Betrayal From Family

At the company's celebration dinner, the new HR guy slapped a bill on the table—$860 for A/C and venue costs from our last all-nighter. I shot a look at Sherry—my girlfriend, my boss—thinking she'd have my back. Nope. She latched onto HR's arm and said, "Quentin, this isn't your daddy's company. Quit freeloading." And just like that, nine years of busting my ass for this company, and turns out—I was the discount item on the menu.

“Are… are you going to hurt me?” The question left me in a shaky whisper, my throat tight, my voice betraying me. His eyes narrowed, a dark gleam flashing in them. His mouth curved into something cruel. “I’m going to ruin you,” he corrected, each word drawn out with slow, lethal certainty. “I’ll give you every filthy thing you fantasize about, and I’ll claim every inch of you until there’s nothing left to hide behind.” **** He thought I was just a girl obsessed with dark fantasies… he had no idea I'd been planning his downfall for five years. Every step I took led me closer to him. Every choice I made was never a coincidence. And when I finally got the chance, I let him see me. Let him notice me. Let him believe I was just another girl drawn to his darkness. But nothing about this is accidental. Now I’m caught in something deeper than I planned. A game I thought I understood… but don’t. Because the closer I get to him, the harder it is to remember why I started. His touch lingers longer than it should. His presence feels… familiar in ways I can’t explain. And somewhere along the line, this stopped feeling like revenge. So what happens when the lines blur? When the person I’m supposed to destroy starts to feel like the only one who sees me? When truths begin to surface and nothing is as simple as I believed? And when everything I built my life on starts to fall apart? Will I still be the one in control?

I thought finding my mate would be the start of my happily ever after. I was wrong. It was the beginning of my misery. Cassius Slade, the son of the Alpha, my tormentor for years, claimed me in front of the entire pack. For one breathless moment, I believed the Moon Goddess had given me a blessing. Then I found him in another’s arms… whispering love to someone who wasn’t ME. To hide his shame, he asked for my life but I ran, broken and ready to let the sea swallow me whole. But fate wasn’t finished with me. I woke in the arms of Dante Steele. The dangerous, magnetic Alpha and he claimed me as his second-chance mate. His gaze burns hotter than the sun, his touch makes me forget my scars, and his vow to protect me makes my wolf purr. But Cassius isn’t done with me. And the Moon Goddess doesn’t grant second chances without a price. Now, I stand between two Alphas, two fates, and one choice that could save me… or destroy me. I am given a chance, to rewrite my horrible story and make it beautiful.

After my parents were killed in a territory war, I was taken in by Don Moretti, head of New York's most powerful crime family. I was the only civilian in a world of made men. For twenty years, I was raised alongside his twin heirs, Marco and Santino. Their protection and favor made me the envy of every aspiring mob wife in the city. But when I was finally ready to become a real part of the family, they both turned me down. Marco said, "I need to focus on expanding our territory first. I'm not ready for this kind of commitment." Santino said, "An outsider can't be trusted with family secrets." The next night, at my birthday celebration, they both proposed to the daughter of a low-level enforcer. To prove their loyalty to her, they let her force me to drink "The Don's Fire"—a 150-proof grappa laced with ghost peppers that would hospitalize anyone who wasn't raised on it since childhood. Broken in body and spirit, I made a call from my hospital bed. "I accept the proposal from the Luciano Syndicate."

It was the twentieth year of the zombie apocalypse. Resources were scarce, but I still used half of my savings to buy flowers to propose to my girlfriend. However, she turned around and linked arms with my brother, telling me arrogantly, "You're just a poor loser who stole someone else's superpower. You're not worthy of me. I'm marrying the real owner of the superpower. He's really strong, so get lost, you simp." I was stunned. The "real owner" she was talking about was my own brother. He could only use his spatial power because I shared it with him. Watching them shamelessly mock me in front of other people, I silently unlinked my brother from the superpower sharing system. Let's see how strong he could be now!

