Kratos Without Ashes

Our wedding anniversary also happens to be our son's birthday. A month in advance, I carefully plan a family trip for the three of us—me, my husband, and our son. But right before we're supposed to leave, both of them suddenly disappear on me. I'm left standing alone in the pouring rain, dialing their numbers. On the other end, my son's young voice comes through, sounding cold and impatient. "Dad's having dinner with Ms. Moore. We don't want to go anymore." The call ends, and I'm blocked. Later that night, they intentionally lock me out of the house. I'm left standing in the freezing cold all night long. Soaked from the rain, I come down with a high fever and develop pneumonia. Meanwhile, my husband and son are off vacationing with Sophia Moore, smiling for a happy family photo with just the three of them. And in that moment, I know this marriage has truly come to an end.

“You drive me crazy, but I don’t mind being crazy for you,” Zane groaned, his fingers trailing my inner thighs, his ragged breaths hot against my skin. “Za…ne.. this… is wrong,” I stuttered, my voice low. “I’m… getting married to your uncle tomorrow..” In the cutthroat world of Chicago’s NHL, Zane Callahan rules the ice, his raw power hiding a past of dark secrets and betrayal. When rookie journalist Lila Harper is sent to interview the brooding hockey star, their clash sparks a firestorm of enmity and undeniable desire. As Lila fights to prove herself in a hostile newsroom, Zane battles his demons, their stolen kisses igniting a dangerous obsession. But a web of enemies—led by a vengeful twin and a manipulative predator—threatens to tear them apart. With secrets unraveling and lives on the line, Zane and Lila must confront their pasts to forge a love worth fighting for. Will they conquer the shadows, or will the ice claim their hearts?

They said the weak never survive the trials of the Bloodfang Pack—but Lyra did more than survive. Marked as the runt, mated to a ruthless Alpha who cast her aside, and betrayed by a jealous rival, Lyra’s life ends in poison and disgrace. But death is only the beginning. Reborn into the mysterious Moonshadow Pack—home to rogues, mystics, and wolves shunned by society—Lyra is given a second chance. As ancient powers awaken within her blood and forgotten secrets stir in her mind, she begins a journey not just of survival, but of domination. But the past refuses to stay buried. When Alpha Kade, her former mate, returns begging for forgiveness, Lyra must face the choice between vengeance and fate. As enemies rise, hidden bloodlines are revealed, and a war brews among the packs, Lyra must become what she was always meant to be: Not the weak omega of old, but the queen the moon chose. Betrayal forged her. Love will test her. Power will define her.

I try seducing my fiance, Vernon Floyd, 999 times. But even when I'm shirtless, his only concern is whether I'm cold. I assume that Vernon is a traditional guy, who wants to do it until we're married. But on the day of our anniversary, I discover that he has secretly booked a hotel famous for couples' getaways in the city. That night, I arrive at the VIP suite full of hope. In the end, all I see is Vernon and his childhood sweetheart passionately kissing each other as the crowd cheers. I wait outside the VIP suite for a long time. Finally, I understand that he doesn't love me. After leaving the hotel, I call my family. "Dad, I don't want to marry Vernon anymore. I want to marry Dylan instead!" Dad spits out his coffee and says, "Avril, Mr. Walker got into a car accident a few years ago. I heard that he's impotent. If you marry him, you won't have any children!" By then, I am already disheartened. "It doesn't matter whether I have children or not."

My sister-in-law is eight months pregnant. One day, she gets pushed to the ground and starts bleeding heavily. She's then taken to the hospital right away. As I drive by, I quickly roll up the window and pretend not to notice. I step on the accelerator and speed away. In my past life, though, things were different. The moment I saw her collapse, I sprang into action and took her to the hospital without delay. She was in critical condition. After the heavy bleeding, she developed amniotic fluid embolism. My husband was the city's top obstetrician. Thus, I called him urgently, pleading for him to come straight to the hospital. However, he accused me of jealousy. He was having dinner with his first love's family, after all. He claimed that I was exploiting my sister-in-law's accident to force him to come back. By the time my in-laws arrived, my sister-in-law had already succumbed to the amniotic fluid embolism. Her family blamed me for her death, convinced I had stirred trouble with my husband and brought about her demise. Having just returned from out of town, my brother-in-law believed their accusations without question. Overcome with grief, he stabbed me to death at the funeral. Opening my eyes again, I realize I've been transported back to the very day my sister-in-law is knocked down.

