Ceremony

Vera Nightingale was the only human in the werewolf pack, raised alongside Alpha Kieran Ashford since childhood. When she was 14 and rogues cornered her, Kieran was the one who fought them off. When she was 16 and a Beta confessed to her, Kieran kissed her in front of the entire pack and made it clear she belonged to him. The day she turned 18, Kieran announced to everyone that she was his mate, his future Luna. Vera thought she had found her happily ever after. Then their marking ceremony arrived, and Kieran did not show. She waited until moonset. When he finally arrived, he had an Omega with him. "She reminds me of how you used to be," he told her. "I want to keep her." Vera agreed. Kieran thought her love for him meant she would share. He was wrong. In Vera's mind, betrayal only happened once. After that first time, everything that followed did not matter anymore. If that was how he wanted to play it, she would find herself a new mate.

On the night of our mating ceremony, my mate, Damon, marked another she-wolf right in front of me. He said that if I wanted to be his Luna, I had to accept him having us both. In my past life, I screamed at him, accusing him of defying the Moon Goddess. Pressured by the Elders, he was forced to banish Lyla. She was run down by rogues and fell from a cliff to her death. After that, Damon refused to ever mark me. He even framed me, luring me into the forbidden lands as a pretext to banish me. Then, he hunted me down and killed me himself. I remember my body being picked apart by birds, the agony of it all. But now, I just stared at Damon's cold face, and at the Omega, Lyla, cradled in his arms. Then, I calmly reached up and removed the sacred symbol of our fated bond. "I refuse." And with that, under the shocked gazes of the entire pack, I walked away, heading for the frozen lands of the North. This time, I will make every single wolf who hurt me pay.

During the award ceremony at our annual dinner, my boss, Hank Reid, suddenly announced an impromptu addition to the agenda. “Annual department competition! The department that ranked last has to come up and receive a little award of motivation!” The screen lit up. They scrolled through all the departments’ results. The sales department got first place, the operations department got second place, and the marketing department got third place. However, there was nothing from the administration department. That was because the administration department did not have KPIs. Hank smiled at us. “Let’s welcome our colleagues from the administration department to come up and receive their awards!” Two of my colleagues carried a whole basket of brooms onto the stage. Everyone was laughing. “You should sweep away your bad luck from last year. Let’s hope you won’t get last place again next year!” Hank personally passed the brooms to all of us. Cameras flashed as people took photos of us with their phones. The sales department was laughing the loudest. “Finally, the administration department has some recognition!”

In my fourth year as a substitute bride for my runaway sister, married to King Alpha Kieran Ashworth, I became pregnant with his child. When I sought the High Priestess at the sacred temple to perform the "Protective Blessing Ritual" for our unborn pup, I was devastated to learn: "You and Alpha Kieran have never established a true mate bond. I cannot perform the blessing ritual." The soul truly connected to him was my half-sister, Isabella Morgrave. Isabella suddenly returned, claiming to suffer from "Luna's Eclipse",a werewolf affliction spoken of in whispered terror, with only three full moons remaining. To fulfill Isabella's dying wish, Kieran held a mating ceremony with her. At Isabella's birthday banquet, a blood curse appeared, and everyone believed it was cast by my jealousy. They imprisoned me in an obsidian cage that absorbed moonlight energy and purified me with "demon-breaking blood," causing me to miscarry and lose our child. When I discovered Isabella's illness was fabricated and all the framing was her elaborate scheme, I decided to leave. However, when the truth came to light, Kieran went completely mad...

I've waited five years for my mafia fiance, Daniele Moretti, while he keeps pushing our wedding back again and again. I've turned down every man who approaches me and put up with all the snide comments from high society. On the eve of exchanging our marriage alliance contract, thanks to a bet with his lover, Daniele decides it's hilarious to switch the groom's name. He replaces himself with his uncle, Samuele Moretti, a man who is practically on his deathbed. Daniele laughs as he brags to his friends, "Regina's obsessed with me. When she finds out, she'll cry and beg me to change it back." I stand just outside the door and hear every word. On the day of the wedding, I take Samuele's arm—the "sickly wreck" Daniele keeps mocking—and walk him up the aisle. When Daniele finally shows up late with his lover and tries to turn the ceremony into a spectacle, I slap him across the face. Now he's the one who has to call me Aunt Regina.

