Christopher Moore Novels & Stories

Five years ago, I became the wife of Cesare Fontana, the most powerful mafia don in Navarino. However, he didn't make our relationship public. Cesare has always been cold and unfeeling toward everyone. I assumed that's just the way he is. One day, I get to see the way he interacts with Sonia Moretti, his childhood friend. When I see the bright smile on his face and notice the attentive care he shows her, I finally realize that there is someone in this world whom he treats with gentleness and warmth. Alas, I'm not the lucky woman. I hand over the divorce papers. Cesare remains as impassive as ever. He signs the paperwork without even knowing that it will mark the end of our marriage. When he finally finds out that I've left, weirdly enough, he immediately panics. He does everything in his power to find me and bring me back. By then, I've already left the country. I make my way to a country beyond his reach and carve out a fulfilling life for myself. Cesare becomes the one who pines for me instead.

I was known as a good girl in high society, and the most rebellious thing I ever did was to refuse to marry Asher Jonas, the head of the Ace family. When I was kidnapped by enemies, I thought I would be assaulted and hurt. Unexpectedly, Asher fought against the kidnappers to protect me. When rescue arrived, Asher, covered in blood and on the verge of death, finally let out a sigh of relief, "Don't cry. I'll be sad." I fell in love with this man at that moment. After we wed, he doted on me, and I soon became pregnant. However, I overheard his conversation with his underboss. "Don Jonas, you made a bet with Mr. Anderson Payne that you would win the heart of the good girl, Elle Sachs. You deliberately set her up to make her fall for you. Now that you've been married for two years, are you still going to keep pretending?" Asher paused for a moment and muttered, "I can't be with Lucy Snow, so it doesn't matter who I marry." The underboss asked in confusion, "Didn't you always complain that Donna was too dull and uninteresting? Even though you can't be together because Ms. Snow is your stepsister, you can choose any girl you want." "Elle is very well-behaved. She won't hurt Lucy. That's why I chose her." It turned out that all the happiness I had experienced over the past two years was fake. My husband had been deeply in love with another woman all along. I wiped away my tears, silently packed my luggage, and left the fake prison that had been built for me, carrying the baby that I had only just conceived. I would disappear from Asher's world and never cross paths with him again.

On my son, Nicholas Grafton's birthday, I've gone to great lengths to prepare a delicious carnivorous feast and a beautiful pendant meant for protection. But that's when I overhear Nicholas speaking with my Alpha mate, Tobias Grafton. "Daddy, I've already promised Aunt Whitney that I'd go to the amusement park with her on my birthday. But Mommy insists on celebrating my birthday with us. "What should I do? I want to celebrate my birthday with Aunt Whitney more, but Mommy doesn't like her at all. This makes me very troubled…" I freeze on the spot. At the same time, my face goes pale. Soon, I receive a mind-link message from Tobias. "I have something to do tomorrow, so lunch is now canceled." The next day, I head over to the amusement park, as though my sixth sense was leading me there. As expected, I spot Tobias and the others. Nicholas can be seen sitting on Tobias' shoulders while shrieking excitedly at the top of his lungs. Whitney Lockwood, my half-sister, shields Nicholas protectively the whole time. The three of them look so close, like they are the actual family here. Tobias' head is lowered at all times, his gentle gaze constantly fixed on Whitney's face. As I stare at them from my spot, I let go of everything related to them all of a sudden. After looking down at the diagnosis report that shows the confirmation of late-stage silver poisoning, I turn in an application to dissolve my mate bond with Tobias without hesitation. Now, I no longer want anything to do with Tobias and Nicholas anymore.

