Albatross Soup

As the college entrance exams approached, I paid the top student in our class to tutor me. But the day she came over, she brought along her childhood sweetheart and insisted that he join our study sessions. I declined her request politely, and she did not press the matter further. The boy left my house in defeat and was struck by a car, suffering injuries so severe that they left him crippled. He could no longer continue his education and was forced to drop out, taking on grueling manual labor to survive. The girl continued tutoring me nonetheless. We both gained admission to the same university, grew close over time, fell in love, got married, and started a family. But on the night of our wedding anniversary, Sharon slipped poison into my soup and watched impassively as I began to convulse and vomit blood, the crimson stain spreading slowly across the floor. "This is what you owe Harry," she said with cold venom. "Taste what it's like to lose all hope." It turned out that she had harbored resentment toward me for all those years. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day she first came to my house with her friend.

My girlfriend suddenly told me she had six small beads implanted inside her, blushing as she said it was meant to please me. The next day, I made soup and brought it to her office. To my surprise, I saw her in the arms of my good friend, Henry Somerset. Henry wrapped his arm around her waist, his voice deep. "Baby, you're such a good girl. You really did the implantation as I told. My dumb friend even thought you did it for him. Do you reckon he'll lose his mind if he finds out you and I are getting married soon?" My girlfriend's voice turned cold. "This is nothing more than a marriage of convenience. I'm warning you not to let Chris find out." Henry chuckled and moved his hand downward. "Don't worry. As long as you keep me happy, I won't get Chris into trouble." After hearing all this behind the door, my entire body went cold. Clutching my phone tightly, I recalled my boss saying he would transfer me to a subsidiary company a few days ago. I no longer hesitated and sent him a text. [Boss, I'd like to be transferred to the subsidiary company in Hailborough City in three days.]

"Lilith, are you sure there's nothing wrong with this soup?" "What, you’re doubting your own mother’s love now?" she sneered. Grinding my teeth, I forced it down—only to feel a searing pain twist through my gut like knives a moment later. Alpha Kane burst into the room and gathered my lifeless body into his arms. His eyes burned crimson as he roared to the Eternity Pack: "I’ll burn this world to the ground for what you did to her." But fate wasn’t done with me yet. It gave me another chance. Back on the day of the poisoning, my cold smile slicing through the stunned silence. "This time," I said, "you’ll be the ones begging on your knees." And as it turns out… Revenge is sweet, but love? Even sweeter. "I can heal your leg," I said, lifting Kane’s blanket. Only for him to grab my wrist with a deadly grip. "Getting handsy now?" he smirked. "I’m checking your injury," I shot back, eyes narrowing. "Unless… there’s something else that needs ‘treating’ too?" "Sign it," I slammed the marriage certificate in front of him. "In exchange, I’ll help you walk again." "Do you even know what mate duties include?" His eyes drifted downward, tracing the curve of my waist— and lower.

Rain was my mate's childhood sweetheart. When she found out I'd been exposed to wolfsbane as a child, she slipped a trace amount into my mushroom soup. The moment I swallowed it, a searing pain ripped through my chest. My powers drained away. My wolf howled inside me, thrashing in agony. Panicked, I grabbed my flask — years ago, my father had collected sacred spring water that could neutralize wolfsbane, just in case. But she had swapped that too. The flask was full of the same poisoned soup. The blood drained from my face. Every ounce of strength left my body. I collapsed, clinging to the leg of my mate, Liam. "Please — I've been poisoned. Wolfsbane. You have to help me — " Liam hesitated. But Rain crossed her arms and laughed. "Liam, your fiancée really is quite the actress. It's just mushroom soup. I've been a healer for years, and I've never seen anyone get poisoned from soup." The other werewolves piled on. "Cut the act! Nobody gets poisoned from mushroom soup." "She's just jealous that Rain became a healer. She wants to ruin the celebration." Liam's face went cold again. "Rain's a healer. If there was anything wrong with the soup, she'd know. You'll be fine." I stopped begging. I spent the last shred of my energy reaching through the mind-link to my father — Alpha Hale of the Granite Pack.

"Lilith, are you sure there's nothing wrong with this soup?" "What, you’re doubting your own mother’s love now?" she sneered. Grinding my teeth, I forced it down—only to feel a searing pain twist through my gut like knives a moment later. Alpha Kane burst into the room and gathered my lifeless body into his arms. His eyes burned crimson as he roared to the Eternity Pack: "I’ll burn this world to the ground for what you did to her." But fate wasn’t done with me yet. It gave me another chance. Back on the day of the poisoning, my cold smile slicing through the stunned silence. "This time," I said, "you’ll be the ones begging on your knees." And as it turns out… Revenge is sweet, but love? Even sweeter. "I can heal your leg," I said, lifting Kane’s blanket. Only for him to grab my wrist with a deadly grip. "Getting handsy now?" he smirked. "I’m checking your injury," I shot back, eyes narrowing. "Unless… there’s something else that needs ‘treating’ too?" "Sign it," I slammed the marriage certificate in front of him. "In exchange, I’ll help you walk again." "Do you even know what mate duties include?" His eyes drifted downward, tracing the curve of my waist— and lower.

