The Shadow He Left Ao3

Celeste Cox sent me a photo on WhatsApp. I opened it to find a picture of the school heartthrob and me in an intimate embrace, the pose as suggestive as could be.

My Alpha mate, Dominic, rules the entire Stormfang Pack, but in our ten years together, he has never once given me a gift. Even our bonding tokens—a pair of rare healing crystals that cost me an entire year's savings—were taken by him without hesitation. He claimed that as Alpha he needed to appear frugal and understated, which is why he marked me in secret without hosting a proper mating ceremony. Because of this, most pack members don't even know I'm his mate. Yet when Sylvia, his childhood sweetheart, returned to Stormfang territory, he publicly announced their mating plans. He even dipped into the pack's long-term savings to throw her an extravagant celebration. When my mother was attacked by rogue wolves and left critically wounded, I begged Dominic to return my healing crystals—the only things that could save her life. Instead of helping, he denied knowing me in front of the entire pack and ordered his guards to drive me away with burning torches. Later, my mother died during the Blood Moon Festival. I lost my only family during what should have been our most sacred celebration. I renounced my Stormfang membership that same night and accepted the Northern Shadow Pack's Chief Healer position. While packing my belongings, Dominic returned from his honeymoon with Sylvia. He found me and assumed I was merely sulking. For the first time ever, he made a generous offer: "Come on, what could possibly happen to your mother? At worst, I'll give you that fancy mating ceremony you've always wanted. That should satisfy her desire to be an Alpha's mother-in-law." What he didn't realize was that from the moment my mother died, I had already sworn to the Moon Goddess that our mate bond would be broken forever.

For ten years, I spent by Damien Thorne's side, helping him transform from a servant's son into the powerful Alpha of Shadow Pack. I believed I would eventually see the day he'd claim me as his mate. Instead, he brought home Scarlett Rivers, his childhood sweetheart who had been living abroad, treating her like precious royalty while making her his Luna. To help his beloved Scarlett and free her parents from prison, Damien handed over my healing potion patents without hesitation. Even my own son was placed in Scarlett's care to secure her position as Shadow Pack's Luna. I became everything to Damien—his financial backer, his assistant, his healer, his bed partner—everything except what I truly wanted to be: his rightful mate. "Just wait a little longer," Damien always promised me. "Once I repay my debt to my childhood benefactor, you'll be my only mate." So, I kept waiting and waiting. But Damien seemed to forget his promises entirely. Even my own child began to despise me. Suddenly, exhaustion hit me like a tidal wave. Waiting felt pointless. I didn't want to do it anymore.

"You were just a tool, Imogene." Her heart stopped. "And I was foolish enough to believe you cared." *** Imogene Scott had always known her place—by Damien Shaw’s side, even when his love was a distant dream. Marrying her only because of an unexpected pregnancy, Damien’s affection never blossomed. Instead, her devotion turned him from a mere sales manager into the billionaire CEO of IMU, one of Europe’s most powerful tech empires. But her sacrifices weren’t enough. After losing their baby, Damien’s coldness deepened, sealing their marriage with an unspoken “no meddling” rule. Imogene’s reward? Watching Damien parade countless mistresses, all while she buried her own dreams to fuel his. She believed, naively, that one day he’d see her worth. But when he fell in love with her stepsister and served her with divorce papers, Imogene’s world shattered. Realizing she was nothing more than a pawn in Damien’s game, she vanished—pregnant and determined to protect her unborn child. Three years later, Imogene returns, not as the broken woman who fled but as a renowned artist and mother to their two-year-old daughter. Now, Damien realizes what he’s lost and wants her back. But this time, Imogene is ready to fight, and she’s not making the same mistake twice.

Sofia Esteban had given up her fortune, her family and her name for love... only to have her husband shove divorce papers in her face and announce he was marrying another woman… who claimed to be pregnant with his child. Two months later, Sofia wakes from a coma with no memory… only to discover the man she loved has married her rival and her life has been shattered…

When Maya walks away from Alvarez, she thinks she’s freeing herself from a toxic love. But love doesn’t die easily. Alvarez refuses to let go, torn between rage and longing, while a new man steps into Maya’s life — calm, patient, everything Alvarez never was. Caught between memory and possibility, Maya must face the truth: can broken love be fixed, or is it better left behind?

