Nightshade Keri Lake

"I...don't... I don't... remember anything...." I stammered as I gripped my head, the throbbing pain in my head was already getting worse. "I don't even remember my name." Tears slid down my dirt stained face, the pain from the headache and the fear of my situation only made it more difficult to stop crying. "Hey!" His soft, yet hard eyes locked with mine as he touched my shoulder gently. "I am here for you." His words was oddly reassuringly, even if I don't know who he is, I felt comfortable in his presence. An ambitious werewolf gathers an army of forbidden soldiers, werewolves and vampires together in one force against the human race, he wishes to dominate politically and socially, annihilating the weaker race (Humans). Now one step is left for him, he must mate with the last surviving Lycan, the only surviving daughter of the most influential family known as Golden Corporation, the political and economical gods on the earth. The incident on one fateful night results in Natasha loosing her memories. Faced with an opportunity of controlling the last possible Lycan alive, he fabricate lies on who killed her parents and convinced her to join his course. Groomed into a merciless killer by the man that killed her parents and brainwashed into agreeing to become his mate for what he calls the "greater good.", Natasha Nightshade becomes a shadow of herself, lost in a labyrinth of self discovery, tormented by nightmares that seemed to be memories of her past, and now the Luna of a powerful and ruthless Werewolf kingdom, she stumbles upon a prisoner, brought in to be executed, a man that looked like the light at the end of her dark tunnel and somehow seems oddly familiar.

Extract The thought of Louis stalking me send cold shivers down my spine. Cold sweats formed on my forehead and I could feel my make-up washing off by my sweats. " Who are you?" Austin roared, but the wicked smile on Louis's face never left my mind. Why was he smiling that way? I couldn't help but wonder with my body trembling. " Louis Rusev" Louis answered and the audience gasped. At this moment, the priest had disappeared and everyone was holding their breath. " The alpha of lake pack?" Austin asked with squinted eyes to be sure the person standing before him wasn't an imposter. I didn't tell Austin the identity of my ex-mate, I only told him what happened between us. " Bravo, you know me well" Louis applauded and approached us on the stage. " What do you want?" Austin asked and I felt his grip tightened around my wrist in a protective manner. " I want my mate back" Louis answered calmly with a domineering voice. My heart dropped to my stomach at his response and I felt tears brimming in my eyes. Didn't he reject me? Didn't he send me away? why did he appear suddenly? In a world where people go over the moon when they find their mate, Nora's life crumbled after finding hers. Happy that her long-time crush, Alpha Louis Rusev was now her mate, she offered herself to him willingly not knowing Fate was Tempting her. How far can she survive the cruel action of fate and the partiality of the moon goddess?

Ever since I was little, I knew my future mate would be one of two Alpha candidates: Mitchell or Jax. Even with all their Alpha pride, I never once doubted that set future. The pack elders always said it was natural for Alpha candidates to focus on getting stronger and controlling the pack. My mother, Lyra, even told me that every brutal fight they got into was so the winner could give me, their Luna, the ultimate honor. That is, until I and Elara – this Omega stray they'd taken in – got ambushed and captured by our old enemies, the Nightshade pack. Mitchell and Jax only had enough of the life-saving Moonpetal herb for one of us. And they both chose to give it to Elara. To save myself in that fire, I forced a shift. The power surge was too much. The heat twisted my cheekbone, and just like that, I was disfigured. After they dragged me out – like an afterthought – I watched those two future Alphas crying over Elara, who didn't have a scratch on her. "Thank the Moon Goddess, Elara, you're alive." "Once we sort out who's the new Alpha of Blackwood, whoever it is will give you the most honored spot right under the Luna, Elara. Don't you worry. We'll give you the best of everything our pack has, make sure you never suffer again." "Elara, you're the real Luna in our hearts." When I came to, I cut off that ridiculous mate bond for good. Empty promises and a trampled destiny? I was done with it. But after I left, they stayed by my cave every day, begging me to come back.

