Dungeon Mistress

When Isabelle discovers her husband Karl's three-year affair with Natalie, her world shatters. For eight years, she believed in their love, even as she struggled to conceive the child he desperately wanted. Now pregnant and heartbroken, Isabelle must decide whether to confront the betrayal or silently endure for the sake of her unborn child. But then darker truths come knocking at the door, leaving Isabelle wondering strangely on how to handle things. Where there is strength, there is also toxic love. But can she be bound to it forever?

The remnants of the pack gathering had barely faded when my whole world changed. My best friend, Hallie Richmond, vanished, snatched away by rogues. Only for her to reappear the next day, found bruised and bitten near the pack borders. My heart ached for her, so I went to her with her favourite apple pie. But the solace I intended to offer shattered into a million pieces the moment I heard the words of my boyfriend, Camilo White, our pack's beta. "...Hallie's family will destroy her if they learn of this. I have no choice but to mark her first.” "What about me, Camilo? I'm your girlfriend!" The words tumbled out. "You can be my secondary mate, Violet. It's just a small favor. Surely, if you truly loved me, you wouldn't hesitate to help?" Camilo's words ripped my heart out, breaking up with me and replacing me with Hallie for the marking ceremony we had both anticipated with such joy. From that moment forward, I became a shadow. The pack whispered words of how I was deflowered before my true mate could claim me. My family now regarded me with disappointment. My father's anger was a physical force, driving me to my knees beneath the icy waterfall. Then, the following day, a figure emerged from the mist. Alex Skye, the Alpha's son, pulled me from the water. He leaned close, his sky-blue eyes holding mine, and whispered the words that offered home: "I'm your true mate, Violet. Break up with that vile, idiotic boyfriend of yours. I believe you will be the perfect future Luna."

I'm the Alpha King's daughter. When I was 16, my father chose four werewolves as my future mate candidates. They are from the affiliate packs and have Alpha blood running through them. When Dad was gravely injured, he asked me who among them I wanted to be my mate. After giving it much thought, I chose Leo Martinez, the werewolf with whom I was the closest, to be my lifelong mate. However, three months into our bonding, strange wounds would emerge on my body. On the other hand, my cousin, Sylvia Campbell, who sought shelter at my house, became prettier. Thereafter, I encountered various hurdles. I even failed my pack trial, for which I prepared with so much effort. But Sylvia, with skills below par, managed to join the elite Silvermoon Strike Force alongside Leo. I stayed back in the Dark Hunters pack, licking my wound. Half a year later, I encountered an ambush while on a hunt and died on the spot. After I died, my soul refused to disperse. I saw Sylvia and Leo pull out a Moon Goddess statue wrapped with thorny vines from under my bed. They laughed wickedly at my dead body. "Sylvia, thanks to your trick, we managed to cancel the Moon's blessing with the witch's curse and switched your and Elena's fates. Now, no one stands in our way. The pack is in our hands." Never would I have thought my gentle, obedient cousin and my mate whom I grew up with, would team up to harm me. When I reopen my eyes, I've returned to the day Dad asks me to choose my mate. I dig out the statue beneath my bed and thrust it into the beast enclosure. Since Sylvia loves controlling others' fate, she shall face the consequences for doing so.

I had gained thirty pounds after I was pregnant for six months. My husband, Jordan Smith felt disgusted by me. He would rather stay at work than come home, and he fell in love with his girl best friend, Holly Brown. On our wedding anniversary, they were acting intimately in a private room. Meanwhile, Holly was wearing my wedding gown. I saw the whole thing with my own eyes. She had her arms around Jordan’s neck and said to me coyly, “It’s not what you think.” Jordan was agitated after he was caught cheating on me. “I’ve known her since we were kids. We have been best friends for so many years. If something were to happen between us, it would have happened a long time ago.” However, I saw the hickey on Holly’s shoulder. She said to Jordan, “Your wife looks obese. My cousin didn’t gain a single pound after she had given birth. Instead, she looked even slimmer. Jordan, did your wife secretly eat pig feed?” Jordan felt embarrassed. He instructed someone to lock me in a bedroom and starve me for a few days. I suffered from a miscarriage. Indeed, I lost the weight on my abdomen, but Jordan went insane.

In the seven years that I have been bound to my Alpha heir mate Garrett, he had slept with every single friend around me. I pretended I saw nothing. I kept fulfilling my duties as the future Luna. Until the day I gave birth, his new mistress led rogue wolves straight to me. Their claws pierced through my belly with cruel precision. My mother was even killed by them when she tried to save me. In that desperate moment, I used the mind link to contact Garrett and begged him to save us. "Aria, when did you learn to pull these tricks? Don't think your pathetic acting will make me care about you." After saying that, he shut down the mind link. But he did send a car—to pick up his new mistress. By the time the patrol found me and rushed me to the hospital, the baby in my belly had been clawed out. My mother died too. The rogue wolves' poison coursed through her wounds until her body gave up. When I woke up, I stared numbly at Garrett's grandfather, the current Alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack. "Let me go," I said flatly. "Whatever I owed your pack, I've paid it back with my life."

