Shirley Jackson

C'est la quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième fois que mon compagnon Alpha a bloqué notre lien mental, j'étais en phase terminale de Dépérissement Spirituel de la Louve. J'ai traîné mon corps brisé jusqu'au Hall du Conseil. Les marches de marbre froid m'ont râpé la plante des pieds, et à chaque pas une douleur déchirante a labouré ma poitrine. « Je viens déposer une demande de quitter la meute. » Le conseiller a examiné ma silhouette pâle et maigre avec un regard compatissant et a demandé doucement : « En êtes-vous certaine, Mademoiselle ? Vous renonceriez à la protection de la meute. » Depuis l'enfance, ma louve a toujours été instable, me rendant fragile. Depuis que mon père a ramené ma sœur adoptive, Lydia, quand j'avais dix ans, mes parents m'ont traitée comme une honte pour la famille. Bien que j'aie été sa compagne marquée pendant des années, Collin ne m'a jamais promise une cérémonie de Luna. Il m'a rarement conduite aux rassemblements de la meute. Par conséquent, presque personne dans la meute n'a su qui j'étais. « Peu importe, » ai-je dit, ma voix calme malgré l'effort. « Je serai morte dans trois jours. »

On her birthday and mating ceremony, Shirley's life takes a tragic turn when her parents and fellow pack members fall victim to a merciless attack by unknown assailants. Captured and sold in a clandestine dark auction, she becomes the property of the formidable Alpha, Adolphus Quin. At first, Adolphus sees her as nothing more than a submissive slave, but as the nights pass, an unexpected transformation takes place within him. His icy demeanor begins to thaw, and he discovers an inexplicable weakness for Shirley, an emotion he thought himself incapable of and undeniably his paradox. How deep has Shirley dug into Adolphus's heart and how far has Adolphus fallen for Shirley?

During the year-end review, Shirley Johnson, Chris Kennedy’s childhood friend, said she wanted to take over as the project lead so she could get promoted to deputy general manager. For the sake of the company, I turned her down. Shirley, furious, quit on the spot and went to get married. Under my lead, the project brought in billions, and the company went public in one leap. Later, I married Chris. During our honeymoon, I was kidnapped and dragged into an underground compound in Morandia. I was about to call for help when I heard Chris say, "Do whatever you want with this vile woman." I desperately demanded to know why. Chris kicked me in the stomach. "If you hadn’t forced your way into the project lead position back then, Shirley wouldn’t have been pushed into that marriage! She wouldn’t have been abused to death. You owe her." When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day Shirley demanded to be the project lead.

A conspiracy by her best friend led to Shirley losing her first time to a strange man. The once-sweet relationship was ruthlessly destroyed by her boyfriend. "Since you are carrying my child, let's get married. It just happens that I don't love you, and you don't love me either," Mr. Billionaire said heartlessly. He threw a contract on the table, saying, "We are just contract spouses." They got secretly married. None of their colleagues knew that Shirley was the wife of their CEO, and they envied why Mr. Billionaire treated this little assistant so specially. Just as Shirley was about to relax, she unexpectedly found out that the man who signed the contract completely ignored her resistance and declared to the whole world that she belonged to him. "What are you trying to do?" "My dear wife, I love you! Let's have another child."

Growing up side by side, as children of the pack Beta and Gamma, Lachlan and Seren should be the perfect pairing made by fate. But, after Lachlan’s father, the Beta of Black Crescent Pack died to save Seren’s life his son, Lachlan now holds nothing but resentment and hate for the beautiful young she-wolf. Coming of age is a date Lachlan has been waiting for. The date he will begin preparing to inherit his father’s title should be a special day for him, but instead is ruined by meeting his fated… The one person in the world he would not want to be fated to. The one person he hates most in the world. Seren. Surely fate would not be so cruel to fate him to the one he hates? But in a pack where tradition means rejection is frowned upon, Lachlan finds himself in a difficult situation. But, he has no intention of being with the person who causes him to live without his father. Can the two live in peace together with the matebond simmering?

Alpha Mason is determined to continue on with life as an Alpha alone after the betrayal of his fated mate. Focused upon his pack he allows himself to become isolated; which only becomes worse as his friends begin to settle down. The young Alpha’s friend, Kai is set to be married, and Mason reluctantly agrees to go out celebrating with his friends. They venture out into the human world, enjoying a few too many drinks, only to find themselves in a bar, and Mason is unable to take his eyes from one of their dancers, Gi-Gi. Mason finds an excuse to talk to the beauty as she dances, and she more than captures his attention as the night wears on. The presence of the beautiful Gianna lingers within Mason's mind, bringing the Alpha back to the bar on more than one occasion with nothing but her in mind. Could it be possible for a friendship to form between a strong and powerful Alpha and a dancer? But, is there more than meets the eye to this dancing beauty? And will the Alpha find himself hurt once again? Or could they be the key to helping one another?

