Stray Synonym

Ever since I was little, I knew my future mate would be one of two Alpha candidates: Mitchell or Jax. Even with all their Alpha pride, I never once doubted that set future. The pack elders always said it was natural for Alpha candidates to focus on getting stronger and controlling the pack. My mother, Lyra, even told me that every brutal fight they got into was so the winner could give me, their Luna, the ultimate honor. That is, until I and Elara – this Omega stray they'd taken in – got ambushed and captured by our old enemies, the Nightshade pack. Mitchell and Jax only had enough of the life-saving Moonpetal herb for one of us. And they both chose to give it to Elara. To save myself in that fire, I forced a shift. The power surge was too much. The heat twisted my cheekbone, and just like that, I was disfigured. After they dragged me out – like an afterthought – I watched those two future Alphas crying over Elara, who didn't have a scratch on her. "Thank the Moon Goddess, Elara, you're alive." "Once we sort out who's the new Alpha of Blackwood, whoever it is will give you the most honored spot right under the Luna, Elara. Don't you worry. We'll give you the best of everything our pack has, make sure you never suffer again." "Elara, you're the real Luna in our hearts." When I came to, I cut off that ridiculous mate bond for good. Empty promises and a trampled destiny? I was done with it. But after I left, they stayed by my cave every day, begging me to come back.

My mother was the Chosen Luna—the one who once conquered three powerful Alphas. When her mission was done, she vanished from this world, leaving behind only me, and the three Alphas who had once loved her with everything they had. My first father, Alpha Jeff Tanners, ruled the Silver Moon Pack—rich enough to buy half the continent. My second father, Alpha Kael Grey, commanded all the warriors of the Northern Alliance. My third father, Alpha Bran Theron, held every medical resource wolves and humans depended on. For eighteen years, I was their cherished little princess. Whatever I wanted, they gave—no questions, no hesitation. Until they brought home that girl—a fragile orphan named Arie Ryker. From that day on, everything changed. She told them I called her a filthy stray, unworthy of our pack. She said I led the young wolves at school to bully her. She said I tampered with her performance costume, that I caused her allergy, that I made her faint on stage. And they believed her. They stopped believing me. The ninety-ninth time they chose her over me, when they shouted, "Don't come back again!", I didn't argue. I just picked up my luggage and left. They thought I'd come running home like before—that my disappearance was just another way to make them see me. But when they found out I had left the pack for good, that my identity had been erased, that I could no longer be found, the three mighty Alphas finally broke.

Catalina De Luca’s world turns into trouble when a single bullet, unleashed in a moment of heartache by her shattered father, almost claims the life of young Luca Moretti—the 10-year-old son of Matteo Moretti, a formidable billionaire with deep connections to a dangerous underworld. Matteo is driven by a fierce, unwavering belief: “An eye for an eye. And a tooth for a tooth"As danger looms over his son’s life, a fierce determination ignites within him, driving him toward a singular path of retribution. That night, Catalina’s father, consumed by grief over his wife’s passing, unleashed his anguish into the darkness, each shot echoing his heartache. But in a fleeting moment of happiness, a stray bullet found its mark, hitting young Luca and shattering the bliss. Now, Matteo’s fury is limitless. He captures Catalina’s father, dragging her into his lavish estate, a gilded cage where she must tend to Luca until he is strong enough for the crucial surgery that could save his life. But time stretches painfully as Luca’s condition halts the operation, and Catalina is pulled into Matteo’s mysterious realm, where peril lurks beneath every gleaming facade, and the notion of safety is nothing but a mirage. As she delves into the depths of Matteo’s existence, Catalina finds herself captivated by his intricacies—a man who embodies both fierce determination and gentle vulnerability, shattered yet resolute. Catalina uncovers the truth behind Matteo's past, uncovering a heart yearning for redemption and love. As stakes rise, she faces a heart-wrenching choice: navigate the dangerous journey or heal Matteo's broken spirit, seeking salvation for both. In a realm dominated by retribution, is love possible as the only solution to set aside the dangerous world?

“Why does everyone assume I need a tragic backstory to justify what I am?” Adrian said, strolling slowly toward me like he had all the time in the world. His eyes locked on mine as he continued, “Oh no, honey. It isn't because mummy dearest died giving birth to me. Or because dear old dad was too busy to tuck me in at night" He stopped when he was directly in front of me. So close that his tall frame was towering intimidatingly over me. I lifted my chin stubbornly to look him in the eye, refusing to cower. He smirked at that, his hand going to swipe a stray strand of hair from my face. “Some of us,” he murmured, “are not broken.” His eyes darkened. “Some of us are just simply… evil.” ~ I was dragged to the execution block in chains, accused of being a monster the world had erased. Then the Alpha's wolf claimed me as mate and forced him to halt the execution. In a world where hybrids were hunted to extinction, I was the last mistake left alive. The last thing Lucien Dreadmoor wanted was his mate being the single weapon that could completely wipe out wolves from existence. The bond tied us together anyway, trapping me in his keep, his rules, his control. He called it protection. I called it a cage. As war stirs at the borders and a vampire prince begins circling, whispers spread that my blood could start another war… or end it. The Alpha wants to break the bond. The Vampire wants to claim me. And somewhere between fate and freedom, I must decide which monster I am willing to stand beside… and which one I am willing to become.

