village girl. Her brother is abusing her, and she has nearly died from his fist. As a lawyer, I can't stand aside and do nothing. So, I help her. After she wins the case, I help her get a job as a janitor at my law firm. A few days later, she becomes pregnant and disappears. I assume she has found a family. However, she returns with a baby and accuses me of raping her. Then, she demands I compensate her. I believe she is just spouting nonsense. But the paternity test comes, and it states that I am the baby's biological father. From that moment on, I become a pariah. I am labeled a disgrace and treated as the scum of the Earth. My girlfriend breaks up with me. Meanwhile, my parents can't bear the shame and commit suicide. Then, a self-righteous fool pushes me off an 18-story building. Even as I die, I still can't understand how she became pregnant with my child. Using her identity as the baby's mother, she inherits all of my assets upon my and my parents' deaths. She then goes on to live the life of a wealthy socialite. When I open my eyes, I am back at the moment I see her getting beaten by her brother.

“I hope you won't do anything to disappoint me. If not, I will tell you the consequences of your mistakes.” That was the warning Ryan Gonzalez gave Agnes on his first day at work. He is arrogant and cold, he possesses the most power and wealth in New York City. And Agnes unfortunately made fun of him and dragged him to bed. She woke up and was scared so she ran away, but then fate forced her to approach Ryan at all costs. Will he remember who she is after a few months? Was his distaste a manifestation of his silent revenge on her?

“What do you think you are doing?” He asked with his eyes getting darker with every passing second. “S-Seducing you.” I mumbled while fidgeting my fingers as his deep breath made the sensitive spot between my legs to throb. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. It should be the other way round. “And who are you?” He asked as he lowered his head with his warm breath fanning my upper lip. I gulped as my body was visibly trembling. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t. His eyes had these magnets which were attracting every fiber inside my body towards him. “Y-your…y-your…” A lone tear escaped my eyes with my lower lip trembling. “My what?” He rasped as his black raven eyes were dwelling inside my emerald ones as I whimpered when he clenched my hairs in a fist at the back of my neck. “Your whore.” I admitted and he smashed his lips against mine. “Let me treat you like one then.” He growled inside my mouth.

Aurora I am the princess in the tower, the Alpha's daughter. Locked away by my father, Oliver Crane. My mother died when I was a child. Today is my eighteen birthday. My father has a party planned. This party isn't about me. It's about my father's power, wealth, and will include guests from our rival pack, the Hawthornes. Little did I know this was my wedding day, I was marrying a monster, and I would find my saving grace, my Mate, on the run. SawyerI'm the second son: the beta, the nobody of the Hawthorne family pack. I've lied, cheated, killed, and now stolen. I've been Aurora Crane's shadow for years. She is beautiful, innocent, and I'm in love with her. For her birthday, she has no idea what is in store. Her father has sold her to mine. She's marrying my brother. He's evil and cruel. But no one cares how he breaks women because he's the next Alpha. He will destroy her. I can't let that happen, no matter what the Alpha commands.*Warning & Triggers* Mature Themes including Detailed Sexual Content, Violence, and Attempted Sexual Assault

While my sister was protecting me from the vampires hunting us, a blade coated with poison slit her throat. I hid in the bushes and watched the whole thing in silence. I even took the antidote from Sophia. Because of that, the poison had spread through her entire body. With her self-healing ability suppressed, she was going to die in agony. My parents found me and begged me, disregarding their dignity as leaders of the pack. "Anna! Please! Give the antidote back to Sophia!" "She needs the antidote to flush out the poison and live!" Even with my parents begging and swallowing their pride, I just held onto the antidote in my pocket tighter. "I didn't see any antidote."