Can't Run Can't Hide By Lee Williams

In the backyard of my home, there is a dark red jar that is about half a person's height. It is half buried in the ground, and my whole family forbids me from going near it. But I hear someone inside the jar calling me over and over. That voice says, "Sis, I miss you so much."

My mother loved a billionaire once. He destroyed her quietly, with power and control and the particular cruelty of a man who knew nobody would believe his wife's pain. She left him with nothing but the clothes on her back and a warning she planted deep inside me before I could even walk. *Never marry a billionaire.* I believed her. I built my own empire. I refused every wealthy, charming, well-suited man who came to my table with a ring and a rehearsed smile. Then I walked into The Harlow Hotel and saw a waiter. No charm. No performance. Just steady eyes that looked at me like I had startled him and then looked away first. Shyly. His name was Charles Dick. Simple. Honest. Real. Everything my mother's warning was never about. I pursued him. I provided for him. I loved him completely. Five days before our wedding he told me the truth. And everything collapsed in sixty seconds. Because the most dangerous love stories are not the ones that begin with lies. They are the ones where two people lie to protect themselves from the very love they have been searching for their entire lives. .... Vivienne Donald had sworn she would never marry a billionaire. She kept her word. She married something far greater.

Elena gave her all to her marriage—her time, her heart, her pride. But for Daniel and his family, it was never enough. Mocked for being barren and ignored by the man she loved, she finally walked away, signing the divorce papers with tears in her eyes. What Daniel never knew was that the day she left, Elena carried a secret—their child. Years later, fate throws them back into each other’s lives. Daniel, tormented by regret, realizes the depth of his mistakes. Elena, stronger and determined to protect her baby, faces the man who once broke her. Love, betrayal, and second chances collide as Daniel fights to win back the woman he lost and the child he never knew he had.

After six years by Archie Valez’s side, everything changed when his uncle died—and Archie took over the family legacy… and with it, the responsibility of caring for his “young” aunt, Betty Cruz, whose age was practically the same as Archie’s. Still, whatever Betty wanted, Archie delivered. I just never thought it would include a baby. Betty said she wanted a baby with the Valez bloodline. And with the uncle gone, Archie was the only one left to do the job. So he gave her that, too. “Just wait a little longer,” he would say to me, “Sabrina. As soon as she’s pregnant.” What started as once a month turned into once a week… Then it became a nightly routine. Of almost eight months that we lived in New York, Archie went to Betty over a hundred times. And she finally got pregnant. Shortly after, the Valez family announced that Archie would be marrying Betty. “Mommy,” my daughter asked softly, climbing onto the couch beside me. Elly—our Elly. My Elly. The daughter Archie never had time for. “Is someone getting married?” I held her close and kissed her hair. “Yes, sweetheart. Daddy’s finally marrying the love of his life.” Elly blinked at the screen. “But what about us?” I smiled. “We’re going home, baby,” I whispered in her ear. Archie forgot that I was Sabrina Marcellus. And the Marcellus women didn’t beg for rings. And certainly not love after betrayal.

Sally has had a crush on her best friend Justin for as long as she can remember. The shy, nerdy girl with baggy clothes and glasses, she’s spent years helping him with projects and assignments, hoping he’d notice her… but he never has. Until the day she finally works up the courage to confess, only to be met with something utterly shocking. Enter Cole…Justin’s stepbrother. Tall, confident, impossibly hot, and the kind of guy whose life revolves around late-night frat parties and reckless fun. He’s everything Sally is not and everything she didn’t know she needed. Cole offers to help her win Justin’s heart… but nothing comes for free. In exchange, she has to step out of her comfort zone, navigate his world, and follow his lead. As Cole pulls her out of her shell, showing her confidence, daring, and a side of herself she’s never dared to explore, Sally begins to wonder if the butterflies she’s chasing with Justin were ever real. The more time she spends with Cole, the more she realizes that maybe the heart doesn’t lie, and the boy she’s been chasing all these years isn’t the one she should have been after at all. And the secrets he hides? They could destroy everything she thought she wanted.

