Quietly

“I, Megan Prescott, reject you, Alpha Austin Sinclair of Crescent Moon Pack, as my mate and my Alpha. I wish you both happiness, and I hope you’ll finally be happy being with her.” Her voice was shaky and filled with intense sadness and grief. He smirked at her. “Oh, Megan. How would you even survive without me? You’re just a poor housewife. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Just sit here quietly and continue being my wife and Luna of this pack.” ** For three years, Megan had loved her husband, Alpha Austin Sinclair, wholeheartedly and served the pack with all her heart, leaving behind everything—her inheritance, her family, her status, her unparalleled true bloodline—just to be with him. Austin never noticed her; all he saw was a housewife who took care of his needs. However, Megan’s hope was shattered when his first love came back into the picture. Heartbroken and pregnant, Megan finally decided to let go and reclaim her true self. She severed their mate bond, divorced him, and disappeared. Leaving Austin in regret. Years later, she returned, not as the broken or rejected Luna, but as Megan Prescott, the Moon heiress to the most powerful royal European Pack, cloaked in wealth and power. Her presence commands authority and influence. Her mission is clear—protect her son, reclaim her power, and avoid Austin by all means. However, Austin wasn’t going to let go. He had realized how much he loved her after losing her. For the first time in his proud, arrogant life, he humbled himself and pleaded on his knees. “Megan, please come back to me. What would I do to change your mind?” She stared at him with absolute disgust. “Get the hell out of my life.”

She thought he was her dream—until he became her wrecking ball. Mia believed in fairy tales because her parents lived one. Raised in love, she dreamed of a man like her father: gentle, loyal, and kind. So when Noah Bradford walked in with a charming smile and stormy eyes, she thought she had found forever. But Noah wasn’t a dream. He was every warning wrapped in temptation. At twenty-five, he used love like a weapon. Haunted by a past where love meant betrayal, he vowed never to feel again. Mia wasn’t special—just another target. She should have walked away. But Mia stayed. Even when it hurt, even when he tried to break her, she held on—believing love could fix him. Then came Christian Turner. Assigned as Mia’s bodyguard, he quickly became more than a shadow. Calm, protective, and quietly intense, Christian vowed to keep her safe—because in his eyes, Mia’s tears weren’t just pain. They were danger. And Noah had done nothing but make her cry. Christian’s mission is clear: protect Mia, even if it means standing between her and the man she still loves. Even if Noah dares to return. But Mia’s heart isn’t the only thing at risk. Ava, the woman who discarded Noah, wants him back. Hannah, the only woman he ever loved, has unfinished business. And Isabella—Mia’s younger sister—is hungry for Noah, and the family fortune, too. Trapped between her past and a man who would burn the world to protect her, Mia must face the truth: sometimes love doesn’t heal. It destroys. Will she walk away with her heart intact or lose herself trying to save someone who never wanted to be saved?

It had been five years since I started dating Ross Jenner. His family invited my mother and me to their family home in Fellaton to discuss our wedding plans and to spend Valentine's Day together. It was past 10:00 PM when my mother and I landed, but Ross wasn't there to pick us up because his college junior, Laurel Elledge, had just arrived in Fellaton. He told me to figure out a way to get a cab to the house myself. In a strange place, unfamiliar with the area, it wasn't long before we found ourselves in danger. Just over ten minutes outside the airport, we were robbed. My mother was injured while trying to protect me, and she collapsed, bleeding heavily. Desperate, I held onto her, frantically trying to call Ross. Each call was abruptly cut off, and when I finally reached him, he sounded irritated. "Jennifer, you're an adult, so stop acting like a child. You couldn't even hail a cab on the street? Laurel just got to Fellaton and isn't feeling well. I need to take care of her." Without waiting for a response, he hung up. I tried calling again, only to find that I had been blocked. In the end, my mother's injuries were too severe, and she bled out before the doctors could save her. As I stared at her lifeless body, tears flowed uncontrollably. When I finally checked my phone again, the first thing I saw was a picture Ross had posted on Twitter. In the photo, he was kissing Laurel and holding a bouquet of roses. [Spending Valentine's Day with the one I love most.] I quietly threw the gifts I had brought from home into the trash. Then, I left a comment, which said, [Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness.]

