Once A Year

In a car, Matteo Gallagher kisses Evelyn Walsh until she's breathless and entranced. She's been stripped, but he's still fully clothed. The stark contrast makes her blush. Matteo wraps an arm around Evelyn's waist and pulls her close. He chuckles and whispers, "The soundproof divider is up, so the driver can't hear you. He wouldn't dare listen in, anyway. Why are you so shy?" She watches as he intensifies his ministrations on her and throws her arms around him. Love fills her eyes, and she's about to reach her climax. Just then, a phone rings, interrupting them.

Astra wanted nothing more but genuine happiness and the strength to move on from her failed marriage. When she got married to New York’s most eligible bachelor, she felt her joy was at its peak. One night, she got thrown out in the rain by her billionaire husband, and she had no idea her marriage was about to end. Billionaire Nicholas Michealson felt betrayed when he discovered his wife of almost two years was cheating on him, and he divorced her without listening to her side of the story. He felt betrayed and hurt by the only person he ever let into his heart. Five years later, and the hurt is still fresh, They both want closure to move on from each other. In a period of five years, everything has changed except the truth. Astra has huge secrets, and Nicholas has been wrong all along. Maybe it was indeed too late for both of them.

“Are you deaf? I said the marriage is over.” His voice rose, sharp and final, “From this moment on, I, Damon Cross, reject you, Amber Smith, as my mate.” --- Amber Smith is the wife of Damon Cross, the powerful alpha of the silver moon pack and a wealthy, charismatic CEO. To the outside world, she is the lucky woman who got married to the rich and handsome CEO. But behind closed doors, she was nothing more than a complete stranger to him. On the day she was supposed to reveal her pregnancy to him, Amber comes home to find him in bed with his ex girlfriend. In an attempt to escape the pain, she makes the decision to leave the country, burying her feelings behind her. Six years later, she returns to the country, no longer the timid omega she once was. But as the world's most prestigious CEOs. And this time around, she's not the one chasing love.

Amber is a simple, kind, and brave girl. She’s the eldest among three siblings. Despite having a complete family, they lack one thing that is essential for survival—money. Her father works as a security guard in a well-known construction firm while her mother is an online seller of thrifty clothes. At a young age, she saw how her parents worked hard to provide the needs of their family. That is why she promised herself that she will do everything to help her parents once she graduated—but things won’t be that easy for her. Amber is a third-year college student in a well-known university, but unlike most of the students, she got in because of her scholarship. She was never the type of student to ace her academics, but her marks are enough to lessen her school fees by 50%. In order to pay for the remaining half, she applied as a student assistant in their university. William James Walton, he's one of the most sought after business man in his generation. He's young, good-looking and smart. Many of his business opponents envy the his charm and strategies. Will these two people from two different world be able to find happiness in each others arms? Or will their differences hinder the chance of a happy ending?

They say karma strikes when you least expect it. And for me, it did. That small boy I once harassed, ignored, and bullied is now a fully grown Urekai Alpha with immense power, unmatched strength, and a name associated with many fearsome reputations. And because he once swore vengeance, I have been running all my life. But he has caught me. The hatred he has for me, is one I have never known before. Coated with venom. Burning with spite. Only in those cold, satanic gray eyes have I seen hate in its rawest, purest form. I thought I had prepared for this day. That I was ready for the revenge and retribution he promised. However, the punishment he delivers is one I never saw coming. But how do you break what is already broken? How do you drown one who lives with their head buried underwater? How do you kill something that stopped breathing a long time ago? And more terrifying still, how the hell does love grow from the most venomous, hate-filled, black heart to ever exist? . . WARNING: This book contains highly sexual mature content and really dark themes that cross the line from dark into pitch-black territory, which some readers may find unsettling or triggering. Please proceed with caution. • NOTE: This book is a complete standalone. Though set in the Urekai universe, this story introduces entirely new characters with their own depths, nuances, and experiences. You need not read "That Prince Is A Girl" to enjoy or understand this tale, for it is a completely independent story of its own.

