The Appalachian Mountains

The day my adopted sister Xina was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, I was captured by rival pack hunters and taken across pack territories. In a hidden den beneath the mountains, I was chained like an omega during the day and subjected to endless humiliation. At night, they locked me in a moonless chamber and extracted my blood and bone marrow while I was conscious. By the time my pack found me, my body was broken beyond recognition, covered in bite marks, and infected with numerous diseases that even our supernatural healing couldn't combat. My mother, Alpha Serena, looked at me barely clinging to life, and howled so painfully she collapsed several times. My brother Ivan even traveled beyond our ancestral lands to find healers who could treat me. But in my half-conscious state, I accidentally overheard their conversation: "Mother, we captured Lisa just to save Xina, and let her be violated by so many rogues. Now we're taking one of her kidneys too—isn't that going to kill her?" Mother was silent for a long time, then choked up and said: "For Xina, I had no choice." "Besides, Lisa challenged Xina's rank all these years, made her severely depressed. This is just me atoning to Xina on her behalf." "It doesn't matter if she's been tainted. From now on, we'll keep her in the packhouse and take care of her. That'll count as compensation." As the silver blade sliced into my body, tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes. A den with four wolves... was simply too crowded.

When Alpha Silas Whitlock, the strongest Alpha of the Thunder Stone pack, had expected to settle down with his mate in a peaceful life, he is betrayed by his Beta and half-brother, Ezra, who frames him for a murder he didn’t commit. Now, he has no option but to run from the people who he once considered family. However, what he hadn't expected was to run into his real mate. The only problem is that she’s a weak human with no idea of the existence of the supernatural world and Silas needs a strong warrior by his side if he has to get back his pack and defeat his brother. Zoya had once had the perfect life and the perfect job at New York City Hospital. However, one wrong move with her perverted boss ends her transferred to a clinic in the middle of nowhere. To top it off, her ‘arranged’ fiancé decides to cheat on her with her cousin! Just as she is about to say ‘fuck you’ to her past and start a new life in the mountains, she ends up finding a very naked man inside her cabin in the middle of the woods. What on earth is going on? Things couldn’t get any worse, could they? If only she had the slightest clue… Will Silas be able to look past Zoya’s humanity and accept her as his mate? Or will Zoya have to watch the man she has come to love be claimed by another, breaking her heart forever? Or will fate give her a second chance at love with a man just as broken as her?

Miguel has built his life around the land. Born of indigenous Costa Rican ancestry, he believes ownership is stewardship, not control. High in the mountains of Monteverde, he struggles to preserve his farms and a failing eco-lodge sustained by pristine mountain springs that carry life-giving water for the entire valley. Bobby, a kindergarten teacher from Ireland, arrives in Costa Rica carrying a private grief. A genetic diagnosis has ended her hopes of motherhood, and leaving Ireland for Costa Rica is the only way she knows to start a new life. Vulnerable and unmoored, she falls under the influence of Sean, a charismatic expatriate who offers work, protection, and belonging—while quietly binding her to his business interests. The springs beneath Cabinas Las Nubes become the fulcrum of their collision. To Miguel, it is sacred. To Sean, it is a commodity to be stripped and laundered through shell companies tied to South American narco networks. When Miguel refuses to legitimize the illegal extraction, intimidation escalates into violence, culminating in the kidnapping of a child—Christopher—to force his compliance. Bobby recognizes the danger too late but refuses to run again. Risking her life to save Christopher, she confronts the man who once controlled her and exposes the depth of her courage. Her choice strengthens Miguel’s resolve. Working from within, he dismantles Sean’s operation and reclaims the land before it is destroyed. Set against Costa Rica’s ancient waters and living terrain, the novel explores grief, integrity, and the quiet ferocity of love chosen under threat.

