But At What Cost Meaning

On my 28th birthday, I announced that I was pregnant. But my husband told everyone that he was sterile. Together with my best friend, they said that this was proof that I cheated on him. I tried defending myself, but in the end, I, along with my baby, died while burning with hate. When I reopened my eyes, I returned to the moment three hours before my death.

BLURB “Mr Geal, we can't please.” her voice breaks as he trailed his fingers down jaw to her lips. Her breath comes out in gasps as she tightens her legs together, “Please, you are betrothed.” she murmured. His hands move to her neck where he tightens them whispering, “It doesn't matter,” he growls, his fingers finding their way beneath my skirt. “I am yours anyway.” He doesn't give her a second before his fingers sweep her panties aside, and find their way home. “Holy hell-” therest of the words is jumbled in her throat as he slams his lips against hers ~~~~~~ Olivia Macurry, a woman whose lifetime goal was to stop stripping. She wanted nomore than a white collar job where she wouldn't have to open her legs to get paid. After getting ordered by a man whopaid fifteen thousand dollars to have her for the night, she agreed but she didn't keep to the bargain. Now her new boss is the same blue eyed man that paid for a night with her, the same man she left when he was in the bathroom barely an hour after their first round. But it's too late because he wants her again. Just a taste, and he's addicted. He won't let her go, not even when he is buried six feet under. He can't stop, he must have her after all he paid for a night. Obsession turns into attraction. Attraction turns into possession. Possession turns into pure madness. He refuses to let her go yet he is betrothed to another. Secrets, lies, betrayal, and anger drives their relationship towards madness as everything is turned upside. But then Leonardo's best quality was that he thrived in chaos, and even though he is betrothed he belonged to her. Body, mind, and fucking soul.

In the empty villa, Celia Quinn sat motionless on the sofa. It wasn't until much later that the villa's front door swung open, and Lucas Shaw stepped inside. His gaze paused briefly on her, then his expression turned cold. "Yvonne is running a fever today. Why did you keep calling me?"

"You don’t scare me, Llewellyn,” I lifted my chin as I spoke even though my pulse betrayed me. Cesare’s lips curved into a wicked smirk as he stepped closer and spoke in a husky murmur. “That’s the problem, Rose… maybe you should be. Because I’m done pretending I don’t want you. I’ll have you—whether you let me or not.” "But you’ve always hated me.” His fingers brushed my jaw, tilting my face up to his. I felt my skin tingle and goosebumps rising. “Hate? Sweetheart, I’ve never hated you. I’ve only wanted you so much it felt like war.” ~~~~~~~~~ Rosette Jenner had everything—wealth, beauty, and power. But all she wanted was love untainted by power. When she trades her real identity for a normal life with Blake, she thought she’d found it. She was wrong. Betrayed and left to die, she wakes up in the past, before her downfall. This time, she’ll reclaim everything they stole from her. She’ll rise as the Jenner heiress she was born to be. But as she walks the path of vengeance, an old nemesis returns, Cesare Llewellyn. Brilliant and merciless. This time, he isn’t just a rival, he’s an obsessive, morally gray force who wants her on his terms, while she’s consumed by vengeance and refuses to trust love again.

During a long holiday, my husband booked flights for a family vacation. On the way to the airport, I suddenly saw numbers appearing on everyone’s head. The numbers on my husband’s head indicated sixty years, but my parents and I had only six hours indicated on our heads. While I was puzzled over the meaning of those numbers, I noticed that the driver next to us only had six seconds indicated over his head through the car window. Five… Four… Three… Two… One. When the number turned zero, a massive truck immediately rammed into the car next to us. I saw flickers of fire, flesh and blood exploding before my eyes. People were screaming for help, but I could not hear anything. I trembled as cold sweat drenched my entire body. It was because my flight would be taking off in six hours.

Attending a high school reunion, I rode my motorcycle to the venue. By the time I arrived at the Moon Valley Hotel, most of my former classmates were already there. Everyone seemed to be doing well for themselves. The parking lot was filled with luxury cars belonging to high-ranking pack members. There was even a Rolls Royce that belonged to the son of an Alpha. As I dismounted from my motorcycle, a former male classmate I barely remembered looked at me with disdain. "Well, well, if it isn't our former class president. Still riding a basic bike like an omega, I see." During dinner, everyone was fawning over the Alpha's son while completely ignoring me in the corner. Only Derek, our former class monitor and now a beta, sat beside me with a sympathetic look. "Don't worry about it. Even though you're still just an omega like your parents, I'm sure one day you'll rise up in the pack rankings." I couldn't help but smirk, whispering under my breath: "This isn't just any motorcycle. It's the Royal Guard's official vehicle."

