Four Or Dead Chapter 6

I was once the strongest warrior of the Cedar Pack. I was Alpha Killian’s fated mate. But Bianca, an omega who had always secretly loved Killian, saw her chance. While I was leading a team to claim new territory, she lured a pack of rogues to ambush me. They severely wounded me and left me for dead in a marsh. She sold our secrets to the rogues. Then she framed me for the slaughter that followed. Everyone thought I betrayed Killian and left. Killian believed it too. Bianca played the part of the gentle woman who saved him. She became his new mate. Three years later, my body was found. The moment Killian saw the pup inside me, his wolf went feral. His eyes bled red.

My husband, Luca, had a childhood sweetheart named Sophia. Years ago, during a brutal gang shootout, Sophia shielded him from the worst of the bloodshed, and since then, she had suffered from severe PTSD. Because of that, Luca would push aside family business every year and fly to our estate on a secluded island off the coast of Sicily to spend three months “helping her recover.” “Victoria, she lost her mind because of me,” he told me. “I’m responsible for her. I hope you can be magnanimous.” So, I nodded. And eventually, I got used to the fact that every year, my husband would disappear for three months to fulfill what he called a moral obligation. That was until the day I flew in without warning to inspect the family’s money-laundering network on that island and saw him. In the town square, under the bright Mediterranean sun, Luca was standing there with a five-year-old boy by his side. “Papa, how long do we have to hide on this island?” the child asked. “I want to go to New York. I want to see the Empire State Building.” Luca laughed gently and scooped him up in his arms. With his other hand, he held Sophia’s. “Antonio, be good,” he said affectionately. “Papa’s position is… complicated. When you turn eighteen and pass the family’s initiation ceremony, I’ll kill that woman and her dead old man. Then, I’ll take you back to New York to inherit the entire Corleone family.” I stood in the shadows, unseen. Slowly, I lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around me as their voices drifted over, the conversation getting more vicious as it went. Sophia leaned into his chest, her tone sweet and coy. “Luca, I’ve been with you for seven years without a name or a title. How much longer are our son and I supposed to live like ghosts?” Luca sighed. “I don’t have a choice. The old man in the Corleone family is still alive. I married Victoria just to get her territory. Don’t worry. I’ve been adding something to her milk every day. She’ll never get pregnant in this lifetime. My family bloodline will only continue through you.” The last thread of reason in my mind snapped. In the six years of marriage we shared, I had been infertile. I’d taken countless hormone injections to stimulate ovulation. I’d knelt in church and prayed more times than I could count. Yet, all along, the devil poisoning me was my own husband. The initial shock faded quickly into rage. I crushed out my cigarette and pulled out my phone. Then, I dialed my uncle, the family’s clean-up man. “Uncle Rocco,” I said calmly, “Luca betrayed me. He betrayed the family. Order a coffin in the finest black walnut for me, and make it large, large enough to fit a family of three.”

My husband was in the late stages of liver cancer. Afraid of dragging me down, he committed suicide by jumping into the river. I couldn’t swim, but I dove in after him without hesitation. To give him the will to live on, I told him about winning the lottery. He pretended to struggle but took the chance to shove me underwater, drowning me. Before I could rest in peace, he ran off abroad with his first love using my money. Only then did I realize that he had planned to fake his death all along just to get rid of me! When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day he jumped into the river. You wanted to die, huh? Well, let me help you with that!

Caitlin and Caleb find themselves, once again, back in time—this time, in the London of 1599.

London in 1599 is a wild place, filled with paradoxes: while on the one hand it is an incredibly enlightened, sophisticated time, breeding playwrights like Shakespeare, on the other, it is also barbaric and cruel, with daily public executions, torture, and heads of prisoners impaled on spikes. It is also a time of superstition and grave public danger, with a lack of sanitation, and the Bubonic Plague spreading in the streets, carried by rats.

In this environment Caitlin and Caleb land, on the search for her father, for the third key, for the mythical shield that can save humankind. Their mission takes them through a whirlwind of London’s most amazing medieval architecture, through the British countryside’s most breathtaking castles. It takes them back into the heart of London, where they just might meet Shakespeare himself, and see one of his plays live. It brings them to a little girl, Scarlet, who just might become their daughter. And all the while, Caitlin’s love for Caleb deepens, as finally they are together—and as Caleb might just finally find the perfect time, and place, to propose to her.

Sam and Polly have traveled back, too, and as they find themselves stuck together on their own journey, their relationship deepens, as they each, despite themselves, can’t help feeling more deeply for each other.

But all is not well. Kyle has come back, too, as has his evil sidekick, Sergei, and they are both intent on destroying everything good in Caitlin’s life. It will be a race to the finish, as Caitlin is forced to make some of the hardest decisions of her life if she is to save everyone who is dear to her, save her relationship with Caleb—and try to make it out alive.

At twenty-two, Skylar Carnell is a spitfire who doesn’t believe in cliché romances and has dreams of her own to chase. What happens when she has to honor her parents' dying wish and marry into the St. James family? Skylar tries hard to avoid the disastrous marriage to the oldest son, Sebastian St. James, and luck favors her although momentarily. Soon Sebastian elopes with the woman he loves. It leaves her with no other option than to meet the youngest son, the cocky, full-of-himself, infuriating Christian St. James. He's notorious, mysterious, and full of surprises. Skylar fights him at every step, but he offers her a contract marriage she can't ignore. Why does he want to marry her? Is it only to honor his parent's last wish? Can Christian tempt the spitfire and make her stay? Will Skylar walk away when the contract term expires? What will happen when unexpected circumstances bring them closer?

