More Than Cake

Just because my wolf mom scratched Ava Shaw's favorite dress, Noah Potter called a butcher. He punished her seriously. I found her dying body and screamed at him. "I told you before—I was raised by wolves. What you did to her is no different from killing my mother!" Noah stayed cold. He covered Ava's eyes and stared at me. "You are just a stray kid my stepmom picked up. Stop trying to fool me." My wolf mom was still bleeding as she dragged herself toward me. I crawled to her and held her tight. "I stayed here to repay Noah's family for helping the wolf pack. You chased me for miles because you could not let me go. I never thought I would end up hurting you instead." That night, I held my wolf mom and knelt in front of Aunt Wendy's memorial. "Aunt Wendy, the Potters' Zoo are everywhere now. They do not need my gift anymore. I should leave."

Four years after marrying Wesley Coleman, Emma Payne is expecting a baby. She shows up at the hospital with her forms to get registered, but when the nurse runs her info, she tells her that the marriage certificate isn't valid. Emma simply can't believe it. "No way. That can't be right." The nurse taps on the stamp. "Look at that. The seal is all crooked, and the code doesn't check out." Emma isn't convinced yet. She rushes to the courthouse, but they tell her the same thing. "Mr. Coleman is married, and his spouse's name is Sandra Payne." The news hits her like a ton of bricks. Her mind just goes blank. Sandra Payne is Emma's half-sister. Worst of all, she is also Wesley's first love. Years ago, she went abroad to chase her dreams. She never showed up to her own wedding and left Wesley heartbroken. And now, she is actually his legal wife.

One night, as I was making my way to the bathroom around 3 a.m., I saw my dormmate, Yvonne, squatting in front of our door. She was rearranging all our shoes so that their tips were pointed inward. I thought it was funny, so I rearranged them to have their tips pointed outward. The next day, I found that all of them had been positioned inward again. This kept happening for a week, and I continued to scramble things up, hiding the shoes, even, or tying the shoelaces together. But they always ended up being repositioned neatly inward. I started observing my dormmate and found her mumbling to the shoes while squatting at the door. I ranted about it online, only to have my first reply send chills down my spine. [Do you also get the weird feeling that something paranormal is happening around you? You have to move out before it’s too late!]

In the third year of her marriage to Anthony Lancaster, Simone Nolan is still the envy of every woman in Avenport. "Mr. Lancaster treats Mrs. Lancaster so well! Last time, she just coughed once, and he immediately gave her a full physical." "She married the nation's most authoritative doctor, after all. May I be this blissful in my next life!" Simone smiles, long used to the nurses' chatter. She's about to push the door open when she hears an argument inside. She falters. "Mr. Lancaster, are we still going to terminate Mrs. Lancaster's pregnancy later? This is already the third time!" "I've already told you that whenever Simone gets pregnant, an abortion has to be performed, no matter how many times." Anthony's cool voice pierces Simone's ears. Her face instantly becomes ashen. "But why? She has always wanted to have your children." Anthony's tone is icily sharp. "It's because of that surgery three years ago. I removed one of Simone's kidneys and gave it to Winona."

Daddy brought me to Aunt Jenny’s party. As I was eating a piece of cake, I tasted a cherry between the layers and hurriedly spat it out. Once, I broke out in rashes after eating a cherry and nearly died, so I was deeply traumatized by that flavor even as a young child. However, Aunt Jenny looked heartbroken. “I hid a cherry in the cake as a little surprise, just like it’s good luck to get a bay leaf in a pie. How could you be so rude, Kenny?” Daddy did not even let me explain. He chased me out in the yard and made me stand there as punishment. Mommy said it had been more than a hundred degrees out lately, so she told me to stay home and not go out to play. Now I knew just how hot 104 degrees could be! My body was all itchy, too. I was finding it hard to breathe. I wanted to ask Daddy to forgive me, but he refused to open the door no matter how hard I knocked. He glanced at me coldly through the floor-to-ceiling window. He was not going to let me back in.

