The Lottery Shirley Jackson Pdf

When I was three months pregnant, Stella Falcone, the principessa of an allied family, was also carrying another man's child. To preserve the alliance, my Mafia lover, Matteo Gallo, had to marry her. "Stella is Don Falcone's only daughter. In our world, alliances are worth more than sentiment." "Ava will understand." What Matteo forgot was that I had no one but him, and that the child I carried was the true Gallo heir. Later, as everyone mocked my unborn child, calling him a bastard who would taint the bloodline, Matteo stood by with his new bride and did nothing. That was when I learned that in this world of blood and secrets, love was the most worthless currency of all.

My Mafia husband, Alessio, was sleeping with his stepsister, Sophia. In the car, the study, the bathroom, even on the dining table, they left evidence of their affair everywhere. "Sophia, don't worry. Once I solidify my position in the family, I'll give you everything." "Blair… she's just a tool to secure my position." In our eight years of marriage, he had whispered the sweetest words in the world to me. Now, his devotion was worthless. I didn't cry or cause a scene. Instead, I made a deal on the black market. In two weeks, Blair Greco would disappear from this world for good.

The moment the acid hit my skin, I heard my own flesh sizzle. In the last moments before my consciousness faded, my trembling fingers managed to dial my brother, the new Don of the Steele family. To my relief, Farrow finally answered. The sounds of expensive jazz and clinking glasses bled through the receiver. His voice was cold as ice. "What is it this time, Grace?" "Farrow... help me..." He cut me off before I could finish. "Listen, Betty's book launch is tomorrow night. If you dare cause a scene or embarrass the Family, I'll disown you. I'll ship you off to a convent in Sicily." The line went dead. A moment later, a second splash of acid hit my face, and the searing agony consumed me. My eyes were gone, leaving nothing but hollow, bloody sockets. You don't need to exile me, Farrow. I'm already gone. Forever.

Fui la compañera secreta de Kade, el Alfa de la manada durante cuatro años. La noche que me llamó, en un arrebato de pasión, me miró fijamente a los ojos durante mucho, mucho tiempo. Su voz sonaba ronca. —¿Sabes, Anya? Lo que más me fascina de ti son tus ojos preciosos. Para proteger su derecho al título de Alfa, acepté quedarme a su lado, haciéndome pasar por una guerrera Beta. Hasta que, radiante de orgullo, lo vi abrazar a mi media hermana por la cintura frente a todos. Solo cuando los rumores crecieron y todos empezaron a decir que la hermosa loba que el Alfa había llevado a casa tenía mis mismos ojos, comprendí la devastadora verdad. Nunca me amó a mí en realidad. Encaré a Kade y le exigí una explicación. Su expresión era de desprecio. —¿Que te dé una explicación? ¿Pues qué te imaginabas? Solo fue una marca temporal, nada más. Para mí, nunca has sido más que una amiga. No lloré. No hice una escena. Abrí un enlace mental con mi amigo de la infancia. —Acepto la invitación para convertirme en la jefa guerrera de la manada Silver Crest. Más tarde, cuando Kade descubrió que yo había captado la atención de su mayor rival, enloqueció.

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.

On the night of her daughter’s fourth birthday, Luna Kelly loses everything, her husband, her title, and the fragile illusion of peace she’s fought to protect. Betrayed by her mate and her own sister, branded a traitor, and imprisoned beneath the pack she once led, Kelly discovers that the curse that once stole her wolf might be the only thing that can save her child and burn her enemies to ash. But when an exiled prince returns from the shadows with a deal bound in blood and promises, Kelly must decide: stay broken under her husband’s rule, or rise as something the Moon Goddess never intended, a Luna reborn in fury and fire.

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."

After my sister's death, I signed a five-year contract marriage with her mafia husband, Horton Falcone. I became the stepmother to my five-year-old nephew, Luca. On my birthday, I wore my late sister's diamond cross necklace, not realizing what it was. At the family dinner, Luca walked up to me with a glass of red wine and threw the wine in my face. The red wine dripped down my cheeks, its sharp scent stinging my eyes and staining my white dress. He tilted his head back to look up at me, his eyes as cold and cruel as his father's. "Don't think you can replace my mom just because you married into the Falcone family," he said with a malicious grin. "You're the reason she's dead." "I wish you were the one who died. Then I could smash your gravestone instead of celebrating this stupid birthday." "I swear, when I grow up, the first thing I'll do is dump you in the Hudson River myself!" The memory stung as sharply as the wine, and all I could taste was despair. I stared at the child I had spent five years raising as my own, a sharp pain pulsing in my chest. I had thought I could devote myself to the Falcone family, that I could win him over with my love. But now, I was just so tired of it all. It was a family with no love, a child who saw me as his mortal enemy. I stopped deluding myself. It was time to let go. But after I left, that arrogant father and son came crawling back to me like whipped dogs, begging for my forgiveness.

Without Kaelen's knowledge, I had his little plaything sent out of North America. That same night, he cast a blood-vine curse on my parents, banishing them to the wilds—a wasteland prowled by rogues. He was going to trade my parents' lives for the whereabouts of his plaything. Kaelen pushed a communication crystal in front of me. Inside it, my parents were ensnared by blood-red vines, the thorns digging deep into their flesh. Drops of dark crimson blood fell, one by one, onto the barren earth. A countdown timer pulsed in stark red digits on their chests. 23:59:59 23:59:58 He sat across from me, a black suit tailored to perfection molded to his lean, powerful frame. His long fingers tapped a light, steady rhythm on the solid wood table, as if he were waiting for a trivial business deal to close. "Estelle, you have twenty-four hours." His voice was low and calm, laced with a venomous tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Cassandra?"

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!"