Female Kobold

At sixty-five, I got served divorce papers. The same day, my husband Sebastian — decked out in his wedding suit, of all things — popped a handful of sleeping pills in a suicide attempt. For years, we were the perfect couple. The kind of pair neighbors whispered about with envy. I couldn't wrap my head around it. The divorce. The pills. None of it made sense. Not until I found the photo and letter in his pocket.

My boyfriend has depression. To help cure him, I pass on the opportunity for a recital abroad. Instead, I accept commercial gigs so I can rake in the cash. After one performance, I see my boyfriend holding hands with a woman who looks like me in a private room. He wears a sharp suit and smiles so brightly that he doesn't even look ill. The people around him cheer and tease him. "You really are different with your true love back in the country. When are you two going to make things official?" "I heard you'd been dating another woman for seven years, though. Do you love her?" Charles Foster smiles indifferently. "I was just having some fun with her. Only an idiot like her would take me seriously." I sob with devastation while hiding behind a door. Suddenly, I feel like a fool for spending seven years with him. I call my mentor, who suggested that I take part in the international piano competition. "I will take part in the competition."

Herbert Fischer lets his precious childhood sweetheart dump scalding stew all over me as everyone watches. Worse, he tells me to apologize, all because I said one harsh sentence to her. Tears stream down my face as I ask him, "Is my life worth less than a hair on her head?" He snorts. "Stop overthinking. It's just hot stew—you won't die from a few burns."

"Kylie, this year's annual bonus is evaluated based on two factors: performance and peer reviews. "Since your team never participates in company social events, your coworkers all gave you poor ratings. That's why this is your year-end bonus." Around me, the male employees were receiving bonuses in the tens of thousands. And yet, the women I led—developers who had worked for over ten years and built every core system the company relied on—each received nothing more than a coffee gift card and a mug engraved with the company logo. I laughed out loud. Then I turned and walked into my office and submitted resignation requests for the entire technical team. The manager, Preston Alec, sneered. "Good riddance. AI can replace women like you who only know how to have children." A few days later, the very people who had mocked me were standing in front of me, begging me to come back. I smiled in return. "AI conquers everything, doesn't it?"

My boyfriend, also my childhood sweetheart, is awakened. He realizes he's the male protagonist in a romance novel, and I'm the female side character. He tells me that I'll never leave him according to the plot. So, he's sure that I won't break up with him. He cheats on me with the female protagonist for two years and does everything a couple should do. It's only when I decidedly dump him that he realizes what a dumb plot he's believed in.

"I can't accept a liar as my mate even if you are the almighty Alpha Gregor!" Eleanor glared at the only man that captured her heart. "And you think you can escape? You can try!" His magnetic voice was low yet it instills fear in anyone who hears it. But not for Eleanor Rigby... the strong, powerful, and kind but a little innocent warrior. The only daughter of Beta Rigby and a fierce female warrior of the Blue Crystal Pack. She had various rejections of suitors because she felt they were too arrogant not until she saved the arrogant and ruthless Alpha Gregor of the Red Blood Pack who she thought was a helpless omega who happened to be her mate too. He was set up by his trusted gamma and was almost killed but narrowly escaped due to the quick intervention of Eleanor. When he woke up and found out that Eleanor was his mate and enemy, he decided to hide his identity and know more about her. Tragedy struck when Eleanor found out his real identity but unfortunately for her, she had already allowed him to mark her. Notwithstanding, she was determined to reject him and face the consequences but before she could, Alpha Gregor knocked her out and took her to his pack as his captive. His special captive. Filled with anger and hatred, Eleanor tried to escape but she had to face betrayals from people closest to her and at the end he was the only one with her. Will she give him another chance or will she continue with her plan of escape and possible revenge?

The most powerful Godfather in the mafia underworld—Dante Costello—had an expensive diamond signet ring custom-made to fit my finger perfectly and sent straight to our home. He said that whoever could wear the ring would become the lady of his family. The Monroe family had long since fallen from grace. All that remained were four women. On ordinary days, we fought endlessly, tearing each other apart. Every single one of us wanted to marry Dante because marrying him meant preserving a life of dignity and comfort. In the first life, the fake heiress, Blair, secretly had the ring resized smaller and married into the family. Dante took one look at her, then had her thrown into the river to drown. “Not her.” In the second life, my cousin, Chloe, underwent plastic surgery to alter her fingers and force the ring on. Dante gifted her a staged car accident. “Still not her.” In the third life, my stepmother, Catherine, clenched her teeth and forced the ring onto her finger. Her blood hadn’t even dried when she married Dante. He coldly slashed her face, then locked her in the basement, where she slowly wasted away until death. By the fourth life, all three of them were terrified. None of them dared to marry him anymore, so they hurriedly pushed me forward instead. I put on the ring. This time, the size was perfect. Just when I thought my good days had finally begun, Dante stabbed me to death on our wedding night, his eyes burning red with madness. After my rebirth, the consigliere of the Dante family delivered the ring once again. This time, all four of us avoided it like the plague.

A young, beautiful she-wolf moves into the house opposite mine. She always strikes up conversations with me, her tone filled with enthusiasm. "You and Mr. Howl have such a great relationship. Even after seven years of marriage, he still kisses you goodbye when he leaves. It’s so sweet." She blinks playfully before continuing, "I have a friend who constantly complains about his mate. He says every time he kisses her, it feels like he's kissing a fat pig. Her scent disgusts him, and he can't even get hard when she's around. "And at night… just the sight of her belly rolls and sagging skin makes him want to throw up." I don’t particularly like this she-wolf, but I still offer her a polite smile. That night, however, when my mate kisses me, he suddenly freezes—then pushes me away and runs to the bathroom to vomit.

After my death, my parents sign an organ donor consent form on my behalf. They have my corneas removed and transplanted onto their beloved adoptive daughter, Grace Lane. She later marries my brother, and they become a true family. Grace and I competed over everything in life, yet I ended up dying with nothing. Now that I've been given a chance to start over, I decide to live life without them. Surprisingly, I find myself getting a happy ending.

Kaleb is the handsome Alpha of the powerful and wealthy MoonFlame Pack. Unwilling to accept Kiara, a poor, cursed, and wolfless Omega for a mate, he rejects her. He refused to see her to be more than just his plaything. Rejected and banished, Kiara leaves the pack heartbroken with a secret the Alpha must never know- She’s pregnant with his pups. After five years, Kaleb is dreaded as the Alpha with an insatiable thirst for the blood of female werewolves. Cursed by the Moon Goddess, he can do nothing but watch as his pack crumbles. Meanwhile, Kiara is now the CEO of a famous wine company with three adorable kids she dotes on. Dark clouds gather when little Kelly mysteriously goes missing, and history unfolds even darker secrets of the MoonFlame pack. The union of an Alpha and his mate seems to be her only salvation. Brought together by fate, Kaleb regrets letting go of Kiara, but will she take him back? ** “Kiara, how many times do I have to say how sorry I am for hurting you? I need you. I love you. I can’t-” “Just stop!” Kiara cut in, anger evident in her eyes. “You have no idea what I went through after you banished me. Keep your apologies and your love to yourself. As soon as we find Kelly, I’m leaving for good!”