How Tiger Got Its Stripes 소설 & 이야기

My name is Clara Kelly. I was born in Brooklyn, into an Irish-American cop’s family. My father spent his whole career walking a beat out of the 84th Precinct. My mother volunteered at the parish. I was the first girl on our block to get into Columbia Law. The year I graduated, I was volunteering at a charity gala. I picked up the wrong glass of wine and ended up dumping it down the front of a man’s Brioni suit. That man was Adrian Francesco Moretti. Fourth-generation Don of the Moretti Family of New York, and one of the five families of Cosa Nostra. He chased me for four years. I said no six times. The seventh time, he stood outside my law firm in the rain until three-fifteen in the morning. I married him. Two decades in, he’d handed me the keys to the entire Moretti Family. In our world they called me “the Irish Donna,” a woman with no Italian blood who somehow held the seat. Childless by choice, the two of us. Famously in love. Until that Wednesday afternoon, when my college roommate of twenty years, my best friend Vivian Sinclair, walked into my living room with a five-year-old boy. She said the boy was Adrian’s son. She said that five years ago, she’d taken a used condom out of the wastebasket in my upstairs master bedroom, kept it frozen for three years, and done IVF. She said she was the real mother of the Moretti heir. She was the real Donna Moretti. “Be smart. Pack your bags and walk out. You might even get to keep your life.” “You’re barren. The Moretti Family doesn’t need you.” I looked at the woman I’d called my best friend for half my adult life. I didn’t say a word. She thought she was holding the winning card. What she didn’t know was that she’d just stepped onto a board Adrian and I had been laying for twenty years. I needed exactly one sentence to shatter every piece of the Donna fantasy she’d spent five years building.

When Mira first set foot in to the city of Bucharest to pursue her studies, she never expected to get involved in a near-fatal accident and get saved by a mysterious man. And she definitely didn’t plan on fantasising about him, only to discover that he is her professor, Izan. The attraction between grows to be undeniable, but Izan kept his distance, hiding a dark secret that could endanger them both. Mira was determined to find out more about him, even if it meant breaking the rules. And their paths intersect once more when she finds Izan injured in an alleyway, and she becomes his caretaker, realising the connection they share goes beyond just physical. But before she can understand their bond, he disappears without a trace, leaving her heartbroken. Week’s pass, and Mira discovers the truth behind Izan’s abrupt departure. Confronted by the reality of his existence, she still finds herself irresistibly drawn to him, despite the startling revelation that he is not human—he is a werewolf. As their worlds collide, secrets unravel, and a forbidden romance blossoms amidst the captivating allure of Bucharest. But their happiness is threatened by a dark force that seeks to destroy them. When Izan becomes the prime suspect of a murder he didn't commit, and Mira must prove his innocence before it's too late. Will they overcome the odds and find their happily ever after? Or will they lose each other in a web of lies and danger? Their journey unfolds, entwining fate, love, and the mystique of the supernatural, promising a destiny neither of them could have foreseen.

With the return of his memories, my husband, Trevor Beaumont, recalled that he was the Alpha of a wolf pack. He walked away, leaving me with a ruby necklace as compensation. The jewel shimmered amid my sleep, and a tall, burly man stood before me. The compensation came with a hidden bonus after all. Later, I sent a message to my ex. “Thank you for your necklace. The guy inside comes in handy. “We’re getting married, and since you brought us together, we’d hope you can be the best man.” Trevor drove through the night to our wedding venue, veins popping out of his face as despair swallowed him. “Who the hell put the man inside the ruby?”

“Have you decided, Alara?” Mason Whitmore slid the agreement across his desk. “Of my four sons, which one will you choose?” Ten years ago, I saved his life. He brought me into the Whitmore family and made me a promise: when I turned eighteen, I could choose one of his sons as my fiancé. The man I chose would inherit the Whitmore company. Everyone thought I would choose Ethan. He was Mason’s eldest son, a champion race car driver, and the boy I had loved for years. Then I heard him tell Jenny: “Alara was never my choice. I only said I’d marry her to keep my father happy.” So I made my decision. Not Ethan. Not Julian. Not Ryan. I would choose the son they all ignored. Noah Whitmore. The one in the wheelchair.

