Nodded

At the Mating Ceremony, my mate Alexander rejected our mate bond in front of the entire pack, then turned around and marked Sarah instead. While I endured the excruciating pain of rejection and the pack's vicious gossip, Alexander's brother Ethan walked into our ceremonial grounds. He presented me with nine hundred and ninety-nine Moonflowers, confessing he had secretly loved me for years. His wolf had recognized me as his mate, and he'd dreamed of making me his. I was shocked to discover he was my second chance mate, and touched that he saved me from humiliation. I immediately nodded in agreement. Five years into our marriage, I had miscarried five times, and had finally managed to conceive again. Ethan held me carefully, spinning me around with joy, promising to take good care of me and the baby, even if it cost him his life. Four months into my pregnancy, I overheard him talking with the pack healer: "Alpha Ethan, just like the previous five times, the miscarriage drugs have been added to your wife's pregnancy supplements." "I don't understand. Sarah was able to bear your child, so why not your wife?" Ethan laughed bitterly: "Only those who produce an heir can inherit the Alpha position. Alexander is infertile, and I want Sarah to fulfill her wish of becoming the pack's Alpha Female." Alexander and Ethan were the children of our pack's Alpha. The Alpha had declared that whoever produced an heir first would become the next Alpha of the pack. All those passionate vows and promises were nothing but lies. The brothers, Alexander and Ethan, both loved Sarah. If that was how things stood, I would leave. I returned to our bedroom and secretly took out my phone, dialing a number I thought I would never contact again: "I agree to return and inherit the Shadow Pack. But I need you to do me a favor."

Peter's eyes pleaded. "I'm sorry for what I did, but—" Dominic cut him off. "If I had not married your daughter, you would have fallen here in pieces by now." Peter's voice barely audible. "I'm sorry..." Just then, the office door swung open. Valerie's soft voice interrupted the tense scene. "Dinner is ready." Every head turned towards the door. Valerie's eyes widened as she took in the room's atmosphere. "Dad?" Dominic's expression remained stern, but a flicker of warning flashed in his eyes. He nodded subtly at Kael. Kael strode towards Valerie, his movements fluid. "Vel, let's go." Valerie's voice trembled as she asked Kael, "What's going on? Why is Dad kneeling there?" Kael's expression softened, but his eyes remained guarded. He offered a gentle smile. "You don't need to worry about him, Valerie." Valerie's concern deepened. "But what's happening?" Kael's tone turned cold. "Anyway, that man doesn't deserve anyone's concern." Valerie's eyes widened. "That man is my father." Kael's jaw clenched. "That man was neither a good father nor an honest man. He's getting what he deserves." Suddenly, the sound of a bullet firing cracked through the air. Valerie's eyes went wide, and she took a step forward, but Kael grasped her hand, holding her back. "Don't go there, Valerie," Kael warned, his voice low and urgent. "The boss is very pissed off right now. It's not safe." Tears welled up in Valerie's eyes, spilling down her cheeks. "He was my father," she whispered. Valerie, wife of mafia king Dominic, faces danger when Viktor, seeking revenge, targets her and their unborn child. Despite Arthur's protection, Valerie is kidnapped and brutally attacked by Viktor, resulting in the loss of her child. The tragedy unleashes Dominic's darker side, transforming him into a heartless and cruel leader, driven by vengeance.

The day after my Alpha mate's precious childhood sweetheart Sage accused me of sending rogue wolves to attack her, my mate Kael, along with our two sons, suspended my brother above a massive cauldron of boiling silver, threatening to throw him into the molten metal that would burn him alive. I went insane, rushing toward them, but the pack warriors held me back with iron grips. "Do you understand your mistake now?" Kael stood nearby in his perfectly tailored suit, his eyes cold as winter frost, his voice laced with ice. "Will you ever dare to hurt Sage again?" "I didn't attack her!" I cried, struggling against the warriors' hold. "Kael, let my brother go! He's only eighteen! He just got accepted to Harvard!" Five-year-old River crossed his small arms, his face emotionless. "The evidence is clear. Why are you still lying?" Four-year-old Stone nodded along, his tone innocent yet cruel. "Mommy, if you're so scared of Uncle dying, you shouldn't have attacked Aunt Sage. She's our precious one." My heart contracted violently. Sage was their precious one. Then what was I? What did I mean to them? I looked toward Kael, hoping he might spare my brother for the sake of our years as mates. But he only stared at me coldly, his gaze like he was looking at a complete stranger. I suddenly laughed, though tears streamed down my face. They thought it was just a dummy tied up there and they were just trying to scare me. They didn't realize that Sage had someone switch out that dummy. What's frying in the silver now is my dear little brother. In the boiling silver, my brother's body was already burned beyond recognition. But when I completely gave up and left, why did three men kneel down and beg me to come back?

