Midsummer By Manuel Arguilla Summary

Ryan, a stripper, had spent years dreaming of revenge. The night his mother was gunned down, he swore he’d make Ricardo Covallo… a ruthless mafia boss responsible, pay in blood. When the chance came to heal Ricardo of the impotence Ryan had secretly caused, he disguised himself as a doctor and took it without hesitation. One injection, one quiet death, and justice would finally be his. But Ricardo Covallo is nothing like Ryan expected. Dangerous, yes. But also magnetic, intoxicating, and far too perceptive. A single heated night between them throws Ryan’s plan into chaos. Ricardo, drawn to something he can't quite name, refuses to let Ryan go. Trapped in a deadly game of deception and desire, Ryan finds himself torn. The man he came to kill now holds him in a cage lined with silk sheets and whispered promises. And the worst part? Ryan isn't sure he wants to escape. Because maybe revenge isn’t the only thing worth dying for.

I signed a contract to marry the man I hate the most in the world. Alexander Voss; a ruthless billionaire, my family’s mortal enemy, the devil who once tried to destroy everything I built. One year. One penthouse. One bed. No feelings. No touching. No falling in love. But the moment the ring is on my finger, the rules start to burn. Every touch burns with vengeance. Every kiss tastes like war. But the most dangerous part? I’m starting to crave the man who ruined my life. And he’s becoming obsessed with keeping me forever. Bound by Contract, Owned by Hate — Where enemies become addicts.

When Damian Voss lets his wife walk in on him kissing his first love against their kitchen island, he believes he's finally free — done with the quiet woman he married in secret, ready to claim the powerful public life he always wanted. What he doesn't know: the woman he just handed divorce papers to carries his child, his most dangerous competitor's personal vendetta, and a surname worth ten billion dollars that was stolen from her before she could walk. For three years, Lila loved him in secret — no announcements, no red carpets, no credit. She covered for his late nights, ignored the suspicious texts, and carried champagne and silk to a penthouse where she planned to give him everything. That moment arrived on their anniversary. He was already kissing someone else when she walked through the door. She signed. She slid the papers across the marble. She walked out without a single tear — and picked up a phone call that changed the shape of the world. Some men confuse silence for weakness. Some women are only quiet because they haven't yet decided what to burn. And some divorces don't end a story — they start one, with a crown, a rival, and an empire rebuilt on the ashes of everything he thought he owned.

BLURB. "I was sold without my will but never expected to have my heart to be stolen as well". Lila was forcefully given to the Lycan king without her will to be his surrogate since the Luna Queen, his mate, couldn't concieve for him but Lila never expected to discover that she would be his second chance mate. Rejected and battered, Lila discovers she is pregnant and decided to run away with her unborn child, ending up in another realm where she met her second chance mates who were not just one but two? As she tried to balance life with them, her first mates started to seek her back and a situation led her to go back to him for he might just be the solution to every problems including the curse laid on her second chance mates.

Minsi is a twenty-five-year-old woman who was blessed with a curvaceous body. She is a calm, loyal, and good herbalist. But then those wonderful things about her aren’t enough for her fated mate, the Alpha of Maplewood pack. The man mistreated her just because she wasn’t his ideal type of woman. Tortured her because of her body. Said she wasn’t perfect to be his Luna and so rejected her and banished her from his pack. Heartbroken, Minsi had no choice but to walk away, not even knowing where she was going. This is until she almost lost her life, but someone miraculously appeared and saved her from being killed by the rogues in a thick forest. Just then, a new bond is formed between her and the handsome stranger. But she didn’t raise her hopes high, knowing about her bad past experiences with mates. “It’s okay. You can reject me. I won’t force you to accept me,” she said in all honesty. “Why should I reject you? I won’t reject you, sweetheart. Because I see you, the real you,” replied the handsome stranger. Minsi is given a chance to start afresh with her life however their is a web of secrets ahead of her that will threaten everything. Who was this man? What would be the fate of Minsi now that she was given a second chance by the Moon Goddess? And what secrets is he keeping?

