First Circle

Alan Sanders tidak percaya bahwa di dunia ini masih ada yang namanya pelelangan manusia. Itu merupakan tradisi paling primitif dan sangat mengerikan yang pernah ditemui Alan. Di sana ia bertemu dengan Meyra, seorang wanita cantik yang akan dilelang pada hari itu. Anehnya, Meyra yang menurut Alan memiliki banyak kelebihan dibandingkan gadis lainnya malah dihargai dengan harga paling murah dari semua peserta lelang. Alan ingin membuat Meyra terbebas dari situasi buruk itu. Hati nuraninya tidak bisa membiarkan hal tersebut terjadi. Sayangnya, untuk bisa membawa Meyra keluar dari sana, selain membayarnya dengan harga yang mahal, Alan juga harus menikahi wanita itu. Sebuah syarat gila! Pernikahan tidak ada dalam pikirannya saat ini. Lagi pula, siapa yang menikah dengan cara seperti itu? Ikuti kisah mereka di novel ini.

Na noite de lua cheia, eu jazia nos territórios proibidos à beira da morte por causa do acônito devastando meu organismo. Meu companheiro Alfa, Elio Palmer, forçou meus dedos a se abrirem e arrancou o único antídoto que eu tinha. — Kelly cresceu comigo desde que éramos filhotes. Depois que os pais dela morreram, fui eu quem ficou mais próximo dela. Como Luna, você devia se sacrificar por ela. — Disse Elio. Então, Elio deu o antídoto a Kelly Giles, que foi infectada apenas com um leve traço de acônito. Logo depois, ele não hesitou em me abandonar, sua companheira quase morta, ali nos territórios proibidos. Ele achava que eu aceitaria minha morte sem qualquer ressentimento, já que me domesticou durante o tempo que passamos juntos. Mas o que ele não sabia é que o forte odor de morte não atraía nenhuma besta até mim no momento em que nosso vínculo de companheiros era completamente rompido. Em vez disso, atraía a atenção de Samuel Gray, o Rei Lycan que incutia terror bruto em todos os lobisomens da terra. Algum tempo depois, Samuel se aproximou de mim após massacrar todas as bestas nos territórios proibidos. — Depois de ser abandonada por um vira-lata inferior, é assim que pretende morrer?

After a heart-pounding hunt, the pack gathered under the full moon for a celebration. Because of my contribution, I earned the right to bathe in the Sacred Spring and feast on the Stag King's meat. Just as I was about to take a bite, Emily Carter yanked it from my plate. "This isn't for you!" she snapped. In the pack, our roles were similar, but I outperformed her at every turn. She had been targeting me for months. I ignored her and reached for another piece, sliding it into my mouth. "Are you even listening to me?" she screamed, charging at me. Her hand shot up, ready to slap me. The next second, I grabbed her wrist and tossed her aside. Emily landed on the ground with a growl, her face twisted in fury. "You arrogant little wench! My father is the great Alpha King, Hyde Sullivan! How dare you?" she continued, her voice cracking with rage. "I'm revoking your Sacred Spring privileges!" I pressed a hand to my mouth, letting out a quiet laugh. Hyde was my uncle, and he never had offspring. I was his only successor.

After I announced my exit from the music industry, the public response was overwhelmingly positive. The only person who voiced his objection was my girlfriend's rumored lover, the up-and-coming songwriter Lucas Zacker. He put on a show of sincerity in front of a crowd of reporters. "It's all a misunderstanding. Matthew is an irreplaceable talent in the music industry. I sincerely hope he returns to the stage." I shut off my phone and turned a blind eye to his public plea. In my past life, one of my songs had been identical to his supposedly original single. As such, netizens accused me of plagiarism, cursing me and wishing death upon my family. Frustrated, I posted the entire creation process online, but it couldn't stand up to the timeline. His new song had been released ten minutes ahead of mine. Just because of the ten-minute difference, netizens sent me photoshopped mourning portraits of myself and even went so far as to come to my house and vandalize it with paint. The relentless cyberbullying went on for years, and it drove me into a deep depression. My parents exhausted their life savings trying to clear my name, only for crazed fans to set our house on fire, causing my parents to burn to death. In the end, when his song won an award, I jumped off a building. But who would have guessed that when I opened my eyes again, I was reborn on the very day the new song was set to release.

I'd just put the condom on when someone started pounding on the door. My wife, Jocelyn Gill, shoved me aside, panic all over her face. I shot a glare at the door. Her adopted brother, Calvin Tyler, stood there, flushed, staring at her. The bulge in his pants wasn't subtle. "Jocelyn, please help me. I feel awful. I think I'm having an episode!" Seeing him like that, nothing like before, my temper snapped. "Then go get treated. Why are you barging into your sister's room? You got no shame? You can't even get married because of this, so now you're wrecking mine?" Jocelyn rushed over and slapped me. "Finley, how can you say that? Calvin's still a kid. How could he think something that disgusting? Before his parents died, they asked me to take care of him. I'm a psychiatrist—if I don't treat him, how do I face them? You're acting nothing like a brother-in-law. Apologize to Calvin right now, or we're getting divorced!" In two years of marriage, I'd lost count of how many times she'd pulled that card over Calvin. Back then, I'd risked my life just to win her. She thought I'd never leave. She was wrong. This time, I was done loving her.