Alpha Terrence and I had been pup-less mates for five years. But one day, Terrence had accidentally ingested wolfsbane, leading to a diagnosis of severe poisoned decay. His agonized whimpers shredding the silence of every night, plunged our pack into despair. It was then that a mysterious witch whispered a prophecy to his parents: only a she-wolf bearing the "scent of silverfern and cold moonlight" could save him. So, in order to pull him back from the brink of death, he slept with the she-wolf his parents arranged for him. After every time they mated, he would frantically slap himself, then kneel before me in tears, confessing everything. Later, the she-wolf, Rebecca, succeeded in getting pregnant. Terrence hugged me and cried bitterly, "Lila, my Luna," he choked, his golden Alpha eyes dimmed with grief, "I've fulfilled my parents' dreams, so from now on, I'll live for myself. My heart, my wolf... they belong only to you." But two years later, I saw Rebecca was being fawned over by everyone in Twilight Pack. A pup stood beside her, as her belly was swollen high with another one. Terrence instinctively shifted to shield her, explaining, "Luna, my parents... they just wish for a son and daughter to complete my family. Once Rebecca safely delivers this pup, I'll send her away. Right away." "You didn't want pups with me, so Rebecca carries this burden for you. It will be yours. I did this... because I love you too much to leave you alone in this world, these pups are the gifts I leave behind. They will carry on my love for you, even after I'm gone." I nodded without crying. Terrence didn't know. I came today to share joyful news because I was pregnant. But this pup... would never draw breath under the moon. When the truth crashed upon him, that very night, under the full moon's indifferent gaze, his desolate howl became a tangible cry for my pardon.

“After drinking the potion, your wolf scent will be completely altered and your mate bond will be broken. Are you sure you want to do this?” The witch looked at me in surprise. "I'm sure." I nodded calmly and drank the potion without hesitation. My Alpha mate, Lucas, marked me three years ago but never held a formal mating ceremony because he spent three years designing a wedding dress for me himself. That was until a week before the ceremony, when I watched Lucas with my own eyes as he draped that Luna gown over my sister, Seraphina—who had been missing for three years. Even my beloved Beta twin brothers, who doted on me the most, were gathered around Seraphina. Seraphina and I were twin sisters. I had a crush on Lucas for ten years, but I knew Lucas had always loved her. However, three years ago, when the pack was on the verge of extinction after an attack by rogue wolves, Seraphina ran away, abandoning everyone. When everyone was in despair, I fought with all my might to protect everyone until Lucas and my brothers returned. I almost died in that battle. Lucas, trembling, held my hand and asked if I would be his mate. He said I had saved the entire pack, that I was the bravest she-wolf. My brothers also swore that Seraphina, that coward, had been banished from the family. They said that from now on, I was their only sister. Until two days ago, when Seraphina returned. She claimed that she didn't run away but left to lure away a more vicious pack of rogues. She said she had been poisoned with silver toxicity during the fight and only had a month to live. Lucas and my brothers believed her without hesitation. To make up for the three years they "owed" her, and to fulfill Seraphina's "dying wish," they decided—to give my Mating Ceremony to her. After drinking the potion, I sent a message to the Alpha King of the Northern Territory: I am willing to join the Northern Territory. Help me stage a fake death in a week.

