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On the night of the full moon, my mate, Alpha Wade Rizzotto of the Bloodmoon pack, has sent someone to deliver me a box of gifts. He also has the wolf bring me a message, stating that he'll be home tonight. Warmth floods into my heart. Even though Wade is extremely busy with work and hasn't been able to meet me in person for half a year, he still cares about me and our unborn pup. Giddily, I begin preparations on dinner while eagerly anticipating Wade's return. But as soon as Wade steps into our home, I instantly pick up on a foreign yet strong scent of a she-wolf clinging to his form. My wolf's instincts flare up instantly. Having sensed my suspicion, Wade gently comforts me in order to suppress my uneasiness and doubt. But the she-wolf's scent that's obviously not mine keeps bothering me the whole time. I remember the way Wade began putting more distance between us over the past six months. Doubt and suspicion begin taking over my mind like mad. Throughout the week after that, I stalk Wade every day. Still, I can't spot anything that's off with him. So, I begin consoling myself, thinking that I must have gotten far too sensitive during my pregnancy. Maybe the hormones are affecting my wolf's senses, making me paranoid. I've decided that from tomorrow onward, I will not stalk Wade ever again. But that's when the Moon Goddess plays a cruel prank on me.

Carlo La Rosa is the Don of the La Rosa family. As for me, I'm just a plaything who's been delivered to his bed in order to clear off my family's debts. For the next three years, Carlo vents his carnal urges on me anyhow he wants. He doesn't do any foreplay. In fact, he doesn't even turn off the lights. Instead, he forces me to look at myself in the mirror. He wants to show me how he eventually devours me. "Take a good look at who's screwing you right now, Lydia!" Carlo is very rough with me in bed, as though he wants to merge with me. I beg him to be gentler with me, but all I get in return are harder thrusts. Those thrusts continue until I faint from the intensity. When I wake up, I see a black card and a morning-after pill on the nightstand. Even though I quickly take the pill, I still end up getting pregnant. I'm about to tell Carlo the news when I see the news on the TV. Apparently, he gets stabbed three times in a row just to protect his first love, Serena Sergio. It turns out that I'm just a plaything for him to vent his urges on. I'm not even considered a replacement. As I caress my belly, I drop my signature on the divorce agreement. Then, I snap the black card in half and leave the pieces on the table.

A kidnapper's gun was pressed to Lena's temple and mine, the whole scene streaming live online. "Nolan," the kidnapper said, "your wife, Donna, or your first love. Only one of them walks away alive. Choose." On the other side of the screen, my husband, Don Nolan Winston, head of the Winston family, did not hesitate for even a second. "Let Lena go. As for that woman, do whatever you want with her." I looked into the camera and laughed until tears ran down my face. For seven years, I had stood by him as he rose from the Winston family's illegitimate son to the first Don of the Italvia mafia. I had taken knives for him, drunk with him, even lost a child along the way. So in the end, in his eyes, I had been nothing more than a pawn he could discard at any moment. "Did you hear that?" the kidnapper sneered at me. I turned and ran toward the cliff. Facing the camera, I spoke my final words. "Nolan, I'm giving this life back to you. We're even now."

The mate bond ceremony had barely ended when Simon Thompson, Alpha of the Moonshade Pack, suddenly shoved me aside. "I picked up a human girl at the border. There's a storm tonight. I need to go stay with her." My head buzzed. "If you've already decided I'm your fated mate, why are you seeing her now?" He stood up and pulled on his clothes. The bite mark I had left was still visible on the side of his neck. "Tanya, I love you. But life is long. I need something fragile like that once in a while to feel something new." My throat tightened. "So on our mate bond night, you're dumping your Luna to sleep with a human?" "Well, technically, the ceremony is already over," he corrected me, then bent down and pinched my cheek. "You're the pack's Luna now. You should be more generous." "And if I can't be?" It was as if he had been waiting for that. He smiled. "Then we sever the bond. Just know you might end up exiled as a lone wolf. Think it through, yeah?" I collapsed onto the messy bed. Simon's scent still lingered in the air. Outside the window, the full moon that had witnessed our vows looked unbearably ironic.

Alicia’s wedding once made headlines across all of New Yorke. The man who put the ring on her finger was Matteo Vitale, the youngest Don of the Vitale family. She was not a socialite heiress. She was a lawyer who had won countless cases for powerful families. She was also five years older than her husband. When Matteo was thirty and at the peak of his career, Alicia was already thirty-five. Back then, Matteo told her that age would never be a problem between them. As long as she wanted him, he would never let her go for the rest of his life. But in the fifth year of their marriage, a young woman burst into her office and dropped a divorce agreement on her desk. “I heard you’re the best divorce lawyer on New Yorke’s East Side. There isn’t a divorce case you can’t win, right? “I want to hire you to help my boyfriend get a divorce from his wife. “My boyfriend says his wife is thirty-five now. She smells old. Every time he touches her, he feels sick.” She opened the divorce agreement with practiced ease. She looked first at the names, as she always did. [Husband: Matteo Vitale [Wife: Alicia Leon] Her fingers paused for a brief moment. She was Alicia Leon!

