18th Candle Message

My father, a lone werewolf, had come all the way from the Obsidian Pack while battling an illness, to attend my union ceremony with Dean Willows, Alpha of the Moonstone pack and CEO of Willows Industries. It was my father's last wish to see me get married before he died. He was elated that his dreams were finally coming alive. Unknown to him, I had arranged a fake marriage with Alpha Dean. I had knelt outside the Willows mansion for many hours with my father's medical records in hand, begging him profusely before he finally agreed to play along in this wedding charade. But when the full moon rose high in the sky, Dean abandoned me, leaving me to face the pack's judgment alone. My father's heart gave out the moment he saw me standing there, all alone without my so-called mate. While taking his final breath at the hospital, he whispered to me in warning: "Arianna , beware of the Moonstone Pack..." and gave up the ghost. My heart was heavy with grief. I then saw Dean's childhood sweetheart, Vivien Cross, post on social media: "Only the unloved one is the third wheel." That was the last straw. I sent Dean a breakup message, severing our union. He responded by bringing the she-wolf, Vivien to our apartment, flaunting his new alliance.

After I am diagnosed with stomach cancer, I ask for some money to buy medicine. I don't want to be in excruciating pain when I die. My three elder brothers rush into the ICU. Andy Lewis—my eldest brother—slaps me hard across my face. He scolds me for ruining his beloved younger sister, Summer Lewis' coming-of-age party. My second brother, Sherman Lewis, calls me a liar. He accuses me of pretending to be sick to swindle money from them. Jimmy Lewis, who is my third brother, calls me useless. He tells me that I deserve to die. My parents, Kenneth Lewis and Autumn Farrow, don't believe that I'm sick. They pin me with looks of contempt and ridicule. "You still haven't stopped that lying habit of yours even though you're all grown up. You even learned how to blackmail us with your death. "If you want to die, do it sooner. It'll spare us from being disgusted when we're forced to look at you day in and day out." I end up dying on the first day of the New Year. Before I breathe my last breath, I send a message to the family group chat. My entire family goes crazy after reading it.

"I promise, Alpha Caramel, when my daughter is of age, she'll be yours. Please help me protect her from her father and help us escape this place." Joanna pleaded desperately. ******************* Lavender was betrothed to the Alpha of the Shadow Pack before she was born, as a promise her mother made to the Alpha. Lavender wasn't sure Alpha Caramel would do right considering the age gap of twenty years. However, as she got to know him, she found herself drawn and attracted to him. Alpha Caramel had his mind set on making Lavender his chosen mate since his true mate died during a rogue attack. Alpha Caramel was not one to be easily swooned by ladies but was drawn to Lavender on one of his trips to the country when he saw her. He returned later choosing to study her. This was before her 18th birthday, and as he watched her grow, his attraction deepened for her. Lavender may be human, but he was determined to make her his and win her heart and her body. His family and Pack disapprove of the union when they find out about her being a human but despite it all, his will would never shake. Lavender was his and not even her biological father would be able to change that. What will Lavender do when her tyrant father returns to her life? Will Lavender be able to accept she is not a mere human? How will Caramel and Lavender fight against the rogue Alpha who decides to claim her as his?

Being part of a reserved family, Suki knows her place within the community of the Moonstone pack. She has her duties and she completes them perfectly, just as her father orders. As the daughter of the Beta, the second in command, she’s set to live a life of importance within the pack, helping to aid it to greatness, and that’s only meant to become stronger once she finds her mate. Like every other werewolf, she has dreamt of what it would be like to find her mate when she comes of age, to know what the power of the mate bond truly feels like. However, on her 18th birthday, she doesn’t just experience one bond… she experiences TWO. Two separate bonds with two completely different males - bad boy Brendan and the perfect soldier Reynard. How could this be? It defies the laws of nature, all werewolves are given one mate and one mate only. As she and her two mates try to understand their anomaly of a mate bond, they also have to deal with an even greater threat that’s approaching - something that’s not only a threat to their pack, but to the entire werewolf species. Will they be able to save the pack? And who will Suki choose as her mate to seal the bond? Brendan or Reynard…? NOTE: This is a spin-off story to my other original story, "The One True Alpha", and though it is not essential to read that story before this one, there will be brief mentions and appearances of characters from that story within this right from the start, as well as some potential for minor spoilers of that story. If you enjoy this story, then you'd likely enjoy reading TOTA too! (It's already complete, so check it out!)

As my murderer's claws tear into my abdomen inch by inch, my father and brother are seated in our family's banquet hall. They're celebrating Carly's 18th birthday and coming-of-age. "You'll always be my little girl." "Happy birthday, Carly." They light 18 pink candles for her. On top of the exquisite red velvet cake is a wolf figurine that they carved for her, and there are well wishes and laughter all around. Meanwhile, I'm curled up in a sewer filled with liquid silver as I bleed to death. My phone has been crushed, and I can't get out. I can only cry for help. A few days later, my father and brother show up together at the autopsy room. My brother stands by the operating table with a scalpel. He slices open the body and sews it back up like it's nothing. My father just covers his nose as he shoots a disgusted glance at my body. He urges my brother to hurry up with the autopsy report. "The victim is a young female wolf presumed to be of pure lineage. Before her death, she was subjected to prolonged captivity and torture. Her throat is nearly severed, her cervical spine is dislocated, and her chest cavity has collapsed. She was also injected with liquid silver before death." Hearing the report, my father looks so calm that it's just like a case study of no consequence. Neither of them can recognize that the body belongs to me—their daughter and sister!

