1945 Pulitzer Winning

Sepharine cared for Draven, the crippled son of an Alpha, for three long years. After painstakingly helping him regain his strength, he scorned her—for she was merely a lowly maid, unworthy of an Alpha's heir. Heartbroken, Sepharine left the pack. Only after losing her did Draven realize the depth of his feelings for her.

On the day I was supposed to try on wedding dresses with Charles Jaspier, the mafia leader I had loved for seven years, I walked into the boutique carrying a pregnancy test report—my heart full of hope. Instead, I overheard a conversation that shattered everything. "Registering the marriage with Ellis Olsen was a temporary measure," he said calmly to his closest confidant. "My brother died in a shootout. She's carrying the Jaspier family's only heir. Without a legal status, neither she nor the child would survive in this family." "Everyone would bully them." A cigar rested between his fingers. His voice was cold, edged with resignation. "Zoey Qandor can't have a title—but I can give her everything else. My love. My money. This must never reach her ears." I clenched the pregnancy report, my heart turning to ash. With my best friend's help, I created a new identity—one that ensured Charles would never find me again—and disappeared from his world. If he could not give me and my child a complete family, then this love—built on responsibility and lies—was better cut cleanly, once and for all.

I knew my husband, Giovanni Rossini, had done it. He had stolen his dead twin brother's identity and faked his own death. And I said nothing. In my last life, he had discarded me and our daughter, Natalia, for his mistress, Katrina Moretti. My mother-in-law, Antonietta, called us trash and forced my five-year-old to peel olives until her small hands blistered. I knelt and begged for money to buy medicine. Giovanni only held Katrina and laughed. In the end, Natalia and I froze and starved to death. Even as we died, Katrina's mocking voice still rang in my ears. Everyone watched with cold eyes. They closed ranks, shifted the blame onto me, and shoved us toward a dead end with no escape. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back at the exact moment they carried Marco's body into the warehouse. This time, I wouldn't let anyone destroy us. I would make them pay twice over for everything they had done to me and my daughter.

On the day I become Alpha Ethan Sadler's mate, he tells me, "Our mate bond is merely to honor the promise between our elders. You will be my Luna by name. You shall have everything in my name, except my love." For three years, I obediently played the role of his mate in name. Then, a socialite named Sophia Kirk hands me a check for two million dollars, urging me to leave Ethan. "Ethan said your mate bond exists only to repay the debts of the older generation. It's a necessary sacrifice. Now, he needs a real family and a mate who can bear his heir. You've wasted three years of his life. It's time to let go." It turns out Ethan already has a lover. It is indeed inappropriate for me to take the place of his Luna any longer. That night, I approach Ethan, who is going through some documents. "You once promised to give me anything I wanted. Does that promise still hold?" Ethan sets down the documents, removes his metal-rimmed glasses, and loosens his tie. His ashen eyes swirl with emotions, and an eager smile curves his lips. "Of course. Tell me what you want." I tighten my grip on the Bond-Breaking Agreement I am holding and place it before him. "I want you to sign this."

After five years of marriage, my wife’s childhood friend posted a photo of a property deed in his social media circle with the caption, [Thank you, Miss CEO, for transferring the house to me.] I was stunned when I saw the address on the deed—it was my home. Confused, I left a comment. [?] Almost immediately, my wife, Alice, called and scolded me. "He’s a single dad, so pitiful! I only transferred the house to his name to make it easier for his daughter to attend school. It doesn’t affect us living there. How can you be so heartless and lack even a shred of compassion?" In the background, I could hear her childhood friend complaining bitterly. Half an hour later, he posted on social media again and tagged me. This time, he showed off a $150,000 sports car with the caption, [Paid in full! As the saying goes, where a woman spends her money is where her heart lies.] I knew it was my wife who bought him the car to make up for upsetting him. But this time, I’ve made up my mind—I’m filing for divorce.

