A River In Darkness

It's the final round of this year's Pack Pup Tournament. I can't take my eyes off my pup, Patrick Grant, as he wins the title. When the host calls Patrick's parents onstage to celebrate, I leap up, thrilled. But then I see Nicholas Grant, my Alpha mate, walk up with his secretary, Natalia Lawson. They stand side by side under the spotlight, kissing Patrick on both cheeks. It's as if Natalia is the mother, as if she's the Luna of our pack, as if they're the perfect family. I can only stand there in the audience, feeling the weight of countless startled stares, too ashamed to lift my head. Later, Nicholas brushes the incident off. "You were seated farther back. It was easier to bring Natalia up on stage," he explains. Easier? I swallow the humiliation and force myself to believe it was just an unfortunate coincidence—until today, that is. I sense through our blood bond that something's wrong with Patrick, so I drop everything and race to the pack hospital. But when I arrive, Patrick is lying in Natalia's lap, whining to her in a soft voice. I step forward to introduce myself, but the healer only looks surprised. "The emergency contact form lists Natalia as his mom, though." It turns out Patrick himself had stripped me of my role as his mother. And Nicholas didn't stop him. I finally understand. I don't belong in this family anymore. That night, I tell Nicholas I want to dissolve the mate bond between us. He doesn't even look up as he says, "Don't be dramatic. You'd dissolve our bond over a single name on a form?" "Yes."

While my husband was chatting with his friend at the dining table, his friend suddenly spoke in Italian. “You married Lyra to write a pardon letter for River. You’ve been showing more concern toward Lyra, but you’re still lying to her and saying that the contraceptives are antidepressants. Don’t you think Lyra will break down if she learns the truth?” My husband wore a complicated expression as he chuckled bitterly and said, “Why let a child be born if I don’t want it? As for Lyra, so long as she doesn’t interfere with River’s happiness, I’ll keep my promise and protect her for life.” No one knew that I had already learned Italian to keep up with my husband. I stood in the living room with fresh hickeys on my neck. In my hand, I held the “antidepressants” and felt a chill run down my spine. So, my husband’s love for me had been fake? My salvation had actually been a meticulously planned lie? In that case, I would help them fulfill their wishes.

Rene Ford, the only son of Rome Ford and Catherine Barlow, and Grandson of the wealthiest family in the country is exiled by his father at a young age. He has no relation to the Ford and Barlow empire and is forced to be raised by a stranger in extreme poverty. Why? Rome wouldn't tell Rene, but then one day, Rene's life gets put at risk, and his father suddenly tells him that he is no longer Catherine and him's son and has to take on the image of a servant's child. Rene gets forced by Rome to marry into a wealthy family, and Rene thinks his life couldn't get worse, but then he finds out his ex-girlfriend is his sister-in-law, and the man she cheated on him with is his brother-in-law.

Rebecca Stellar is a young orphan who found a happy home with her adoptive parents. However, when her father died, she agreed to an arranged marriage with a stranger in order to take over the family business and fulfill his legacy. Luciano Lombardo, on the other hand, is the heir to a mafia family, with a dark past and secrets that haunt him. The marriage between Rebecca and Luciano is just the beginning of a story full of unexpected twists, love, and betrayal. As they try to find happiness together, each other's secrets threaten to destroy their relationship. The novel explores themes such as family, loyalty, trust, and true love.

“As you read, I want you to marry me with a contractual agreement. This is not an offer, but an order. Because, I will return you to Pack Arcanum if you refuse. You might end up in the hands of that pimp again.” Alpha Jayden said firmly to me, undeniable. *************************************** Never in her life did Cassie imagine that she, a Pack Arcanum member who didn't have a wolf inside her, would become Luna after being sold by her father to a pimp in Pack Nexus. That night, on her first day working as a prostitute, she slept with a man she didn't know was Alpha Jayden, the Alpha of Pack Nexus who was cursed to never have offspring. Surprisingly, Cassie became pregnant after that accidental one-night stand. She wanted to ask for responsibility, but after finding out that the man was an Alpha, she chose to leave. But Alpha Jayden searched for Cassie and after finding her, he wanted her to be his Luna. Cassie accepted and agreed to do a contract marriage with Alpha Jayden on condition. Without Cassie knowing, it turns out that by signing the contract, she entered into Alpha Jayden's complicated and mysterious life.

