Hercules 10th Labor

I am Athena the first born child of the Alpha Caden. I have come back to take my rightful position." She paused.  "As Alpha." Gasps and murmurs of wonder disbelief rose in the crowd. It had never been recorded in history that an Alpha werewolf should give birth to a female as a first child. But everyone saw the uncanny resemblance between her and the first queen the heard the Alpha voice of authority in her. But it how was it. She let the noise die down before she continued. "Although I never knew my father, you all knew him, Alpha Caden kind, considerate, passionate and respectful of his people. He entertained complaints from the lowest of ranks. Joined in manual labor and from time to time visited the poor. He was loved by many." She let the whispers of agreement die down. "I am nothing like him."

Valerian Talon Montgomery is a rare Arctic Fox shifter. He lost his parents at the tender age of 5 years old. His first unexpected shift happens on his 10th birthday. The shift happened when he thought he was protecting his adopted older brother Tommy from wolves. The wolves they met that day were Beta Cornelius and his eldest son Brayden. As the years continue on Valerian finds that his fox half has made his scent seem as just a normal human to others. He becomes and EMT when is he around 18 after he watches them save Tommy's life after he almost dies during a bad fire. He meets his soulmate the following year at the age of 19 when he unknowingly saves the life of their future Luna, Artemis. Jax had a wonderful life up until the day they lost his father and eldest brother. Beta Cornelius and Brayden sacrificed their lives for the pack. The Alpha had compassion on his family and Jax became the next Beta that day. Years later at the age of 17 He became Beta when his best friend and future Alpha, Armand stepped up to take to the role. They both searched for their mates for 2 years before that fateful day when they came strolling into their lives. At the age of 19 Jax meets Valerian and is thrilled to find out this is his mate. A tale of twists and turns. Will Valerian reveal to Jax that he is not actually just a human or will he take his secret to the grave? ~ Side story to Broken Artemis, but they don't have to be read together ~

At the end of the day, my colleague, Melody Christie, came to find me. She wanted me to cover her night shift. I turned her down because I had commitments after work. That night, she was caught abandoning her shift and she got fired. Melody blamed me for it. Just when I was almost going into labor, she pushed me down the stairs. "Do you know how hard I worked to get this job? If it was not for you, I wouldn't have been fired! If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me!" I died, and my baby did not survive either. When I opened my eyes once more, I was back to the same day when Melody asked me to cover her shift. Only this time, I knew the truth. Turns out, she had left her shift for a rendezvous with my husband.

His rough hand slid up my bare thigh, parting my knees, rushing delicious heat through my body. “Don't look at me like that,” he growled, his mouth grazing the corner of mine. “Unless you want me to show you how a king worships his queen, little fawn.” … Mute and wolf-less, Liora had always been the shadow in her own home, treated as nothing more than a servant. Besides endless labor, her blood was drained to cure her stepsister’s strange illness. When rogues threatened their pack, her father made the cruelest choice: he offered Liora to the monstrous Lycan King, Cassian Veyraith. A man whispered to take pleasure in death. Dragged to King's bed, naked and trembling, Liora braced herself for death. However, the moment Cassian's eyes met hers, she realized nothing was as it seemed…

Liam Holstin no longer expects to find his mate. After seven years, it's unlikely that she's out there. He was ready to take a Guardian as his mate, but he lost the woman he wanted to another Alpha. Now he must decide if he wants to take a mate that isn't worthy to be his Luna or continue running the pack alone. Rather than deal with his Luna issue, he buries himself in finding the Banished Beta, Eli Gunnar. The man that killed his mother. He will hunt him down and this time, Eli will not get away. Angel Bennis got her wolf on her 10th birthday when most werewolves get their wolves. However, her parents realized that her wolf was a Guardian. Rather than allow their daughter to be enslaved by their Alpha and forced to reject her mate to remain in the pack as the Alpha's protector, they chose to become rogue. After 6 years on the run, her family was attacked by vampires and both of her parents were killed. When the vampires realize she is a Guardian, they take her as a gift for the vampire prince. There she is kept as a blood bag for 7 long years. She is only able to escape when hunters raid the vampire's coven. The hunters mistake her for a human and she takes the opportunity to escape. On the run, she crosses into Liam's territory. Exhausted and near death, she finds that her mate is the Alpha of the pack. But she's been running from Alphas her entire life to avoid being forced into a bond she doesn't want. When the vampires come for Angel, will Liam be able to convince her that she is everything he has ever wanted in a mate or will he lose her forever.

