It Takes What It Takes

On my wedding day, Yuna Shaw, the girl my parents had sponsored blocked the door to my room, just as lines of text began scrolling across my vision. [Oh my god, is the female lead really going to marry that golden heir? He’s a psychopath. He likes cutting people into pieces!] [The female lead’s such an idiot. The match Yuna arranged for her is the smarter choice.] [Switching marriages with Yuna is the only way to survive!] In my previous life, after reading those messages, I begged to call off the engagement. Yuna insisted on repaying my family’s kindness by marrying in my place. I ended up marrying the construction foreman she had chosen. After the wedding, my mother-in-law made my life miserable, and my husband abused me. I ran back to my parents for help, only to be slapped repeatedly by Yuna when she returned home. “Still think you’re some rich young lady? Running home the moment things get hard? Someone needs to knock that out of you!” Even my once-loving parents turned cold and threw me out. “You walked out that door as someone else’s wife. What happens to you now is none of our concern.” In the end, I was tortured to death by my husband. Only after I died did I realize it had all been Yuna’s scheme. Now she stood in front of me again, her eyes sharp with calculation. I shoved her aside. “You think you’re worthy of marrying in my place?”

Twenty-five years ago, Alpha Raul—ruthless, feared, and obsessed with power—forced a treaty with the Silver Crescent Moon Pack by claiming their only heir, Sarah, as his Luna. Their union was built on dominance, not destiny, and the consequences shaped the future of the entire region. Now, Raul’s empire spans countless packs. But his hunger has grown into something darker: a craving for immortality. As he delves into forbidden rituals and blood magic, his daughters become tools in a plan to strengthen his influence. Each Christmas, Raul hosts a grand ball that conveniently results in Goddess-gifted mates for his daughters—first Fox, then Lily, then Oleander. The timing is too perfect. Too orchestrated. Mia, the eldest and rightful Alpha heir, is the only one who sees the danger. She witnessed Raul meeting with a mysterious woman who extinguished fire with a single gesture—evidence of magic no wolf should wield. As her sisters bond with powerful heirs from the surrounding packs, Mia senses Raul tightening his control, preparing for something catastrophic. With her mother Sarah’s quiet warnings and the hidden wards she’s placed throughout the Packhouse, Mia begins to uncover the truth behind Raul’s growing power and the real purpose behind the mate bonds. But when Mia encounters her own true mate, destiny collides with rebellion. To save her sisters, her pack, and herself, Mia must confront the monster her father has become—and decide whether fate is a weapon she’s ready to wield. Blood. Magic. Fate. The rise of a rebellion begins.

"I know what you did. You seduced me and conspired with Elijah to force the bond. Get out. You're not welcome here anymore." Caleb, casting Josephine out of his life on the morning after their night together, in front of the entire pack, based on nothing but a lie he chose to believe. °°°°°°°°°° Josephine Blackwood came to Kisatchie Forest to scatter her father's ashes not to find her fated mate. Not to be rescued by Caleb Renard, the brooding, blue-eyed leader of the Moon Edge wolf pack. And certainly not to spend one unforgettable night in his arms before he tore her world apart at dawn, hurling accusations she never deserved and casting her out in front of everyone. Josephine left with a secret growing inside her and built a life strong enough for two. Five years. A son with his father's eyes. A shop full of real magic. A town she finally calls home. Then Caleb walks through her door. Older, harder, haunted by truths that have destroyed everything he thought he knew including the lie that made him push Josephine away. But before Josephine can decide whether to trust him again, their son is taken. And the only way to get Theo back is to fight the very pack that broke them both.

Oliver Harding and I are on our way to get a divorce when a truck rams into our car, making us turn turtle. Before I lose consciousness, I hear him say, "If I get a second chance at life, I'll definitely accept Zara's confession. Living a life of excitement with her is what I truly want." When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the day I got engaged. As in my past life, Zara Cox stands before Oliver with a bouquet and asks him whether he wants to be with her. He doesn't even spare me a glance as he drops to one knee before her. He holds out a ring and says, "I love you, Zara. Will you marry me?" Brilliant. He must have been reborn, too. I give them my blessings, and he and Zara live the exciting life he wants. But later, he falls to his knees before me. Tears stream down his face as he asks whether I can marry him again.

My mate, Leonardo Salvatore, is the next Alpha of the Silverpine Pack. We've been together for five years, and yet he never agrees to hold our mating ceremony. But on the day I show up on his doorstep to confront him, I discover a pair of pantyhose and a bra that don't belong to me on his bed. Leonardo doesn't look ashamed and guilty in the slightest despite getting caught red-handed. Instead, he just shoots me a flippant smile. "Remember to tell the maids to clean up my room, Bella." His friends start a bet on whether or not I'll sever our mate bond because of Leonardo's affair. The wolf in question merely props his chin with a hand while saying airily, "Bella loves me far too much to leave me. Besides, she's a docile one. She'll definitely forgive me in less than two days." Leonardo is right. I do love him with all my heart. Whenever we got into fights in the past, I was the one who'd beg him not to leave me with tears running down my cheeks. But what Leonardo doesn't know is that he's already tainted. It's only natural for a goody-two-shoes like me to care about my mate's purity the most, so I can never accept a playboy like Leonardo as my mate. While he's waiting for me to return to his side, I muster all of my courage to ask the Alpha King, "I heard that you don't have a mate yet. In that case, may I become your Luna Queen?"