Third in series. Jake is Midnight Forest Pack's Beta, incredibly popular and handsome, always surrounded by friends, and is successful in business and as his role in pack as Beta. Yet part of his life feels incomplete. Seeing all of his friends settled down with their mates and now having children, Jake can't help but wonder where he went wrong or think if he will forever be alone. Avoidance seems to be the best tactic, and Jake pushes himself harder into work, where an unexpected encounter at a business meeting gets his heart racing and turns his life upside down. Rose, this seemingly perfect, beautiful fated mate of his, has somewhat of an unusual reaction to meeting her mate. Are you meant to be doing your best to avoid your new mate? Or be keeping secrets from him? Not to mention Rose comes from the other side of the world and plans to head home as soon as she can, with promises of keeping in touch, and working things out with time and space. Jake is just happy to finally have his mate, and willing to do all he can to have her by his side. Would Jake be willing to leave all he knows for fate? Or could it be the moon goddess made a mistake, and Jake is better off alone? Or is there a better match out there for him?

In a time where fated mates have become a rarity, two brothers from Silver Shadows Pack are being sought mates. One the Alpha, and the other his younger brother. Neither one happy about the arrangement, but it is an arrangement forced upon them by their family and pack elders. While two sisters from Alpine Shadows Pack have been designated as two of the potential she-wolves who could be perfect brides for these strong wolves. Lena is dreading the very idea of leaving the safe haven of her home pack, while her sister, Cora is not willing to have her future mapped out for her and plans to flee. With their arrival at Silver Shadows and Cora having fled, Lena is soon ordered that her marriage to the Alpha will occur, and disappointment takes over her at the realization the handsome Alpha is not quite all he appeared to be at the wedding ceremony. With a life of uncertainty ahead, being a mere puppet to the man she was forced to marry, Lena is unsure what her future holds, until the devastatingly handsome Alpha’s brother returns to pack, taking more than a keen interest in his brother’s new wife… But is the new life Lena has been pushed into all it first seemed?

Seven years I spent with Jason Shaw, but I never got a ring. Rather, all I received was an invitation to another person's wedding. That day, as a wedding planner, I was at the rehearsal, making last-minute adjustments. Looking up, I saw the man whom I waited every day to reply to my messages, walking down the aisle, arm in arm with another bride. "Her boyfriend had something urgent come up, so I'm filling in for him," he said, standing straight, his tone light, a small smile on his lips. But his eyes couldn't hide the hurt, like a child who lost his favorite toy. As if that wasn't enough, he told me to hand over my wedding plan. He patted me on the shoulder, saying sincerely, "There's no rush for us. We've got plenty of time. I promise I'll give you an even better wedding. Just help me out this time. It's not like I'm not going to marry you." He didn't know that I had revised the wedding plan hundreds of times, even counted and recounted the bouquets seven times. To me, it wasn't mere work—it was a dream I held for five long years. I didn't argue anymore, just quietly stepped aside. Later, I lay alone in a hospital bed, listening to the rain tapping against the window from outside. I counted each drop as the hours slipped through my fingers. Perhaps those who worked so hard to create happiness for others had lost the right to their own happiness.

After my rebirth, the very first thing I did was ride from one blood donation van to another, giving blood until I nearly collapsed. Why? Because in my previous life, my fiancé's newly hired intern, Shirley Lynch, had bound herself to a blood-exchange system. Every milliliter she donated was siphoned directly from my own veins. In just a month, she transformed from an ordinary college girl into the nation's beloved Blood Angel, showered with fame and fortune, while I, suffering from severe anemia, was fired from the hospital for being unable to work. When I exposed her scheme to my fiancé, he looked at me with disgust and broke off our engagement. "You're selfish and cowardly," he sneered. "You refuse to donate your rare blood type, and now you slander Shirley? You call yourself a doctor, yet you believe in such ridiculous nonsense!" From then on, every time Shirley donated blood, I would suffer heart palpitations, dizziness, and sometimes collapse outright. I begged the doctors in my department for help, but my fiancé blocked every attempt, accusing me of jealousy and wasting medical resources. In the end, to steal my promotion ahead of schedule, Shirley donated a full 1000 milliliters of blood live on television. As her blood drained, so did mine. I went into shock and died. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day Shirley first claimed she carried my rare blood type.