Ceremony

"You were mine, Zaria. He stole you and now he broke your heart. It's time I take back what's mine," he whispered in my ear as he wiped my tears away. ... Zaria fell into an arranged marriage with the man promised to be her husband. Being a naive daughter as she is, she followed her ruthless family's wishes. They knew they'd be sending her into a hellhole where she can never escape from. The marriage collapsed even before the ceremony started. Down on the bed, her groom was with another woman. Shameless, reckless, and indecent. But she had no other choice but to marry him. However... there was someone who would jump into that hellhole she fell into in order to save her. Passionate, genuine, and idiotic as it sounds, there was one man willing to risk everything for the woman that was once his. "In this life or another, you have and will always be mine."

I was born the daughter of a traitor — unwanted, unloved, and bound to die as an Omega. Until the Alpha King marked me. Serena thought she was invisible in the ruthless Blackmoon Pack. Marked as the cursed child of a disgraced warrior, her life was full of silence and shadow. But everything changed the night of the Blood Moon ceremony — when the Alpha King, Caine Thorn, claimed her as his fated mate in front of the entire realm. Only he didn’t mean to. Now, Serena is caught in a deadly game. Hated by his court, hunted by his enemies, and bound by a mate bond that could tear her soul apart. Alpha Caine has vowed never to love — but the bond doesn’t care about vows. She has only two choices: run from the most powerful wolf alive or fight fate to earn his heart. And if she fails? She dies.

The men of his Pack never live past thirty. Only a union with my bloodline can break the curse. But on the day of our mating ceremony, he tore up our bond in front of everyone— just for his precious lover. In front of the entire Pack, he looked at me with nothing but disgust. “Elara, you’re nothing but a parasite. Your kind has been using black magic to deceive my Pack for generations. That ends with me.” His lover clung to his arm and laughed softly. “Why are you still standing here? Get out.” “With my knowledge, I can keep him alive far beyond thirty.” I looked at him. At the life-force already collapsing beneath his skin. A quiet laugh slipped from my throat. Fine. On his thirtieth birthday— we’ll see who’s right. Very soon.

When I'm six months pregnant, my mate, Rylan Silverclaw, still forces me to fight. He says it's my duty as Luna, yet when the council presents the honor medal, he locks me up. He makes my stepsister accept the glory meant for me. When I finally arrive at the ceremony, I hear Rylan whisper to her, "The medal is just the beginning. Once Thalia gives birth to the heir, the Luna title will be yours too." Later, rogue wolves attack us. My father and Rylan risk their lives to protect my stepsister. I'm the one left behind. I'm buried under rubble with half my ribs shattered. I lost my pup. I hand our dead pup to Rylan and walk away from the pack forever. Now, he regrets everything.

Luna Aria Nightshade believed she had the perfect life as the mate of Alpha Logan Blackwood, leader of the Silver Moon Pack. But on the night of their mating ceremony, Logan rejects her publicly, accusing her of betrayal and choosing another woman. Heartbroken and humiliated, Aria is exiled from her pack. What no one knows is that Aria carries the blood of the legendary Crimson Wolf dynasty a royal lineage thought extinct. Years later, she returns stronger, colder, and far more powerful than anyone imagined. As Aria builds her own loyal pack and uncovers the conspiracies that destroyed her life, Logan realizes the terrible mistake he made. But the woman he once broke is no longer the gentle Luna he knew she is fearless, cunning, and determined to take revenge. Now, Aria must decide: will she reclaim her throne and crush her enemies, or forgive the Alpha who once betrayed her?

Selene Winters was raised to be the perfect Luna—elegant, quiet, and completely devoted to her fated mate, Damon Voss. She thought love would be enough. That being chosen by the Moon Goddess guaranteed a happy ending. She was wrong. On the night of their mating ceremony, Alpha Damon rejected her in front of the entire Bloodhowl Pack. Called her weak. Unworthy. A mistake. And when no one stepped in—not even her family—Selene did the only thing she could. She ran. Everyone assumed she died in the cursed Shadow Forest. No one survives that place. But they don’t know what really lives there. Two years later, Selene returns. Not as the broken girl Damon left behind—but as an Alpha. Strong. Commanding. Untouchable. And she’s not interested in forgiveness. Because the bond? It’s gone. The Luna he rejected? She's the Alpha he’ll regret.

