Chris Pine Books Novels & Stories

It was the third anniversary of my registration of a mate bond with Xavier Ashford, the alpha of Shadowcrest Pack. My gift to him was a positive pregnancy test, but his gift to me was a contract terminating our bond as mates. I froze, too distraught to reach out and take it from him. Xavier cleared his throat awkwardly. "A wolf tricked Talia into getting pregnant. A pup born out of mate bond can't get the rights to live in the pack. My plan is to terminate our bond as mates and become mates with Talia for the time being so that her pup can have a legal identity. After she gives birth to her pup, then you and I can become mates again. How does that sound?" He passed me a bond termination contract. It had clearly been prepared a long time ago. He noticed my hesitation and explained gently, "You're my one true love. I'm only helping her as a friend. Even after we split up, I can guarantee that you won't be mistreated." I looked up at him with a smile and stayed silent. Then, I reached into my pocket and felt the pregnancy test under my fingers. The two red lines on the screen were as clear as day.

Right before my wedding, my fiancé, Benjamin Gray, holds another wedding at an old settlement with his true love, who has lung cancer. He holds Jennifer Robinson close and smiles tenderly at her underneath the starry sky. "According to the local customs here, the woman whose wedding is held first is considered a man's actual wife. I might have already registered my marriage with Samantha, but she's more like my mistress." Everyone cheers and blesses them as they toast each other and enter their room for the night. I witness all of this, but I don't cry or kick up a fuss. Instead, I make an appointment for an abortion. I've loved Benjamin for 15 years, but I still can't compare to Jennifer, who is my stepsister. If that's the case, I'll let him go. Later, I join a geological exploration and research team in the South Isles and am cut off from the world. All I leave behind is a divorce agreement and a divorce gift. Benjamin has never cared for me, so it's odd that he loses his mind overnight after my departure.

While we're having our dinner on Christmas Eve, my mom suddenly asks me loudly, "Do you have your chastity?" I look confused. "What?" My mom just smiles very smugly. "I knew you were the adventurous type! You must have lost it because of someone else!" After that, she shoots my husband, Louis Hartson, a knowing look. "You don't know about this yet, right? Before Yvonne married you, she was an absolute player in the dating pool. Her father and I couldn't keep her under control at all!" I widen my eyes in shock. "What are you talking about?" My mom is even happier when she sees how angry I am. "Oh? You have the guts to do it, yet you're too cowardly to admit to it?" I can only clench my fists tightly under the table after hearing my mom's slanderous accusations. Since she likes spreading baseless rumors about me this much, I'm not going to keep her secret for her anymore.

On Christmas Day, my dad gave me a golden apple. My roommates gasped in envy and immediately demanded I treat them to a meal. I smiled and agreed. I told them to head out first and that I'd join them shortly. When I came out of the bathroom, the dorm was empty. Sharon Everton's laptop was still glowing. I walked over to shut it down. That's when a WhatsApp group named 'Anti-Gold Digger Alliance' popped up on the screen. [No wonder she didn't come back last night. Bet she spent the whole night escorting again just to get that golden apple!] [A designer bag the day before, a golden apple today. With how many men she's serving every day, I wonder how wrecked she is down there.] [We have to hit her with a big bill today. Her money's dirty anyway. Spending it for her is basically doing a good deed!] There were four people in the dorm. Three of them were in that group chat. There was no doubt that they were talking about me. The friends I'd treated with genuine kindness all this time turned out to be ungrateful snakes.

Three years ago, Maya felt something she shouldn't have for Derek Hayes. He's her best friend's father. Eighteen years older. Completely forbidden. She's avoided him ever since. But when Sophie invites Maya to spend Christmas at Derek's Colorado estate, two weeks of forced proximity ignite everything they've both been fighting. Secret glances become stolen kisses. Innocent touches turn into something neither can resist. They tell themselves they'll end it before Sophie finds out. But some loves refuse to stay hidden. When their secret is exposed, Derek loses his daughter. Maya loses her best friend. And both face an impossible question: is love worth the destruction it causes? A forbidden Christmas romance about the space between right and wrong, where the heart wants what it shouldn't have and family is both the greatest gift and the highest cost.

Sophia is a young writer who dreams of being an author. After a traumatic heartbreak, she moves to New York to pursue her dream. Years later, Sophia returns for Christmas to her hometown, Evergreen Heights, where she encounters people from her past. Will feelings resurrect, or will Sophia have the strength to move forward? Only time will tell...

To fulfill a promise to her late father, Aubrey Lynn posts an ad to hire a fake Boyfriend for Christmas

On Christmas Eve, my parents and my fiancé, Ivano Dominici, finally agree to accompany me to Iberion to see the aurora. But when I arrive there, they never show up no matter how long I wait. I send messages to ask. They reply helplessly that something urgent has come up at the last minute and tell me to go to the observation point and wait. I stand alone on the icy field, turning back every few minutes to look at the road behind me. When my hands grow numb from the cold, I scroll my social media feed and see a recent post from my younger sister, Giada Soave. Holding gifts in her arms, she sits beneath a luxurious crystal Christmas tree with my parents embracing her from both sides. Ivano stands behind her with his hand resting lightly at her waist and his eyes full of tenderness. The caption reads, "Merry Christmas, I'm grateful to spend the holiday with those who love me most!" The comments section buzzes with blessings, praise, and envious messages. I stare at the screen for a long time without moving. This is not the first time they break their promise to me because of Giada. But this time, I do not argue or make a scene. I simply type and send one line calmly in the comments, "I wish your family of four a Merry Christmas." I finally let go of my obsession and stop waiting for people who will never come to me. But when I quietly step away, the ones who cannot let go turn out to be them.

“You shouldn't be here…” Naila felt like her whole world was crumbling down as she stared at the man towering over her. “Funny,” his voice was hoarse. “Neither should you. I guess Santa has a funny way of playing for the season, don't you think?” ******** Naila Cole escapes to a snowbound mountain cabin days before Christmas, desperate to outrun a life that’s falling apart. She expects silence, isolation and healing. She doesn’t expect Remy Sterling. Her ex-boyfriend. The man she walked away from years ago. One booking mistake. A brutal blizzard. One night they swear will mean nothing. But weeks later, Naila is hiding a secret that could destroy them both. When a new job offer drags her into the city, she’s ready to rebuild—until she walks into the boardroom and comes face to face with her new boss. Remy Sterling. CEO. Ruthless negotiator. And the father of the child she hasn’t told him about. As Christmas approaches and a dangerous corporate merger tightens its grip, Naila is forced into close quarters with Remy once again—while rumours ignite, rivals circle, and someone begins leaking secrets meant to ruin her. With her career in flames, her body changing, and the truth ticking like a time bomb between them, Naila must decide how long she can keep the secret that could cost Remy his empire… or her heart. Because some mistakes can't be hidden. Especially not the ones conceived on Christmas night.

My husband spiked our child's formula with sleeping pills to sneak away for a Christmas date with his assistant. As I frantically rushed my feverish child to the hospital, I unexpectedly spotted my husband carrying his assistant upstairs. "Peyton twisted her ankle, so I'm here to help her get it checked!" Even though our child was in the operating room fighting for her life, he did not so much as glance in her direction. I tightened my grip on the ten-million-dollar winning lottery ticket in my pocket. It was time to end this seven-year marriage.