The Lottery Shirley Jackson Pdf

On the night of our mating ceremony, my Alpha, Damian, and I were ambushed by a rival pack. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the past, before we had marked each other. In my previous life, we were true mates, chosen by the moon goddess, and had been together for seven years. I sacrificed everything to help him become the most powerful Alpha, yet he refused to even give me a pup. Only later did I learn that Damian's heart had always belonged to another—Aria, a she-wolf from a powerful bloodline. Reborn, I decided to let him chase his ambition. I severed our mate bond with my own hands and chose a completely different path. Seven years later, he became the most powerful Alpha in the alliance. At the annual summit, he and his beloved Aria announced their mating. When he saw me standing alone, he sneered. "Selene, I know you're still in love with me. You've loved me across two lifetimes. I'm the most exceptional Alpha you'll ever know." "But you need to stop destroying yourself over me." I ignored him, pulling my son into my arms. Damian's eyes flared crimson, his wolf's control slipping. "You told me you would only ever bear my pups!"

On the night of the Benedetto family's Harvest Festival, my Mafia husband, Salvatore, told me to bring our son, Giuseppe, to the family gathering. He said his madre had finally accepted us into the Benedetto bloodline. I was trembling with excitement in our little cottage as I dressed Giuseppe in his finest little suit. He had carved a single wooden rose by hand, a project he'd saved for over five years. He said he would present it to his grandmother at the celebration, a plea for her to accept our place in the family. But the moment we stepped into the stone manor, I saw Carmela. Salvatore had her pinned against an oak barrel in a deep, searing kiss. In the moonlight, her hand was undoing his tie. In front of everyone, Salvatore smiled and gently pushed her away. He walked toward the family members gathered in a semicircle and raised a crystal glass. "Tonight, in addition to celebrating the harvest, I have an important announcement." "I would like to introduce you all to the woman I have married in the eyes of God and the Church." "Miss Carmela Torrino." Before I could even process his words, Giuseppe tore his hand from mine and rushed forward. "Papa, what are you saying?" "Isn't my mother your wife?"

On the night of the Blood Moon Pack's grand ceremony, my Alpha fiancé Ethan solemnly announced before all pack members that we would soon complete our lifelong marking. The pack's blessings surged toward us like a tide. My face flushed red as I pressed against his strong chest, which carried the scent of pine. Suddenly, a figure blocked the moonlight at the temple entrance. Ivy, my friend who had vanished five years ago, stepped inside, accompanied by a pup with eyes like stars. Ignoring everyone's gaze, she walked straight toward us. Her collar slowly slipped down, revealing a deep Alpha bite mark on her neck. Under the moonlight, that mark was as shocking as a brand. "Lucas, come to meet your father."

That year, during the Sicilian arms trafficking conflict, my lover of three years, Silvio, deliberately betrayed my transport routes at a critical moment in a deal with the rival "DiMarco" family, causing me to lose all my territory. He immediately defected to the DiMarco family's leader Marina, becoming her lover. As he left, he didn't even bother to disguise his betrayal, coldly tossing out, "What we had was just business, nothing personal." While I was burdened with my family's blood debts and pushed to the edge of a cliff, Lorenzo, who had secretly harbored feelings for me since childhood, found me and offered his family's entire fortune. "Isabella, don't be afraid. In my eyes, you'll always be Sicily's most formidable Queen of the Arms Trade," he said. He took the Colt pistol from my hand, and his voice was gentle yet resolute. Five years later, my power resurged. I was about to completely crush Marina's smuggling network and reclaim everything I had lost. My caporegimes, the captains of my organization, were ready and waiting for my command. But on the night before the operation, my weapons warehouse suddenly exploded, turning priceless arms into worthless scrap metal. I barely escaped through the thick smoke, my body covered in burns. In a secluded monastery, I overheard Lorenzo and Silvio whispering outside my door. "You really had the guts to blow up the arsenal. Weren't you afraid of blasting her to pieces too?" Silvio's voice carried a mocking tone. "If she died, just died. I've always loved Marina. If it weren't for that unlucky family marriage lottery five years ago, I wouldn't have had to endure this ugly bitch for all this time." Lorenzo's voice was ice-cold and unfamiliar. I closed my eyes, feeling like a dagger had pierced my chest. Explosion. Arranged marriage. Ugly bitch. So those five years of shared hardship were just his unwilling choice after losing a high-stakes gamble. "I married her to keep watch. If it weren't for me paving

