Dead Man's Hand

She coveted everything about me. My possessions, my experiences, and even my men. So one night, my mother pushed me into an older man's bedroom. The next day, she asked with a smug smile, "Nina, how was your night with the older guy?" I rubbed my sore waist, recalling his broad shoulders, long legs, and trim waist from the night before. I smiled as I answered her. "That fiancé of mine is all yours now. Just remember—I’ll be your Aunt-in-law in the future.”

"I’m here for you, always, Leora." That was the promise Theron made before he stole her kiss. But promises can be broken. And in Crestwood, betrayal is deadlier than love. The Moon Pendant marked Leora as the rightful Luna before she could even walk. Hidden in the human world all her life, she is dragged back to claim her throne—only to discover that the crown comes with chains. To unlock her wolf, Leora must choose a mate. Every wolf wants her. Every elder demands it. But her heart keeps pulling toward the one man she cannot have—the warrior sworn to protect her. When her love awakens her long-buried power, enemies close in and Leora realizes the harsh truth. The man she loves most is the one fated to destroy her.

The moment my sister brought Daniel home so the family could meet him was the day I knew I had to make him mine. He looked like he was written by a Latin God, six feet four, perfect for my height of five feet nine. He had jet black hair and he knew what he was doing when he wore that tight T shirt that hugged his muscles, sitting across from me on the dining table.

‘Pinangakuan siya nito ng kasal at walang hanggang kaligayahan na sa ibang babae nito tinupad…’ Umasa si Quinn Autumn Gonzales na sa pagbabalik ng kanyang pinakamamahal na nobyong si Reon Nicolo Romanov, ay matutupad na ang mga plano at pangarap nila. Subalit isang araw bago makauwi ang lalaki, nabalitaan nalang niya na namatay ito sa gitna ng misyon nito bilang isang sundalo. Nagdalamhati siya ng labis pero pinilit niya ang sarili na magpakatatag alang-alang sa munting buhay na umaasa sa kanya. Limang taon ang lumipas, nakatagpo siya ng isang lalaking kamukhang-kamukha ng yumao niyang kasintahan—si Dmitri Sandoval. Iisang mukha, subalit ibang katauhan, kaparehong itsura, pero kakaibang pamumuhay at estado. At ang mas nagpaguho ng pag-asa niya ay ang katotohanang may pamilya na ang lalaki. Hanggang saan ang kaya niyang tiisin ngayong muling nabuksan ang sugat ng nakaraan? Tunay nga kayang namatay na ang lalaking minamahal niya o sinadya lang nitong iwan siya para tuparin ang ipinangako nitong kaligayahan sa kanya para sa iba…

The human traffickers were apprehended, and after DNA verification, the police returned me to my affluent parents. My parents gave a cold nod, thanked the officers, and instructed the butler to make me comfortable. Two months after returning home, the fake heiress, Irene Burrel, secretly signed me up for a wilderness survival course. My parents gently stroked her head. “Since you want to play, let her accompany you.” They did not care one bit if I died out there. Irene smirked triumphantly at me. “What does it matter if you’re the real heiress? I can still do whatever I want with you! “Survival training is my daily routine. I’ll make sure you leave that competition on a stretcher!” When we arrived at the wilderness training grounds in the mountains, I laughed. I grew up in these very forests. Did she think I did not know this place?

When the college admission notice arrived, I suddenly developed a high fever and was bedridden. My sister encountered a kidnapping on her way to help me collect the notice, and her life was uncertain. My parents hated me deeply. After tearing up my admission notice, they forced me to give up my studies and work in a factory. Later, I experienced a kidnapping as well. After narrowly escaping, I hid in an abandoned factory and sent them a message for help. My dad called me and shouted at me without restraint, “Lena, are you even human? How could you play such a joke on us on Jessica's memorial day!” “Do you have any idea how much your mom and I wished it had been you who died back then?” In my last moments before death, their insults echoed in my ears. I was tortured and killed, turned into a monster, and my body was thrown into a stinking ditch for three full days. Even my father, the most experienced forensic expert, couldn’t recognize me. When my sister returned home with the guy she eloped with years ago, my dad had just restored my appearance through technology. They knelt before my decaying corpse and cried until they fainted.

I broke my leg in a car accident last week and had been stuck at home recovering, unable to go anywhere. Just as I was starting to go stir-crazy, a couple moved into the house next door—the one that had been empty for ages. I pressed my ear to the wall, catching every sound of them making love, and even recorded quite a bit. Still, I never expected something so sinister to happen. The man next door sounded exactly like my dead husband! I moved my phone closer to the wall and listened carefully. Suddenly, a scream exploded through the wall. “Lindy, you’ll die for this!” My scalp went numb. My husband was mute. The only time he ever spoke in his life… was the night I forced his head into a bucket of water. How did the man next door know my husband’s last words before he died?

On my 18th birthday, my stepmother, Sheila Coleman, teams up with her secret lover, William Lynch, to kill me in cold blood. After that, she carves my femur into a bone sculpture and presents it to my dad as a gift. Dad loves the sculpture to no end. Thanks to Sheila slandering me in the past, he doesn't give a damn about me at all, even after finding out that I've gone missing. In fact, he even declares that he wants to cut off all ties with me. "Don't bring that brat up in front of me from now on! I hope that she dies out there!" But when he finds out that I'm really dead, he goes crazy from remorse.

I had created a monster. I had unleashed a devil to the world and I would do anything to drag him back to hell with me. If I must burn, then he would burn with me. Six years. Six years I had been by his side as his wife, his political strategist. Helping him. Loving him. But, when I needed him the most, he betrayed me. Now, I was back. Traumatised. Hurt, but…stronger. Stronger because I wasn't alone, stronger bevause he failed and I survived. I would strip him of everything I had spent six years building for him and then smash his face to the mud and remind him it was where he had always belonged. But then again, Zayne Castellan–the man who had saved me, the man who had bought my loyalty while I laid fractured by betrayal. Merciless, cruel…calm. Loyalty in exchange for my survival. I had fallen for him but even he …was worse than the devil I wanted to burn….

During a battle between packs, both my adopted sister Chloe and I were injured. A Rogue tore me apart, leaving me a mangled heap of flesh and blood. My wolf was already fading from my spirit. But my Alpha mate, Damon, ran straight to Chloe. She had nothing more than a scratch on her face. He refused to use his Alpha power to save me, blaming me for the entire disaster. "Elena, if you hadn't slowed us down, none of this would have happened! How could Chloe have gotten hurt?" "You're not worth wasting the pack's resources on." In the end, I was left for dead in the forest, unclaimed and forgotten. And when the truth came out that I had died to save him? That cold-blooded Alpha who rejected me so viciously went insane.