Paid Payback

“Little wolf,” he said, voice low mixed with amusement. “You remember, don’t you?”I couldn’t deny it with the way he looked at me.I nodded before I could stop myself. “Words, Katherine.” The command was soft, but it slid under my skin. My throat went dry, the rag in my hand twisted as my fingers tightened around it. “Ye… yes,” I stammered, the word barely making it past my lips. He stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him. “You remember you owe me, don’t you?” “I… I already paid,” I blurted, the memory flooding back. My cheeks flushed. One dark brow lifted. “Did you now?” His mouth curved faintly, dangerous in its almost smile. “I never told you if you paid. You left hurriedly before I could.” I took a step back, but the edge of the desk stopped me. “I had to return to the pack,” I breathed, trying to sound steadier than I felt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He was never supposed to be more than a stranger. Omega Katherine Hart after been rejected by her mate of two years Sneaks out to the city to drown her heartbreak and ends up in the bed of a red eyed stranger. The Lycan ruler of the New Haven pack, unknown to her. Reign Salvatore. But when pack politics turn deadly and a dangerous attraction ignites. Katherine finds out the truth that she is not just an ordinary omega. But a key to the impossible. Reign would never let her go.

She was light; they were darkness. She is innocent; they were cunning. She was optimistic; they were pessimistic. She was not what they wanted as their mate and yet they craved her. They hated her for what she was and yet they wanted all of her for themselves. They tormented her to break her and yet they felt like dying when they saw her in pain. They were trapped with her in a twisted game of fate. Will they be able to win this game, or will the cruelty of the world pull them apart? This was not just about winning the game. This was about their fate entangled with her. Fate was always cruel to her and yet she faced every hurdle with a new determination and smile. Will she be able to smile with the same determination when the secrets of their lives start revealing themselves to her? ----------------------------------------------------------- "Don't be afraid. It will be over soon. I am here with you..... always," he whispered comforting words in her ear while holding her wounded body tightly in his embrace. "You are an illusion, Gabriel. You will be gone once I open my eyes." She murmured weakly, her eyelids heavy. "No, my love.. I am not an illusion, and I will prove that to you," he replied in a determined tone before pulling her body up into his embrace and running towards his car, determined to save her and show her that this world is not just all about hate and bitterness. This world is also filled with love. He regretted coming late to save her. She did nothing wrong. Yet she is the only one who paid the price for others' faults. Life was never fair to her, but Gabriel was now determined to make everything right for her.

After I came back to life, the first thing I did was hand that five-carat diamond ring—yes, the one my husband gave me—to his mother. The very woman who spent years picking me apart like it was her favorite pastime. In my last life, that ring was a custom New Year's gift. He paid a ridiculous amount for it. I actually thought it meant something. One afternoon, I was out shopping when I walked right into a bridal party taking pictures. The bride glanced at my hand, saw the ring, and her entire expression changed. She stormed over and slapped me, accusing me of being a shameless mistress trying to steal her man. I stood there, completely stunned. She was wearing the exact same ring. Before I could explain, her friends grabbed me. They dragged me aside, tore my clothes, hit me, and stomped on my hand until I couldn't move my fingers. They carved the word "mistress" into my face and paraded me through the street like some kind of public disgrace. I died there on the pavement. When my husband finally appeared, he didn't fight for me. He just signed off on a settlement, as if my life were nothing more than a piece of paperwork. Widowed that morning, married to the bride by nightfall. His mother instantly welcomed the new woman, all because she was pregnant. And then I opened my eyes again… back on the very day he first placed that diamond ring in my hand.