Mona wakes up, trying to stab Kai and not remembering anything past the age of six. Instead of killing her, Kai rejects Mona as his mate and banishes her. But not before blaming her for the death of the people closets to her. Years later, Mona isn't the girl that couldn't remember. She is now Alpha Moon, the Alpha of the Wolvin pack, a group of former rogue women and a few men. She still can't remember everything from her past and every memory she gains leaves her with more questions. How could she do all these horrible things in a former life? And how can she protect her pack from new threats and old ones?

Adelina, having just completed her shift for the first time, is summoned to Aspen after mysterious documents prove she is the fated mate of Daxon Reyes, the powerful Alpha billionaire. Though terrified and unprepared, she travels to Colorado. When their eyes meet during a pack gathering, the mate bond snaps into place. Electricity, heat, possession but also terror. Dax seems distant. He vanishes shortly after. A week later, she’s summoned again only to be rejected in front of the pack council, humiliated by the very wolf meant to protect her. Her world crumbles. RISING ACTION 1. Adelina’s Escape Broken and alone, Adelina flees Aspen with the help of Caleb, Dax’s Beta, who believes Dax was coerced. She hides in the Appalachian Mountains, where her late mother once lived. There, she discovers she is pregnant. 2. The Bloodline Truth An ancient Seer from a rogue Appalachian pack reveals the truth: Adelina is the last living descendant of the Moon Matron line ancient, powerful female wolves who were once equal in power to Alphas. Her child may carry an evolved form of werewolf power. 3. Back in Aspen Dax, haunted by visions and physical pain (side effects of rejecting a true mate), begins to question everything. He investigates Adelina’s past and discovers documents that Sylvia manipulated Adelina’s lineage was true. The Council had lied to maintain their power. 4. The Child Threat Sylvia learns of Adelina’s pregnancy and sees the child as a threat to her legacy. She sends hunters after Adelina to ensure the child never sees the moonlight. 5. Adelina Builds a New Pack Isolated but not defeated, Adelina begins forming bonds with rogues, lone wolves, and rejected females. Her strength grows. She becomes an Alpha in her own right, a Luna by force of will.

After I'm abducted, I call my mother, a policewoman, for help. However, she hangs up on me and stays by my adoptive sister's side. "Go to hell if you're so keen on it!" she snaps. I calmly watch as the abductors pluck my nails and torment me until none of my skin is left unharmed. In my past life, my mother actually came to my rescue. She left my adoptive sister by the roadside, and the latter ended up being violated and murdered. From then on, I became a criminal in my mother's eyes. She received an anonymous text on my adoptive sister's death anniversary. "I bet a good girl like you wouldn't want your mother to know you hired us to abduct you, right?" She thought I orchestrated the abduction because I wanted to vie for her attention. She thought that was the cause of my adoptive sister's death. "I've saved people all my life. I never would've expected my flesh and blood to be such a shameless monster! You should go to hell as atonement for killing Charlene!" She sewed my mouth shut, shattered every bone in my body, and threw my ashes into a junkyard. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back to the day my mother makes her choice.

After five years in a secret relationship with my boss, Eric handed my hard work to his childhood sweetheart, Shelly. Suddenly, they were the perfect power couple. And me? Just the girl he kept hidden. He never even looked my way. So why was I still holding on? One phone call later, I was done. Time to leave—and see what else was out there.

At a gathering, I discover that the guy my best friend, Rachel Jost, secretly has a crush on has slipped something into her drink. When he brings the glass over to her, I deliberately knock it over, spilling the spiked wine and saving her life. He storms out in anger. The very next day, he announces his engagement to someone else. Rachel comes to me in a rage, convinced that I sabotaged her out of jealousy. "Stella Leigh, if you hadn't interfered, I would've already slept with him! The one he wants to marry would've been me! You just couldn't stand seeing me happy! You ruined my shot at love, so you'll pay for it with your life!" She pushes me off a high building. I fall to my death, my body reduced to a pulp that is beyond recognition. When I open my eyes again, I am back on the day of that gathering. Rachel is sitting next to me, stealing adoring glances at the man across from her. The next moment, she turns to glare at me and warns me not to meddle with vicious eyes. Seems like she is reborn, too. But what she doesn't know is that the man she secretly loves has always despised her for being obsessed with him. What he added to that glass of wine isn't some aphrodisiac—it is something that can kill her.