On my birthday, I proposed a family trip to the northern grasslands. My younger sister, Clara Harrington, who was studying in the southern territory, decided to drive through the forest to meet up with us. But unexpectedly, she was attacked by Rogue wolves in the woods, and her body was never found. My parents, Oscar Harrington and Margaret Vale, placed all the blame on me for her death and cast me out of the family. Overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow, I left the pack to atone for my sins. I took on odd jobs to earn money to send home, all while searching for any trace of Clara. Three years later, I found myself in the southern territory and began working as a delivery runner for a forest cafe. One day, while delivering an order to Werewolf Academy, I saw my parents and Clara standing at the school gate. She said, "Dad, Mom, Adeline has been wandering for three years. Shouldn't we let her come home?" But my mother replied calmly, "She is too selfish. It's only right that she suffers a little. We can bring her back once she realizes her mistakes." My father nodded in agreement. "Let her wander for another year. We'll bring her home next year." I clutched my stomach, my face pale as I forced out a bitter laugh. Three years of exhaustion had left me gravely ill. My wolf was gone, and I only had three days left to live. I could't wait until next year for my father to come and take me home.

Despite being married to me, Don Massimo Cortese has forgotten my birthday once again. On my 25th birthday, he brings his most capable Underboss, Catia Sangalli, home with him. "Catia is pregnant." His tone remains even, as though this is nothing more than routine business. "She's pregnant with my child." My eyes become as wide as dinner plates. I can only stare at Massimo in disbelief. There isn't a trace of guilt on his expression. If anything, there's a hint of calculation in his eyes. "My family needs an heir, which you can't produce at all." That's when I finally give up on Massimo. After wiping my tears away, I pass him a divorce agreement that I've prepared in advance. Massimo just smiles lightly as he signs the agreement without hesitation. His friends are confused, to say the least. "Aren't you going to ask the Donna to stay, Don Cortese? Everyone in Napango knows very well just how much you love her. Are you seriously going to let her go like this?" Massimo says firmly, "Don't worry. She will never be able to leave my side. Angelica doesn't even have any family in this world. Who else can she seek out but me? "She's far too temperamental right now, so she needs to be taught a lesson. Once she finally learns her place, she will come back to me." I pretend to not hear the conversation as I pack my luggage quietly. What Massimo doesn't know is that I've taken the initiative to give up on my inheritance rights to the Rocchi Famiglia's assets five years ago because of the family rule that states, "No Rocchi is allowed to form marital ties with other forces." This time, I'm going to cut all ties with Massimo and return to the Rocchi manor as their heiress alongside my unborn child.

After Leo Carter’s older brother passed away, his mother proposed that he marry his late brother’s pregnant wife, Ariel Sullivan. Leo refused. “Fawn is my life,” he said coldly. “I’d rather give up inheriting my brother’s position as the don than ever betray my wife.” I was deeply moved by his devotion. That was until I accidentally overheard a conversation between Leo and his mother. “The child in Ariel’s womb is clearly yours,” his mother said sharply. “So why won’t you marry her?” Leo exhaled a cloud of smoke. His gaze drifted somewhere far away, unreadable. “I promised Ariel I’d leave my brother with an heir,” he said calmly. “But this stays between us. If Fawn ever finds out, I’m dead.” His mother’s expression darkened. “So what if she finds out? She can’t even have children herself. Are you going to end the family bloodline because of her?” Leo cut her off, his voice suddenly cold and dangerous. “If she finds out, she will leave me. And I can’t survive losing her. If you want a grandson, then keep your mouth shut.” I stumbled away in a daze, and the blood in my veins slowly turned cold. Leo understood me better than anyone. He knew that in my world, love could not tolerate a betrayal. So the moment he betrayed me, I made my decision. I was leaving.

In this lifetime, Lyana Coiningan, the widow, laments about how envious she is about my bedroom by telling Alpha Theron Ulrick, "Luna Astra's bedroom is so huge and beautiful! If Dexter could stay here, he'd definitely forget all about the sorrow caused by his father's death…" While Theron is still hesitant about giving my bedroom away, I've already taken the initiative to pack up my things and give it to Lyana. On the coldest day of winter, Lyana's son, Dexter Ulrick, suddenly wails and complains about how cold the weather is. He then demands to have my son, Cayden Ulrick's fur cloak. Cayden doesn't hesitate to take off the cloak and give it to him. Everyone in the Silverfrost pack says, "Luna Astra is the embodiment of the Moon Goddess. She knows when to let others have all the good things. On top of that, she doesn't fight over anything with anyone else. Even her son is as understanding and demure as she is." Theron compliments us on how understanding we've become as well. But what they don't know is that I've already bought flight tickets in preparation to leave the Silverfrost pack. Once I get my hands on the mate bond dissolution potion, I'll be able to take Cayden to a land far, far away from this place. In my previous life, Theron had neglected Cayden and me forever because of Lyana and Dexter. He even passed his assets to them after his death. Now that we get a second chance in the same lifetime, both Cayden and I don't want to have anything to do with Theron anymore.

