The Aged Mother By Matsuo Basho

“Oh God…” she moaned, arching into him as his lips branded a trail along her collarbone. She fumbled with his buttons, tearing open the last of them. Her hands caressed the expanse of his bare chest, every inch as firm and sculpted as she'd fantasized since that absurd, embarrassing moment he’d walked in on her naked on her very first day in Terra Lucida. His abs twitched beneath her fingers, taut and hot to the touch, like he was barely holding himself back. Elias let out a shuddering breath as his lips grazed her shoulder, trailing slowly down. He pulled the thin straps of her nightdress down, kissing each newly revealed inch of skin. Trapped in a strange world where people ride carriages instead of Ubers. Lyra Beckham is horrified to learn she is the spitting image of a missing (possibly dead) woman named Lirae - who also happens to be the secret lover of a dangerously brooding prince named Elias. But things get messier when Lyra discovers Elias was the main suspect in Lirae's mysterious disappearance. She desperately plans to find a way back to her own earth before she ends up 'missing' too. Elias proposes that Lira pretend to be Lirae long enough for him to uncover what really happened. In return, he will help her find her way back home. Sounds simple right? But then, they had to fake an engagement that was quickly starting to become real. But when they stumble upon the truth, they realise that the only way out... is together.

They say she stole her sister's mate. But she was his Luna and he was supposed to Love her. Instead, she is betrayed by a man she trusted, forced to watch her sister take what was hers. Diana is broken, rumored to turn insane from grief. However, Under the light of the next full moon, The Lycan finds her- claiming her with a hunger that burns through her grief. Desire, danger and destiny collide as Diana discovers a bond she never expected and a love that refuses to let her go.

“I, Alpha Damon, reject you, Kaima, as my mate. You are a stain on my pack, a weakling who offers nothing but shame.” Those were the words that shattered Kaima’s world. Cast out into the Forbidden Forest to die, the low-status omega expected the shadows to claim her life. Instead, they whispered her name. Betrayal has a way of waking up the ancient things that should have stayed buried. Deep within Kaima’s blood, the First Fang—the original primal wolf spirit—stirs. It doesn't want her to survive; it wants her to reign. When she is found by Rowan, the lethal Alpha of the Black-Ridge Pack, he doesn't see a broken girl. He senses a power that hasn't walked the earth in five centuries. Bound to Rowan by a dangerous Soul Resonance, Kaima begins a meteoric rise. She is no longer the girl who hides; she is the girl whose scent makes Alphas drop to their knees in terror. As she masters her new dominance, she must navigate a world of "face-slapping" revenge, pack politics, and a second-chance bond that is as erotic as it is deadly. From the ashes of a public rejection, a Queen is born. The Council wants her dead, her former mate wants her back, but the Beast? The Beast wants blood.

Napilitang mag-extra sa bar si Danica Olivarez bilang tindera ng sigarilyo at mga alak para sa mayayamang customer dala ng pangangailangan para sa operasyon ng kanyang ina. Hindi niya inakalang may estrangherong ubod ng gwapo at misteryoso na mag-aalok ng malaking halaga kapalit ng isang gabi sa kama. Dahil sa desperasyon, pumayag siya, at ang perang iyon ang nakatulong sa operasyon ng ina at pagtatapos niya sa kolehiyo. Pagkaraan ng tatlong taon sa Maynila, umuwi siya para sa kasal ng ina, ngunit halos bumagsak ang mundo niya nang makilalang ang mapapangasawa nito ay si Zachary Cuevas, ang gobernador ng probinsya, at ang lalaking minsang bumili ng kanyang dangal. Paano siya makikisalamuha sa magiging ama kung bawat tinginan nila ay bumabalik ang alaala ng gabing iyon, lalo na’t tila mas lalo pa itong lumalapit sa kanya?