Everyone said my good looks were what saved me from my family's downfall. It was how I managed to become a Donna. I was the only one who knew why he had to compromise to marry me. Xavier Whitmore, the tall and handsome Don, was unable to have physical relationships with a woman. When I shyly took off the gown on our wedding night, he sat in his chair and lit a cigarette before remarking in an icy voice, "I'm allergic to women. That said, you have my word that you will be the only woman in my life." He kept his promise. Though he never so much as touched me in the five years of our marriage, he provided me with a life of luxury and wealth. Although it was merely a title, being his only woman brought me happiness. Everything changed on the day my men and I were ambushed by a rival mafia family. We barely made it out alive. When I returned home, I found him locked in a tight embrace with his widowed sister-in-law, Alice Ortega. "Alice, I won't let you remarry. If you do, I'll make sure that man dies a thousand deaths." I scoffed. It wasn't so much that he couldn't handle being physical with a woman. It was simply that he could not be physical with anyone but her. In that case, she could have the pleasure of being the Donna.

Before the engagement ceremony takes place, my fiance, Vincenzo Rizzi, makes a formal announcement on the deck of a cargo ship docked at the new harbor. Apparently, my younger stepsister, Sofia Russo, will become his legitimate wife. Vincenzo has an arm wrapped around Sofia's waist. As they stand beneath the spotlight, Vincenzo smiles tenderly at her. "According to the mafioso's rules, only those who have received the core elders' acknowledgment shall become the Madre of the family. Others are nothing but lovers and mistresses." Under the family elders' blessings, Vincenzo gives Sofia a black diamond necklace. Then, they exchange vows with each other and are now engaged. I just watch the ceremony take place quietly. Then, I make an appointment to have an abortion. I have loved Vincenzo since I was 16 years old. I'm 28 years old now, meaning I've been in love with him for 12 years. Yet, Sofia is the only one he has ever loved. In that case, I choose to let go of him once and for all. After that, I travel to a hidden safehouse located in Sombral. All I've left for Vincenzo is a letter stating the termination of our engagement and a farewell gift. But the man, who has never shown concern toward me this whole time, ends up breaking down to the point he doesn't even have the mood to deal with his family matters.

Alice Clearwater has died once. When she did, it was on a cot in the Moonshadow pack's infirmary. She remembered hearing her daughter, Aliya Steelclaw, laughing coldly by her ear. That laughter was mixed with Anna Darkfur's string of vile curses as well. Before Alice died, she finally realized that her perfect mate of 50 years, Alexander Steelclaw, never ever loved her.

It had been seven years since I broke the mate bond with Dark Wood Pack's Alpha, Shane Lewis. I ran a floral boutique in the Neutral Zone. On an ordinary day, a little girl stood at the door and was staring at me in a daze. She looked about six or seven years old. She was very pretty. Something about the curve of her eyes and brows felt strangely familiar, especially those amber eyes. Our gazes met. In an instant, memories flooded my mind like a movie reel. They were memories that had once caused me unbearable pain. I quickly called out to her. "Hey there, kid. Do you want to try this candy? "It's made from primrose. It's very sweet." She accepted the candy and listened as I talked casually. I told her that I used to be the Luna of Silver Moon Pack. I once had a primrose estate. Unfortunately, someone took it from me. I told her I once had a daughter too. She should be about the same age as the girl now. The girl looked curious. "Do you hate the bad people who took your things?" she asked. I looked at her for a long time and smiled. "Not anymore," I said.

I was the fiancee of Lucian Veris, the celebrated Swan Prince, who had offered up the principal role in exchange for my hand. On stage, he was proud and untouchable, yet he surrendered completely to the choreography I created for "Eternal Crown." When I came back after three years in Valmont, I discovered that the understudy who mirrored me had already claimed our private rehearsal hall. At the company's welcome gala, Lucian abandoned a room full of sponsors just to chase after the crying understudy. From behind the velvet curtain, I overheard words he had never spoken to me. "Elara, I chose you only because you reminded me of her. I was looking for a replacement. But you were different. Your choreography captivated me—more than she ever could. Just make sure she never finds out until the closing night of 'Eternal Crown.'" Then came the muffled sounds of their entanglement, followed by his whispered vow. "I'll give you the principal's place." Right there, in that same room, he had once held my hand and sworn that I, Astraea Lynelle, would be his only soulmate in this lifetime. I turned and walked away, the sharp echo of my pointe shoes striking with finality. Back in the dressing room, I dialed his greatest rival, Caelan Thorne. "Mr. Thorne," I said evenly, "I accept your offer to join your company. And one more thing—prepare a gift for me. I intend to turn Lucian's grand finale into the most spectacular downfall the art world has ever seen."