"Tell me, was I ever more than a game to you?" Aria's voice broke. "I swear to you, it started as a game but I fell in love with you." Kai needed closure, her distance was driving him crazy, worse, she found out about the dare. "What about Raven?" Kai froze at her question, he couldn’t deny his attraction to the dancer. Aria could never trust his love for her as Aria because she had done things with him as Raven and for all she knew, Raven was another female to him. ~~~~~ Aria is an Omega werewolf at the bottom of the pack, living a dual life. No one knows her secret—especially not Kai, the arrogant Young Alpha who bullies her at school. He wants the mysterious dancer, Raven Star. He hates the quiet girl, Aria. But they’re the same person. As Aria struggles to keep her double life hidden, Kai starts falling for both sides of her but he's not the only one falling, Raven is more than every male can look passed. She can’t be both the Omega and the fantasy forever. One side will have to break. Kai has his flaws as well and Aria may never trust him again. Worse—on her 18th birthday, everything flips—her teacher wants to devour her, her manager looks at her differently, her Alpha bullies are at each other's throat and nothing makes sense to her. Who is Aria? Who will she choose?

After I, Rosalie Ricci, was stood up 17 times, the mafia don, Daniel Marino, finally holds the perfect engagement banquet for me. In our second year together, we are ready to get married. But every single time, he has an excuse to hold our engagement off. He says he's busy with work, the timing isn't right yet, or that he isn't quite ready. I never blame him because I love him. I have loved him since our school days. In fact, I have loved him for seven whole years. This is the 18th time. I stand in the banquet hall wearing the gown he personally chose for me and watch as he slips the ring onto my finger. He kisses me with a passionate intensity he has never shown me before. At that moment, I believe that I have finally secured my perfect happiness after waiting seven long years. My happiness only lasts until the guests leave. As I step into the back garden, I see Daniel holding my twin sister, Leah Ricci, in his arms. He says in a hushed voice, "I announced my engagement to Rosalie 18 times. This time, you're finally back." That's when I realize that the engagement banquet that I have longed for is nothing more than a ploy by Daniel to draw Leah back to him. But when I decided to let them be together, Daniel panics.

“Don’t let me choose between the two of you, Claire. Because it will definitely not be you.” I gasped at his words and my chocolate brown eyes widened as I stared into his blue one. I whimpered. My throat runs dry. Five years…. Five fucking years Is this how it all ends? “Choose Alan! Choose! Because I am not sharing your fucking ass with a nasty home wrecker. “ my voice shifted coldly. The humming of my heart could be heard miles away but I was not backing down. “Fine! You asked for this. Don’t say I didn’t warn you….I, Alpha Alan Crawley of desert storm pack reject you, Claire Claver, and your pup as my mate and pup. From this day you are banned from entering my pack. “ My heart clenched. Pain rippled through me…. *** Claire Claver had a crush on the future alpha of her pack for most of her teen years. On her 18th birthday, she found out she was mated to Alan Crawley It was a dream come true when he made her his in every way possible. Five years later, when it was around the time for her Luna ceremony, she catches him buried inside a woman, his so-called cousin, Olivia. All hope was lost for Claire, but little did she know that a powerful Lycan was searching for her after he caught a sniff of her scent would Claire find happiness again? Read on to find out.

"I despise you as much as I love you," Raphael confessed to Winter, his voice laced with bitterness and tenderness all at once. "This connection between us is both a blessing and a curse. It torments us both. Don't you think?" Winter asked him. "That's what I regret. I could not kill you that night because you are my mate," Raphael affirmed. He approached her in a blink of an eye and gripped her throat. "Winter, why are you the daughter of my enemy?" Raphael growled, his head ducked to bury in her neck. He kissed her followed by a lick, which made Winter's knees go weak. "Shall we mate?" Raphael murmured, his breath caressing her ear, igniting a sensual response within Winter. The conflict between their hatred and desire blurred as the allure of their fate became undeniable. ~~~~~~~ Winter, the Princess of the Uriel Kingdom, had endured a lifetime of torment and lacked the love she deserved. However, her life took an unexpected turn when she discovered Raphael Kingston as her mate on her 18th birthday. She hoped that this newfound connection would bring an end to her suffering, but fate had other plans. Raphael, the lone survivor of his pack, had always sought vengeance against the King and his daughter. However, his purpose faltered when he realized Winter was his destined mate. The battle between his hatred and love for her led him to imprison Winter, torn between the desire to protect her and the weight of his animosity. Thus, began a tale of Hate to Love!

The moment I was born, my mother implanted a chip in my brain and began shaping me into her idea of a perfect daughter. She blocked my sense of hunger so I would only have simple meals daily to maintain the "ideal" figure. She erased my ability to feel pain so she could inject me with endless chemicals to keep my skin smooth and flawless. She tampered with my senses, deleting every trace of negative emotion from my mind, all so I could remain eternally innocent. I couldn't tell right from wrong. I didn't know sadness or anger. I only knew how to smile. When the neighbor's dog died, I smiled and was scolded harshly for being heartless. When my classmates bullied me, I smiled and became the class freak. When my grandfather passed away, I smiled again, and my relatives cursed me for being soulless. Eventually, my father couldn't take it anymore. He left us. Mom, however, didn't seem to care. "They don't understand," she told me. "Everything I've done is for your own good. One day, you'll thank me." … On my 18th birthday, she planned a grand live broadcast, ready to show the world her perfect creation. She never knew that the day before her grand broadcast, I had already lost myself completely. By then, I was no longer human. I had become a machine.