After my best friend, Amber Stone, gets addicted to gambling, she excitedly tells me that she wants to take me to Las Gavas on a trip all of a sudden. "I just won a huge sum of money! I'll treat you to a night in a grand, luxurious hotel there!" But after the plane lands on the tarmac, Amber leads me into a private room tucked away in the depths of a casino. "The truth is, the casino's boss is looking for a woman with a crescent-shaped birthmark. If she's found, all debts will be cleared on the spot. "Don't you have one on your belly? I saw it when you were taking a shower in the past! I'm so sorry, bestie, but I really don't want to die!" While I get pinned on the couch by four men, I suddenly notice a child's doodle being hung on the wall. It was a doodle I had drawn for my father before I got kidnapped. He viewed it as his treasure and told me that he'd cherish it forever. I perk up immediately at the sight. A sneer appears on my face soon enough. Oh, Amber… You definitely have won this time. Unfortunately for you, you won't gain anything.

My husband, Hank, is dead.  On our wedding anniversary, he ventured out in the pouring rain to buy me a cake, only to be hit by a truck. His body was badly mangled in the crash.  My sister-in-law, Lyra, called me a killer, claiming that I did not deserve Hank’s inheritance.  My mother-in-law, Judy, kicked me out of the house.  Overwhelmed by grief and guilt, I often wondered if he would still be alive had I stopped him that day. Eventually, emotions gripped me, and I was diagnosed with cancer.  Judy came to visit me on my deathbed. “You’re an idiot to believe everything!”  She threw a family photo in my face.  The shock and anger were more than I could handle, and I breathed my last.  It turned out that Hank was never dead. He had a child with his old flame.  When I opened my eyes once more, I returned to the day my husband faked his death.

Edward Sterling is playing in his university's freshman basketball tournament when my parents banish me abroad. My biological sister and my fiancée are both on the sidelines, cheering for him. That spotlight should've been mine. The jersey he's wearing, with a star player's autograph on it, was supposed to be my 14th birthday gift. Edward and I have been rivals for most of our lives. It never matters whether I'm right or wrong—the moment he plays the victim, my parents rush to defend him and scold me without hesitation. But I am their biological son! It's not until I die alone and sick in a foreign country that I finally understand one thing. If I ever get a second chance, I'll never again fight Edward for love that was never mine to begin with.

Ember never meant to make a king. She was just trying to survive her heat without embarrassing herself in front of the massive, infuriatingly calm wolf living in the loft next door. Ember has spent most of her life keeping people at a distance. She’s stubborn, private, and perfectly happy suffering through things alone—including the inconvenient attraction she’s been pretending not to feel toward Ghost. Ghost notices everything. He notices when Ember skips meals. When she hasn’t slept. When she’s pretending she doesn’t need help. Calm, steady, and impossible to shake, he’s the kind of man who doesn’t push—but also doesn’t leave. Which becomes a problem when a violent storm destroys half of Ember’s apartment and Ghost is the one who drags her out of the wreckage. Suddenly the fiercely independent she-wolf who hates relying on anyone is stuck living next door to the one man she’s been trying not to want. Then Ember’s heat hits. What starts as proximity and stubborn attraction turns into something neither of them expected when their bond snaps fully into place—awakening a long-buried bloodline Ember never knew she carried. For generations, wolves like her were known as Kingmakers—rare mates capable of exposing corruption and keeping pack leadership honest. Twenty years ago, someone tried to wipe them out. Now Ember’s power has awakened. And the quiet city she and Ghost call home—long governed by careful politics instead of true pack leadership—is about to change. Because Ghost never wanted to be an Alpha. But Ember’s bloodline has a habit of exposing exactly the kind of wolf who should be. And Ember might have just made a king.

Flinn was never meant to fall for her. The plan was simple: a fake engagement to help him seal a billion-dollar deal and protect Rosemary from the dangerous ex who won't let her breathe. She's his best friend's baby sister. Off-limits. A single mom with fire in her veins and walls around her heart. But from the moment she walks back into his life, everything changes. One kiss turns into a night. One lie turns into longing. And one fake ring sparks something real-raw, messy, and so damn forbidden. Flinn is a billionaire with a bad rep and a closet full of secrets. Rosemary is a survivor, too strong to beg, too broken to trust. But their chemistry? It's explosive. Now lines are blurred. Rules are shattered. Hearts are on the line. And when the truth comes out... it just might burn everything down. Enemies-to-lovers. Fake fiancés. Real heat. One brutal truth: nothing about this was ever pretend.