Ceremony

Alpha Damon was an exiled monster, feared for his cruelty. He chose Selena—an omega from a worthless pack—as his mate. There was just one problem. Our Mating Ceremony, mine and my fated mate Alpha Ethan's, was set for the same day. When Ethan found out, he vanished for three days. I found him just in time to overhear his plan. "At the Mating Ceremony, I'll fake a sign from the Moon Goddess. I'll make it look like she rejected Elara." "Pack law will force her onto that pathetic excuse for a brother, Damon. Then Selena won't have to mate with him." "An outcast like Damon doesn't deserve a true Alpha's fated mate. Once Selena is safe, I’ll just take Elara back." My heart turned to stone. He was throwing me to a monster to save another woman. And he thought he could just take me back? Fine. I would play along with his little scheme. But once his little show was over, I'd be gone for good. Except when Ethan came to "rescue" me, he found Damon's mark burned into my neck. That's when he finally broke.

One week before our marking ceremony, my Alpha Mate, Corey Black, looks me straight in the eye and says something unbelievable, "I want to have a pup with my long-time friend Willow." At first, I assume it's a terrible joke, but I see determination in his serious expression. I suppress the churning feeling in my stomach and ask him why. He sighs, his gaze gentle as if he's soothing an unreasonable child. "Willow's old Beta father is dying. His only dying wish is to see Willow have a pup. We're doing it through IVF, so it won't hurt our relationship. "Her father devoted his entire life to the pack. You wouldn't refuse to fulfill even his dying wish, would you? You wouldn't be that cruel, right?" I don't know how to respond. He speaks as if not letting my fated mate have a pup with another woman is selfish. Later, when I go to visit the gravely ill old Beta, Corey is holding Willow Lester in his arms. His hand gently strokes her hair as he lets her sob against his chest. The moment our eyes meet, pain strikes my very soul. My wolf lets out a desperate howl of anguish. I stumble away, only to receive a text from him on the day of our marking ceremony. "Honey, Willow and I are undergoing the IVF procedure. Let's postpone the ceremony for now." I stare blankly at those words, my hand unconsciously moving to my still-flat stomach. Since he wants so badly to have a pup with another woman, I will grant his wish and disappear with my pup.

My son, Jasper Cole, won the gold prize in an art competition. When I took off my apron and rushed to the award ceremony, I found that the painting titled 'Mother' was not of me but Maeve Leighton, my husband's secretary. Maeve pretended to be troubled as she told my son, "Your mom will be sad when she sees this painting." However, Jasper was unperturbed. "What does her sadness have to do with me? She's an ordinary-looking and incompetent housewife, always nagging me about what I can and can’t do. She's too strict with me. It's annoying! Maeve, I wish you were my mother. My dad doesn't like my mom at all. He's only happy when he's with you. He's only with my mom because he feels obligated." My heart broke at that moment. Since he no longer wanted me as his mother, it was pointless for me to stay. I called my dad. "Dad, I want to go home. Can you pick me up?" My dad could not believe it. He answered after a long pause, "Of course. I'll come pick up my brilliant daughter in three days."

To the world, Felix and I were fated by the Moon Goddess, an Omega and her destined Alpha. Only I knew how much he despised me. At his Alpha ceremony, he humiliated me before the entire pack by choosing my half-sister, Bianca, over me. “An Omega who plays with herbs? You’ll never be worthy of me.” In my past life, I begged him not to reject me. He didn’t, but he made me suffer instead. My stepmother and Bianca framed me for poisoning the pack. He never defended me. He locked me in heat, then turned around and marked Bianca, like I was nothing. She wore his mark. I wore his shame. I was framed, cast out, and discarded. When he publicly crowned Bianca as his Luna, our bond shattered and so did my wolf. It was then I realized, he had never loved me. But now, I’m back. Back on the day of his Alpha ceremony. In this life, I’d rather suffer than be his mate again. “I, Reiley, rejected you, Felix, as my mate.”

Do I have two wolves inside of me? Check. Smokin' hot two fated mates? Double check. Except they despise each other more than anyone hates Mondays. Dating one means war with the other. But the chemistry? It's off the freaking charts with both. Here's the kicker: my dual wolf curse turns me into a male at night and a female during the day. Reason is; apparently, my Umbra Wolf is male and my Luna Wolf is female. Eighteen is when they are fully awakened and also when shit gets real. Worse, no one told me about this until I turned eighteen and found out myself! A psycho rogue is after me too, and the only way to avoid him is to find my fated mate at the mating ceremony which I am mandated to attend by the Alpha council because of a scandal I accidentally caused. How does one pick between her stepbrother and his enemy? Especially when one is cruel and the other is chillingly creepy. Catch me dodging love triangles, fighting destiny, and maybe getting my heart broken by two hotties at the same time. P.S. If you're into dark romance, reverse harem, suspense that'll keep you guessing, and enough spice to heat up your phone, then buckle up, ‘cause Nimue La Key and her two mates are about to blow your mind.

