May Day Eve By Nick Joaquin

Their naked bodies were shipping against each other. Her sapphire glossy orbs were staring at his brown eyes. "I love you, Cia. I love you to the extent that I will end and taint that life which would even think about taking you away from me," The firmness of his words were evident in his darkened eyes. "Even if it's your life," he rasped against her mouth. They both knew his love was irrational, an obsession for her. They loved each other enough, especially for her to let his love taint her existence. "I love you, Zale," And her words were enough to make him lose everything in her. She beautifully moaned his name as soon his warmth engulfed her deepest depth which made both of them close their eyes in pleasure, but they had never in their worst ever thought that their eyes would have to witness that thing which their future had stored for them. His deep brown orbs were staring at her who was clad in a beautiful white gown. Her sapphire orbs were downcast as she was standing at the altar but the irony was she was not his bride but his brother's. "Do you, Mr Blake Alcazar, take Miss Celia Reyes as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest's voice echoed, causing him to fist his palm and her heart to turn numb. "I do," A tear slipped from her eyes, hearing that person's answer who was standing in front of her and feeling those brown eyes penetrating her soul. "Do you, Miss Celia Reyes, take Mr Blake Alcazar as your lawfully wedded husband?" Those deep brown eyes turned predacious and her answer turned them voraciously vicious. "I do," she answered. An answer which sealed two destinies, which shattered two hearts and TAINTED two souls.

I'm already half-blind in my left eye, but Cedric Thompson forces me to donate my right cornea to his childhood sweetheart. Her parents berate me. "She's blind now! It's not like you'll die without one eye's cornea!" Cedric consoles me. "We're only taking the cornea for one eye. It won't affect anything." I'm forcibly placed under anesthesia. I lose all hope in life before my eyes slide shut. I would never have married him if I'd know he would treat me like this. He has no idea I can barely see with my left eye now.

His hand wrapped around my throat in claim, as he pinned me against the cold stone wall. “You’re mine,” he growled, his breath hot against my lips. “Every breath and every heartbeat you take. Mine.” But his nephew’s voice echoed in my mind: “You deserve better than a man who treats you like furniture.” I never wanted this bond. Alpha Zane forced me into a contract marriage—bear him an heir, then disappear. He made it clear I’m nothing more than a child-bearing vessel. A servant elevated to Luna only because the Moon Goddess cursed us both. But his nephew, Kaius, sees me differently. He’s kind where Zane is cruel. Gentle where Zane is possessive. He offers me everything my mate hides from me: respect, partnership, freedom. The problem? My body responds to Zane’s dominance even as my heart breaks from his coldness. And the more Kaius shows me what love could look like, the more dangerous this becomes. Because Zane may not love me—but he’ll destroy anyone who tries to take what’s his. Even his own family. Torn between the mate who owns my soul and the man who sees it—which desire will damn me first?

“He rejected me in front of the entire pack… because she stole my scent.” Nobody wants a rejected Omega. Ayla Riverwinddoesn’t care anymore. She's done waiting for fate. As Northmoon Pack’s healer, she’s content in the shadows—until the day her world burns. Her best friend, ‘Cassia’, uses forbidden scentbinding magic to steal Ayla’s identity and claim her mate—high-ranking Alpha ‘Darius’—as her own. Publicly rejected, shackled in silver, and tortured with wolfsbane, Ayla is cast into a dungeon and marked feral. The rejection was meant to break her. Instead, it awakens something ancient inside her. When she escapes into the Outlands, Ayla meets ‘Rylan Stormblade’—a rogue healer with secrets carved into his skin and knowledge of a lost ritual that may restore her scent... or kill her. But Ayla’s scent is no longer just hers. It burns through the bond realm, ripping through the senses of one wolf in particular—’Kael Valerius’, the Alpha King. His wolf goes feral when her scent touches the wind, but he already has a Luna. Now hunted by Alphas who want her dead, claimed by a King she doesn’t trust, and stalked by a prophecy that says “the next Luna will break the throne or bless it”, Ayla must rise—not as someone’s mate…but as the Luna they tried to erase.

“Used. Marked. Betrayed. Now it’s her turn to break the rules." Elena thought being mated meant safety, love, and forever. But forever shattered the day her husband brought another woman home, under the lie of sickness, only for Elena to discover she was pregnant with his child. And worse? He wanted an open bond, like she was some convenience to be traded when bored. Heartbroken but not broken, Elena makes the boldest decision of her life: divorce him, break the mate bond, and make him bleed for every lie he fed her. But Michael isn't letting go that easily. Not when power, pride, and his darkest secrets are tied to her. When Elena turns to Alpha Horace, the ruthless Alpha King and her husband’s estranged cousin, she finds more than protection; she finds someone who sees her, desires her, and is willing to burn everything down to keep her safe.

