Flag With Stars

I was the daughter of the Azurez Sect’s leader and its next heir. Unfortunately, on the eve of my succession ceremony, an accident occurred while I was descending the mountain to eliminate vengeful spirits. At a critical moment, my powers spiraled out of control, and I succumbed to demonic backlash. The spirits wounded me, and in an instant, all my cultivation was destroyed. My fiancé, Julian Zackman, ventured alone into the spirits’ lair to save me. He battled them for three days and three nights before finally bringing me back. However, in doing so, he lost an arm and a thousand years’ worth of cultivation. From that day on, he could no longer wield a sword. I was consumed with guilt. I even convinced myself that I would leave everything behind and live in seclusion with him, living a simple life together. However, by chance, I overheard a conversation between him and my father. “I know what I did to Queenie was wrong, but she was too powerful. I had no choice but to slip some of the delusional powder into her sachet to make her go astray. I needed to make sure Wendy could become Sect Leader.” My father looked at Julian’s empty sleeve with regret. “I understand your intentions, but you didn’t have to sacrifice your arm. You are my most gifted disciple. Without it, how will you ever wield a sword again?” “Master, don’t worry. It was only an illusion to deceive her. Once Wendy takes over the sect, I’ll arrange a place for Queenie at the foot of the mountain. Without cultivation, she’s worth nothing to Azurez Sect. She might as well live down there, farming, raising chickens, and living as a peasant woman. At least she’ll have a stable life that way.” My heart sank. Everything he did had been a lie. It was all to force me to give up my place. If the world had turned its back on me, I would tear it down in return.

Damien was attacked by rogue wolves. I threw myself in front of him and nearly died for it—two broken ribs, both legs almost torn off. When I woke up, I decided to mess with him. "Who are you? I don't know you." His face went rigid. I almost laughed out loud. I was about to tell him I was joking—when he pointed at the man standing beside him. "I'm a friend of your mate's. He's your future mate." My heart dropped. The words died in my throat. I stared at him, stunned. A second later, Lucien stepped forward and took my hand. "Yes. I'm your mate. Let's go home." Fine. Then I'll take a new mate.

Seven years ago, my husband, the King of the Humans, banished me to the Everfrost Plains, where my life came to a tragic end. Seven years later, a grave illness befalls the Queen of the Humans, and blood spills endlessly from her lips. The clerics claim that I have cursed her. Only the blood taken from my heart can cure her fully. Gareth Lancaster, my former husband, comforts his new wife, the queen, and says, "You have nothing to fear. To think she's still trying to harm you, her older sister, even when she has been exiled! "I'll march to the Everfrost Plains right away and carve her heart out to use as your cure. Then, I'll have her soul sent to hell to suffer in torment for all eternity." Sword in hand, Gareth heads to the Everfrost Plains. He finds a Serpentkin, one who should've died in the Great War of the Beasts and Men seven years ago. The Serpentkin has frozen solid, standing before my grave with his hands clasped together as if in prayer. In front of my grave sits a young girl. She says, "You won't be able to take my mother's heart. She died many years ago. I stayed here to let the truth be known to all…"

An accident leaves Preston Brown unable to have children. The fight over his family's fortune is heating up. Desperate for an heir, Preston arranges for me to sleep with his best friend, Rowan Kerr. I quietly dump the sleeping pills Preston gave me and pretend to be clueless. Then, I lose myself in a night of passion with Rowan. … The next morning, right in front of Preston, I smile sweetly and say, "Honey, you were incredible last night. I've never felt so good." His expression darkens. "Do you prefer the man I am by day, or the one who takes you at night?" I act bashful, tugging on his sleeve. "Both. But I especially love the one who knows how to satisfy me at night."

