Hercules Tenth Labor

Eight months pregnant and abandoned by the Alpha who swore to protect her—Ava's only crime was refusing to sacrifice their child. Ava never imagined her fated mate would become her greatest betrayer. When Alpha Rowan Thorne's first love returns with a terminal illness, he casts his pregnant Luna aside. A high-risk pregnancy becomes his excuse, terminate the pup or leave. Ava refuses. Stripped of her title, replaced by another woman, and confined like a prisoner, Ava endures until the unthinkable: abandoned during labor, driven into rogue territory by traitorous guards, she delivers her baby alone in a blood-soaked car as death circles closer. She should have died that night. Instead, she survived. Five years later, Ava has become everything Rowan never believed possible. A powerful wolf, a renowned healer, and a woman who owes him nothing. The daughter she birthed in agony was lost forever. Or so she thought. When a small stowaway tumbles from Ava's luggage at a council meeting calling her "Mommy," two impossible truths collide: her daughter is alive and has been raised by the Alpha who left them both to die. Rowan stands before her, desperate and shattered, claiming he searched endlessly and thought her dead. But Ava remembers the locked doors, the cruel choices, the forest where he sent her to her grave. He wants forgiveness. She wants him gone. But their daughter's tears might break them both and force a reckoning neither can escape.

He vanished the night our child was born. A year later, he came back to take her from me. I never planned to be a mother. I only wanted to help Anthony Powell, a grieving widower desperate to hold onto a piece of his late wife. I agreed to carry his child with no strings. But when I went into labor, he never showed. Not a call. Not a word. Forty-eight hours passed. The hospital couldn’t reach him. And I was forced to make a choice that would change everything—I took that baby home and raised her as my own. For one perfect year, Nori was mine. Then he returned... Soaked in rain and regret, Anthony stood at my door with a story about a car crash and a coma. He said he never abandoned us. And then he demanded custody of the daughter I’d loved every day since her first breath. I lost everything when the courts sided with him and demanded I hand my baby over. But then...his lawyer came to me with an unthinkable offer: move into his home... and become Nori’s nanny. I said yes, but on my terms. If this “arrangement” fell apart, I wanted joint custody written in stone. Now I’m living under his roof, seeing glimpses of the man he used to be—the kind, broken soul who once only wanted a chance at fatherhood. But I can’t forget his cruelty and what he took from me. And the worst part? I think I’m falling for him all over again.

My twin sister Elena and I were mated to the Alpha twins. Only the first pup born between my sister and me would become the pack’s Alpha heir. My sister got pregnant a month before me and she was supposed to give birth to the heir first, but I went into labor prematurely a month early. But when I was about to give birth, I chose to sit in a chamber filled with special potions that suppresses contractions. Because in my previous life, my Alpha mate Marcus had dragged me into wolfsbane-laced water to delay my labor. In the end, both my pup and I had died there. The agony had been unbearable. I'd sobbed and pleaded, begging him to explain why he was doing this to me. But he'd ignored my cries completely. All he cared about was rushing Elena to the pack's birthing den. "My brother Gabriel died saving my life," he'd snarled at me then. "The only way to honor that blood debt is to ensure his child becomes the pack heir. You can resent Elena all you want on any other day, but not today. Just hold on a little longer." "This is a special potion. You'll be safe and sound. Trust me!" Safe？ I'd suffered in that basement chamber for an entire day and night. My child suffocated in my womb while the wolfsbane poisoning consumed me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day of my labor. This time, I have to save myself.

On the day my mate's dying first love went into labor, his parents posted ten warriors at my door. They did it only to stop me from storming the delivery room and ruining the birth of Alpha Kaelen's heir. However, I never showed up, not even after the cries of a newborn filled the air. His mother, the former Luna, held the other she-wolf's hand with a sigh of relief. "Liana, with us here, that barren Elara will never harm you or the pup!" Kaelen dabbed the sweat from Liana's brow, his eyes filled with adoration. "Don't worry, my father has men guarding the pack borders. If Elara dares to cause trouble, we will exile her forever!" He finally relaxed when he was sure I wasn't coming. He couldn't understand. All he wanted was to give his dying first love a child, a legacy. Why couldn't I be more understanding? Looking at the sleeping pup, a satisfied smile crossed his face. He thought that if I would just show up and apologize to Liana, he would forgive all our previous fights. He'd even be willing to comfort me after the birth, maybe even let me be the pup's mother in name, so I could keep my title as Luna. But he didn't know. I had just submitted my application to the High Council. In one week, I would relinquish my pack status, leave with the babies in my belly, and never see him again.

