Happy Birthday Susan Cake

SYNOPSIS Falling for a man feared by the city? Becoming the weakness of a monster who never believed in love? Susan Mac never intended to be anything more than honest, but loving Gregory Hale was the most dangerous mistake of her life. Susan enters Greg’s ruthless world of elite clubs, underground power, and corporate dominance with quiet grace, untouched by his reputation and unimpressed by his control. To a man who has spent his life equating love with weakness, her refusal to beg, chase, or submit becomes an addiction he never saw coming. What begins as desire turns into obsession, and for the first time, Greg doesn’t want to let go. But love makes enemies. A discarded one night stand consumed by obsession. A jealous former ally craving everything Greg owns. A father who despises softness as betrayal. As shadows close in, lies are planted, scandals staged, and trust deliberately shattered. When fabricated infidelity ignites Greg’s violent instincts, Susan is forced to choose between the man she loves and the woman she refuses to lose. As betrayal escalates into bloodshed, Susan becomes the target of a final, deadly obsession, one that will force Greg to confront the truth he’s been running from: love is not weakness… it is responsibility. In a world ruled by power, possession, and jealousy, can a woman who values emotional safety survive loving a man built by violence? Or will this love, deemed unworthy from the start, be the one that destroys them both before it has the chance to save them?

My wife Susan had the power to save lives, but when our son was rushed to the ICU and needed her help, she refused no matter how much I begged. While I was crying myself hoarse when I received news that our son was dead, I heard her purring over the phone, "Mark? Don't worry, your puppy's way more important. Of course I'll save it." There was a limit to her power that she could only use it once a month, but she nonchalantly used it for Mark's pet dog! Shaking with rage, I seized her by the collar and bellowed, "We're talking about a human life here, and your son at that! But an animal is worth more than that?!" Susan shook me off, smirking in disdain. "Mark has always been by himself—is there a problem that I took his side? And what could happen to our son when he has his daddy? Stop giving me that attitude!" Just two hours later, Mark posted on social media a photo of him with Susan kissing his pet dog together, with the smug caption: [Who had bet that a son matters more than a dog? Know when you're beaten. Now pay up!] So he had a bet with someone that Susan would choose his dog! Worst of all, Susan lovingly replied: [If Mark wants to win, I'll always be there for him.] Even as I felt heartrending pain, I was laughing coldly as I sent my own reply. [If you all love to bet so much, why not bet when you're gonna drop dead?]

On my five-year-old son Oliver's birthday, I baked him his favorite allergy-safe cake and he said he wanted my husband's secretary, Rachel, to be his mom. While I worked hard for my husband and son to have a privileged life, they went to an amusement park with Rachel to eat ice cream together. I still worked overtime to treat him when Oliver openly denied that I was his mother in the kindergarten and claimed that Rachel was his "biological mother". I still believe his assurances even after I discovered a photograph of my husband Derek and Rachel from before we met. I thought being Head Healer of Blood Moon Pack meant I could mend any wound, but some betrayals cut too deep for even the strongest magic to heal. As it is, it's time for them to know how much I paid for our perfect little family. It's time for them to pay me back for everything I've given them.

My mom, Susan, had a habit of sending me to get her shopping. However, she would always leave out a zero when paying me back what was owed, blaming on her poor eyesight. I never minded. In fact, I would just cover the cost without another word. Then, Summer, my sister, had to throw shade. “Mom sends you money whenever she wants something. You never show us the actual costs, though. I bet you’re making a nice little profit off Mom behind our backs.” Susan smiled and didn’t even bother to defend me, as if confirming Summer’s accusations. My heart sank. Over the years, I had bought her things from major appliances to the smallest groceries, and each time, the payment she sent was short. Susan would just brush the whole thing off by saying, “Oh, my eyes aren’t what they used to be. My bad.” I had poured hundreds of thousands into her expenses, only to end up with a reputation as a thief who cheated her own family. When Susan sent me money for the New Year’s Eve catering, I simply booked food that fit the budget she paid for.

On my fifth birthday, my parents showed up at my birthday party later than usual. They brought with them a skinny little girl who couldn't seem to speak at all. I rushed over, hoping to hug Mom, only to get knocked down by her. That was how I fell into the ten-foot cake that my parents had specifically picked out for me. Buttercream filled my nose and mouth, suffocating me to no end. When I managed to climb out of the mess, I burst out in tears and asked Dad to cuddle me. But Dad retracted his hands while looking conflicted. "Don't blame your mom, Willow. From now on, you must take good care of Maple, your little sister. As long as Maple is happy, your mom will be happy." Later on, the mean kids in the neighborhood shove Maple Thompson, my new little sister, into a pile of sand. I rush over to protect her immediately. Once we get home, I mimic my parents by drawing a bath so that I can clean Maple up. That's when Mom suddenly barge into the bathroom and slap me heavily across the face. "You've already enjoyed our love for the past five years! Why are you still greedy for more? I can't believe you're trying to drown Maple right now!" Mom's eyes have gone bloodshot. She drags me by the hair and stuffs me into the washing machine. "Only a washing machine is capable of cleanse that filth out of your soul! You can only scramble out of the washing machine and apologize to Maple once you've decided to quit bullying your sister!" In the living room, Dad lowers his voice. "Keep your voice down when you're chewing Willow out. Maple is about to fall asleep. Don't go around waking her up now." Mom doesn't want to look at me anymore. Instead, she slams the lid onto the washing machine forcefully. I can't get out of the machine. What she doesn't know is that the washing machine will activate. "The 212-degree-Fahrenheit wash cycle has been activated." Scalding hot water is soon dumped onto my body. It hurts so much that I gradually lose my consciousness. Will Mom love me again once I'm squeaky clean after the wash cycle?

