Midsummer By Manuel Arguilla Summary

After Sarah finds her boyfriend in the arms of another she heads to the beach to clear her thoughts. Once there, she meets Dom, who she thinks will be the perfect distraction from her broken heart. It's only for the weekend? But what if it's not? When Sarah gets home her best friend Kane is waiting for her with open arms. Kane's more than he appears and when Dom shows up, she's going to have to make a choice or will she?

One reckless night. One dominant stranger. One obsession that refuses to end. Ava Sinclair thought the dark, sinful stranger she met at an exclusive club will be a fleeting escape from her suffocating life. But Damien Blackwell doesn't let things go easily. Marked by a single night of passion, Ava is dragged into Damien's world. A world of power, jealousy and secrets. He owns the night, and now he wants to own her. But Ava isn't one to be caged...or is she?

"Until when?" Arther asked with jealousy, "Will I wait for you to be done playing with another Alpha?" "Until I saw him cry," Dan replied, "until there is no confidence in his eyes, I want to see him being tamed by me." Dan is often rejected by Arther, his mate, who is from a different pack in the past. He bow himself that he'll do anything to tame that Alpha no matter what happened. And so, when the chance arrived... The game begins.

I never expected my boss to blackmail me into marriage. Ethan Sinclair the cold, calculating billionaire who never cracks a smile holds a secret over my head, forcing me into a fake marriage to secure his family’s inheritance. I hate him for it, but I need the money to save my brother’s life. The rules are simple: play the devoted wife for a year, follow his lead in public, and stay out of his way behind closed doors. But as sparks fly and buried secrets unravel, I realize Ethan isn’t just ruthless, he’s hiding something even more dangerous. The closer I get, the harder it becomes to remember this is all just a contract. Because falling for the devil was never part of the deal.

Rhea Valdez was promised to Nikolai Voss to be his wife, a contract was tied between both of them. Nikolai wanted Rhea and only Rhea. But on the wedding day, to his upmost surprise he got her sister, Kate instead. He hated Kate, and never made any interest to hide his hatred for her. He weds Kate silently, and vows to make her pay for doing what she did. -------------------- After the priest said you may now kiss the bride, Nikolai brought his face forward and whispered to me, "From this day henceforth, you will pay for agreeing to play with my intelligence. This I promise you." He then took my fragile lips into his, and kissed me. The crowds cheering, not knowing I just signed my death's bed by agreeing to help my step-sister flee with her boyfriend from Nikolai.

Mistreated her whole life by the family she was adopted into, Dakota Stone still strives to win her stepfamily’s love and approval despite their aloof and uncaring behavior towards her. Her life takes an unexpected turn when Elias Persson, a cold and intimidating billionaire, who was supposed to marry her sister, takes a sudden interest in her instead. Faced with a shocking betrayal by her fiancé and sister, she turns to Elias with a surprising proposal - a contract marriage. As long buried secrets in her family come to light, will the weight of her family’s deeds destroy her or will she find a safe haven in the arms of Elias?

Betrayal. Murder. A heart-wrenching escape to New York City. Eloise's decision to leave her hometown of Blue Creek leads her to find a passionate love with charming heir Stanley Bradshaw. But a shocking revelation forces her back to her small town, where buried secrets threaten everything she's built. As she unravels the truth about her best friend's death, Eloise must choose: embrace the love she's found or confront a powerful family who may not accept her past. Can Eloise find love and justice, or will the sins of her past destroy her future?

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.

The stench of silver dust filled the air, and every breath seared my lungs. My broken body lay twisted among the jagged rocks of the abandoned silver mine, where even the strongest werewolf would feel their strength waning. Beside me, my mate’s first love, Sophia, whimpered softly. A shallow scrape marked her knee. The tunnel was collapsing. Only two people could pass through the exit at a time. Lucas did not hesitate to scoop Sophia in his arms and abandon me. His golden eyes, once filled with unwavering loyalty toward me, now burned with something colder—indifference. I reached out, my fingers trembling as they grasped the hem of his clothing. My voice was hoarse with despair. "Lucas… please… don't leave me here." “I am your mate. I’m carrying your pups.” He glanced at me with a clenched jaw and broke free, shoving me back onto the silver-laced ground. Agony burned through my veins, consuming my soul like fire. “Are you serious, Ava?! After pushing Sophia into this damn abyss and getting her injured, you still dare to compare with her.” “You know what?! You deserve to be left here and reflect on your mistakes!” With that, he vanished into the light, and the tunnel collapsed behind him. His words cut deeper than silver ever could, and the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me was the sound of their retreating footsteps.

"I brought you here because you're my mate." "mate?" I ask incredulously. "yes. And I plan to make sure that you remain here, Tammy. Even if you try to run away from this, I will keep bringing you back every single time." Tammy is a nurse living a normal life. That changes after an encounter with a mysterious man, as her world begins to turn upsidedown. Adam Grayson, the next-in-line alpha of the skyline pack has been searching for his mate for eight years. His search comes to an end after a brief meeting with her, but claiming her poses a problem for him, so he begins making plans to get her. With the time of witch's curse manifestation approaching, Adam uses that to his advantage and gets ignorant his mate, Tammy, to cater for the wolves of his pack. And with her stay in the pack house, new developments occur, which disrupts her past and threatens her future with Adam. Will they still come together after terrible secrets unfold? Or would their bond be shattered? A scream pierces the air, and I whirl around, my attention now on the crowd. The lady, Amanda, points a trembling finger at me. "A witch! We have a witch among us!" I shake my head. "What? No!" I cry. "I'm not a witch!" "Witch! Witch! Witch!" The chants rise from the crowd. I turn back to Adam. "Adam, tell them I'm not a witch. Adam please!"