Alpha Jakob gave me the grandest bonding ceremony five years ago. I became the world's most envied woman. Five years later, I received a provocative voice message from Jakob's first love, Molly. "I just got back to the pack, and all I needed to do was to play coy with Jakob, and he came right over. Tonight, he originally prepared blue fireworks for me. I don't like blue, but I decided to give it to you since I never liked to waste. You can use it during your anniversary." The day during our fifth mate bond anniversary, I looked at the blue fireworks blooming in the night sky, quietly waiting in my seat as I faced the empty seat opposite me. Molly's provocation came again. A photo of her having a candlelight dinner with Jakob. I didn't cry, and simply submit the application to terminate my mate bond with Jakob to the pack's Elder Council. At this time, my personal assistant told me she saw someone had applied for a grand bonding ceremony. "Luna Cynthia, the bonding ceremony is prepared by Molly for herself and Alpha Jakob. It will take place seven days later. Do you wish to stop it?" "There's no need to. If this is what Jakob wants, I'll make their wish come true." Jakob was still promoting how deep his love for me was, saying that I was the woman he loved the most in his life. But he didn't know that seven days later, I would leave the pack and never return again. That night, he collapsed.

My mother hated me, to the point that she wished I were dead. I knew I deserved to die. Sixteen years ago, if I hadn’t insisted on going out, my brother wouldn’t have died while trying to save me. Eventually, both of us got what we wished for. I got brain cancer. She had become a stranger to me as I forgot everything and went to die in blissful ignorance. Then, she went mad.

The seer foretells that I will mate with an Alpha and give birth to the strongest heir. Because of this, I am arranged to be mates with the Alpha heir, Chad Gibson, since I was a child. And from then on, I am groomed to become a Luna. I devote my entire youth to bleeding, fighting, and enduring it all. Every smile, every step, and every breath is for the sole purpose of becoming the perfect Luna. And yet, what do I receive in the end? On the day of the marking ceremony, Chad carries in an expecting Rogue with Omega bloodline, Yelena Lockhart. He then publicly declares that during a hunt, he accidentally consumed a lustbane and bred with Yelena. Thus, he must take responsibility and make her his future Luna. Seeing the unshakable resolve on his face, I ask in a trembling voice, "What about me? What am I supposed to do?" Without a moment's hesitation, he replies, "Tessa, because of that false prophecy, you have stolen the future Luna's place and enjoyed privileges that were never yours for long enough. Now, you must step aside. "But don't worry, I won't cast you out. As long as you keep serving Yelena as her maid in atonement, you may still stay by my side." The world falls into dead silence, and the stares of the pack weigh on me like a mountain. I neither scream nor beg. Instead, I simply remove my veil and return the ring that symbolizes the future Luna. Later, when Yelena gives birth, the pup turns out to be of Omega bloodline. Only then does Chad realize the prophecy is true, that I alone can bear the Alpha heir destined to lead. But when Chad finally regrets everything and begs me to come back, it is already too late. I have already accepted the Alpha King's proposal and no longer belong to Chad.

No girls allowed. No secrets exposed. No mercy given. Elara has broken all three. Disguised as a boy named Riven, Elara slips into Lupinemore Academy. The elite battlefield for the most brutal and brilliant shifters in the realm. Her mission? Survive long enough to learn the skills to protect her pack and take back what had been stolen from her. But when she’s forced to spar the undefeated Kael Ardent and wins, everything starts to change. It turns out winning exposes you faster than losing. Now the Ardent brothers; the dangerously perceptive Cassidan, the soft-spoken but sharp-eyed Damon, and Kael, her violent, obsessive rival are watching her too closely. What happens when uncontrolled emotions spew? What happens when they find out that their new and scrawny roommate was not just a girl but their mate? Would they keep her secret or feed her to the wolves? It was survival of the fittest but Elara had already dropped into dangerous waters the moment she was sent to room with the Ardent brothers. Her family’s natural foe.