For ten years, I've served as the lover supporting Catherine Sanders from the shadows. With my help, she's able to save her company from the brink of bankruptcy and eventually gets it listed. On the day before we're about to ring the bell, just as I'm about to propose to Catherine, she introduces her childhood sweetheart, Benedict Shaw. Apparently, he is to take over my position in her life. She thanks me for my contributions throughout the decade, but her company is about to embark on a new journey. That means I'm no longer suitable to stay by her side. As I watch the woman I spent the last ten years loving and sacrificing everything for using a bank card to dismiss me, I feel as though my heart has plunged into the icy abyss. "I spent ten years devoting everything I have to you. In the end, it's nothing but a huge mistake." But Catherine remains blind to the truth. Once I quit my job, her company will cease to exist, just like my love for her.

June Williams had given up everything—her family, her inheritance, her dreams—to build a life with the man she loved. But in the blink of an eye, Larry, the husband she had sacrificed so much for, shattered her world. Cast aside for another woman and left broken in the street, June suffered a devastating loss that stole not just her future, but the child she had carried. Now, consumed by grief and burning with a vengeance that threatens to consume her, June vows to take back everything Larry stole from her. His wealth, his reputation, his empire she will make him suffer, just as he made her. And when he finally kneels before her, begging for mercy, she’ll remind him of the moment he told her she was nothing.

My husband's true love sets my home on fire when she learns I'm pregnant. She wants me to burn to death. I don't cry for help. Instead, I drag my unconscious mother-in-law to her feet and try to get us to safety. In my past life, I screamed for help while trapped in the flames. My husband came to save his mother and me. His true love wanted to prove that she was more important than me, so she ran back into the fire. She later died due to severe burns. After her death, my husband said she deserved it for being an arsonist. He treated me with the utmost love and care. But after my child's birth, he sacrificed her at his true love's grave. "The love of my life is dead because of you and your mother! You can repent for your sins in hell!" I die with him in a moment of despair. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back in the sea of flames.

My childhood sweetheart and my older brother both fell in love with Rose, the Omega who had just sought refuge from the Northern Pack. The one who broke our engagement said, "Grace is the kind of Luna who was born to stand beside an Alpha. I’m just not worthy of her." The other had forgotten our mother’s dying words. "Rose has suffered so much. If I share half the love I gave you with her, that wouldn’t be too much, would it?" On the day of my birthday, my mate chose to throw a party for Rose instead. On the anniversary of our mother’s death, my brother was happily celebrating with Rose and her mother, helping deliver her kitten. They went with her to the Snowpine Pack to take part in the Royal Totem Insignia Design Contest and personally draped the cloak of honor over her shoulders. And me? I set fire to the house that held all our memories. I drank a potion bought from a witch, severed every mind-link I had, and faked my death in that fire, then left the Northern Pack without a word. When news of my death reached Snowpine, those two men, who had already cast me aside, went mad with grief. They rushed back to the Northern Pack overnight and collapsed in front of the burned-down house, crying like their hearts had been ripped out.

After I refused to donate my kidney to Queenie Dunn's first love, Zayn Chance, she used my parents as leverage over me and forced me to sign the kidney donation agreement. "You can still survive without a kidney, but Zayn's case is different. He will die without your kidney." After the kidney transplant surgery was carried out successfully, Queenie purposefully brought Zayn on a trip around the globe in order to punish me for being selfish. On the fifth year after I died from kidney failure, Queenie finally had her fun. She decides to focus on her family again. But no matter how much she tries, she can never find me. Furious, Queenie calls my parents. "Tell Steven to get his ass home right now, or else I'll divorce him right away!" But the one answering the call is my son, Sean Sutton, who has just returned from his kindergarten. He sounds very meek and scared over the phone. In fact, he sounds like he was about to cry. "My dad has already passed away a long time ago, miss…"