He Discarded Me Like I Was Nothing

Buried deep in the Aster estate was the Heartwood—ancient, sacred, mine. Told my husband, Julian Aster—back when he actually listened—that if it ever fell, I'd die with it. At first, he freaked out. Flew in glacier water, hired a whole squad of plant experts to nurture it 24/7. Then one day, just because his childhood friend—Isabella Duvall—got a scratch from the bark, Julian had the Heartwood ripped out. The second it crashed, I choked on glowing blood—ichor. My power? Gone. Barely standing, I grabbed his arm. "You knew. If the Heartwood dies, I—" He laughed. Straight-up mocked me. "Sera, come on. That fairy tale? Only Grandma still believes that crap. Is that mayo on your mouth? Relax—it's a tree. I'll buy you a forest if you want." Overnight, my hair turned gray. Skin cracked. Eyes dulled. Still, I dragged myself to his grandmother, Henrietta. "I kept your family safe for two hundred years. That's why the Asters thrived. But the Heartwood's gone. Debt's paid. One day left. Whatever happens next? Not my problem."

I thought getting a new foster brother would be weird. I didn’t expect him to look like he walked off a Netflix show—blue eyes, tattoos, and the personality of a brick wall. My little brother’s obsessed with him. My parents act like he’s made of glass. Me? I think Carmelo’s hiding something. And I plan to find out what.

Evelyn Larson's nephew, Maxwell Larson, has been staying at my home for 12 years. On top of sponsoring everything he has in life, I even view him as my own son. Heck, I'm the one who paid the down payment for Maxwell's new family home. But on the night we're having a holiday dinner, he throws me a list in front of everyone. "Uncle Lawrence, I've already hashed out the details with my fiancee's family. We'll be giving her family 700 thousand dollars as a wedding gift. You've raised me for so many years, so you need to prepare this amount for me." I frown instantly. "Didn't I just settle your down payment for you? Besides, Tiffany's about to get married soon. I need to save some money for her own wedding gift." But Maxwell instantly smashes a plate out of anger. "Since she's marrying into another family, that means she's no longer a part of this family! Are you saying that you're willing to give your money to an outsider rather than your own nephew? "If you refuse to agree to my terms, I'll make Aunt Evelyn divorce you right now!" I turn to look at Evelyn out of instinct, only to see her pulling out a gift agreement that she has already drafted. "We don't need to prepare any wedding gifts for Tiffany, seeing as she's the one marrying into another family. Max, on the other hand, is the only son of the Larson family. You should give your money to him instead."

Every April Fools’ Day, Wilson Hale and Chloe Mercer turned our anniversary into a joke. A fake proposal. A trick ring. A room full of laughter. And every year, Wilson was sure I loved him too much to leave. This year, cake cream slid down my face, my ring hit the marble floor, and he still smiled like I would forgive him by morning. He forgot one thing. I was not Vivian Gray, the lonely girl with nowhere to go. I was Vivian Vescari, daughter of the most feared mafia family on the East Coast. I had left that world because I wanted to be loved before anyone knew my name. For six years, I thought Wilson was that man. Then I learned even his first confession had been an April Fools’ bet. So I stopped being the joke. I went home.

The doors of elite research institutions aren't open to the unknown. But Rick Allen pulled Beth out of nowhere. He poured everything into nurturing her talent and promised her the world. The Allen family's compromise was simple: the Chief Young Scientist had to be Summer Belden—someone from their own social circle. From that day on, the words Rick said to Beth most often were, "Just wait a little longer." He told her to wait when her groundbreaking paper was published under Summer's name in exchange for research funding. He told her to wait again when the research she'd perfected over three years was packaged as Summer's signature work, paving the way to major awards. "The bigger picture comes first," he said. "The next Nobel Prize—I'll make sure it's yours." But when the paper credited to Summer—though written by Beth—was exposed for fabricated data, everyone reached the same conclusion: Beth, as a core member of the project, had tampered with the data to steal the credit. Locked in a glass-walled archive room, Beth looked at Rick standing outside the door. His gaze was ice-cold, full of disappointment. "Why did you touch the data?" he said. "You've ruined everything I've built." She remembered how he once told her, "In this world, yours is the only talent I truly recognize." He had promised, "I'll make sure achievements with your name hang among the stars." Now he stood with the others, judging her. He looked at her the way people look at a ruthless, ambitious fraud. When she was finally released, Beth dug her nails into her palm until blood ran down. This time, she wouldn't wait any longer.

