Halo: Reach Timeline

The day my husband's first love shows up at my house, I catch a faint, cloyingly sweet scent of gardenias in the air. My genetically-linked asthma flares violently at the scent of gardenias. As expected, halfway through the meal, my chest suddenly tightens. I can barely draw a breath before collapsing onto the couch. My younger brother sprints into my bedroom like he's lost his mind, grabs an inhaler, and shoves it straight to my mouth. "Tess!" he roars. "Why the hell is there gardenia perfume?" Everyone panics. My dad grabs a liquor bottle. My mom lunges forward, grabbing the woman by the hair. And my husband positions himself in front of her, protecting his beloved first love as she trembles. Amid the chaos, I muster the last of my strength. I reach into the crack of the couch, grab another inhaler, take a deep breath, and slowly push myself upright. I let out a cold laugh as I fix my gaze on the woman cowering behind my husband. "Finished with your little performance? It's my turn now."

This marks the third year since Alan Cohen and I became mates, and today's finally the day of the Luna ceremony. As the ceremony begins, Alan takes my hand. But then he hesitates, refusing to move forward. I'm still trying to make sense of it when my adoptive sister, Eden Parker, suddenly breaks into the mind-link. She says she's just ended a failed mate bond with another Alpha and will be back within the hour. That's when I see a flicker of a smile on Alan's face. Then, without a second glance, he lets go of my hand and walks away. I turn to my adoptive brother, Dexter Parker, and my adoptive father, Hank Parker, hoping for some kind of comfort, only to realize they've already left the ceremony with Alan. And just like that, I became the joke of the entire pack. Eden sends me a photo. She's glowing beside Alan, her arm looped through Dexter's, with Hank beaming next to them. That's when I give up. I reach out through the mind-link to my birth father. "Dad, I'm ready to return to the Bloodmoon Pack."

"What’s the one thing you shouldn’t do when your boss is your ruthless evil widowed stepmother who hates your guts more than anyone? Kiss the man she’s interested in. So what does Kaitlynn Judge find herself doing? Yep, she kisses the one man her stepmother currently wants, who also happens to be the CEO of the company where she works. Can we say doomed? After the death of her father, Kaitlynn's life has been stuck in a rut. But that begins to change after meeting a dashing stranger during the office Halloween party. Now she has to navigate vengeful stepmothers, meddling stepsiblings, and gorgeous guys in hot pursuit to reach her happily ever after. While making a detour from the fantasy aspect, this contemporary take on the Cinderella story continues to cling to a few of our favorite traditions. You’ll still find the unmerited oppression along with fleeing women, missing shoes, mouse companions, magic wands, pumpkin-like rides to the big bash, and so much more. So rest assured, it’s all familiar and yet quirkily different."

***BOOK TWO of the Wulver Pack Series*** Can be read as a standalone Time passes, things change, and everyone moves on. It’s easy to feel left behind. I always feel left behind. Left behind and forgotten. All my life, I’ve wanted for someone to reach back, take my hand, and drag me along. Keep me up with the times, be a part of the changes. Maybe it’s time for me to be the change, start chasing after what I want, but I wouldn’t even know how to start rocking the boat. It’s just not me, not something I can even do. I have never been one for the chase, but now just might be the time to learn. *** Time passes, and I stay the same. Things change, but I don’t. Everyone moves on, but I wouldn’t know. Being alone has become my home. The solitude brings solace. The quiet is rejuvenating. The seclusion affords too many perks. I take what I want and I want only what I need. I’m a lone wolf, no need for a pack, no need for a mate. And that will never change.

When 19-year-old waitress Millie takes a summer job as companion to wealthy Lady Vera Ashington at her Suffolk stately home, she has no idea that a mystery will unfold which puts her own life and her family's business at risk. Unexplained deaths will test her morality. Can the end justify the means? Lady Ashington (Vera) fears a breakdown due to personal regrets. She has one last go at seeking long-term happiness. Having taken Millie as a companion, the two women become friends and enjoy arguing about Vera's wealth and her inability to use it wisely. ‘ Too much cake', is the problem. Millie empowers Vera. She keeps a first person diary, and includes Vera's viewpoint. This diary is the novel. It tells how the talents of two very different women, when harnessed, move mountains. But, Vera's local influence means every good deed, leaves a loser. Millie had not appreciated this and conflicts mount. Things reach a head when a couple in the village, are murdered . The evidence isn't clear. Who would profit from their deaths? Is Vera implicated? Must Millie fear for her life?

