Sweethearts

I knew Adeline Shaw had been entangled with her childhood sweetheart for over a decade, but I still dove headfirst into our relationship without hesitation. Then came our engagement day. Adeline got a call that her childhood sweetheart had collapsed and was in the hospital. Without a second thought, she dropped everything - dropped me - and rushed to his side. My grandmother, who witnessed this whole scene, hurried after her. In her rush, she was struck by a car. By the time they got her to the hospital, it was too late. We couldn't save her. That's when I finally let go. She was never truly mine, and I shouldn't have tried to force what wasn't meant to be.

My breathing was still uneven when Robert’s phone lit up on the nightstand. One new message. "Robert, there’s thunder. I’m scared." —Sarah. The words cut through me like ice water. Robert. My mate. The Alpha of the Ashborn Pack. The man everyone praises as the perfect future king. And me? I’m his Luna. Supposedly the rightful queen at his side. But no matter the circumstance, no matter the weight of his responsibilities, the first person he thinks of is never me. It’s always her. At the banquet, when the elders forced him to make a choice—me, his Luna, or her—the room fell into a suffocating silence. I still remember the way my heart begged him to look at me, just once, just long enough to see what he was about to destroy. But his answer came sharp, quick, without hesitation. "Sarah." One word. One name. And with it, he tore my entire world apart. That was the moment I understood: not every betrayal needs to be shouted or confessed. Sometimes, it’s as simple as the name a man chooses to speak. I loved him. I bled for him. But love means nothing if I’m nothing to him. So if destiny has already been written against me… then I’ll be the one to set it on fire.

The news that Angelo Rizzo was becoming the new Don of Brucklin District had spread throughout the entire family. Everyone knew except me, Lila Bennett, his fiancee. He had always thought I was childish, like an irritating tail he couldn't shake off, sticking to him wherever he went. "I've only managed to bag Brucklin District all thanks to Cyrus." The study door was ajar as the scent of cigar smoke drifted out along with his voice. "Lila? Why bring her up? She's annoying. Like a piece of gum stuck to your hair." I crouched on the hallway carpet, lost in thought. Before, it was always Angelo leaving first and me realizing it too late. This time, I wanted to surprise him by going to Brucklin ahead of him. When he saw me there first, he'd realize that I was smart. But the next day, at the bus station, when the driver asked where I was going, I mixed Brucklin and Mannattan up. The driver grew impatient. Afraid he'd call me an idiot like Angelo would, I hurriedly shove the money at him. "To Mannattan! I'm going to Mannattan District!"

When my four sons were finally old enough for preschool, I arrived at the school office with my marriage certificate and their birth certificates, ready to sign them up. But the lady at the counter frowned and said, "These documents don't check out. According to the system, your kids don't even exist." I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me. I remembered when Sheldon Clem and I got married—he was the one who handled all the paperwork, the birth registrations, everything. I never imagined that when I tracked him down with our four boys, he'd be holding his childhood sweetheart in his arms, with her little girl snuggled against him. And then we heard him sweet-talking her right in front of us. "Don't be mad, babe. I've got everything set up for us overseas. Gigi is going to the most expensive private school, and you'll be living in the nicest penthouse downtown. "Sure, she gave me four sons, but all my love and money are with you. I only kept her around because I felt sorry for her. "What else do you need? My will's already signed. Everything goes to you and Gigi." Riley Anderson pouted, smug and satisfied. "If you don't love her, then she's the other woman, not me. She's got no right to fight me for anything!" So he never went bankrupt. When we got back home, Sheldon acted as if nothing had happened. "Honey, I've found this amazing project overseas, so I won't have time to come home much. I'll need you to hold down the fort at home." I smiled and nodded. "Sure, go ahead." If that was how he wanted to play this, then fine. I'd make sure he really went broke, and then I'd find my boys a new father.

After being reborn, I didn't stop my Alpha mate, Caden, from bringing home his childhood friend—Lilith. She was carrying a pup, and he wanted to take care of her. I didn't fight it. I broke the mate bond myself. Handed him exactly what he wanted. Set up every private moment between them. Then slipped out of their story. Because in my past life, even as I lay dying, Caden hated me for not letting Lilith stay with us while she was with pup. She lost it on the way out. Couldn't carry again. And Caden? He said once I was gone, he'd make it right. Be with her. Protect her. So this time, I let him. Gave them everything. Gave them everything they wanted. So why did Caden lose his mind searching the world for me—begging me to come back?