Zara Adigun never believed in fairy tales especially not the kind that involved arrogant billionaires and cold, calculated marriages. But when her father fell ill and her family is drowning in debt, she agrees to a one-year marriage contract with the most powerful and emotionally detached bachelor in Lagos (Dami Adeyemi). The deal is to pretend to be the perfect couple in public, live together under strict conditions that she must comply with, and leave when the contract ends with no strings and no emotions attached. But Dami’s icy rules begin to melt as Zara’s fire draws out the man he’s buried deep beneath his grief and guilt. The closer they get, the harder it becomes to stick to the rules, until secrets from the past threaten to destroy everything they were nurturing. Jide Adeyemi—Dami’s estranged brother and Zara’s first love came into the picture to reignite old flames and dark family secrets, Zara finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle where trust is fragile, and the truth is a weapon. Now, she must decide: 1. To follow the terms of the contract. 2. Run back to the man who once broke her heart, or 3. Fight for a love that was never meant to happen. When hearts are bound by fate, will love survive the truth?

Lena is an Omega, bullied and humiliated by the entire Pack. Her only hope was the mating ceremony where she will get a mate and finally mean something special to someone. But fate is cruel as her mate Ethan, the future Alpha of her pack, brutally rejects her in favor of another woman. Broken and devastated, she flees in tears to a bar and drinking herself to stupor, she had a one night stand with a stranger.  She returns back to her normal life only to find out she was pregnant. Beaten by her guardians, she was told that her baby will be aborted, she ran away at night only to be chased by rogues. Saved by the guards of a neighboring pack, Lena meets Alpha Adrian and they both recognise each other as mates. She doesn't know that Alpha Adrian was her one night stand but Alpha Adrian recognises her and knew that the baby was his own. Lena was glad that fate has given her a second chance mate but then nothing could prepare her for the wrath of Claire, Alpha Adrian's arranged mate who in her jealousy schemes to tear them apart by spreading lies and doubts about Lena's loyalty. Lena is thrown into prison awaiting judgment.  Lena is down and broken but what will she do when Alpha Ethan comes back to save her and reveal her true identity and heritage to her begging her for a second chance.  Will she be able to move past the pain of the past and give love a second chance by forgiving him or will she allow the pain of the past to hold her back? "Alpha's Betrayal, Omega's Triumph" is a story of love, resilience, Forgiveness in a world where secrets could either destroy or heal.

They ruined her, taking away the only thing she cared most about and now she was going to take revenge, she was going to destroy them all, crumble them from the inside and triumph over their destruction, while she watch them beg for mercy before drawing their last breath. It's payback time and no one will be left untouched, not even her mate.

Tonight was the Luna ceremony of Michelle Wright, a pure Alpha descendant. The one who personally placed the Luna crown on her head was Ronan Black, the Alpha of the Sacred Wolf Pack, who had shared my bed for five years. And I, reduced to an Omega, stood like an abandoned spirit in the darkest corner of the altar. To humiliate me, Michelle poured the pure Alpha blood that symbolized honor straight over my body. She accused me of being consumed by jealousy, pointing to a wound she had cut with a silver blade. She even fabricated false evidence, claiming I had consorted with rogues and betrayed the pack. As the Stone of Reckoning displayed my name and the order of exile, and the crowd prepared to drag me away, I lifted my gaze. "Ronan, did you ever consider that your precious Luna might be a fraud who stole my bloodline and claimed it as her own?"

“Meet me in my chamber April, tonight i shall weaken your bones with pleasure” “ Do not come with your underpants” Wiston added with a wink.“Yes my lord” April replied shyly as her face turned pink.April had always identified as the "Weak One", a A wolfless omega without powers. For years, she's been trapped in a pack that rejects outsiders, relying solely on her love for her mate,Wiston, but when her own mate, the pack alpha, turns against her, she knows it's time to escape. With pain, fear and rage she flees and finds herself face-to-face with three powerful alphas who claim her as their own. However April was left in dilemma, confused as her heart beats for them all. But she’s to choose one! How will she navigate between three Alphas?How will she control her thirst for revenge? The pack that once rejected her will soon tremble with fear, will her thirst for revenge consume her? Or will she finally get what she has always wanted?