Oranges By Gary Soto Novels & Stories

My husband called me "clutter" before handing me divorce papers—just to make room for his pregnant mistress. Julian Carter thought he had destroyed me. He thought I’d disappear quietly, with nothing left to fight for. He was wrong. While he was busy cheating in our bed, I was the one keeping his empire from collapsing. And the night I walked away… I didn’t fall. I landed in the hands of the one man who could ruin him with a single word. Lucian Blackwood. My ex-husband’s boss. The city’s most dangerous billionaire. A man who doesn’t believe in love—only control. “One year, Evelyn,” he said, his voice cold enough to freeze promises. “You play my fiancée. You stay by my side. And you don’t walk away until I say you can.” “And in return?” A slow smile. Dark. Certain. “I’ll make sure he loses everything.” The contract was signed in ice. The revenge would be written in blood. Julian wanted me gone? Now he’ll have to watch me rise—and learn exactly who he betrayed.

Why should I mourn a mistake? But what happens when the woman he treated like a mistake become the one he can never replace? One night changed everything. A drunken mistake bound a maid to an Alpha, turning Aria's life upside down and destroying the future Alpha Kael thought he wanted. Forced to become Luna, Aria spends years chasing a love that never comes. Instead, she faces cold stares, cruel words, and a mate who sees her as nothing more than a reminder of his greatest mistake. And when the woman he truly wanted returns carrying his heir, Aria is forced to face a devastating truth. This time, will she keep fighting for a man who never chose her... or finally choose herself?

“Sign the papers,” her husband said. “You’re worth more to me this way.” Elena never imagined the man she loved would sell her to save his failing company. Abandoned, humiliated, and traded like property, she expects the mysterious CEO who bought the contract to be just another ruthless billionaire. She couldn’t be more wrong. Damien Knight is cold, powerful, and feared by everyone in the business world. But instead of treating Elena like a possession, he offers her something she hasn’t had in years; respect, protection, and a chance to start over. As Elena slowly rebuilds her shattered life, her ex-husband realizes the woman he threw away was the greatest treasure he ever had. Desperate to win her back, he’s willing to destroy anyone standing in his way. But Damien isn’t a man who gives up what belongs to him. Now Elena must choose between the man who sold her… and the CEO who would burn the world to keep her safe. Sometimes the greatest betrayal leads to the greatest love.

I am an Omega, the lowest rank in the wolf packs, the rejected, the despised. I never bother about being an Omega or serving my fellow wolves as long as my family is right beside me. My bed of roses turned into a bed of thorns when I clocked eighteen. I discovered that my mate is the beta, and he has pronounced rejection upon me. My heart is torn and my life has turned complicated. Is this how it feels to be rejected by your mate? ***** Being an Omega is bad, isn't it? Getting rejected is worse, is it not? And getting accepted by a cursed Alpha is the worst of all, don't you think? After Elena gets rejected by the Beta because of her status, she accepts her fate and decides to move on despite knowing how painful it will be, she crosses paths with the Alpha and he declares acceptance upon her. When Elena uncovers the mask behind the acceptance by the Alpha, will she choose to remain rejected by the Beta or accepted by the Alpha?

“By the way, I saved you from your mate that rejected you without thinking twice, what do I get for it?” Those were the exact words of the man I was sold to by my mate the day I stepped into his mansion. Thick saliva landed roughly into the pit of my stomach. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Only bubbles. His eyes colour was dark but who is to say it wasn't as dark as his intentions. What are the chances I was not in more danger than I would have been with my mate that rejected me. ************************************************* Amaya went from learning that her mate was the Alpha of her Pack whom she detested, to being rejected and offered the role of becoming his slut by the same Alpha. But then her story changed in a way she never expected nor wanted. She would have preferred staying in the dungeon where her mate threw her than to be sold to the infamous tyrant Alpha to stop an impending war. With a new Alpha in the picture, Amaya's life was only getting started. The question remains if it was for good or for bad.

Rejected by her Alpha mate, Lyra is claimed by his ruthless rival, awakening dangerous powers. Torn between past and present, love and revenge, she must choose her destiny as war, passion, and secrets collide.

After being accused of killing her father, Azura Riverstone runs away from her pack when her mate and husband orders his Gammas to hold her as the captive. Torn between hurt and betrayal from her mate and step-family, she decides to seek the Alpha King for help but the only way to get to him is participating in the Alpha combat where only Alphas are allowed. How will she find the true murderer of her father when her ex finds her and offers a deal which she can't deny?

Katy is rejected by her mate who then chooses her cousin. Her parents betray her when they force her attend her mate and cousin's wedding. That night, she escapes to her best friend's house who drags her to an auction. She meets Lucian who saves her from embarassment. Lucian has been tracking Katy for three years. When an opportunity to claim her presents itself, he doesn't hesitate. Be his Hired Luna and in exchange, she gets her dream funded. Will she accept?

SYNOPSIS: Elara Vance spent her entire life as the invisible, "wolfless" servant of the Silver Moon Pack, counting down the days until her eighteenth birthday when she hoped her fated mate would save her. But when the clock strikes twelve, her mate the future Beta, Liam publicly rejects her for being weak, choosing a warrior she-wolf instead. Heartbroken and exiled into the deadly Blackwood Forest, Elara prepares to die. Instead, she is found by Damon Blackwood, a ruthless billionaire and the Alpha King of all packs. Damon doesn't see a defect; he sees his Queen. As Elara navigates a new world of unimaginable wealth and danger, her dormant wolf begins to wake, revealing a bloodline so rare it could bring the werewolf world to its knees. Now, the Beta who rejected her wants her back, but he will have to go through the King to get her.

Ophelia Holmes was always seen as the pack’s disgrace—the Beta’s daughter born without a wolf. Weak. Useless. Unworthy. But none of it mattered, because Elliot, the future Alpha of the Silver Mist Pack, loved her. He swore she was his mate, that he would claim her after the Moon Goddess Festival. Until the night he betrayed her. Before the entire pack, Elliot rejected her and chose her sister instead. Then, as Ophelia stood there, shattered and humiliated, her sister whispered a single lie that turned her whole world to ash: "She poisoned Elliot, she poisoned the future Alpha." The pack turned against her. The man she loved? He gave the order for her execution. But Ophelia’s fate was never in their hands. Because when she needed help, he came for her. Jarred Black. The Lycan King. The most feared creature to walk their lands. Now, Ophelia is caught between two powerful men—one who betrayed her and one who refuses to let her go. But Jarred isn’t just claiming her for himself. He came because he knows the truth. And as he looks into her eyes, his next words make her entire world collapse. "Did they ever tell you who your real father was?”