The Catch

My husband brings a pregnant Meryl Cleat home and lies to me, claiming that she's his stepmother. I'm wholly against the idea, but she says, "The children will call you their mother when they're born, so you don't have to go through the pain of childbirth. Think about how lucky you are, experiencing motherhood without the suffering!" I demand a divorce in the heat of the moment; Meryl is so infuriated by this that she faces labor complications and later dies. Out of guilt, I become a stay-at-home mother to care for her two super male kids. Yet they scaled me with boiling water and blind me in one eye. My health deteriorates under their intense torment, and I'm diagnosed with uremia. That's when I accidentally discover Meryl isn't my stepmother—she's my husband's mistress! I'm in despair when I return home. To make matters worse, I catch her—when she's supposed to be dead—and my husband in bed together. Her two super male sons ultimately stab me to death. When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the day she fakes her death!

Yūri: I was raised in this world of shadows, violence, and blood. It isn't the life I would choose, but I don't get a choice. I'm my father's only child and heir. I've been groomed to lead our clan's yakuza. I want to be free. And one way or another, I'm going to be. I just need to get away from my family and avoid the sexy detective who's on my tail. Hibiki: This case could make or break my career. I'm pretty sure my captain gave me the Kitsune case just to see me fail. No one has been able to catch her, and now I'm expected to. It would be easier to focus on the case if I could stop daydreaming about that naked protestor. I didn't even get her name. This book is a prequel/sequel to The Princes of Ravenwood. You do not need to have read The Princes of Ravenwood to enjoy this book, but it is encouraged. Ravenwood Series Reading Order: Book 1 - The Princes of Ravenwood Book 2 - Chasing Kitsune Book 3 - Expect The Unexpected Book 4 - Out Of My League Book 5 - Man's Best Wingman

BLURB: Sydney was just trying to find a father figure for her daughter. Zeke Forbes had everything: wealth, power, and legacy, except for the one thing he never knew he needed—her. Desperate to help her daughter Michaela, who was being bullied at school for not having a father, Sydney agrees to an arranged marriage with Zeke. He gave his mother one condition: his identity must remain a secret. As the heir to the powerful Forbes empire, Zeke believes women come for the money only. But neither of them expected the past to catch up. Years ago, Sydney was the victim of a horrific setup; her stepmother hired someone to violate her. But instead, she ended up in a stranger’s bed: Zeke’s. That one night, which gave her Michaela, has changed her life ever since that day. Years later, a familiar ring on her father-in-law’s finger sparks suspicion. A DNA test confirms the unthinkable: Zeke is Michaela’s father. Then comes another shock: Zeke is revealed on live TV as the heir of the Forbes family. Now, everything Sydney thought she knew crumbles. Will she confront Zeke with the truth? Will he admit what really happened that night? And if he does… can she ever forgive him?

Everyone says that Eric Winslowe, the Alpha of Kalmoor Pack, loves me to the bone. He learns sign language for me because I can't hear, and he prepares to throw me a grand wedding after I thoroughly fall for him. However, after I regain my hearing, I catch him flirting and being intimate with Camilla Johnson, his maid. They're just in the room next to mine. During a banquet, he even takes advantage of my lack of hearing to brag. "She's just a pet that I have to alleviate the boredom. Alison is the only one I love. Still, I know she'll leave me if she finds out about this. "Thank God Alison can't hear. I won't let her find out about this even after we're married. Watch your mouths, everyone. Don't blame me for getting nasty if any of you bring this up to Alison." I sneer to myself. I want to tell him that he doesn't need to fear others exposing his cheating—I already know. He also doesn't need to look forward to our wedding because all that awaits him on that day is a corpse that looks just like me.

"I, Torey Black, Alpha of the Black Moon reject you." His rejection hit me instantly. I couldn't breathe, unable to catch my breath as my chest heaved up and down, my stomach churning, unable to hold myself together as I watched his car speed down the driveway and away from me. I couldn't even comfort my wolf, she immediately retreated to the back of my mind, prohibiting me from speaking to her. I felt my lips wobble, my face scrunching up as I attempted to hold myself together but failing miserably. Weeks had passed since I last saw Torey my heart seeming to break a little bit more as the days went by. But lately, I found that I was pregnant. Werewolves pregnancies were much shorter than a human's. With Torey being an Alpha, it cut the time down to four months, whereas a Beta would be five, Third in Command would be six and a regular wolf would be between seven and eight. As suggested, I headed to bed, my mind full of questions and wonders. Tomorrow was going to be intense, there were a lot of decisions to be made. *Only for ages 18 and older.*---Two teenagers, a party and the unmistakable mate.

