Stars Align

Everyone in the pack knew that my mate Damien loved me fiercely. After our mating ceremony, Damien gave me three bonding gifts. The first was a protective amulet he'd prayed three days and three nights for at the Moon Goddess shrine. The second was a sculpture he spent months carving with his own hands. The third was a diamond ring — the symbol of the Luna — priceless, and with it came the authority to govern the pack. On my birthday, he went searching for a moonstone and was ambushed by rogue wolves. He fell off a cliff. When he woke, his memory was gone. A bar hostess had rescued him. They fell in love. But the day before their mating ceremony, his memories returned, and he came back to me without hesitation. Just when I thought he'd ended things with her, on the very day I found out I was pregnant, I received a video — an intimate recording of the two of them together. Vivian was already carrying his child, nestled against Damien like a helpless little bird. "You're carrying my child. I won't abandon you. As for Elena — a few sweet words and she'll do whatever I say." I turned off my phone and sent a mind-link to my father. "Dad. The arranged mating you set up for me — I accept."

When I inherited the title of Alpha Female, the Witch prophesied that my pack would fall within eight years. Only finding my fated mate could avert the coming disaster. I searched for eight long years. With just seven days left before the prophecy's deadline, I received word that our sacred altar had been bombed. The one responsible was Lucian Grey — the same man who had tried to poison me. When I confronted him, he had only one thing to say: "I'm from the real world. I'm here to save you." In that moment, I knew — my fated mate had finally found me.

Sé que no me queda mucho tiempo después de haber sido envenenada con acónito. No quiero tener remordimientos, así que viajo al lago de Sacred Crystal, un lugar que siempre había querido visitar. No le digo a nadie que planeo terminar mi vida allí. No esperaba encontrarme con mi ex-compañero en ese lugar. No nos hemos visto en diez años. Él se ha convertido en el Alfa que siempre quiso ser, y lleva un anillo que tiene grabado el nombre de otra loba. En cuanto a mí, ya he tirado nuestra muestra de amor y lo he borrado de mi corazón. Estamos intercambiando palabras cuando, de repente me pregunta: —¿Todavía me odias, Giselle? Sacudo la cabeza. Mi vida está a punto de terminar, después de todo. Ya no necesito aferrarme a nada. En los últimos momentos de mi vida, solo quiero ver el mar de lirios que la Diosa de la Luna ha bendecido.

On the third day of kneeling before the statue of the Moon Goddess and praying for Ryan Summers, a sudden row of glowing text appeared right in front of my eyes. [Ryan really is a piece of trash. His little childhood sweetheart, Rowena Blake, ran off the moment she learned he was going to hold a bonding ceremony, so he actually faked his own death just to chase her.] [Ryan and Rowena are out there whispering sweet nothings to each other under the flowers and moonlight, while Jenna Cuttridge cried her eyes nearly blind over that scumbag.] [Too bad Jenna never finds out that Ryan tricked her. When he comes back from playing dead, she even happily marries him.] So this was the miracle the Moon Goddess had bestowed upon me. Thunderstruck, I grabbed my phone and called my Alpha father, Jake Cuttridge. "Dad, remember that alliance bonding you mentioned last time? I agree to it." Half a month later, the news that I would be entering an alliance bonding with an Alpha from the Northridge Pack spread throughout the entire wolf kingdom. Ryan's friend, Luke Carter, who had been in on his plan, rushed over and demanded, "Ryan just died not long ago, and you're already so eager to find the next guy?" "He's dead. I can't possibly stay single for him my whole life."

Le troisième mois après la disparition mystérieuse de mon compagnon Alpha lors d'une patrouille, je l'ai retrouvé, par hasard, dans un bar à la frontière. Il éclatait de rire, son bras enlacé autour de son premier amour : « J'ai toujours voulu me débarrasser de l'emprise de Béatrice. Merci pour ton idée, enfin, je respire la liberté ! » Mélodie se blottissait contre lui, lui tendant un verre avec des gestes doucereux. « Quand comptes-tu rentrer ? » a-t-elle murmuré. Il a haussé les épaules, indifférent : « Encore une semaine. Je laisserai Béatrice devenir folle d'inquiétude avant de réapparaître. Une bonne leçon pour qu'elle arrête de se mêler de ma vie. » Ses amis l'ont approuvé avec admiration : « Génial ! Après ça, Béatrice t'obéira au doigt et à l'œil. » « La potion de métamorphose est vraiment efficace. Personne ne t'a reconnu depuis tout ce temps. » Mais ils ignoraient une chose : cachée dans l'ombre, je venais de voir son petit jeu. Sans hésiter, j'ai sorti mon téléphone et ai appelé le Conseil des affaires de notre meute. En tant que leur Luna, j'ai déclaré officiellement la mort de l'Alpha… et ai annoncé l'élection de son successeur !