How much of a chance is there for someone napping on a plane, woking up finding himself lying on a giant bird nest? Lei was on his way home from visiting his mom when the plane he was in, out of nowhere encountered a giant black hole. What's a black hole doing on Earth? The pilot himself wants to know. It swallowed the entire plane in an instant- crushing and obliterating everything inside. The passengers were not even given the time to react. Lei, who was sound asleep during the entirety of event, was completely oblivious to all of this. He was sleeping so soundly it made one's tooth ache. However, even among the hundreds of passengers and crews on the plane, he was actually the only person who survive. Was this the will of heaven at work? Or was it just him taking all the luck in the world? Either way, the most immediate matter for Lei who was finally awake at this moment to resolve was.. "Ah-why the hell does this bird keep on following me?!" The adorable 'little' bird was looking at Lei with its adorable, big, round eyes, following him on his track. "Also, where did that book I brought with me go?! I haven't finished reading it yet!" The pitiful book on the void with not even a speck of its dust left was sad: ..Master, I'm sorry! I already went ahead huhu

I receive a message one day. "Your condoms have been delivered. Total to be paid: XX dollars." I distinctly remember that I've never made such an order, but the address and phone number are mine. I call my husband, but he only says differently, "My godsister ordered them. She's too shy to use her details, so she used yours. It's not like it'll affect you." I nod silently. She might as well not have them if she can't afford to pay for them.

It was New Year's Eve. We were streaming live when my brother called. I spoke first, "I wish you peace and a happy, long life." He gave a cold laugh. "Yeah, well, I don't want you to have any of that. I hope you spend the rest of your life in misery." I'd cut him off the year he was flat broke. Now that he was successful, this was the first thing he did—get back at me. I kept my tone calm. "I wish you peace and a happy, long life." He sounded annoyed. "Cut it out. There's no way I'm wishing you well. If I have to say something, then I hope you stay miserable forever." The host hesitated, then chimed in, "Ben, that was just a recording of Hailey's message. And yes, when she left… she was in a lot of pain and quite miserable, just like you hoped for."

The night I have my bonding ceremony with the Alpha, Walter Zimmer, he gets drunk even though he usually never touches any alcohol. Just as I'm at a loss for what to do, my best friend, Rose Larson, sends me a message detailing how to take care of a drunken werewolf. Despite feeling doubtful, I do as she suggests, and Walter truly does fall asleep peacefully. Just as I'm about to thank Rose, Walter suddenly hugs me from behind. His hot breath brushes against my neck as he murmurs a sentence that utterly breaks my heart. "Rose, you're the one I wanted to mark…" My world crumbles around me, but that's not all. His shirt slips down his shoulder when he moves, revealing the rose tattooed right over his heart. My mind goes blank, and all I can do is stare at the tattoo. I refuse to believe what I'm seeing. I've known Rose for 20 years, and she's my closest friend. As it turns out, Walter didn't get drunk because he was overjoyed about becoming my mate. He simply used the alcohol to drown his sorrows over not being able to take the she-wolf he wanted as his Luna. In that moment, our newly formed mate bond seems like nothing but a joke. Since that's the case, I decide to give up my position as the Luna and let them be together. However, after I leave, Walter loses control and shifts into his wolf. He then claws the rose tattoo to shreds. "Lily, I was mistaken. You're the Luna I truly love. Please, give me another chance to love you again…"

The day my birth parents found me, the reunion banquet they threw turned into their funeral. My parents and their adopted daughter, Leila, died of food poisoning that night. The only one who survived was my older brother, Alpha Kian. He didn’t like sweets, so he never touched the cake. The cake that I handed to them myself. “So you want to take Leila’s place. “You’re just jealous because she got all our love! “She was the only one who ever accepted you, and you still killed her!” Those were Kian’s exact words as he shouted at me right outside the hospital room. From that day on, I became a sinner. To make up for it, I barely slept four hours a night and worked five jobs just to buy back the villa the rival pack seized during the chaos. However, the day I finally saved up enough, I saw my dead parents throwing a birthday party for Leila in that very villa. Kian stood among them, looking at her with a warmth I didn’t recognize. My mother said, “Isn’t today also Lily’s birthday? It’s been eight years. Maybe it’s time to forgive her.” However, Kian didn’t hesitate to refuse. “No. Even though Leila sniffed out the wolfsbane and saved you, we agreed that Lily gets ten years. “We can’t risk her ever trying to poison Leila again. Not even a day less.” I clutched the diagnosis paper from the clinic tightly and laughed through my tears. I knew I wouldn’t get to ten years. I was already dying.