The Mating

The night before our Mating Ceremony, my fated mate, Alpha Ryker of the Howling Moon Pack, ordered me to give him the Moon Soul Crystal—the very thing that protected my pack, the Willow Creek Pack. He said he needed it to power up the Howling Moon Pack's Blood Moon Altar. He also promised he'd keep me and my people safe. But he didn't know that we, the healers of the Willow Creek Pack, can only create one Moon Soul Crystal in our entire lives. Making one takes a crazy amount of moon energy. It's the treasure that keeps our pack alive. My mother, worried about me using up my moon energy while I was pregnant, gave up her own Moon Soul Crystal instead. But just three months after Ryker and I were mated, she got sick, fast. She was dying. I knelt in front of Ryker, crying, begging him for the Silverleaf Herb from the Howling Moon's forbidden grounds. It was the only thing that could save my mom. But he just looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment, and kicked me away. "I asked for the Moon Soul Crystal to test you," he snarled. "And just as I thought, you married me for our pack's treasures! Your mother's not sick. You're making it all up!" "You don't deserve to be the Luna of the Howling Moon Pack!" It wasn't until after my mother died, when he was arguing with me, trying to kick me out of the pack, that my mother's things fell and scattered everywhere. Her Soul Stone, the symbol of a wolf's spirit, shattered. That's when he finally realized he was wrong. He fell to his knees, begging me not to leave, crying for me to forgive him.

"You ignore me, you don't want me, you don't touch me, you don't fuck me, and then you come at me with this weak threat just because I danced with someone else at the party?" I managed to push out the words, "Let's face it, you're not going to do a damn thing and just keep playing saint-maybe your machine has rusted after all these years of being without a mate." His jaw tensed, and his fingers dug into my skin, but then a low, husky chuckle escaped him. "You really enjoy pushing boundaries, don't you?" His free hand traced a slow path down between us and he suddenly cupped my pussy causing a gasp to slip past my lips, "Just so you know, Poppet-I have a lot of respect for you, but in the next hour, I'm going to make you forget that I ever respected you at all." Before I could retort, his lips brushed against my ear, a wicked smirk playing on his lips. "Brace yourself-because I am about to fuck you like my whore and I'll show you just how well this machine still fucking works." *** When Aurora Steel's mate cheats on her with her best friend just before their mating ceremony, her world shatters. But....Just as she hits rock bottom, a familiar face reappears in their pack-the Alpha of BloodFang Legion, Jaxon Blackwood, her father's friend, and...the crush she'd long buried. And suddenly it seems there is no better choice for revenge against her cheating mate than letting a hot, cold, and older alpha fuck her. But in the world of revenge, betrayal, illicit desires, and forbidden temptation, an affair hidden from everyone with an Alpha like Jaxon is anything but a wise choice, isn't it? Especially when Jaxon'd enemies were after him.

At the Mating Ceremony, my mate Alexander rejected our mate bond in front of the entire pack, then turned around and marked Sarah instead. While I endured the excruciating pain of rejection and the pack's vicious gossip, Alexander's brother Ethan walked into our ceremonial grounds. He presented me with nine hundred and ninety-nine Moonflowers, confessing he had secretly loved me for years. His wolf had recognized me as his mate, and he'd dreamed of making me his. I was shocked to discover he was my second chance mate, and touched that he saved me from humiliation. I immediately nodded in agreement. Five years into our marriage, I had miscarried five times, and had finally managed to conceive again. Ethan held me carefully, spinning me around with joy, promising to take good care of me and the baby, even if it cost him his life. Four months into my pregnancy, I overheard him talking with the pack healer: "Alpha Ethan, just like the previous five times, the miscarriage drugs have been added to your wife's pregnancy supplements." "I don't understand. Sarah was able to bear your child, so why not your wife?" Ethan laughed bitterly: "Only those who produce an heir can inherit the Alpha position. Alexander is infertile, and I want Sarah to fulfill her wish of becoming the pack's Alpha Female." Alexander and Ethan were the children of our pack's Alpha. The Alpha had declared that whoever produced an heir first would become the next Alpha of the pack. All those passionate vows and promises were nothing but lies. The brothers, Alexander and Ethan, both loved Sarah. If that was how things stood, I would leave. I returned to our bedroom and secretly took out my phone, dialing a number I thought I would never contact again: "I agree to return and inherit the Shadow Pack. But I need you to do me a favor."

I've been mated to Alpha Alaric Goremane for five years, and I'm still a virgin. On the night he claims me, I stand before him, naked. With my heart pounding against my chest, I muster the courage to step forward and wrap my arms around him. But he pulls away, and then comes the words that lingered in my head for years like a devil's whisper. "I'm sorry, Kyna. I have severe germaphobia and can't handle physical intimacy. Please give me some time." In that moment, my heart plunges into the abyss. But when I see the torment in his eyes, I convince myself that he doesn't love me any less. He's just sick, and all I have to do is wait. So, I wait for five long years. On our fifth mating anniversary, I cross thousands of miles in a raging storm just to see the look of delight on his face when I surprise him. Sure enough, I see the warmth in his eyes and gentleness in his expression. But what a pity… it isn't for me. The Alpha, who claims to be an obsessive clean freak, is on one knee before his childhood sweetheart. He gently slips off her rain-soaked heels, dries her feet, and warms her cold toes with the heat of his palm. It's as if that's the most natural thing in the world, and as if his world holds no one else. He sighs. "Serene, how many times have I told you that you'll catch a cold? What would you do without me?" In that instant, the last of my delusions shatters. I finally realize that his germaphobia is selective, and I'm simply the one he can't bear to touch. Instead of making a fuss, I slip off the ring I've worn for five years and walk into the storm without looking back. Later, I hear he tries to win me back with the most expensive roses in the city. But the Kyna Lupen who loves him is long gone.

When Bryan Knox rejects Jessica as his mate on their third mating ceremony anniversary for his ex-mate, he doesn't know she's carrying his twins. After a near-fatal accident, Jessica discovers she's actually the heir to the powerful Knox Pack lineage. Six years later, she's the respected Alpha Female and single mother, while Bryan's pack faces potential disbandment. Their paths cross at a pack gathering where Bryan meets his daughter without knowing she's his. Now, Bryan must seek help from the Alpha of the Knox Pack, not knowing it's his ex-mate Jessica. As old feelings resurface and secrets unravel, Jessica must decide if she can trust the mate who broke her heart with both her pack's future and their children's hearts. Characterization Jessica Knox (Main Female Lead) - Age: Early 30s - Role: Alpha Female of Knox Pack - Features: Strong, strategic, protective - Character Arc: Transforms from heartbroken mate to powerful pack leader - Connection: Mother to twins, Bryan's rejected mate, rightful heir to pack leadership Bryan Knox (Main Male Lead) - Age: Mid 30s - Role: Struggling Pack Beta - Features: Ambitious, regretful, seeking redemption - Character Arc: From dismissive mate to remorseful father - Connection: Father to twins (unknown to him), Jessica's rejected mate Sandra Gibbs (Antagonist) - Age: Early 30s - Role: Bryan's ex-mate, challenges pack hierarchy - Features: Manipulative, power-hungry - Connection: Bryan's previous mate, Jessica's rival Adam (Supporting Character) - Age: Early 40s - Role: Jessica's loyal pack advisor and mentor - Features: Wise, protective, experienced pack elder - Connection: Jessica's most trusted advisor and children's guardian James and Felicia Knox (Supporting Characters) - Age: 6 years old - Role: Jessica's twins - Features: Strong wolf traits, unaware of father's identity - Connection: Bryan and Jessica's children