The Fateful Invitation

When I was ten, my mother married into the Corleone family, and I followed her into that house. Before Vincent Corleone learned to hate me, he had once treated me like a real little sister. Later, he became the one who hurt me most. He believed my mother had driven his own mother to her death, and from that day on, he made sure I paid for it. Humiliation, contempt, cruelty—he never spared me any of it. Then Leo Moretti, Vincent’s closest friend, confessed that he loved me. I thought he was my way out. I was wrong. The morning after I gave him my first time, I overheard him speaking to Vincent behind a half-closed door. “I got the photos from her first night,” Leo said quietly. “Are you really going to make them public?” Vincent’s voice was cold enough to freeze my blood. “She owes my mother a life. If I can’t take that, then I’ll make sure she pays another way. I want her ruined.” That was the moment I understood. The tenderness had been fake. The love had been a trap. And the man I had trusted most had been waiting all along to destroy me. What they didn’t know was that two weeks earlier, I had already received an invitation from Professor Evans at the world’s top international medical research institute. So this time, I left first. And I was never coming back.

Meet Esmerelda Sleuth. Sleuth is her name and investigating is her game. (Paranormal Investigating, that is.) Esmerelda makes a good living as an investigator in a rather progressive firm. She lives a stable and sensible life until she meets Lance; an old money "hottie" who works for a real estate firm next to her building. After accepting an invitation for a weekend getaway party, she quickly discovers that Lance has a secret. He is wealthy. That part is true. And, yes, he's procured a job as a realtor in the building next door. His secret is that he belongs to an underground society of humans who didn't abandon their connection to magic centuries ago when religion declared it evil and he has traveled through time specifically to find her and bring her back to his time to marry him. If that isn't enough of a far fetched tale to absorb, he informs her that she was born in his time to a family belonging to that same secret society and was promised in marriage to him as an infant. When enemies who didn't want to see the union of families take place made attempts on her life, her parents sent her into the future and erased her memories of them as a precaution. Possessing virtually no belief in magic, ghosts, psychics, time travel, etc., it takes some doing on Lance's part to convince her to believe his story and go back with him. When she does, the lies, deceit and attempts on her life start all over again. Will she escape emotionally and physically unscathed? "The Other Side Of the Mirror" is a steamy-paranormal-romance- mystery-thriller and book one of the Esmerelda Sleuth series.

"Hey, new girl! Stop hovering like a shadow and grab a seat. You look like you haven’t eaten in days," the head chef called out, her voice sharp but oddly welcoming. I froze. I knew her. She was the type who ignored me—neither cruel nor kind, just indifferent. It was better than the others who thrived on my misery. But this… this unexpected invitation caught me off guard. “Thomas, move over!” she snapped. “The girl looks like she’s been dragged through hell. Let her sit.” I cautiously stepped forward, unsure of this newfound warmth. “She doesn’t talk much, huh? Let me tell you something, sweetheart,” Henry chimed in, his voice dripping with mockery. “There’s no room for shy here. Speak up or get swallowed whole. Now, what’s your name?” “Aurora,” I said smoothly, burying the girl I used to be beneath the lie. --- Amelia was the pack’s favorite target—a punching bag for their frustrations and a scapegoat for their failures. But the cruelest betrayal came on her eighteenth birthday when the Alpha—her mate—rejected her in front of the pack. Mocked, humiliated, and abandoned, Amelia reached her breaking point. She vanished without a trace. Years later, she’s back, but not as the broken girl they remember. She’s Aurora now—sharp, fearless, and burning with a thirst for vengeance. She’s trained, planned, and uncovered the dark truths that fueled their hatred. And now, she’s ready to make them pay.

Seven years I spent with Jason Shaw, but I never got a ring. Rather, all I received was an invitation to another person's wedding. That day, as a wedding planner, I was at the rehearsal, making last-minute adjustments. Looking up, I saw the man whom I waited every day to reply to my messages, walking down the aisle, arm in arm with another bride. "Her boyfriend had something urgent come up, so I'm filling in for him," he said, standing straight, his tone light, a small smile on his lips. But his eyes couldn't hide the hurt, like a child who lost his favorite toy. As if that wasn't enough, he told me to hand over my wedding plan. He patted me on the shoulder, saying sincerely, "There's no rush for us. We've got plenty of time. I promise I'll give you an even better wedding. Just help me out this time. It's not like I'm not going to marry you." He didn't know that I had revised the wedding plan hundreds of times, even counted and recounted the bouquets seven times. To me, it wasn't mere work—it was a dream I held for five long years. I didn't argue anymore, just quietly stepped aside. Later, I lay alone in a hospital bed, listening to the rain tapping against the window from outside. I counted each drop as the hours slipped through my fingers. Perhaps those who worked so hard to create happiness for others had lost the right to their own happiness.

