The Love We Left Behind Novels & Stories

Our love was unbreakable, our bond stronger than ever, and as we embarked on our journey back to the pack, we did so with renewed hearts and a deeper appreciation for the love that had brought us together in the first place. Our mountain retreat had been a reminder that, no matter the challenges we faced, we had each other, and that was enough to conquer anything that lay ahead. Our love was a force of nature, unwavering and everlasting, just like the mountains that had cradled our love story.

“Oh, honey, he’ll be back. He can’t stay away from you for long. He loves you.” “No, he doesn’t. He hates me. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have left.” She rubbed my back. “He does, baby. Just give it time.” “No,” I sniffled. “It’s over. He left. There’s no more time, Mom. There’s no more hope. There’s no more maybes.” I paused to wipe my runny nose on my shirt. “There’s no more love. There’s just nothing. Not anymore."

something broke open in me. Quietly. Permanently. Because I remembered the woman I left five years ago. I remembered how tightly she held her grief. And now she was letting it go. Not for me. But for herself. And maybe that was the most beautiful thing she’d ever done. The applause rose around me. I stayed seated. Clapped once. Then stood. I didn’t approach her. Didn’t corner her after. Didn’t send a note. I just left. Because love, real love, sometimes means walking away when the person you love finally stands alone.

"Let him go. Let it all go." Nelson and Leora stood as well, coming over to us. "Come on," Leora whispered. "I don't want to keep remembering the past when the present is this beautiful." We were four people who had survived a tapestry of secrets, pain, betrayal, and danger. And yet, we found love. Found one another. Found peace. I raised my glass. "To letting go." Everyone else did the same. Four glasses clinked together. "To peace," said Lily.

And we still stayed here We stayed like we always had. Like we always would. Because what else could we do? Because he was ours. Because love doesn’t leave. Not even here with him Not even now.

That quiet, permanent kind of ache that tucks itself beneath your ribs and only stirs when you smell his cologne or pass by the jazz section in a record store. But love wasn’t always a reason to stay. Sometimes, love was just the echo of what could’ve been. And I was tired of living in echoes. I walked back to my laptop, flipped it open, and booked the next flight back to Ohio. Friday morning. Early. I clicked confirm. Then sat back, staring at the ceiling. Maybe this wasn’t the end for us. But if it was… it felt like the softest, kindest kind of goodbye. Not with screaming.

"Because power fades, but love. love is the legacy that never dies." The room fell silent-reverent, peaceful-as the stars outside shimmered like tiny blessings. And somewhere in the city below, Saben looked out his window at those same stars, the ring box resting in his hand, his heart full and steady. Tomorrow, he'd make the woman he loved his forever. And for the first time in a long time-the Thompsons were whole again.

"Why can't you just set me free? There are plenty of women who like you. Why must you keep barking up my tree instead?" Aster didn't deny it. "But I realized that I've fallen in love with you. You were the one who laid my mother to rest five years ago, and ever since then, our fates have been intertwined. I had been too ignorant of you in the past, but it won't happen again. I swear." Carina still felt a little embarrassed hearing Aster bring up Selena's funeral. Selena had been very dependent on Carina in her final days, and she even requested that Carina take care of everything, including the funeral, after she had passed on.

Alessia picked it up. Her name was written on it. Again. Another message. Another secret. She opened it slowly. Inside was a photograph. Her. Lorenzo. Six years ago. The night everything ended. But this was not a photograph she had ever seen. Because in the background stood someone else. Someone who had witnessed their final goodbye. Someone who knew the truth. On the back of the photograph were six words: You left because they made you. Alessia's hands began to shake. Lorenzo looked at the photograph.

Five years after Alpha Benedict Crowell sacrificed their unborn pup to save his mistress and shattered their sacred mate bond, exiled Luna Mavis Thornefield is forced back into his dark estate under a bloody frame-up. When a leaked medical file reveals her son is secretly alive inside the pack nursery, Mavis must navigate Benedict’s suffocating possessiveness, lethal pack secrets, and a deadly kidnapping conspiracy to reclaim her child—or destroy the cold Alpha who ripped her life apart before he can seal his new bonding ceremony. [Werewolf Romance, Fated Mates, Secret Heir, Second Chance, Alpha Dominance, Rejection & Vengeance, Pack Politics, Enemies to Lovers]