He Smiles When He Sees Me

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 died on the day I was supposed to receive the Pack’s Distinguished Service Award. Three hours after I died, my parents, my brother, and my mate were just wrapping up the graduation party they’d thrown for my sister. While my sister, Ella, was posting a cozy family photo on Instagram, I was locked in our basement, using my tongue to swipe on my phone and call for help. The only person who answered was my mate, Ryan. All he said was, "Sophie, cut the drama. Ella's graduation party is important. Enough with the tantrums!" This was the ninety-ninth time they had let me down. And the last. I lay in a pool of my own blood, my lungs still. They thought I was just throwing a fit, hiding somewhere. That if they taught me a lesson, I’d come crawling back. But they didn't know. I was home the whole time. I was already dead.

Betrayed, broken, but never defeated. When Jasper cast Elena aside for her sister, she thought her world had ended. Left heart-shattered and humiliated, she becomes determined to heal the wounds his betrayal carved into her soul. But Elena is not a woman who stays broken. Out of her pain rises a bold, breathtaking queen, fierce, radiant and unstoppable. Her beauty turns heads, her strength commands respect, and suddenly the very man who once overlooked her now craves her. Yet among the powerful men drawn to her light, one stands apart, Nathan. Mysterious, protective, and everything Jasper was not. His presence awakens a love, Elena thought she had lost forever… but with enemies circling and Jasper refusing to let go, her heart is now both her greatest weapon and her greatest risk. A secret about her later comes to light and it changes her whole life she thought she knew, find out what it is!!!!!!!!!!

He Rejected Marking Ceremony, I Upgraded Mate The very first thing I decided to do after being reborn was to reject the marking ceremony with my Alpha mate Ethan. In my previous life, when Ethan tried to postpone our ceremony for the thirty-second time, I threatened him with the sacred laws of the Moon Goddess. Ethan eventually caved. To pacify my rage, he promised that nothing would interrupt us again. But that was the night his Omega mistress Ivy died. From that moment on, Ethan hated me with every fiber of his being. When I told him I was pregnant, he drowned me in the freezing North Sea. "You and that abomination in your belly deserve to die for her," he spat as he held my head under the water. I died in despair. But when I opened my eyes, I was back at the altar. Ethan looked impatient. "Selena, Ivy says her chest hurts.. We need to postpone the mark again." He expected me to beg. Instead, I unclasped the ceremonial collar and threw it in his face. "Go to her. I quit." Ethan sneered, "Stop acting. Without my scent, you’ll be back crawling on your knees in a week." He didn't know that an hour later, I was knocking on the door of his mortal enemy—Damon, the Tyrant of the North. When I posted a photo of the Winterborn Alpha’s ring on my finger with the caption "Upgrade my mate," Ethan went mad…

On our sixth wedding anniversary, my cheeks burn as I dodge my husband, Ethan Grant, leaning in for a hungry kiss. I push him toward the nightstand for a rubber. What he doesn't know is that I've tucked a surprise in there, a positive pregnancy test. I can already see it, the way his whole face will light up the second he finds it. But the moment his hand goes for the drawer, his phone goes off. His best friend, Henry Miller, comes on the line in Danish. "Mr. Grant, how was last night? That new love couch our company rolled out is treating you okay?" Ethan lets out a low laugh and answers in Danish, "The massage feature's great. Saves me from having to rub Sandy's back myself." He still has me pulled tight against him, but his eyes look straight through me, like he's seeing someone else. "This stays between us. If my wife ever finds out I slept with her sister, I'm done." It feels like someone just put a knife through my chest. What they don't know is that I minored in Danish in college, so I catch every single word. I force myself to stay calm, but the arms I have looped around Ethan's neck won't stop shaking. At that moment, I stop hesitating and decide I'll take the offer from that international research project. Three days from now, I'll be gone from Ethan's world for good.

"Mama!" Maya Lin never expected that child would come to her and utterly transform her life. He was clearly not her own flesh and blood, yet who would believe it when they saw just how strikingly alike they looked. The scandal that had rocked S city about her made Maya Lin entangled with her ex-husband, Samuel Ren. She struggled to break free from the man, but she couldn't. She was compelled to be trapped once again in a marriage that only rekindled painful memories from the past. Maya Lin was forced to accept the boy named Stelio Ren, but she couldn't, for he had taken everything that should have belonged to her deceased son. Behind all of this, there was a hidden secret deliberately concealed.

As the Chief Delta of Alpha Hunter and his secretly married wife, Kara had always hoped that her dedication would eventually win his heart. However, everything changed when that rogue girl—Maya—appeared. She is Hunter's Fated mate. According to their pre-marriage agreement, once Hunter finds his true mate, their marriage will be over. Just then, Kara discovers that she's pregnant...