Everyone said I was Domenico Calvetti's most obedient woman. On our first wedding anniversary, he flirted with a pair of twins at the gambling table. He had lipstick smeared all over his shirt. I smiled and wiped it away with a silk handkerchief, but he swatted my hand aside. "Don't kill the mood." In the third year, the star performer from the club he ran showed up at my door with a gun pressed to my temple, demanding to take my place. Without flinching, I disarmed her using the technique he taught me and disposed of the body myself. Behind me, he held his new lover and laughed softly. "Lucia, you always know what to do." In the fifth year, he blew up the library my father left behind just to make his new flame, Marilena Rossetti, smile. That library was my mother's favorite spot when she was alive, and it held the only photographs of our family of three. The explosion made me the laughingstock of the city. People whispered, "Signora Calvetti can't even protect her own memories." Everyone believed I could never leave the Calvetti family or Domenico, but they forgot how this all started. Back then, he rescued me from my adoptive father and fell in love with me at first sight. He knelt and begged to marry me, swearing he would protect me from blood and pain for the rest of my life. For ten years, I held onto those empty words. At our tenth anniversary party, his hundredth mistress arrived. Alice Russo, fresh out of college, held a glass of red wine and poured it down my gown while Domenico watched. "Signora Calvetti, this dress is so old. Given your position, you should be wearing something better." Everyone at the party waited to see my humiliation. Instead, I lowered my eyes and dialed Domenico's father's number. "Father, the ten-year agreement is over. I won't be Signora Calvetti anymore."

In the new world order, humans are nothing but property. Omegas, wolves, and rogues rank higher, leaving humans powerless, destined for collar and chain. She grows up knowing this, but hopes for mercy when her turn comes—a gentle Alpha, a kind Luna, someone who will put her to work but leave her body her own. On the night of her auction, hope dies. She is purchased by Caelan Black, Alpha of the feared Ironfang Pack. Cold, violent, and legendary for his cruelty, Caelan doesn’t buy humans for labor—he buys them for heirs. From the first night, he makes it clear: she is not his mate. She is not his Luna. She is his breeding pet—a body to keep in his bed until she bears his pups. Collared and caged, she fights him, refusing to bend. But Caelan is patient in his cruelty, teaching her submission with hands, mouth, and punishing nights that leave her trembling yet craving more. Soon, her body betrays her. Desire coils through her veins, and in his eyes, she begins to see something more dangerous than lust—possession. When rival Alphas discover Caelan has bonded with a human, they see weakness. They come for her, threatening to steal his breeder and expose him as unfit to rule. Blood is spilled, war ignites, and in the chaos, she realizes the truth: she is no longer just his pet. She is his obsession, his weakness, his ruin. And when the Goddess herself tests their bond, she must decide—remain the breeder he bought her as… or claim her place as the Luna he swore she could never be.

The beastfolk are a powerful race, and to strengthen our family's power, Father arranges marriages for both me and my stepsister, Arya Hearthguard. In our past lives, Arya entered a high-profile marriage into the wealthy, powerful dragon clan, while I was forced to wed into the crumbling lion clan. The clan leader of the dragons—Draken Vorgath—was cold and detached. He cared more for gold than his bride, leaving Arya in a glided cage of loneliness. Overwhelmed by the desolation, she seduced the future leader of the fox clan, who was flirtatious.. And when the scandal exploded, Draken resolutely divorced her. Arya's scandal brought shame upon our family. Despite Father's favoritism, he was compelled by family honor to exile her in disgrace. Clan leader of the lions and King of the Jungle—Kael Hawthorne—was a man of unwavering devotion. Our marriage blossomed, and within a year, I bore him a golden lion cub blessed with the Aetheric Divinity. With the Aetherborn, Kael rose to rule all beastfolk as the chieftain, and I became their most revered chieftess. Consumed by envy, Arya sneaked into my son's first birthday feast and strangled the golden lion cub in his cradle. Then, she set the place ablaze and burned me alive along with it. When I wake up, I am back on the very day of our marriage. This time, Arya volunteers to marry into the lions and leaves me the chance to marry into the dragons. I accept everything meekly with only a tenth of her dowry and marry Draken. Later, she bleeds her dowry dry, propping up the lion clan, only to fail in conceiving a cub. When the elders demand she mate with other males, regret drowns her. As for me, all I want in his new life is an heir and a quiet life among the dragons. But no one warns me about the dragons, least of all that my supposedly cold-hearted husband will relentlessly demand me once awakened. Or that his members came in pairs and ridges!