She is in Law school. He breaks the Law every day. Her father calls her sunshine. He is called the Overlord of the Bravta. She is pure. He is tainted. They are a match made in hell. *** “There is no going back after you sign this contract,” he tilted my head so I met his sinful smirk and distracting eyes. “After this, you are mine, Sweet little thing. You’ll not be able to run or escape me. Because no matter where you run to, even though I have to turn this world upside down, I will find you and bring you right back to my side because you are bound to me.” I laughed. “Trying to scare me?” I took the pen from him and signed a contract with the Devil. ***** When Julia found out she was dying soon, she decided to do the one thing she had been scared to do all her life before she died. Fall in love. She had her bucket list planned out and all she needed was a heartless man who wouldn’t lose his heart to her in the 6 months she had to live. And Valentino Damon was the right man for the job since she was more than convinced he didn’t own a heart. He was the devil and he might be the most significant risk she might ever take but what does one have to lose if they were going to die soon anyway?

"He is Keegan. Don't ever get in trouble with him. He's from The Dragomirs. And you know who they are," said Louisa Collins to Lyla Helliwell on the first day Lyla entered Gothic Academy. Sure, Lyla knew who they were. Very influential Vampire family. Wealthy and powerful. But, Keegan Dragomir had marked Lyla as a new object of bullying. "We hate witches. They don't deserve to be in the Freaky world. They are just human who pretend to have power like us, with their stupid potions," said Keegan. Gothic Academy was a special school for The Freakies---weird and magical kids. Vampire, Witch, Siren, Lycan, Goblin, Elf, to Centaur. Something huge and dangerous was happening there, made the two different kind of Freakies---Lyla and Keegan---who hated each other, have to work together to protect the school from danger. Meanwhile, the unfinished story of their parents long long ago, revealed.

Trapped in a loveless marriage, Elena is treated as nothing more than a mistake by her husband, by her family, by society. But when a chance encounter awakens memories of a forgotten past and the stirrings of a forbidden love, her world begins to change. Between secrets, betrayal, and the promise of a love she never thought she’d deserve, Elena must decide: remain bound by the past… or risk everything to follow the whisper of her heart.

She gave away everything for love. Now she’s coming to take it all back. Three years ago, Mica Silvers made the ultimate sacrifice for love—she willingly handed over her Alpha powers to her mate, believing they would rule together. Instead, she watched in horror as he murdered her father and destroyed everything she held dear. Left for dead by the man she trusted with her heart and her pack, Mica was found barely alive with no memory of who she was, forced to survive as nothing more than a broken slave named Sasha. But some things can’t stay buried forever. When the dangerously powerful Alpha Damon Blackwood buys her freedom, Mica’s forgotten past comes flooding back with devastating clarity. The naive girl who gave away her birthright is gone—in her place stands a woman forged by betrayal and hungry for revenge. Now, with the most feared Alpha in North America at her side and an invitation to her former pack’s banquet in hand, Mica has one chance to reclaim everything that was stolen from her. But confronting the man who destroyed her life means risking not just her heart, but the new love she’s found with Damon. Some betrayals can never be forgiven. Some wounds never heal. And some enemies should have made sure she stayed dead.

My grandfather died on a covert mission, and authorities approved a grand funeral in his honor. Concerned about my grief, my fiancé offered to handle the arrangements. On the day of the funeral, I arrived with my grandfather's ashes, only to find his portrait discarded on the ground, replaced by one of a dog. Furious, I tried to remove it, but my fiancé's adopted sister stopped me. "Hands off that portrait!" Suppressing my fury, I countered, "This is my grandfather's funeral. He was a decorated hero." "So what?" She shrugged, sneering, "Isaac said Luck deserves the grandest send-off. If you've got a problem, take it up with him. Adoring me, he'd cancel your engagement and ditch you in a heartbeat." I laughed incredulously, calling Isaac's family. "You people begged for this engagement. Since when does your adopted daughter get to call it off?"

Yuri's father calls and tells me to send his son, the Alpha heir and my childhood friend, home to meet his further mate. But Yuri Blevin is lying next to me, fast asleep and shirtless. Thinking it's just a joke, I nudge him and say with a light laugh, "Yuri, they said they've arranged a mate for you. What do you think?" He raises an eyebrow and lazily wraps an arm around my waist. "Then make sure you pick a nice suit for me. I trust your taste will impress her." When I freeze and say nothing, Yuri opens his eyes and lets out a carefree chuckle. "Hey, Ophelia, what kind of reaction is that? We're just casual lovers, right? Don't tell me you actually thought I'd make you my future Luna?"