Costume Festival

"My mate is the man who murdered my sister," Lucia whispered, her voice shaking. Julius’s eyes flashed with hurt and fury. "I don’t know who you think I am, Lucia, but I will prove the truth, even if it breaks us both." She swore to kill him. Fate swore to bind them. Ten years ago, Lucia Wright watched her sister, Teja, die at the hands of a man whose honey gold eyes she could never forget. Since that night, her life has been nothing but prisons, rogues, and blood-soaked promises of revenge. At the Moonbane Festival, the goddess finally grants her a mate. But when the mask falls away, she recognizes him, Alpha Julius of Rivermist Pack. The man she believes murdered her sister. Lucia accepts his mother’s sudden proposal, not out of love, but to finish what she started, to kill him from within his own home. Yet the mate bond burns hotter than her hatred, and every stolen touch threatens to unravel her carefully built rage. Julius has secrets of his own, enemies in the shadows, a rival Alpha bent on his ruin, and a past drenched in sins he can’t escape. As truths twist and betrayals surface, Lucia must decide, will she cling to vengeance, or surrender to the bond that defies her every oath? In a world of demons, rival packs, and blood debts, love may be the deadliest trap of all.

Nineteen-year-old Rose should have lived a charmed life as an Alpha’s daughter, but nothing about her world is easy. Her mother died in a pack war she can’t remember, her wolf has never awakened, and her father’s rules keep her caged. On the night of the Luna Festival, Rose seizes one breath of freedom. She sneaks out with her best friend Laura—only to lose her in the crush of bodies and stumble into danger. Cornered by men with cruel intentions, she’s saved by a stranger with spellbinding mismatched eyes—one blue, one green. He vanishes before she gets his name, but his face brands itself into her dreams. When she meets “him” again, his eyes are only blue. He speaks like he knows her. He remembers details only her savior would know. Every time she sees him, something small is different—the gaze, the scent, the smile—but the same face keeps her believing… until the truth snaps into place. It was never one man. It was four. Quadruplet brothers who share a face and a secret—and who cleverly traded places to keep Rose in the dark. Drawn into their dangerous game of heat and deception, Rose becomes their forbidden. What happens when the quadruplets decide to make her their plaything? And what will Rose do when she finally uncovers the secrets they’ve been hiding all along?

Yvanna Summer dreamed of marrying a billionaire as it was the only way she could think of she could be of help to her deprived family. Indeed she married one, Norman Paul dela Vega, who inherited his grandfather's multi-billion corporation. She endured her ruthless and cold-hearted mother-in-law and busy husband. Living with Norman for the past seven years, Yvanna kept her mouth shut despite the unfair treatment she received from everyone in the mansion. One morning, Norman came home from his one-week election campaign and handed her a duly signed divorce agreement. His reason? Yvanna failed to do her job being his wife. But that was not the case for her. She knew deep inside, that she was the wife material for every man. "Five million dollars for those who can give me the exact address of my wife's whereabouts!" He announced with conviction in the middle of his press conference. "Another five million dollars for those who can bring her to me alive and unscratched." Norman found her, wearing an elegant evening gown, and was the most gorgeous woman who joined the festival pageant. Without wasting a second of his time, Norman bought her flowering offer worth ten million dollars, in exchange, SAVING THE LAST DANCE for him. They got the chance to talk and claimed her to be his wife. Unfortunately, Yvanna remembers nothing about him. What would Norman do in this kind of situation?

During the exchange of tokens in the Marking Ceremony, I presented the wolf tooth ring I had carved myself, as a witness to our marking. But my Alpha mate, Frendo, remained completely indifferent, not releasing any marking aura, as though he had entirely forgotten that today was the day of our spiritual bonding ceremony. At that moment, Lily updated her Instagram, saying she would be returning to the Sliver Lake Pack in an hour. The air immediately filled with the restless scent of wolves, and before I could react, my Beta brother, George, stepped onto the ceremony stage and emotionlessly announced, "The Marking Ceremony is canceled." Frendo and George, in perfect synchronization, turned and left the altar together, leaving me standing alone, under the watchful eyes of all the Pack members. They wanted to see how a one-person marking ceremony would proceed. It wasn’t until I held back my inner frustration and awkwardly finished the ceremony with some semblance of dignity that I opened Lily’s Instagram. In her latest photo, George and Frendo were both surrounding her, releasing intimate signals. One was holding a silver moon festival gift box, while the other offered her a moonlight rose, her favorite. I bitterly smiled and wiped away the tears from my eyes before calling the one family that truly mattered, my flesh and blood. "Dad, Mom. I want to go home."