No meu aniversário, meu noivo usou os pontos do supermercado para me dar um par de luvas de lavar louça. Mas num leilão, ele comprou uma joia de cinco milhões de dólares para o primeiro amor dele. Fiquei furiosa e o confrontei, mas ele me chamou de interesseira. — Eu sempre te dei dinheiro pra gastar. Não é mais que justo você cuidar de mim? Isso era pra ser meu teste final pra você. Se passasse, a gente ia casar. Você me decepcionou demais. Terminei com ele. Ele se virou e pediu a ex em casamento. Cinco anos depois, a gente se esbarrou numa ilha privada de férias. Alex Thompson me viu de uniforme de funcionária catando lixo na praia. Na mesma hora, ele zombou de mim. — Você torceu o nariz pras luvas que eu te dei, e agora tá aqui catando lixo. Hoje em dia, mesmo se você implorasse, eu não te daria a mínima. Ignorei ele. O projeto de estudos sociais do meu filho era limpar o quintal com um dos pais. O pai dele tinha expandido o quintal até chegar na praia. Limpar aquilo era de matar.

Dean Russo's gaming mate breaks up with him. In his foul mood, he forces everyone to work overtime. "Hey Kylie, you're his Beta, right? Go talk to Alpha Dean. We all want to get out of here on time." "Are you serious? Just seeing his gloomy face freaks me out." Everyone keeps urging me to go and calm Dean down, but what no one realizes is that the gaming mate he can't move on from is actually me. Just when everything seems fine in our online relationship, he unexpectedly asks to meet face-to-face. But if he ever learns that his beloved gaming mate is none other than his Beta, he's bound to be furious. For my own safety, I decide to end things before they can spiral out of control. But who would expect the breakup to hit him so hard? Yet, if I want to avoid working overtime, it seems like I have no choice but to get back together with him.

I was ditched by my father, Alpha of Northcrest Pack. Dumped in the borderlands for a whole decade. "Danae's still young. Once she hits eighteen, we'll bring you back. She's always been insecure 'cause she's adopted. When she's stronger, we'll come for you." Yeah, right. I didn't even look at that delusional she-wolf. Just kept watering my orchard. Even my so-called brother backed Danae. "Danae's the sister I grew up with. Disrespect her when you return, and we're done." Their voices? Just white noise. I shut it down cold. "Wrong wolf. I don't know you." They had the nerve to call themselves family. Joke's on them—I've had real parents for the last eight years.

An accident leaves Preston Brown unable to have children. The fight over his family's fortune is heating up. Desperate for an heir, Preston arranges for me to sleep with his best friend, Rowan Kerr. I quietly dump the sleeping pills Preston gave me and pretend to be clueless. Then, I lose myself in a night of passion with Rowan. … The next morning, right in front of Preston, I smile sweetly and say, "Honey, you were incredible last night. I've never felt so good." His expression darkens. "Do you prefer the man I am by day, or the one who takes you at night?" I act bashful, tugging on his sleeve. "Both. But I especially love the one who knows how to satisfy me at night."

On the eve of his Alpha succession ceremony, my fiancé Hunter prepared lavish gifts for all the distinguished guests and had Freya distribute them. Freya obliged with a smile. Then, when she reached me, her gaze swept over me with nothing but contempt. “Move aside. This isn’t for you.” She tossed an exile notice at my face. “You’re just a she-wolf who likes to seduce. Think you deserve an Alpha’s gift? Dream on. You’re not welcome here. Get out of our pack!” At that moment, the guests opened the gift boxes Freya handed out. Inside, alongside a rare blue moonstone, were photos of me in intimate moments with other Alpha males from different packs. In an instant, I became the pack’s traitorous, unfaithful woman. My face darkened as I stared at Hunter. “You’re really going to exile me from the pack?”