Amy Lacey and I were sworn enemies—stuck in a marriage neither of us wanted. She blamed me for ruining her last chance with her childhood sweetheart, Bryan Gurley. I hated her for sliding a separation agreement across the table on our wedding night. Seven years together. We both wished the other dead. The day I finally decided to divorce her, our private plane started going down. She grabbed the only parachute and strapped it around my waist. "Isaac Irving, if you die, how are you supposed to pay me back for the years I wasted on you?" The parachute snapped open. Then the explosion hit—and her last words cut through it. "Next life, don't come bother me again." Later, the rescue team pulled her burned body from the wreckage. In her arms was the love token Bryan had given her. That night, divorce papers in hand, I stepped off a rooftop. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Amy ran to the airport to win Bryan back. This time, I let her go without a second thought. In this life, I set her free. From here on out, we'd walk our own roads—owing each other nothing.

When I finally mustered the courage to confess my feelings to him, he just turned and walked away. When I finally emerged from the shadows and began a new chapter in my life, he was gone. Was it depression? I couldn’t believe it. I had to find out the truth about how he died.

Derek, my mate, and I were patrolling the borders of our territory when we triggered a deadly wolfsbane trap. When I opened my eyes again, we were sent back three years earlier, before the marking ceremony had ever taken place. In my previous life, we had lived in the same den for seven years. Yet the entire time, we were like two strangers forced to share the same space. He never marked me, not once, and he certainly never allowed me to breed his pups. Only later did I learn that, from the very beginning, the wolf spirit inside him had recognized only one mate—his delicate, fated partner, Aria. So this time, after being reborn, I decided to give him what he wanted. I severed our mind link on my own and then left his territory without looking back. From that moment on, we went our separate ways. Seven years later, Derek had become the most talked-about Gamma Commander in the Werewolf Alliance. That night, at the pack’s Full Moon banquet, he wrapped an arm around Aria and proudly announced their upcoming mating bond in front of everyone. Seeing me standing alone in a quiet corner, Derek let out a mocking laugh. “Selena, I know that in both lifetimes, you’ve only ever loved me. But you don’t have to keep waiting around for me like some stray dog. Aria and I are destined for each other.” I didn’t even bother looking up. Instead, I casually reached out and took the hand of the blond, blue-eyed pureblood pup standing beside me. The color drained from Derek’s face instantly. He glared at me and questioned, “You swore to the Moon Goddess! You said in this life you’d only ever be my she-wolf and only ever breed my pups!”

Azania Kunene and Lincoln Zion are childhood sweethearts, bound at birth. Born on the same day, two years apart, their shared birthday was nothing more than one of the few things that sealed their bond. All that is soon thrown out the window, however, after a deadly accident that saw Lincoln flee th

Devan Williams, the richest man in the country, gets shot by an assailant when he's giving a speech. He's quickly sent to the hospital I work at to undergo a heart transplant surgery. But my girlfriend, Katie Wilder, insists that her childhood friend, Luke Rivera, has to become Devan's primary doctor. She even takes off Devan's oxygen mask just to coerce me into handing the position over. "Ashton Howard, if you don't get out of here once I count to three, you'll be facing imprisonment due to medicinal malpractice!" As I look at Devan, whose face has gone horribly crimson due to asphyxiation, all I feel is a strong sense of ridicule. So, I call the hospital's security guards on Katie and Luke with the intention to have them dragged out. But the security captain, Jason Wilder, is actually Katie's younger brother who relied on her just to get his hands on this job. He has me pinned on the floor instead. "From the way I see it, you're the criminal who wants Devan dead! Be honest with me; did you sneak into this hospital just so you can kill him behind everyone's backs?" I can't help but struggle against Jason. But that's when Luke tramples all over my fingers, causing them to fracture. At that moment, the vitals monitor begins beeping shrilly. I lift my head to glare at the culprits. "All of you can never escape your fate!"