Premature Antonym

Alpha Garreth of Forest Edge Pack patrolled the woods near his packlands when a rogue attacked. As quickly as he came, he was gone, leaving Garreth to die alone. Blackness enveloped him, and he said goodbye to his wolf. When he opened his eyes he expected to see the afterlife, instead he was healed and the most remarkable scent hung in the air. 'Mate' his wolf howled, but where had she gone? Why couldn't he find her no matter how long and far he searched? Her smell was all over this forest and yet, she was nowhere. Years pass and the scent of her never leaves, madness threatens to drag him under without her at his side. Hazel the wood nymph was used to being alone after the premature death of her parents. Even though she was a gifted healer the other nymphs rejected her. When she came upon a dying wolf in the forest she had to help him. She didn’t expect the electricity that sparked inside her when she touched him. She left him out of fear, even though she wanted to stay more than anything else. When a witch offers her a deal so she can visit the human town it almost seems too good to be true. She might even see the wolf again, all she wanted was a favor. When that favor proves to be Hazel’s own wings will their reunion come too late? Can Garreth and Hazel overcome the odds stacked against them or will they be torn apart once again?

My best friend and I married the Luther brothers. I married the older brother, a legendary specialist in childbirth. My best friend, Autumn, married the younger brother, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. On my birthday, my husband’s crush, Kirsty, scared me into early labor by sending me the carcass of a rotten, dead cat. Autumn rushed me to the emergency room. The doctors had their hands tied as I went into premature labor with a case of amniotic fluid embolism. With the last of my strength, I turned to my husband for help. Instead, I was berated. “So I missed your birthday. Do you have to make a big deal out of it? Why are you lying to me? Kirsty’s pet dog is having puppies. I need to help with the birth, so stop getting in the way!” Later, Autumn took charge and operated on me. I managed to pull through, while my baby was rushed to the ICU. Autumn tearfully called her husband, pleading for the specific medication produced by his company. “Kirsty’s dog is struggling in labor. I’m making a nutritious meal for it. You sure are good friends with Bella to take turns stirring up a fuss. Don’t you have anything better to do than act out in jealousy?” In the end, I lost my child. My heart shattered into pieces. “I want a divorce, Autumn.” “I’m with you! The cheating bastards don’t deserve wives.” We filed for divorce, and the brothers panicked.

TWO PINK LINES, ONE NIGHT STAND --- Beth Williams knew the rules at Knight Tower: clean, stay invisible, never look the billionaire in the eye. She broke them all at the masquerade gala. One spilled drink on CEO Adrian Knight became a $50,000 dance. One dance became one elevator. One night in a masked stranger’s arms became two pink lines six weeks later. Now Beth is fired, homeless, and pregnant with Adrian’s baby. He doesn’t remember her face from that night, but he remembers the scandal: a cleaner accused of corporate espionage. When she tells him the truth, Adrian voids his engagement to shipping heiress Valeria D’Souza and moves Beth into his penthouse that night. There are no phones. No unlocked doors. No escape. Adrian calls it “protection.” Beth calls it a gilded cage. He’s haunted by his mother’s death in childbirth and believes control keeps people alive. His heir will not grow up poor, endangered, or unloved, even if he has to become a monster to guarantee it. But Valeria brings a knife to Beth’s throat. The board demands a paternity test. And when Beth bleeds at 14 weeks, Adrian flies them to a private island with no way out. Trapped together, Beth learns Adrian kept her hairpin from that night. He never forgot her. She was his first choice in ten years, not a mistake. When premature labor, CPS, and his own trauma collide, Adrian must decide what he fears more: losing control, or losing her. Because Knights don’t lose what’s theirs. The question is whether Beth will choose to be his.

My bestie Kenna and I were the fated mates of the two most powerful Alpha brothers in the Dark Moon pack. I was mated to the Head Alpha, Cade. Kenna was mated to his brother, Rhys. On our mating anniversary, a bloody package reeking of Rogues arrived. It was from Cade’s childhood friend, Lilah. The feral scent shocked my body into premature labor. Kenna rushed me to the pack’s private medical center. But the labor triggered a fatal condition: “Moon Eclipse Sickness.” My life force was draining away. With my last bit of strength, I used our mind-link to beg my Alpha for help. His furious voice was my only answer. “You’re faking this just because I missed our anniversary? Lilah’s rare silver hound is giving birth, and it’s dangerous. Don’t cause trouble for me now!” In the end, it was Kenna who drained her own wolf’s spirit to save me. I barely survived. But the pup I delivered was rushed to emergency care, too weak from my fading life force. Her eyes bloodshot, Kenna contacted her mate, Rhys. She begged him for "Moonflower Dew"—a serum from his own company that could save our baby. "Lilah's hound is weak after giving birth. I’m busy making a special formula for it. You and Evelyn are two of a kind. Always stirring up trouble. First her drama, now yours." My pup died. And my heart shattered with him. “Kenna, I’m rejecting my mate bond with Cade.” “If you reject him, I reject mine. Traitors don’t deserve mates.” But when we told the Alpha brothers we were rejecting them, they felt a panic they had never known.

Christmas Eve was meant to be the culmination of seven years of long-distance longing—the day Lorenzo finally slid an engagement ring onto my finger. Instead, a sudden emergency surgery chained me to the operating table. The patient wasn't just suffering from a premature delivery and catastrophic hemorrhaging; she was riddled with infections, the biological fallout of a reckless, hedonistic lifestyle. The girl on the table spat out orders with a venomous entitlement that made my blood run cold. "My husband is the head of the Corleone family. He’s second to none, and this entire city bows to him. If you can’t save my baby, you’re all dead." My mind went blank. There was only one head of the Corleone family: Lorenzo. "You’ve got the wrong man," I said, my voice wavering despite my frown. "The news said he’s already engaged to a woman from a rival family for a strategic alliance." The girl looked at me as if I’d just told a pathetic joke. She surveyed me with a mocking sneer. "Oh, he’s mentioned that woman. He said she’s like a cold corpse—that even touching her makes him sick to his stomach. She doesn't provide him a fraction of the pleasure I do." She smirked. "He heard something happened to the baby. He’s en route from Sicily right now with his personal detail." She flicked her phone screen open. There it was: a photo of her and Lorenzo, locked in a suffocatingly intimate embrace. I froze. A second later, a notification from Lorenzo vibrated against my palm. “Darlin’, something urgent came up tonight. I’m skipping the engagement dinner. I’ll make it up to you later.” Since they were so utterly in love, I decided to give them exactly what they wanted. I dialed a number that had been silent for three years—the number of the true mastermind of the underworld, Don Sebastian. "Does your proposal from three years ago still stand?"