Sixteen Candles

Zara Mensah did not walk into WolfeGroup Holdings looking for love. She walked in looking for a fight. Her contract had been cancelled without warning, her money was on the line, and she had sixteen days to fix everything before her business collapsed around her. She was prepared for corporate stonewalling. She was prepared for lawyers and fine print and men in expensive suits who thought small business owners could be brushed aside without consequence. She was not prepared for Damien Wolfe. Cold. Controlled. Devastatingly attractive in the way that dangerous things always are. He gave her everything she asked for in under ten minutes and then offered her a year-long contract she had no rational reason to refuse. She told herself it was just good business. She told herself the way he looked at her meant nothing. She told herself the strange warmth she felt every time he was near her was just nerves. She was wrong about all of it. Damien has spent six years building walls around himself so high that even his own pack stopped trying to reach him. He lost someone once. He blamed himself. He decided he was done. Then Zara walked through his door and the mate bond he never wanted snapped into place before he could stop it. Now he is caught between what he feels and what he swore he would never feel again. Between a woman who deserves the full truth and a secret that could change everything she thinks she knows. Between the pack demanding he step up and a council meeting that is coming whether he is ready or not. And in the shadows, a man named Victor Graves is watching all of it with a smile that does not reach his eyes, waiting for the perfect time

“Her.” One word. That’s all it took for Alpha Cain Voss to destroy what was left of Wren Ashford’s life. Five years ago, Wren watched her pack burn. She was sixteen, covered in her mother’s blood, and the wolves who slaughtered her family let her live—but only as a servant. For five years, she’s scrubbed their floors, taken their beatings, and plotted her escape. Three more weeks. That’s all she needed. Then he came. Cain Voss is the most brutal Alpha in the region—a wolf forged in blood and fire who has never shown mercy. When he arrives to claim a tribute bride, every woman in the pack trembles. But Cain doesn’t want beauty. He doesn’t want submission. He wants Wren—because she’s the last living descendant of the ancient healers, and his sister is dying. He doesn’t explain. He doesn’t ask. He just takes. But there’s something Cain doesn’t know: Wren’s healing gift only works when she cares. And right now, the only thing she feels is hate. She plans to let his sister die—her revenge on every wolf who has ever taken from her. But as Cain’s cold exterior begins to crack, revealing scars that mirror her own, Wren realizes the monster who caged her might be the only one who truly understands her. And the Alpha who destroyed her pack? He’s still out there. He knows what Wren is. And he’s coming for her. She was his prisoner. Then his weapon. Now she might be his salvation—if she doesn’t destroy them both first.

Liliana Patrick, a twenty three years old timid and clumsy lady who lost everything in a blink of an eye. Suffer was an understatement in her case, she had nothing, no shelter, no friends, no family. But when she steps her leg in to Kings Company, she was introduced to another world she never knew about. Nicholas King, an example of rude and arrogant, cold, dominant, commanding and heartless. The thirty years took over his late father's property after he passed away, he shows no mercy to his workers, he can fire you with just a little mistake. But when his eyes roam her body as she walks into his office, he claimed her as his. I took a seat in front of him. "Good morning Sir-" I greeted but he cuts me off. "Did I ask you to seat?" His voice, so raspy, so deep, so sensual, so husky and so......British? I never knew the Kings were British. But what took my attention were those words he said. "Uhh....." I stood up immediately. "I'm sorry" I apologize but he looks angry or something. "You came sixteen minutes late, left my door opened, sat on the chair like you own the place" he snarled at me..... okay, Mr rude. "I.....I said I was sorry" I look away from him, he shuffle and his cologne filled my nostrils, sandalwood and lavender oil. "You are not to talk back till I ask you to. Sit" he ordered and I did. He grabs what looks like my resumè, he looks at me in an instant. His blue orbs holds no emotions in his eyes as he stares at me, but what was so intriguing was the fact that he's intimidating me really bad.

