Soft Swapping

Three years of marriage, and it all ends with two words. Sign it. He didn’t even look up when he said it. Just slid the papers across the table like I was another business deal to close. We weren’t supposed to fall in love it started as a contract, something practical, something safe. But feelings have a way of growing where they shouldn’t. For a while, I thought he cared. The quiet moments, the small things he remembered my favorite song, how I take my tea, the way I hate the rain. I thought they meant something. Turns out, they did. Just not for me. Every gesture, every soft word, was borrowed from a memory. From her. The woman who had him first. The one who left. The one who’s now back. So I signed. I smiled. I walked away. Not because I wanted to but because I had to. He doesn’t chase me. Not yet. But I can feel it the weight of everything unsaid still hanging in the air between us. Maybe he’ll realize what he’s lost. Maybe he won’t. Either way, this time, I’m not waiting around to find out.

Seven months pregnant with our heir, I was on the front lines, fighting for my Alpha mate, Ethan. I’d just secured a thirty-million-dollar territory for our pack and rushed home, eager to surprise him with the news. But as I neared the council room, the broken sobs of his adopted sister, Tessa, stopped me cold. "A low-born Silver Wolf like Sophia... she's not worthy of being our pack's Luna." "Ethan, we're the ones who are fated to be together. Mark me... please?" My blood ran cold. I expected Ethan to shove her away, to defend my honor. Instead, he caressed her cheek, his voice a soft, gentle murmur that cut me deeper than any blade. "Just give me a little more time, Tessa. On the next blood moon, I'll sever my bond with Sophia." My world shattered. I fled, only to be cornered and brutally murdered by Tessa. She framed my death as an attack by a rogue wolf before tossing my body from a cliff. It wasn’t until the news of my death reached him that Ethan finally broke. He fell to his knees at the edge of that same cliff, his agonized howl echoing into the night. "Sophia… I was wrong. Please, just come back to me."

Miles was livid. His father had to be joking, right? Marrying a nineteen-year-old girl? Who does that? He was twenty when she was born, for God’s sake. The very idea disgusted him. Not because of what anyone would say—Miles didn’t care about public opinion. Reclusive, cold, rude, and emotionally unavailable, he had no interest in the world’s judgment. But this? This felt wrong. He wasn’t a predator, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to marry someone two decades younger than him. But his father wouldn’t back down, and losing the company wasn’t an option. So, he reluctantly agreed. He would marry the shy, damaged girl who had survived the worst at the hands of her step-family. He made himself a promise: he wouldn’t touch her. He would protect her, not become another perverted man she’d have to fear. What he didn’t expect was how hard that promise would be to keep. She was undeniably beautiful—soft curves in all the right places, her presence igniting desires he thought he could suppress. Suddenly, Miles found himself fighting not just his morals, but his erection. But she was his wife. He could touch her, right? Or at least look? She was going to be his undoing.

"Please, don't do this, I have a husband... I am married" Ash begged with her joined hands while walking backward. Tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. In a snap, his handsome face contorted in distaste and his eyes lost all their warmth. "Not tonight! Tonight you are mine. And ONLY MINE," he paced towards her like a predator. "Michael...Michael..." Ash shouted her husband's name as her back hit the cold wall. He started caressing her cheek with his knuckles. He leaned forward and whispered in her ears "he has sold you to me, for tonight. So, tonight the only name you are allowed to take is mine. And believe me, angel, I'll make sure you scream my name while I'll do things to you that I have been wanting to do with you since the moment I saw you" He said in his raspy voice. He had been imagining this moment since the day he had laid his eyes on her. And finally, he got her. Daniel slammed his bow-shaped hungry lips on her soft plumpy ones just after finishing his sentence. She squeezed her eyes shut letting tears tumble out.

"Just join me for a drink perhaps?" Her bushy brows rose suggestively at me. She knew my answer, she knew what I'd say. I grabbed the bottle off her scrawny hands and said "You know, for a one time thing, this has become a regular." To be honest, I was actually looking forward to meeting up with her. Not that I was going to admit it to her face. "Like therapy sessions from two dumb, ill-favored kids. Who are trying to give each other easing words." She was right. Though her stumbled movements indicated a slight intoxication. Suddenly, out of the awkward moment, she looked up at me with a sad smile and said. "I might be a street girl but is it too bad to wish for a normal life? Go to proms? Have new clothes? Shelter? Love? Do I not deserve?" Her teary eyes searched deep into my soul. I was unaware of the lack of distance between us. When did we get so close with barely an inch barrier? "Flare..." that was all I could say because then all I could feel were soft lips against mine. Her lips! And it felt so nice. Subconsciously, I grabbed her little body and went for another kiss, this time, a deeper kiss.