The night of our mating ceremony, my destined Alpha, Alex, basically tossed a three-year temporary mate bond agreement at me. He said he only had eyes for one wolf girl, Lily, an Omega. He told me he’d wait until the day he was in charge of the pack, then he’d personally cut our mate bond. Lily would be his one and only. That was until Lily had a huge fight with him and just up and vanished. Alex, after too many nights drowning his sorrows, accidentally marked me. It seemed like he was finally starting to get that I was his real mate. He even started willingly holding me as we fell asleep. Just when I thought Alex had totally accepted me, Lily came back. To save Lily’s mom, Alex didn’t think twice about giving up his own precious life force. To make Lily happy, he publicly shamed me at the Moon Festival, even snatching the only moonstone bracelet my grandma had left me. Lily smashed the bracelet, and my heart broke right along with it. On our third bonding anniversary, Alex booked my favorite restaurant, wanting to say sorry. But what he didn't know was that I’d already broken our mate bond. I wasn't going back.

En el festival de la manada, una bruja me entrega un orbe de cristal que revela la verdad. Cuando le pregunto por qué, me dice que le fue encomendada su tarea y me recuerda que solo lo use cuando esté sola. A medida que la imagen en el orbe se hace más clara y aparece mi compañero, me olvido de cómo respirar. —Jared Hamilton, ¿me amas? —pregunta una mujer con su voz más dulce, rodeándole el cuello con sus brazos. —Sí. Claro que sí. Eres la única a quien amaré el resto de mi vida, Luciana. Mi mano resbala. Incluso después de que el orbe de cristal toca el suelo, todavía puedo oírlos hablar. —Juro ante la sagrada Diosa de la Luna que estaré contigo, Luciana Rose, hasta mi último aliento. Si alguna vez rompo este juramento, que nunca vuelva a conocer la alegría. Me siento sofocada. Solo puedo mirarlo con incredulidad. La mujer a la que jura amar de por vida no es otra que mi mejor amiga.

Caitlin Paine wakes to discover herself back in time. There, she learns of her destiny and her mission: to find her father and the ancient vampire Shield needed to save mankind.

But Caitlin’s heart still pines for her lost love: Caleb. She desperately needs to know if he has survived their trip back in time. She learns that her mission requires her to go to Florence, but if she wants to pursue matters of the heart, she must go to Venice. She chooses Venice.

Caitlin is overwhelmed at what she finds. Venice of the eighteenth century is a surreal place, men and women dressed in elaborate costumes and masks, celebrating an endless, lavish party. She is thrilled to discover and reunite with some of her close friends, and to be welcomed back into their coven. And she is excited to join them in Venice’s Grand Ball, the most important costume dance of the year, where she hopes, once again, to find Caleb.

But Caitlin is not the only one who can travel back in time: Kyle soon arrives, too, and is determined to hunt her down and kill her once and for all. Sam, too, arrives, determined to save his sister before it is too late.

At the Ball, Caitlin searches everywhere, and finds no sign of Caleb. That is, until the very last dance. She dances with a masked man who takes her heart away, and she feels certain that it is him. But as the partners change, she loses him again. Or does she?

Caitlin soon finds herself torn between the two loves of her life, and discovers that she has to be careful what she wishes for. Her joy at finding what she wants might just come mixed with tragedy and heartbreak.

In a climactic, action-packed ending, Caitlin finds herself up against true evil, Rome’s ancient vampire coven, and the most powerful vampire coven that ever existed. Surviving will demand all her skills, as she finds herself battling for her very life. She will have to sacrifice more than ever, if she is to save the one she loves….

