Our Flag Means Death Stede

***EXCERPT*** "I could burn the world to ashes, and you would still be the only thing worth destroying," he whispered, his lips just close enough to feel my desperate, trembling breath, tears leaking down my eyes. "Your pain is beautiful, Tera," he whispered with a chilling smile. "It shows you're still trying to fight what you know you've already lost." *** Dr. Tera Williams thought her life couldn't sink any lower after signing the divorce papers her husband's mistress threw in her face. But when a twist of fate puts her in a prison cell, stripping her of her career and reputation, she realizes she hasn't even begun to fall. After spending three years in prison, she struggles to get her life back on track again by starting from her lowest. Despite all the hurdles she had to endure from her current boss, she finds love again with Ryan, a single father, who is madly in love with her. But just as she's about to marry him, her worst nightmare resurfaces: She finds out that she is still legally married to her obsessive ex-husband, Logan, who has been doing everything possible to win her back. How does she navigate her life when she is now trapped between two possessive men who are not willing to give her up for the other? Trigger Warning: This is a dark, intense romance with a few scenes of psychological manipulation, violence, and non-con. Recommended for mature readers.

My younger sister, Lila James, had a heart attack. The doctors tried their best, but she died. On the day we buried her, the men she had been involved with showed up. One was an unhinged lawyer, and another one was a powerful heir from Jovaris. Yet another one was a messed-up top celebrity. When they heard that Lila was dead, they lost it. They tried to dig her out and torture her. I blocked their way and begged them, “She’s gone! If you need someone to blame, take it out on me!” That was the moment I became Lila’s stand-in. They tortured me in every way they could think of. They beat me until my skin tore open and forced me to film humiliating videos. I somehow escaped and tried to bring them to justice. The unhinged lawyer threatened to ruin my life! The powerful heir used his influence to shut every door in my face. The messed-up top celebrity leaked the videos and claimed I had seduced him. I became the center of a national scandal, and my reputation was irreparably damaged. My parents even published a statement and cut all ties with me. I went home to confront them. When I reached outside their door, I heard Lila’s voice. She sounded immensely pleased. “Mom, Dad, your plan to fake my death saved me! I can finally get away from those lunatics. “Good thing we had Yara! Otherwise, I would’ve been the one in all these scandals.” I broke down. I rushed into the house. I was ready to drag Lila to hell with me, but my parents killed me first. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Lila had her heart attack.

“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.

After being reincarnated as the villain in a story where everyone doted on the heroine, the system appeared. It told me that if I could win over any one of the male leads, I would regain a healthy body and return to my original world. But I failed to win over any of them. There was my adoptive brother, the fake heir, who grew up with me. My rebellious high school deskmate, the real heir, who became a boxer. And my childhood sweetheart, the genius surgeon. Even my own son, whom I carried for ten months. Without exception, they all fell in love with that cold, stubborn damsel while growing to deeply despise me. The system sighed and told me that if I could die at the hands of any one of the male leads, I would be able to see my parents in the original world. In the end, I used every method possible and was finally killed by them, with their own hands. But why did they all go mad afterward?

I gave birth to five children for Chris, but four of them died young. At first, I thought they were just tragic accidents. Then one day, I brought Chris lunch and overheard him talking to his assistant by chance. “Finally, this baby’s bone marrow is a match for Lily’s. If it wasn’t, I’d have to kill him too!" That was when everything became clear to me. I didn’t cry or make a scene. I stayed calm, acting like everything was normal. But on the day his company went public, I exposed him in front of everyone, revealing that he had killed our four children. That day, the once-proud CEO, Chris Quinn, dropped to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably and apologizing to me.

My boyfriend abandoned me at the altar on the day of our wedding to accompany his childhood sweetheart, who was about to give birth as a single mother. Faced with the sarcastic looks thrown at me by the guests, I took off my wedding veil and headed to the hospital to confront him. I saw him holding her baby in his arms with love in his eyes. She asked him on purpose, "It's your wedding today, Sean. What if Riley gets mad at you for accompanying me during labor?" "I can get married anytime, but having a baby is a once-in-a-lifetime event. I'd be worried sick if I left you alone in the hospital.” "From this day onward, I'll be the baby's father. I won't let you both be bullied by anyone." I ended up marrying another man, but he crashed our wedding like a madman, begging me for another chance.

After being betrayed by her stepsister, Cathleen left the country and went abroad. However, on the day she returned to NYC, she was asked to marry the same man she caught sleeping with her stepsister 3 years ago. Cathleen agreed, as she was marrying the man to save her grandmother and wanted revenge, as well as to cut ties with her family. To her surprise, the man she married wasn't the man who betrayed her 3 years ago; it was a different man she had never seen. What happened to Finn? How will she get her revenge?  Her stepmother and stepsister found out that Finn wasn't the owner of Knight Group, so they devised a plan to make Cathleen marry the lapdog while they found out who owned Knight Group. But with Finn on the run, who then did Cathleen marry? Xavier was dimmed to be a cousin from the farm; little did the mother-and-daughter pair know that he was the big shot they had been looking for.    

I was locked in a fridge for 40 days while the uncensored photos of me spread like wildfire across the internet. In the face of the salacious rumors about me, my mother reacted by reposting them. Then, she turned to warn my sister, "Look at how disgusting the entertainment industry is. Don't join it, alright? Stay home and inherit your sister's assets instead. My dearest daughter must be innocent and pure, unlike her." She forgot. She forgot I only joined this 'disgusting' industry to pay for her cancer treatment.

Blood poured heavily between my thighs, the metallic scent sharp enough to make my wolf whimper in agony. But the pain that tore deeper into my soul was the sight of my Alpha mate running past me without hesitation, chasing the overturned vehicle that had crashed toward Marina’s white car instead. “Marina!” he roared, his Alpha command raw and furious. A voice he had never once used on me in the five years I had stood beside him as Luna. I lifted my trembling hand, my lips parting in desperation. I wanted to scream that his pup was the heir of the pack, the secret I had protected for years was growing inside me. But he never looked back. He gathered Marina into his arms, his grip fierce and possessive, and carried her away as if she were his true mate. I thought that was the worst betrayal a Luna could endure. I was wrong. When I woke in the infirmary, the bond between my wolf and my mate was eerily silent. No Alpha. No pup. Only the cold scent of blood and a set of rejected papers resting beside my bed. I smiled faintly, my voice no more than a whisper. “This time I will be the one who makes Alpha Declan Jordan kneel until he howls in regret and begs his discarded Luna to return.”

My mother gave birth to a pair of twins. I, the first twin, lived with my grandmother in the countryside since I was little. My twin brother, Felix Carter, lived with our parents during the same period. After I got accepted to a high school in the city, I was finally allowed to live with my parents. I thought I could finally have a taste of the familial love I'd been yearning for. Little did I know that this was the start of my nightmares. My parents and Felix ostracized me all the time, as though I were an outsider. Heck, my status at home wasn't even comparable to that of Felix's pet dog! One day, Felix stuffed a piece of kiwi into my mouth against my will, claiming that he wanted to help me get rid of my allergy toward kiwis. I pleaded with my parents for help with great difficulty, and yet all I received were cold glances from them. "Don't be a wuss! Are we expected to quit eating kiwis because of you?" "You're allergic to kiwis? Ridiculous! You'll get used to them after eating them a few more times!" But what my family didn't know was that severe allergies are actually fatal to the patient.