At my wedding, the giant screen that's supposed to show our photos suddenly switches to the groom's assistant's prenatal exam report. It clearly shows that he is the child's father. The assistant looks flustered and panicked as she rushes to apologize to me. The groom, on the other hand, stays perfectly calm and offers an explanation like it's no big deal. "I took pity on her because she got pregnant out of wedlock, so I went with her to the appointment and left my name. I'm going to be her kid's godfather, too." The day of her exam was also the day I went for my very first prenatal checkup. Everyone thinks I'll break down, but I simply reach up and tear off my veil. Then, I calmly schedule an abortion. "She really is pitiful, being pregnant without a partner by her side. She deserves this wedding more than I do." Then, I raise my champagne glass to congratulate him. "Congratulations to you both. May your shotgun wedding be a happy one, especially since it's happening with a bun in the oven."

Zara Mitchell built her life on one belief that she was chosen. For five years, she loved Caleb Stone—powerful, distant, and impossible to fully reach—while quietly losing pieces of herself in a marriage that demanded silence over truth. Then came the night he didn’t show up. What begins as a missed anniversary unravels into something far darker. A hidden affair. A carefully orchestrated betrayal. A husband who didn’t just lie—but planned every move, from rekindling old flames to protecting his fortune at her expense. And just when Zara thinks she’s uncovered the worst, a shocking truth emerges—one that proves her marriage was never what it seemed. Now pregnant and standing at the edge of everything she once believed in, Zara is forced to make a choice: stay and be broken or walk away and risk losing more than just love. But Caleb isn’t ready to let her go. And as secrets continue to surface, one question remains— If he was capable of this much deception what else is he hiding? Because the deeper Zara digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes and this time, it might cost her everything.

Despised by her father and sold to the merciless Wolf King, April’s life seemed destined to be a cruel punishment. But when the Wolf King uncovers his fiancée’s treachery, he stuns April with an audacious proposition: “Let’s change the terms. Marry me.” What begins as a desperate attempt to reclaim her freedom soon spirals into something far more dangerous. April believes this is her chance to win over her fated mate, but Duncan, the enigmatic Wolf King, has his sights set on one target. Her father, the man who defied his authority and sided with the enemy. Thrust into a deadly game of power and revenge, April must navigate a treacherous web of enemies, betrayal, and a passion that defies all reason. As her bond with Duncan deepens, she faces an impossible choice: pursue vengeance for her shattered past or embrace the love that could transform her future. But with Duncan’s vengeful ex-fiancée scheming to take him back and a dangerously obsessed Alpha fixated on April, the path forward is anything but clear. As enemies close in and the stakes reach their peak, will April have the courage to claim her place beside the Wolf King, or will she lose everything to the ghosts of her past?

She wanted the life. The money. The power. The man. Mara Collins is tired of counting tips and pretending her dreams don’t reach beyond the coffee shop counter. When the bills pile higher than her hope, she decides it’s time to stop waiting for luck—and start creating it. All she needs is one man. One chance. One lie. Her plan is simple: learn how the rich play their games, then beat them at it. With a fake designer dress, a new name, and a heart of steel, she slips into the city’s most exclusive events—until she catches the eye of Adrian Holt, a man who has everything she’s ever wanted. Charming. Ruthless. Obsessively private. Adrian isn’t the kind of man you play with… but Mara’s willing to risk everything to make him hers. But the higher she climbs, the more fragile her lies become. And when Adrian discovers who she truly is, the illusion shatters—leaving behind nothing but betrayal, anger, and obsession… and a love that should never have existed in the first place. Now love becomes a weapon, and every night in his sheets feels like a war between truth and desire.

The best way to live in a sinful and harsh world is to choose your battles wisely. That was what Tayla Del Mariano, a 23-year old college student knows ever since her parents died in a car crash and was forced to live in a house with owls. The girl thought that staying silent and not arguing with fools will make her life easier, and enduring everything will make her closer to her goal: To build a better life for his younger brother, Terren.She works three jobs and studies, believing that she will reach her dreams when she got fed up with her family's treatments and met Auton Smith and found out about his little secret–he was a musician hiding behind a criminology student. He happened to be her new landlord, but she didn't know that those small talks and silly acts would make her fall.Tayla only wants the best for his brother, and Auton only wants the people to hear his story through music. Auton thought that Tayla is her safe place, she's her home, for she's the only person who believes in him, until something came up which led the mute beauty's voice to howl.