He's as cold as ice and hard as rock. But, I'll do everything to make him mine again. Alexandria, is a 21-year-old nursing student. Her father js dead while her mother is in jail. She's not in good terms with her mom since her father was gone. Nevertheless, despite of that bitter part of her life she remain strong. Alex has a long time boyfriend who loves her dearly. He's making her feel complete all the time. With that, she's willing to do everything to make him be at his best state always. Trevor on the other hand, is a 26-year- old fresh graduate and a bar exam topnotcher that Law firm companies from different countries were giving him an invitation to work with them and one of it is the famous law firm company in Chicago that is trying to win him, giving him a higher position and better benefits. - Trevor declines the offer without hesitations. He does not want to leave Alexandria alone in the Philippines. He'd rather lose the opportunities than to lose the love of his life. But love isn't perfect... What if destiny plans to make you happy and unbreakable at first but will eventually apart you in the end? What if you need to intentionally hurt the man you ever loved the most for his own sake? Will you still fight for your love when things are already ruined? Trevor lost his memories after an accident. Years after, his memories came back but Alexandria isn't included in it anymore. Alexandria, strongly believes that 'The mind might forget but the heart always remembers.' But then again, What if the heart itself choose to forget? What Alexandria gonna do to make Trevor remember her again? ---

The entire pack knows that my Alpha mate, Cassian Blackhowl, treasures me more than his own life. Against everyone's objections, he chooses me, an Omega, to be his mate. Before we form a mate bond, I suffer from a blood disease and hover at death's door. Cassian searches the world, draining his fortune, just to find someone with a blood type that matches mine so that I can have a transfusion to save my life. He stays by my bedside for months, never leaving, until I finally recover. But after we form a mate bond, I'm unable to conceive a pup. Cassian simply smiles and says, "Then I'll just have to try harder until you get pregnant." We get lost in our acts of passion more frequently until I finally carry a pup. However, I lose the pup, and the cycle repeats. Each time, the agony tears through me like my body is being ripped apart, leaving me weaker and weaker. Seeing me in such torment, Cassian gathers me into his arms. "Let's not try for a pup anymore. We can always adopt one." … Five years pass, and just as he once promised, he makes me the most envied she-wolf in the pack. But on the very day of our five-year bond anniversary, I receive a message. It's an invitation to a pup's birthday party. The message is withdrawn almost instantly, but not before I see the names of the parents—Cassian Blackhowl and Elara Wolfhart. I stand there, frozen stiff. Cassian is my mate. My Alpha. My life. And Elara is the she-wolf who once saved me with her blood.

My blood-mate, Lord Lucien, found out. I gave the “Moonlight Blood” treaty, the one I bled to secure with the werewolf packs, to his new pet, Celeste. He thought it was the result of his decade of cold neglect. A sign I had finally shattered. So, he offered to take me to the centennial Crimson Feast in Venice. But when Celeste heard, she flew into a jealous rage and threatened to leave his clan. Lucien, who catered to her every whim, panicked. He spent three days and nights soothing her ego, even giving her his prized Elder Blood. Then he left me behind again, using a border skirmish with our rivals as an excuse. He gave her my invitation—the only one. Later, he explained himself, lounging on his sarcophagus with a careless air. "Love is a luxury we can't always afford, Octavia. The clan's survival is everything. I am their Lord. I have responsibilities." "You are my blood-mate, Octavia," he said. "You'll support me. Won't you?" A thrall presented a magic mirror. In it, Celeste pressed her pale cheek against Lucien’s shoulder. They embraced under the moonlight, their lips meeting as they exchanged blood. I said nothing. I just nodded. Lucien thought I had finally learned my place. A satisfied smirk curled his lips as he promised to buy my silence with a trinket from his private collection when he returned. But he didn't know. I had already cut ties with the clan. And he had already signed the dissolution papers with his own blood. There was no "us" anymore.

Evelyn Sinclair was the epitome of grace and sophistication, groomed to inherit her family’s prestigious legacy. But one fateful night, she was drugged and set up, leading to a scandal that shattered her world. With her fiancé canceling their engagement and her father stripping her of her heiress title, Evelyn found herself cast out of her family and forced to raise her twins abroad, far from the life she once knew. Years later, she returns to New Santerra, determined to provide a stable life for her children. However, fate has other plans when she discovers that the stoic CEO of the company she just joined is none other than Adam Dean—the man she had a one-night stand with, the one who unknowingly holds the key to her tumultuous past. “Sir, please watch your manners!” she challenges, her eyes blazing with defiance. Adam’s expression remains impassive, but his voice is low and intense. “This is my office. Who’s going to stop me if I want you here, right now?”

Aurora Amy Wells, the despised hybrid runt of the Moonlight Pack, thought she had everything when she secretly loved Maverick Prill. For five years, they dreamed of the Mate Awakening Ceremony that would make them whole. But on that fateful night, Maverick shattered her—denying their secret relationship, humiliating her before the pack, before marking and confining her to the role of Luna because he needed to have one. For three years, he kept another woman by his side, only to sever their bond completely. Heartbroken, Aurora left everything behind to live as a rogue. Now, five years later, Aurora has risen as a fierce Rogue Leader. But when tragedy strikes, she’s forced to confront her past—and Maverick—after discovering they’re second-chance mates. Thrown into an uneasy alliance and back in the Moonlight Pack, Aurora must face old wounds, a bond she can’t escape, and enemies that threaten everything she holds dear. Can she trust the man who betrayed her, or will loving him again destroy her for good?

Kael has always been an anomaly. Born a male Omega in a world where such a thing is considered an abomination, he’s spent his life cloaked in deception, thanks to his mother’s tireless efforts. Working as a lowly palace servant, Kael lives in fear of discovery, desperately clinging to his fabricated Beta identity. When a brawl lands him a position as personal assistant to the aloof and formidable Alpha Prince, Alaric, Kael's carefully constructed world teeters on the brink of collapse. Alaric, burdened by the pressure of finding a mate and securing the throne, is haunted by the whispers of his unmated status. But one fateful accident shatters Kael’s disguise, unleashing his intoxicating Omega scent and igniting a primal bond with Alaric that neither of them can deny. As their secret love blossoms in the shadows, they must confront societal prejudice, political machinations, and a devastating secret from Kael's past – a connection to the royal family that could destroy everything they hold dear. Torn between duty and desire, Alaric and Kael must fight for their love and challenge the very foundation of their world, even if it means risking everything.