Cradling

After a century of war between humans and the Otherkin, both sides finally agree to a ceasefire. To preserve peace and coexistence, an intermarriage pact is established—every hundred years, humans and the Otherkin must marry. The first Otherkin to produce an Otherkin child will become the chairman of the Otherkin Alliance. In my last life, I married Kevin Walker, the famously devoted Alpha of the Whitefang pack. One year after our wedding, I gave birth to a wolf pup, and Kevin ascended smoothly to the chairman of the alliance. My sister, Meredith Singer—driven by vanity and a thirst for power—married Simon Lynch, the leader of the vampires. However, she didn't expect his chaotic private life, overflowing with mistresses, to leave her with a disease that robbed her of her ability to bear children. Bitter over her ruined life, Meredith blamed everything on me. She drugged both me and my pup before setting a fire that burned us alive. "Annabelle, everything you have should've been mine! I should be the one married to the Alpha! I should be the chairman's mate! You're nothing!" As the fire roared around us, I clutched my pup tightly in my arms. He sobbed against my chest. "Mom... it hurts..." I couldn't do anything but watch as the flames consumed us both. In the final moments of my life, I saw someone I never expected—the zombie king, Landon Zeller. Without hesitation, he charged into the inferno, cradling me and my pup in his arms, trying desperately to save us. However, it was too late. We'd already taken our last breaths.

A doomsday blizzard hit just before Christmas. The zombie virus exploded. Our fortress was a top-tier ski resort. Now, it was about to fall. My husband, Ethan, was a former Navy SEAL. Our head of security. He swore his defense system was foolproof. The blizzard knocked out the power. But he’d sent all the backup generator fuel to the summit. Just to light up a Christmas tree for Chloe. He even had a few guards up there with them, throwing a party. In my last life, I fought him. I herded everyone into the last bunker. But Chloe whined. A crowded Christmas was boring, she said. She stormed out of the safe room and ran right into the jaws of the horde. Ethan carved a path through the horde to secure the walls. Then he sat in silence, cradling Chloe’s bones. He pretended he wanted to start over with me. He let me get pregnant with his child. The day I gave birth, he knocked me unconscious and dumped me into a nearby zombie nest. He always rescued me just before I died. He’d inject me with a serum that kept me from turning. Nineteen times, he threw me to the zombies. I died in agony as they tore the flesh from my bones. "If you hadn't sabotaged my defenses," he’d hissed, "if you hadn't crashed our party and led the horde right to us, Chloe would still be alive!" I opened my eyes. I was back. Christmas Eve.

I kept our marriage a secret for three years, enduring every sneer as her VP while helping her build her empire. Tanya Cox rose from a scorned, illegitimate daughter to a revered CEO. She once nestled in my embrace and promised to be open about our relationship when the company went public. I waited year after year. Even when our child was born, she still hadn’t made good on her word. One day, I pressed for a timeline. However, Tanya simply put the baby in my arms. “Callum, things are complicated at the moment. The disclosure will only hurt the stock price. I gave you a child. Isn’t that enough?” Alas, when her childhood friend, Gavin Nolan, returned from abroad on New Year’s Day, he took the seat of honor during our newborn’s sip and see event. Gavin, cradling my baby girl, accepted well-wishes from friends and family with a smile. “Don’t take things the wrong way. The right etiquette probably slipped his mind since he’s been away for so long. He’s only sitting there to keep the baby entertained. That’s all. Don’t read too much into it. “We’ve always been close since childhood. He’s going to be the godfather of our child. Don’t tell me you’re jealous of him.” Beaming, I raised my glass as a toast to Gavin. Tanya was wrong. I wasn’t at all jealous. Heck, I was done with her.

