Only I Level Up

Juliana Anderson once enjoyed a happy life until her mother passed away. To compensate for the Beta who sacrificed his life to save him, her father, Alpha Anderson, married the Beta's widow and treated their daughter, Arlene, as his biological daughter. Thanks to Arlene's sham, everyone thought she was an innocent victim who had to suffer her stepsister Juliana's bullying. But no one knew Juliana had lost everything she cherished because of Arlene. Father, happy childhood, the chance to be admitted to her dream college, and her boyfriend, Carl. Arlene took all of them from Juliana, leaving Juliana no choice but to leave the home she had been living in for eighteen years. However, the nightmare didn't stop, and Juliana was kidnapped by a group of rogues. When she thought it was impossible to survive, she encountered a young man. He gave her the protection and love she hadn't experienced for ten years; then he went missing in a fight. No one knew whether he was dead. Juliana didn't give up hope and kept searching for him. Finally, she saw him again. But this one, who had the same face as her lover, was wearing a king's crown. So, was there any possibility that her missing lover was the legendary tyrant, the Alpha King? Picking Up an Alpha King is created by Cara TaleSmith, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

On the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, Michael Robertson ghosted. I sat outside the County Clerk's Office for hours. Instead of him, I got a pic from his secretary, Kallie Clunt. She was in his lap, arms wrapped around him, making out like it was the hottest scene in a drama. [Sorry, Elsa. Michael said he had to comfort my broken heart. You don't mind, do you?] When I asked him about it, he just looked annoyed. "She gave me blood once. What's the big deal if I hang out with her? Can't you be a little more understanding?" My stomach dropped. I turned away and called his older brother. "Leon, do you still want to marry me?"

It was only when I met my boyfriend's family that I found out he was the heir to Scolaris' most powerful mafia family. The Cabellos’ family rules stated that any woman who would become the Donna of their family was required to have fifty million worth of personal assets to their name. For Ian Cabello's sake, I scrimped and saved and worked hard in the real estate industry to finally save up forty million. However, my company started to face problems when we started to lose contracts. I failed to put together the remaining ten million, no matter how hard I tried. Ian held me in his arms to comfort me as he told me how he would figure out a plan to help me put the money together. When my little sister suffered a sudden heart attack and required a large amount to pay for the surgery fees, I tried swiping three cards but discovered that I did not have enough money in them to make the payment. I hurried to the bank to inquire about the insufficient funds, only to be told by the cashier that there was no money in my accounts. How was that possible? I had saved up my hard-earned forty million in the accounts! The person-in-charge looked at me guiltily. "There was a forty-million withdrawal by Signorino Ian to purchase a villa to be gifted to Signorina Lucy Carter as her birthday present."

Waking up hungover next to my arch-nemesis – the city's most notorious fuckboy? Worst. Morning. Ever. I handled the walk of shame with icy dignity, but fate had a bigger curveball: one month later, two pink lines. My baby. My rules. His involvement? Zero. My flawless plan hit a snag when morning sickness ambushed me in the office restroom. He walked in. His eyes locked onto my still-flat stomach, darkening with something dangerous. Before I could blink, he had me pinned against the cold tile wall. "Who's the father?" he growled. I met his glare with a frosty smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know? Definitely not you." Then it happened: a hot tear hit my neck. His voice cracked, raw and desperate. "Don't... don't leave me. Please." Me: ...Dude. Seriously? THIS IS YOURS!

The night before the study abroad application deadline, the class group chat blew up. [Oh my God, Ryan, why did you switch your application to the UK? Weren’t you supposed to go to France with Emma Bennett?] Ryan Hawthorne replied like it was nothing. [Yeah, I changed it. She has my login anyway.] [Once she sees it, she’ll switch too. She always follows me around. She can’t function without me.] I stood there with my phone in my hand, my mind going completely blank. Scattered across the floor, half tucked between my open suitcases, was the gift I had prepared especially for Ryan. I left the group chat, threw the gift away, and never opened the application portal again. What he did not know was this. He could give up the future we were supposed to share for Sophie Quinn. And I could give him up too. I could choose my own future without ever looking back. All those late nights, all those years of work, had never been only for him.

