Aesthetic Peachy

I dragged my pack from the old ways to thrive in the human world. As its Alpha, I canceled our most pointless tradition: the annual Winter Solstice Moonflower ornaments. But Chloe, a new omega, put me on blast on our pack’s feed for it. She said I disrespected the Moon Goddess. That I spat on tradition. Contracts from other packs and human companies started drying up. Even my own pack turned on me. So I took away the ten-grand Winter Solstice bonus…and gave them twenty-eight-dollar Moonflower ornaments instead. Now, my pack is losing their minds. Crying. Begging for the ten grand back.

Ich war im vierten Monat mit dem Erben des Alphas schwanger, als meine beste Freundin Ariana mich mit voller Wucht zu Boden stieß. Sie nannte es einen „Unfall“. Ich verlor meinen Welpen. Mein Bruder Liam versuchte, sie vor den Ältesten des Rudels zu überführen. Doch er wurde des Verrats bezichtigt, ihm wurde der Beta-Titel aberkannt, und man warf ihn in die Rudelkerker. Ich rannte zu meinem Gefährten, Alpha Byron, und flehte ihn um Hilfe an. Er hielt mich fest und schwor, er würde Liam retten. Am nächsten Tag fand ich Liam in den Verliesen – in Silber gekettet, kaum noch am Leben. Mit gebrochenem Herzen suchte ich Byron erneut auf, verzweifelt nach einem Weg, Liams Unschuld zu beweisen. Dabei hörte ich zufällig, wie er mit seinem engsten Vertrauten sprach. „Alpha, wenn die Luna herausfindet, dass Sie zugelassen haben, dass man Liam hereingelegt hat … wird sie Sie hassen.“ Byrons Stimme war von Erschöpfung und unterdrücktem Schmerz durchzogen. „Ich weiß, wie sie ist. Das war der einzige Weg, sie dazu zu bringen, Ariana bei der Blutmond-Zeremonie zu verzeihen. Ariana hat mir das Leben gerettet. Ich werde nicht zulassen, dass sie daran zerbricht.” Er hielt inne, seine Stimme nun vollkommen kalt. „Was Sandra angeht … ich werde es mehr als wiedergutmachen. Sie darf niemals die Wahrheit erfahren. Niemals. Im Moment muss sie nur … gehorchen.“ Der Gefährte, dem ich mein Leben anvertraut hatte … Er hatte meine Familie den Wölfen zum Fraß vorgeworfen. Nur um die Frau zu schützen, die unser Kind getötet hatte. Mein Herz zerbrach. Zitternd vor einer Wut, wie ich sie nie zuvor gespürt hatte, rief ich den einen Menschen an, mit dem ich seit sieben Jahren kein Wort gesprochen hatte: meinen Vater, Alpha Caden. „Vater, ich nehme das strategische Bündnis an. Die Ehe, die du immer wolltest. Aber unter einer Bedingung. Ich brauche deine Hilfe … um das Blackwood-Rudel dem Erdboden gleichzumachen.“

Alpha Damon was an exiled monster, feared for his cruelty. He chose Selena—an omega from a worthless pack—as his mate. There was just one problem. Our Mating Ceremony, mine and my fated mate Alpha Ethan's, was set for the same day. When Ethan found out, he vanished for three days. I found him just in time to overhear his plan. "At the Mating Ceremony, I'll fake a sign from the Moon Goddess. I'll make it look like she rejected Elara." "Pack law will force her onto that pathetic excuse for a brother, Damon. Then Selena won't have to mate with him." "An outcast like Damon doesn't deserve a true Alpha's fated mate. Once Selena is safe, I’ll just take Elara back." My heart turned to stone. He was throwing me to a monster to save another woman. And he thought he could just take me back? Fine. I would play along with his little scheme. But once his little show was over, I'd be gone for good. Except when Ethan came to "rescue" me, he found Damon's mark burned into my neck. That's when he finally broke.

