Rice By Manuel Arguilla

Stella meets her mate through tragedy but ends up finding more then just a new family but family she didn’t know she had. Stella is exceptionally powerful and is on the journey to finding out her gifts.

"I brought you here because you're my mate." "mate?" I ask incredulously. "yes. And I plan to make sure that you remain here, Tammy. Even if you try to run away from this, I will keep bringing you back every single time." Tammy is a nurse living a normal life. That changes after an encounter with a mysterious man, as her world begins to turn upsidedown. Adam Grayson, the next-in-line alpha of the skyline pack has been searching for his mate for eight years. His search comes to an end after a brief meeting with her, but claiming her poses a problem for him, so he begins making plans to get her. With the time of witch's curse manifestation approaching, Adam uses that to his advantage and gets ignorant his mate, Tammy, to cater for the wolves of his pack. And with her stay in the pack house, new developments occur, which disrupts her past and threatens her future with Adam. Will they still come together after terrible secrets unfold? Or would their bond be shattered? A scream pierces the air, and I whirl around, my attention now on the crowd. The lady, Amanda, points a trembling finger at me. "A witch! We have a witch among us!" I shake my head. "What? No!" I cry. "I'm not a witch!" "Witch! Witch! Witch!" The chants rise from the crowd. I turn back to Adam. "Adam, tell them I'm not a witch. Adam please!"

To the world, Felix and I were fated by the Moon Goddess, an Omega and her destined Alpha. Only I knew how much he despised me. At his Alpha ceremony, he humiliated me before the entire pack by choosing my half-sister, Bianca, over me. “An Omega who plays with herbs? You’ll never be worthy of me.” In my past life, I begged him not to reject me. He didn’t, but he made me suffer instead. My stepmother and Bianca framed me for poisoning the pack. He never defended me. He locked me in heat, then turned around and marked Bianca, like I was nothing. She wore his mark. I wore his shame. I was framed, cast out, and discarded. When he publicly crowned Bianca as his Luna, our bond shattered and so did my wolf. It was then I realized, he had never loved me. But now, I’m back. Back on the day of his Alpha ceremony. In this life, I’d rather suffer than be his mate again. “I, Reiley, rejected you, Felix, as my mate.”

Aubrey Miller is ready to start college. With her best friend in tow, she's more than happy to forget about her small town and scumbag ex that resides there.Move-in-day throws her into an embarrassing situation with the gorgeous bad boy, Chase Walker. After being burned back home, she ignores Chase's advances.Soon after, her best friend shacks up with the hottie next door, leaving her alone for much of the time. Thankfully, she's been accepted into the most prestigious sorority and is confident that her life is about to change for the better.At the welcoming party, she meets the man of her dreams.Jesse is everything her ex-boyfriend could never be, but there's one tiny problem. Jesse's cousin Chase thinks that he'd claimed her first.Aubrey isn't about to let some Neanderthal from the dark ages tell her who she can or can't date.I mean, who the hell does he think he is?Chase, is a full-blooded werewolf and the future Alpha. Jesse and Chase had been best friends their whole lives, but are now willing to lay down their lives for Aubrey.A little on the obsessive side, but fate can do that when coupled with their frenzied animal instincts!Reeling from the knowledge that werewolves exist. Aubrey is caught in a war between Jesse and Chase.Who can she trust with her heart?The man, she loved at first sight, or the man she grew to love wholeheartedly.Is it possible to be in love with two men at the same time?Secrets begin to shed as quickly as clothing, while love and laughter turn into heartbreak and tears.Aubrey faces so many questions, but is she ready for the truth?Better yet, are you?Who will win her heart and become the true Alpha?

She gave him three years of her life, but he gave her divorce papers in return. ****** Grace Whitlock had always loved Ethan Calder, the hotshot billionaire and her sister's fiance. When her sister escapes right on the wedding day, Grace steps in her place, becoming Ethan's wife. She gives him three precious years of her life, only for him to deliver the divorce papers right after her sister returns. After her trust shatters and she loses everything she holds dear, she vows to avenge herself against her ex-husband and her scheming sister. In her quest for revenge, she comes across another man who ignites a passion in her veins that leaves her breathless and squirming. What happens when Ethan finds out that his wife is moving onto another hotshot faster than a speed of light? Will he let her go or will he hold her in for eternity?

