Deadbeat Holiday

During the holiday season, a flood hits. The company's warehouse is submerged up to the third floor. Due to the emergency, I have my assistant tell everyone to come back a day early to help. I promise that the company will provide stipends and extra time off to make up for this. But on that day, a Gen Z employee goes live across the internet to report me. "Oh, my God. It's 2025, yet there are still companies forcing employees to adjust their time off and work overtime! Is this heartless boss so broke that she needs to exploit us like this? Will she die if she doesn't squeeze us out of every drop of usefulness? Company notices override the law. Impressive stuff, this is!" Soon, the company ends up on the trending list due to criticism from the online community. Even the regulators come knocking to hold us accountable. In the end, the company is forced to cancel the notice. A lot of equipment isn't salvaged in time, resulting in significant losses. The employee even posts a victory lap. "Give the boss a tiny lesson—see if she dares to force overtime again!" I'm so angry that I laugh out loud. I tell my assistant to cancel the annual benefit we give all employees—an entire month of paid time off for Christmas and the New Year holidays. If we have to stick strictly to the law, then fine. Have it your way!

It was the holiday season, so I took my foster daughter, Megan Delgado, to our mansion for a vacation. However, I found out that the property had been occupied by someone else. The woman who opened the door looked at us with an impatient expression. “What do you want? You’re interrupting my daughter’s birthday party. Are you asking for trouble?” For a moment, I thought I might have the wrong house. That was until I noticed the clothing and jewelry the woman was wearing. Every piece was an exact match with what I kept in my wardrobe here. The timing could not be more telling. Just a week ago, my husband, Richie Delgado, said he was planning a surprise for me and Megan. He asked for the spare key to the mansion. I glanced past her at the crowd of party guests in the living room. “So, you’re saying you’re the lady of the house?” She sized me up and noted my simple outfit. “Who else if not me? You? You’ve ruined my daughter’s party. You’d better beg for her forgiveness now!” she said in a condescending tone. When I did not move, she warned, “My husband will be home any minute now. Do you know who he is? He’s the CEO of Beran Corp! A nobody like you can’t afford to cross him!” They were using my mansion to throw a birthday party for his illegitimate daughter. It was quite the surprise indeed!

Alexander Petridis: I still have not found my mate in the seven years since my first shift. I nearly gave up, but then I left to build alliances and hopefully find her. Little did I know she'd been under my nose all along. When I see her, though, I'm stunned, not just because she's innocent little Delilah Fayte but because, in my absence, she made a choice I don't know if I can live with. Delilah Fayte: People have always thought I'm this naïve innocent girl. And okay, maybe I am innocent and all that. After my first shift, I didn't actively seek my mate. I had other plans. And sure, my family was against it at first, but mate or not, I wanted to help André and Darren. I didn't think in doing so, I'd alienate my mate and long-time crush, Alexander Petridis. This is the fourth of the Incubi Pack series. You do not need to have read the previous books to enjoy this book, but it is encouraged. The Incubi Pack Series: Book 1 - Alpha of Nightmares Book 2 - The Hybrid Alpha Book 3 - Dream Mate Anthology Short Story - Chosen Mate Anthology Bonus Story - Sicilian Holiday Anthology Short Story - The Quiet Giant's Mate Book 4 - Beta's Innocent Mate

Betrayed by her fiancé and facing an unexpected pregnancy, Alice Bennett sells her apartment, packs whatever pride she has left, and does the only sensible thing: run far, far away for the Christmas holidays. Her destination? The cozy — and utterly isolated — Snowfall Creek Ranch, a countryside holiday resort in the heart of Texas. What she didn’t expect was to meet a host so… unbearable. Marco Hill, the owner of the ranch, is a grumpy, quiet, widowed cowboy. He carries deep scars and a pain that turned Christmas into his worst nightmare. To his employees, he’s loyal. To his guests, he’s polite. To Alice, however… he’s impossible. But only until she smiles. With her light humor, charming messiness, and a strength she doesn’t even realize she has, Alice slowly begins to spark warmth where Marco swore he would live in the dark. He tries to keep his distance. She tries to stay focused. But the ranch’s Christmas traditions, the silent snowy nights, and a chemistry neither of them wants to admit pull their guarded hearts closer than either expected. Between sparks, funny arguments, accidental touches, teasing, and secrets, Alice and Marco discover that… Sometimes, the best family is the one life rebuilds — even when it starts with heartbreak, an unexpected baby, and one very grumpy cowboy. And this Christmas, at Snowfall Creek Ranch… love may reignite what once felt forever lost.

Wendy Lloyd's first love, Hudson Clark, treats me like a walking blood bank. Because of that, I end up dying in the rented apartment Wendy has given to me out of contemptuous pity. Today is the third day of my death. My six-year-old son, Terry Heath, finally realizes that something is wrong with me. When he accidentally cuts his finger from playing with his toys, I don't coax him at all. When he tears open a pack of cookies and feeds one to me, I don't stop him at all. When he lies in my arms and grips me by the hem of my shirt while calling out to me softly, I don't respond to him at all. Feeling rather uneasy, Terry finds my phone and calls Wendy. "Mommy, why is Daddy still asleep?" Wendy responds by sending a photo of her and Hudson enjoying a holiday feast together. She then says coldly, "He's just asleep, not dead. Today is Christmas Eve, so I'm very busy right now. "Tell that arrogant father of yours that he's only free to visit me whenever he's ready to acknowledge his mistakes." After that, the call ends. Terry is left feeling stunned for a long time. Finally, he digs out the last cookie from the trash can and snaps it in half. Then, he feeds it to me again. "Daddy, let's eat."