I had my meal and was about to leave my sister's restaurant, but the manager stopped me. "Sorry, sir, but you haven't paid your tab." I never saw this guy before. He probably had no idea who I was. Kindly, I explained, "Put it on your boss' tab. She knows what to do." The manager instead gave me a look of derision. "Sir, we're a 3-star Michelin restaurant. We do not put anyone's bill on another person's tab." He handed me an itemized bill. The guy had it ready and printed. I went through the list. The meal alone cost 75 grand. The 'dining utensil gleam maintenance fee' ran up to 45 hundred. There was also an exclusive air purifier fee, which would cost 75 hundred. And there was a 'VIP calm headspace service fee' that ran up to 15 grand. Those were the ones that stood out, but they were far from the last. I had no idea my sister was running an extortion gig. Mirthlessly, I laughed. "I'm your boss' brother. Tell her she's talking to me when she comes home." The manager did not let me go. "Just say you can't afford it. You're not the first one to try and claim you know Ms. Grayheim. I know leeches like you well enough." I texted my secretary. 'Tell my sister she either fires this guy, or I pull my funds out.'

Claudia Larson is a timid 22-year-old college student struggling to survive her toxic adopted family in Florida. She works multiple part-time jobs just to pay her tuition and support her lazy brother, with no one to protect her. One desperate night, she takes a part-time job as a server at the luxurious Richard’s Hotel. She is assigned to the private suite of Richard Cooper the cold, breathtaking billionaire CEO. Drugged by his obsessive adopted sister, Richard loses control and spends the night with the innocent girl. The next morning, he leaves her only a Supreme Black Card and a note that treats her like a paid servant. Two months later, Claudia discovers she is pregnant with his child. When her adopted family finds out, they drag her to the hospital to abort the baby so she can marry a dangerous old man for one million dollars. But just as they force her toward the operating room, Richard storms in, stops everything, and carries her away in his arms. Now living in Richard’s world of wealth and power, Claudia must face his ruthless adopted sister’s deadly jealousy, his mother’s cold disapproval, and the growing feelings between them. As secrets about her real identity begin to unfold, the timid girl who once had no voice finds herself at the heart of a powerful storm. Will the billionaire who once saw her as a mistake choose to protect her and their unborn child? Or will the weight of power, betrayal, and family secrets destroy their chance at love?

I was born blessed by the god of fortune. No matter where I work, I can close major deals while lying down asleep. The underboss of the Castellano mafia family discovers this secret. He shows up at my door personally and invites me to join as a consigliere in name only. He offers me a six-figure annual salary and chauffeur service. He even installs a special ten-foot-wide massage bed in my office just for sleeping. After I join the Castellano family, arms deals finalize one after another. Several stalled collaborations come back to life. The Castellano family's reputation climbs steadily. Until the boss' girlfriend shows up to inspect for the first time. She grabs a pair of scissors and, in front of everyone, shreds my mattress to pieces. "Useless! We don't pay you all this money to sleep! "Starting tomorrow, you're working as a bar hostess. And you'll be paid like one too." I rub my sleepy eyes and stare at her in confusion. Last night, to help the Castellano family finalize that casino operation rights contract, I didn't sleep a wink. I barely fall asleep, so how am I useless? The soldato beside her breaks into a sweat. "Signora, she's…" "Shut up!" she cuts him off arrogantly. "From now on, I'm the one in charge of the Castellano family!" Fine. Since there's no place for me here, I'll find somewhere else to sleep. I hear the rival family's boss is willing to give me an entire luxury estate.

FORMERLY TAMING THE MAD ALPHA. THIS STORY IS BEING REWRITTEN. "I will do it!" I blurted. His gaze flicked to me, and a devilish smirk twitched a part of his face. His orbs danced with hatred. "Did you say something?" His voice dripped with mockery. I swallowed the rock in my throat and balled my hands into fists. I can do this. "I pledge myself to you, Alpha Blaise. I will give you as many heirs as possible, just as you wish." Cassie whimpered in his grip, her eyes pleading with me not to do something irrational. But I would be the last to watch her suffer because of me. "Let her go. Set her free, please." He let go of Cassie's hand, and she crumpled to the floor, wincing and sobbing silently. Alpha Blaise stalked towards me, and I had to cease my breath to stop his debilitating scent from wafting into my nostrils and muddling my senses. "Be ready and in bed tonight," he whispered in my ear and walked passed me. His words made the hair at the back of my neck stand, and goosebumps blanketed my skin. I do not know how he managed to make me feel these things when he was the man I hated the most. I had paid for my brother's sin for two years. I was a human wolf to top it all. The pack held me hostage, waiting for the Alpha to recover and mete out his punishment on me, but the Alpha surprised everyone when he said his punishment was for me to produce his heirs.

