Barely Survived

“**You should have remained hidden, Omega.**” Ashryn never meant to step into the fire-lit ring. Weak, unmated, and unwanted, he has survived his entire life by staying unseen. But the Moon does not care for survival—it cares for fate. And the moment Ashryn feels the bond tug at his chest, he knows the truth is far crueler than hope. Kaelor is the Alpha who rejects him before the entire pack, shattering Ashryn’s dignity with a single word: *defective*. Humiliated and broken, Ashryn runs into the wilds, determined to disappear forever. Yet fate is not finished with him. The bond refuses to die, pulsing louder with every mile of distance. When Kaelor finds him again, regret burns hotter than pride. The Alpha who denied his mate now refuses to let him go—claiming protection where Ashryn sees a cage. Trapped between desire and fear, mercy and possession, Ashryn must decide whether love born of pain can ever be trusted. Because some bonds are not meant to be gentle. Some are forged in rejection, sharpened by regret, and sealed by a Moon that never makes mistakes. **He was never meant to exist. Yet fate refuses to let him go.**

On the day of my mating ceremony with my Alpha mate, Derek, his childhood sweetheart Victoria returned. Victoria, using her supposed silver poisoning as an excuse for needing care, crashed our ceremony. She snatched my mate away, turning me into a laughingstock for the entire pack. Derek, seemingly unconcerned, said, "She's silver-poisoned. Her body's weak. Don't overthink it." He carried her to the pack healer, leaving me alone and humiliated. I yanked off the silver pendant he'd given me when he chose me as his mate. As I tossed it aside, it sliced my palm. To my horror, the small cut didn't heal. Instead, blood flowed freely. Because I was the one truly poisoned by silver. Derek didn't know. Months ago, during a rogue wolf attack, I'd taken a silver bullet meant for him. I survived, but my wolf lost her healing ability forever. Later, I overheard the usually strong and calm Alpha yelling at the pack healer, "How did you miss this? If anything happens to my Luna, none of you will survive!"

Aria was born with nothing; an orphaned girl in a cruel world that only ever wanted to break her. Raised in a pack that never accepted her, she survived in silence… until the day Alpha Lucien, who is her ruthless, cold-blooded stepfather sank his teeth into her neck, marking her as his mate. Trapped in a twisted bond with the man who should’ve protected her, Aria fights to resist the pull of the forced connection. Every touch, every word, every dark promise he whispers is meant to dominate her spirit. But Aria won’t break easily. Not even under the torment of betrayal, pain, and an unwanted claim. When his stepbrother named Kael appears bearing eyes filled with sorrow and secrets of his own, Aria’s world begins to shift. There’s something different about him. Something dangerous. Something… familiar. As hidden truths unravel, enemies rise from the shadows, and a forbidden past resurfaces, Aria is forced to choose between submitting to a destiny she never asked for or fighting for the freedom and love, she’s always deserved. In a world ruled by alphas, marks, and power, can an orphan girl defy fate and reclaim her life before she’s devoured by the darkness?

Juniper Hallowell has survived a lifetime of humiliation—an illegitimate Omega, a rejected mate, and the secret obsession of Prince Elias Whitmore, who keeps her chained with threats and a forbidden tape. But the night he chooses another woman over her, Juniper walks into a biker club and into the arms of two strangers who feel like destiny. Ronan and Soren Graves—ruthless biker princes and heirs of the Crimson Pack—have lived under a deadly Christmas curse since childhood. Every 24th of the month, they turn feral… until one night with a mysterious Omega brings them peace for the first time in years. They don’t know she’s their sister’s enemy. They don’t know she’s Elias’s mate. They don’t know she’s the witch-blooded cure they’ve searched for all their lives. But when the truth is exposed, chaos erupts. Juniper becomes torn between danger and desire, vengeance and destiny, power and love. And when she discovers she carries the twins’ children, the race to break the curse becomes a war—against Elias, Seraphina, and even fate itself. This Christmas, bloodlines will clash, curses will break, and love will demand a sacrifice no one is ready for.