Crystal Vale learned one thing growing up: visibility was dangerous. So she disappeared—behind thick glasses, baggy clothes, and the careful art of being forgettable. No one knows she hides a secret. Beneath the plainness is a woman so stunning she could stop traffic. But she buried that woman years ago. Standing out only brought trouble. Then she saved a billionaire's grandmother, and her invisible life ended. Ethan Vale is cold, ruthless, and devastatingly handsome. He married Crystal for one reason only: his grandmother's inheritance. To him, she's a transaction. A placeholder. The invisible wife who cooks his meals, waits up at night, and loves him quietly from the shadows. He never looks at her. He never sees her. He has no idea his plain, forgettable wife is hiding the face of a goddess. For one year, she endured. For one year, she hoped. For one year, she loved him in silence, believing that maybe—just maybe—he would eventually see her. He never did. The breaking point came the night his ex walked out of his bedroom and Crystal's world shattered. That night, she finally understood the truth she'd been running from: she could love him forever, and he would never, ever see her. Turns out Crystal isn't nobody. She's Crystal Laurent. Heiress to an empire that makes the Vales look like peasants. Daughter of the most powerful family in the city. The lost girl who was stolen twenty-three years ago—and never stopped being searched for. Now Crystal has a name she never knew. A family more powerful than Ethan could ever imagine. And a decision that will shake two empires to their core. Ethan Vale threw away his invisible wife without a second glance. But Crystal Laurent? She's going to make him remember her forever. Even if it destroys them both.

DIANA SANTORO: Five years locked inside a convent. Not because I was holy. Because the family I was born into is dangerous. My name is Diana Santoro. Mafia blood. And in this world, daughters like me get hidden away until the war is over. Now my brother’s the Don. And he wants me back. The man he sent to collect me? Rocco Moretti. The most feared monster in Italy. The devil of Cosa Nostra. They say he pulls confessions out of men with his bare hands—then sleeps like a baby afterward. Three days on the road. Just us. He’s expecting some scared little nun-in-training, ready to be escorted quietly back to my gilded cage. He has no idea that the only innocent thing about me is this face. **** ROCCO MORETTI: Forty-seven men. That's how many I've killed. Tortured more than double that. Never lost a minute of sleep over any of them. So why does this girl—with her innocent eyes and that smart mouth—make me feel like I'm losing my goddamn mind around every bend of this road? Last night, at some roadside motel, she walked into my room. Ran her fingers over my tattoos, looked up at me with this smirk, and told me she wasn't wearing underwear. What the hell does she want? To destroy me? To see how far she can push before I snap? She's a virgin. Untouched. Off-limits. The one thing a man like me can never have. But when she looks at me like that—wearing that short dress, lips parted just enough—I forget who I am. I forget I'm the monster. And I start wanting, with everything in me, to be the one who ruins her. Even if it costs me my life. Even if it costs me everything.

I save the Alpha. He crowns my sister. "Miles... I'm your mate," I blurt, hoping that will break through his confusion and make him see me for who I truly am. He only stares quietly at me, but I can see the conflict and confusion in his expression. "I'm sorry, Rhea. You're beautiful, and your scent..." his words trail as he buries his nose on my neck and inhales deeply. "It's the sweetest I've ever known. But I love your sister, and I made a promise I don't intend to break. We will have to reject the mate bond." "Why won't you believe me?" I plead, my voice raw. "I'm the girl you met that night. I am your mate!" Miles' gaze hardens as he points toward the exit. "You need to leave, Rhea. Or I'll have security escort you out." "You liar!" I scream as I yank Roxy's hair. "You've stolen everything from me!" I feel Miles' hands gripping my shoulders as he yanks me off her, shoving me backward. I land hard on my butt. "Listen to me, Rhea," he hisses, his voice filled with venom, his eyes cold. "I don't want to see you near me or Roxy again. If you do, I'll have you banished." He takes a step closer, towering above me. "I, Alpha Miles Mondragon, reject you, Rhea Chapman, as my mate. Accept it or reject it; I don't fucking care." Have you ever watched your Knight in shining armor stolen from your very own fantasy? It could be the most heartbreaking thing. What do you do when the man fated to love you calls you a liar? When the boy you save becomes the Alpha who destroys you? This is my story, and how my fate was stolen.

Jarek’s hand slides over my ass like a challenge, slow and deliberate, like he wants me to feel exactly where he thinks I belong. I don’t hesitate. My palm cracks across his face—sharp, loud, final. “Careful,” he says quietly, fingers digging into my hip instead of letting go. “You keep hitting men like that, someone’s going to hit back.” I tilt my chin up. “Try it.” ⸻ My parents owed Luke Jones money. I paid the debt with my body, my name, and a marriage I never agreed to. On paper, Luke is my husband. President of the Vipers MC. Untouchable. Behind closed doors, he’s a man who can’t keep an erection and punishes me for it—with fists, words, and silence. The only man that ever gave a shit a bout me was my brother, Steve. Luke’s best friend. His VP. Now Steve is dead. And Luke has finally stopped pretending. He moves Steve’s old lady into the clubhouse. Watches her. Wants her. Just like he always has. I secretly divorce him, disappear to the next town over. And I walk straight into the territory of a rival MC. Its president, Jarek Solen, notices me immediately. He’s dangerous. Controlled. Watching. The kind of man who doesn’t beg, doesn’t threaten—and doesn’t take no lightly. I refuse him anyway. Instead, I prospect his club. Earn my place the hard way. I don’t want another man. But Jarek Solen doesn’t see me as broken goods or borrowed property. He sees me as his. And when Luke realizes his wife is gone and his control is slipping—Jarek won’t hand me back. He’ll start a war. Because the Biker King doesn’t steal women. He claims what chooses him.

