Fading Echo

Warning: This book contains explicit sexual content, but does not condone rape. "What happened, Father? What happened?" I asked anxiously, feeling restless. "He challenged me to a game and used his mansion as a bet," Father explained. I looked at Mother, who was crying, and suddenly understood what was going on. "Father, did you use this house as a bet and lose?" I asked, anger welling up inside me. “How could you, Father? How could you do this? Where do we go from here?" I yelled, overcome with pain. But my voice got stuck in my throat as I heard Dad's next words. "I didn't bet the house, but I used you," he declared, leaving me speechless and stunned. ***************************** "Do not even consider falling for me because, like the others, you are just a toy. Just give me an heir, and I will set you free," he said, pushing her onto the bed while his words continued to echo in her mind. Zoey, wagered by her father to the cold-hearted Alpha Ethan after a foolish gamble, finds herself reduced to a mere plaything. Ethan takes pleasure in emotionally tormenting her, believing women to be worthless due to being cheated and rejected by his first mate. Little does he know that Zoey is his second chance mate. Zoey is framed, and Alpha Ethan discovers her in bed with his cousin. Heartbroken and filled with anger, he sends her away, unaware that she is already carrying his child. Five years later, their paths cross again, and he realizes that she is his second chance mate and the mother of his child. But how can he win her back? She is no longer the naive girl he once knew; instead, she is a single mother sought after by many Alphas and Lords.

“Are you a virgin?” It should have embarrassed her. Instead, the raw restraint in his eyes made her heart tremble. “Yes,” she whispered. “But don’t stop. Please.” …. "I have only three conditions," he stated, his voice as cold as the diamond on her finger. "First, I can’t stand clingy women. Second, falling in love with me is strictly forbidden. And third? Whoever we choose to sleep with is our own business." … Three years ago, Ashley Barton made a bargain she could never truly win. To secure her freedom, she buried her true identity and lived as an omega, all to make Alpha Rowan fall in love with her for who she was. On the night they were meant to complete their mating, Ashley walked into hell. Her best friend was tangled in the sheets with the man who was supposed to claim her. Ashley ran. Under the full moon, raw with grief and desperation, fate found her anyway. In the wilderness, she collided with a powerful Alpha, dangerous, dominant, and unreadable. Pain blurred into desire. The bond snapped into place. He marked her. Claimed her. Bound their souls together in blood and moonlight. By dawn, he was gone. Just the echo of his presence and the weight of his mark burned into her skin left. She was humiliated and cast out like trash. That was when Ashley broke. She went home, bowed her head, and accepted the arranged marriage she had once sworn to escape. Fate, however, was unkind. Her fiancé was the very Alpha who had claimed and marked her, yet when they met again, he did not recognize her at all. To him, she was a stranger. Instead, he offered her a one-year contract marriage, cold, controlled, and bound by rules meant to suffocate emotion.

The boy group shaking New York City to its core. The Three Golden Voices of New York. **GOLDEN ECHO** Jaxon (the magnetic leader with a voice that could melt steel), Kai (the playful rapper/vocalist who hides sharp pain behind his smiles), and Ryu (the quiet storm with deep, powerful vocals that anchor every harmony). Together, they’re unstoppable. Magnetic. Their blended voices could send shadows running and shatter stadiums. Fans scream their name like a religion. But everything fractures when *he* crashes into their world. Jaxon finds himself falling — hard, recklessly, maddeningly — for Kai’s boyfriend. The man who never asked for any of it. **Leonard Clifford**. Multi-billionaire. CEO of Clifford Enterprises. Cold as arctic steel, built an empire on ruthless control, and commands rooms without raising his voice. Respect follows him like a shadow. Desire does too — but he keeps everyone at arm’s length. He doesn’t chase. He doesn’t bend. Until Jaxon’s gaze locks on him at the wrong (or right) moment, and something cracks in that icy armor. Without trying, Leonard shatters the trio’s bond. Best friends become strangers. Secrets claw their way into the light. Jealousy burns hotter than spotlights. Lust and love tangle until no one knows what’s real anymore. One stolen glance at a mall perfume counter. One accidental rescue. One whispered “Shorty” that hits like a spark to gasoline. From sold-out arenas to penthouse secrets, the ride is messy, intense, forbidden. Friends to enemies. Enemies to something dangerous. And love that might destroy them all — or save them. This is gonna be filthy, heartbreaking, and fucking electric. Jump in if you're ready for angst, steam, betrayal, and two men who shouldn't want each other... but can't stop

I knock on the door, heart pounding like it always does when I’m about to see him. “Come in,” Justin’s voice calls—cool, smooth, and frustratingly calm. I take a deep breath and walk in, holding the folder tightly. “Here’s the report you requested, sir.” He doesn’t even glance at me. Just keeps typing, his expression unreadable. “You’re late,” he says without missing a beat. I clench my jaw. “There was a delay at the printer—” “No excuses, Joanna. Just do better next time.” Ouch. Professional and cold. As always. I nod, ignoring the sting in my chest. “Yes, sir.” I turn to leave, gripping the doorknob—just one more second and I’ll be out of this weird tension-filled office— “Wait.” I freeze. I turn around slowly. “Yes?” Justin stands now, walking toward me. In his hand, a familiar brown paper bag. He holds it out. “You didn’t have lunch.” I blink. “I’m fine.” “You skipped breakfast too. Eat.” I hesitate. “What is it?” “Chicken pesto. No onions.” My breath catches. He still remembers? “Why are you doing this?” I ask quietly. He shrugs, not meeting my eyes. “I just… remember things.” My fingers brush his as I take the bag. Warmth. Stupid warmth that shouldn’t still feel this familiar. Then, he looks at me—really looks at me. “You shouldn’t skip meals… wife.” Silence. My chest tightens. “Don’t call me that.” But my voice is too soft to sound convincing. I walk out before I say something I’ll regret. His words echo in my mind like a dangerous lullaby. Cold one second. Kilig the next. God… he’s still him. And that’s exactly the problem.