Zyline had liked Nick for a long time. There were six of them in their group of friends, including Nick. Everyone knew about her feelings for him-except, it seemed, Nick himself. She couldn't tell if he was just insensitive or if he simply didn't have any feelings for her. Brent was her closest best friend among all of them, and even though she was too shy to tell him about her feelings for Nick, he knew anyway. What if, one night, Brent kissed her and said they should give it a try? She couldn't deny the spark she felt when he kissed her. She agreed to what he wanted-they would try to be together but in secret. Now, she was utterly confused. When Brent thought that she still had feelings for Nick, he suddenly left and disappeared without a word. That's when Nick finally pursued her for real. But why, instead of being happy-finally noticed by Nick as a woman-did her heart keep longing for Brent? Brent, who hadn't reached out to her since the night when something almost happened between them.

In the kingdom of Drakemont, silence hits harder than any blade sometimes. Selene is this mute servant girl, cursed to stay hidden in the shadows her whole life. She has always known how to survive without anyone noticing her. But then one night changes everything. A single glance from King Aurek, the ruthless Alpha King, breaks down those walls she built around her secret. His wolf wakes up inside him. It claims her as his mate, something she can never let happen. Destiny bites deep, though. The queen-in-waiting, this witch named Veyra, will do anything to lock down Aurek's throne. Selene turns into the target right away. Her only real ally is Maris, an old childhood friend. But that loyalty has some serious weak spots in it. The court is full of whispers that cut like daggers. Alliances shift around like smoke in the wind. Selene has to figure out if she runs from the king's shadow. Or if she steps right into it completely. The more she gets pulled into Aurek's world, the more secrets she finds out about. There are his cursed brothers, the ones who shift between man and beast all the time. A prophecy talks about a silent queen coming along. And a betrayal that is so close to home, it might stab her heart before any enemy even gets near. Selene and Aurek are stuck between love and just trying to stay alive. They have to untangle all the lies holding them together. Otherwise, the witch's crown gets made from their blood. In a realm run by wolves, where silence covers up the worst truths, The Alpha King's Shadow tells a haunting story. It is about forbidden love. Dark magic pulls at everything. And a fate that just will not let go.

My husband—one of the top elites of Raventon Street, cold and ruthless to his core—keeps a stray orphan girl he rescued from the slums hidden in an apartment. Rowena Fletcher is clean and fragile, like a newborn creature untouched by the world. And somehow, that innocence softens something in Micah Benson—a man who's spent years clawing his way through the brutal wilderness of capital. He thinks this secret game of his goes unnoticed, but I find out anyway. At the Benson family's charity gala, I smash his favorite antique vase in front of everyone. He doesn't even flinch as he simply signals the bodyguards to clean up the mess and then hands me a divorce agreement. "Sign it, Sabrina. The penthouse in Ashbourne City is yours." I burn the divorce agreement—and that's when he finally shows his true colors. He freezes all my accounts and launches a hostile takeover of my gallery. On the night the storm hits, I get a call from the hospital. My sister, Roberta Slater, has been in a car crash—she needs emergency surgery. In the security footage, he stood there, watching coldly. "Sign the papers, or start planning a funeral." I dropped to my knees and slammed my forehead against the floor, blood trailing down my face as I begged, "Micah, please… don't…" A long, flat beep echoed from the other end of the line, slicing through the sound of rain. Then a voice on the line says, "We did everything we could." However, I have gone back in time—to the day I first found out about Rowena. This time, I no longer cry. Instead, I plan my divorce on my own terms. I call Valebrook Bank that same night and begin preparing for a quiet disappearance. But the moment I truly vanish from his world, Micah loses his mind.

My Alpha mate's childhood sweetheart and I are pregnant at the same time. To protect her reputation, he announces to the public that her pup is his. However, he claims that my pup is a bastard that I conceived after having an affair with another man. I go from being the noble Luna to a despised slut everyone scorns instantly. When I question my mate, Simon Latham, he shrugs and says, "Xandra has always been a goody two-shoes. She won't be able to handle the gossip from being pregnant without a mate. You're the Luna. Isn't it your duty to help your people?" On that day, any form of affection and love I ever felt for him die down completely. I secretly schedule an abortion and book a plane ticket. From now on, I will leave Simon for good.