For five years, my fated mate, Alpha Kaelen and I have had 98 marking ceremonies. And every single time, his teeth would stop right at my neck. All because the Omega he claimed was "like a sister" to him always managed to faint at just the "right" moment. At the 99th ceremony, that Omega got "hurt" again. "I swear I'll complete the marking next time," Kaelen said, scooping up the other she-wolf without a backward glance. I burned the Luna gown I'd worn 99 times and changed back into my royal princess dress from the Moonshadow Realm. Then severed my mate bond and walked away without a second glance. It wasn't until searing pain hit Kaelen, and he crying for me to come back, that the Shaman coldly told him: "She is a true princess! And you were never worthy of her."

To train myself for the role ahead, I hid the truth — that I was the only daughter of an Alpha King. In my first year at the Dark Moon Pack, I fell for Leo, the Alpha's youngest son, the moment I laid eyes on him. Three years of love. The cold, brutal man spoiled me rotten. Yet he never once agreed to a marking ceremony with me. I later found out why — his pack didn't think I was good enough. After all, the Dark Moon Pack was the most powerful in the Northern Territories, and in their eyes, I was just a nameless rogue from some lesser pack. With the whispers about the gap between our ranks growing louder, I decided to tell him the truth about my bloodline. But then Leo started disappearing. Day after day. After his ninety-ninth night away, I saw a photo on his childhood sweetheart's Ins Story — a Christmas tree decked out in sex toys. The caption read: "Leo promised me — on the night of our marking ceremony, we're going to try every single one." Before I could even process it, my phone buzzed again. A DM. From the same woman. "Do you have any idea how much Leo needs me? Every year on your birthday, every anniversary — he waits until you fall asleep, then comes to spend the night with me." "A high-born wolf like me is the only one worthy of being his mate. You're nothing but the third wheel between an Alpha and his Luna." I stared at the words on the screen, my thumb frozen in midair. Should I be furious? Should I fall apart? Nothing. I felt nothing. Just a hollow space where my heart used to be. Fine. This tainted love, this man — I was done with all of it. I closed my eyes and reached out through the mind-link to my father, the Alpha King. "Dad, I agree to come home and take the throne."

We were supposed to be in love for eternity. But my vampire fiancé, Caius, has stood me up at our blood-bonding ceremony thirty-three times. The first time, the girl he’d sired, Evangeline, lost control during a hunt. He raced to her side, leaving me alone in the church under the blood moon. The second time, he vanished mid-ceremony because Evangeline was being bullied by another clan. He left me to face the elders’ mockery alone. After that, his little fledgling always had some fresh disaster for him to avert. And he always had an excuse: “I sired her. She’s like a child to me.” Then I saw the fresh bite marks on their necks. They had shared blood—the ultimate intimacy between mates. My heart turned to ash. It was time to burn our betrothal to the ground. The day I finally disappeared, he went mad, tearing our world apart to find me.

Before the day of my husband's succession as the Don, my stepsister personally tattooed the "Inverted Angel's Eye"—the mark of a traitor—onto my back. My husband didn't just turn a blind eye; when the family vendetta broke out, he withdrew all the elite guards to protect my "pregnant" stepsister, leaving me alone in a defenseless city to face the slaughter.  "Elena, you are strong enough to protect yourself. But Sophia is fragile, and she is carrying my firstborn. She needs the protection more than you." Facing a siege of heavy firepower, I survived by the skin of my teeth. He thought I would swallow the insult for the sake of the family's reputation. He didn't expect that I would kick open the doors of his coronation ceremony wearing mourning weeds, flanked by the FBI and the Commission, and personally strip him of his title. "Goodbye, Lorenzo. This time, I choose to be the Don."