To the world, Felix and I were fated by the Moon Goddess, an Omega and her destined Alpha. Only I knew how much he despised me. At his Alpha ceremony, he humiliated me before the entire pack by choosing my half-sister, Bianca, over me. “An Omega who plays with herbs? You’ll never be worthy of me.” In my past life, I begged him not to reject me. He didn’t, but he made me suffer instead. My stepmother and Bianca framed me for poisoning the pack. He never defended me. He locked me in heat, then turned around and marked Bianca, like I was nothing. She wore his mark. I wore his shame. I was framed, cast out, and discarded. When he publicly crowned Bianca as his Luna, our bond shattered and so did my wolf. It was then I realized, he had never loved me. But now, I’m back. Back on the day of his Alpha ceremony. In this life, I’d rather suffer than be his mate again. “I, Reiley, rejected you, Felix, as my mate.”

“The babies you carry are mine. You're mine, Lyra. And you do not have a choice. He growled, his eyes narrowing. You’re my Luna and you belong to me.” “Don’t talk to me about belonging!” I shouted. “You threw me away the day you chose Eloisa. On our son's death anniversary, Damian!” His face twisted with anger. “You think you can just run off from the Blood Nest Pack? You’re making a fool of yourself.” Damian's voice rang through the tent. I looked up at him, refusing to cower under his burning stare. “You lost me the day you declared Eloisa your partner. I do not belong to you, Damian!” I yelled through gritted teeth. He stepped forward, taking hold of my arm. Rylan sprang forward, baring his wolf fangs. “Let her go now. She is under my protection,” he commanded in a low growl. Damian's grip on me weakened and he stepped back, not willing to tango with the brute rogue who was his enemy, and also, my second fated mate. Damian's eyes stayed on my stomach for a while. “I'll claim my babies, Lyra. You can't stop me.” It was as much of a promise as it was a threat

“By the way, I saved you from your mate that rejected you without thinking twice, what do I get for it?” Those were the exact words of the man I was sold to by my mate the day I stepped into his mansion. Thick saliva landed roughly into the pit of my stomach. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Only bubbles. His eyes colour was dark but who is to say it wasn't as dark as his intentions. What are the chances I was not in more danger than I would have been with my mate that rejected me. ************************************************* Amaya went from learning that her mate was the Alpha of her Pack whom she detested, to being rejected and offered the role of becoming his slut by the same Alpha. But then her story changed in a way she never expected nor wanted. She would have preferred staying in the dungeon where her mate threw her than to be sold to the infamous tyrant Alpha to stop an impending war. With a new Alpha in the picture, Amaya's life was only getting started. The question remains if it was for good or for bad.

Nakakulong sa isang kasal na puno ng takot at kontrol, alam ni Calista "Cali" Montenegro na hindi siya basta-basta makakatakas kay Devin Vasquez—isang lalaking sabik sa kapangyarihan at hinding-hindi siya pakakawalan. Matagal na niyang tinitiis ang kalupitan nito, iniisip na wala na siyang ibang pagpipilian. Pero nang magdesisyon siyang maghain ng diborsyo, natuklasan niya ang isang masakit na katotohanan—hindi siya basta-basta palalayain ni Devin nang walang laban. Doon dumating si Lewis Alcaraz. Mapanlinlang, makapangyarihan, at ang taong pinaka-kinaiinisan ni Devin. Inalok niya si Cali ng proteksyong matagal na niyang hinahanap. Pero ang tulong na ito ay may kapalit—isang kasunduang magdudugtong sa kanilang dalawa sa paraang hindi niya inaasahan. Habang ang takot at galit ni Cali ay tuluyang nagtulak sa kanya na lumaban, natagpuan niya ang sarili sa mas kumplikadong sitwasyon kasama si Lewis. Ngunit sa kabila ng panganib, ang pag-aalaga at kapanatagang ibinibigay nito ang muling nagbigay sa kanya ng pag-asa sa pag-ibig. Sa laban ng kapangyarihan, pagnanasa, at pagtataksil—sino ang pipiliin ni Cali? Ang asawang gagawin ang lahat para maangkin siyang muli, o ang lalaking gumugulo sa kanyang isipan at puso?

Suddenly, there were sparks in the air as memories came back. My heart froze as I stared at him. The moment I dreaded most had come to life. “No. This couldn’t be happening,” I told myself. It was him. “My lady, this is the man who brought Asher home,” the maid announced beside me. “The Alpha of the Silver Fang pack, Kael Riverstone.” ***** In a single, shattering day, Aurelia’s world collapses when her husband, the Lycan king, parades a pregnant woman into their home—none other than Liora, the cruel tormentor from Aurelia’s past pack. The betrayal cuts deeper as Aurelia uncovers Kael’s heartless truth: his love was a lie, a scheme to exploit her rare primordial wolf blood. Framed for treason and cast out, Aurelia vows vengeance and returns to her old pack, rising from outcast to the fierce Alpha of Red Moon. Five years later, with her son Asher and her fiercely devoted beta Rune at her side, she’s forged a new life—Rune stepping in as the father figure Asher adores. But as undeniable sparks flare between Aurelia and Rune, threatening to ignite a passion she’s afraid to embrace, her past storms back. Kael, now wracked with regret, grovels for forgiveness, desperate to reclaim what he threw away. With Liora’s schemes lurking, Asher’s wild powers drawing danger, and a hidden bond with Rune unraveling, Aurelia must navigate a treacherous path of love, revenge, and primal strength. Will she seize her hard-won power and heart, or will the ghosts of betrayal pull her back into chaos?