“Is trusting you a sin?” Hannah asked. “It wouldn't have been a sin if you were nothing but sand under my feet. You’ve always had it all—the grades, the charm, the spotlight. Teachers adored you. Boys wanted you. Even James, the only one I ever looked at like that, fell for you despite your boring look.” Her best friend’s laugh was dry. Cruel. Hannah’s heart squeezed, her breath catching in her throat. “You think you’ve won?” she said, voice shaking. “Because you slept with my husband and fed him lies?” “I don’t think, Hannah. I won.” “You didn’t win. You settled. You crawled into my leftovers and tried to wear my skin like it would turn you into something better—but it didn’t.” --- On her first wedding anniversary, Hannah Reyes was drugged—by her husband and her best friend. The betrayal shattered her world, and cost her the one thing she was holding onto: her unborn child. The next day, still lying in a hospital bed, her husband handed her divorce papers... then ordered her thrown out. Lost, bleeding, and alone, she was hit by a car. But fate wasn’t done with her yet. The driver? Matthew DeLacruz—her husband’s former friend, now bitter enemy, and a man he once scammed. And Matthew made her an offer she couldn’t ignore: "Be my vice president, and I’ll help you destroy him." What began as revenge turned into something else, something thrilling, empowering, and dangerously beautiful. And just when she thought she had nothing left to lose, Matthew made her a different offer: Marriage. Now Hannah must ask herself: Can she truly trust again? Or will this new beginning become just another ending?

Una pa lamang ay magustuhan na ni Helomina Ang binatang si Miguel na Ngayon lang niya nakilala. Ngunit ayaw niyang aminin sa kanyang sarili na gusto niya Ang binata. Dahil sa takot itong sumubok sa isang relasyon. Natatakot Kasi itong masaktan. Kaya minabuti na lamang niya itong irito sa kanyang matalik na kaibigan. Ngunit nalaman niya na may gusto Rin Pala Ang binata sa dalagang si Helomina. At inamin niya ito na siya Ang gusto niya at Hindi Ang kaibigan. Sa una ay nag-alinlangan Ang dalaga sa pagmamahal Ng binata ngunit hindi naglaun ay inamin din Ng dalaga na gusto niya Ang binata. Nagtagal Ang relasyon nila kahit malayo Ang binata sa dalaga. Pero dahil sa malayo at Hindi palaging nagkikita Ang dalawa ay nag-alinlangan Ang binata sa pagmamahal Ng dalaga. Kahit alam Naman niya Ang tunay na nararamdaman Ng dalaga para sa kanya. Kahit pa malayo sila sa isa't Isa naging tapat Naman Ang dalaga sa pagmamahal niya sa dalaga. Pero Hindi naglaon kahit mahal Ng binata Ang dalaga ay Hindi siya naging tapat dito. Dahil na rin sa hindi ito kapilinging Ang dalaga. Pero patuloy Rin ang pagmamahal Ng dalaga sa binata kahit na Kung minsan ay Hindi na ito nagpaparamdam sa dalaga. Kalaonan ay Ang binata na mismo Ang bumitiw sa relasyon Ng dalawa. Kahit masakit sa dalaga Ang katotohan na iniwan siya Ng kanyang minahal dahil Hindi niya ito kayang panindigan at ipaglaban. Nagdusa Ang dalaga dahil doon. Pero sa Oras na iyon ay may dumating sa kanyang buhay na isang lalaking na handa siya mahalin at ipaglaban. Kaya siyang panindingan at pasayahin sa abot Ng kanyang makakaya. Hindi Naman nabigo ang lalaki. Pero paano Kung may gustong bumalik sa buhay niya nagustong ipaglaban Ang pagmamahal niya pero huli na Ang lahat.

That night, Liam served me my usual evening tea. I trusted him completely—he was my mate, after all, and a respected healer of Thornpack. I shouldn't have. When I woke up the next morning, my head was spinning. The special safe where I kept the morphing inhibitor—the one I'd spent my entire savings to import from Europe for our daughter Isla—was empty. Racing to the healing center, I found Liam celebrating. He was handing out moon-blessed wine, beaming with pride as Natalie's daughter Anna showed off her perfect transformation. My inhibitor had been used on his first love's pup instead of our own daughter. The shock triggered something in my brain. When I collapsed, they diagnosed me with the rare tumor that plagued our kind. Without inhibitors, I couldn't stop Isla's transformation that came early, her six year old body couldn't handle the massive wolf form and the force ripped through her young body. And I, for one, don't even have enough money to keep her in a treatment center. She died in my arms three days later, her little claws drawing blood as the pain overwhelmed her. Until her last breath, she kept asking why Papa hadn't come. Now, in my cold, empty home, with the white porcelain urn containing her ashes on the table, I touch her and decide to sever our partnership.