The entire ward could hear the thoughts of the beautiful intern nurse, Sonya Row. When a patient kept vomiting nonstop, and I suggested increasing the pain medication, she stood nearby, sighing. [What should I do? Should I tell the family this painkiller can be addictive and really bad for the body? If they just wait a few more minutes, he'll recover on his own. There's no need to spend money at all.] The room fell silent in an instant. Everyone's gaze shifted toward me, and the family quietly refused my treatment plan. After that, I became the joke of the entire department. Every patient specifically asked not to be assigned to me. Later, while comforting a terminal stomach cancer patient, I followed her family's wishes and lied, saying it was just gastritis. Sonya complained about it in her thoughts. [The patient's practically dying already, but she's still saying she can be cured. It's obviously just to trick this old woman into draining her life savings on treatment.] That night, the old lady jumped off the building so she wouldn't burden her family. Her family thought I had revealed the truth and driven her to her death. They reported me directly to the hospital director, and I was stripped of my position as department head. Then, on a holiday weekend, the hospital admitted a pregnant woman with a suspected amniotic fluid embolism. To save her life, I had no choice but to remove her uterus. At that moment, Sonya's thoughts rang out again. [She doesn't have an amniotic fluid embolism at all. She was on her phone during surgery, which caused this. Now look what happened. This baby's a girl. This family wanted a son, and now they'll never get one.] The family attacked me on the spot, recorded it, and posted the video online to harass me. The desperate husband, obsessed with having a son, stabbed me to death to vent his rage. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Sonya first revealed her thoughts. This time, I could hear her thoughts, too.

I was eight months pregnant when my water broke—the same day as the birthday of my husband’s adopted son. To keep my child from being born on the same day as his adopted son's, he forced me to wait until after midnight. He refused to take me to the hospital and locked me in the basement. Adrian Shaw looked down at me. His eyes were dark and hostile. “Elena, you're really good at picking the timing, huh? Of all days, you had to go into labor on Evan’s birthday.” I begged him to take me to the hospital. A trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes, and his voice turned cold. “You’re still trying to lie to me? I asked a doctor. Even if your water breaks, you don’t give birth right away. Some women don’t deliver for three days. “All this scheming is just to secure your position as Mrs. Shaw, so your child can compete with Evan for his birthday and his place. You've really thought this through.” I took a deep breath as despair washed over me. “The baby I’m carrying is yours too! Adrian, I’m begging you. Please, for the child’s sake, save her. As long as the baby is safe, I promise I’ll never show up in front of you again.” His expression darkened. He bent down, grabbed my chin, and replied harshly, “Don’t play games with me. “As long as you stay here quietly until after midnight, I’ll take you to the hospital. Once the baby’s born, you can finally use the child to secure your place and truly marry into the Shaw family.” Later, when my contractions grew unbearable and I cried out in pain, he found me too noisy and took Evan and his mother out to celebrate instead. By the time he remembered me and asked whether I had a boy or a girl, his secretary’s face paled. “Mrs. Shaw is… gone.”

"Chris." The said man looked up at his mate and beta. One look,he understood what had happened. Without further ado,the man behind her walked out of the door closing it behind him. He stood up and stalked towards her. Grabbing her chin he said, "Darling, do you badly want to go outside and get taken by those men? They would sell you to a pimp house?! Why don't you just understand that I'm just trying to keep you safe?! Why can't you just stay here quietly?" Isabelle looked up into his eyes. He was taken aback by her boldness. No one ever dared to look into this eyes but it was to be expected after all, she was his mate. His equal. "What good is this place? At least out there, I won't be confined like a fucking prisoner! I so much hate this place. I can't breathe normally. It's all so suffocating! There's no one to keep me company, no phone no nothing. You as well, oh yeah, you treat me like I'm some disease that you'll contract if you get close to me. Like a plague! But don't you worry, cause I'm very happy with that behaviour. But at least just let me live my normal life. Why can't I just do that?!" She yelled tears trickling down her face. Chris who couldn't bear to see her cry moved his hands from her chin pulling her into his embrace. She fought against him for a while before she later calmed down and just sobbed into his cloth. "I'll let you go out. I'll give you my phone to use for the meantime. Just please stop crying." He whispered his voice breaking. He leaned to his table and took his phone sliding it into her pocket.