The Hours

“I, Castiel Vexthorn, hereby reject you…” His voice cut through the room like a blade, each word dripping with venom. “What is your name?” He didn’t even know my name. The humiliation hit harder than the rejection itself. I met his gaze—those cold, storm-gray eyes that seemed carved from granite. “Estelle Frost.” I kept my voice steady, refusing to let him see me falter. “I reject you, Estelle Frost!” His words thundered in the air, the weight of the mate bond snapping inside me like a brittle twig. **** They called him a cursed king. He called her a mistake. A weakness. When pack healer Estelle Frost accompanies her Alpha to a summit of Alphas, she expects nothing more than long hours tending to warriors and ignoring the sting of her fiancé’s betrayal. One night. One drink too many. One bed she should never have fallen into… and she wakes beside Castiel Alaric Vexthorn, the feared Alpha King who despises humans. The next morning, he discovers she is his fated mate and rejects her without mercy. But fate is not so easily severed. Because weeks later, Estelle learns she’s carrying the heirs of the very man who swore he’d never want her. And the cursed Alpha King will burn the world to claim what he’s just thrown away. *** “I should hate you, Dove. Heck, I want to but…” His storm gray eyes looked into mine and slowly, ever slowly, he leaned closer and captured my lips. I gasped, my hands flying to hold onto his broad chest. He seized the moment to slide his tongue through my lips and I let out a tiny moan. The kiss wasn't gentle. It was demanding. Possessive and filled with want.

Mom and I board a flight to Fangoria to visit Alicia Carter, my wife. She's a special forces soldier who's here on a peacekeeping mission in this foreign country. But the moment we walk out of the airport, we're ambushed by a group of kidnappers. One of them holds a gun to Mom's head and says, "If you don't give us the ransom in three days, we'll blow her head off!" In a panic, I make a video call to Alicia, my hands shaking as I beg her to help me. "Calm down, honey. I'll put in a request to lead a rescue mission. We'll save her within 24 hours!" But the next day, I keep failing to get in touch with Alicia. After I blow up her phone with multiple calls, one finally connects. Amid her rushed panting, she tells me, "Sorry, honey. I just got assigned to an urgent escort mission. You guys just hang in there. I've arranged for the local authorities to—" Her voice is abruptly cut off by a familiar male voice. "Alicia! Thank goodness you came over just to pick me up. I didn't have to spend 100 dollars on a cab after all! That cab driver didn't even have a license, and I can't believe he tried to ask for more money…" The three-day deadline passes, and the kidnappers keep their word, letting me hear the gunshot myself. As I clutch Mom's cold, dead body, Alicia calls me out of nowhere. "Hey, honey. I just completed the escort mission. How are things on your end? Have the kidnappers released her?" I look down at Mom. Her eyes will never open again. I gently wipe the blood off her face as I reply to Alicia in an eerily calm voice, "Yeah. They have."

Tyler Zimmerman had only 36 hours left to get married. Otherwise, his father’s business empire will be reduced to nothing by his step mother. However, his father added a stipulation in his will that he can marry anyone except Sophia. General Max came up with a solution, under the guise of marriage they're going to hit two birds with one stone. Protecting Jade to carry out her mission without being suspected as their informant and satisfying the conditions of his father's will to obtain his inheritance. Despite himself he married Jade Leitner, the expert hacker who wanted to avenge the death of her parents. But along their mission, an unexpected thing happened…. "What have I done to deserve this? What was my crime that you're punishing me for?" Jade eyed him, seeking an answer. "You left and robbed me." Jade's eyes grew wide in shock. "No, I didn't take anything from you, you must be wrong." With a smirk he said, "I'm an honest man and wouldn't fabricate a story." "What did I steal from you?" Jade shook her head, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "You stole my heart," Tyler bared his heart to her without holding back. Finding his confession ridiculous, Jade let out a humorless chuckle. "You made a mistake, Sophia is the real culprit." "I'm certain, you are the thief who stole my heart," Tyler insisted. "If you say so, I'm giving your heart back," Jade was stone-faced, her voice edged with scorn. "Don't give it back, I'll steal your heart and we'll get even," he said and reached out to caress her face but Jade dodged his touch. "You have nothing to steal from me anymore as I don't have my heart with me. I have given it away," Jade said emotionlessly.