War is flaring across the region, down to a common enemy, the Alpha of the Night Shade Pack, on a mission to bring down all other packs. Alpha Jackson and Beta Cayden both lose their mates to the war. Both left in a state of bewilderment and mourning they continue to fight for the freedom of their pack. Alpha Jackson receives a prophecy from an elderly woman on pack telling him of a she-wolf with silver-white eyes that will bring the end of the suffering, that he shall be a part of this... along with others... only for him to dismiss it as senselessness... Evelyn is brought to Mystic Shadow Pack to assist in their battles against this mutual enemy, but in doing so catches the eyes of both the Alpha and the Beta, suddenly bringing meaning back to their lives as the battle against the Night Shade Pack rages on. Evelyn is urgently called back home where the war has returned. Only to witness the death of her newly realized fated mate, crumbling the dreams she had been building for so long. Fleeing she runs into the arms of a rogue... A rogue, but is there more to him? It would appear so... He returns her to The Mystic Shadow Pack only to find the Alpha... and the Beta... and things have changed... Was the prophecy the Alpha received as senseless as he first believed? Or was there some truth to the visions of the old woman?

Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?

The werewolves and the witches did not see face to face, never wanting to interact with each other, despite both being a creature of magic and Goddesses. For two generations, two Alphas were paired with witches for a mate and the second better half, that was the Goddess's way of putting friendship between her children, but the wolves being an animal of instinct, the first generation did not fare well, and spoiled things further. It was then left to the second generation to set things straight, or perhaps the third. Alpha's Wilson and Quinton, are both paired with witches, one hot-headed, the other level-headed, but, what did their attitude get them? Nowhere!. That's where.

Alpha Mason is determined to continue on with life as an Alpha alone after the betrayal of his fated mate. Focused upon his pack he allows himself to become isolated; which only becomes worse as his friends begin to settle down. The young Alpha’s friend, Kai is set to be married, and Mason reluctantly agrees to go out celebrating with his friends. They venture out into the human world, enjoying a few too many drinks, only to find themselves in a bar, and Mason is unable to take his eyes from one of their dancers, Gi-Gi. Mason finds an excuse to talk to the beauty as she dances, and she more than captures his attention as the night wears on. The presence of the beautiful Gianna lingers within Mason's mind, bringing the Alpha back to the bar on more than one occasion with nothing but her in mind. Could it be possible for a friendship to form between a strong and powerful Alpha and a dancer? But, is there more than meets the eye to this dancing beauty? And will the Alpha find himself hurt once again? Or could they be the key to helping one another?

What are you going to do if you can’t afford all of your bills? You will probably opt for using your body to get what you want, as Rose was a stripper who worked in the Blueborn night bar. She got sacked by her female boss in the bar, but she got her prayer answered as she dated a billionaire sugar daddy whom she married after seven good months of courtship. He proposed while they were in a plane to Ibiza, right in the plane, and her life took another turn before there were twirls and whirls in her marriage and took another surprising twist along the way too.

Delilah can't wait for her boyfriend and closest friend to turn 17, for him to meet his Alpha wolf; and finally sense his fated mate. She has long since been predicted as his fated mate by all in their pack and beyond having been childhood sweethearts. They make the perfect couple so this would be the perfect love story for them. Surely fate couldn't take an unexpected twist, sending her on a painful path she didn't expect could it? That painful path could change the person she once was but may bring an unexpected ally.....could it be in a bitter twist of fate Delilah all along had held her hopes on the wrong Alpha?