Alec - My life has been nothing but pain. I gave up not just looking for my mate but in general a long time ago. My pack, my friends, not even my children can bring me out of this endless nightmare. My wolf runs things. But when I see Crista's face, I see an end to my misery. I'll stay silent no more. She is the light, and I'll do anything to protect her. Crista - One night of terror has sent my peaceful life into turmoil. My pack is gone, and so are my parents. I was only able to save my little sisters. But when we're found unknowingly crossing the border into the Incubi Pack, it feels more like out of the frying pan and into the fire. The alpha of the Incubi Pack is known across the world as ruthless. The Moon Goddess must have a sense of humor as my wolf whimpers mate' as his yellow eyes meet mine. This book is a spinoff series from the Bloodmoon Series. Characters and events in this book may overlap with Beta's Surprise Mate. The Incubi Pack Series: Book 1 - Alpha of Nightmares Book 2 - The Hybrid Alpha Book 3 - Dream Mate Anthology Short Story - Chosen Mate Anthology Bonus Story - Sicilian Holiday Anthology Short Story - The Quiet Giant's Mate Book 4 - Beta's Innocent Mate

I watched my family scrape and starve so I could save enough to come to Sicily for a tan, a fling, maybe my first proper kiss— maybe even lose my virginity to a hot stranger I’d never see again. I did not come to wrestle a kidnapped toddler out of a speedboat at gunpoint. One minute I was hiding from a flirty Italian on the beach. The next, I was running barefoot across the sand in a bikini with a terrified little boy in my arms… while men in black suits shot at me. Now the whole island thinks I’m the kidnapper. Especially the grey-eyed man with the gun who looks at me like I’m his next target. I don’t know his name. I don’t know who the boy really belongs to. I just know the man hunting me isn’t a hero and he’s not going to let me walk away. If I survive this holiday, I’m never leaving England again. If he stops looking at me like that… I might even miss the danger. Holy hell. I didn’t just grab any child. I snatched the heir to the Don of the most ruthless mafia outfit in Europe. And his best friend—the grey-eyed man with the gun—wants my head on a spike. I never imagined I’d die a virgin. But here I am.

Billionaire heiress Julia Wilson had come to loathe Christmas. Five years ago, it had shattered her life when she walked in on her husband, Ryan Thompson, in what appeared to be a compromising position with his secretary. The heartbreak had forced her into premature labor. By the time her twins, Lucien and Olivia, were born, she’d signed the divorce papers, severing ties with the man she once loved. Ever since, Julia buried her pain behind an iron-clad business persona, working herself and her employees to the bone every holiday season to escape the memories of her ruined Christmas. For Ryan Thompson, Christmas was no easier. A top-tier lawyer and businessman infamous for his undefeated courtroom record, Ryan’s victories felt hollow compared to the loss of his family. A misunderstanding had cost him his wife and the chance to watch his twins grow. For five years, he’d kept his distance, silently watching over Julia and their children, waiting for the right time to make amends and reclaim what he had lost. A chance encounter with a stranger leads him to his family’s doorstep, dressed as Santa Claus. Will Julia slam the door in his face, or will she accept him for the sake of their children? Can they rekindle their love and fulfill the twins’ Christmas wish, or will their relationship burn in the wake of his betrayal? What Julia doesn’t know is that fate—or perhaps the twins’ clever planning—has something else in store.

Naya has always been the pack's wolfless outcast—a deviant blamed for everything wrong, even seducing her sister's boyfriend. On a not so cheerful Christmas holiday, when her family's patience snaps, they conspire to cast her out. But Naya's fiery spirit catches the attention of Alpha Kieran, a powerful leader with an infuriating knack for seeing through her defenses. Amid the chaos, Naya's uncontrollable heat leads her to a passionate night with a mysterious man—only to later discover he's Kieran, the Alpha King feared for his ruthless reputation and revered as a billionaire tycoon in the human world. When Kieran discovers Naya is the mother of his children, his determination to claim his mate and family ignites an explosive battle of wills. As tension escalates, betrayal and misunderstandings force Naya to flee, culminating in a devastating car accident that nearly destroys everything. Yet Naya rises stronger than ever, carving a new life for herself among humans. But when a new man enters her life, Kieran's primal possessiveness awakens, and he refuses to let her go. Caught between two worlds and two men, Naya must navigate treacherous power plays, love, and her own transformation. Will Kieran's relentless pursuit shatter her independence, or will Naya's courage rewrite the destiny she was never supposed to have?

Christmas was just around the corner, and the head of the company asked us to choose between a bonus and a Christmas gift box for chocolate. I was not much of a sweets person, so I was the first to vote for the bonus. The intern collecting the votes immediately called me out by name in the team chat. "Ella, Christmas is supposed to be about the holiday spirit. Isn't choosing the bonus a bit materialistic?" Even the department manager tagged me. "Ella, the company values team spirit more than anything." In the end, everyone else picked the gift boxes. I was the only one who did not. When the Christmas party arrived, the intern had bought gift boxes filled entirely with nut chocolate. She knew I was allergic to nuts, yet she forced me to try some in front of everyone to show my team spirit. "Ella, this was bought with everyone's bonus money. You cannot just refuse, can you?" The next moment, I was struggling to breathe and a rash spread across my body. The intern looked at me with pure disgust. "Seriously, Ella, do you have to ruin the mood when everyone else is having fun?" I frantically searched my bag for my allergy medicine, but all I could find were a few pieces of chocolate. Seeing me in such a state, the intern laughed. "Medicine is only one part of it. You need more sweets anyway. I swapped your medicine for the chocolate in the gift box." My breathing was getting worse by the second. I quickly grabbed my phone and texted the CEO. [Dad, I'm having an allergic reaction. I'm at the…]