Sophia’s heart broke every time she saw her husband, Ethan, stealing glances at another woman, the same woman he insisted she donate blood to for the third time that week. Their five-year marriage felt like a lifetime of pain and betrayal. Sophia loved Ethan deeply, but he married her only to inherit his family’s multi-billion-dollar business. Once he gained control, he discarded her like she meant nothing. Despite years of humiliation, Sophia clung to hope that Ethan would someday love her. But when he repeatedly demanded her blood for his mistress’s health, her hope shattered. She endured the cruelty but not the betrayal, not having been cheated on and drained out of blood to the point of death. Sophia filed for divorce, which Ethan accepted without hesitation unaware she was pregnant from a reckless night she barely remembered. *** Left with no family, no money, and no future, Sophia nearly gave up until a mysterious stranger saved her. Years later, she returned with her child, Ethan’s spitting image. “Bro, your ex-wife is here. And that child looks just like you,” Ethan growled, “They’re mine. And I will fight for what belongs to me !”.

I volunteer to be the mate of Carl Wood, the Alpha of the Nightfall pack, as a direct measure to resolve the conflict between our two packs. He marks me on a full moon night. His gaze is so fervent in that moment that I interpret his look as a genuine sign of his attraction. Carl personally leads the elite fighters across the border two years later. He grabs my head, making me witness the gruesome dismantling of my mother, father, and brother by the pack; his gaze is alight with vengeful satisfaction. "Did your father show mercy during our youth when he destroyed my pack, Aria? Do you truly believe that having you here is enough to make up for this vengeance?" Carl assumes the position as the most powerful Alpha of the northern region, with Selena Hall established at his side as his Luna. I am kept barely alive, imprisoned in the depths of the dungeon in the pack. If I attempt to end my life, Carl retrieves the bones of a relative from the cemetery and incinerates them right in front of me, bellowing with bloodshot eyes, "You're not allowed to die unless I allow you to, Aria!" I immediately cease all resistance after that. Carl's heart was pierced by a silver-tipped arrow during his escape years ago. I had to implore the dark witch to use dark magic and substitute my sound heart for his. There are only three days left before the poison completely takes hold of me.

Aurora Reynolds is now the mother of three, luna to her pack and head of the conclave. Life is perfect with her four mates and family, but rumours are spreading about her oldest son Luca. The alliance between the packs turn on each other, as her son isn’t an ordinary werewolf. He is special, with abilities no other wolf possesses. Some see him as the answer to all their problems others see him as a threat. After Luca is taken, her mates feel compelled to take revenge on anyone who hurts their family, friend, or foe.

He turns back to me that evil lust filled glint in his eyes I have seen on his face for the past year. ‘You’re such a little cock tease, you think you can walk around in your little shorts and skirts like you do thinking there is no consequences you’re going to learn exactly what that means now open up my girl,’ my eyes widen in horror as he thrusts his hips towards my face. Aurora Anderson and her mother Sarah flea in the middle of the night after suffering from abuse from the one man they both thought they could trust. They plight takes them as far as the Silver Brooke Pack where Alpha Matthew Reynolds welcomes them in. A romance transpires between Sarah and Matthew where the two marry forcing Aurora to join her new family where she meets her four new step brothers each more handsome than the last. Still recovering from her trauma, she is confused by her feelings towards her new brothers, despite their taunts and unkind words she feels the undeniable pull. On her 18th birthday she gets her wolf only to learn that she is mated to not one but all four of her step brothers. She fleas for fear of rejection, she knows what this could mean for her mother and after seeing her finally happy after so long so doesn’t know what to do. Will Aurora and Sarah both find a way to have their happy ending? Will their past come back to haunt them? Can Aurora even handle having four mates? What other secrets have been hidden that threaten their futures?

Matagal pinangarap ni Fae makatuluyan sa paglaki ang kinakapatid, pero d-in-ate nito at pakakasalan ang kanyang college bestfriend. Heartbroken man, dumalo siya sa kasal kaso fake pala ang invite kagagawan ng malditang babae. So... napahiya siya, nakagawa ng eskandalo, at niligtas ni Jigo na bestfriend ng groom bago siya mapahamak sa kalasingan noong gabing iyon. He ends up carrying her to his suite—right into a perfect rebound situation. Jigo is decent, a gentleman—alright. And drop-dead gorgeous! Wala nang Carl so who cares if she goes for another man? She discovers a perfect Mr. Rebound behind closed doors. Hot sex, sweet talk, flirting... she's so comfortable with him kaya pinutol agad ni Fae ang weekend at tumakas. She can't fall in love with a rebound! Noong kumatok ito sa kanyang pinto sa Manila all familiar and real, she's already missing him like crazy. Hindi na siya lumaban... and the next days and nights are the best of her life! She starts to hope that maybe, walang Mr. Rebound. Maybe... he's actually Mr. Right.