“He rejected me in front of the entire pack… because she stole my scent.” Nobody wants a rejected Omega. Ayla Riverwinddoesn’t care anymore. She's done waiting for fate. As Northmoon Pack’s healer, she’s content in the shadows—until the day her world burns. Her best friend, ‘Cassia’, uses forbidden scentbinding magic to steal Ayla’s identity and claim her mate—high-ranking Alpha ‘Darius’—as her own. Publicly rejected, shackled in silver, and tortured with wolfsbane, Ayla is cast into a dungeon and marked feral. The rejection was meant to break her. Instead, it awakens something ancient inside her. When she escapes into the Outlands, Ayla meets ‘Rylan Stormblade’—a rogue healer with secrets carved into his skin and knowledge of a lost ritual that may restore her scent... or kill her. But Ayla’s scent is no longer just hers. It burns through the bond realm, ripping through the senses of one wolf in particular—’Kael Valerius’, the Alpha King. His wolf goes feral when her scent touches the wind, but he already has a Luna. Now hunted by Alphas who want her dead, claimed by a King she doesn’t trust, and stalked by a prophecy that says “the next Luna will break the throne or bless it”, Ayla must rise—not as someone’s mate…but as the Luna they tried to erase.

"I, Ortega Blackwood, daughter of beta Denzel Blackwood, am rejecting you, Killian Fitzgerald, future Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack, as my fated mate!" She uttered through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely at her mate as he descended the stairs towards her. His expression twisted into a mask of fury, his eyes blazing with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, his imposing figure cast a shadow over her as she lay on the ground, vulnerable yet defiant. "Do you dare defy me, Ortega? Do you dare reject your fate?" His voice dripped with venom, each word carrying a threat that hung heavily in the air. "You cannot reject me, Ortega. You will be my mate whether you like it or not." ************** Rejecting her mate hadn't been easy. But when Ortega meets the powerful and ruthless Lycan and Mafia Boss, Alfredo Gambino, she finds herself falling in love with him, even though he is the rival and enemy of her rejected mate. And Alfredo also finds himself unwilling to let her go, especially now that her rejected mate wants her back.

The last thing Willow expected is to be rejected by her boyfriend; Asher, the beta of Blue Moon pack, minutes before his coronation party. Drunk and heartbroken, she ends up in the Alpha's son's bed, and not only did she get wild, she also asked him to marry her. Carter is the future heir to his father's business and there's one problem; he can't take over the pack without a Luna. Literally out of options, he takes Willow up on her offer. What better way for her to get revenge on her ex than for her to become Luna? After much conviction, she accepts, but is that really the right choice?

Lila lived a life steeped in ordinary struggles and past traumas until she was thrust into the deadly world of werewolves and ancient prophecies. When Alpha Dominic coldly rejects her as his mate, declaring a human unworthy of his power, Lila is left broken, bonded to him in a way she cannot escape. But there’s no time to grieve. The ruthless Shadowfang pack has marked her as their target, her fate tied to cryptic prophecies that could reshape the supernatural world. As secrets unravel and betrayal lurks at every corner, Lila must navigate a war she doesn’t understand, all while resisting the growing pull toward the man who rejected her. Dominic’s icy exterior begins to fracture as he’s drawn to the fiery, determined human he once dismissed. But as danger closes in, one question remains: will Dominic claim her as his own, or will Lila be left to face her destiny—alone and unclaimed?

Falsely accused and betrayed by the person she loved most and the people who were supposed to stand beside her, Hiraeth is stripped of everything she has, thrown out and left for the dead. She is rescused by a powerful Lucan king who took compassion on her, but that’s not all. She is his mate. Three years later, Hector arrives at Malakai's kingdom, seeking help for his cursed clan, unaware that Hiraeth is now the Lycan Queen and mother of his children. As secrets begin to unravel, old flames reignite and Hiraeth is forced is forced to chose between the two men that hold her heart.

Using an alternative account, I secretly join a cycling group chat that my husband, Liam Johnson, is in. One day, an announcement is made in the group chat. "We'll be organizing a weekend mountain biking activity with an overnight stay, with two people sharing a room. To add some excitement, we'll be drawing lots for room assignments." I can't really understand it. Curious, I ask, "What if a man and a woman end up drawing the same room?"