The Hard Thing About Hard Things

To make me "obedient", my parents send me to a reform center. There, I'm tortured until I lose control of my bladder. My mind breaks, and I'm stripped naked. I'm even forced to kneel on the ground and be treated as a chamber pot. Meanwhile, the news plays in the background, broadcasting my younger sister's lavish 18th birthday party on a luxury yacht. It's all because she's naturally cheerful and outgoing, while I'm quiet and aloof—something my parents despise. When I return from the reform center, I am exactly what they wanted. In fact, I'm even more obedient than my sister. I kneel when they speak. Before dawn, I'm up washing their underwear. But now, it's my parents who've gone mad. They keep begging me to change back. "Angelica, we were wrong. Please, go back to how you used to be!"

Isolde Vancrest had witnessed the ultimate betrayal. Her long-time fiancé, Alan Princeton, had gotten his own sister-in-law pregnant, and he had the audacity to defend it. Alan: "You can't have children. The family can't end with me." How ironic. This was the same man who had once knelt nine times to propose, swearing he would rather be sterile than ever hurt her. If love was a joke, then pride had lost all meaning. That night, Isolde called the one man in Southbridge whose name most people feared to speak. By morning, she was his wife. When Alan saw her again, it was at her wedding. He dropped to his knees, eyes red. Alan: "Honey, I was wrong. Please… look at me." Isolde took a step back and fell into the arms of the man behind her. "The Prince," the ruthless ruler of half the city, wrapped an arm around her waist. "Seems you've forgotten your place." His voice was biting cold as he looked down at Alan. "Now she’s someone you don’t deserve to even look at."

At three months pregnant, I was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy. My husband, a doctor, was overwhelmed with worry, pulling every string he could to arrange surgery and remove the baby. "As long as you're okay, it doesn’t matter if we don’t have our own child. We can always adopt. I can't lose you, Evelyn!" Heartbroken, I blamed myself for being useless, for failing to carry our child, and for disappointing my husband. But then, I accidentally saw his chat messages with another woman on the phone. "Don’t worry, I already told her she had an ectopic pregnancy." "I’ll have her sign the adoption papers soon, then find a way to bring you into our home." "Asher is my only son. I will make sure he inherits everything I have!" That was when I realized that the husband I loved so deeply had long since built another family behind my back.

I, Alpha Lake Rush of the Rush Pack, hereby reject you, JoJo Wyatt, as my mate. However, you will need to keep working to pay off your debt." "Wait, what?" At the tender age of eleven, JoJo Wyatt had been forced to grow up faster than most. Coming from a challenging family background with a distant father and a fragile mother, JoJo realized early on that she had to take responsibility for herself and her younger sister. Her focus was solely on survival—love and romance held no appeal for her, especially after a devastating experience. She swore off relationships with men, but that changed when she began working for him in an unconventional role, trying to pay off roughly 7.8 million dollars for her mother’s hospital treatments. Alpha Lake Rush, 30, was known as the most formidable Alpha in the country. Though burdened by his own struggles, he had learned to be strong and decisive. His past experiences had led him to reject two of his mates. But when fate brings him JoJo, who is working to pay off her debt, everything changes. What happens when his destined mate turns out to be the one person he never expected—his third chance mate?

Angela Bailey spent six years believing her marriage was built on love, only to discover her devoted husband was nothing more than a polished illusion. When she filed for divorce and asked her daughter to leave with her, the little girl clung to another woman’s hand and called her “Mom.” Donald Turner, cold and entitled, told her, “As long as you apologize to Nina, you can still live your high-society life.” Angela scoffed. “You might not even stay in high society yourself.” She walked out of the Turner household with nothing, determined to rebuild her life from the ground up. With her own talent and grit, she joined a new company and went head-to-head with her ex. Just when Donald realized his mistake and wanted her back, another man stepped into Angela’s life—someone who protected her openly, supported her quietly, and cherished her without hesitation. Donald regretted everything and wanted her back. He appeared with their daughter, eyes red as he pleaded, “I’ll give you the entire Turner family. Please love me and our daughter again.” The man beside Angela laughed. “The Turner family? That means nothing. Angela doesn’t need it. And as for a daughter…” He looked at Angela, and together they said, “We already have one.”

After Lunara Vespirin collapses from an overtime shift, she's shocked to find out that she has transmigrated into a beast world novel. It appears that the original villainess' father, a wandering beastkin named Caius Vespirin, has kidnapped five beastmates so that he can forcibly mate them to her. Right now, said beastmates are on the verge of dying after enduring the torment the villainess has unleashed on them. Soon, they will unleash their dark sides, resulting in the villainess, a.k.a Lunara, dying a terrible death. Lunara quickly comes up with a plan overnight, which involves her clinging to Caius for survival, seeing as he's the strongest beastkin ever. At the same time, she plans on dissolving the mate contracts with the beastmates and staying away from them forever. Using the pocket dimension, Lunara soon busies herself in gathering beast crystals, planting crops, and doing her best to survive in this alien world. But the way her beastmates look at her starts to get tinted by complex emotions. Emory Nagar, a snake beastkin, coils his tail around Lunara, his gaze deep and affectionate. "Luna, you can forget about dissolving my mate contract as long as I live and breathe." Galen Tideborn, a gorgeous merman, wraps his arms around Lunara's waist, his voice extremely enticing. "I'll sing for you all the time. Just don't abandon me, okay?" Levi Janvier, a lionfolk, lowers his prideful head before he begins nuzzling Lunara on the cheek. "I will give my life to you as long as you stay by my side, Lunara." Kieran Crimsworth, known for his seductive charms of a fox, murmurs into Lunara's ear, "I'll make you pay back double for what you did to me in the past, Lunara." The cold and aloof crane beastkin, Cyril Swift, looks down at Lunara coolly. "I don't care who you are or where you're from. You're the only mistress that I will ever have." Lunara is perplexed, to say the least. "Huh? I thought you all hate me because of forced mating! Why is it that you're unwilling to dissolve the mate contracts when it's time for us to do so?"