Prologue Nathan sat on the roof with a portrait in his hand. He has been looking at her portrait for the past hours and he is not ready to let go of it. He stared at the picture with a satisfied smile on his face. His Sadie! He just can't stop staring at her. She was really his sweet angel which portray the meaning of her name. Sadie! He hugged the portrait before dropping it. He picked up his drawing paper and pencil ready to sketch her beautiful face again. Every corner of his room has her picture, everything! And almost all his belongings too. His plates were designed with her picture, his phone pouch was her, his wrist band has her name. His private company is in her name, his box has her picture, his closet, just name it. The workers thought he's running mad, no one believed it's love except his family and of course, his personal guard. He smiled at nothing closing his eyes before starting the sketching. He's been stalking her ever since that faithful day they met , that faithful day she became his sweet angel. He knows her every moves, everything she does and how she's being treated in her own home . He turned his hand in a fist and his jaw tightened. The thougt of that does nothing but angers him. He wants to save her, he wants to take her out of that bondage but it's not yet time. She doesn't even recognize him, it will be insane to go ask her out for marriage when she doesn't know him . He's going to make them pay, watching his Sadie from a far distance seeing her in tears, seeing her lonely, seeing her sad and seeing her feeling unloved hurt his heart so much

Noelle Carter thought she left her mistakes in Santorini. After catching her fiancé cheating, she escapes on a ten-day solo trip with no plans. Just space to breathe. That’s where she meets Roman. No last names. No questions. That was the deal. But Roman doesn’t feel like a mistake. He feels like clarity. They talk for hours, stay up too late, and fall into easy, consuming Sex. With him, Noelle is fearless, sharing truths she’s never spoken out loud, because it’s safe when she's never going to see him again. When she leaves, she’s lighter. A little sad, but okay. Missing him feels harmless,after all, how much damage can a memory do? She’s wrong. Days later, at an event, she sees him again. Roman Ashford. Her ex-fiancé’s estranged stepbrother. Five years abroad, now back and looking at her like he already knows everything. Because he does. Noelle wants to run. Roman doesn’t let her. He remembers Santorini. Every conversation. Every touch. Every moment she let herself unravel. And he has no intention of pretending it never happened. Within weeks, he buys her company just to keep her close. Noelle tells herself it’s too complicated. The family tension is already fragile. Getting involved would be reckless. She almost believes it. Then she misses her cycle. She's not pregnant. At a family event, Roman’s mother and Noelle’s father come face to face and it’s clear they share a past no one ever spoke about. Then someone said Roman and Noelle look… similar. What if the problem isn’t just complicated but forbidden? The truth unravels slowly, then all at once. They are not related. They never were. The reason Noelle held onto is gone. And Roman is done waiting.

After catching her fiancé cheating with her best friend just hours before their wedding, Flora walked away from everything—her dream, her reputation, and the man she thought she’d spend forever with. Desperate to escape the heartbreak, umalis siya ng lungsod, determined to forget… kahit sa loob ng isang gabi lang. Pero hindi niya inakala na ang gabing iyon ay magbabago ng lahat, dahil doon niya nakilala ang lalaking hindi niya dapat gustuhin — Damien Garcia. He was everything she shouldn’t want—rich, ruthless, dangerously charming. The kind of man who could ruin anyone who dared cross him. Yet in his arms, Flora felt something she hadn’t felt in years—safe… seen… alive. Dapat isang gabi lang iyon ng pagkakamali—pagkakamaling mawawala pagdating ng umaga. Pero parang may ibang plano ang tadhana. Ilang araw lang ang lumipas, sa engagement party ng kaniyang ina, bumagsak muli ang mundo ni Flora nang muling nakita ang lalaki. Nalaman niyang siya pala ang bagong stepbrother niya at ang bagong boss niya sa trabaho. Cold, demanding, and always in control, si Damien ang uri ng lalaking walang gustong kalabanin. Pero sa likod ng mga saradong pinto, ang lalaking iyon na kinatatakutan ng lahat — ang lalaking gustong angkinin si Flora nang buo. Alam niyang mali. Alam niyang dapat siyang lumayo. But obsession doesn’t care about rules… at ganoon din si Flora. Lalabanan ba ni Flora ang namumuong pag-ibig kay Damien, o susuko sa isang mapanganib na pagnanasa na maaaring sumira sa kanilang dalawa?

Content Warning: Smut, Smut, Smut. "Whose touch made you tremble the hardest tonight?" Alaric's voice was a low snarl as he gripped her jaw, forcing her mouth open. "Yours," she gasped, her voice wrecked from screaming. "Alpha, please..." Aiden's fingers dug into her hips as he slammed back inside her, rough and unrelenting. "Liar," he growled against her spine. "She begged for mine." "Should we make her prove it?" Archer said, his fangs grazing her throat. "Tie her up again. Let her beg with that pretty mouth until we decide she's earned our knots." She was trembling, dripping, used—and all she could do was moan, "Yes, please. Use me again." And they did. Like they always do. Like they can't help it. Like she belongs to all three of them. *** Melina Voss had one plan: steal the plant and disappear. She didn't plan to stay. She didn't plan to be caught. She definitely didn't plan for them. Broke and desperate, with nowhere else to turn, Melina infiltrates the Howlington Estate under a stolen identity. She has forty-eight hours to complete her mission before anyone discovers she doesn't belong. But everything changed when she met them. Alaric. Aiden. Archer. And what she doesn't know is that they already know, And that they even made preparation for her arrival. *** Three identical Alpha Kings, Plagued by a mysterious family curse, Every sixteenth day of the month, they nearly lose themselves to the beast within. Melina was supposed to be just another face in the crowd, another maid. But something changed the moment she walked through their doors. Now they want her marked, claimed, possessed. And the more they take, the more they crave. Three Alphas. One thief. No fate. Just possession. The more they taste her, The harder she is to let go.