Three days before my wedding with Luca D'Angelo, I accidentally stumble upon him having an affair with my best friend, Delila Rusconi. Delila can be seen sitting on Luca's lap in his office. She caresses his chin in a seductive manner. "Delila, I told you before that Katerina must never find out about our affair!" Luca pinches Delila's fingers together, his voice carrying a strong hint of warning. Delila just giggles before kissing his hand. She replies flippantly, "I know, I know. You have no choice but to marry her in order to gain control over the coastal port trades. I completely understand." I inhale sharply before fleeing the scene in panic. Tears brim in my eyes instantly. I can't believe that Luca, the man who's loved and doted on me for three whole years, has chosen to marry me solely just to make more profits despite the fact that we only get to know each other because of a marriage alliance. The future plans I have in store for us, as well as my rose-tinted fantasies about romance, are completely shattered because of the scene I've just witnessed. Tears continue to stream down my cheeks as I call my dad on the phone. "Papa, I'll heed your order and give up on the marriage alliance with the D'Angelos. I'll return to Chitchily in three days and carry out my responsibilities as a family member."

Who needs enemies when your best friend is prepared to kill you? Why? Because she wants my alpha mate. Worse yet, he mate wants her as well. My Gamma paid the ultimate price to help me escape. I can’t let his sacrifice be in vain. I crossed paths with a lone wolf, Ellie. She helped me. Now I hide my identity and live in the human world. I may not be reaching my full potential. But at least I am alive.    Ellie and I meet monthly to support one another. This was when we stumbled across an injured Alpha wolf.   He doesn’t remember who he is or which pack he belongs to. One thing is for certain, he doesn’t belong around here. So who is he, and how can I get him home? While we wait for him to regain his memory. I find myself responsible for him.   We finally got him home. I am forced to reassess my life, confront my demons, and plan my future.  A future I never knew I wanted. 

On the day of my wedding, I was stabbed, left to die... and forgotten. While I bled in my wedding dress, my fiancé married my sister. And my adoptive family, the people who I thought loved me never even looked for me. They all moved on like I never existed. I thought my world had ended. But I refused to stay a victim. Benjamin Grey, CEO of Grey Global found me, saved me, and helped me rise again. When I thought I would get my revenge, I found out that my biological mother who had been missing for fifteen years was alive, and held captive by my adoptive parents. The more I try to find peace, the more trouble comes in. And I wished I had died that day. Maybe death would've been easier than living with everything I now know. Maybe I won't have to face all these traumas. But life had other plans.

Paige Aviva thought she had it all love, stability, and a marriage others admired. But everything falls apart on her fifth wedding anniversary when anonymous photos reveal her husband, Ethan, in an intimate act with her best friend. Her heartbreak deepens when she discovers her younger sister is pregnant with his second child only weeks after Ethan coerced her into aborting theirs. Crushed by betrayal and grief, Paige tries to end her life. But a mysterious, powerful stranger named Raymond stops her at the cliff’s edge, offering her an unusual bargain: he’ll give her the power to make everyone who hurt her suffer if she agrees to his terms. Paige signs a contract, unknowingly stepping into a world of werewolves, mate bonds, ancient curses, and dangerous secrets. As she becomes entangled with Raymond and later discovers he has a vengeful twin, Ryan, Paige learns she is no ordinary woman. She’s a cursed wolf with rare powers, a prize everyone wants to control or destroy. Torn between love, revenge, and survival, Paige must choose who to trust, embrace her true nature, and fight for her life and the life of the child she never expected to carry.

The enemies of my adopted sister's parents mistook me for her and kidnapped me. Before the rogues killed me, they gave me three phone calls for help. If anyone was willing to give me three hundred dollars, I could live. For the first call, I dialed my father. Father didn't listen to a word I said. He immediately unleashed a torrent of curses. "Where the hell are you? Get your ass back home right now for your sister's birthday!" For the second call, I dialed my brother. My brother listened silently to my plea for help, then hung up with a cold snort. "You're never around when the pack needs you. Who's going to fall for this act now?" For the third call, I dialed my fiancé. He didn't even answer. When I called again, I'd been blocked. The rogue wolf laughed at me. "Looks like being the eldest daughter of the Ashwood family doesn't mean much, does it?" After he tortured me to death, he stuffed my body into a suitcase and threw it in the river.