Three years ago, Swelina Lott, the mate of Holden Grant, my older brother, had read my diary out loud in front of everyone at the ceremony. Holden, who was also the Alpha of the Silvermoon pack, was enraged after hearing the contents. He personally locked me up in the juvenile wolf prison afterward. After all, my diary was filled with entries proclaiming my love and adoration for him. What Holden doesn't know is that the wardens used all sorts of violent punishments on me in order to correct my behavior. As a result, I lost my wolf there. Today is the day I regain my freedom. Holden and Swelina are already waiting for me at the prison gate. The latter even has a sweet smile plastered on her face. "You're finally released, Anria. Holden and I miss you terribly." Meanwhile, Holden just looks at my skeletal frame while saying icily, "Swelina is already pregnant with my pup. That makes her the future Luna of the Silvermoon pack. I hope that you can make peace with her. "If I hear anything about you fantasizing about me again, I don't mind sending you back to this very prison." Upon hearing his threat, I sink down to my knees instantly. My body starts trembling uncontrollably at the same time. Already, I can feel warm liquid seeping through my pants. I won't do that anymore, Holden. Right now, the only thing I want to do is to stay far, far away from you. The further, the better.

I'm Alpha Felix Axeford's most loyal warrior as well as the mate he has stubbornly chosen, even if it means defying the Moon Goddess' will. Five years ago, he had personally cast out Portia Smith, his fated mate. He even went as far as to break one of her legs. At that time, he had told me, "I don't trust the Moon Goddess at all, Selena. You're the only one I trust." But five years later, when Felix saw Portia, who's limping with one bad leg, at the border, he breaks down in tears on the spot. He whisks Portia back to the pack and arranges for her to stay in the master suite. As Felix looks at me, he says, "You're a warrior, Selena, which means you're very strong. But Portia only has me to rely on." In order to make amends to Portia, Felix starts stripping me of everything I have. I end up losing my title, my pride, as well as the unborn pup in my womb. When Portia and I get poisoned at the same time, I can only watch as Felix chooses to let Portia take the only antidote. It's then I finally understand that Felix, the Alpha who once had zero trust in fate, still yields to it in the end. "This time, I'm the one who no longer wants to be with you, Felix."

On Benedict Bradford’s birthday, he posted a link on social media with a taunting offer: [$1.99 buys you a prank—target: Sansa Stormcloud.] So when I arrived at his party, the guests drenched me in water, hurled glasses, smashed cake in my face, and shoved me down the stairs. Benedict sneered as he stood over me, arm slung around Lina Kipling. “You think you’re fit to marry into the Bradfords? Pathetic. “You’re not even in Lina’s league. You’re worth nothing more than a couple of dollars!” I picked myself up, dusted off my dress, and handed him an invitation. “You know, Benedict, the Bradfords have another heir. “And shortly afterwards, you’ll address me respectfully as your sister-in-law.”

When your ex-husband, who broke your heart and shattered your soul six years ago, organizes a gala party, you have no choice but to get yourself involved. After all, you’re now a made woman, a CEO in your own right, of a green food company. So you return to his company, powerful and stunning, and you shock him to his very core with your appearance on his board. But you are shocked too, because you realize you’re still attracted to him. Even more strongly than when you were married to him. And that’s a problem, because he’s engaged to the new shiny lady on the block. They say you can’t eat your cake and have it, but what if you can?

Three years ago, my fated mate, Rex Hemmond, had personally signed the auction contract, resulting in me getting delivered onto the auction stage in the black market. That night, I was injected with aphrodisiacs, leading to me revealing my most debauched side in front of everyone. That was how I became the most hated harlot in the Moonshade pack. My sister, Daisy Russell, could be seen nestling into Rex's arms. She was smiling as she watched me fall into the abyss. During the years of my exile, I spent countless nights beneath bridges. Most of the time, I was chased around by others who wanted to beat me up. Eventually, I started earning money by slaving away in underground cage fights as a fighter so that I could buy back the estate that my dad had left me with. Three years later, Rex tracks me down with bloodshot eyes. "Come back with me and apologize to Daisy." I respond by punching him in the face. "That'll be 100 dollars per punch. If you're still unsatisfied, you can keep punching me." When Rex takes Daisy's hand at the estate's gateway and claims that it will be hers from now on, I finally fire a text message to an unknown number. "I need you." The moment that wolf steps into the Moonshade pack, Rex questions me with red-rimmed eyes, "Since when did you get together with him?" I just smile in return. "He was the one who saved me on the night you signed the auction contract."