On our seventh wedding anniversary, I was straddling my Mafia husband, Lucian, kissing him deeply. My fingers fumbled in the pocket of my expensive silk dress, searching for the pregnancy test I'd hidden there. I wanted to save the news of my unexpected pregnancy for the end of the evening. Lucian's right-hand man, Marco, asked with a suggestive smile in Italian: "Don, your new little canary, Sophia. How does she taste?" Lucian's mocking laughter vibrated through my chest, sending a chill down my spine. He replied, also in Italian: "Like an unripe peach. Fresh and tender." His hand was still caressing my waist, but his gaze was distant. "Just keep this between us. If my Donna finds out, I'm a dead man." His men chuckled knowingly, raising their glasses and swearing their silence. The warmth in my blood turned to ice, inch by inch. The one thing they didn’t know was that my grandmother was from Sicily, so I understood every word. I forced myself to remain calm, keeping the perfect smile of a Donna fixed in place, but the hand holding my champagne flute trembled. Instead of making a scene, I opened my phone, found the invitation I had received a few days ago for a private international medical research project, and tapped "Accept." In three days, I would disappear from Lucian's world completely.

I used to believe fate was cruel. Taken as a child. Forgotten by the family who should have fought for me. And bound to an Alpha who only ever looked at someone else. For three years, I’ve lived as his wife in name only— a ghost in my own home, unwanted and unloved. When I told Matthias I was pregnant, I thought something might change. But his golden eyes burned with fury. He called me a liar. A mistake. A deceiver. Then she came back. The sister I thought I’d lost forever. The woman he grieved. The one he truly loved. The one his mating bond was connected to. Now, just as I’d walked away and reclaimed my freedom, Matthias decides he wants me back. But it’s too late. Because Alpha Cassiel Aldric—the coldest, most respected Alpha of them all, held me tight… and said, “Mate. You are mine.” Now I’m caught between two Alphas: One who threw me away. And one who would burn the world to claim me.

She thought high school couldn't get worse-until a bet turned her first kiss into a viral nightmare. Bullied for her weight and mocked by the school's elite, Nova Foster had one goal; stay invisible. But when a leaked video of her kissing the school's bad boy explodes online causing her world to shatter. It was just for rehearsal or so she thought.Tricked, humiliated, and betrayed, Nova reaches her breaking point. But while they expected her to disappear, she returns stronger, transformed-and ready to burn their perfect little world to the ground. He broke her. Now he wants to fix her. But can she ever trust him again?

Even if he hated me, I couldn’t look away from him. Even if he called me an imposter, a trickster, all I could think of was how alluring his scent was. Even when he was ready to take my sister’s words over mine, I couldn’t help falling for him. I wanted him to take me in his arms and tell me that the last few weeks had been a dream after all. That he loved me, like a true mate would. I wanted him to be my prince charming. To be my salvation. But that was not my fate. Goddess forbid if I had anything easy in life! Sometimes, I truly believed that this mate bond was the curse. Not my being the Stealer. Callista Leander turned eighteen with hopes of finding her happily ever after. But instead, she was left locked in a tower of a castle, doomed to be married off to her true mate’s feral brother to save him from certain death. All because of one curse and a conniving sister. Her life was suddenly filled with betrayals and secrets, and in every corner she looked, danger lurked. Now, with the whole world against her. At the mercy of an angry king, her oblivious one true mate, will she make it out alive on the other side?

"Mommy, you have to be the first person to come pick me up, okay?" These are my daughter Dorothy Grant's final words to me when she walked me out of the house this morning. But when I stand at the kindergarten's entrance with a box of Dorothy's favorite strawberry shortcake in my hands, the security guard just stares at me as though I lost my mind. "Ma'am, this place might be where Sunflower Kindergarten is located, but it has already closed its doors for three years. This place is now a retirement home." I rush into the "kindergarten" instantly. The spot where the slide used to be is now replaced by a row of flowerbeds. The room that used to be the classroom now hosts a bunch of elderly people, who bask in the sunlight. With trembling hands, I call my husband, Chester Grant, on the phone. He sounds very exasperated and exhausted over the phone. "Honey, we've been married for five years, and we choose to be childless. You've never given birth before."