The wealthy Hanson family makes it clear that whichever sister gives birth to the family's first grandson will inherit the billion-dollar fortune. In my previous life, my sister, under our parents' arrangement, married the strong and healthy third son, Jerome Hanson. I, on the other hand, was given to the gloomy eldest son, Lester Hanson, whose legs were paralyzed. Under my treatment, Lester regained full use of his legs. I became pregnant with the Hanson family's first grandson. Meanwhile, my sister was driven to madness by Jerome's abuse, becoming the laughingstock of every wealthy woman's dinner gossip. On the day I went into labor, my sister stabbed my belly with a knife. Then, she pulled me off a rooftop with her. Now, in this life, we start over. The moment Lester sends over a golden bridal bouquet, my sister snatches it without hesitation. "I want to marry Lester!" she declares.

At eight months pregnant, I was hit by a car and gave birth early. But unexpectedly, I regained my hearing. Outside the operating room, my husband was talking to the doctor. “Mr. Griffin, the baby is fully developed and stable. A normal delivery should be possible—” Albert Griffin cut him off immediately, “No, induce the labor now! I promised Summer that I would let our child rightfully join the Griffin family. Paulina is almost a month old. If she gets any older, people will figure out the truth. “If this baby doesn’t make it, that’s fine. She can always have another one. But this is the only way she will truly believe that Paulina is her own child.” I closed my eyes tightly and forced myself to stay calm. He thought his lies were perfect, but he was wrong. I heard everything. And if he could lie and pretend, so could I.

Camilla wasn’t expecting her mate to reject her with his kids on the way, and she surely wasn’t expecting to meet her second chance mate right after. A pregnant Camilla gets rejected by her mate soon after she is accused of killing his father, forced into labor, and has one of her kids taken away. Five years later , she becomes a billionaire and then she meets Leo, who is everything she ever wanted in a man and her second chance mate. What happens when Enzo comes crawling back to her begging for her forgiveness. What happens when Enzo, her former mate, returns and would do anything to have her back in his life? What happens when two men go to war against themselves for her? Will she pick a man who betrayed her or the one with whom she holds an unknown future?

“Well done, Mr. Alexander. My baby’s dead. I want a divorce. You’ve taken the only reason I stayed.” ********************** Becky’s world turned upside down when she woke up in her boss’ bed. Expecting to be fired, she was blindsided by his proposal, a desperate move for Alexander to retain his CEO position in his father’s corporation. But behind closed doors, Alexander made a cruel promise to his childhood love, Helen: “It’s just for a year. I’ll get rid of her like a waste bin.”   Their marriage was all for show, glamorous on the outside but cold and harsh behind closed doors.    What happens when Alexander abandons Becky during labor, leading to the tragic loss of her baby? Her grief fuels her strength, and for the first time, Alexander fears losing her.   Now, Alexander  seeks a reunion, but Becky’s heart burns for revenge. Can she ever forgive him, or has his betrayal left a wound too deep to heal?

At nine months pregnant, I was in the final stretch of my term, and my body heavy with a baby due any day. But my husband, Vito Falcone, underboss of the family, had locked me away. He held me in a sterile underground medical room and injected me with a labor suppressant. As I screamed in agony, he coldly told me to endure it. Because his brother's widow, Scarlett, was expected to go into labor at the exact same time. A blood oath he'd made with his late brother declared that the firstborn son would inherit the family's lucrative West Coast territory. "That inheritance belongs to Scarlett's child," he said. "With Daemon gone, she is utterly alone and destitute. You have my love, Alessia. All of it. I just need her to deliver safely. Then it's your turn." The drug was a constant, agonizing torment. I begged him to take me to a hospital. He grabbed me by the throat, forcing me to meet his icy gaze. "Stop the act! I know you're fine. You’re just trying to steal the inheritance." "To get ahead of Scarlett, you'll stop at nothing." My face was ashen. My body convulsed as I managed a desperate whisper. "The baby's coming. I don't care about the inheritance. I just love you, and I want our child to be born safely!" He sneered. "If you were really that innocent, if you had an ounce of love for me, you wouldn't have forced Scarlett to sign that prenup, waiving her child's inheritance rights." "Don't worry, I'll be back for you after she's given birth. you're carrying my own flesh and blood, after all." He kept a vigil outside Scarlett's delivery room all night. It was only after seeing the newborn in her arms that he remembered me. He finally sent his second in command, Marco, to release me. But when Marco finally called, his voice was shaking. "Boss... the missus and the baby... they're gone." In that moment, Vito Falcone shattered.