Before my wedding to Sophie Bennett, the impoverished student I've been sponsoring for ten years posts a photo on social media. "Successfully moved into the new apartment. Soph prepared such a big, soft bed for me!" In the photo, Zachary Wells lies sprawled on the wedding bed I bought for Sophie and my new home, taking a smug selfie with his hand waving at the camera. He's even wearing my wedding ring on his ring finger. Zachary also comments on his own post, "Just thinking about how I'm the first man to lie on this bed fills me with overwhelming happiness!" I reply with a question mark under his comment. The next second, Sophie's call comes through. "I'm just letting Zach experience the warmth of home. Why are you being so passive-aggressive?" In the background, I hear Zachary softly trying to calm her down. "Soph, he's not worth getting angry over." Hearing that, Sophie laughs and banters with him, then abruptly hangs up on me. The two of us have been together for ten years, from ages 18 to 28, and we've finally made it to our wedding day. But now, I no longer intend to go through with it.

It would have been a lot easier for every body if princess Alexander was born a man but instead she is a female but that doesn't lower her spirits or force her to adhere to the unwritten rules about ladies behaviors. She does what she wants, when she wants. She had definitely not requested for a wedding and surprisingly, it was the one thing her parents decisions refuse to sway in. She was going to be tied down and there is nothing she could do about it. Jared was having worst luck as usual, his parents refuse to back down from the issue of marriage especially since his best friend got married. And now they have succeeded, they have managed to tie him into a marriage that he could not get out of. Resigning himself to his fate he went to her kingdom hoping to see a well put lady, soft spoken and docile. Instead, he got exactly the opposite and more. More in the sense that he couldn't help but be attracted to her. Of course he fought the attraction with everything he got but in the end, he never really did have a choice. He was hers from the moment he laid his eyes on her. If only it was that simple to get his happy ever after but with a war looming in the horizon, a happy ever after might just be out of the question.

There is an adage that someone’s first love can never be forgotten, especially if it started from a childhood friendship up until them hating each other and not to forget the denial of one’s feelings. But one can only deny their feelings towards their other half, but can never deny the bond of a mate. Isabella Lenovo is Alpha Ledger’s sister and the childhood friend of Alpha Ryan. She has a twin sister who was also a childhood friend of Alpha Ryan and Alice, Alpha Ryan’s deceased sister. But an unfortunate accident broke the bonds between these friends. The once enviable friendship was now tainted with jealousy, envy, and resentment. The moon strikes back by making Ryan and Isabella mates. Would Isabella accept this and give in to the mate’s bond despite all odds? Ryan Stones, the alpha of pack Loren—a quick-witted man with soft features and a mind and will as hard as a stone—decided not to have anything to do with the Lenovo sisters after an accident that cost him something huge. He believes that the Lenovo sisters had a hand in this accident and he made a vow to get his revenge back on them. But would his plan waver when he figured out that Isabella was his mate or would he use that as an opportunity to get his revenge? Would their hidden love and bond for each other prevail, or would we say that the moon for once made a mistake?

Starla Xander was orphaned at a young age. With both her parents gone, it was her uncle, Xavier Lloyd, who rescued her from that hopeless home. For over a decade, he had cherished her, shielding her from the world, treating her like the most precious gem in his life. And so, inevitably, she fell in love with him. She truly believed he loved her too. She thought that one day, they would get married and build a future together. But when Starla finally confessed her feelings, Xavier reacted as if she had crossed an unforgivable line. “Starla, I’m your uncle. Get rid of those disgusting thoughts!” And that wasn’t even the cruelest part. He chose the most brutal way to reject her. On the twelfth anniversary of the day they met, he stood before her with a beautiful woman by his side. He met Starla’s eyes and said, “Meet her. She’s your future aunt-in-law.” As she watched them standing together—so effortlessly close—something inside her shattered. She let out a soft, bitter laugh. “I understand now.” Without another word, she turned away, pulled out her phone, and called her research mentor. “Professor Zimmer, I’ve made my decision. I agree to the cryogenic preservation procedure.”

"Whose child is this?" His voice was cold and icy, blood shot eyes drilling holes in her watery ones. Scared, she cowered back only for her back to met the wall. A sob of pure horror left her parched throat, her hands lifting up to shield her already bruised face. "I asked," He stepped dangerously closer to her, his hot breath fanning the back of her hands. His sandalwood scent which used to calm her nerves in past, today did nothing other than heightening her fear. "Whose." His rough hands yanked her soft ones from her face, before clasping her jaw tightly, his fingers digging in her bruised skin making her wince. "Child" He whispered deadly, leaning down till his stern lips were brushing over her quivering ones. Tears after tears dripped down her cheeks. "Is in your stomach?" His already tight hold had tightened in bruising manner, making her flinch hard. Her head began to spin in fright, darkness invading her vision. Her heart pleading for some miracle. That wasn't the first question, her husband was supposed to ask her on her wedding night.