The next thing she knew was that she was slung on his muscular shoulder. She thrashed her legs, but he carried her as if she weighed no more than a bag of feathers. "Caelum please!" She begged him but he ignored her as he walked through the corridors and into the bedroom. And threw her on the bed. While she was busy recovering her breath, he threw his coat on the floor and started unbuttoning his shirt. "W-what are y-you doing?" she asked. Her face paler than paper. "Exactly what married couples do, love." He said dropping the shirt on the floor, His voice so full of viciousness that she almost choked on them. She dragged herself back on the bed sobbing, "no.." He grabbed her legs and pulled her towards himself. He crawled on top of her. He looked into her terrified eyes and whispered, "You make me do terrible things, my dear Rose." He wiped a stray tear from her chin before grabbing it. "I will bruise your lip and scar your knees and love you too hard.." he brushed his lips on hers, "I will destroy you. And when I leave, You will finally understand why storms are named after humans." ........................... Rosette never had an easy life, and after the death of her mother, when she thought things couldn't get worse, her life started going fully downhill. She was tortured beyond repair in her own house. She could only dream of being loved. She dreamed of getting married and finally breaking free from all these cages, but fate had other plans for her. Her life going totally downhill, turned upside down when she was married to the biggest business tycoon in the city. Will this marriage totally wreck her? Would she ever be able to break free?..

The train to Centraford was about to depart. That was the ride we'd spent our entire life savings—30 thousand bucks—to get a ticket for. I was gripping my mate, Byron Reynolds's, hand tightly, trying to pull him onto the last train to Centraford. This was the chance I'd waited three long years for. Once we entered Centraford, we could rise from being low-tier civilian werewolves to official Silvren Talons workers—registered, salaried, and numbered. If we missed this train, we'd be stuck forever in Sidersville, a chaotic melting pot, never able to enter the heart of the werewolf city-state. But Byron held us back, refusing to leave without Lisa Peters, who was still down by the river, washing her face. In the very last second before the train took off, I had our friends forcibly drag Byron aboard. We made it to Centraford and became Silvren Talons workers. But Lisa missed her chance. She was left behind in Sidersville and became a rogue, a plaything passed around by countless men. A few years later, she was tortured to death. Byron looked fine on the surface. But on the day of our marking ceremony, he drove a silver blade into my stomach, killing the pup growing inside me, and tore out my heart. His eyes burned red as he growled through clenched teeth, "This is all your fault. You're the reason Lisa never made it to Centraford. "She suffered so much before she died. Why do you get to be happy?" After killing me, he chopped my body up and fed it to the stray dogs. Then I opened my eyes—and found myself right back at the train station, before it departed. This time, I'd wait with him for the woman he loved so much. And I'd make him pay for everything he did to me and my pup.

My husband—one of the top elites of Raventon Street, cold and ruthless to his core—keeps a stray orphan girl he rescued from the slums hidden in an apartment. Rowena Fletcher is clean and fragile, like a newborn creature untouched by the world. And somehow, that innocence softens something in Micah Benson—a man who's spent years clawing his way through the brutal wilderness of capital. He thinks this secret game of his goes unnoticed, but I find out anyway. At the Benson family's charity gala, I smash his favorite antique vase in front of everyone. He doesn't even flinch as he simply signals the bodyguards to clean up the mess and then hands me a divorce agreement. "Sign it, Sabrina. The penthouse in Ashbourne City is yours." I burn the divorce agreement—and that's when he finally shows his true colors. He freezes all my accounts and launches a hostile takeover of my gallery. On the night the storm hits, I get a call from the hospital. My sister, Roberta Slater, has been in a car crash—she needs emergency surgery. In the security footage, he stood there, watching coldly. "Sign the papers, or start planning a funeral." I dropped to my knees and slammed my forehead against the floor, blood trailing down my face as I begged, "Micah, please… don't…" A long, flat beep echoed from the other end of the line, slicing through the sound of rain. Then a voice on the line says, "We did everything we could." However, I have gone back in time—to the day I first found out about Rowena. This time, I no longer cry. Instead, I plan my divorce on my own terms. I call Valebrook Bank that same night and begin preparing for a quiet disappearance. But the moment I truly vanish from his world, Micah loses his mind.

Evonne Shannon was a poor student mother sponsored. She was also the crush I had been courting for a long time. Wanting to allow her to shine, I gave up my place in the piano competition for her. However, she glared at me with disdain for deciding this on my own. She then instantly turned around and handed the registration form to her boyfriend, Angelo Zambrano, and said, "Ange, only you deserve this competition." Evonne liked sports cars, so I begged my mother to buy her a limited-edition McLaren supercar. But in return, Evonne mocked me and called me shallow. "Don't think I'll accept you just because I'm accepting the car, Chase Shannon. You've never understood me." With my help, Evonne got to put on a facade of a mysterious billionaire's daughter. But the moment she got money from me, she turned around and went on a romantic getaway with Angelo. I thought of Evonne as my everything and even asked my mother to arrange for her to join the family company. Within half a year, she was promoted to a core team member. She then conspired with Angelo to drain the company dry and even forced me to my death. "What else can you do besides insult me with money and a materialistic lifestyle, Chase? You're the most disgusting obstacle on my path to success. Only when you're dead can I marry Ange," she declared. I was heartbroken when I heard this, and that was when Evonne pushed me off the sidewalk and into traffic. Immediately after that incident, I was reincarnated to the day I bought Evonne a piano. She was glaring at me with disdain. "If you don't want to buy it, just say so. There's no need to humiliate me like this." I let out a dismissive scoff. "Am I the one who's humiliating you, or are you the shameless one? You beg for food but complain that it's cold. You're worse than those stray dogs on the streets. At least they show gratitude after getting scraps."