In that moment, our lips were only a breath's distance apart. Antonio's eyes held an unspeakable yearning. His gaze dropped to my lips, his intentions evident. My own desire mirrored his, creating a powerful magnetism. Just as he closed the distance, I placed my free hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Antonio," I murmured, my voice trembling, "We can't..." He froze in place, his warm breath caressing my lips. His eyes held my reflection in them, fluttered shut for a moment as he absorbed my words. I saw a flicker of pain, quickly masked by a stoic calm. He nodded slightly. "I understand," he replied, quietly. His voice was steady, betraying none of the emotions I knew must have been roiling beneath his suave facade. "You aren't going to ask me why?" I asked him, my voice barely a whisper. Antonio smiled, a sad, understanding smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm not," he said slowly, "because I understand that you have a valid reason for your actions." "Antonio," I swallowed hard, my voice unsteady, "I...I am getting married tomorrow, to Alpha Boris." His eyes widened slightly, the shock of my revelation clear. "You are the future Luna…" he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wilhelmina Growler is a force to be reckoned with, a fierce and dominant female werewolf. Her unyielding determination to become the alpha of her pack, the Gravemaw Hounds. However, her aspirations are cut short when shortly after becoming the Beta, Alpha Boris Gravemaw demotes her and forces her as his Luna. The night of the highly anticipated Moon Goddess' Ball, Wilhelmina's world is turned upside down when she discovers that Antonio Lothian, the Lycan Prince, is her destined mate.

Aria Douglas, always liberal and explosive, finally found the fit of her shoes. She never believed that she could trust a man again until she realized that she was falling in love with that man. The one she met in a bar, the one with blonde hair that looked dyed-cropped, intense blue eyes, a hooked nose, and lips created by a bloody sex god. Samme got into her skin. And between her legs. She, who did not want to be with anyone, suddenly wanted to be with that man she barely knew. What had she seen in him? There were things she didn't understand about him and she wasn't sure she wanted to answer them either. The only thing that was absolutely clear to her was that she fell in love with a man who was a mystery and an enigma to her.

At Ryder Quinn’s kindergarten parent-child sports day, I expected my husband, Michael Quinn, to be away on a business trip. Instead, I found Michael on stage, dressed in a ballet tutu, dancing as one of the "little swans" in the fathers’ performance. I had barely taken a step forward when a little girl in a floral dress darted into his arms, calling out to him in the sweetest voice, "Daddy!" There they stood: Michael, his assistant, Janine Carter, and her daughter—all in matching family outfits. The moment our eyes met, Michael quickly pulled away from her, fumbling for an excuse. "Janine’s a single mom. It isn’t easy for her. I was just helping out." I smiled, cold and steady, and handed him the divorce papers. "Then, do me a favor too, Michael. Stop wasting my youth."

"Didn't you ask me to marry you? I permit you to wed me," said the raven-haired woman with a straight, blank face. "...Pardon?" "Let's get married." "...Weren't you the one who repeatedly rejected my proposal last night?" "Can't a woman play hard to get?" The man's face twitched. He could barely keep up with her, "Look, once you—" "So, you won't marry me?" A strange glint passed through the man's amber orbs which disappeared quickly just as it came by. "Who's to say I won't?" — In which a commander of a special unit under the PSIA found himself in a contractual marriage with his strange and mysterious neighbor. Little did he know that she's one heck of a little assassin.

Two years after her sister vanished without a trace, Sera Duvall is barely surviving emotionally and financially. But when a chance encounter leads her into the arms of Lucien Calder, the tech billionaire who was the last known person to see her sister, she makes a dangerous choice: infiltrate his world and expose the truth from within. Lucien is controlled, powerful, and hiding something behind every careful word. He offers her a deal: stay with him for one week, and he’ll give her what she wants. But the closer Sera gets to uncovering what happened, the more tangled she becomes in a web of secrets, emotional manipulation, and a slow-burning desire she didn’t see coming. And in a world where love is leverage and lies are currency, the truth may destroy them both.

On the eve of my wedding, my wife, Sharon Moonstone, drugged me and knocked me unconscious. She let her first love, Aaron Miller, take my place as the groom, standing beside her as they held the wedding that was supposed to belong to both of us. By the time I finally found them, they had already gone into the bridal suite and consummated their marriage. When I demanded answers, Sharon did not show a trace of guilt. "You live off me. You'd better behave. Make a scene, and we'll divorce." My heart went cold. I handed her the divorce papers, but she barely looked at them. "Looks like you've improved," she said lightly. "At least you know a performance should be convincing from start to finish."