Before We Drowned Novels & Stories

For one year, I believed Matteo De Luca had truly fallen in love with me. Our marriage began as an alliance, but he held me every night, kissed me before council meetings, and fastened the De Luca Donna brooch at my throat as if I already belonged beside him. Then his first love, Vanessa Ashford, came back. Within days, our official ceremony was postponed, her access was added to the Donna wing, and Matteo stopped wearing the family signet he once used to claim me in public. He said it was council business. But council business did not leave amber perfume on his skin. It did not sit beside him on a private jet to Palm Beach. And it certainly did not smile from the Donna’s chair while his friends watched me lose my place. The final humiliation came at a private dinner, when someone asked whether I was Matteo’s wife. He looked at me, then said calmly, “Elena and I have an arrangement.” That night, I stopped waiting to be chosen. Matteo could keep his first love, his title, and the home he let her enter. I packed my passport, my Florence contract, and the prenatal report he had never seen. Then I left New York with his child.

I had a mild hearing impairment, which left me mostly deaf in my right ear. Growing up, Tristan Lockhart always made it a point to stand on my right side. "That way, if anyone tries to talk behind your back, I'll be the first to hear it," he used to tell me. Eventually, we got engaged, and the wedding invitations were already printed and ready to go. Everyone around us kept saying how incredibly blessed I was to have a childhood sweetheart who had spent over a decade shielding me from the world. That was until Sunny Pierce joined Tristan’s company. She was stunning, vibrant, and always spoke with a radiant smile plastered across her face. The very first time she met me, she stared intently at my hearing aid for a long moment before turning to Tristan with a playful laugh. "With her like that, can she even hear you whisper sweet nothings in her ear at night?" My face drained of all color, but Tristan merely furrowed his brow slightly. "Sunny just speaks before she thinks. Don't take it to heart." On the day of our wedding rehearsal. I stood right outside the heavy chapel doors, listening to Sunny mockingly read my vows aloud. "Thank you for tolerating me as your constant complication for over a decade. I promise to be your comfort, your constant shadow, and your favorite complication for the rest of my life." The entire room erupted into a chorus of laughter, and Tristan let out a soft chuckle along with them. "Stop messing around," he said, his voice carrying a light laugh. "If she overhears you changing the words, she's going to get upset again." Sunny paused, her tone turning playful. "Are you seriously still going to marry her, then?" Tristan fell completely silent for two long seconds. "The invitations have already been sent out," he finally replied, his voice flat. "What else am I supposed to do at this point?" I stood frozen at the very end of the corridor. The umbrella he had once gifted me was still dripping rainwater onto the tile floor. But suddenly, I had absolutely no desire to walk through those doors.

For twenty-three years, Amara Everhart has been called many things. Fat,cursed,unworthy. A disgrace to the Moon Goddess. As the plus-size daughter of a murdered Alpha, she is forced to live as a servant inside the very pack that should have worshipped her. Her stepmother rules through cruelty, her stepsister steals everything that should have belonged to her, and the entire werewolf world believes Amara was born without a wolf. What they don't know is that her wolf isn't missing. It was sealed. On the night of the Blood Moon Gathering, every Alpha on the continent witnesses the impossible when the most feared Alpha alive is revealed as Amara's destined mate. But instead of claiming her... He publicly rejects her. The humiliation becomes the greatest spectacle in werewolf history. Yet the moment his rejection touches her soul, an ancient seal shatters. Amara was never born to become someone's Luna. She was born to become the Queen the Moon Goddess herself once crowned. Long before Alphas ruled the werewolf world, there existed Moon Queens whose command could bring the strongest warriors to their knees with a single word. They vanished a thousand years ago, erased from history by the very men who stole their throne. Amara is the last of their bloodline. Now, the woman they mocked returns with a power no Alpha can resist, secrets capable of destroying every ruling pack, and a single promise that sends fear through the continent: "The day you laughed at me was the last day you stood above me." As kingdoms crumble, loyalties shatter, and the Alpha who rejected her begs for another chance, Amara has only one destiny. Not to become his Luna. But to make an entire world kneel before its rightful Queen.

Hadden's sister had merely choked on some water at the pool while she was swimming, and for that, he shoved me into the pool after tying me up. He left me with only a small hole for air that was barely an inch. He said I would have to pay double for every grievance Julia suffered. I never learned how to swim. There was nothing I could do but try my best to breathe as I sobbed and begged him to let me out. Yet all I received was a lecture. "You'll never learn if I don't teach you a lesson now." I struggled to stay afloat, but… It took five days before Hadden's anger dissipated and he put me out of my misery, but it was already too late. "I'll let you go this time, but you'd better not make the same mistake again!" I had already drowned to death.

I married a monster to save my mother. I just didn’t expect to fall for his son. At twenty-nine, Harlow Vale marries billionaire Adrien Vale to save her dying mother from crushing medical debt. The rules are simple: be obedient, look beautiful, and never ask questions. Then she meets Kael. Adrien’s younger son is cruel, infuriating, and impossible to stay away from. Their attraction is instant, dangerous, and completely forbidden. But while Harlow is trying to survive the burning attraction between them, she discovers something terrifying hidden beneath Vale Estate. The women Adrien marries are not wives. They are vessels. Now Harlow is trapped inside a criminal empire where women disappear, bodies become cargo, and escape is nearly impossible. Worse, the only person she can turn to is the one man capable of destroying her completely. Because Kael has secrets of his own. And loving him might be the deadliest mistake she ever makes.