The supernatural world has been at war with the rogue King, Soren, for ten bloody years. He has amassed an army of wolves, vampires and witches called the Mystics that leave bodies everywhere in their wake. His group of elemental warriors are known as the Realm Assassins, which he uses on special occasions. Recently, Soren has been on the hunt for something more powerful than what he already has in his arsenal, to keep as his queen. What will he find? Killian is the werewolf Alpha to the Nightshade Pack deep in the south of Terra Aasveig. While he is out looking for covens and other packs to ally himself with to face the war ahead of them, he finds something he isn’t expecting. He is taken by surprise when he finds his mate is part of the Timber Coven he is trying to make connections with, but she's no witch. Ember is a powerful fire elemental that helps guard a coven of witches that she has lived with her entire life. She not only has the ability of fire manipulation but can also do basic magic. With her leadership ability, she is set out to be the next high priestess of the Timber Coven. That is until she finds her soulmate right next to her in a battle against a small unit of Mystics that King Soren has sent. Let's go on this adventure together, as we learn that Ember holds a secret that will bring about the death of hundreds but will also save thousands more.

While exploring the wilderness, my younger sister—Charlotte Forrester—and I accidentally stumble onto the territory of supernatural beings. She grabs the hand of the noble, elegant male elf, her posture coy and intimate. Before I can react, a wolfman with a scar on his face wraps his arm around my waist and leads me away. Charlotte, who judges others by appearance, is unaware that the male elf—Elwin Duskwood—belongs to a tribe of half-elves. Half-elves are beautiful but possess no real capabilities. They are considered a marginalized group among elves and struggle to make ends meet every day. On the other hand, the wolfman—Morgan Nightshade—is a mid-tier wolf tribe's Highlord. After giving birth to an extremely rare silver wolf for him, I have become the Highlady of the tribe. I'm respected by everyone in the tribe and feast on delicacies every day. Meanwhile, Charlotte becomes emaciated after suffering from starvation for several months. When she sees how plump I am, she goes insane from jealousy. While the wolf tribe is entertaining guests at a banquet, she uses poison to kill me. The next time I open my eyes, Charlotte and I are back at the moment we first entered the supernatural beings' territory by mistake. Charlotte immediately hugs Morgan by the waist and kisses him. She showers him with flattery about his strength, calling him the man of her dreams. I can't help but laugh out loud. Silly Charlotte. As a wolfman, Morgan is ill-tempered, and he easily loses control of his emotions. He also becomes even more bloodthirsty after transforming. It's not all sunshine and rainbows being his mate. But I never imagined the elves could be so… in that regard.

She walked away from fate. Now fate refuses to let her go. “I’m not doing the ceremony, Tristan. I’m not accepting this bond.” He went still. Voice cold, almost hollow. “You’re the only person I’d burn the fucking world for—and you’re still running.” — Eleanor never believed in fated mates. How could she? Not after her father left her mother and abandoned them—even though they were bound by the mate bond. Not after her first love, Tristan, shattered her heart and married someone else. Not even when her own mate left her and their daughter to chase his “true bond.” Now a single mother hardened by betrayal, Eleanor returns to the Nightshade Pack to rebuild her life—but finds that Tristan is now Alpha… and her fated mate. Tristan has his own scars. The guilt of losing his wife. The pain of pushing Eleanor away. The weight of duty that never stops pressing on his shoulders. He doesn’t trust the bond either. But the pull between them is fierce, primal, impossible to ignore. Eleanor wants a choice. Tristan wants redemption. Fate wants blood, sweat, and surrender. And when old wounds reopen and past secrets rise, they’ll have to decide: accept the bond—or let it consume them.