The top-tier charity auction in Manhattan is about to begin when my boyfriend’s stepsister spots a pearl necklace she likes. Wanting to buy it as her birthday gift, my boyfriend reserves a bidding seat. But due to a mistake by the organizers, the seat had actually been reserved by someone else before he booked it. An elderly lady dressed plainly says the seat is hers, yet they show no intention of yielding. I force my boyfriend to give the seat back to the woman. But Amy storms out in a fit of anger. That night, gunshots echo through the neighborhood. A stray bullet hits her, and she bleeds out on the spot. He calmly arranges her funeral, yet still keeps his promise and marries me. Soon after, my father dies in what is ruled an accident. On the day of my father’s funeral, he storms into the church with his men. Looking at me kneeling before the coffin, he smiles arrogantly. “Olivia, this is what you owe Amy! If you hadn’t stopped me that day, the seat would’ve been hers! She wouldn’t have run out in anger, and she wouldn’t have been shot! Let me tell you something—your father was killed by me. And now it’s your turn!” Right in front of everyone, he shoots my younger brother—who had been kneeling beside me, begging for mercy—dead with a single bullet. His bodyguards pin me down and drag me out of the church as I watch helplessly, his blood pooling before my father’s coffin. When I open my eyes again, my boyfriend is glaring angrily at the waiter, about to explode. What he doesn’t know is that the plainly dressed old woman in sunglasses is the mother of the current Don of the most powerful Mafia family in New York—the Morretti family. And that Don is famously devoted to his mother.

Dad and my brother, Jonah Atwood, have always favored my sister, Lisa Atwood, while resenting me. At my coming-of-age ceremony, when several werewolves in the Blackwolf pack corners and harasses me, it's Rex Vaughn, the Alpha's heir, who steps in to protect me. He throws the most extravagant mate-bonding ceremony for me, right before the Moon Goddess. Overnight, I become someone every other female wolf wishes they could be! I'm seven months pregnant when I show up at Lisa's birthday party. Somehow, we're ambushed by dark magic. As always, Dad and Jonah put Lisa first. They throw everything they have into shielding and dragging her out of the enemies' barrier, leaving me trapped in the center of the spell circle, nearly consumed. In the end, it's Rex who pulls me out. Later, I wake up in Stone Cabin, only to walk right into a scene that makes my blood run cold. "You paid off an old witch from the Darkmoon pack to set up that spell circle?" Rex's eyes blaze red with fury. "She's only seven months along, and you were already trying to rip the pup out of her? "What? Were you hoping Lily and her pup would blow up and die together?" Jonah and Dad shrink back, trying to explain themselves. "Lisa's wolf is fading fast. The old witch said the only way to save her and her wolf is to sacrifice someone with the same blood immediately…" Rex snaps, "I care about Lisa more than either of you do! Why else do you think I claimed Lily as my mate? Sure, I want to save Lisa, but not by sacrificing Lily and her pup!" That is how I learn the truth. Rex didn't bond with me because he cared. He did it to save Lisa. As it turns out, he's no different from Dad and Jonah. All they ever see is Lisa, the weak-born wolf. I was never part of the picture to begin with. Since no one's ever truly cared about me, I'll walk away with my pup.

"Ma, ano ba? Pagod na pagod na akong maging sunud-sunuran sa inyo! Sa buong buhay ko, wala akong ibang ginawa kundi sundin ang lahat ng utos at nais ninyo. Bakit ngayon, isang hiling ko lang, bakit ayaw niyo akong pagbigyan?" Hindi ko na mapigilang umiyak, ang sakit sobra. Anak niya ako, bakit kailangan niyang magdesisyon na ako dapat? Isang malakas na sampal na naman ang natanggap ko galing sa kanya, na hindi ko na ikinagulat pa. Sanay na ako sa pananakit niya simula noong bata pa ako hanggang ngayon, na 23 years old na ako, lalong lalo na pag hindi ko sundin ang gusto niyang mangyari. "How dare you na sagutin ako ng ganyan? Ako ang bumuhay sa'yo kaya ako ang magdedesisyon. Kaya wala kang karapatan na kalabanin ang nais ko!" Inis na sigaw niya sa akin, kulang na lang sabunutan niya ako. "Ma, mali naman kasi kayo, ayaw ko pa pong magpakasal. Ipakasal niyo ako nang hindi niyo man lang ako tinatanong? Ma, please babalik na lang ako ng Paris," pagmamakaawa ko, ngunit tanging titig lamang ang pinupukol niya sa akin at walang bakas na naawa ito sa akin. Bakit, Ma? "Enough!" Isang malakas na sampal ulit ang natamo ko sa kabilang pisngi ko na ikinabagsak ko sa sahig. "Belphoebe Sinclair, sa gusto mo o hindi, magpapakasal ka sa lalaking 'yun." Parang echo ang boses niya na paulit-ulit sa tenga ko. Bakit ganun? Pakiramdam ko, parang ginawa akong bayad sa hindi ko alam na utang. Ano ba ang kasalanan ko? Bakit kailangan ipakasal ako sa taong hindi ko kilala at hindi ko naman mahal.