When Tessa Shoreman read Henry Jennings' cancer report, she immediately paid her hard-earned money of sixty thousand to the hospital. She had saved the money from working part-time while she was in university. However, she was worried the money was not enough, so she held back her fear as she sold a kidney to the black market to get more. As she walked to the ward door with a heavy bag filled with cash, she heard shrill laughter coming from inside. "That cheap woman, Tessa Shoreman, got tricked by us again. Haha!" Tessa's hand gave pause right when she was about to push the door open. What did he mean by saying she was tricked? Tessa looked through the glass on the door to see inside the ward. When she left, the man looked extremely weak, but he was now sitting up lazily in bed. Henry had a cigarette in his mouth, and he was blowing smoke rings nonchalantly. He did not look like a cancer patient at all. "It's been two years, and that woman still has no idea." "If she hadn't beaten Serene to first place, Henry would never have left behind his life as a rich heir and planned such an elaborate scheme to become a working-class man living in a cheap rental home. The way that cheap, penniless woman looks at Henry is so amusing." "We agreed that the punishment ends when Henry and Serene get engaged. It looks like time is almost up. We've probably punished her 108 times in the past two years." "The first time was lying to her that Henry didn't have a suit for a job interview. She worked tirelessly for 72 hours straight before she earned enough money for one, but that suit was given to the domestic help to use as a cleaning cloth. The second time was tricking her into believing Henry had a high fever. She forfeited during the finals of a scientific research competition to race home and take care of Henry in the hospital…" "Sigh. Too bad it's coming to an end. I'm going to miss entertaining myself with her."

Madam Pratt, my mother-in-law, was in critical condition after a car accident, desperately needing surgery. However, as the lead surgeon, I—Lilianne Davis—stood by, casually scrolling through short videos on my phone. My best friend, Tiffany Owens, who was also a doctor, was far more anxious than I was. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the operating room. “Lily, why are you still stalling? Hurry up and save her!” I took a step back, clutching my stomach in pain as her face twisted in shock. “I have cramps so bad I can’t even stand. You do it.” In my last life, the moment I heard about Madam Pratt’s accident, I had swallowed a painkiller and rushed into surgery, working for hours to stabilize her. I had barely stepped away from the operating table when alarms blared. “Lilianne, what have you done? The patient is experiencing acute hemolysis!” “Call the family now!” Gareth Pratt stormed in, his face twisted with rage. He slapped me hard in the face. “Lil, you’re a professional surgeon, yet you gave my mother the wrong blood transfusion?!” I froze, reaching for Madam Pratt’s medical report to explain, only to find that the A-type blood I had seen before had somehow changed to B-type. The medical board arrived, and a blood test revealed traces of hallucinogens in my system. “Unbelievable! Taking illegal substances before surgery? That’s a cardinal sin for a doctor!” In the chaos, Emma Pratt, Gareth’s teenage sister, grabbed a scalpel and stabbed me multiple times. Blood gushed from my arteries, and I collapsed in a pool of crimson. As my vision faded, I couldn’t understand what had happened. I had never taken illegal drugs. Besides, I was absolutely certain of Madam Pratt’s blood type. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the moment right before stepping into the operating room.

A gorgeous new lawyer named Charlotte Lowell joins our law firm and claims she has been reborn. One day, a publicly listed company offers us a massive ten-million-dollar case. Charlotte warns our boss, Levi Howard, that the company has major issues. If we accept the case, we'll lose in court and be hit with a huge payout. Levi isn't sure if she's bluffing, but in the end, he listens and passes. The next day, that very company collapses. And the rival firm that took the case is hit with a compensation claim worth tens of millions of dollars. To celebrate dodging the bullet, Levi asks me to book a restaurant. But Charlotte immediately tells him not to go to that restaurant because that place is about to have a gas explosion. Hours later, the restaurant blows up just as she mentioned. News of it hits the trending list. After those two incidents, Levi is all-in on believing Charlotte's claim of having been reborn. In order to keep Charlotte, he gives her the executive position that was initially promised to me. When I hand in my resignation, Charlotte urges Levi to stop me. "If Yelena jumps to another firm, she'll use the resources she gained here to crush us. A year from now, we won't even have a firm left." Upon hearing Charlotte's words, my boyfriend and colleague, Finley Smith, steps forward to back her up. "Charlotte's right. I saw a job offer from Vera Legal in Yelena's email. She's really petty. If she joins Vera Legal, we'll surely face her revenge." Levi believes them and rejects my resignation. I file for labor arbitration, but it's no use. In the end, I'm demoted to a janitor at the firm. Driven by resentment, I fall into depression and end up hanging myself at the entrance of the firm. When I open my eyes again, I've gone back to the day Charlotte claims she has been reborn.