After five years in a world ruled by werewolves, I still haven't found a way back to the human world. So I did the only thing I could. I married my fated mate, Ryan Darcy, a devastatingly handsome Lycan Prince with a towering frame. The night we sealed our mate bond, we traded secrets. Leaning close, I whispered in his ear, "The truth is, I'm not from this world. Treat me wrong, and I'll disappear back to where I came from. You'll never find me again." Ryan immediately swears he'll love me more than life itself. He pulls me close, holding me so tight it's like he's afraid I'll disappear any second. But then Eleanor Darcy—his stepsister, sent away for a political marriage in another pack—returns. Bit by bit, I watch as Ryan's attention shifts to her. Devastated, I start looking for a way back to the human world. I throw myself at walls, try to hang myself, even jump into the lake, but nothing works. Ryan grows more distant with each passing day. "Susan, I expected better from you. Since when have you stooped to cheap attention-seeking stunts? 'Crossed over from another world?' You can't honestly expect me to buy that nonsense." That's when I realized he hadn't believed a single word I'd said.

During the exchange of tokens in the Marking Ceremony, I presented the wolf tooth ring I had carved myself, as a witness to our marking. But my Alpha mate, Frendo, remained completely indifferent, not releasing any marking aura, as though he had entirely forgotten that today was the day of our spiritual bonding ceremony. At that moment, Lily updated her Instagram, saying she would be returning to the Sliver Lake Pack in an hour. The air immediately filled with the restless scent of wolves, and before I could react, my Beta brother, George, stepped onto the ceremony stage and emotionlessly announced, "The Marking Ceremony is canceled." Frendo and George, in perfect synchronization, turned and left the altar together, leaving me standing alone, under the watchful eyes of all the Pack members. They wanted to see how a one-person marking ceremony would proceed. It wasn’t until I held back my inner frustration and awkwardly finished the ceremony with some semblance of dignity that I opened Lily’s Instagram. In her latest photo, George and Frendo were both surrounding her, releasing intimate signals. One was holding a silver moon festival gift box, while the other offered her a moonlight rose, her favorite. I bitterly smiled and wiped away the tears from my eyes before calling the one family that truly mattered, my flesh and blood. "Dad, Mom. I want to go home."

After three miscarriages for Xavier Lowe, I see it—my mother-in-law has three years left, my father-in-law nine years, and my sister-in-law two years. I say nothing. After the third miscarriage, my mother-in-law blames me, calling me a curse who "kills" children. My sister-in-law sneers, saying she almost died in a car crash the year I married Xavier—as if my bad luck dragged her down. My mother-in-law snaps, "She can't even keep a child. It must be because she's cursed!" Xavier just stands there, silent. He doesn't say a single word for me. I know that, deep down, he believes that I bring bad luck. Maybe it's also because he already has someone else—his secretary, Yvette Snyder. His mother has always liked her better, and he clung to her the night I lost my third child. I don't explain because I know the truth will only destroy them faster. On my 28th birthday, I catch a glimpse of my own countdown in the mirror. On that day, I take a leave of absence. I go to the funeral home and pick out an urn—pure white, just like the wedding dress I once wore. Wearing a beautiful floral dress, I text Xavier, asking him to meet me at the lake where we first met ten years ago. I wait from daylight until nightfall as my countdown ticks to zero. I die, and he never shows up.

He kissed me breathless, senseless—he had me wanting, shamelessly panting against the cool glass of the courtyard, open for anyone.“We can’t! Someone could see—!”“Let them," he husked against my neck. "I want them to see.”My name is Ayda Sabine, once the princess to the illustrious Emerald Lake pack, now a single mother living a life of destitution in Eventide City. My status has been stripped from me, banished by my parents for my digression of falling outside my betrothal agreement. To make matters worse, I don't remember who the father of my son is. All I can recall are his golden eyes. However, when the opportunity arises for me and my son to ascend the social ladder as the personal stylist to Narcissa Onasis of the Diamond Spring clan, I finally get the opportunity to find the man who could be my true mate. If Narcissa's fiance, Prince Sebastian of the Obsidian Moon doesn't stop me. Alpha's Secret Mate is created by Claire Wilkins, an eGlobal Creative Published author.