Ceremony

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.

Melody Rackelle Magallanes, a professor, an independent woman, an obedient daughter, and an understanding friend. But the people around her always have a say on her life—especially on her love life because ladies at her age were either married or engaged. She was already thirty-two, but she didn't have a boyfriend. Not because she was not girlfriend material, but because she was too focused on her career growth, and she didn't notice that most of her friends, cousins, and colleagues were married or engaged already. At her best friend's wedding, everyone was pushing her to date her partner in the ceremony, hoping that she would have a boyfriend after the date. But as usual, the date was a failure. One of her best friends suggested signing in on a dating platform to meet new friends. But still, it was a failure. One day, she woke up one morning and thought of having a baby on her own. To her, it doesn't matter if she doesn't have a husband as long as she has a baby. Would it be possible the fact that she doesn't have a boyfriend? What would be the plans of her best friends?

For eighteen years, my bestie Sarah and I were just regular humans. And then, all of a sudden, we both awakened our werewolf blood. She ended up mated to Logan, like, the most powerful Alpha around. And me? Fate, or whatever, paired me up with Ethan, an Alpha from a pack under Logan's. The day of our mating ceremony, Sarah was all like, "Go on, enjoy Ethan's mark!" I mean, the guy had an eight-pack and was drop-dead gorgeous. But almost a year into our mating, Ethan still hadn't marked me. I cried to Sarah, "What's the point of a mate who won't even mark me?" I never expected Sarah to burst into tears too. "Logan and I… our genes aren't compatible. He can't get me pregnant. I want to break our mate bond too!" So, just like that, we hatched a plan to escape. After a "car accident," both Alphas' mates vanished. It wasn't until we started our new lives that we found out... We were both pregnant!

I was the daughter of a crime boss in Flonio. Initially, I was supposed to reveal my identity during my wedding. But my elder brother told me that someone was targeting me and that I could not expose myself. My fiance also took this chance to take off my wedding gown and help my maid into it. My bodyguard then stole my family token. I trusted them deeply, but when the wedding ceremony started, I saw my maid with one arm around my fiance. Meanwhile, her other hand lingered between my brother’s and bodyguard’s sensitive spots on their bodies. In response to my suspicions, my maid laughed wickedly. Then, she instructed someone to break my limbs. They locked me up in the basement and forced me to watch as they got more and more intimate. In the end, they skinned me alive and broke my bones. Before I breathed my last, they left me to the beasts. When I recalled the misery of my previous life, I broke my maid’s ribs with a few punches. “You can have my fiance, but you don’t deserve my family token!”

My mate Mason not only inherited the Alpha position of the tribe, but also his stepmother Olivia. Mason always explained to me after being intimate with her: “Evelyn, don’t mind it. I had no choice.” “You’re the only one I truly love. Once Olivia gets pregnant and gives birth, I’ll hold the marking ceremony with you.” He said it was the condition set by the Alpha King for him to inherit the Phantom Pack Alpha title. In one year, Mason spent at least three hundred days with Olivia. When Olivia finally got pregnant, I thought I could finally stand by his side as his mate. That’s when I realized—Mason had given both his love and his body to Olivia. I completely gave up and turned to my seven-year-old daughter: “Baby, do you want to leave with Mommy?” “Yes, I want to stay with Mommy,” she said. Mason didn’t know, what I wanted was never the Luna title. All I wanted was wholehearted love. If you can’t give it to me, then I’ll leave.

I'm supposed to be Kyle Thornwood's Luna. But for the past five years, he has abandoned 52 of our marking ceremonies, proving to the Moon Goddess that he doesn't deserve me. The first time, Elara Bennett—the Omega he took in—gets lost during a hunt. He cuts the ceremony short to find her, leaving me alone on the ritual altar while our bond unravels into nothing. The second time, right in the middle of negotiations with a rival pack, he senses through the mind-link that someone is bothering Elara. He drops everything and runs back, leaving me to face a room full of hostile wolves alone. After that, it doesn't matter which full moon I choose. Elara always has some crisis that needs him. She gets hurt during training, other wolves pick on her, or she has a bad dream. Eventually, something inside me breaks. I decide to sever this so-called destined mate bond for good. The day I leave the Graywolf pack, Kyle loses it completely. He tracks my scent everywhere, clinging to whatever is left of our connection.

Crimson Tide is one of the oldest packs to exist. They have been in existence for centuries. However, after the fallout of a five year war, the pack funds have been depleted. In order to secure the future of the pack, the alpha is forced to do the unthinkable-sell the pack. This means that whoever buys the pack will become the new alpha. But what happens when a human buys the pack? Kaiden Marks is your traditional stuck-up CEO. It's his way or the highway. When he finds out the land he's had his eyes on is up for sale, he greedily takes it. His intention is to build a world-class and high-end resort. But in order to do so, he will need to evict all those remaining on pack grounds. He may be the new alpha, but he doesn't care one iota for the members. Calyssa Maddox is soon to turn 21, which means she will become the first female alpha the pack has ever had. Two weeks away from her alpha ceremony, she finds out that not only will she not be alpha, but the future alpha is also her mate. What will she do? Will love prevail?

When it's time for us to say our vows during the wedding ceremony, Jessica Fletcher, my wife, leaves the stage just so she can confess her love to her first love, Benedict Olson. "Once upon a time, we had vowed to stay together for the rest of our lives, Benedict. It's unfortunate that we've missed out on the chance to do so in this lifetime. Would you be willing to stay with me in our next life, then?" Touched, Benedict pulls Jessica into his arms. Then, he turns to tell me, "Oliver, I've already given Jess to you in this lifetime, so you must take good care of her for me." Everyone gasps in shock, thinking that they'll soon witness two men fighting over the same woman. But I merely smile at the sight of Benedict and Jessica embracing each other tightly. Then, I take off my ring before passing it to Benedict. "Why wait till your next life to be together? Since you've already made a vow to stay together for eternity, I might as well grant your wish."

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.”