Horror Smile

On our seventh wedding anniversary, my husband's childhood sweetheart called, claiming a burst pipe at her home. Without a second thought, he ditched our celebration to play handyman. Moments later, Vivian Duffy's social media lit up with a smug post. [No matter when or where, my Superman arrives at one call. How should I reward him?] Accompanying the post was a photo of scattered condoms and torn clothing on the floor. I forced a smile, picked up my phone, and dialed a number. "My pipe is broken. Care to fix it?"

The Raikiri clan, which was famed as the most prominent military and tactical geniuses, existed since the feudal Japanese period during the reign of Minamoto Yoritomo. Bestowed with great power, the descendants of Iwasaki Senju yielded the Amaterasu, the power which awakens under emotional stress. Kenjirou Subaru was hailed as a legend for saving the clan at the tender age of six from a unit of 70 yakuza. However, all good things must come to an end eventually as the ancient Ninjutsu clan was assassinated in cold blood, probably by an external group fearful of the clan's prominence and place in modern Japanese culture. The horror of the heinous tragedy at his birthplace, the Village of Raden in Osaka rendered his mental condition unstable thus causing Izanami to go rouge. Unbeknownst to him, he ends up in Tokyo, involving in a frenzy of incidents, gathering to find the intel on the person or the organization responsible for the eradication of his people. Therefore, eking out an existence and pursuing an education. He would eventually make his way to Mitsushiba. He enrolls in high school and thus begins his quest to discover himself again. Eventually, he would be befriended by a group of students who change Subaru's view of life and show him that life this beautiful is worth living or is it really the case....

"Just let me hold you for a while, please," he said after setting me back down. This time, he laid me in the middle of the bed before sliding in next to me. "What if this was really me? Not a dream version of Lucy but the real thing?" I asked. He reached his hand across to me, pulling my hair behind my ear before pulling me closer to his body. "Well, in real life, you probably would have slapped me for doing this," he said, making us both laugh. Little did he know. After I witnessed my mom's murder, I fled my pack to search for a freedom I knew may never exist. I dreaded the day I would turn 18 as I never wanted a mate bond after the horror I had lived through. After years of being sold as a slave, I found myself belonging to a new pack once again. And then, I turned 18. I found not just one but two mates along with untapped power that I have no idea how to manage. ***TRIGGER WARNING - SA AND PHYSICAL ABUSE MENTIONED THROUGHOUT STORY***

I stood in the shadows, the scent of pine and frost heavy in the air, watching my mate, Ethan, smile—truly smile—for the first time in years. But not at me. At her. My cousin, Isla. His first love. She sat beside him, warm and glowing, with our pups, Lucas and Mia, curled up against her like she was their real mother. They were laughing, sharing bites of ice-cream cake, the kind Lucas once said made his stomach hurt. I was never meant to be here. I wasn't his choice. He didn't fall in love with me—he was assigned to me. To him, our bond was never about love. It was a political arrangement—an alliance between two packs: his power, my father’s ambition. A tie forged not by hearts, but by bloodlines and borders. He never touched me unless required. He never looked at me like I was his Luna. In that moment, as their laughter echoed under the full moon, I felt the mate bond falter—thin, fading, like breath in winter. And I knew. I had played my part long enough. So I turned away. It was time to severe the bond that was never truly mine. But when he sensed I was really leaving, when the tether between us began to snap, he broke. Dropped to his knees, clutching the pups like lifelines, his voice raw. "Please," he whispered, "don't leave me." Even the pups cried, reaching for me with shaking hands. "Mom, we’re sorry… We didn't mean it. Please don't go."

I pulled out my ring and held it in front of him. "I'm calling off our engagement. I won't - won't marry a cheating bastard like you. You can live happily ever after with someone else, like Blair Anderson. Smile, Jayden - you're finally getting rid of me, may you live happily ever after with your dear girlfriend." I said with a fake smile and cold eyes. "Oh, and before I forget, I, Ashley Van Smith, of the Red Moon Pack, reject Jayden Ronan Keller, of the Crimson Pack, as my mate and fiancé, we are hereby no longer related." ******************************************** In which Ashley Van Smith and Jayden Ronan Keller are mated and engaged. Because of the arranged marriage made by their parents. Problems arise when Ashley finds out that Jayden is involved in an unfaithful relationship. Ashley never thought that she would be in a relationship with a cheater. So she wants to end this engagement because he cheated on her, but fate decides to intervene and Jayden suffers from amnesia that only she seems to be able to deal with. Ashley, despite not having deep feelings for him, feels there is still a bond between them and has a sense of responsibility to help recover his memory and guide him through his difficult times. In the midst of her efforts to help Jayden recover, Ashley is faced with a difficult decision. Will she stay by his side and help him through this difficult time, even though Jayden is in love with someone else? Or should Ashley simply let Jayden go?

"How bad do you want it? Is it strong enough for you to become my pet." His hands wrapped around her neck, and his voice a low growl as a deadly smile played on his lips. *** Bella knew the Mystery Cafeteria Boy was trouble from the first time she saw him. He was the one that was going to blow up her cover and uncover her past. Stuck in the same grade she had no other choice but to make a deal to become his pet. Could he bully his pet? Yes. Fall in love with his pet? Hell no.

I looked down at my baby boy and immediately realize that I needed to fight, to give each other a chance at love and most importantly to win my love back and get my family together....... He was once mine and he is always going to be mine “I hate you and you're going to regret what you've done." Josephine yelled. “Am only taking back what was rightfully mine" I retorted. “You shouldn't have try to destroy a happy family" I said while walking away holding my head high with a smile on my face.............

I started calling my brother "Mr. Quinn" and my childhood friend "Mr. Webb". They frown and ask why I'm being so formal with them. I smile faintly in response. "Because I think you would rather be associated with Vanessa Quinn." They scold me for being unreasonable. "Vanessa is about to marry a man in a coma for you, and her whole life will be ruined. The only reason we treat her so well is because you owe her." But what they don't know is that the one marrying a man in a coma this time isn't Vanessa. It's me—Willow Quinn.

Elena Thompson thought folklore belonged in her lectures - until it came alive. At the Moonlight Festival in one moment she was laughing with her best friend in next she turned at the sound of her name and collided with someone - hard. Strong hands steadied her, and when she looked up, everything else disappeared. Amber eyes. A smile that stole her breath. A stranger who looked at her as though she were the only soul in the world. Ren is an Alpha, but Elena is human. She doesn’t belong in his world. It's a taboo. That love would break every law of his kind.

Valeria’s plan was simple: Endure living in the same house as her notoriously sexy stepbrothers. Make it through the last months of high school. Leave the Red Ridge Pack—forever. And things were going quite well until the first thing her wolf - Hazel - screamed on her eighteenth birthday was, “Mates!” To her horror, she looked up and saw it wasn’t just one—but all four of her stepbrothers. Alerion, the cold and calculating leader. Caius, the cute geek Zane, the Casanova, who made her heart race and her head spin. And Lysander, the quirky one who had sworn to make her life in school difficult Each of them is determined to stake their claim, but Valeria has no interest in being part of their game. With her stepfather pressuring her into an arranged marriage and her mother turning a blind eye to her struggles, Valeria has one goal: to escape and never be found. But the bond between mates is impossible to ignore, and when secrets unravel and tensions ignite, Valeria finds herself caught in a dangerous web of jealousy, desire, and betrayal. Her freedom was all she ever wanted, but will she risk losing her heart to the ones she vowed to leave behind?