Grant Ward Marvel

Every Christmas Eve, the heir of the Marco mafia family—Adrian Marco, must follow the family tradition: Draw a name to decide whether he’s allowed to marry me. Because I, Irene Cast, am not mafia-born. Unless he draws the slip with my name on it, he can’t take me as his wife. For four years, Adrian has drawn four times. And not once did he draw my name. I always thought he fought with his family because of me— that he was willing to risk losing his position as the Don, just to choose me. Every time he failed, he held me so tightly and whispered, “It’s okay. There’s always next year.” And I loved him so much it hurt. Hurt enough that I was willing to wait, year after year. This year, I told myself: If he still doesn’t draw my name… I’ll secretly switch the result. I sneaked to the door of Adrian’s study, and heard his younger brother ask: “Don… every year you do draw Irene's name. Why do you pretend you didn’t? Is it because you still can’t let Sera go?” But he simply said, in a flat voice, “Sera needs me for something urgent. Do what you always do: swap Irene’s name for a blank one.” He walked out without looking back. Instead of swapping, he tossed the blank slip into the trash, left the one with my name on the table, and hurried after Adrian. I went inside, picked up the blank slip from the trash, and replaced the one with my name. Watching my own name fall into the garbage. Adrian…I don’t want to wait and marry you anymore. I’ll grant you your choice.

My Alpha mate Cain's childhood sweetheart Vivienne had returned from her overseas training in healing. She'd made a bet with the other healers that she could use the deadly wolfsbane to cure patients. Every senior healer told her it was absolutely impossible. But she ignored the warnings and injected a massive dose of wolfsbane extract straight into my mother Iris's body. My mother fell into a deep coma after her wolf was killed. My brother Ethan, enraged at the Moonlight Gathering, demanded a Trial by Blood from Vivienne, demanding her life. But Cain had Ethan imprisoned in the Silver Prison before the gathering. I was trembling with rage, wanting to tell everyone the truth at the gathering. But Cain stopped me. “When you go up on stage, tell everyone that what happened to your mother was an accident.” I froze, tears streaming down my face. I was his mate, after all. A flicker of guilt crossed Cain's eyes as he gently wiped away my tears. “Don't cry, baby,” his voice was low and gentle. “Vivian and I grew up together. She saved my life when we were little. She's a good person. She would never intentionally use Wolfsbane to harm your mother. It was an accident.” “You just need to admit it wasn't Vivian's fault,” Cain said, “and I'll get the best healers to treat your mother.” He paused. “Ethan will be released immediately too.” I closed my eyes. “Okay…” Since Vivienne was so important to you, then I would grant your wish. I turned and staged my death, leaving with my mother and brother. But the powerful Alpha broke down, searching the world for me and begging me to come back.

My fated mate, Sebastian Grant, was the most brilliant healer on the continent. Specializing in treating wolfsbane, he had saved countless of our kind. To everyone else, he was a miracle walking among us. But he had a childhood friend and fellow apprentice, Sabrina Jordan. If Sebastian was famous for curing poison, then Sabrina was infamous for creating it. For years, she studied toxins while he developed antidotes. They worked so closely together that the pack slowly stopped distinguishing danger from jokes. That was until the day she tested a new kind of wolfsbane on me and I almost died. When I woke up, Sebastian was sitting beside my bed, writing a prescription for me. "Christina, don't blame Sabrina. My mentor and I have spoiled her. She knew I'd be able to cure you, so she was just messing around. She never meant to hurt you." He said it so casually, as if I had caught a cold. Not as if my organs had been failing and I had been a breath away from death. Before I could respond, someone burst into the room shouting that Sabrina had poisoned herself. Sebastian stood up and rushed out at once, his steps hurried and almost frantic. He never noticed that my prescription was missing a key herb. Just like that, the antidote that was supposed to save me became a poison that quietly sped up my death. That was when the Moon Goddess spoke inside my mind. [You can only return to the human world if you die at the hands of your fated mate. But are you sure you want this?] I lowered my gaze to the prescription in my hand, the ink still fresh. Sebastian himself had written it. The same hands that saved countless lives had just written the final prescription that would end mine. "I'm sure," I whispered.