Right before our Mating Ceremony, my mate, Alpha Damien, told me he had to temporarily mark an Omega from our pack, Seraphina. He claimed she had the Moon Sickness and would die if he didn't mark her. I fought him on it, but the next day, he moved Seraphina right into the penthouse of the Pack House. The suite meant for the future Luna. My suite. To calm me, he even got on his knees, his eyes red as he promised, "Once she's safe, I'll remove the mark. You'll still be my only Luna." But then, Seraphina found me, a medical report in her hand. Six weeks pregnant. They'd already held their marking ceremony long before Damien ever came to me. My heart shattered into ash. My pen dug into the calendar, carving a vicious X over the date that was supposed to be our Mating Ceremony. Then, I opened my laptop and replied to the email from the European Laurel Healers' Guild. "I accept your invitation. I leave on the day of the Mating Ceremony."

My mate, Theo Burke, dies in a fight. Our son, Jax Burke, has now lost his father. Liam Burke, Theo's twin older brother, consoles me by saying, "I will treat Jax like my own son." He keeps his word, taking excellent care of Mia Parker, his mate, and me. However, I happen to overhear a conversation he has with a witch, Agatha Rune. "Give me more of that potion that masks my scent. I can't let Olivia find out that I'm Theo." This is how I find out that my mate isn't dead after all. He has simply adopted Liam's identity and now spends every night in bed with Mia next door. In order to get an heir with a purer bloodline, he assumes the identity of his dead twin brother and breeds with Mia. What he doesn't know is that I'm the daughter of the most powerful Alpha King in the Southern Woodlands. As it stands, a far superior bloodline flows in Jax's veins.

On the day I got pregnant again, August decided to give up on gambling and work to provide for the family. I was so touched that I cried. With trembling hands, I handed him the money I had saved up after working odd jobs for a year. Two of the bank notes fell on the floor, and I picked them up before running after him. When I reached the end of the alley, I saw the mafia members who always came to our doorstep to demand repayment of our debt. They treated August respectfully. Apparently, his poverty was just a facade. “Mr. August, do we still need to surround your house and demand payment tomorrow?” August sat in a Lincoln limousine and said nonchalantly, “No need.” He stared at the ring on his finger and sighed. “It’s been years. It’s enough to prove that her love for me is real. She once worked so hard to pay off my debt that she suffered a miscarriage. “I already betrayed her once. It’s time to tell her about my true identity so that she doesn’t have to work so hard anymore.” But Ivy, his childhood friend, pouted. “You can’t! It’s not time yet to reveal the truth! What if she’s like your previous girlfriends and only cares about your money and your identity as a mafia boss? “You should wait a little longer and see whether she wants to have this baby.” August gave a wistful nod. “Alright. I’ll do as you say. In any case, she has been with me for so long. I don’t think she can leave me now.” I clenched the money in my hands and turned around. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I no longer wanted to live this lie dressed as love.

After five years in a world ruled by werewolves, I still haven't found a way back to the human world. So I did the only thing I could. I married my fated mate, Ryan Darcy, a devastatingly handsome Lycan Prince with a towering frame. The night we sealed our mate bond, we traded secrets. Leaning close, I whispered in his ear, "The truth is, I'm not from this world. Treat me wrong, and I'll disappear back to where I came from. You'll never find me again." Ryan immediately swears he'll love me more than life itself. He pulls me close, holding me so tight it's like he's afraid I'll disappear any second. But then Eleanor Darcy—his stepsister, sent away for a political marriage in another pack—returns. Bit by bit, I watch as Ryan's attention shifts to her. Devastated, I start looking for a way back to the human world. I throw myself at walls, try to hang myself, even jump into the lake, but nothing works. Ryan grows more distant with each passing day. "Susan, I expected better from you. Since when have you stooped to cheap attention-seeking stunts? 'Crossed over from another world?' You can't honestly expect me to buy that nonsense." That's when I realized he hadn't believed a single word I'd said.

I endured hundreds of injections just to give Stanley Brighton a child. He was moved to tears and held me, promising that even if we couldn't have children, he would love only me. I diligently followed the doctor's advice and underwent treatment. The day I confirmed my pregnancy, I was so excited that I wanted to rush home and share the good news with Stanley. But what awaited me was unimaginable. Stanley and the female tenant we shared the apartment with were lying naked together in the bathroom, sharing an intimate bath. He was behind her, holding her close, his lips incessantly biting at her earlobes. "I'll give you as many children as you want! Ten, eight—whatever it takes! Just divorce her!" "Alright, just give me some time. I'll divorce her for sure!" Hearing their whispered entanglement, I turned away, stepping into the rain, determined to leave. I would disappear to a place where Stanley could never find me, not in this lifetime.