After I divorced the mafia boss, he pleaded outside my house on bended knees for us to get back together. Apparently, it struck him that I was the only one for him. To win me back, he dropped every lover he kept on the side and made a spectacle of his love across the city. At our wedding, he lit the sky with fireworks to show the city of Naples that he had me back in his life again. All envious eyes were on me as I completely had his heart. The eve of our first Valentine’s Day together after our second wedding, I went for a hospital check-up, only to find that I was expecting. With the pregnancy test result in hand, I wanted to share the good news with him right away, but I ran into him taking another woman with a bump for a prenatal appointment. The doctor congratulated them on their newborn, due next week. The woman was a childhood friend of his. As it turned out, he begged me for another shot at marriage while impregnating another behind my back. His proclamation of undying love was nothing more than lies to keep me sweet. I didn’t cry, nor did I raise hell. All I did was take out my entire savings to stage a plane crash to fake my death. Since a divorce couldn’t free me from him, I’d make him lose me forever. By the time he realized that I was carrying his child, the only thing he’d have left of me was a death certificate.

I have three dads who love and spoil me for fifteen years. Of the three, Maxim Ulfric is the high-ranking and authoritative Alpha of the Cinderhowl pack. The second is Ethan Skoll, the pack's most valiant Beta warrior. The third is Aidan Rafe, the most skilled healer of the whole pack. They're the reason I am the happiest princess of the Cinderhowl pack before turning 15. Everything changes after Raeya Wargan appears. Time and again, she accuses me of leading others to sideline and pick on her. Even my disappointed dads say I'm insensible and give everything I have to her as compensation. From then on, no one believes a word I say. Even the pups of the pack call me a pathological liar. Everything ends when Raeya throws me into a Rogue's den. As a ferocious Rogue hunts me down, I reach out through the mind-link to my dads for help. But none of them believes me. They call me devious and cunning. They say that I'm trying to frame Raeya on purpose. While a wolf pack tears my limbs apart, and my mangled corpse is left abandoned in the forest, my dads are wholeheartedly presiding over Raeya's grand coming-of-age ceremony. They once promised to give me the most unique coming-of-age ceremony, but it's a pity I'll never live to see that day.

I suffered a bloodline rejection. On the day I was forcibly pushed into labor, Serena Cole happened to be giving birth as well. She was the mate of Adrian Cole’s late older brother, Marcus Cole. As the contractions rose and fell like lunar tides, crashing over my body again and again, I begged Adrian to find a midwife for me. What I received instead was his furious scolding. "Stop pretending. Your due date is in a month. Today is Serena’s due date, yet you insist on choosing this moment to compete with her for attention." Clenching his clothes and enduring the searing contractions, I pleaded through the pain, "The pup is coming now. Please, I’m in agony. I’m going to die from the pain. Just find a midwife. Anyone will do…" The pup inside me was too strong. It tore relentlessly through my mixed-blood body. Adrian, however, coldly pried my fingers away. "Stop lying to me. Your body is very strong. How could pregnancy possibly cause you this much pain? "Before Marcus died, he made me swear to take good care of Serena. The pup she is carrying is his only bloodline. Nothing can go wrong." He locked me inside the room and reassigned every single midwife away. The servants tied me to the bed and force-fed me labor-delaying agents. My lower abdomen was crushed repeatedly with wooden rods. Edgar Hawkins, the butler, looked at me without a trace of emotion and said flatly, "The Alpha has given his order. Only the first pup of the family may become the pack’s heir. You are not allowed to give birth before Serena and steal the heir’s position."