Echo Bad Batch Novels & Stories

My Alpha slept with another woman. He promised me, "It was an accident." "I was drugged," he said. "I didn't even know what I was doing. Besides, I've already used my family's influence to bury it. No one will ever know." But three months later, I found him in the hospital with her—the pregnant Omega. This time, what Sebastian said to me was as cold and final as a death sentence: "Sophia, you're a smart woman. You understand the importance of a bloodline. This child will be the strongest Alpha heir our pack has seen in decades." That was it. My heart shattered. I turned and walked away. But they had no idea what they had just unleashed.

I am Alpha Bruce’s fated mate. But for eight years, I’ve been his dirty little secret, hiding in plain sight as his Beta. When I saw him preparing the grounds for the Luna ceremony, I thought he was finally going to announce me. But on our eighth anniversary, I saw a video posted by Seraphina, the daughter of the Silvermoon Pack’s Alpha. In it, she was coyly showing off the mating mark on her neck. The caption read: [Eight years apart, eight years you waited. I'm finally going to be yours!] And the hand holding her—I knew it instantly. It was Bruce’s. Only the spot on his wrist where my name had been tattooed now read ‘Seraphina.’ I ran out, desperate to confront them, but I was attacked by rogues on the way. I called for Bruce through our mind-link, over and over. The last time, I heard his voice, low and thick with desire: “Isadora? She was just a placeholder for you. A worthless, parentless she-wolf. She wouldn’t dare make a scene even if she knew.” Lost in despair, the fragile life I carried inside me flickered and died. But they didn’t know that a month ago, my birth parents—the Alpha and Luna of the Silvermoon Pack—had found me. I am the true Alpha’s daughter of the Silvermoon Pack. Seraphina is just an impostor. After the sterile cold of the surgery, the first thing I did was call my mother. “Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I’m coming home to take my place. I agree to the alliance you mentioned, but I want Seraphina exiled from the Silvermoon Pack!”

I was bleeding out in a corner after a hit from a rival family. My husband, Dante—the Torrino family’s underboss—was in his car, holding his best friend's little sister. He gave me one cold look and said, "Leave her. She's a nobody." Later, after someone else saved me, I walked home, soaked in my own blood. I found Dante cradling Seraphina, fussing over her. All she had was a scraped knee. The blood covering my clothes? He didn't even see it. I just watched. Said nothing. Then I pulled out my phone and called my mother. "Mom, I need to come home."

Three years into my arranged marriage with the Valachi family heir, the one that got away came back. He left me for Julia eight times. The ninth time, he left me bleeding on the side of the road with a gunshot wound to go running to Julia, who’d called him because she felt a little dizzy. "She needs me. You get that, right, Leona?" This time, I didn't fight for him. He didn't know about the bet I’d made with Julia. The ninth time he abandoned me, I would be the one to leave for good. So on his birthday, I left a set of signed divorce papers on his desk and got on a plane.

I ordered a vampire online—Adrian. Hot, aloof. He was supposed to be my bodyguard and live-in housekeeper. But he was always staring at my neck like he was starving. Fangs popping out, eyes glowing red. And he was always walking around shirtless, wearing nothing but an apron. When I tried to stop him, he’d look all hurt and ask, "You don't like it?" "But you're blushing." I didn't know what to do, so I messaged customer service. They suggested, "You could form a bond with him. He'll be more obedient." So I did. But I had no idea I was forming a two-way mate's bond instead of a one-way master-servant bond. The night we bonded, he climbed into my bed, eyes glowing red. He licked my skin, hungry, grinding against me desperately and begging, "Master, just one bite, please? I'll make you feel so good..."

I was engaged to Silas, Don of the Vance Famiglia, yet in the annual family portrait, I was shoved into the back corner. Standing right beside him was Camilla, his most trusted Capo. He sighed impatiently. "We have plenty of photos together, Scarlett. Missing one won't kill you. You're the future Donna. Stop being so petty." I swallowed my pride and gave up my spot. But my compromise bought me nothing. The necklace meant for me ended up around Camilla's neck. His plus-one to galas became Camilla. His excuse was always the same: "She's a vital part of the syndicate. You shouldn't compete with her." So, I gave him exactly what he wanted. I stopped being petty. I shredded the wedding planner I had poured my heart into, trashed our photos, and left New York for good. And suddenly, the cold, calculating Don was tearing the city apart looking for me.