"Have sex with me," Mustering all her courage, she said in a very desperate tone. It was not a request but it was more of a command. Emily Greyson, no boyfriend since birth, has never been dated, never been touched, and never been kissed. A certified virgin asking boldly to a superstar whom she held dearly in her heart. "You are not worthy of me!" Charles Adam exclaimed disgustingly. His cold eyes bore deeply into her. Despite his strong rejection, Emily held her chin high then her trembling hands started to undress herself in front of him. Emily was going to marry his brother but she didn’t love him. She would only do it for Charles because she loved him so much but he never loved her back. Charles had a woman he loved and he was going to marry her. Emily’s silk nightgown dropped on the floor leaving her body covered only with her white laced underwear. Charles’s cold eyes scanned her hourglass figure with flawless glossy skin. “Get out!” He roared. “No! I demand you to grant what I want! If you don’t agree then let’s forget the wedding!” Emily refuted. Suddenly, Charles walked forward exuding a very dangerous aura. Her body instantly shivered out of fear but she held her ground. “You are getting bolder, Emily. How dare you threaten me?” He suddenly scooped her like a bag of potatoes. When she thought, he was going to throw her outside, he tossed her to his bed.

The day I decided to donate my body to science, my family gathered around my adopted sister, Hailey, celebrating her acceptance into a cutting-edge experimental treatment program. The one with brain cancer was supposed to be me. But Hailey used my husband Zane's position at the hospital to swap her healthy medical records with my terminal diagnosis, stealing the one chance I had to survive. And the worst part? Everyone cheered her on. The pain became too much. I fought to stay present, only to overhear the nurses whispering, "It's a good thing Dr. Zane secured that spot for Hailey. They said she only had three days left." So, in the last 72 hours of my life, I quietly let go of everything. When I gave Hailey the original manuscripts of my novels I had poured my heart and soul into, my father and brother gave me a satisfied smile. When Zane decided to grant Hailey her dying wish by marrying her, he handed me the divorce papers. I signed without a moment's hesitation. He sighed and praised me for finally being "so reasonable." And when I was the one who coaxed our daughter, Olivia, into calling Hailey "Mommy," Olivia gushed that her new mom was the best. "Don't worry," Zane soothed. "We're just keeping it safe for now. Once she's gone, it'll all come back to you." I gave Hailey everything I had, just like they wanted. So why, when they find out this was all Hailey's vicious lie, do they come crying, saying I'm the one they wanted all along?

On the night of our ninth wedding anniversary, my husband—Damian Grant, the man who ruled the mafia by day and once ruled my heart by night—did not bring me roses. He gave the bouquet that should have been mine to Serena Lane, his personal assistant. Beneath the chandelier where we once danced on our wedding night, he turned to me with that same cold charm he once used to whisper sweet nothings in my ear. “She's pregnant.” Finally, everything fell into place. “She's a picky eater. From today onward, you’ll cook three meals a day for her. And no repeats. “She’s sensitive and hates sleeping alone, so you’ll need to move your things into the guest room.” The room fell silent. I did not raise my voice, nor did I shed a single tear. I simply picked up my packed suitcase and walked to the door. The butler tried to stop me, but Damian did not even blink. “She’ll come back.” He lazily swirled the wine in his glass. “She’ll come back crying and begging within three days.” Our guests burst out laughing. They placed a million-dollar bet right in front of me. They were betting on whether I would be back before the night was over, begging Damian to let me back in like a pathetic stray dog with my tail between my legs. However, they did not know I had already received the family heirloom from my real father. I booked my flight to get far, far away from everyone I used to know. This time, I really left.

"I, Alpha Kace Thayer of Bloodclaw pack, reject you , Eliora Thayer as my mate and Luna of the Bloodclaw pack." I gasped as I stared at him. He just rejected me! I felt the bond being snapped out of place. The rejection wouldn't be completed until I accepted his rejection. He wasn't in his right sense. We never had any problem that would warrant his rejection, I chanted to myself as I tried to breathe through the pain. "No o. You can't do this to us!" I cried out as I felt my chest tighten. It was worse that I had no wolf to take all or part of the pain. I had to bear it all. I struggled to look at my best friend wondering why she wasn't by my side, urging me to stay strong and slapping my mate. But the bitch was smiling, her arms linked with that of her mate. The pain shot up to another level as I realized what had happened. The bitter taste of their betrayal filled my mouth and I felt the tears run down faster. I turned to the people, no one came to me. No one tried to help me. They just stared and pointed at me, gossiping amongst themselves. These are the people I put before my own happiness. They all betrayed me!! **** Eliora Thayer thought that she had it all in life, a great pack, a good mate and a supporting best friend. Not until, she was betrayed by all of them. Just when she decided to move on, the moon goddess decides to grant her a second chance mate. One she never asked for. What's more? He was a beast who had no intention of letting her go.

