Paper Brides

"A year of silence, Elena. Did you really think I didn't smell your pulse jumping every time I walked past your desk? I’ve been starving for you for three hundred and sixty-five days." ​Elena Reyes is the perfect secretary. She’s efficient, invisible, and silent. For a year, she has survived the "Ice King" of New York, Silas Vane, by hiding her sharp wit and her curves behind oversized blazers. She thought she was safe. She thought he was just a man who cared more about spreadsheets than souls. ​She was wrong. ​Silas Vane isn't just a billionaire; he’s a predator. An Alpha who has been hunting Elena from across the office, waiting for the one moment her human mask would slip. ​That moment arrives with a single drop of blood. ​One sharp paper cut on a million-dollar report is all it takes. The metallic scent shatters Silas’s control, revealing the golden-eyed beast hiding beneath the four-thousand-dollar suit. In a heartbeat, the office doors are deadlocked, the lights are killed, and the "Ice King" is gone. ​Silas doesn't want her files anymore. He wants her soul, her body, and her submission. He claims she is his Lunar Anchor—the only woman capable of grounding his primal rage. But Elena doesn't bow to "Alphas," and she definitely doesn't follow orders—even when they’re growled against her skin. ​Trapped in a world of lethal pack wars and ancient blood-bonds, Elena has to decide: Is she Silas’s salvation, or is she the only thing capable of destroying him? ​"Lock the doors, Elena. You aren't leaving until you realize that you don't just work for me... you belong to me.”

Asalea's eyes narrowed. She can guess that the event is a wedding ceremony. So, she will be attending a wedding occasion? "Whose wedding is this?” she asked the man who fetched her. “Yours, Madam.”He said and then got something inside his paper bag. “Please wear this,” the man said handing her a black veil with a tiara in it, beautifully adorned with black diamonds. “What did you say?!” Asalea gasped in surprise. “This is your wedding Madam.” The young man repeated his statement. “Who shall I be marrying?” with narrowed eyes, Asalea asked again. “You will know later on. Please be ready Madam. The wedding march will start.” Then the man step aside and motioned her to walk forward when the wedding march song started to fill the whole astrodome. Asalea does not know if she will follow or will make herself invisible and run. She chose the first. She knows that she will be dead if she will run. At least they will not kill her. Looking at her elegant black gown, her veil with tiara, and the venue of the wedding; she knows she will be marrying someone of a high profile from the Glodeous Kingdom. She can still start her life here and then plan for her revenge later on against the Ecleteon werewolves. With chin held up, Asalea made her graceful walk going to the altar. Getting nearer the altar, she saw the back of a man standing in front. Asalea surmises that he might be her groom. “Hmm, not bad,” she murmured. Slowly the man turned his back and faced her when she was already walking almost beside him. Asalea's eyes grew big when she recognized the man. “Hello, my pretty vampy.” He whispered, intensely looking at her with his ocean-like deep blue eyes.

I’m trapped in this marriage… Yes, I’m only a wife on paper. Legally bound, but not in the way we live our lives. Six years have passed, yet I’ve lived like a single woman. But I’m not allowed to love the person I truly want. If there’s anything good that came out of this situation, it’s that we gained a comfortable life—and we no longer live in fear of being hurt again by my alcoholic father. And him? Enjoying his lustful life as if nothing happened in the past six years. An educated woman, yet powerless to escape this prison made of paper. “I didn’t ask for that money!! I worked for all of it. Why?! Don’t you remember what you did to me that night?! How you violated me?! How my body was left covered in bruises and marks?! You may have bought me with your money… but that will never change the evil thing you did.” “You only made me your whore once, Ethan!! You feel disgusted with me? Well don’t you worry, my husband—I feel the same way too. I’m still haunted by nightmares of that lustful night… how you tied me up and pinned me to the bed… how you forced yourself on me so hard because you thought I was Sabrina—the one who hurt you!!! The only thing I did was sell myself to you, but I’ve been trying to forget it all and make things right!!” “I am your wife, Ethan!!! Your wife on that damned piece of paper!!! So no matter what your mistress does… she will always remain just a mistress—as long as I choose it to be that way. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Prologue Nathan sat on the roof with a portrait in his hand. He has been looking at her portrait for the past hours and he is not ready to let go of it. He stared at the picture with a satisfied smile on his face. His Sadie! He just can't stop staring at her. She was really his sweet angel which portray the meaning of her name. Sadie! He hugged the portrait before dropping it. He picked up his drawing paper and pencil ready to sketch her beautiful face again. Every corner of his room has her picture, everything! And almost all his belongings too. His plates were designed with her picture, his phone pouch was her, his wrist band has her name. His private company is in her name, his box has her picture, his closet, just name it. The workers thought he's running mad, no one believed it's love except his family and of course, his personal guard. He smiled at nothing closing his eyes before starting the sketching. He's been stalking her ever since that faithful day they met , that faithful day she became his sweet angel. He knows her every moves, everything she does and how she's being treated in her own home . He turned his hand in a fist and his jaw tightened. The thougt of that does nothing but angers him. He wants to save her, he wants to take her out of that bondage but it's not yet time. She doesn't even recognize him, it will be insane to go ask her out for marriage when she doesn't know him . He's going to make them pay, watching his Sadie from a far distance seeing her in tears, seeing her lonely, seeing her sad and seeing her feeling unloved hurt his heart so much

