Bitter Chocolate

On my son's fifth birthday, my Alpha mate allowed his childhood sweetheart Sarah to pick him up from school. I discovered through the tracking device on his watch that he was near the edge of the forest. Having heard reports of rogue wolves attacking in the area recently, I anxiously rushed over, determined to bring him back immediately. He refused to leave with me. While we were locked in this standoff, several rogue wolves burst from the treeline and attacked us. During the fight, I was wounded badly, blood streaming down my face, while I kept my son safely behind me, completely unharmed. But when my Alpha mate arrived to rescue us, he ran straight toward his childhood sweetheart who was hiding off to the side. "Aunt Sarah is a delicate Omega with no fighting ability, Dad. Save her first! Mom, you're so strong, just hold on a little longer!" my son called out. I watched them leave, a bitter smile forming on my lips. They all seemed to ignore the silver dagger piercing my heart as I protected my son. I was dying.

"Look at me properly and try to remember." He implored her, his silvery eyes boring into hers. Maya raised her nervous eyes to meet his. Searching her head, she tried to remember where she may have met this man before. As she stared at him, a sense of familiarity began to settle. Those eyes... she'd seen them before. Where has she seen them? One by one, the images came. The pictures from a time she had forgotten. She had helped someone with eyes just like this. Still in his embrace, a daunting realisation began to set in. She'd met this man before. Long before he even dreamed of being a king... **************** A tyrant king conquers a kingdom so he can get married to her forgotten princess. People expect a marriage filled with strife and everything but none of that happens. Instead he treats her right, worships her and kisses the very ground she walks on. Why is that? People wonder. The reason is quite simple. Years ago, the same princess had saved his life from the bitter hands of death when he was betrayed by his half brother, the crown prince of Madonia.

BLURB She was born to rule not to submit. He was born to love her even when she hated him. Cecilia is a rare female Alpha queen of the most powerful pack in the kingdom, raised to rule, not to submit. Marriage is a weakness she refuses to wear… until her father forces her hand. To save a dying pack, Cecilia is bound by an arranged marriage to Cassian, the quiet heir of Redwood, a man she neither trusts nor wants. If she refuses, her crown will be given to another. Bitter and furious, Cecilia treats her new mate like an enemy. Cassian endures her cruelty in silence, hiding a love he has carried for years and a strength she never bothered to see. But when duty demands an heir, lines are crossed and emotions begin to fracture. As jealousy, betrayal, and dangerous games unfold within palace walls, enemies gather outside, ready to destroy everything Cecilia has built. When blood is spilled and secrets unravel, she must face the truth she’s been running from: The man she was forced to marry is the only one willing to die for her. In a world of power, pride, and pack politics, love was never part of the plan but fate had other intentions.

I loved my foster brother, Cayden, for five years—five years of hiding, lying, and choking on the shame that came with every kiss, every touch, every lie. I should have hated myself for it, but I loved him too much for that to matter. I thought we had a future, until his first love, the one who had once shattered him, returned without warning. Suddenly, I was nothing more than a dirty secret. While he smiled at his engagement party, I was lying in a hospital bed, waiting for death, worn down by my heart condition and his cold neglect. I was as good as gone. Until Miles, who would later become my fiancé, saved me. A year later, I came back—with a loving fiancé, a healthy body, and a new life. Cayden seemed broken by my “death,” but all I felt was bitter irony. We were foster siblings, never meant to be together. He was just a mistake from my past, a mistake I swore I’d never repeat. But life didn’t turn out as smooth as I imagined. Miles carried secrets, and Cayden… he wasn’t ready to let me go.

In the heart of a city ruled by chaos, Armando Romos stands as the ruthless leader of the Demented Devils MC. Known for his fierce loyalty and unyielding power, he thrives in a world where weakness is a sin. But everything changes when a sudden ambush leaves him bleeding in a park, a bullet wound signaling an unexpected turn in his tumultuous life. Maya Connor, a compassionate nurse seeking a moment of peace, stumbles upon Armando's crumpled form. Initially, Armando's pride and fierce independence resist her offer of help; he's a man used to being in control, not relying on anyone. Yet as the blood pools around him, desperation forces him to confront his mortality and the bitter betrayal that led him here. With no choice but to surrender to Maya's care, he discovers that she sees beyond the ink and anger etched on his skin. As she tends to his wounds, a spark ignites between them, bridging the divide between their worlds-a world of violence and a realm of healing. Caught between the violent loyalty of the Demented Devils and a burgeoning passion for the woman who saved him, Armando must face his past and make a choice: embrace the chance for redemption with Maya or be dragged back into the darkness that claims so many.