Vaelora “Elyndra” Rhydian is the last of a broken bloodline, the cursed heir of NightMoor’s fallen Beta family. Orphaned by war, suffering from horrible PTSD from being raised by an abusive stepfather, and haunted by a wolf that won't fully awaken, her life has been nothing but loss. At 22, she still can’t complete her transformation. Each attempt nearly kills her. Plagued by nightmares and a mysterious voice inside her, she searches for answers, and her mate. But when she finally finds him at the Moon Festival, it’s not salvation that greets her. It’s rejection. Zarek Vortan Blackmoor, the feared Alpha of the NightMoor Pack, is cold, brutal, and cursed, just like her. Believing he doesn't have a mate and unworthy of love, he’s prepared to marry another. But fate intervenes. When Zarek discovers Vaelora is his fated mate, the one woman who could unravel his most dangerous secret, he rejects her in front of the entire pack. But destiny isn't so easily defied. When Vaelora offers him a deal that could save them both, they’re forced into a reluctant alliance; one built on secrets, betrayal, and a bond neither of them can sever. He’s the Alpha cursed to fall. She's Luna, destined to rise. Will pride, pain, and prophecy tear them apart, or can they heal each other before darkness consumes them both?

After ten years together, Aiden, my Alpha, my first and only love, finally promised to hold the mating ceremony with me during the Spring Hunt Festival. I was overjoyed. That night, at the festival party, I downed a few extra glasses of wine. However, Aiden, who had always been so gentle with me, suddenly became someone I didn't recognize. He scolded me, said I was unfit to be the future Luna if I couldn’t even follow the rules, and shoved me out of the car. Drunk and dazed, I was left alone in the dangerous Shadow Forest. Terrified but unwilling to break, I walked through that forest for five hours in the dead of night. When I finally made it back to our home, I heard him in the other room, sending a voice message to Seraphina, his first love. "If you’re willing to come back," he said, his voice soft and warm, "I’ll do anything for you." Seraphina replied, "Even cancel the mating ceremony?" Time stopped. I silently counted to thirteen. Then, I heard his answer: "Yes." Listening to that voice—the one that used to whisper promises to me—I cried. If that was what he truly wanted, then maybe calling off the ceremony was for the best. So, to spare him the choice, I fled. On the day of our mating ceremony, I disappeared. No one expected what came next. The proud, composed Alpha Aiden went mad trying to find me.

Je courais derrière le ballon de Samira comme si ma vie en dépendait. Elle riait aux éclats, cette petite tornade de cinq ans, pendant que le vent emportait son jouet vers l’inconnu. — Naïla, attrape-le ! cria-t-elle, les bras levés. J’avais dix-huit ans, une gamine encore, mais déjà tout pour elle : sa sœur, sa mère, son monde, depuis que le nôtre s’était effondré. Alors je courais, pieds nus, ma robe trop grande flottant autour de moi. Le ballon roula jusqu’aux marches d’un grand hôtel. Il atterrit… juste devant lui. Un homme. Immobile, costume noir, une rose blanche à la main. Son regard perdu dans le vide. Derrière lui, des dizaines d’invités en tenues élégantes. Silencieux. Figés. Je me suis arrêtée, haletante. Tous les regards s’étaient tournés vers moi. Mais lui… ne voyait que moi. Il m’a fixée longuement. Ses yeux se sont allumés, comme si une idée folle venait de naître. Puis il a tendu la main — vers moi, pas le ballon. — Toi, viens ici, dit-il d’une voix glacée. Je suis restée figée, tremblante. Un murmure a traversé la foule : — C’est elle… Il l’a choisie. Derrière, une femme a crié : — Il a perdu la tête ! Épouser une inconnue ? Une gamine ? Mais il s’est avancé. Lentement. Et quand il s’est arrêté, il a dit, calmement, comme une évidence : — Tu es au bon endroit, au bon moment. Tu seras ma femme. Aujourd’hui.