I never should have let my mother hold my future hostage. She paid my tuition with his father’s money. Locked my birth certificate, my transcripts, every scrap of paper I need to survive in a safe I’ll never open. And the one thing I had left of my dad, his old watch, she dangled like a noose. Run, and I lose my education. Fight, and I lose the last piece of the man who actually loved me. So I moved into the Hunters’ mansion. Into the lair of the boy who spent years making my life hell. Chase Hunter. Six-foot-five of pure venom wrapped in muscle and money. The senior who cornered me in empty hallways, who whispered filth in my ear just to watch me flinch, who smiled that sharp, cruel smile every time I broke a little more. I thought graduation meant freedom from him. I was wrong. Now he’s my stepbrother. He hates that I’m here. Hates my mother for sinking her claws into his father. Hates me most of all, for breathing his air, for walking his halls, for daring to exist where he can reach me. But hate isn’t clean anymore. It’s tangled up in heat. In the way his grey eyes strip me bare every time they land on me, the way his hand closes around my throat, not to hurt, but to own. In the way he punishes me over his lap, in his car, against walls, until I’m shaking and soaked and furious at myself for wanting more. He calls me Little Lamb, I call him every name I can think of under my breath. How long until we stop fighting the deadly inferno raging between us and finally let it consume us both?

I knock on the door, heart pounding like it always does when I’m about to see him. “Come in,” Justin’s voice calls—cool, smooth, and frustratingly calm. I take a deep breath and walk in, holding the folder tightly. “Here’s the report you requested, sir.” He doesn’t even glance at me. Just keeps typing, his expression unreadable. “You’re late,” he says without missing a beat. I clench my jaw. “There was a delay at the printer—” “No excuses, Joanna. Just do better next time.” Ouch. Professional and cold. As always. I nod, ignoring the sting in my chest. “Yes, sir.” I turn to leave, gripping the doorknob—just one more second and I’ll be out of this weird tension-filled office— “Wait.” I freeze. I turn around slowly. “Yes?” Justin stands now, walking toward me. In his hand, a familiar brown paper bag. He holds it out. “You didn’t have lunch.” I blink. “I’m fine.” “You skipped breakfast too. Eat.” I hesitate. “What is it?” “Chicken pesto. No onions.” My breath catches. He still remembers? “Why are you doing this?” I ask quietly. He shrugs, not meeting my eyes. “I just… remember things.” My fingers brush his as I take the bag. Warmth. Stupid warmth that shouldn’t still feel this familiar. Then, he looks at me—really looks at me. “You shouldn’t skip meals… wife.” Silence. My chest tightens. “Don’t call me that.” But my voice is too soft to sound convincing. I walk out before I say something I’ll regret. His words echo in my mind like a dangerous lullaby. Cold one second. Kilig the next. God… he’s still him. And that’s exactly the problem.

Betrayal--- I thought it was the worst pain I could feel, until I found out my husband wasn't just cheating on me with my sister... He had poisoned me to kill our unborn child so he could finally get married to my sister. 'Sign the divorce papers if you want to save your child , Rose' Wallowing in pain, I watched the man who had once sworn with his life that he loved me with everything in him. The man whom I've sacrificed everything for. My career, my dreams, my identity, and my heart. Was it in exchange for this betrayal all along? My heart twisted in my chest resentfully as tears blurred my vision. His betrayal cut deeper than a dagger, but my only thought at that moment was my unborn child. He was innocent. He didn't deserve to die. He deserved to live no matter the monster his father was. My hand trembled as I signed the divorce paper, my blood soaking every page that I turned. "I have signed the divorce papers, Mathew... Please take me to the hospital. I need to save our baby." I pleaded, my hand clutching my stomach tightly as pain shot through it. I was scared that I might lose my baby if I spent any more minute bleeding. He looked at me, without remorse, his arm wrapping around my sister's waist as a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Why should I? Just pack your things and leave." And with that, he turned his back on me, walking away without sparing me another glance as if I didn't exist. As darkness came looming over, my strength slowly draining off, only one question echoed in my mind. Is this really the end?