He called me "little sister." I called him my forever.I've loved Skyler Voss since I was sixteen—my brother's best friend, my pack's most feared enforcer, and the man who looked right through me like I was invisible. For years, I watched him from the shadows, memorizing the way he laughed, the way he rode, the way he commanded every room he entered.Then came the night of my twenty-first birthday. The night the mate bond snapped into place.The night he looked at me with horror in his eyes and said the words that shattered me: "You're like a sister to me, Wren. You'll only ever be a sister."So I ran. I buried myself in my art, in a new city, in a life where Skyler Voss was nothing but a ghost I refused to let haunt me.Five years later, I'm not the same girl who cried herself to sleep over a man who didn't want her. I'm successful. I'm strong. I'm done.But when a family emergency drags me back to Ironvale, I discover that Skyler isn't done with me. The rejection that once broke me is now breaking him—slowly, painfully, driving him to the edge of madness. His wolf is feral. His control is slipping. And he's looking at me like I'm the only thing standing between him and the abyss.He wants a second chance. He wants forgiveness. He wants me.But I've spent five years learning to live without him. And I'm not sure I remember how to love someone who once made me feel so utterly worthless.

Five years ago, my then girlfriend betrayed me for Ethan Reid. Together, they staged a car accident that killed both my parents. Then they hired someone to assault and murder my younger sister, who wasn't even sixteen, and framed me for it. I was thrown in prison where I suffered every day. It was Serena Cole who risked everything to become my defense attorney. She cleared my name and courted me with everything she had. She told me I was all she could see, that I was her whole world. When I finally gave her my whole heart, I looked down from upstairs and saw her kissing Ethan like she couldn't get enough of him, days before our wedding. Right there in our wedding car, they crossed every line. "Bold move, bride. Not worried the groom might see?" Ethan whispered. "His legs are crippled because of you. You know better than anyone whether he can even make it downstairs," Serena replied. "What's this, feeling guilty now? Every dirty thing I ever did to him, you were the one who planned it. You want me to tell him that?" "If you say a word, I swear I'll take you down with me," came her ragged response. Ethan bit her ear roughly, driving her over the edge. "Sure, sure. I know you love him so much. So doesn't this make it even more exciting? Say it. Who's your daddy?" She broke apart beneath him, saying his name over and over, breathless and undone. The tears hit me before I could stop them. She had known. All along, she had known everything that happened to me. And not only that, she had helped plan it.

I sensed his presence before I ever saw him, my mate... I looked up to meet amber eyes gazing at me confidently. Zane Black, Alpha of the Blue moon pack, was gorgeous, powerful and just what every woman dreamed of… or so he thought. “Hello, mate...” he said with a smirk. I looked at him blankly for a moment before I slowly smirked at him. “I reject you, Mr. Alpha,” I said in a bored tone. His brows furrowed as he stared at me uncomprehendingly. Then slowly realization dawned and his expression changed to disbelief, pain and finally rage.  “You reject me? You think I am not worthy to be your mate? I promise you, the day will come when you will beg for my love. You will regret rejecting me. That day, I will be the one who will have the last laugh,” he vowed. “Let’s see, Alpha. I will just tell you one thing. I, Kayla Xanders, had never ever tasted defeat in my life till day,” I said confidently.  I watched his eyes go wide in shock as he heard my name. Before he could reply, I turned, and walked away from him. Bring it on, Alpha. Let the games begin. __________________ An unexpected rogue attack changed the life of Kayla Xanders. She lost her family as well as half of her pack. At just sixteen, she took over as the Alpha of the Crescent moon pack and vows to avenge the murder of her family. Seven years later, she had become a ruthless Alpha, feared and respected by all. When she meets her mate, Zane, a playboy with an attitude, she rejects him outright. Soon, they start their games against each other. Why did she really reject Zane? And will he ever win her over? 

