Cherry Picked

Dahlia Bernard gave Desmond Sterlings everything, love, loyalty, and a crown he never earned. She picked him from the slums, built him into a CEO, and handed him the keys to her empire. Love blinded her. Desmond repaid her by betraying her, stealing her company, sleeping with multiple women, and getting her own sister pregnant. A community dick, that's all he ever was. Now, Dahlia isn’t just broken. She’s angry. With Ronan Knight, Drawlwood's ruthless billionaire by her side, Dahlia is ready to reclaim everything that was once hers. And this time… mercy is off the table. ********** I was flung aside, my grip on Roselle slipping as I crashed into someone's arms, Ronan Knight. "Hold in your rage, Dahlia," Ronan's voice was calm. "There are better ways to make them pay. Don’t destroy yourself trying to hurt them. That's not how revenge works." I glanced down at my reddened knuckles. Tears blurring my vision. "Then tell me, Ronan… how do I hurt them?" I choked on my tears. "By becoming untouchable," he said softly. "Become more powerful, more successful. A version of Dahlia they could never break. And then… you make them kneel." He leaned in, a wicked promise in his eyes. "I'll help you rise again, Dahlia. And when you do… they'll beg at your feet."

The night I found out, I almost fixed it. Almost. My assignment had been changed to Everglades Academy. Two thousand miles south. Swamp territory. Three omegas died there last year. I'd asked Kael to file my school preference. Silver Peak Academy. Together. The way we'd planned since we were twelve, lying in the snow making promises to the stars. Now the screen said Everglades. I called him immediately. He picked up on the second ring, relaxed as always. "Hey." "My assignment," I said. "It says Everglades." "Oh." Not guilt. Recalibration. "Lil came by while I was filing yours. She wanted to play a prank—switched it to Everglades for a laugh." He laughed. Light. Careless. "Deadline's tomorrow night. Just override it yourself. It takes thirty seconds." "If I hadn't checked—" "But you did check." That patience. "Fen. You always check everything. That's why she knew you'd catch it. It was just a joke." Just a joke. So my future was a punchline. My life, someone else's entertainment. I said nothing. I packed my gear. I left for the transport hub on departure day. Kael found me at the platform. His smile was gone. "I told you to override it. You didn't change it back?" "No."

My fiance, Alexander Elrod, the most outstanding fashion designer of the 21st century, had finally agreed to marry me. He promised to propose once he won the Paris Fashion Award. When the day arrived, I braved a typhoon to attend his celebration banquet. There, I watched as Alexander and his assistant, Stella Monroe, kissed shamelessly in front of the cameras. Then, they proudly displayed their wedding rings. Alexander picked up the microphone. “Stella dear, thank you for your hard work during this time. In the future, I’ll continue leading the fashion world with you, one trend after another!” My colleagues all turned to look at me and expected me to cause a scene. I smiled, and I was the first to applaud them. “How wonderful! Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness.” The room erupted in shocked murmurs. After the event, Alexander immediately dragged me aside to explain, “Stella stayed up with me for nearly half a year for the Paris Fashion Award. Her mother’s terminally ill, and her last wish was to see Stella get married. Must you take it so seriously? “Once work is over, I’ll divorce her and throw you the grandest wedding, okay?” I walked away without answering him. Then, I gave my father a call. “Dad, the ten-year bet is over. I’ve lost. I’ll come home and take over the family business.”

HER BABY’S SECRET Are we best friends or meant to be together? Minutes went by, that was the longest minutes of my life. My heart was beating hard against my chest. I felt like it was going to burst anytime soon. The result and how I would break it down to Busayomi without her getting mad stirred panic within me. I was scared. I closed my eyes as she picked the strip. I could feel her eyes on me. "I.. think..this is good news." She said but my heart broke at her words. It is really bad news if it's positive. "You're pregnant." She said happily. No..no..no..my heart beat skipped two beats at a time. Suddenly I went into hyperventilating mode! And I couldn't control it. What do you do when you don't know how you feel? What do you do when you can't possibly let go of what you feel? What do you do when you can't confess your feelings just because you don't wanna ruin a long time friendship? And all you do is to make him happy! Then what happens when you find out you're pregnant but you can't tell it to the father of your child? Read the story of two best friends.

“Valerie.” My head snapped up at the sound of my name. The Alpha was standing by the sofa, unbuttoning the neck of his coat. “Come,” he said. “We don’t have much time.” Much time? For what? A chill moved up my arms. I wouldn’t dare ask—not that I needed to. I was not an innocent child anymore. All of my training had been for this moment. There was only one reason why werewolves purchased young, human virgins. Sex. I was a slave. A pet. And my master could do whatever he pleased with me. _________ When the war started. They fought. They slaughtered. We were nearly wiped out on the earth. Surviving humans were classified into three categories: free humans, Servants, and Slaves. My name is Valerie Davis. My parents were accused of committing a crime against the creatures in the war. After their execution, I was captured and sent to the cell as a human slave. I lived in that cell for years before I was transported to a Slave Shop, where I would be picked by a Master. It was during the dry season when I was put in the display box. I wasn't afraid like the other girls, because I was unwanted for my weirdness. I was despised for being the criminals’ daughter. I was lucky, as the masters wouldn’t want to lay a finger on me. But then the Alpha came. When he looked at me, he said he want me. ___________________________ Daily Update!