We got caught in a blizzard—me, my fiancé Melvin Dunn, a few of his colleagues, including Sally Blom. Middle of the night, I woke up shaking. My heavy-duty sleeping bag—the one built for minus forty—was gone. In its place? A flimsy summer quilt. Sally was curled up in my bag, fast asleep in Melvin's arms. I shoved him hard. "Why is she in my sleeping bag?" He pulled me aside, whispering, "Keep your voice down. Sally's kinda fragile—she's about to catch a cold. You're strong. You'll be fine." I pointed at my feet, already numb. "So I'm supposed to freeze to death for you two because she's 'fragile'?" He frowned. "God, Peyton, stop being so dramatic. It's just a sleeping bag. Think about the team for once." I laughed, tears slipping down my face. Didn't say another word. Just crawled back into the corner, grabbed the sat phone, and called my brother—Captain of Stormfang Rescue, an elite international search and rescue team. "Hugh, come get me. The coordinates are... Remember—I'm alone."

"I'm still a virgin." He pulls away from me and appears surprised. "No, then we'll have to stop," He pulls away from me. I don't want this to stop. Something about this feels right. I'm not repulsed by a man touching me for the first time. I resume kissing him. "No, no, we don't." I mumble as I lock my lips with his and ease my hand into his trousers. Emily Adams needs money to afford surgery for her critically ill brother Liam, in her attempt to find another job she stumbles upon an ad offering to pay $350,000 but the only catch is she has to become a surrogate for a stranger. Billionaire Jacob Collin doesn't have time for women, he is only concerned about the family business, persuaded by his grandmother he agrees to have a child but when he meets the woman who has agreed to be his surrogate he begins to fall in love. Their encounter leaves them both yearning for the other, as Emily start getting attached and is unwilling to pull through with the contract and Jacob takes it upon himself to discover the identity of his surrogate but there are forces that wants to keep them apart. Can they find each other and kindle their love or will they never be together?

After finishing work for the day, I checked my phone and realized I had been added to a group chat called "Catch the Thief." The members were my parents, my brother, Brian Wise, and my sister-in-law, Paulene Wise. I typed a question mark. Paulene replied instantly. [My jewelry is missing. I didn't add you here to accuse you or anything. I just wanted to ask what you think. Honestly, there's no use for other people in our family to take my jewelry, so I've been wondering... I'm not saying you definitely stole it. But if you did, you don't have to deny it. I'm willing to give you a chance to make things right.] My mother said nothing. She just kept tagging me over and over. I let out a small laugh and typed back. [Maybe Brian took it and gave it to his side piece. I'm not saying he definitely has someone else. Just that men his age sometimes start looking around. I'm only guessing here. And if he really did mess up, you could give him a chance to make things right, too.]

He took away my choice of being marked. “I hate you.” I spit. “You think I want this?” He snickers. “Being mated to you is my worst nightmare come alive, but if you dare run from me? Make sure you can hide well because I will hunt you down, Mate.” ♡ I came back for one day. One stupid day to appease my father but now I’m trapped for life by a bond I never asked for. Alpha Kingston has a girlfriend, she's the Luna he and his pack desire not me. I was once his Bestfriend, the girl he would burn the world for but now I'm the one he’d burn to save her. Everyone says I'm the villian, but every villian has a story right? One they never tried to hear. I don't belong here, not anymore. Mooncrest has done nothing but break me, I want to leave but I'm the Alpha’s mate, and he promises to catch me if I run. Staying in Mooncrest brings back feelings I didn't know I had. Can King and I be as we were before or did I lose him forever without an explanation?

Bianca Acetta, the daughter of a notorious Sicilian mobster, is fed up with her father's sinful life. So, she runs away and disguises herself as an ordinary girl. Unfortunately, Bianca was caught by social services and entered the foster parent program. The fierce and martial arts savvy Bianca is forced to pretend to be a nerd, after repeatedly changing foster parents, due to her bad temper. Until she met a widowed archaeologist who was different from her previous foster parents. Bianca felt very attached to this widow, so she tried to be a good kid who was calm and didn't like fighting. But then along comes a young man named Marco Romano, who messes with Bianca and gets her into trouble with the local cartel. Marco is the son of a tough cop. He doesn't actually know much about the mafia. Bianca, on the other hand, knows the ins and outs, but pretends to be naive. They will solve their problems while growing the seeds of love between them. Later, it is revealed that the widowed archaeologist is a secret agent who wants to arrest Matteo Acetta, Bianca's father. Again, Bianca runs away because she thinks Marco can't accept her status as the son of a mobster. Finally, the secret agent managed to catch Matteo and still wanted Bianca as his foster child and Marco did not mind Bianca's status but was even amazed to have a badass lover.