The Smiling Proud Wanderer

RISE ABOVE THE ZODIACS SERIES | Uno - AQUARIUS Title: Show Me How (Jan Quaro Zodiac's Story) Genre: Romantic comedy | Light Erotica | R-18 Synopsis: Jan Quaro Zodiac is the owner of the "Panaderia De Quaro". Tagamasa. Tagasalang. Tagabalot. Tagabantay. Tagatinda. Tagasilbi. He is a one-man army; kaya niyang gawin ang lahat ng mga gawain sa shop nang mag-isa. He has never employed a single soul since he opened his business as he was just too proud and confident working alone. He has been running his bread-slash-coffee shop for years now, at ang madalas niyang mga customers ay pawang mga babaeng estudyante sa katabing kolehiyo na walang ibang ginawa kung hindi magpa-cute sa kaniya. Everybody wants to get the shop owner's attention, but if you ain't buying his bread and cookies, Quaro won't entertain. Pero iba ang diskarte ng isang dalagita na matagal nang pabalik-balik sa shop ni Quaro; dinaan ba naman sa mala-Oscars na drama ang binata upang mapansin nito? Kahit ang matalino at wais na si Quaro ay nalinlang! Paanong drama at anong diskarte ba 'ka mo? You will have to read and find out yourself.

My name is Freya, I'm 16 but will be turning 17 in a few weeks, I'm a Junior at Belleview High, I'm part of the art club along with the photography club, I have straight A's which has always made my dad proud of me. I am finally out of that awkward teenage stage where my head was to big for my body, plus I'm no longer built like a little boy. Andrew is 17, 6 foot at least, with dark chocolate brown hair, the most piercing blue eyes i have ever seen in my life, with a strong jaw and the most perfect tan pink lush lips that I would love to crash my own against, he's built like a God and just his eyes can send a shiver down my spine. Everything about him makes my insides tense. He pushes me against a wall, pinning me to it while holding my hands above my head, his deep voice vibrating through my chest as he speaks with our closeness. Does he want me the way I want him? Can we hide what happens between us from our parent? I will risk it all for him. Will he do the same for me?

In her third year of dating Jackson Hunter, the cool and proud Lumina Walker took out a secret loan of one million dollars to repay his debt. She even resorted to performing stripteases in a bar. Everything changed when she overheard a shocking conversation between him and his friends. "You're ruthless even to yourself! Just to get back at Lumina, you pretended to be a bartender for three years, tricked her into taking out a loan for you, and used her nude video as collateral. You even got her to strip at your bar! " "If she ever found out that you're the loan shark and own the bar she stripped at… She'd probably drop dead from anger right there and then!" another chimed in. Celia Price was Lumina's living nightmare, her tormentor for nine years since their middle school days—relentless bullying, harassment, and abuse. The painful twist? Celia was Jackson's secret love all along—for a decade, to be exact. Yet Lumina didn't cry, didn't fight back. So when her Uncle Howard called and ordered her to marry the mute oldest son of the powerful Morgan family from Crown City, she agreed without hesitation.

Freya Garrick has spent twenty-five years of her life believing werewolves are monsters. Her hunter father trained her to become a werewolf hunter like him while harboring the belief that they killed her mother. She lived her everyday life like this with her father and bethrothed, hunter Lucian, until they heard of a new feral Alpha in Eryndor—Alpha Torin— He’s dark, vicious, and untouchable. He’s avenging his brother’s death and ordered for humans to be captured. Freya was among these humans, but she disguised as a man to get her way through him and kill him. But fate delivers a fatal twist: Alpha Torin is her mate. How could a human be fated to a wolf? She didn’t live long to know because she was killed by his Luna out of pure jealousy. Freya died only to be reborn as a dangerous and cursed hybrid. The kind of creature even Alphas fear. Now she must find out about her real identity, and also either make her father proud, or fall in love with the ruthless Alpha. “She’s a cursed hybrid,” the pack witch warned. “And she is not to be mated.” — What happens when the Alpha couldn’t stop his endless craving for her?

Alessandro is faced with difficulty as he protects the president’s proud and sexy daughter who was trying her best to get him fired. Things gets twisted as he finds himself on her bed and is unable to stay away. He finds himself attracted to her but is afraid of all the happenings in her life as the election drew closer. Isabelle hates her life as the president’s daughter and is always in opposition to her father who wanted to run for a second tenure. She blames her father solely for the death of her mother and despises him, doing things to ruin his image. Isabelle gets too comfy with her guard and together they began finding secrets about the death of her mother, how her father was able to win the election and the plan of her fiancée’s father to kill her father. She is in disarray when she discovers that her mother’s best friend has two kids for her father. Going through all these, scandals arise as the media is hot with news from her fellow actresses who hates her and her two best friends who wants all what she has. Alessandro forgets about all her hatred for him and stands by her, giving her the support she needed even when her father was being sentenced to jail and his properties were being confiscated..

It's the tenth anniversary of my bonding with my warrior mate, Owen Chase, and also our son Leo's birthday. A month earlier, I spent $8000 arranging a trip to the Blood Moon Forest. I plan to take my mate and pup to the Moon Goddess' sacred grounds to receive her blessings. This is supposed to be a happy anniversary celebration for our complete werewolf family. I've prepared everything and booked tickets for the Twilight Coach. But on the night before our departure, Owen and Leo suddenly block our mind-link. "Dad and I are having dinner with Ms. Emma on the 24th floor of Moonlight Restaurant. We've cancelled the tickets—we're not going." The call ends there. They promptly block my number as well. I rush back to our pack overnight, only to find that the security system no longer recognizes me. That night, every household locks its doors and activates protective barriers against the toxic mist of the Silver Mines in the nearby Moonveil Valley, while I could only huddle on the stone steps outside our house, inhaling the silver-laden fog all night. The poisonous substances flood my systems. I am sent to the hospital, burning with fever as my wolf grows weaker with every labored breath. Meanwhile, my family is busy touring Central City with Emma Skinner, spending the money I had worked so hard to earn. Owen posts a photo on his social media. In the photo, Emma, my mate Owen, and my child Leo stand hand-in-hand in front of the wishing fountain in Central City, all smiling brightly. The caption reads: "A perfect trip, a perfect family of three." It is only then that I finally understand—this family exists in name only. It's time for me to rebuild my life.