After 99 bloodline fusion rituals, I finally conceived Alpha Garrick Whitefang's pup. As a mixed-blood Omega without a wolf, I understood the cost of that miracle better than anyone. The rituals burned away my lifespan. I brought this child with my blood. When I returned with the pregnancy report, ready to share the news, Garrick was waiting for me. A 4-year-old girl stood at his side, her small hand clasped in his. "Rowena, this is my surprise for you. Our pup," he said gently. Then he added, as if it meant nothing, "You will not have to endure bloodline fusion anymore. Her mother, Lyralei North, is pregnant with a male pup. Once she gives birth, I will bring him back for you to raise." His mother smiled with open relief. "No labor, no pain, and you gain two pups for free. How wonderful. The Snowclaw Pack finally has heirs." Unstoppable tears spilled down my face. For seven years as Garrick's Luna, bloodline rejection had made natural conception impossible. For five of those years, I had begged the pack elders to perform bloodline fusion rituals on me. I traded away my lifespan 99 times in total for the chance to carry his child. Only then did I understand. Garrick never wanted my pup. As long as heirs existed, it did not matter who gave birth to them. I returned to my room without a word and made one call. "Steven, does your research project still need people? I want to rejoin the team," I said quietly. "And I am leaving the Snowclaw Pack."

After being pushed down the stairs by my husband's first love, I suffered a difficult labor with our second child and died in a corner of their family's private hospital. Before I died, my six-year-old son cried and begged for his father to save me. The first time, Shawn sneered. "Your mom's gotten smarter, using you to play the victim and trick people." After that, he flung my son's hand away and left heartlessly. The second time, my son told him I was bleeding uncontrollably. Shawn was clearly impatient. "She's being so dramatic, it's just a miscarriage, nothing serious. She's always made mountains out of molehills!" After chasing my son away, he even told the doctors not to care for me. "It's my fault for spoiling her. She'll know what she did wrong once I let her have a hard time for a few days." The last time, my son went to my husband's first love Jasmine, kneeling in front of her and knocking his head on the ground, begging her. Shawn flew into a rage and ordered bodyguards to throw my battered and bruised son out of the hospital room, allowing others to laugh at his misfortune. "If you come bother Jasmine while she's resting again, I'll kick your mom out of our family! She'll never see you again!" My son crawled to my side, leaving behind a long trail of blood. And so, I laid there helplessly as I felt the warmth escape both my son and I. 'Are you happy now, Shawn? You'll never see us again.'

Everyone said I was lucky. After the Don, Lucas Vaughn, brought me back to his estate, I became the woman he treasured most. He would halt billion-dollar deals just to be home on time to put me to sleep. He even learned sign language in secret, just so he could communicate with me after my vocal cords were damaged. At first, I didn’t dare give him my heart. Whenever he looked at me, his focus would drift. He showered me with gifts, yet always disappeared on the days that mattered most. As the child in my womb grew, and as Lucas’s devotion intensified day by day, I let my guard down. I devoted myself completely to the role of wife and Donna. Until the night I gave birth. I hemorrhaged during a difficult labor, but Lucas never showed up. After surviving by sheer luck, I finally saw the trending news. Lucas attended a Thames-side gala arm-in-arm with rising movie star, Serena Vale. That was when I understood. To him, I had only ever been a substitute. He broke his rules for her again and again. He indulged her humiliations toward me and even shoved me toward armed attackers at the brink of life and death. Filled with hatred, I closed my eyes and sank into the deep sea, just as he wished. Later, he knelt, clutching the hem of my dress, begging, "Zoe, please give me one more chance. I’ll repay you with my life." His life was worth too little now. I no longer wanted it.