After leaving Lucian for seven years, Ava finds herself coming face to face with him again and she’s shocked to discover he is not the same man she left behind again. Seeing Ava again after seven years, Lucian wasn’t ready to let her go even if she has a child and he is hell bent on making her pay for her crimes. EXTRACTS. “Even if you’re wearing another man’s ring, that won’t stop me from claiming what’s mine! It even makes my hardened for the fact that you’re engaged to another man yet my touch still sets your body on fire”. He wink. “But I think my little rose deserves some punishment for lying”. ********.

After the video exposing my sister Issa Acosta’s plot against me was revealed, my parents and my fiancé, Henry Nolan, stood firmly by my side, making me feel loved and safe. I confidently handed over all the evidence to them, trusting them to handle it. However, they told me that after Issa was kicked out of the house, she died in a sudden car accident, and I believed them. That was until five years into my marriage, when I accidentally saw Issa—the woman who was supposed to be dead. She was holding a little boy, clinging tightly to Henry’s hand. "Henry, if it weren’t for you and my parents, I’m afraid Zoe would’ve thrown me in prison. Thankfully, my parents destroyed the evidence and even opened a jewelry design studio for me. To avoid suspicion, you even sacrificed your own marriage. Thank you for everything in the past five years.” "Think of it as me atoning to Zoe on your behalf. As long as you and Bear are happy, that’s enough for me." So, what I thought was a happy family was nothing more than a giant lie—a scheme concocted by my parents and Henry. My parents, my husband, and Issa were the real family, and I? I was just the fool who had been deceived for five long years. Whether it was family or love, none of it was real, and I don’t want any of it anymore.

“Go down on your knees and show me you can be a good little student for me.” My heart rate and my breathing became labored. “N-now?” I stuttered. “Class is about to start.” Damon smirked, uncaring that we could get caught. “I guess you’d have to be fast then.” Dahlia Carrington cuts off her parents and runs away from home and she has to survive somehow and pay for her education herself. When she isn’t granted a student loan because of her rich background, she has to resort to other means to get herself through school, which lands her in a complicated relationship with her professor. Damon Valentino knows any kind of sexual relationship with his twenty year old student is immoral, but he can’t help himself, not after having a taste of her. BOOK TWO IN THE VALENTINO SERIES CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE AND DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK

In a world ruled by power, fear, and blood, Dante Ricci is nothing short of a walking demon. A powerful mafia boss, he commands respect through sheer brutality, feared by his enemies and even those closest to him. Dante despises weakness, ruthlessly crushing anyone who dares to oppose him or show vulnerability. Cold-hearted, dominant, and cruel, he lives by the law of the underworld—survival of the fittest. On the other side of the city lives Elena Carter, a cheerful and innocent college student. Adopted by parents who despise her, she has always felt out of place in a world that offers her little love. Unbeknownst to her, her real parents were killed years ago, but she knows nothing of the dark secrets that shroud her past. She’s focused on her studies, trying to live a normal life despite her broken family. Fate takes a dark turn when Elena accidentally witnesses Dante in the middle of a brutal murder, crime no innocent eyes should have seen. Dante, always careful to eliminate any loose ends, has no choice but to kidnap her. She’s nothing more than a liability, a weakling in his eyes, and his first instinct is to kill her. As secrets unravel and tension mounts, Dante must confront the demons of his past while Elena fights to survive in a world she never belonged to. Will Dante’s hatred and heartlessness lead him to kill her, or will the unexpected connection between them change their lives forever?

Natalia and Andrei’s marriage was originally a three-year contract. With only 30 days left until the contract ends, Natalia discovered that she’s pregnant. Just when she thought Andrei would reconsider divorcing her because of this, his deceased first mate, Lilith, returned. Feeling hopeless, Natalia decided to initiate the divorce. However, at their engagement party, Andrei received the news of Natalia’s car accident, along with the shocking discovery of her pregnancy test results...