Sarah is a dominating CEO who has a dark mysterious past. She was born in an unchartered island in Southeast Asia. Having experienced poverty at a very young age, she vowed to be the first female in their place to be successful in life. Lucky enough, a benefactor supported her financially so she can get into college and achieve her dreams. This is where she met Mark, the lone heir to a multi-million dollar company based in the Philippines. Their relationship went sour when Mark got depressed and broke up with her brought by jealousy since Sarah was able was able to graduate and he did not because of his carefree attitude. In spite of what transpired, Sarah continued pursuing her dreams. It is at this time that her past starts haunting her each time there is a blood moon. At nights like this, she transforms into a creature known as a manananggal, a half-woman with the wings of a bat who sucks blood out of her victims. Unfortunately, Mark’s mom and dad became one of them. Mark promised to kill Sarah and avenge the death of his parents. He even went to the extent of hiring a group called the ghost hunters to try and track her down. He also posted a price on the head of Sarah so the bounty hunters would go after her too. In one of their skirmishes, Sarah was captured. Mark devised a plan to save her and was successful. They both ran away into the mountains to escape their inevitable demise. But fate has its way of unfolding. Sarah bore a son out of her relationship with Mark. At first, they were not sure if their son inherited the curse of the manananggal. Their son inherited the curse of the blood thirst.

On the day the Cole family went bankrupt, Adrian Cole left behind a suicide note and went alone to the snow mountains to end his life. I chased after him without hesitation, searching for him in the snow for a full ten hours. Just as despair hollowed me out completely, I saw his secretary, Zoe Bennett, livestreaming Adrian's proposal on social media. One of his friends joked in the comments, "You're about to be a groom. Aren't you afraid your woman will get mad?" His reply was icy cold. "I only promised her the title of Mrs. Cole. She shouldn't even think about anything else." Another comment followed. "She's marrying in with ten billion in investment. Is she really willing to swallow that kind of grievance?" I could almost see Adrian sneering as he typed, "She got ten billion for the position of Mrs. Cole. She's not losing out. If it weren't for her, Zoe wouldn't have been forced to go abroad. These last few days are my compensation to Zoe." My fingernails dug deep into my flesh. Calmly, I burned everything that had anything to do with him. On the day of the wedding, he went mad searching for me everywhere. In the upscale venue across the street, I had just slipped on a diamond ring given to me by another man, Julian Cross. Unbeknownst to him, while he was calculating the countdown to our breakup, I was also preparing to marry someone else.

Carmenta Bloom’s life is the epitome of gilded misery, and she is no stranger to controversy. With wealth and glory as her inheritance, she has everything but the freedom to live on her own terms. When a scandal threatens her family’s ironclad reputation, Carmenta is cast into a prison of her own making under the watchful eye of her bodyguard, Perion. Perion is her captor in every sense. He moves mountains and pounds them to ground again. He controls her, isolates her, and refuses to allow any escape—except one she never anticipated: his presence begins to consume her. Perion isn’t who he claims to be. He isn’t just a hired hand—he’s tied to a powerful mafia syndicate, his motives shrouded in secrecy. To him, Carmenta is a key piece in a high-stakes war his syndicate is waging. As Carmenta’s fiery spirit challenges Perion’s icy resolve, the line between duty and love begins to blur. Perion starts to see the woman behind the façade, and Carmenta, despite her mistrust, feels drawn to the man she thinks is her protector. He begins to question everything—his loyalty and the woman who has somehow gotten under his skin. Torn between duty and desire, Perion must face the consequences of his lies, while Carmenta must decide if she’s willing to risk everything—her heart, her life, and her very soul—for the man who was never meant to protect her. As war closes in and trust crumbles, they must confront what they’ve both been running from or be destroyed by it.

I get sent away to the countryside because my parents fear that I'll use my privileged background to lord over others. In turn, they're taking in Tina from that family to the city for her upbringing and schooling. In the countryside, I get up at 4:00 am daily to feed the pigs, then it's a grueling three-hour trek through the mountains to school. I'm also barely surviving due to constant malnutrition. I reach out to my parents for a mere 300 dollars for tuition, only for them to accuse me of spending recklessly. In the meantime, they're donating an entire building just to secure a spot for Tina at her preferred school. I finally make it into Tina's high school and earn a guaranteed university admission spot, only for my parents to order me to hand it over to her as they unleash their fury on me, yelling, "You're clearly bad to the bone, always trying to take things that belong to Tina." "Tina almost gave up on life because of what you did. You're indebted to her for the rest of your life." They, using their parental rights, forfeit my guaranteed university admission spot to fulfill Tina's wish. They then transfer all company shares and real estate to her for her future security, while the whole family makes arrangements to move abroad together. I take in everything before me, no longer feeling hurt. I calmly pack my belongings and walk away from the place where I don't belong.