Three years ago, during our marking ceremony, my fated mate suddenly proposed to my stepsister, Ashley Calisto. When I was publicly humiliated, Owen Wagner, Alpha of the pack and president of the Wolf Alliance, started to pursue me obsessively. A few months later, I became his Luna. He has treated me with great care and tenderness for the past three years. That is, until I get pregnant and accidentally overhear his secret conversation with a witch. "I need a potion that will kill the pup in her womb without her noticing," Owen says. The witch asks in confusion, "Alpha Owen, why don't you want this heir?" Owen replies coldly, "The only one worthy of bearing my pup is Ashley. This entire thing had been orchestrated to protect Ashley anyway." So, all this tenderness has just been part of a carefully crafted lie. If that's the case, I'll let them have each other.

On the night of the full moon, I lie in the forbidden grounds on the brink of death because of the wolfsbane terrorizing my system. My Alpha mate, Elio Palmer, wrenches my fingers open and snatches the only antidote that I have. "Kelly grew up with me since we were pups. After her parents died, I've been the one who's closest to her. As the Luna, you must sacrifice yourself for her." Then, Elio feeds the antidote to Kelly Giles, who has only gotten infected with a tiny hint of wolfsbane. He doesn't hesitate to abandon me, his dying mate, in the forbidden grounds afterward. He thinks I will accept my death without any resentment, seeing as he's tamed me during our times together. But what he doesn't know is that the thick stench of death doesn't attract any beasts to my side the moment our mate bond is completely severed. Instead, it attracts the attention of Samuel Gray, the Lycan King who drills raw terror into every werewolf in the land. Some time later, Samuel approaches me after slaughtering all the beasts in the forbidden grounds. "Are you planning to die like that after getting abandoned by an inferior mutt?"

My fiance, Henry Gordon, was two hours late to our vows on our wedding day. Just as he was catching his breath and about to say ‘I do’, he received a call from his secretary, Yvonne Luther. After hanging up, he looked at me apologetically. “Honey, my useless team can’t handle the personnel appointment of the financial team on their own. They’re insisting that I head back! I’ll make it up to you with another wedding later on.” I told him that I understood though I felt disappointed, because he was at a critical stage in his career. However, the moment he left without hesitation, I tossed the ring on my finger into the venue’s flower bed and announced to everyone that the wedding was cancelled. I had to see for myself who would ask Henry, a mere minority shareholder, to make such a significant decision without consulting me, the chairperson. He did not know that just a few hours earlier, I had taken back the ‘gift’ I gave him and reclaimed my position as the company’s chairperson.

In my third year of covert work along the border for Alpha Cole Grayson, the chairman of the Alliance, I was urgently summoned back to my pack by my mother. Apparently, my mom has used the pack's benefits as leverage to pick out a powerful mate for me. All the she-wolves envy me. After all, my mate is Alpha Leo Wagner of the Moon pack. He's the most outstanding werewolf among his peers, be it his identity, social standing, or capabilities. When Alpha Cole receives the news, he has a tiara custom-made before having it delivered to the venue where the marking ceremony will be held. "Thank you for your contributions to the Alliance over the past three years. I hope you'll live a happy life from now on." These are the words Alpha Cole left me with before leaving. But when I arrive at the Moon pack, I find out that Leo's secretary, Aria Thornwell, has worn the tiara. I berate her angrily, "That's the tiara representing the Luna's status! Give it back to me!" But Aria merely polishes the tiara on her head. She shows no intention of wanting to remove it. "What do you mean 'yours'? This is my tiara! Leo has already ordered me to attend the marking ceremony as your representative! "You're just a lowly she-wolf from a backwater pack, after all! You'll only humiliate everyone by attending such a grand ceremony!" I huff coldly before tearing the tiara off Aria's head. With her screams serving as the background ambience, I use my mind-link to contact Leo on the spot. "You'd better give me a reasonable explanation right now. Otherwise, I don't mind stripping the Alpha title off you."

My name is Janet Chance, and I am a researcher focusing on cancer drug development. I have a blissful family life and a career worth fighting for. However, just as I am about to go save a life using my newly researched drug, I discover that the car specifically used to transport the drug has inexplicably disappeared. Upon checking the surveillance footage, I learn that my high school classmate, Melissa Lane, has driven it away. "What do you mean it's your car? This is my husband's car!" I snap back anxiously. "Give me back my car! Right now!" Just as I finish speaking, I hear a crowd's mocking laughter coming from the other end of the phone. "Do you know who you're talking to?" "Your car? This car belongs to the wealthiest man in the country!" Melissa immediately adds, "I'm about to marry the wealthiest man in Azlude! He was worried about my safety, so he specifically allowed me to take this car. "He told me it's very well protected with its bulletproof glass. How dare you say this car is yours, you penniless loser?" In order to take back the drug, I have no choice but to rush over to Melissa's wedding venue. That is when I see the man embracing her in the poster is Samuel Fuller, who is none other than the husband I have been married to for the past three years.