Crystal Shoes

“Marry him or forget that you were ever part of this family” “So I’m just a pawn now?” “No zara,you are the price we pay for peace “ Zara Tunde had one dream: to model for the world’s biggest fashion houses and one day walk the runway in Paris. She was ready to chase that dream—until her father shattered everything with a single demand: marry Regan Kareem, the son of a man she despised, or lose everything, including her family. But Zara wasn’t going down without a fight. On one condition, she agreed: the marriage would last only one year. If love didn’t happen by the end of the year, they would walk away. No strings, no regrets. Regan Kareem, the enigmatic son of the powerful Chief Kareem, wasn’t looking for love either. He had his secrets—some dark, some dangerous. He saw the marriage as a means to an end, a way to fulfill family expectations and cover truths that could destroy his father’s empire. What started as cold tolerance slowly ignited into something neither expected. Beneath the mansion walls, deals were made, lies unraveled, and eyes watched from the shadows. When Zara begins to uncover a past linked to her own pain—the disappearance of her baby sister years ago—everything she thought she knew crumbles. In a world where loyalty is tested and betrayal hides behind perfect smiles, Zara must decide what matters more—revenge or love.u Because in this vow, someone’s not making it out unscathed.

At her graduation ceremony, Claire White eagerly awaited Adrian to finally make their relationship public. But to her horror, she watched as he got down on one knee and proposed to Nicole, the esteemed daughter of a powerful Alpha. Heartbroken, Claire drowned her sorrows at a bar, where she met a dangerously alluring man, Theo. Sparks flew between them, but just before they crossed the line, fate intervened desperate phone call about her father's sudden illness pulled her back to reality. With her father's life on the line and medical bills piling up, Adrian offered financial help on the condition that she became his mistress. Furious, Claire refused, only to find herself blacklisted and unable to secure a job. Just when she was at her lowest, an unexpected opportunity arose a high-paying position as the secretary to the CEO of a prestigious company. But upon stepping into her new workplace, she discovered a shocking truth her new boss was Theo. And worse still, he was Adrian' s father.

My best friend, Maya, flew in from Miami for my bachelorette week. My last days of freedom. She insisted on a girls' night in to celebrate, ordering all my favorite takeout. She asked me to hold her mobile phone and wait.Then her phone lit up. A message from some guy. A shirtless pic. Text: I need you tonight. Another photo buzzed through. Sex toys. Bondage gear straight out of a movie. My face burned. My heart hammered against my ribs. I’d just stumbled into her secret life. But the next image made my blood run cold. A close-up of the man's chest. A jagged scar I knew better than my own reflection. It belonged to my fiancé, Luciano Carbone.

Valeria became a slave at 8 after her pack was wiped off overnight. Hard labor, starvation, and bullying became the order of her days. But the worst was the rejection and Betrayal from her own mate Magnar and then left to die. Valeria’s world shattered—until she discovered a secret power hidden inside her. A power that was linked to the Moon. A power was rumored to change the world order. It could be a blessing, or it could be a curse. The road ahead of Valeria was long and tough; Enemies and friends were equally unpredictable. How would this bruised girl survive in this cruel world? And when fate brought Magnar to her again, how would she choose? In a world where trust is a luxury and power is everything, would Valeria rise as a savior—or a force of destruction?

Today is the sixth time my girlfriend, Shirley Lake, is supposed to meet my parents. My parents and I wait at the restaurant for four whole hours. I call her over and over again, but she never picks up. Just as I'm about to try one last time, I see Shirley's childhood sweetheart, Joshua Solomon, post a picture on his Instagram, with the location tagged at a suburban hotel. The picture shows a woman's pale back, one shoulder bare, with a striking red spider lily tattoo visible on her skin. Underneath the picture was the caption, "We'll make it from 18 to 80." A mutual friend comments, "First-love couples are the sweetest!" I silently hit the like button, then comment, "Make sure to get buried together when you die. And don't come back to haunt anyone else."

Alpha Fabian's first reaction to learning I was his fated mate? Rejection. But drunk at the bonfire festival, he couldn't fight the pull of fate. He marked me. Marking a rejected mate came with a price. His power weakened. Forced into a bond with me, he despised me. For two years, I bled for him. I did 100 impossible things, just hoping for a single glance. I snuck into forbidden lands for rare herbs. I negotiated with enemy packs. I fought on the front lines for him in pack wars, always coming back covered in scars. But the one he truly loved was my adopted sister, Gloria. Even my own parents, the pack's Beta, hated me. I was their lost daughter, raised by rogues for fifteen years. But they only had eyes for their perfect, obedient adopted girl. Then, on my 100th task, I nearly died in the Valley of Shadows. When I woke up, I had amnesia. I was done chasing a cold mate and a family's love I'd never have. And when I finally walked away, Fabian discovered the truth. It was never me who couldn't live without him. It was always him.

