Through A Glass Darkly Shakespeare

Shadowed Veil (Book Two) Six weeks after the fall of Jade and the sealing of the Veil, peace finally touches Silverveil Pack — but it feels fragile, like glass underfoot. Baylee Reeve Vale, once the hunted and the cursed, is now Luna in truth. Her body heals, her bond with Collin deepens, and the life growing inside her glows with quiet power. Yet the scar Jade left in the world hums with strange energy — something ancient, waiting. As Baylee begins to sense whispers from the Veil that only she can hear, her allies prepare for what may come next. Heather stands fiercely at her side, Melody searches for answers in the ruins of prophecy, and Collin tightens the defenses of every border. But even as the packs rebuild, the Moon remains silent — and silence, they learn, is not mercy. When a wounded stranger emerges from the scar bearing the mark of an unknown god, Baylee realizes Jade’s fall was not the end but a beginning. The balance between realms has shifted, and the child she carries may be the key — or the catalyst — to what comes next. Torn between protecting her family and uncovering the truth, Baylee must face her destiny once again… Because peace was never the Moon’s final gift. It was her warning.

At my wedding, the giant screen that's supposed to show our photos suddenly switches to the groom's assistant's prenatal exam report. It clearly shows that he is the child's father. The assistant looks flustered and panicked as she rushes to apologize to me. The groom, on the other hand, stays perfectly calm and offers an explanation like it's no big deal. "I took pity on her because she got pregnant out of wedlock, so I went with her to the appointment and left my name. I'm going to be her kid's godfather, too." The day of her exam was also the day I went for my very first prenatal checkup. Everyone thinks I'll break down, but I simply reach up and tear off my veil. Then, I calmly schedule an abortion. "She really is pitiful, being pregnant without a partner by her side. She deserves this wedding more than I do." Then, I raise my champagne glass to congratulate him. "Congratulations to you both. May your shotgun wedding be a happy one, especially since it's happening with a bun in the oven."

Blurb: A retelling of Cinderella, with a twist. Her Prince never met her at a ball, but in a bike crash, when she tried to escape years of abuse. She was never the beauty in a glass slipper, but a wolfless girl born from an Alpha’s line. He was not a Prince Charming. Not a saviour. Just a Don from a line of ruthless Rogue Alphas, and heir to a fearsome security company the packs could not mess with. Yet Donna-Belle accepted whatever life threw at her when she wound up under his protection and had to sign a contract that promised his protection and her cooperation. As long as she had a way to get back her inheritance and fight her stepfamily, she did not mind getting entangled with danger and mixed signals. Being the Don’s ‘personal heiress’ was not a day’s job, but Donna was determined to raise her company to greater heights and get back at her abusive stepfamily. Even if she played with a volcano yet to erupt, she was set on breaking away her fears and insecurities and stepping up for herself. He never believed in the old myth of mates. She never wanted to be entrapped by him. They both never got what they wanted. Fate decided.

When I drink the amber-colored poisonous wine, I can hear the joyful melody of a toast song coming from the manor. The wedding between Emanuela Romano and my ex-fiance, Benedetto Martini, is being held there right now. The elderly butler, Vincenzo Romano, puts away the wine glass with a blank expression. The way he speaks is as somber as one sounds when they give a speech at a funeral. "You know the Don's will very well, Ms. Andreotti. Five years are officially up, yet neither Mr. Andreotti, Mr. Martini, nor Dr. Foscari is willing to pledge their loyalty to you via the blood vow. According to the rules, you must take your own life within seven days. "The Don had left the Ashwine to you as a means of protecting… what little pride you have." Scorching pain begins spreading from my throat. I just smile at Vincenzo in return. Pride? Does a bastard spawn of a loose Iernian woman deserve to retain pride of any sort in the cruel Andreotti family? I begin making my way toward the banquet hall, which is brightly lit. As I walk past the shimmering waters of the pond in the family garden, I can tell that the waters are insanely cold. Then again, nothing is as cold as my icy heart right now. After taking a deep breath, I fall face-first into the pond… only to feel an iron-clad grip wrenching me backward. As such, I collapse onto the lawn heavily. My older brother, Alessandro Andreotti, has bits of grass covering his expensive suit. Disgust is written all over his handsome face. "Eva!" he grits out through his teeth, his voice lowered. "Must you spoil the mood on Emanuela's big day?" He then scoots closer to me, his alcohol-tinged breath fanning over my face. "You want to die, huh? Go ahead and do that, but can you die somewhere further? Don't stain the Andreotti land!" Alessandro turns to walk in the direction of the radiant lights, leaving me on the lawn, completely covered in mud. I can feel the countdown of my lifespan burning my insides. Seven days… I only have seven days to live. Meanwhile, my very own brother wants me to die somewhere further away.

I gave up on my inheritance right during the time my love for Matteo Rossini ran the deepest. When I was about to leave, Papa looked at me before saying lightly, "I bet that you'll come home in three years." Back then, I didn't take his words to heart. After spending three years overcoming life's hurdles with Matteo, he finally becomes the Don of his family. On the day the inheritance party is to be held, I decide to wear a dress that I've treasured for a very long time but never had the heart to wear. But the moment I walk into the banquet hall, I see Matteo holding hands with a radiant young woman. She's Isabella Ginevra, a popular socialite in the elite society. Isabella flits among the guests charismatically, as though she were the lady of the house. She's capable of engaging in any conversational topic, be it finance strategies or channels to obtain firearms. I try to participate in a conversation, only for Isabella to cut me off with a titter. "I thought you've been spending the past few years being cooped up indoors. It turns out that you know a thing or two about these topics, huh?" Everyone around us falls silent for a brief moment. My expression freezes on my face. Then, I turn to look at Matteo subconsciously. But he doesn't even bother looking my way. Instead, he merely says softly, "We're talking business here, Bianca. You should sit with the other ladies." I clench my fists instantly. But in the end, I opt to not say anything and just walk away. Through the throngs of the guests, I can see Matteo and Isabella chatting animatedly with each other in low tones. For once, Matteo looks relaxed and at ease—an expression that I haven't seen for a long time. Suddenly, I hear a guest remarking, "If someone like Ms. Ginevra were to become the Donna, she'd be of great help to the Don." A chorus of agreements ring out around him. Matteo just smiles in return, though he doesn't deny that remark. In fact, he even toasts to Isabella and drinks to her in front of everyone. That's when I draw to my feet and walk over to snatch the glass out of his hand. "I think so too. In that case, she can have the position as the Donna, then."