The new intern claimed she had clairvoyant sight. With just one look, she could tell exactly where the underground gold deposits were. As the institute’s chief gold prospector, I was deeply embarrassed. Every time I went through hell to locate a vein, she somehow managed to report it to the institute before I could. Even the engineering crew working under me was full of complaints. “What kind of chief prospector is she? Following her means panning in the river one day and digging holes in the mountains the next. We work ourselves half to death and get nothing to show for it!” “Exactly. Look at Jane. She just joined the institute and has already found two major gold mines. The crews working with her have already earned first-class commendations.” While the crew complained about me, I began to suspect that someone among them was leaking information. So the next time I went out to search for gold, I worked alone and finally found a major deposit. But just as I was about to report it to the institute, I discovered that Jane had beaten me to it again. That time, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I openly questioned her and accused her of stealing my work. She fired back, claiming her clairvoyant sight had shown her that I had been secretly pocketing gold from the mine. Even my fiancé stepped forward and testified against me. In the end, I was sent to prison on false charges and died there, never able to clear my name. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my fiancé’s junior apprentice first claimed she had clairvoyant sight.

After being pushed down the stairs by my husband's first love, I suffered a difficult labor with our second child and died in a corner of their family's private hospital. Before I died, my six-year-old son cried and begged for his father to save me. The first time, Shawn sneered. "Your mom's gotten smarter, using you to play the victim and trick people." After that, he flung my son's hand away and left heartlessly. The second time, my son told him I was bleeding uncontrollably. Shawn was clearly impatient. "She's being so dramatic, it's just a miscarriage, nothing serious. She's always made mountains out of molehills!" After chasing my son away, he even told the doctors not to care for me. "It's my fault for spoiling her. She'll know what she did wrong once I let her have a hard time for a few days." The last time, my son went to my husband's first love Jasmine, kneeling in front of her and knocking his head on the ground, begging her. Shawn flew into a rage and ordered bodyguards to throw my battered and bruised son out of the hospital room, allowing others to laugh at his misfortune. "If you come bother Jasmine while she's resting again, I'll kick your mom out of our family! She'll never see you again!" My son crawled to my side, leaving behind a long trail of blood. And so, I laid there helplessly as I felt the warmth escape both my son and I. 'Are you happy now, Shawn? You'll never see us again.'

"As long as you're this wet for me, you can hate me all you want." He whispered into my ear. "I will never forgive you for this, Reid." I angrily spat at him. Without warning, he gripped my chin, only to kiss me with a bruising intensity. There was nothing sweet about the way he kissed me. It felt like he was branding me all over again. He roughly pushed my panties aside. I gasped, giving him full access to my mouth. A growl that came from deep within his chest vibrated through me. "Forgive me?" he echoed against my lips before sliding a finger through my slick folds. A breathy whimper escaped my lips as his finger started circling my entrance. "This wet little cunt belongs to me. You belong to me. And I will fuck you until you understand that, little slave," he promised, the rough pad of his finger slowly circling my throbbing clit. ×× I was just a hiker who took a wrong turn. I didn't know these mountains belonged to him. Alpha Reid was a beast in human skin. CRUEL, POSSESSIVE, and STARVING for a toy to break. He gave me a five-minute head start. I lost. Now, I'm his captive. His "SLAVE." And the worst part wasn't the cold marble of his mansion or his dark demands... it was the way my body betrayed me every time he touched me. WARNING: MATURE CONTENT READERS 18+ ONLY. This story is a DARK WEREWOLF ROMANCE and contains explicit themes like graphic sexual content and language. Extreme power imbalances and ownership themes.