My mate, Luther Evans, had spent 20 thousand dollars on two first-class tickets for the Moonlight Express to Vespera Coast. Just as we were about to board, he pulled me aside and gave my seat to my foster sister, Zoey Turner. He explained, "There's only one empty seat left on the train, and Zoey's son has never seen the ocean before. This is the perfect chance. Kids can't be separated from their mothers, so I'll take them first and get them settled, then come back for you." I nodded and stepped off the train, watching it disappear into the distance. Once they reached the beach, a friend asked Luther why I hadn't come along. He was busy inflating a pool float for Zoey, answering casually without looking up. "The Moonlight Express runs every three days. Avery Smith can just buy her own ticket and come later. I'll pick up some gifts to make it up to her. She's really understanding and won't stay mad at me." A bitter smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. The whole family had always favored Zoey, and now even my own mate was no different. Since nobody wanted to see me anyway, I decided I would leave in three days.

The day before our wedding, Luke Murray got wasted. On the ride home, he looked right at me and slurred, "Cassie, don't bring the kid to the ceremony. Arya can't know I'm the dad." I hit the brakes. Hard. He smacked into the seatback, halfway sobering up. When he finally realized it was me, he just... froze. Then he said real slow, "Guess you heard. Wedding's off—for now. Cassie doesn't want marriage, but the kid's mine, so I gotta step up. She's your bestie, right? You probably feel bad she's doing this alone. So once he's in school, I'll come back and marry you." I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "...That's fine. I don't mind." He didn't say a word when we got home—just grabbed his suitcase and left. I wiped the last tear off my face, sat on the bed, and just stared at nothing. Then my phone lit up. My childhood friend's voice cracked on the other end. "Arya, don't marry him. Please." I didn't say anything for a sec. "Okay."

“Why is Elara always better than me?” The night before her wedding, Hannah Graham vanished, leaving behind a bitter note blaming her sister, Elara, for her death. Damon Blackwood, the cold and powerful CEO of Blackwood Corp, lost the woman he loved—and in his rage, he married Elara instead. Not out of love. Out of hate. For five years, Elara lived in misery. Damon ignored her, let his family humiliate her, and made sure she never forgot she was unwanted. She stayed only for their daughter. Then Hannah came back. Alive. Smiling. And with a son she claimed was Damon’s. Overjoyed, Damon turned his back on Elara completely. He gave all his care to Hannah and the boy, while Elara and her daughter were left to suffer. Even when Elara begged him to believe their child was sick, Damon’s words cut her to pieces: “You’re disgusting, Elara. Using our daughter just to get my attention.” Broken, Elara signed the divorce papers. On their fifth wedding anniversary, she said her final goodbye. But tragedy struck when her car went off a cliff, mother and daughter…gone. Too late, Damon realized the truth: He had fallen for the woman he swore to hate… and destroyed her with his own hands.

Being left behind by the people she cherished, Lura Elise Abejero wants nothing but to end her suffering. Unfortunately, fate brought her broken self to the cold yet ravishingly hot business magnate, Lucio Gavin Cradford—not to fix nor save her but the other way around. After she lost the man she thought she would grow old with, she vowed not to love again. But her heart is indeed stubborn and rapidly beats for her boss. She hardly restrained herself from falling for him. But whenever his deep ocean blue eyes captured hers, all her walls stumbled down. In the end, she accepted defeat and took the risk for the second time. And even though loving him is not easy, still, she is happy. However, destiny was deliberately playful and bitter towards her. Because the man she thought that will make her whole again, will destroy her even more. She's already miserable— ten times than before, and then suddenly, a part of her past mysteriously came back. Would she still hold on to the man who broke her trust and took her love for granted? Or would she rather choose to bring back the love she had long forgotten?

The Ravennites: children of the lost Seluitah tribe and the white refugees from the Old World. For generations their civilization had remained hidden and kept secret from the constant, prying eyes of the Outside. Life as the Ravennites once knew it, however, would soon fall to bitter change when enemies from the Outside world seek to take away from them everything they had always known and loved. Lost and helpless, the Ravennite civilization has all but fallen into ruin. That is, until a young outsider named Alex Lee discovers the hidden culture and the dire situation that has overshadowed them. Suddenly thrown into the middle of the conflict, Alex feels as though he has no choice but to make a stand and help his brave new friends in the fight to take back what is being stolen from them; while along the way gaining an incredible new insight on the life which he had left behind, and developing a powerful bond with a young Ravennite girl. The choice is his to make: to join with the Ravennites in their fight against their greatest enemies, or to fall into darkness along with all that is left of their hidden civilization, running away is no option. Whatever the path he chooses to take, however, what Alex does not yet realize is the exact nature of the mysterious forces which he constantly senses continue to surround him, and that they have had their sights set on his bloodline for a long time.