For three years, I was the unrecognized genius bleeding for Marcus’s empire. On the night he was crowned the city's youngest billionaire tycoon, I stood in the shadows, waiting for the proposal he promised. Instead, I watched him pull my treacherous step-sister onto the stage, sliding a six-carat diamond onto her finger while presenting my life’s work as their joint masterpiece. When I confronted him, his sneer was dripping with disgust: 'You belong hidden in a sterile lab, Elara. She belongs in the spotlight. Know your place.' ​Stripped of my legacy, my reputation, and my dignity, I was discarded in the freezing rain. That was where the bulletproof Maybach found me. ​Alexander Thorne. The ruthless tyrant of the business world. An apex predator who viewed human emotion as a disease—and the only man with the power to crush Marcus overnight. He rolled down the window, his gaze lethal. 'I need a brilliant doctor to keep my sister breathing, and a wife who knows how to submit in public. You need a weapon. Get in.' The contract was absolute: Two years of marriage, total obedience before the cameras, and absolute silence regarding his family. In exchange, he would grant me the unimaginable wealth and power to destroy the parasites who ruined me. ​Marcus thought he had buried a pathetic, obedient lab rat. Alexander thought he had bought a desperate, easily controlled doctor. As I signed the marriage certificate and became the untouchable Mrs. Thorne, they both failed to realize one fatal truth. I didn't just want my research back. I was going to burn their empire to the ground.

At a college alumni gathering for werewolves, someone jokingly asks my Alpha mate, Ian Glover, a question. "Ian, who is the she-wolf you wanted to mark the most back in college?" Ian takes a sip of his blood wine and looks past me toward Sherry Lark, the most beautiful she-wolf in college back then. He answers bluntly, "Sherry." Sherry is stunned for a moment, and disbelief fills her eyes. "Me? But... When I gave you the scarf carrying my scent and hinted that I wanted to be your mate, why didn't you respond?" Now it's Ian's turn to be stunned. "Didn't you give your scarf to Archer Grant?" It turns out Sherry placed the scarf in the wrong spot back then, causing them to miss out on each other. Her eyes redden instantly, while Ian has a longing and regretful look on his face. Our classmates begin teasing them. One wolf suddenly chuckles and says meaningfully, "How can there be such a perfect coincidence? It's not likely for one to mistakenly give such an important gift to the wrong wolf. Think about it, everyone. Could someone have deliberately intervened?" The moment those words fall, every wolf's gaze turns toward me. Ian and I have formed a mate bond, but we never make it public. So, everyone only remembers how shamelessly I chased after him back in college. But none of them know that Ian is the one who first approached me and sent out signals that he wanted to be my mate. Now, he says nothing. He doesn't even spare me a glance and is just gazing deeply at Sherry. At that moment, I know our mate bond is over.

Aurelio Bertram, 24, a dangerously handsome billionaire with a legacy drenched in power and shadows. Grandson of a notorious mob boss. Son of one of the city’s most respected businessmen. Aurelio was a perfect storm—charming, ruthless, and reckless. But at the moment, he was temporarily nothing. Until he fulfilled their one condition. Just as he was plotting revenge on a childhood rival and preparing to attend one of the biggest underground events of the year, the unexpected hit—his family wouldn’t grant him the reins to their empire unless he produced an heir. Easy enough, right? After all, Aurelio Bertram was known in his circle as the king of flings—a man who could charm a woman in seconds and leave her breathless. Getting someone pregnant? A walk in the park. Except… it wasn’t. Weeks turned into months. Not one woman came back with a positive test. Not a single one. Until Erica James. A simple, middle-class hotel waitress with curves that could stop time and a heart hardened by abandonment. Her parents had written her off in high school, convinced she’d never amount to anything. But Erica didn’t need their approval. One night. That’s all it took. Aurelio never expected it. Neither did she. And when the test turned positive, Erica wanted nothing more than to disappear—run far away from the shame, the chaos, and the power that surrounded Aurelio Bertram. But how do you run from a man who owns the city? From the father of your unborn child? From a man who refuses to let go? "Even in the woods, I’d find you, babycakes," Aurelio whispered into her ear, his voice low and possessive. "From now on, you belong to me. You, and everything that has to do with my baby."