Extract The thought of Louis stalking me send cold shivers down my spine. Cold sweats formed on my forehead and I could feel my make-up washing off by my sweats. " Who are you?" Austin roared, but the wicked smile on Louis's face never left my mind. Why was he smiling that way? I couldn't help but wonder with my body trembling. " Louis Rusev" Louis answered and the audience gasped. At this moment, the priest had disappeared and everyone was holding their breath. " The alpha of lake pack?" Austin asked with squinted eyes to be sure the person standing before him wasn't an imposter. I didn't tell Austin the identity of my ex-mate, I only told him what happened between us. " Bravo, you know me well" Louis applauded and approached us on the stage. " What do you want?" Austin asked and I felt his grip tightened around my wrist in a protective manner. " I want my mate back" Louis answered calmly with a domineering voice. My heart dropped to my stomach at his response and I felt tears brimming in my eyes. Didn't he reject me? Didn't he send me away? why did he appear suddenly? In a world where people go over the moon when they find their mate, Nora's life crumbled after finding hers. Happy that her long-time crush, Alpha Louis Rusev was now her mate, she offered herself to him willingly not knowing Fate was Tempting her. How far can she survive the cruel action of fate and the partiality of the moon goddess?

There was a woman named Victoria Manansala, she belongs to a poor family. She has a beloved parents who are Aling Beth and Mang Echo. One night, when the moon was full, while Victoria and Sebastian were on their way home they encountered men, then they kidnapped her. When she wakes up, she saw an old man smiling in front of her. She found out that she is the long-lost granddaughter of Senior Fernan. And her parents was already dead. Her parents explains the truth about her. On the city, she fell in love with Lucas, but it brought her pain. On that moment she realized that every full moon, something happened with her. There are four men fell in love with Victoria and they do everything for her to forget the pain. Victoria woke up in the dark room with Tom. She was kidnapped by a person who's the reason why she lost. She discovers the real identity of Tom as well. The two escaped, as time goes by, they fall in love and became a couple. One day, Victoria was kidnapped again, she became missing. And she found by Aling Rosita and Mang Tonyo who takes care of her when she was unconscious. Without her knowing the two was her parents whom she thought were dead. When Victoria is away, she met other man named Fabio who fall in love with her. They found out the truth in the end, and the villain paid everything they did. Years later, one night Tom took Victoria for hiking. Tom proposed to Victoria on the peak of the mountain. She said yes with Tom and they get married. After one year Victoria gave birth to their twin babies, the baby boy was named Deneb while the girl was Star.

"Bind her up," I heard a woman's stern command. They roughly shoved me to the ground, placing my arms on a bench and tying them with ropes. "It’s an honor for you to be a surrogate candidate for our King! HOW DARE YOU try to escape?! Now you’ll pay the price!" As his partner handed him a pair of pliers, he flashed me a purely evil smile. My heart sank into my stomach. The king? Surrogate?! I had no idea what he was talking about... "NO PLEASE! Listen, you’ve got the wrong person..." They didn't even let me finish before they pulled out the nail on my index finger. "Ah-----" I thought I knew pain, but his actions proved I didn't. I had never experienced such torture; my helpless screams filled the entire dungeon. Tears streamed down my face, and my hands were soaked with innocent blood. The woman sat not far away, legs crossed, smiling at me. Soon, she raised her hand to signal everyone to leave and then crouched in front of me, slowly untying the ropes around me. "I know it's not you, but a she-wolf escaped. We'll use you to replace her. So, if you want to survive here, shut your mouth and do as you're told." Just like that, everything changed... *** Betrayed by my fated mate and my best friend. I, the powerful daughter of an Alpha, was scheduled to be executed on the false allegations of murdering my father and his comrades. Fate had other plans as I escaped but landed myself on an island ruled by a mysterious king, Asher Ludwig... No matter how difficult it is, I will fight my way back and reclaim everything that belongs to me!

I push through my Gamma warrior training ahead of schedule just to get back to the pack sooner. All I want is to stand beside my Alpha, Kyle Faucher, and finally complete our mate-bonding ceremony. But when I step into our house, scarred and feeling hopeful, I see 100 old boarding passes to the Darkmoon pack littering the floor. That pack is only a mile from my training grounds. Kyle's been that close for two years, and still, he never came. I sprint to the place where we were supposed to have our mate-bonding ceremony, clinging to the desperate hope that there's an explanation. But the moment I burst through the doors, I stopped cold. Kyle is down on one knee, dressed in a tailored suit, his eyes locked on someone with a softness I've never seen in him before. Standing across from him, smiling through her tears, is my stepsister, Vivian Blackwell. "Vivian, I haven't completed the mate-bonding ceremony with Serene. Say the word, and I'll reject her and mark you right now." At that moment, the world goes still, and I even forgot how to breathe. So this is what he's been doing while I was gone, chasing the woman he never let go of. Meanwhile, I spent those two years giving everything I had, trying to become someone worthy of standing by his side. I don't ask why or shed a tear. I just turn around and walk away. If she's what he wants, then so be it. The mate-bonding ceremony I dreamed of will be theirs instead. But the second I'm gone, he loses it and sends every warrior looking for me.