After Nathan Seville stands me up for the seventh time we're supposed to register our marriage, I finally cut all ties with him—completely and on my own terms. If he shows up at a gathering, I don't go. If he's invited to perform at the college anniversary, I leave early. The moment my company decides to work with him, I resign on the spot. Even on Christmas Eve, when he shows up at my house with gifts, I make up an excuse about needing to visit someone. Calls? Blocked. Socials? Deleted. My strategy is simple—cut it all off. I don't reach out, and he has no way of finding me. For the first 30 years of my life, I spent most of it loving him with everything I had. I cared for him, supported him, and waited for him. But after being left hanging for the seventh time at the City Hall, I finally wake up. I don't want to live like this anymore. Even if I end up alone, it's still better than spending night after night waiting in an empty house that never feels like home!

I've been pent up for far so long that my hormones are going out of balance. So, I decide to visit a massage parlor that my best friend has recommended to me, hoping that I can completely get rid of the sense of emptiness that's inside me. When the young and well-built masseuse begins caressing me with his scalding palms, I feel the flames of lust burning brighter within me to the point they are about to swallow my rationality whole…

"Let go of your inhibitions. Push your boundaries. Explore your limitations. Take my hand, say yes, and be mine forever!" My name is Annalise Walsh, I live in Los Angeles and I’m working as an advertising executive (an AE) for “S&W Advertising”, a small but fierce agency. My goal right now is to put my hands on a very important account. I’m talking about “HL Sportswear” a new branch of “Hamilton Inc.”, a company that belongs to the sexiest man alive, Lance Hamilton. My name is Lance Hamilton and I’m the youngest CEO in the States. I’m heir to billions and a billionaire in my own right. I’m quite ambitious and I’m constantly trying to expand my business towards new horizons. “HL Sportswear” needs to be presented to the world and for that, I need the best AE in the city: the intelligent and gorgeous Annalise Walsh. Working for Lance isn't going to be easy for Annalise, but is going to be extremely interesting. That's for sure!

“No! Cassian, wait…” Angela moans, panting hard after an earth-shattering org*sm. “This is... this is very wrong.” She lets out, battling her overwhelming desires, and rationality as her palm pushes against the taut chest of the man above her. "It's forbidden." she gasps. “Tell me you don't crave this as much as I do, and I promise I won't disturb you ever again.” Cassian mutters hoarsely, lust and desire burning in his eyes, as he looks down at Angela's flushed face, her eyes mirroring his, and her body quivering with need beneath him. “Take me,” she purrs, and he doesn't waste time claiming her… ~~~~▪•♤~~~•♧•~~~♤▪•~~~~ Angela thought she was crazy for having a crush on her brother. He was off limits, a forbidden fruit she should only fantasize about. What she didn't expect was the moon goddess pairing them as mates on her 21st birthday. The goddess must be crazy, she thought, for allowing such an abomination. She was forced to reject her brother or be sent abroad, a decision her parents claimed was the right one. However, it seems she wasn't the only crazy one; Cassian, her brother, wanted her for himself, and he was willing to go against everyone to keep her. Their parents and elders of the pack also weren't willing to back down; they were prepared to go to great lengths to prevent their bond from taking root. Will these two be able to overcome all obstacles and stay together? But know this, the Moon Goddess does not bind blood. Her choice is never a mistake.

Cassandra Ashford is a dedicated nurse with a quiet life and a burning hatred for the mafia—especially after they took the life of her undercover agent father. But everything changes the day she unknowingly saves a critically wounded stranger... only to discover he's no ordinary man. He’s Adriano Moretti—the ruthless and dangerously magnetic Don of the most feared mafia family in the country. Worse? He insists she’s destined to be his wife. Already engaged and building her dream life, Cassandra tries to run from Adriano’s dark pull. But betrayal hits hard when her fiancé shatters her trust, and her mother’s sudden, life-threatening illness threatens to crush her entirely. Left with no choice and buried in desperation, Cassandra signs a one-year contract marriage with the man she swore to hate. The Don. The danger. The devil in disguise. But nothing could prepare her for the twisted world she’s about to enter—a world where power rules, passion burns, and one wrong move could cost her everything. Including her heart. Will she survive the game of blood and seduction, or will the shadows of the mafia consume her completely?