Dan is a rising basketball star with everything going in his favor. A future at NYU, a spot on the Boston team, his life seemed pretty perfect. But behind his success is a truth he can never seem to escape. Kenz has always been more than just family to Dan, as friends, cousins and also emotional supporters. Kenz is the only one who understands him in ways no one else knew or cared to know about. But with time, their bond shifted into something deeper, something they both knew wasn't right. As Dan leaves for Boston to chase his basketball dreams, distance begins to affect the relationship they had. Kenz on the other hand, tries focusing on his relationship with Fiona and living a normal life, but he is unable to do that because he feels incomplete without Dan. The closer Dan gets to success, the more complicated their connection becomes. What started as hidden feelings slowly turns into confusion, guilt and resentment. Both boys struggle between choosing love and living a normal life. In a world filled with confrontations and pressure, Dan and Kenz are forced to accept the truth they have spent so long avoiding. Feelings are never easy to get rid of. And sometimes choosing love may end up destroying everything around them.

After we got back together, I kept the Winter family’s rules in mind all the time. I never threw any tantrums and was content with being the man supporting Winona Winter, my wife. Within the upper-class society, I became well-known as a magnanimous husband. However, when Winona became pregnant with another man’s baby again, everyone thought that I would fight against that man, but I only brought her back calmly and took care of her. Yet Winona lost her composure and grabbed my collar. “Shaun, why aren’t you arguing with me?” I only smiled and calmly took out a copy of the family rules. “According to Rule 137, the husband needs to be magnanimous and tolerant. He must understand that his wife has needs and cannot be unreasonable.”

On the eve of my wedding, the drug effects of the sleeping pills have faded away. That's how I find myself waking up amid the rambunctious laughter in the master suite of the estate. As soon as I open my eyes, I see my luxurious custom-fitted wedding gown being shredded into pieces by Trevor Gibson's female best friend, Sophia Lynch. She toys with the scissors as she jokes around in front of her phone, where a livestream is ongoing. "Helena is no lady of the house! At the end of the day, I can still manipulate her as though she were a maggot!" Trevor's friends agree with her loudly. "Trevor was the one who laced her milk with sleeping pills, to begin with. Anyone else would've slept like a log!" The comment section is filled with mocking comments directed at me. Meanwhile, Trevor just pats Sophia on the head dotingly. "You must be done venting your anger by now, right? Be a good girl and turn off the livestream. If Helena wakes up and kicks up a fuss, it'll be difficult for tomorrow's wedding to proceed." Once everyone leaves the master suite, Trevor sits by the bed and tucks me in. "Sophia mustn't get triggered at all due to her depression. I'll only deal with you later. Anyway, I've already arranged for a plane to fly in a new wedding gown for you as we speak. Honestly speaking, that gown fits you even more." I can only grip the covers quietly. Then, I fire a text at Jordan Scott. "I'm not going to get married now. Are you still sticking to that promise you gave me back then?"

Warning! Mature Content! *Excerpt* "Does it make you nervous when I stare?" His voice was laced with sinful passion. "Will you hate me if I do this?" His dark gaze took in her entire frame. "I am obsessed with you, Delaney." *** Delaney, a beautiful woman, only wished for one thing - A peaceful life, and perhaps, a little touch of financial independence. But throughout her childhood, life gave her a contrast to her wish. She grew up knowing nothing but hatred from her family, and eventually, from her fiancé too. For three years, Delaney paid for a sin she never intentionally committed - losing her virginity to a stranger. This innocent mistake chattered her life and her relationship with Blaine. He detested her so much. But one question is: Why hasn't he called off their engagement? Gradually, Blaine was becoming the man she hoped he'd be. She'd secured a job at a prominent company too... She was already inching closer to her dreams when suddenly, he resurfaced - The stranger who had almost ruined her life three years ago. This stranger who was perfectly built for sin turns out to be Blaine's boss, the most dreaded Adonis Langston. And this time, he wanted more than just a one-night stand... Poor Delaney's life was set into panic once again. Little did she know that she had also cast her spell on her soon-to-be boss, who turns out to be Adonis's childhood best friend! Oops! Financial Independence, power, and fame at its peak... All hell is about to let loose as these three men are never known for surrendering. She had all she needed to exert revenge on those who'd hurt her, depending on the decision she makes. But in all of these, she is about to face the biggest betrayal of her life.

He didn't want me as his real mate—just a contract Luna he barely tolerated. But everything changed the night my wolf stirred, and I found out I was carrying his child. Now, with only thirty days left before our marriage ends, my Alpha chooses another woman. He looks at her with a love he’s never given me. I'm left with one choice; to leave and protect my child. And I will disappear from his world forever. But when the truth awakens, will the Alpha who rejected me finally realize what he’s lost?