It is against the bro code to nurture feelings about one's friend's sister, but in the case of Josh, was that really it? For years, Lina has nurtured feelings for her brother's best friend, ones that she knew she had to keep at bay, but with them being in senior high, and with her feelings raging out, she found herself doing everything possible to get his attention, but would she be able to, when she suddenly found herself with a love interest? Josh had his well tucked in, tried so hard not to break bro code but all of his rationality seemed to have flown out the window when he found a pest lurking around Lina, and wanting to claim her as his. He had done everything to keep the pests away, but it seemed he hadn't done enough. With his obsession, and crave for her skyrocketing over the top, he finds not just his friendship with her brother threatened but his pack as well. What had held him back was a thin line threatening to snap at any time, but would he let it? What decision would he take? When odds are against him?

My mate, Nolan, is the Alpha heir. He promised to return before the Moon Goddess Festival. We were supposed to have our mating ceremony. I promised him the Heart of the Pack. My parents’ legacy. It's the key to controlling our elite warriors—the Dire Wolves. It was to be my mating gift to him. But he came back with a rogue bitch draped all over him. A she-wolf with wild, hungry eyes. I waited for him at the festival, ready for our prayer. Instead, I watched him with her. Skylar. They were by the bonfire, nipping and teasing each other like no one else existed. I told him his behavior was improper for an heir. He laughed in my face. “Old-blood nobles are so boring. Not raw and real like Skylar.” He thinks getting the Heart of the Pack gives him the Dire Wolves. He has no idea. The Dire Wolves answer to my bloodline. Without me, the Heart of the Pack is just a rock.

Ma sœur, Lily, a été mise en pièces par des sauvages. J'ai sangloté, suppliant mon compagnon de destin, l'Alpha Ethan, de trouver ses meurtriers. Il ne l'a jamais fait. Un an plus tard, le jour de l'anniversaire de sa mort. Je suis allée trouver Ethan, prête à lui annoncer que j'étais enceinte. Au lieu de cela, je l'ai trouvé tenant une autre Oméga, Bella, dans ses bras. « Ne t'inquiète pas. » lui a-t-il dit. « Personne ne saura que tu as fait tomber le bouclier mental de la meute et que tu as fait tuer Lily. Une fois que Harper aura renoncé à son titre de Luna lors de la cérémonie, tu seras ma seule et unique. » Mon cœur s'est brisé. C'était donc ça. Il ne m'avait jamais marquée, jamais rejetée... il voulait que je me retire par moi-même. Il protégeait la meurtrière de ma sœur. Il voulait faire d'elle Luna. J'ai fait irruption en criant, mais Bella a soudain craché du sang et s'est effondrée. Empoisonnement à l'aconit, a-t-elle prétendu. « Elle a été empoisonnée en me sauvant ! Donne-moi le sang de ton cœur ! C'est la seule chose qui puisse la sauver ! » Ethan m'a regardée avec plus de dégoût que si j'étais une ordure. « Je suis enceinte ! Ça va tuer le bébé ! » Je l'ai supplié. Mais son Commandement Alpha a été donné. Mon corps ne m'appartenait plus. Je n'ai pu que regarder l'épaisse aiguille percer ma poitrine, en plein cœur. Du sang doré s'est écoulé. Une douleur aiguë et déchirante m'a déchiré l'estomac Il a tué mon bébé. Ma louve s'est brisée en moi. J'ai fermé les yeux, cherchant une connexion interdite dans le monde des loups-garous. « Roi Lycan Rogan. Demain, j'ai besoin que tu m'aides à détruire tout ce qui fait partie de la Meute de Bois Noir, y compris l'Alpha Ethan. »

Juste avant la cérémonie d'accouplement, mon compagnon, Alpha Claude, m'a dit qu'il devait marquer temporairement une Oméga de notre meute, Fabienne. Il a prétendu qu'elle avait la maladie de la lune et qu'elle mourrait s'il ne la marquait pas. Je me suis disputée avec lui à ce sujet, mais le lendemain, il a installé Fabienne dans le penthouse de la Maison de la Meute. C'était la suite destinée à la future Luna. Ma suite. Pour me calmer, il s'est même mis à genoux, les yeux rougis, et m'a promis : « Quand elle sera en sécurité, j'enlèverai la marque. Tu resteras ma seule Luna. » Mais ensuite, Fabienne m'a retrouvée, un rapport médical à la main. Elle était enceinte de six semaines. Ils avaient déjà fait leur cérémonie de marquage bien avant que Claude ne vienne me voir. Mon cœur s'est brisé en cendres. Mon stylo a creusé le calendrier, gravant un X vicieux sur la date qui était censée être celle de notre cérémonie d'accouplement. Puis j'ai ouvert mon ordinateur portable et répondu à l'e-mail de la Guilde Européenne des Guérisseurs du Laurier. « J'accepte votre invitation, je pars le jour de la cérémonie d'accouplement. »