Rule one of surviving a werewolf rejection: don't look back. Rule two: definitely don't move into an apartment directly below his human ex-girlfriend. Rule three: under no circumstances allow him to follow you to the human world. I have broken all three rules in under a month. My name is Zoya Fennel, and five weeks ago, Casen Wolfe — Alpha of the Silveroak Pack, certified heartbreaker, and the most beautiful man the Moon Goddess ever put together on a Thursday — stood at the end of the aisle during our bonding ceremony and said, in front of everyone I have ever loved: "She is not my true mate. I reject the bond." And just like that, the life I'd been planning since I was sixteen years old dissolved in front of three hundred witnesses and one very startled officiant. So I did what any self-respecting, moderately devastated she-wolf would do. I walked out. I moved to the city. I got a frankly excellent apartment with a fire escape view and a coffee shop downstairs. I started living my life. What I did not plan for was discovering — three weeks later, via a very confused text from my sister — that Casen has left the pack, abandoned his Alpha title, moved to the same city, and is currently standing outside my building in the rain. He says he made a mistake. He says the woman he thought was his true mate turned out to be nothing of the sort. He says he's been going out of his mind since the rejection ceremony because the bond he severed — the one he publicly destroyed — is the only one he's ever felt. I say: that sounds like a you problem. Except then he gets a job at the coffee shop downstairs.

“You can play Priest for as long as you like,” he spat, ignoring my protests, “but you will never find salvation.” His words struck like a curse, but that wasn’t the reason my chest heaved, goosebumps littered my skin, and definitely not the reason I felt hot despite the chilling dip from the lake. Ezreal’s eyes widened momentarily, noticing. I winced as his hand shifted, pressing against the stiff betrayal straining against my soaked robes. He stilled for only a second, then a wicked grin overtook his features. “Well, well,” Ezreal drawled, his voice taunting “Look who’s getting excited,” “Stop,” I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut as the humiliation dug deep. “Please….” He leaned forward, his breath hot as his lips ghosted over the shell of my ear. “I will taint you so bad,” he whispered, his hand tightening against my crotch. “So bad you won’t have the courage to stand on the altar you abandoned me for.” ****** At sixteen, Ezreal Vossell took the fall for a murder to protect the only boy he ever loved—Baron Lander, the timid son of the town’s high priest. A known delinquent, the bastard child of the mayor, but the only one who saw him for his true self was Baron. Ezreal made the ultimate sacrifice, and all he wanted in return was Baron’s support. But alas, on the day of the trial, Baron betrayed him, casting him aside to please his father. Ezreal was sentenced to life in prison, his heart shattered beyond repair. Fifteen years later, he was released, but gone was the naive sixteen-year-old. He’s returned as the ruthless leader of a mafia syndicate, and with all the power and wealth at his fingertips, he yearned for one thing alone. Revenge.

Ernesta, the daughter of a wealthy family, had lived like an orphan for over a decade after being separated from her parents as a young child. At sixteen, she was finally found and brought home. Ernesta believed her life was starting anew, that she would finally be surrounded by her family's love. But she had no idea what awaited her: her brother's judgmental gaze, her father's disdain, and her mother's feigned affection. This was because someone had completely usurped her place in the family. Her foster sister, Kiera, though unrelated by blood to the Merediths, had been raised in luxury and had become a true lady. Ernesta, the real daughter raised in a less fortunate environment, wasn't considered noble enough, elegant enough, and was treated like an outsider. On the night of Ernesta's 20th birthday, also the night her engagement to Ryder was announced, he coldly stated, “The only one I've ever loved is Kiera.” Why hadn't he said it sooner? Why did he have to say it today, in front of so many guests, making her look like a fool? To make matters worse, her father, mother, and brother all turned their backs on her to protect the deceitful Kiera. Ernesta turned and walked away. This time, she was determined to let go of the family love she had always craved. She wanted to prove to the Merediths and Ryder that her life would be even better without them. But a serious car accident nearly claimed Ernesta's life. When she awoke, a mechanical voice echoed in her ears, “Ding! Congratulations, master, on successfully installing the Life-Altering System. Your brain is severely damaged, and your body is in a vegetative state. If you want a chance to wake up, you need to complete the mission assigned by the Life-Altering System.”