From a campus romance to marriage, Dominic Fleming had always believed he led a perfect life. His wife, Isabella Sinclair, was dazzlingly beautiful. Their daughter, Lilith, was sweet and obedient. Dominic sometimes told himself he must have been a saint in a past life to deserve such happiness. Everything began to change the moment Isabella's so-called "sworn brother," Alexander Grant, entered their lives. Alex's name appeared more and more often, and it crept into every corner of their marriage. For Lilith's sake, Dominic endured the strain again and again until the day of the accident. As he lay on the operating table with his life hanging by a thread, Isabella was not at his side—she was with Alexander instead. That was the moment Dominic's heart finally turned cold. So why did Isabella regret it? She knelt with Alexander, who likewise barely clung to life, and wept as she begged Dominic for forgiveness. "Dom, I know I was wrong. Let's get married again. I will make him kneel and beg you for forgiveness," Isabella said. "Scram," Dominic replied. Isabella nodded eagerly. "Fine. I will throw him out right now!" "Get the fuck out too!" Dominic barked.

Ember Thorne grew up knowing the bitter truth: weakness is a death sentence. ​On her sixteenth birthday, when the primal surge of the Shift should have remade her, she was left agonizingly human. Her failure transformed her from the beloved Beta-elect’s daughter into a pariah—a fragile, scentless Omega in the unforgiving Shadow Creek pack. For two years, she has endured the endless grind of servitude and the crushing cruelty of her Alpha, surviving only by the protective shadows cast by her twin, Elias. ​She has accepted her fate: no wolf, no mate, no escape. ​But when Alpha Kael Blackwood, the ruthless leader of the legendary Silver Moon pack, arrives for a surprise alliance meeting, he doesn't see the broken servant the pack sees. He sees her. ​He hauled me against his armored chest, the sheer force of his presence sucking the air from the room. His eyes, the color of storm clouds, bored into mine. ​“You think you can reject me?” His voice was a lethal rumble, closer than a whisper, yet loud enough to shake the walls. “You are a scentless, wolf-less weakling. Yet, you carry my soul.” ​I tried to swallow, but my throat was dust. “I am nothing. You are the Silver Moon Alpha. Reject me and spare us both the ridicule.” ​A dark smile, devoid of kindness, stretched across his face. He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear, sending a jolt of fire and fear straight through me. ​“I won't reject you. You will be claimed, protected, and possessed. You are no longer Shadow Creek's shame. You are mine, Ember Thorne. And you will be the envy, the obsession, and the absolute focus of every enemy I have.”

Achilio Isacco Bonaventura adalah seorang pangeran yang terlahir tanpa mengenal cinta, dan kasih sayang. Lika-liku kehidupan menyedihkan, dan penuh siksaan kejam dari sang ibu tiri, menghiasi masa kecilnya. Suatu hari, perintah Dewa Naga berkepala tujuh menghantarkannya kepada sebuah takdir, yang akan membawanya pada perjalanan antara hidup dan mati. Terpilihnya Achilio menjadi seorang guardian, membuatnya harus mengemban tugas penting untuk melindungi kestabilan alam. Namun, Kaisar Harvey dari kegelapan selalu berusaha menghalangi misinya itu. Peperangan dan pembunuhan massal garis keturunan Bonaventura, membuat Achillio menaruh dendam pada Kaisar Harvey. Atas petunjuk dari surat mendiang ibunya, Achilio pun mencari tujuh kristal phoenix, untuk mengalahkan iblis tingkat tinggi itu. Dia telah bersumpah akan mengembalikan kedamaian, dan mengakhiri Kekaisaran Darkiles dalam sejarah. Akankah Achilio berhasil menaklukkan kegelapan di bawah kakinya? Atau justru sebaliknya, Kaisar Harveylah yang akan menghantarkannya pada kematian?

BOOK THREE of COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE: After a bitter betrayal, he refuses to trust hunters, but a certain huntress catches his eye... Greg Claw's bonded mate did the unthinkable, conspiring against him and his family during their time together, so she was punished with death. Now he knows never to trust a hunter. This includes the newly appointed Chief Octopus, Sushmita. But the more he's around her, the more intrigued he gets. The longer they work together, the more he can't deny the connection growing between them. It's not a bond, but there's certainly something. Sushmita has her own secrets and motives for everything she does, and choosing this profession is no exception. Greg finds himself caring about her… for her. When her former lover waltzes in, Greg wonders if this ex is what stands between him and Sushmita. One thing's for sure, with threats pressing in close, danger lurking in the shadows, and things not appearing to be what they seem, Greg has to do everything within reach and beyond to protect everything and everyone he holds dear, which - oddly - includes her. *** BOOK ONE: The 5-Time Rejected Gamma & the Lycan King BOOK TWO: The Rogues Who Went Rogue