Seven years ago, I turned my back on my powerless fated mate, Soren, and chose a powerful Alpha instead. Now, I’m dying alone in this shitty apartment with seven days to live. The Moon's Glow is fading inside me. Without the Final Rite, my soul will be chained to this earth, a ghost doomed to an eternity of torment. And no Alpha will perform it for me. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, I dialed the one number I swore I’d never touch again. Soren. The mate I rejected. Now, the most powerful Alpha in the North. I begged him for the Final Rite. Moments later, his engine screamed down my street. But the boy I once knew was gone. The man staring back at me now held nothing but pure, undiluted hatred in his eyes. "Well, well. Look what we have here," he sneered, his voice dripping with venom. "The fallen princess. When are you going to finally drop dead? The second your heart stops, I’m dumping your corpse in the Feral Lands for the scavengers."

"ฟ้า..." "ตบฉันที" "ห๊ะ?" "ฉันฝันหรือเปล่านะยุ นายมาอยู่ตรงนี้กับฉันจริงๆเหรอ..." "ให้ตบใช่มั้ย" ฉันพยักหน้า วายุเลื่อนมืออีกข้างที่โอบฉันขึ้นมารั้งต้นคอฉันไว้ส่วนอีกข้างที่จับข้อมือฉันอยู่เขาก็ปล่อยให้มันเป็นอิสระ ก่อนจะเลื่อนมันขึ้นมาประคอบใบหน้าฉันให้เงยหน้าขึ้น "อะ อื้อ" เขากดจูบลงมาบนปากฉัน บดขยี้ค่อนข้างแรงจนฉันส่งเสียงออกมาเพราะรู้สึกว่าปากแตก "ตบด้วยปาก" พอถอนจูบออกวายุก็พูดขึ้น ฉันยังคงมองหน้าเขา ฉันเจ็บที่ปากแตก ฉันเจ็บและรับรู้ถึงรสสัมผัสริมฝีปากของเขา เรื่องจริง ฉันไม่ได้ฝันไปจริงๆ... ฉันโผเข้ากอดวายุ ใบหน้าฉันแนบกับแผ่นอกเปลือยเปล่าของเขา หูของฉันได้ยินเสียงหัวใจของเขา "ฟ้า..."

Ever since I lost my Alpha, Kael, in a brutal fight with some nasty rogues, I've been raising our young son, Finn, all by myself. My old pack has been pushing me to take a new Alpha, you know, so Finn and I would have protection. But I truly believed my Mate Bond with Kael was unbreakable. Then, on the Blood Moon ceremony, the fifth anniversary of Kael's “sacrifice,” I overheard Kael's father, old Alpha Marcus, tearing into Kael's quiet twin brother, Ronan: “Kael! You damn wolf! It was Ronan who went down on Blood Moon Cliff five years ago! He was the cursed one! You faked your death, lived as Ronan, all to protect Alina? You lied to the whole pack, to your sacred mate, and your own flesh and blood! Was it worth it?!” “For five years, Elara has raised Finn from a tiny pup all alone. You gave your so-called 'niece' a fake 'father,' but did you ever think? The day you put on Ronan's mask, Finn lost his real father for good!” I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. After Kael “died,” Ronan had been the dutiful uncle, “looking after” Finn and me. I never dreamed he was Kael in disguise. And he did all this just to protect Alina, Ronan's destined mate, who was already pregnant?! That night, under the bright moon, I snuck away and sent a message to my cousin, the Head Beta of the Silver-Moon Pack: “Tell your Alpha Lucian that I, Elara, accept his courtship offer.”