The year is 2232 in a post-apocalyptic realm, where shifters and humans are far and few between. The packs are still at war, ranking females are in high demand and humans struggle to survive under the laws of shifters. Gabriel Grayson is the alpha of the Renegade pack, a pack for hire. They are seen as deserters, rogues, who go against everything a pack ought to be in this era. Paid for their services as mercenaries, they didn’t care what the cause was, just who could put their money where their mouth was. That is until Gabe meets Hope Jordan, better known as Stixs. A sassy and gutsy blond, who has Gabe thinking twice about whose money to take and which side he should be fighting with. With impending war between the Raven Knights and Cardinal Moon pack, Stix’s father reaches out to the Renegades, in a desperate attempt to save his daughter and his pack. When the Renegades are offered a substantial amount more to fight for the enemy, it’s more than Stix’s father has, and she finds herself willing to submit to the power-hungry Alpha Crane who is willing to start a war just so he can have her. Until she meets Gabe Grayson, the mysterious and dangerous Renegade; His looks and brooding have Stixs drawn to him, and she hoped he would be the one to save her from the clutches of their enemy. Gabe has a choice to make, the highest bidder or doing the right thing. Can Stixs convince Gabe and his renegades that she is worth fighting for or will she have to give in to save the lives of her pack? Because no one survives The Renegades.

I paid the ultimate price in my last life for being too polite to refuse others. During a summer vacation, four children ended my life. "Talia, we’re already on the way to your place. We should be there in about two hours. No need to prepare anything special. Just keep things the way you normally do. Don’t fuss." I stared blankly as the voice came through my phone. The agony of my skin being scalded raw by boiling-hot stew was still vivid in my mind. When I had struggled and begged for help, those children had dragged me back together. In the chaos, I had fallen from the seventh floor and died with my eyes wide open. I glanced at the calendar on the wall. I had been reborn. In my previous life, my sister-in-law, Vanessa Mercer, had dumped her four kids at my home for the summer and left. I was forced to care for six children alone and was pushed to the brink of collapse. Simply because I wouldn’t let my nephew, Jaxon Mercer, play on his tablet for hours on end, and because I told him not to wander around the house in nothing but his underwear, the conflict escalated until it led to that horrifying death. My whole body trembled at the memory. I rushed into the bedroom, grabbed my identification documents, and fled toward the high-speed rail station with my two daughters, Kaia and Nova Mercer. "Mom, where are we going?" "I'm taking you on a trip. We’re going to have as much fun as we want!"

When I was five months pregnant, I was kidnapped by a group of thugs. They used my phone to call my brother, Jeremy Wirkola, and my husband, Grant Sanders, to demand a ransom of ten million, but no one answered. I was tortured and assaulted until I was barely alive. When I was finally rescued, Jeremy cried and promised to avenge me. Grant was in tears too. He vowed to get me treated. However, while under the haze of anesthesia, I overheard Grant's cold voice outside the door. “Jessie is waiting for a bone marrow, but don’t forget to remove Ashlyn’s uterus. Just tell her the injuries were too severe to save it. Oh, and get the best surgeon for her. She’s afraid of pain.” His assistant hesitated. He was clearly uncomfortable. “Mr. Sanders, isn’t this going too far?” Grant paused for a second before he replied firmly. “She refused to donate her bone marrow to Jessie and even used the baby as an excuse. She’s selfish. Besides, if we don’t do this, how can I bring back Jessie and our child into the family? As for Ashlyn, she’s my wife. I’ll make it up to her for the rest of my life. She used to bully Jessie with her status, which resulted in Jessie suffering from depression and almost killing herself. It’s time she paid the price for it.” As I listened to his heartless words, something inside me shattered completely. Since they had chosen to sacrifice me for Jessie, let them have what they wanted then.