Though we've been in love for six years, Arnold Porter, the Chief Legal Officer of the Werewolf Council, has canceled our marking ceremony 66 times. The first time he did so, he claimed that Erna Porter, his adoptive sister, was coughing blood in the middle of her heat. Decked in my gown, I stood in front of the Altar of the Full Moon alone until the moon had disappeared from the skies and everyone had left. The second time the ceremony gets canceled, it was because he suddenly received a message in the middle of the ceremony, saying that Erna was abducted by Rogues. He tore off his robes and shifted into his wolf instantly, rushing to save her, while I was forced to endure the laughter of our guests. Whenever we are to hold a ceremony, Erna will always get into trouble and then seek his help. Finally, when he cancels the ceremony for the 66th time, both my wolf and I give up. I break up with him and leave. Three days after I traverse the borders of the snowy plains riddled with powerful winds that conceal my trace, he seems to go crazy. He sends the elite guard of his pack on a mission just to find me.

In a world where humans and lycans co-exist, both societies must adapt to new norms and circumstances. Lycans became prominent city leaders due to their superior strength and intelligence. As the idea of a destined mate faded into myth, lycans began to choose their mates from among human participants in an annual mating ceremony. And at that ceremony, human beings stay far away from Alpha Nero Aimilios Astadel. The human race has a long history of warning its young, especially female offspring, to keep their distance from the Alpha. Avert your gaze, stay out of his way, and under no circumstances should you anger him. What if, an average human named Verity Catina Eirian showed up at the mating ceremony and was mated with Alpha Astadel, the most powerful and notorious Alpha, who didn't believe in fated mates and who showed no mercy to his enemies? Will Verity heed her mother's advice and stay away from Alpha Astadel, or will he win over his destined mate?

Azera Cordelia Ross thought her life had reached its maximum limit of misfortune, but it turned out that fate still had surprises in store. Yesterday she was a poor college student running away from a drunken father, and now she was a future Luna locked in the golden room of the Alpha, Oscar Donovan. The prophecy had come true. The herd rejoiced. The ceremony and the feast were ready. Only Era was lost in a question. Am I a werewolf?

The train to Centraford was about to depart. That was the ride we'd spent our entire life savings—30 thousand bucks—to get a ticket for. I was gripping my mate, Byron Reynolds's, hand tightly, trying to pull him onto the last train to Centraford. This was the chance I'd waited three long years for. Once we entered Centraford, we could rise from being low-tier civilian werewolves to official Silvren Talons workers—registered, salaried, and numbered. If we missed this train, we'd be stuck forever in Sidersville, a chaotic melting pot, never able to enter the heart of the werewolf city-state. But Byron held us back, refusing to leave without Lisa Peters, who was still down by the river, washing her face. In the very last second before the train took off, I had our friends forcibly drag Byron aboard. We made it to Centraford and became Silvren Talons workers. But Lisa missed her chance. She was left behind in Sidersville and became a rogue, a plaything passed around by countless men. A few years later, she was tortured to death. Byron looked fine on the surface. But on the day of our marking ceremony, he drove a silver blade into my stomach, killing the pup growing inside me, and tore out my heart. His eyes burned red as he growled through clenched teeth, "This is all your fault. You're the reason Lisa never made it to Centraford. "She suffered so much before she died. Why do you get to be happy?" After killing me, he chopped my body up and fed it to the stray dogs. Then I opened my eyes—and found myself right back at the train station, before it departed. This time, I'd wait with him for the woman he loved so much. And I'd make him pay for everything he did to me and my pup.

Once upon a time, Leonard truly loved me. In order to establish a Mate Bond with me, he confessed 99 times. On the 99th time, I was finally moved. On the day of our Marking Ceremony, I gave him 99 forgiveness coupons. I promised him that I would forgive him 99 times. As long as he still had coupons left over, I would forgive him and stay with him no matter what he did. We were bonded for six years. In the first five years of our Mate Bond, I rarely ever used the forgiveness coupons. Since his childhood friend Judy returned, however, I started burning through the coupons. When I tore up the 98th coupon, Leonard noticed that I had changed. I no longer made a fuss or fought him over Judy. I simply asked him calmly, “If you go to Judy, can I use up one forgiveness coupon?” Leonard paused and then recovered his cool. “Sure. I only used up slightly over half, so use another if you want.” I stayed silent as he left the house. As it turned out, he had no idea he had just lost his 98th coupon. He only had one chance left. After that, I would leave him forever.