Crooked Kingdom By Leigh Bardugo

Dani isn't looking for a mate, or even thinking about one. She's too busy surviving and taking care of herself and her mother. But when her mate comes walking through the doors of the restaurant she's working at, her life is suddenly turned upside down. Will she accept him and join him as the Luna of his pack? Or will the past that she worked so hard to overcome will make that impossible?

He was born from darkness… She was never meant to survive it. When Evelyn stumbles upon a dying man in the woods, she doesn’t realize she’s just saved a vampire prince—one cursed by blood, bound by fate, and hunted by his own kind. Lucien Virel is no ordinary vampire. A deadly prophecy marks him as the destroyer of his bloodline, and the moment Evelyn touches him, the curse shifts… binding her to his fate. Now Evelyn bears his mark—a blazing symbol on her skin that ties their lives, their souls, and their deaths together. As ancient forces rise and betrayals close in, Lucien must choose between breaking the curse or breaking the only girl who ever made him feel alive. But the closer they grow, the more dangerous it becomes. Because love was never part of the curse. And someone is willing to spill blood to make sure it stays that way.

“I, Alpha Dimitri, reject you, Noah, as my mate.” His cruel words always replayed in my head. My stomach churned whenever I remembered that night. ~•~ When Alpha Dimitri rejects Noah Petrova as his mate, she faces an unfortunate fate and is stuck living with the man who broke her heart since his father took her into his home when her dad died during an attack. Along the line, she falls in love with his younger brother, Aiden, who has been in love with her ever since she moved into their house. Alpha Dimitri wasn’t happy about their relationship and tried his best to make their lives miserable. What happens when Aiden challenges his brother for the position of the alpha? Will he win? Or will Alpha Dimitri retain his power?

Josh: I was focused on my revenge. Practically all of my family was killed, and I would not allow their deaths to be erased, irrelevant and unpunished. I wanted, and would do, justice. I was powerful enough for that, and I was focused. But everything changed when I found Pietra. So pretty, a little shy, and very dedicated. His intelligence charmed me, and his sharp tongue interested me. But to be honest, her body messed with me too (more than it should have). So, I was at an impasse: if I chose Pietra, I would have to give up my revenge. And if I chose to do justice, I couldn't have her in my life. Everything was very complicated, and it got worse when I found out that Pietra was predestined to be my partner. One way or another, at one time or another, she would have to be mine whether we both wanted it or not.

[Matured content, no rape.] "Mama, Custard," Adrian said as he rushed towards me. Adrian Woods, my four years old son whom I was left to raise alone. "Darian," I called out, staring intently at him, "who gave you the right to touch him, and even call him your son?" He was back! The man I tried my best to run from, the man whom I did everything possible to stay away from, the one person who was happy seeing me in so much pain. Darian Woods was back, my divorced husband, the father of my child.

I have nothing to lose but to gain everything if I can't do this. I'm just three days away from losing everything. I'm so grateful that my parents aren't around to see me like this. I'm about to auction off the last thing of value I have to gain everything back. He's completely a stranger. I am not allowed to have a glimpse of him, not even on the first night of our. I am not a normal bride, but purchased by him in an auction. He's the highest bidder and the king of the dark world.

Orphaned in a border attack and raised by the Crescent Moon Pack, she’s spent her life trying to earn her place—not just as a werewolf, but as one of them. When the powerful Shadowclaw Pack comes to negotiate a tense truce, she meets him—their cold, formidable Alpha. They are fated mates. But he takes one look at her and refuses the bond. She’s from the wrong pack... the one he’s spent his life fighting. And claiming her would mean betraying his own. But the bond doesn’t care about blood feuds, and neither do the growing feelings neither of them can deny.

"I, Ortega Blackwood, daughter of beta Denzel Blackwood, am rejecting you, Killian Fitzgerald, future Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack, as my fated mate!" She uttered through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely at her mate as he descended the stairs towards her. His expression twisted into a mask of fury, his eyes blazing with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, his imposing figure cast a shadow over her as she lay on the ground, vulnerable yet defiant. "Do you dare defy me, Ortega? Do you dare reject your fate?" His voice dripped with venom, each word carrying a threat that hung heavily in the air. "You cannot reject me, Ortega. You will be my mate whether you like it or not." ************** Rejecting her mate hadn't been easy. But when Ortega meets the powerful and ruthless Lycan and Mafia Boss, Alfredo Gambino, she finds herself falling in love with him, even though he is the rival and enemy of her rejected mate. And Alfredo also finds himself unwilling to let her go, especially now that her rejected mate wants her back.

The handsome and compassionate Baron Fabian Deschamps took pity on a bride callously treated by her old and ugly groom on the day of their wedding, so he invoked his right to her first night. He wanted to give the arrogant husband a lesson and his virgin wife a pleasurable seduction she hopefully will never forget. But as soon as her lips touched his, he realizes he also has a lesson to learn. Not all virgins are innocent. Adalene Duvre is a smart, curious, beautiful young woman. And there is the danger he’s the one who might never forget her… if he could still let her go. As soon as Adalene gets the chance to fulfill her curiosity about the matrimonial bed and the anatomy of a man, she wanted to know more. Fabian is finding it hard to think about the day he is bound to give her back to her real husband...

Liam Moonfang was born for war—sharp-tongued, top of his class, and heir to one of the most powerful werewolf packs in Silvercrest. But everything he built starts to unravel when he crosses paths with his worst nightmare at Silvercrest College: Zelest Hawthorne. Zelest is cocky, ruthless, but also obscenely attractive. Worse, he's the only other Alpha-in-training with a claim to everything Liam’s ever wanted—respect, power… and now, a mate bond. When fate ties two rival heirs together in a forbidden bond, tension erupts. The college becomes a ring as the duo wrestle between their mutual hatred and the forbidden bond between them. But nothing is as simple as lust or hate. Enemies. Mates. Alphas-in-training. This is not your typical college romance.