The Clan Healer told me that without the vial of Progenitor's Blood, the Blood Blight afflicting me meant I had only seventy-two hours to live. But my husband, Miles, the new Duke of our world, gave the only vial of the precious cure to my adopted sister, Vivienne, the woman I had turned three years ago. "She's in agony from the rejection, Isolde. It's a pain you can't possibly understand." His tone was self-righteous, devoid of any concern for the patch of skin on my collarbone already turning to stone. I nodded, watching as the life-saving, dark red liquid slid down another woman's throat. I accomplished a great deal in the time I had left. As I signed the documents, the lawyer's hand trembled. "Are you certain you want to transfer everything, Your Grace? The territorial rights of a thousand-year-old clan..." I didn't hesitate. "Yes. To Vivienne." My adopted daughter, Lily, the girl I had risked everything to save, who was now forever frozen at the age of eight, cowered in Vivienne's arms, pointing at me and screaming, "Aunt Vivienne is my real mommy! You're the witch who turned us into monsters!" I offered no defense. "Yes, that's right. Be a good girl and listen to your new mother now." The Progenitor's Ring, the symbol of the clan's supreme authority, now rested on Vivienne's hand. "Oh, sister, you're too kind," she sobbed, her sobs a practiced performance. "I'll be sure to protect the family in your stead." I nodded. "You'll run things better than I ever did." I even signed away my control over the Elder Council, a council sustained by my own blood. For the first time in a century, a shadow of complex emotion crossed Miles's face. He stared at me,"Isolde, stop fighting. It's better this way. You need to rest." Yes. On my deathbed, I had finally become the perfect, submissive Isolde they always wanted. An Isolde who was about to turn to dust. The seventy-two-hour countdown had begun. I wondered, when I finally turned to ash,

My daughter was born with silver poisoning in her blood—passed down from me—which made it hard for her to sense her wolf, and even harder for her to shift. I worked tirelessly, taking on every job I could, to earn enough money to find a cure for her. One night during a late shift, I saw her. My daughter, dressed like a princess in an elegant, Silverlight-woven gown, sat at a table in a high-end restaurant. With her was my mate—supposedly bedridden and paralyzed—wearing a tailored haute couture suit. Across the table sat the famous she-wolf of our pack, the daughter of a respected elder. They had ordered a lavish dinner, the bill totaling over $500,000. After the meal, I overheard my mate ask our daughter, “You remember how to tell the story, right?” She nodded and replied, “Yes. I’ll tell Mom we were working as werewolf junk collectors all night, collecting waste paper crates, and in the end, we only earned enough to buy half a loaf of bread.” My mate smiled, pleased with the answer. The she-wolf then gifted my daughter an entire collection of newly released moonstone jewelry. Before they left, my mate tipped each waitress $5,000. I stood frozen, tears falling as the truth shattered my heart: my mate—and even my beloved daughter—had been lying to me. Even in dormancy, my wolf mourned. A colleague saw me crying and asked what was wrong. I forced a smile and said, “I’m just happy. I got $5,000 tonight. It would’ve been even better… if it hadn’t come from my mate, the one who’s supposed to be paralyzed and lying in bed.” No one knew what I had sacrificed to be his mate. I waited for an apology. But it never came. So I made my decision. I called my father—the one who had been waiting all these years for me to return as his heir. When I disappeared from their lives, just as they had always secretly wished... That’s when they finally began searching for me across the world.

Gage's lips crashed down on Nicole's, their tongues tangling in a passionate kiss. As they kissed, Nicole pulled back slightly, her eyes locked onto Gage's. "We neither want to be in a relationship nor can suppress our needs," she whispered, her lips brushing against Gage's. Gage's eyes burned with intensity, his lips curling into a smile. "So what do you propose?" he asked, his voice low and husky. Nicole's smile grew wider, and she leaned in closer, her lips touching Gage's. "Friends with benefits, just sex without any relationship boundaries." Gage's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't pull back. Instead, he deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring Nicole's mouth. "Seriously?" he whispered, his lips brushing against Nicole's. Nicole nodded, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Yes, seriously." As they kissed, Gage's hands roamed over Nicole's body, his fingers tracing the contours of her curves. Nicole's hands were just as busy, her fingers exploring Gage's chest and abs. "I like your lips," Gage whispered, his lips brushing against Nicole's. Nicole smiled, her eyes locked onto Gage's. "I like your eyes." Gage's gaze roamed over Nicole's body, his eyes lingering on her breasts. "Your breasts," he whispered, his voice low and sensual. Nicole's smile grew wider, and she leaned in closer, her lips touching Gage's. "Your wide chest, and abs too." As they kissed, Nicole pulled back slightly, her eyes locked onto Gage's. "There are some rules, though," she whispered. As they kissed, Nicole pulled back slightly, her eyes locked onto Gage's. "What if we fall in love?" she whispered. Gage's smile faltered, and he looked at Nicole, his eyes searching. Nicole's expression turned serious, her eyes locked onto Gage's. "It can't happen," she whispered. "If it happens, then one will not force the other." "I'm in," he whispered.