I was Alpha Dylan’s “mate-in-waiting” for six years. Every night, he’d make love to me, worshipping every inch of my body. On our sixth anniversary, he promised me a surprise. I thought he was finally going to make me his official Luna. Instead, I watched him place the moonstone necklace, the symbol of the Luna, around the neck of Lady Lilith from the Black Forest Pack. He took my hand and explained, “Lilith has a rare disease, Moon-Eater's sickness. The only cure is to complete the mating bond with a powerful Alpha.” “Don’t worry. In three months, you’ll take your rightful place as my Luna.” I didn’t cry or fight like I used to. Instead, I sent a message to the Alpha King, the fated mate I once rejected. “About your offer to marry me… I accept.”

Everyone knew that Alpha Eric loved his human Luna above all else. Every full moon, his wolf went into a frenzy. He needed to having sex with mate to relieve the agony. But as a human, I couldn't withstand his Alpha power. So, every month, he sent me to a cabin at the foot of the mountain. He would always say tenderly, "I'm afraid I'll lose control and hurt you. I don't want you to see me like a monster." Every she-wolf in the Pack envied me for having such a devoted Alpha. I used to think so, too. Until I traded ten years of my life with the Witch for Moonlight Herb—a rare herb capable of soothing an Alpha's full moon frenzy. I stood outside the bedroom door, only to hear him having sex with Victoria, the Beta's daughter. "Alpha... aren't I better than that fragile human?" Victoria cooed. "Can she even handle you?" "Shut up! Don't talk about her!" Eric growled from inside. "Finish and get out. Don't be here when she gets back." I froze. It turned out that for the past two years, he had found a better antidote for every full moon. After that night, Victoria fell pregnant with pureblood Alpha twin heirs. He explained to me, guiltily and cautiously, "My mother used IVF to get Victoria pregnant. As soon as the babies are born, I'll send her away. We can raise them together, okay?" I smiled and nodded. Then, I turned around, threw the Moonlight Herb into the trash can, and made a call. "Pick me up in two days." But the moment I left, the powerful Alpha went mad.

For three years, Emerie had been married to Allan, the son of an Alpha. Allan had always believed it was Emerie who drugged him, forcing him into the marriage. Determined to divorce her, he chose to be with her sister Jolene instead. But what he didn’t know was that Emerie was already terminally ill when she left him. When Allan finally uncovered the truth and desperately searched for her—could he still win her back?

The mate bond ceremony had barely ended when Simon Thompson, Alpha of the Moonshade Pack, suddenly shoved me aside. "I picked up a human girl at the border. There's a storm tonight. I need to go stay with her." My head buzzed. "If you've already decided I'm your fated mate, why are you seeing her now?" He stood up and pulled on his clothes. The bite mark I had left was still visible on the side of his neck. "Tanya, I love you. But life is long. I need something fragile like that once in a while to feel something new." My throat tightened. "So on our mate bond night, you're dumping your Luna to sleep with a human?" "Well, technically, the ceremony is already over," he corrected me, then bent down and pinched my cheek. "You're the pack's Luna now. You should be more generous." "And if I can't be?" It was as if he had been waiting for that. He smiled. "Then we sever the bond. Just know you might end up exiled as a lone wolf. Think it through, yeah?" I collapsed onto the messy bed. Simon's scent still lingered in the air. Outside the window, the full moon that had witnessed our vows looked unbearably ironic.

I'd been married to Matteo—the Lamberti Don—for five years. No one knew I was his wife. I didn't want the perks. The spotlight. So I stayed invisible. We were in love. Still felt like dating every single day. Then my first day at the new hospital wrecked everything. "Dr. Accardi, you won't believe this." A coworker leaned in, grinning. "Guess who that new patient's husband is? Matteo freaking Lamberti." I froze. If she was his wife—then who was I? She was pregnant. Carrying the future Lamberti heir. So what did that make the baby inside me? I held it together. Did the exam. Played the calm, capable doctor. No one saw the panic clawing through me. I told myself it was gossip. Lies. It had to be. Then I heard Matteo call her 'my princess.' That was it. He had a new 'princess.' And I had to let him go.