For seven years, I thought Declan was just an ordinary Beta. That was until I secretly traveled a thousand miles to his pack, wanting to surprise him. Only to find other werewolves calling him Alpha. And more importantly, he already had a Luna. The wolves around me started whispering. “Is that the Alpha’s secret lover?” “The nerve of her, showing up here… so shameless.” I wanted to argue, to tell them they had it all wrong. I was his real girlfriend. His Fated Mate. But then, a woman in a gorgeous dress walked over. The wolves bowed their heads respectfully. “Luna.” She was on the phone, her voice a sweet, playful pout. “The blessing ceremony for the heir is about to start, and the Elders are getting antsy… I know you’re busy, but this is our child. You have to be with me.” The man’s voice on the other end was deep and gentle, a voice I knew better than my own. “I know, my Luna.” Just a few nights ago, he had whispered loving words into my ear with that same gentle voice, his body moving powerfully inside mine, holding me so tight. It was my lover, Declan.

Jack Saunders wanted one last hurrah before taking the mantle of DS Oil & Gas, the billion-dollar company that his father founded. His friend, Owen, let him borrow his mansion on a tropical island so that he could throw a final party before “marrying” the business that would dominate the rest of his life. He brought his secretary, Brandy, hoping that he could kindle a relationship that would last through the long days and nights of running a company. However, while the party was great, the gold digging woman he brought was not, and Jack resigned himself to a lifetime of loneliness. That was until he took a walk down the beach and met her. A woman who didn’t recognize him from the tabloids and only saw him, the man behind the money. Of all the women Jack had ever met, there was nobody like Emma LaRue. With one pretend marriage ceremony, she would change his life forever, and become the only one he ever wanted to give his saltwater kisses to. This novella is the first half of Saltwater Kisses written from Jack’s point-of-view, with a few bonus scenes thrown in as well.

Five years ago, Seraphina Vale’s life ended in front of a crowd. On her wedding day to billionaire CEO Cassian Thorne, she was publicly accused of corporate espionage, betrayal, and greed. Security dragged her out of the ceremony as cameras flashed and the media tore her reputation apart. The man she loved never gave her a chance to explain. What Cassian never knew was that Seraphina walked away carrying his child. Now, five years later, Seraphina has rebuilt her life from nothing. Stronger. Independent. Untouchable. But when fate brings her back into Cassian’s world, a shocking truth surfaces her son, Lucien, is the only biological heir to the powerful Thorne empire. The Thorne family demands the child. Seraphina refuses. The only solution Cassian offers is a contract: Live under his roof. Pretend to be his wife. Secure the heir’s future. But the past is full of lies, enemies are still watching, and the truth behind Seraphina’s downfall is far darker than either of them imagined. This time, the woman he once destroyed isn’t coming back to beg. She’s coming back to win.

Alliyah Agustin thought her life was finally falling into place. She was about to marry her long-time boyfriend, Chester — the man she’d built her dreams around, the man everyone envied her for. The venue gleamed with gold, the air smelled of white roses, and her so-called best friend, Kassandrah, stood by her side as maid of honor. Everything was perfect. Until it wasn’t. When the ceremony began, Chester was nowhere to be found. In his place stood a stranger — dark suit, darker eyes, a smirk that didn’t belong anywhere near an altar. The crowd murmured, the priest hesitated, and before she could even process what was happening, the papers were signed. She had just married Alexander Nicholas Astley, one of the most powerful billionaires in the country — and the most feared man in the underground world. What Alliyah didn’t know was that her “perfect” fiancé and “trusted” friend had sold her — a deal made to clear a debt, sealed with her hand in marriage. And in the dangerous world she was dragged into, her survival would depend on one impossible question: Was Alexander her captor… or her savior?

"Who are you and why can't this wedding be held?" Alpha Carlos asked curiously. "Who I am is not important, but did you know that your beautiful bride here is pregnant for another man.?" The man revealed with a smirk. “What! “ Alpha Carlos exclaimed, giving me a questioning look. My heart kept pounding in my chest as I felt a cold sweat run down my spine. How did he know? ************************************** Scarlett was drugged at the mate bonding ceremony and she ended up having a one-night stand with an unknown man because of the effects of the drugs which later resulted in her getting pregnant. She decided to tell her mate after their wedding, for fear of being rejected by him. On her wedding day, a stranger reveals the news of her pregnancy to the whole pack which is a taboo for the wolf pack and anyone found guilty of that will be banished. What happened when council members asked her mate, the Alpha not to go on with the wedding? How would she be able to identify the person responsible for her Pregnancy when she's also mated to a prince from another pack and the Alpha's beta who were claiming to be responsible for her Pregnancy?