"On your eighteenth birthday, after your first shift, and after you meet your wolf and unlock your gifts, someone would come for you. Someone special that deserves my precious daughter, someone that will take care of you and make you happy will come for you, my sweet baby girl.” On her deathbed, mom handed the rare diamond necklace to me and told me I would be found by someone special. I endured the torture and ill treatment from my stepmother and stepsister because I looked forward to my eighteenth birthday. I couldn't wait for my eighteenth birthday so I can take over the company and take everything that belongs to me.The day finally came, and...

The maid's daughter, who grew up in my home, had the nerve to act like an heiress. On her birthday, she invited every kid from school for a full-on rager at my family's villa. When I suggested they take it to a hotel, she lost it. "You don't get to tell me what to do! My friends can party wherever they want!" She added, "The ten-layer cake my parents ordered for me is on the way. Why don't you park yourself by the door and wait for it, huh?" Her crew circled up, laughing and pointing at me. But I'd lived through this before. Nothing about her little act rattled me. I turned to the butler and told him to lock the gate. Then, I went to Rambo's cage. "Hey, buddy," I said, opening it up. "See those trespassers?" I pointed at the crowd. "I'm counting to three. If they're still here, don't let a single one get away."

I’m about to enter a blood bond with another vampire lord. But my partner of a century, Kaelan, has no idea. He’s too busy getting cozy with his new human assistant, Sylvia. They spend entire nights in his office, under the guise of “researching synthetic blood.” He even turned our centennial anniversary into her birthday party. In front of everyone, Kaelan presented her with a Black Forest cake decorated with Silver Bells. They laughed, smearing frosting on each other. They forgot the flowers are a deadly poison to me. My power shattered. Agony ripped through me as shadows lashed out, uncontrollable. My family’s guards had to drag my convulsing body away. And while I recovered alone in the cold, dark vault, Kaelan was still at the party, bathing in the cheers for him and Sylvia. The blood in my veins turned to ice. A century of love and hope burned to ash. In that moment, I agreed to my family's arrangement. Without hesitation. A union with the lord of the Obsidian Throne—a vampire they say is power incarnate.

The craziest thing I’ve ever done was let a dangerous man touch me, and not pull away. “Trust me.” Words like that could mess you up in this line of work. Then he did something I didn’t expect, he stretched out a hand. Even I knew when not to doubt a helping hand. I sighed. Well, roadkill it is then. I clasped his hand and his firm grip pulled me up out of the line of fire. *** Cake Coogan survives by her fists and her fury, spending her life fighting in underground rings to keep herself and her mother alive. But one stolen payout, one stranger’s intervention, and one accidental bag switch drops her into the crosshairs of Nico Vescari. Nico Vescari; mafia heir, feared and ruthless, a man who kills with a steady pulse—wants his money back. What he gets instead is Cake: the girl with the iron fists, mismatched eyes, and a journal he should never have read. Fascinated, furious, and threatened by how she makes him feel, he gives her a choice that isn’t a choice at all—marry him for a year… or lose the only family she has left. Cake becomes both weapon and wife. She’s pulled between power plays, underground fights, and a man whose touch feels like fire even when she swears she hates him. Nico’s family is dangerous, his enemies worse, and his rules suffocating, but the most lethal thing between them is the feral desire none of them want. As bodies fall and alliances burn, Cake is forced to choose between revenge and the man who has broken her, protected her, and ruined her life in equal measure. In a story of obsession, and betrayal,only the strongest survive. And Cake Coogan is not prey.

I'm about to get married under the witness of the Goddess of the Moon. However, Carl Erickson, my partner of ten years, doesn't know it yet. Carl has recently hired a new assistant—Ivy Keating. Everyone in the wolf pack knows something amorous is going on between them; they frequently "discuss work" until the wee hours of the night. A celebration that's supposed to be for our anniversary turns into Ivy's birthday celebration. Carl orders a ten-layer mango cream cake for the celebration—it's Ivy's favorite. They get cream everywhere, but they've forgotten I'm seriously allergic to mangoes. A regular mango is as lethal to me as wolf venom is. I'm taken away by an ambulance to be rescued, and I'm alone when I wake up. Carl is still at the party, celebrating Ivy's birthday. My wolf growls unhappily, and my love for Carl dies. It's then that I agree to the marriage my family has arranged for me. I'm going to marry a true Alpha.