ARIA VOSS was eighteen years old the night ZAYDEN COLE — Alpha of the Storm Pack, Lord of the Northern Territories — looked her in the eye and told her she was not his mate. He was lying. Or rather, he believed a lie someone else had handed him. His Beta, REEVE, had fed Zayden a carefully constructed falsehood on the night of Aria's coming-of-age ceremony — the night their mate bond should have been formally recognized. Reeve had his own reasons, his own ambitions, and a very clear understanding that a true mate bond between Zayden and the last heir of the Voss bloodline would make Zayden untouchable in ways that would close every door Reeve had been quietly opening for himself. The rejection shattered Aria. She disappeared from the Northern Territories entirely, found shelter in a rival pack, and spent three years doing two things simultaneously: rebuilding herself from the inside out, and very quietly, very patiently, learning everything there was to know about what she actually was. Because the Voss bloodline is not ordinary. The last heirs of the Voss line carry a rare and ancient power — the ability to either anchor or destroy an unraveling Alpha mate bond. When a true bond is severed without consent, it does not simply disconnect. It turns. It begins consuming the Alpha's wolf from the inside, slowly and invisibly, accelerating with each passing moon cycle. The only thing that can stop it — or weaponize it further — is the living heir of the bloodline the bond was broken with. Aria is that heir. She didn't fully understand what that meant until she was twenty. By twenty-one, she had a plan.

A year ago, Aveline Young found a man with amnesia on the side of the road and brought him home. This man was strikingly handsome, with broad shoulders, long legs, and a face that could easily earn a fortune in modeling. Aveline felt an embarrassing flutter in her heart and on a whim, they quickly got married. However, once the man recovered his memory, his first action was to divorce her, claiming he needed to go back and take over his family's business. Aveline was stunned but accepted the divorce, thinking that money was more important and that she shouldn't be tied to one man when there were plenty of younger options available. On the day they finalized their divorce, Aveline shocked everyone in Cloudflare City with a bold statement in the divorce papers: "He’s no good, so I got bored." Post-divorce, Aveline was never short of attention from young, attractive men. At one social event, a friend inquired whether she would ever consider reconciling. Aveline scoffed. "The one who brings up getting back together is a dog!" Late one night, her phone rang. "Who's this?" "Woof!"

My mom and dad died heroically in a fire rescue, trying to protect an orphan. Afterward, my brother brought the orphan, Audrey, home. To make her smile, he'd throw away photos of me and our parents. He even kicked me out in front of everyone. For Audrey's coming-of-age celebration, he took her to Cranburn—the place I'd always dreamed of going. In his eyes, I had nowhere else to go. He believed that once I realized I was wrong, I'd come back on my own. But what he didn't know was—I had joined an overseas rescue team. This might be the last time we ever see each other.

My brother-in-law, Calum Russell, throws away the expensive New Year's gift that I buy. Putting a hand on my sister's pregnant belly, he tries to drive me out of the house. He says, "I pretended that I didn't know you were adopted because you used to help support the family's finances. But now that the house is about to be demolished, we will get a huge compensation for it. I have to kick you out, or you'll be taking my son's share!" I look at my parents and my sister in confusion, but none of them take my side. They just look at me with disgust and tell me to be grateful that they raised me for so many years. They demand that I sign the adoption termination agreement quickly and get out. I let out a sigh. Suppressing my anger, I sign it and leave. What a pity! If they had waited just a few more minutes, I would have told them that the demolition is fake. But what's real is that I have just won a lottery of 200 million dollars.

The year of my college entrance exams, I gave up my acceptance to Harvard for James Carter. But after five years into our relationship, I ended it. Outside the dorm building, I caught him holding Sarah Williams, who was dripping in designer labels, locked in a passionate kiss. James smirked, "You're just a simple farmer. What kind of life could you possibly offer me?" But he seemed to forget that I had bought him everything - from his tailored Tom Ford suit to his Rolex watch. Heartbroken, I walked away. If someone else wanted to be a doormat for him, they could be my guest - I was done. Later, I focused on growing my agricultural business, eventually expanding into space farming. That's when the media uncovered my true identity as the heiress to a multi-billion dollar fortune. Mr. Williams groveled, forcing Sarah to kneel beside him, begging me to consider a business partnership. James, his eyes red from crying, grabbed my sleeve and said he regretted everything.