Le troisième mois après la disparition mystérieuse de mon compagnon Alpha lors d'une patrouille, je l'ai retrouvé, par hasard, dans un bar à la frontière. Il éclatait de rire, son bras enlacé autour de son premier amour : « J'ai toujours voulu me débarrasser de l'emprise de Béatrice. Merci pour ton idée, enfin, je respire la liberté ! » Mélodie se blottissait contre lui, lui tendant un verre avec des gestes doucereux. « Quand comptes-tu rentrer ? » a-t-elle murmuré. Il a haussé les épaules, indifférent : « Encore une semaine. Je laisserai Béatrice devenir folle d'inquiétude avant de réapparaître. Une bonne leçon pour qu'elle arrête de se mêler de ma vie. » Ses amis l'ont approuvé avec admiration : « Génial ! Après ça, Béatrice t'obéira au doigt et à l'œil. » « La potion de métamorphose est vraiment efficace. Personne ne t'a reconnu depuis tout ce temps. » Mais ils ignoraient une chose : cachée dans l'ombre, je venais de voir son petit jeu. Sans hésiter, j'ai sorti mon téléphone et ai appelé le Conseil des affaires de notre meute. En tant que leur Luna, j'ai déclaré officiellement la mort de l'Alpha… et ai annoncé l'élection de son successeur !

On the third day of kneeling before the statue of the Moon Goddess and praying for Ryan Summers, a sudden row of glowing text appeared right in front of my eyes. [Ryan really is a piece of trash. His little childhood sweetheart, Rowena Blake, ran off the moment she learned he was going to hold a bonding ceremony, so he actually faked his own death just to chase her.] [Ryan and Rowena are out there whispering sweet nothings to each other under the flowers and moonlight, while Jenna Cuttridge cried her eyes nearly blind over that scumbag.] [Too bad Jenna never finds out that Ryan tricked her. When he comes back from playing dead, she even happily marries him.] So this was the miracle the Moon Goddess had bestowed upon me. Thunderstruck, I grabbed my phone and called my Alpha father, Jake Cuttridge. "Dad, remember that alliance bonding you mentioned last time? I agree to it." Half a month later, the news that I would be entering an alliance bonding with an Alpha from the Northridge Pack spread throughout the entire wolf kingdom. Ryan's friend, Luke Carter, who had been in on his plan, rushed over and demanded, "Ryan just died not long ago, and you're already so eager to find the next guy?" "He's dead. I can't possibly stay single for him my whole life."

Four years ago, Alpha Matteo Donovan was drugged. On that crazy night, I became his cure. From that moment on, I was his most trusted Beta by day and his lover by night, tangled up in his sheets until dawn. Just when I started drowning in the heat of his gaze, his first love, Sabrina Monroe, came back. To please her, Matteo threw me to the pack’s borderlands, where it was rogue-infested. He even tore up Mom's keepsakes right in front of me. When I finally gave up and applied to leave the pack, Matteo suddenly began to look for me like he had gone mad.

Sé que no me queda mucho tiempo después de haber sido envenenada con acónito. No quiero tener remordimientos, así que viajo al lago de Sacred Crystal, un lugar que siempre había querido visitar. No le digo a nadie que planeo terminar mi vida allí. No esperaba encontrarme con mi ex-compañero en ese lugar. No nos hemos visto en diez años. Él se ha convertido en el Alfa que siempre quiso ser, y lleva un anillo que tiene grabado el nombre de otra loba. En cuanto a mí, ya he tirado nuestra muestra de amor y lo he borrado de mi corazón. Estamos intercambiando palabras cuando, de repente me pregunta: —¿Todavía me odias, Giselle? Sacudo la cabeza. Mi vida está a punto de terminar, después de todo. Ya no necesito aferrarme a nada. En los últimos momentos de mi vida, solo quiero ver el mar de lirios que la Diosa de la Luna ha bendecido.

I stared at the photos attached to an email. My Alpha mate, Marcus Hale, was supposed to be negotiating a partnership with another pack. But the photo showed him standing in Firefly Woods, a famous dating spot. Across from him were his long-lost first love and my two children. The four of them looked happy and complete, like a perfect family frozen in time. My heart jolted painfully. At the same moment, I realized that what I had with Marcus was over.

On the eve of his Alpha succession ceremony, my fiancé Hunter prepared lavish gifts for all the distinguished guests and had Freya distribute them. Freya obliged with a smile. Then, when she reached me, her gaze swept over me with nothing but contempt. “Move aside. This isn’t for you.” She tossed an exile notice at my face. “You’re just a she-wolf who likes to seduce. Think you deserve an Alpha’s gift? Dream on. You’re not welcome here. Get out of our pack!” At that moment, the guests opened the gift boxes Freya handed out. Inside, alongside a rare blue moonstone, were photos of me in intimate moments with other Alpha males from different packs. In an instant, I became the pack’s traitorous, unfaithful woman. My face darkened as I stared at Hunter. “You’re really going to exile me from the pack?”