After being reborn, I secretly switch the man I want to marry the most to the useless scion who loves flirting with me that lives next door. My dad, who's a high-ranking military colonel, is quite surprised by my choice, but he respects my wishes. In my past life, when Dad asked who I liked the most in the entire neighborhood, I had written down Damian Conrad's name. He nodded and told me, "This man has contributed greatly to the country despite only joining the army for three years. His future will definitely be a bright one. "A man as just and fair as him will undoubtedly be a good man who takes good care of his family and stays devoted to them." Dad immediately arranged for the two families to meet. Everyone thought that it was a rare and fated union. Our wedding was very grand and high-profile. Most of the people living in the military base came over to celebrate our wedding. But Damian set off for the frontier half a year after our marriage, with the excuse of wanting to contribute to the country. Not only did he leave me behind to take care of my in-laws on my own, but he also cut off all contact with me when Dad was severely ill. When I was finally done dealing with Dad's funeral matters, all I received was the bad news of Damian's death at the frontier. Crushed by the devastation and despair of the news, I fell into severe depression. Soon, I took my own life by jumping off the building. After my death, my soul refused to fade away at all. 40 years later, an elderly man and woman with graying hair showed up before my grave. With an arm around Heidi Myers' waist, Damian paid his respects to me at my grave. "It's my fault for lying to you back then, Carla. But Heidi doesn't have much time to live, so I can resort to desperate measures. Please let everything go and stop pestering her, Carla. If you really are resentful, feel free to come at me instead." It turns out that Damian loved Heidi this much that he was willing to fake his death just to trick me. But at the same time, they were so superstitious that they thought I was the one pestering Heidi, causing her to be afflicted with a terminal cancer. Now that I found out about the truth, I finally let my obsession go. When I open my eyes again, I realize I've returned to the day Dad asks me who I want to marry the most.

During the outdoor orientation boot camp, Wanda Lawson, the daughter of the richest tycoon, suddenly suffered from a heart attack. She collapsed to the ground and went through a seizure, her complexion bluish-gray. My boyfriend, Joseph Jensen, the drill instructor of the boot camp, overheard my pretentious roommate, Ella Ziegler, murmur, "She's usually fine, so why is she suddenly suffering from some sort of attack when it's time for the drills to start? She must be faking it in order to laze around!" Because of those assumptions, Joseph kicked the medication that Wanda managed to pull out of her pocket into the nearby river. "Get lost if you want to play dead! Don't drag us down with you!" I quickly dived into the river and scooped the medication out. Thanks to my efforts, Wanda's life was saved. Her father was enraged when he found out about the news and wanted to hold someone responsible. With tears streaking down my face, I begged Wanda to not expose Joseph. She nodded quietly to me. Joseph narrowly escaped the judgment. But Ella was expelled by the university right away for her malicious and provocative words. She even had a permanent stain of poor conduct marking her record. On the third day after Ella returned to her village, her family forced her to marry an older man who had remained single for far too long because of his violent temperament. Wanda's father was grateful to me for saving Wanda's life, so he listed me into the list of beneficiaries of his family's trust fund. The amount of money I received was second only to Wanda's portion. On the night news of Ella getting beaten to death by her husband got out, Joseph lovingly invited me to the place we first met so that we could go hiking. When I stood on the steep slope of the mountain, Joseph suddenly snatched the backpack filled with supplies, which included a life-saving whistle, from me. Then, he shoved me off the slope. "Why must you be such a busybody? If you never saved Wanda, she wouldn't have been able to testify against Ella because she'd have died! A murderer like you should just die!" Having broken my spine from the fall, I ended up dying at the foot of the mountain. After my death, not only Joseph got to receive the trust fund thanks to his relationship to me as my fiance, but he also began sponsoring low-income students by using Ella's namesake. That was how he reaped both wealth and reputation in one go. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Wanda suffers from the heart attack.