I’m just a mortal, yet I’ve been deeply in love with Orion, the heir to Poseidon, for seven long years. When he was about to ascend the throne as the God of the Sea, I thought I could finally stand by his side—in the light, as his true consort. But then he delivered a crushing ultimatum: the condition for his ascension was to produce a pure-blooded divine heir with his late brother’s widow, Selene. Every time he came back from Selene's bed, he’d hold me tight and whisper, "Thalia, you’re my only true love. As soon as Selene gives birth to an heir for the throne, we’ll have our wedding. I’ll give you the title you deserve." And so, over the next six months, he spent a hundred nights in Selene’s bed. His visits grew more frequent, and the stench of Selene’s scent on his skin grew stronger. Finally, on the 100th lonely night I spent waiting for him, Selene got pregnant. The news spread across Atlantis like wildfire—along with the announcement of their upcoming royal wedding. My son tugged at my sleeve, asking innocently, "Mommy, I thought people said Father is marrying his beloved Queen? Why hasn't he come to pick us up yet?" "Because his beloved Queen isn't Mommy, sweetheart." I smiled, gently stroking his hair. "But it’s okay. I’m taking you back to our real home." What Orion didn't know was that my biological father had already found me. He is Zeus, the King of the Gods. And I am his long-lost daughter who was left in the mortal realm. As for Orion’s title of Queen? I couldn't care less anymore.

When Tristan Pierce falls in love with the 99th woman he's met online, I heave a mental sigh of relief. He gazes at me as he passes a divorce agreement to me. "Serena, I'm sorry for falling for someone else. She makes me feel something that you've never made me feel before." I just stare at him with teary eyes as I utter the same old words any phony will say. "I'm the one who failed to take care of you. I'll be fine as long as you're happy." Having noticed how pitiful I look, Tristan transfers 50 million dollars into my account at once. When I notice the automated text sent from my bank regarding the transaction that I've just received, I do my best to suppress my smile. After all, this is my 99th fake identity. The three-year contract that I've signed with Tristan's older brother, Graham Pierce, is coming to an end. Finally, my loveless relationship with Tristan shall come to an end.

Before Valentine's Day, I received a message from Caleb Spencer. It was a screenshot of a seven-figure bill for a necklace. It was meant for me, but he bought it for another woman. I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I quietly kept cleaning the house. Since we got married, every month brought new gossip about Caleb. Some came from the internet, some from nosy friends, and some even from Caleb himself. By now, I'd become the joke of the whole social circle. But it didn't matter. This life wasn't going to last much longer anyway.

I never called my stepbrother, Victor Rossi, "brother." I loved him. In my previous life, I forced him to marry me, and we became the most infamously miserable couple in New Hampston's mafia circles. On Monday, he threw me into a lion's cage after starving the beast for three days. On Tuesday, I tied him to a spinning wheel and forced him to play Russian roulette. He hated me for tearing him away from the woman he loved. I hated him because we had grown up side by side, yet even after ten years of marriage, he could not forget the woman from the fishing village. Even in bed, wrapped around each other, we hurled the cruelest curses at one another. When the cruise ship went up in flames, Victor gave me his chance to live. He shoved me onto the last lifeboat, his voice gentler than it had ever been. "This life was exhausting. I don't want to fight with you anymore. Live well. In the next life, let me go." I watched the fire swallow him along with the ship. The deep sea buried everything. The light in my eyes went out with it. I threw myself into the freezing water and ended that absurd, painful life with my own hands. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the moment I forced him to marry me. In this life, I would not destroy us both. As I watched him kneel before me, defiant even in the face of death, I did not drive away the woman he loved as I had before. "I will let you have her." Under Victor's stunned gaze, my eyes reddened as I spoke softly. "This time, I am the one who does not want you."