My deskmate, Sierra Langford, handed me a throat lozenge. I turned around and melted it into the school cafeteria’s "Top Scholar Soup", letting all four thousand students share a taste. Because this time, I’ve been reborn. In my previous life, Sierra had a system that could steal other people’s exam scores. As long as I ate something from her, my grades would automatically transfer to her. She was a rich girl, already set to study abroad. Stealing my college entrance exam score was just a joke to her. On the other hand, I was poor. The exam was my only chance to change my fate. After three mock exams, my scores kept dropping for no reason, and no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find out why. In the end, I failed the college entrance exam. Lost and broken, I was hit by a car. After I died, my soul hovered in the air and overheard Sierra laughing with her best friend, Hailey Monroe. "Who would’ve thought Vera Collins could’ve ranked first in the entire city? Well, that title’s mine now! Someone like her deserves to rot in the mud forever." This time, I’m back. So, she liked stealing people’s scores for fun? Then stealing just mine would be too boring. This time, the entire school’s exam scores would be a surprise for her.

Résumé : Dans le village d’Obélé, une jalousie silencieuse grandit entre deux frères, Assane et Malik. Assane, l’aîné, prospère et respecté, soupçonne sa femme, Awa, d’éprouver des sentiments pour son cadet. Rongé par la jalousie, il empoisonne Malik, qui tombe gravement malade. Grâce aux soins d’un guérisseur, Malik survit mais comprend que son frère cherche à l’éliminer. Lorsque Awa tombe mystérieusement malade à son tour, Malik comprend qu’Assane la punit pour ses sentiments cachés. Désespéré, il consulte une sorcière qui lui donne un breuvage capable de renverser le sort. Assane boit sans se méfier et commence à dépérir, hanté par des visions cauchemardesques. Alors qu’il agonise, il réalise qu’il a perdu bien plus qu’un combat : sa femme, son honneur et sa vie. Mais alors que Malik croit avoir triomphé, il sent à son tour une ombre l’envahir… Le poison ne disparaît jamais, il change seulement de porteur.

Léonora Dixon, surnommée Nora, est une brillante femme d’affaires parisienne à la vingtaine flamboyante, aussi redoutée que respectée. Habillée de pouvoir et passion, elle voit rouge, autant dans ses vêtements que dans sa manière de diriger : avec autorité, précision, et un soupçon de cruauté. Lorsqu’elle organise un entretien pour recruter une nouvelle secrétaire, elle ne s’attend pas à être troublée. Parmi toutes les candidates, un seul homme se présente : Tom Jenson. Mystérieux, élégant et d’un calme déconcertant, il attise en elle un souvenir diffus… et un trouble qu’elle peine à dissimuler. Contre toute attente et ses propres règles Nora l’embauche. Mais ce qu’elle ignore, c’est que Tom n’a rien d’un simple secrétaire. Imprévisible, incisif, il ne se laisse ni séduire ni intimider. Face à lui, la redoutable Nora va découvrir ce que c’est que de perdre le contrôle… et peut-être bien, le cœur.

Stanley Porter, my wife Jessica Evans’ close male friend, and I are both competing to be the next fire captain. In my first lifetime, I was chosen by a unanimous vote. On my very first night on duty as captain, Jessica came over to the fire station to celebrate with me. Sticking to my duties as captain, I didn't touch a single drop of alcohol. Yet, after drinking the chicken soup Jessica gave me, I fell into a deep sleep. That night, a massive fire broke out in the old district, resulting in the deaths of 58 people. Because I missed the station's alarm, I was accused of dereliction of duty and labeled as the main person responsible for the tragedy. The enraged families of the victims ended up beating me to death. In my second lifetime, I withdrew my name from the selection for captain. I handed the badge over to Stanley instead, saying, "You're better suited to be captain than I am." I'd assumed that this was enough to ensure that the fire couldn't be pinned on me. Yet, when the authorities looked into the fire, they ended up seeing me appear in the security footage from where the fire began. Everyone assumed I'd deliberately started the fire to get back at Stanley out of jealousy for losing out on the captain position. I now open my eyes again to live my third life. I watch as Stanley excitedly gives his speech on the podium after being made the captain. This time around, I submit a request for annual leave and take a cab straight to the airport.

It's my seventh year of secretly dating Liam Ferguson, my brother's friend. We're about to have our marking ceremony soon. I happily prepare for it, wanting to surprise him. However, during a gathering with friends, I accidentally overhear something. "If you ask me, there's no denying Alpha Liam's good looks and charm. To think he managed to make the Silver Snow pack's Alpha's sister his stand-in lover and bed partner!" "What are you going to do with Maya now that Nina's back, Liam? Andrew won't let you off the hook if he finds out you've been fooling around with his sister…" The following day, Liam takes me to Nina White's welcome-back party. He's gentle, considerate, and affectionate with me. His love for me seems so deep that I wonder whether I'm imagining things. Then, Nina "accidentally" spills scalding soup on my arm and runs out in tears. I'm the injured one, but she feels wronged. However, Liam shoves me aside and runs after her in a panic. I return home with a burned arm and open the door to the basement—Liam has never allowed me in there. I see Nina's photos plastered on the walls. There are even photos of them doing the deed in various positions. He looks so wild. I call Andrew with a heart full of despair. "I've made up my mind about the marriage with the Alpha heir of the Storm Tribe. I'll do it!"