I was the firm’s star. The one they called for the impossible cases. My latest miracle? The “Titan Project” patent case. I made the firm a billion dollars. My cut was supposed to be a two-million-dollar bonus. But today, a fresh-faced intern waltzed off with it. I thought payroll had made a mistake and stormed straight into the senior partner's office. “Preston. My two-million-dollar bonus. Tell me there’s been a mistake.” Preston didn’t even bother to look up. “Victoria, I’ve looked into it. We won this case because of Chloe’s client management.” “She was schmoozing clients. Late-night golf games. Weekend yacht parties. While you were what, exactly?” “You never showed your face outside the courtroom. Teamwork is everything.” I almost laughed. It was absurd. “She’s a rookie who can’t even recite the rules of discovery.” “Enough!” Preston cut me off. “The firm doesn’t make mistakes. I see what everyone contributes.” “If you're not happy, you can prove your worth somewhere else.” He tossed a severance agreement on the desk. My heart went cold. I signed it on the spot. Before I left, I got the last word. “Preston, next time the firm has a real fight on its hands, you’d better call your social butterfly, Chloe. Don’t bother me.” He blew a perfect smoke ring, smirking right through it. Unfazed. Soon later, my phone blew up. It was him. Begging me to come back and save his ass.

"เธอทำให้ฉันเจ็บก่อนนะ" เขากดดวงตาคมจ้องฉันพลางต้อนให้ฉันเดินถอยหลังไปอย่างช่วยไม่ได้ "เธอร้ายกับฉันก่อนเอง" เขาพูดเมื่อขาของฉันชนกับเตียงที่อยู่ด้านหลังแล้วเกือบจะหงายหลังแต่เขารั้งแขนฉันไว้ "เหนือ...อื้อ" พูดแต่แค่คำเดียวเขาก็ฉกริมฝีปากลงมาปิดปากฉันพลางใช้ฟันขบผิวปากของฉันจนรู้สึกถึงคาวเลือดด้วย ฉันเจ็บและตกใจเลยดันอกเขาไว้แต่เขากลับยื้อฉันด้วยการทิ้งน้ำหนักลงมาที่ตัวฉันพร้อมกับสอดเรียวลิ้นเข้ามาในปากและช่วงชิงลมหายใจของฉันผ่านรสจูบที่ร้อนแรงนั่น "จะ เจ็บ" ฉันร้องออกมาเพราะพอเขาถอนจูบกระชากวิญญานออกไปเขาก็ก้มลงไปขบเม้มบริเวณต้นคอฉันจนเจ็บแปล่บ จากนั้นก็รวบข้อมือฉันด้วยมือข้างเดียวแล้วดันขึ้นไปกดไว้กับฟูกเตียงเหนือหัวของฉัน "ฉันก็เจ็บ เจ็บกว่านี้เยอะ" เขากัดฟันพูด แววตาเขาแสดงออกว่าเจ็บปวดจริงๆ…

My wolf was cursed. I had three days left. But my parents and my mate, Alpha Edwin, forced me to surrender my Luna title to Meggie. All because she claimed a curse was killing her, too. In my despair, I agreed. The moment our mate bond shattered, the backlash nearly broke me. With tears in my eyes, I asked them, "If I died, would you even miss me?" They told me to stop faking it, their expressions ice-cold. But they didn't know. Meggie's curse was a lie. And mine was all her doing. It wasn't until my wolf faded to nothing that Meggie's true colors were revealed. Only then did they scream at her, blaming her for my death. But Meggie just snarled back, "I wasn't the only one who killed Hazel. You all did, too, didn't you?"

My mother sent me to Chicago to marry Marco Ricci. A power move. One meant to cement our family’s control of the city. After all, my grandfather was the one who put the Riccis on the map. They owed us. They were supposed to treat me like royalty. I went to the fanciest jeweler in Chicago to buy my fiancé a gift. But some broad snatched it right from me. Before I could move, the store manager was fawning all over her. “Miss Bianca! A gift from Mr. Ricci? It’s perfect on you!” Marco? My fiancé? So this was his whore. She slid the sapphire ring onto her finger and shot me a look of disgust. “Who the hell do you think you are, bitch? Trying to take what’s mine?” I didn't even look at her. I just called Marco. "Your whore has something of mine. You have three minutes. Get down to the jeweler and handle her."