Stripped And Punished

Ariana thought her biggest challenge was protecting her heart—until love, lust, and betrayal tore her world apart. First came her mother’s new husband, Mr. Fred—her late father’s best friend and the man Ariana should never have wanted. Then came Robin, his dangerously charming son, who refused to let her go. And in the shadows, Chris, her loyal boyfriend, watched as Ariana slipped further into temptation. When forbidden passion turns into a web of secrets, lies, and deadly revelations, Ariana must choose between desire and survival. But in a family bound by betrayal, every choice comes with a price—and hers may cost her everything. Ariana never asked to be caught between three men—yet passion, lies, and betrayal pull her deeper into a forbidden harem she can’t escape. When her mother dies suddenly and dark family secrets rise to the surface, Ariana learns the shocking truth: the man she desires may also be the one who destroyed her family. DIALOGUE “Robin? What are you doing here?” I shivered, my heart pounding. “How did you get in?” “I saw you with my father.” His voice broke, tears welling in his eyes. “I told you how I felt, and you chose him.” A pang of guilt hit me. I pulled him close, crushing him in a tight embrace before kissing him deeply. I stared up at him, desperate for more. He stripped off his shirt, laid me down on the bed, and covered my body with his mouth. Every kiss, every touch, was more intense than anything I’d experienced with his father. “Tell me you love me,” he whispered. “I love you, Robin,” I lied, the moan ripped from me. My body betrayed me utterly—legs shaking, skin on fire. The way he sucked my breasts was on another level.

At nineteen, Elise Jones failed her ninety-ninth attempt to escape an arranged marriage. On the eve of being forced to wed an older man, she ran into the arms of Merrick Grant, the once-promising heir who had exiled himself from Crown City to a forgotten border town. Elise knew another woman had once held his heart, but it didn’t matter to her. She only wanted a way out—someone strong enough to pull her from the life that was swallowing her whole. What began as raw survival turned into months spent wrapped in each other’s lives. When the time came, he brought her back to Crown City, the glittering, intoxicating world he’d once abandoned. No one knew that the polished, silver-spoon heir of the Grant family had spent month after month living with her in a shabby rental apartment, worlds away from the life that once revolved around him. Elise retook her exams, reclaimed her top-student title, and began rebuilding the future she once dreamed of. But the night before Merrick and his first love were set to announce their engagement, Elise was forced out of Crown City and stripped of everything she had fought so hard to earn. Years later, they crossed paths again in New Harbor. She walked past him with another man’s hand in hers. That night, a Maybach stood parked beneath her apartment until dawn, while message after message lit up her phone. He wrote: “Elise, it was only ever you.” Elise had grown up with nothing, yet she never bowed to fate. She seized every chance to change her destiny with both hands. From the moment they met, Merrick was drawn to that fierce, unyielding spark—an instinct that pulled him in and a clarity that undid him. She was a cactus rising through desert sand, a wild rose he nurtured with his own hands, and the woman who had always lived at the center of his heart.

I have been bound to Ryan Hardin for nine years. He is pureblood, the Alpha of Silverfang Pack. And I… I was chosen as nothing more than a “temporary Luna,” a political pawn to steady the pack’s power. In those nine years, he betrayed me countless times. The first time, on my birthday, he announced that the celebration belonged to another she-wolf he had just met. The second time, I brewed medicine for his injuries, only to be accused by the Elders of bewitching the Alpha. He didn’t defend me—instead, he ordered me to be whipped in front of the entire pack. The third time, I was three months pregnant. He stood there, watching as his childhood sweetheart pushed me down the stone steps. I lost our pup that day. Nine years. Three thousand two hundred nights. I endured his indifference, his humiliation, his contempt. Last night, at the Silverfang Pack’s full-moon feast, he openly entwined his hand with a young Omega’s while I sat abandoned at the far end of the Alpha’s table. Every gaze cut into me—wolves whispering, mocking, savoring the spectacle. It was his 200th betrayal. When the feast ended, Ryan didn’t even look at me. His words were sharper than fangs: “Don’t forget, your Luna title is only temporary.” At dawn, he descended the Alpha’s staircase, his voice cold and commanding as if I were a servant: “Prepare the council’s tea. Now.” I met his gaze without flinching, my voice steady, stripped of all submission. “I’m sorry, Alpha. That is no longer my duty.” He seems to forget—we were never bound by a mark. Ours was an agreement, nothing more. And today marks the third-to-last day before that agreement ends. I gathered the Luna emblem, the wedding ring, and our only wedding photo—and burned them all. In three days, I’ll leave this pack. I will return to the secluded Herbal Academy, reclaim my research. And this time, when I walk away, I will never return.