My sister, Anna Hawkins, and I are twins, but I'm slightly heavier than her when we were born. Anna has always been weak and sickly since young, whereas I'm always active and healthy. When Anna was four years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Mom blamed me for stealing Anna's nutrients when I got born, so I needed to return the nutrients to her. When I got my blood extracted for the first time, a thick syringe was used on me. I was so scared when I saw it. Mom told me not to be scared. She gave me a magical pen, stating that whatever wish I wrote down with the pen would come true. I wrote, "It won't hurt." When the syringe was plunged into my arm again, Mom bought me a sweet lollipop. The pain never struck me again afterward. When I was five years old, I drew a strawberry cake on the paper while getting 1000cc blood withdrawn from me. That week, Anna could sit up in bed and play on her own. When I turned seven years old, I wrote down my wish that I'd like to go on a vacation. The next day, I was sent into the operating theater for the doctors to collect my hematopoietic cells. For the first time ever, Anna's cheeks became rosy. When I was eight years old, I wrote that I wanted to become the top student of my grade. But a day before my exams, my bone marrow was drawn from me. Anna finally got discharged by the hospital. She got to wear new dresses that I never got to wear. In the year I turn nine years old, my body is heavily depleted. With a trembling hand, I can only write down a line in messy handwriting. "I hope… that I won't become Mom's daughter in my next life."

"What am I to you? A trash picker?" I asked him sarcastically, looking at him from head to toe in disdain. "Lauren." he growled, clenching his fists tightly, glaring at me in disbelief. "Yeah, I know this is my name. You don't need to remind me, and please don't pop up in front of me like an unwanted ad in the middle of an interesting scene. You irritate me the most in this way." I scolded him, still with an ugly expression in disgust on my face. "So, now I disgust you, huh? Why didn't you disgust before when I." "Because I was a fool back then. I assumed a filthy rock as a gem and paid a heavy price for that." Before he could complete his sentence, I interrupted him, scolding him in a loud voice. His already widened angry eyes widened more in shock this time. I took a step forward while locking my gaze with him. "A scum like you who used me when he needed me and then slapped the divorce paper doesn't deserve even a glance from me, Gabriel. Never bother me again, or else what I will do to you, you can't even think about that." "Hey, babe. Why are you here?" I beamed when I heard his magnetic voice calling me from behind. I immediately moved towards him when Gabriel held my wrist. "You are making a mistake, Lauren," he warned me in a stiff voice. I yanked my hand from his grip and threw a disgusting gaze on him before walking towards the boy who treated me like a treasure. Gabriel’s devotion to his first love made me realize that loving myself is the only thing that can make me happy forever. I grabbed Vincent's arm with a beaming smile.

Ashley is a simple Omega, who loves her family more than anything. Ashley's parents want nothing more than to get their daughters settled and mated with their business partner and childhood friend's younger son, Damon. Damon on the other hand, rejected Ashley without even looking at her and insulted her parents. Ashley becomes furious but what makes her even more shocked is that, after three weeks she received a very shocking wedding proposal by Damon Williams himself, but why did he want to marry her, after rejecting her in very first place. Damon William a successful businessman lost his mate/wife Adira years ago. After her death, Damon became like a dead person. He got himself very busy with his work. His family wants him to move on and live his life again, but Damon knows he can't love another person. He only loves his Adira. That's why he rejects he reject Ashley. But what happens when he sees a girl who looks exactly like his late wife and even her Omega scent is the same as his Adira , is destiny playing some dirty game with him? "What's your problem, you already rejected me once, now for God shake stop stalking me. I don't want any relationship with you." Ashley screams at the Alpha male who is stalking her like a crazy lunatic. "No, I can't leave you alone and you can't reject me either, I want to marry you. You are mine only MINE." Said the Alpha male scream. After knowing the truth of Adira and Ashley face, he become even more crazy. "What the hell Damon, with all these paper's?" Damon smirk as he came near his newly weeded wife. "Welcome to my Golden Cage love."