Out of humanity she saved his life but what did he do to her; instead of thanking her he took her in as his prisoner. But, she had no problem with it. She was more than just happy as long as she could adore this stone faced Adonis from a close radius. Wearing a pink hoodie and holding a candy she would run around, pestering that iceberg like man. "Mr. Nguyen, can you buy me a teddy?" "Mr. Nguyen, can you change the curtains to pink?" "Mr. Nguyen, can I take your heart?" Little girl, are you aware? The man you are fooling around with is the ruthless leader of the Mafia gang which rules over the shady underground community. Seems like she had no effect of this dark identity of this man. Okay, this was bearable! What made them have a jaw drop was when their heartless boss, who hardly let any woman near him, was especially doting and caring towards this little prisoner. It was after she came they realized that their boss too had a heart which was capable of loving a girl. But... Why this little fool who didn't even have an identity. Did she really move his heart or... resembled someone hiding in his heart. A funny and warm story of a dominant mafia boss and... a girl he picked up from street.

The Alpha of our pack decreed that his heir’s mate must be chosen from a decent background. But the next Alpha, Bleiz, chose me as his mate—a slave picked up by a healer. For me, Bleiz gave up his inheritance and endured ninety-nine lashes, blood soaking through his shirt. Still, he smiled at me and said, “Nancy, don’t be afraid. You’re the only one I want as my future Luna.” Later, the Alpha finally relented, agreeing to let Bleiz and me elope, but Bleiz had to leave an heir for the family. Since then, the words Bleiz said to me most often were: “Please wait.” The first time, Bleiz asked me to wait—for him to get another omega pregnant. The second time, Bleiz asked me to wait again, because the first child was a daughter, and the Alpha family wanted a son. Just when I thought I’d finally endured enough, Bleiz and Mona’s daughter—who had just celebrated her 100-day celebration—suddenly developed a high fever and vomited blood. Everyone believed I had poisoned her. When I was stripped naked and thrown into the freezing ice pond in the dead of night, Bleiz stood at the edge, watching. “I told you to wait,” he said, his eyes filled with disappointment. “Why did you hurt my child?” This time, I decided I would wait no longer.

“Part your legs and show me what I own, wife,” Ethan commanded, the phone still connected to his ears. The way he said ‘wife’ sent a sensual thrill chasing down my spine. He said it like it was a personal fantasy of his—the filthiest pleasure he could imagine. And I knew Asher was on the line, listening to this. Listening to US. I obeyed, parting my legs just enough for the cool air to brush against my skin. I felt the power roll off Ethan, the waves of desire as if controlling me, and Asher aroused a different side of his dominance. With my heightened wolf senses, I picked up the faintest grunt and growl from the phone, and my body responded, my core throbbing with need. The misery of wanting a fated mate and chosen mate, both at once, of wanting something so badly even though I knew it was wrong and debauched and compelling. —— When Sage Laurent was sold into the marriage with Alpha Ethan Blackwood, little did she know that she’d found her fated mate. But it was not Ethan Blackwood. It was Asher Knight, Alpha Ethan’s Beta, and soon Sage realised that the Moon Goddess had put her in a very precarious position. What happens when she is drawn to both of them? Sage never imagined that the most perilous thing she would face wasn’t the dangers of the pack—but the risk of falling for them both.

Since the death of her father, Ella Adams has not experienced anything but cruelty. She has spent her life in pain, being an unwanted omega in a house of her stepmother, having only one hope in life, and that is the one of freedom in marriage. When she falls in love with Alpha Brandon, her fated mate, she feels like fate has finally favored her. However, falling in love with him secretly turns out to be her biggest mistake. Ella has her world shattered on the night Alpha Brandon publicly embraces her younger stepsister as his mate instead of her. She is branded a liar and accused of being an abomination and banished out of her pack carrying his child. Crushed, penniless, and lonely, Ella fades out of the world that has disowned her. But fate is not done with her. Ella is picked up by the mighty Alpha Jacob of the Bluehood Pack and she is given a second opportunity at life. Several years later, she comes back a successful, undefeated lawyer and a loving mother, her past hidden under the triumph and power. However, when she goes to the funeral of her adopted father, she is thrown back into the darkness she escaped, and right into the path of Alpha Brandon again. With the re-emergence of old foes and new friendships, Ella is caught up in pack politics, land battles and deadly betrayals. Two great Alphas are in love with her on very different grounds--one out of regret and blood, the other out of ambition and passion.

Angela Hunter. She died once—betrayed by the two people she trust and loved most. But the moon goddess gave her a second chance. A second life. This time, she wouldn’t fall for a pretty face or promises wrapped in lies. This time, she’d find a mate before fate dragged her back into hell. So she picked the darkest, most dangerous wolf she could find. He doesn’t smile. He barely speaks. He smells like secrets and death. But when he looks at her, it’s like he sees every crack in her soul—and wants to hold the pieces. She asked him to pretend. She didn’t mean to fall. Aaron Shepard. He was never meant to fall in love. With vengeance burning through his veins, he walked the world like a shadow—cold, silent, and deadly. But then she came along—reckless, stubborn, and wild-eyed—and flipped his world off its axis. Now, she thinks he’s just a rogue. A stranger willing to pose as her mate to prevent her from getting chosen. But every time she smiles at another man, he feels something unholy crawl under his skin. She doesn’t know he’s the Alpha king. She doesn’t know he would tear down packs to keep her safe. And she definitely doesn’t know…She’s already his.