Faye Millers was the plump orphan no one chose. With curvy hips, soft belly, and strawberry-blonde hair that was always tied in a messy ponytail. Too much for a pack that prized sharp bones and perfect lines. Yet Thorn Millers, the future Alpha and the adoptive brother who she was raised alongside, couldn’t keep his hands off her. He bullied her in daylight, then pulled her into his bed at night—secret, breathless nights where he worshipped the body he mocked in public. Faye’s wolf, Ulfa, swore he was their mate and she believed it. Until the coronation day. Pregnant with his child—the heir the elders demanded—Faye stood silent in the great hall, with her hand cradling her growing belly, as Thorn placed the Luna crown on her anorexic best friend Rieka’s head. “Some women,” Thorn announced, with his voice ringing with disgust yet never meeting Faye’s tear-filled eyes, “are simply not built to stand beside an Alpha.” The pack cheered. Rieka smiled triumphantly. While Faye’s heart broke into a thousand pieces. He rejected her curves, denied their baby and chose a fake fated bond, over the curvy girl carrying his bloodline. Her adoptive parents, desperate to hide their son’s shame, offered her money and care until delivery… then exile forever. But Faye didn’t crumble. As a social outcast swollen with child, she caught the eye of Jacob Black—the powerful Beta heir who saw beauty in every curve Thorn despised. Slowly, fiercely, he claimed her heart while royal blood stirred in her veins. They expected her to stay broken. To accept disgrace and fade away. With royal blood hidden in her veins and a true mate who craves every curve Thorn despised, Faye will reclaim everything he stole.

For years, no one had been able to activate the last dragon's heart. No one except a poor young thief. ___ She only had one job–stealing a precious stone. Yet it landed her with an overbearing dragon. ___ Locked and chained, Scar suddenly awakened when his heart palpitated for the first time in decades, coming face to face with a young girl cradling his heart. In his vengeful attempt to get it back, they activate the spell binding him to her. Now not only was his heart stolen, but he was also enslaved. Scar vowed to kill the girl once the bond was broken. The only problem is no one had ever successfully broken a dragon bond, nor would it allow him to harm its new master. ___ "Oh... um ... sorry. I didn't mean to…um.. pry. I'm... gonna go now." I stuttered, inching backward from his penetrating gaze, glancing around for a way out. "I don't know who you're, but I do know you're not here willingly. Seeing as you're chained and all." Silence. "How about I set you free, and in return, you get us out of here?" Silence. Maybe he couldn't talk, so I did the only thing I could. Grabbing the keys, I fumbled with the heavy chains of his cage. His gaze finally shifted to the wooden box I dropped on the floor. "Fancy, isn't it?" I said. "I've never seen anything like it before. But then again, I'm not familiar with expensive stuff." A deep rumble rattled from his throat, freezing me in place. I glanced up at him wearily. "Run." And then he was charging towards me. ___ Tropes: Enemies to lovers. Hidden identity. Reverse harem. Betrayal. Revenge. Arranged marriage. Contract. Escape with pregnancy. Forced proximity. ___

“Joe…” Her eyes closed and he lunged forward. She went down so fast, he almost missed her. Maggie slid down the wall, limp and pale, and he went to his knees and grabbed her shoulders before her head hit the floor. He pulled her up against his chest, touched her cheek. She was freezing cold. “Fuck, Maggie,” he muttered. “What have you done to yourself, baby?” He stood up, cradling her in his arms, and walked over to the sofa. He set her down on it and memory washed over him: making love to Maggie right here, her hot and writhing under him as he thrust inside her. God, he still remembered how hard she came that one night, hard enough to shake his whole body with her spasms. **** Two years ago, Maggie Branson walked in on her boyfriend in bed with another woman, and walked out without a backward glance. She never planned to see Joe Carlisle again. But when he offers her a high-paying commission she can’t refuse, Maggie decides to take the money, do the work, and get gone. Fast. Joe, however, has other plans. Two years ago, Joe was an arrogant, cheating disaster, and he knows it. Maggie was the woman he should’ve fought for, and this commission feels like his last chance to prove he’s changed. She’s not buying it. Then tragedy rips through Maggie’s life, and it’s Joe who shows up... steady, remorseful, and impossible to ignore. As grief strips away old defenses, Maggie is forced to confront the past she buried and the man Joe might have become. The question isn’t whether Joe wants redemption. It’s whether Maggie can forgive the one betrayal that broke her heart – and risk trusting him again.