"No stop. We should not be doing this. You are Noah's brother and my boss" Esme murmured and tried to push Leo away. But he didn't budge. He pinned her to the glass wall in his office and started kissing her. Her protests drowned with his kiss. ....... Esme stood on the Altar alone, waiting for the groom who dissappeared. Standing alone on the Altar on her big day should have been devastating. That too when the groom was her best friend of fifteen years and fiance of four years. She should have seen this coming. And she should be a crying mess. But she is not. Strangely, she is feeling relieved. Her gaze fixed on Leo Ashford, her Fiance's elder brother. The wrong brother she fell for. The brother she shouldn't be thinking about. The brother who is off limits. The last man to whom she shouldn't have lost her virginity to. 'I promise Esme, I will cherish you this time' she remembered Noah's promise from just a few hours ago. She felt bitter, because he couldn't even hold his promise for even a day.

At a gathering, I noticed that Jade Shaw, the woman that my best friend, Michael Ronan, had a crush on, slipped something into his drink. When she walked over and offered him the glass, I deliberately knocked it over, spilling the drugged wine and saving his life. She stormed off in anger. The very next day, she announced her engagement to someone else. Michael came to me in a rage, convinced that I had ruined things out of jealousy. "Taylor, if it weren't for your meddling, I would've already slept with her! She would've engaged with me instead! You just can't stand seeing me happy! You destroyed my love life! You'll pay for it with your life!" He shoved me off a high building. I died instantly. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of the gathering. Michael was staring at Jade with a lovestruck expression. Then, he glared at me, warning me not to interfere. So, he had been reborn too. But what he didn't know was that the woman that he adored had always been disgusted by his persistence. What she put in the drink wasn't some aphrodisiac. It was something lethal that could kill him.

The night before my fiancé, Soren, and I were supposed to leave for Northern Europe to start our new life, the sounds of a lively discussion drifted from his private club. "Christ, Boss, are you insane? Why the sudden marriage alliance with the Rosetti family to make a play for Italy? Didn't you say you were getting out of the life with Abby and heading north?" Soren leaned back into a leather sofa, his voice nonchalant and muffled by a cloud of smoke. "Plans change. Besides, remember, I'm the one who made her who she is." "Once she sees the new empire I'm building, that little canary will come flying right back to my cage. The woman can't live without me." I stood in the shadows of the club, a wine glass in my hand, a dull ache blooming in my chest. The anniversary gift I had so carefully chosen for Soren was still in my purse, waiting for me to give it to him. I slipped out of the smoke-filled club, tossed the gift into the nearest trash can, and booked a one-way ticket to Northern Europe. But what he didn't know was that just as he could betray our future for Monica, I could abandon him for mine. All those years we spent dancing with death were never just for his sake.

"In this pack, you aren't a guest. You're a trophy. And Alphas don't share their toys." Victor Cruz was a ghost. A premier dancer in a glass cage, hiding a lineage that could set the supernatural underworld on fire. When the Vargas brothers—the twin Alphas ruling the desert’s most brutal pack—offer him a seven-figure contract to be their "property," he takes it. It’s supposed to be a job: play the part, survive the heat, and disappear. Mateo Vargas is the charm—the silver-tongued predator who marks Victor with a scent so thick it screams mine to every wolf in the city. Alejandro Vargas is the blade—the cold, suspicious enforcer who wants to break Victor just to see what’s hiding underneath. One wants to worship him; the other wants to expose him. The Pack is hungry. But as the Vargas brothers pull Victor into a high-stakes world of blood-vows, ancient rivalries, and the looming threat of the Dragunov hunters, the lines of the contract begin to bleed. Victor isn't just a dancer anymore. He's a pawn in a war between Alphas, and the scent he’s carrying might just be the death of them all. In a world where loyalty is bought in gold and dominance is taken in blood, Victor must decide: will he run from the wolves, or will he learn to lead the pack?

On the night of Christmas Eve, Finn Shore, my boyfriend of three years, has invited me to his place for an official family dinner. As soon as I sit down and drink a glass of water, I collapse immediately. It turns out that Finn has drugged the water. "I'm sorry, Rosaline. If I don't cough up the payment, they'll throw me behind bars. My debtor is already targeting me, so please help me out. "Don't blame me for this, Rosaline. You only have your own face to blame—after all, you look so similar to the woman Mr. Olson is deeply in love with! Hell, you two look far too similar! "Once I clear my debt, I'll be free! Who knows? You might be able to live a lavish life with Mr. Olson as your lover! Isn't this a win-win situation for us?" I end up getting delivered to an insanely familiar estate. When I open my eyes groggily, I notice my surroundings. Isn't this Uncle Wesley's home? My uncle, Wesley Olson, has never fallen for any woman except my mom. In fact, she's his weakness. To think that Finn actually brought me here… I wonder who's the unlucky one in this situation.