"It's all your fault. You know you did this to me," he said, cradling my face with his hands, lightly brushing his lips against mine. His breathing was staggered and he groaned when my body writhed under him. "You made a big mistake by coming into my room." "Sorry, I'll never com---" He sucked my lips with an intense urgency, his fingers digging into my waist. Caressing my tongue with his, he could feel my suppressed moan and kissed me even more passionately. "Fuck! I love the way you taste." His words were awakening some primal needs inside me. The way his lips slid across my skin sent heat straight to my core. His already crazy hard boner was flaring against my belly button. I was moaning against his ear while he licked my neck. He was going to make Adalyn his Luna in three days. What was I even doing here? I pushed him away with all my strength. What surprised me was that he didn't try to stop me from running away. He was clearly in more control of the situation than I was. *** Her mate thinks she is a human, and she lets him believe so... The ruthless Alpha Kian from the Storm Moon Pack wipes out an enemy pack only to realize that the enemy pack Luna, Nyla, is his second chance mate. Nyla is torn between avenging her soulmate's death and falling for the heartless man. Things go awry when the Storm Moon Pack members go disappearing one by one every full moon night. Will the alpha find out Nyla's true identity? Will Nyla bring doom to the alpha and his pack or give in to the mate bond?

In the third year of Ariel Slater's remarriage with Remi Callahan, she realizes that she's pregnant with his baby. As his wife, she does her utmost best to avoid getting into fights with him. Whenever Remi comes home late, Ariel no longer welcomes him home at the door. When Remi gets absolutely wasted at his business meetings, all Ariel does is command the household staff to prepare a hangover tonic for him. Remi is very busy with work, so it's rare for him to come home. Even so, Ariel doesn't use the landline in the family compound to call him. When she's eight months pregnant, Ariel discovers a tube of ointment in Remi's coat that's not hers. But she merely puts it back in his pocket without saying a word. One day, when Ariel visits the maternity hospital next to the family compound for a prenatal check-up, she comes across an incident that humiliates her to no end. Two nurses happen to walk out of a ward at that time. As they walk down the corridor, they chat among themselves. "Mr. Callahan cares about Ms. Reed a lot. The moment she gives birth to a son, he's quick to book her the best single-person ward in this hospital." "I heard that Ms. Reed is the widow of Mr. Callahan's dead mentor. He takes good care of Ms. Reed, that's for sure. Not only does he keep her company in the day, but he also refuses to go home at night. He really is a caring man." "But I heard that Mr. Callahan's wife is about to give birth. I wonder what will happen if she finds out about Mr. Callahan's antics…" Even though the nurses keep their voices low, Ariel still hears every word as clear as day. As she stares at Remi, who's speaking with his colleague, Ella Reed, while cradling her newborn, she feels her eyes reddening against her will. She decides to file for a divorce from him right there and then. This time, she will never remarry him, no matter what.

My husband, Jaxon Murray, was a renowned medical expert and owned a big company. He was participating in a clinical drug trial when someone tampered with his medication. Under the influence, he ended up entangled with an intern—ninety-nine times, right there on the lab table. When he regained clarity, he rushed home, locked himself in the bathroom, and submerged himself in the tub without food or water as he waited for me to return from work. "Lauren," he said, "my medication was switched during the trial. I made a terrible mistake. But I paid her off and had her dismissed. She'll never appear before me again." I wept miserably, clutching my belly that had once again failed to carry life. And in the end, I chose to forgive him. Several months later, he crashed into a guardrail while answering a phone call, causing me to miscarry. The injury left me unable to conceive for life. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, his voice choked with remorse. "Darling, I don't deserve you. I'm so sorry… We don't need children. We have each other, isn't that enough?" One day, I went to bring him lunch, only to find him in the next hospital room, cradling and feeding the woman he swore he'd never see again. "She's too weak to eat by herself," he said. "She has early-stage stomach cancer. There's no one else to take care of her… she's all alone." I chose to believe him. Again. Until one day, a pair of twins appeared in our home. Sophie Dixon knelt before me, wearing the postpartum gown he had once lovingly picked out for me, clutching my hand with tears streaming down her face. "It's all my fault. Please don't blame Jaxon. If you say the word, I'll leave with the children immediately." Jaxon grabbed my other hand, desperation thick in his voice. "Lauren, you've always been the kindest person I know. The children are still so young. How could Sophie possibly raise them alone? You wouldn't be that cruel… would you?" I looked down at the hands gripping mine from both sides, and suddenly, I laughed. "Jaxon, let's get a divorce. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."