Time-life Book Collections Novels & Stories

At the very moment Phoebe Stanton miscarries, her husband, Connor Russell, is celebrating the return of his first love. To him, her three years of devotion and companionship mean nothing more than being a live-in maid and cook. Phoebe gives up on him and decides to divorce. Everyone in their circle knows that Phoebe is clingy and impossible to shake off. "I bet she'll come crawling in a day." Connor sneers. "A day? That's too long—half a day at most." But the moment Phoebe signs the divorce papers, she decides never to look back. She throws herself into a new life. She revives her career, which she once abandoned, builds new connections, and meets new people. As time goes on, Connor no longer sees even a trace of Phoebe at home. He begins to panic. At an industry summit, he finally spots her, surrounded by admirers. Desperate, he pushes forward. "Phoebe, haven't you had enough of this tantrum?" But Gideon Blackwood suddenly steps in front of her, shoving Connor aside, his very demeanor chilling the air. "Don't touch my woman." Connor has never loved Phoebe. But now that he does, it's already too late. There's no longer a place for him in her world.

# Iron Valley Neah is human, living in a world that was never hers. After her parents die in a car crash when she is fifteen, her mother's best friend—the Luna of the Iron Valley Pack takes her in. Neah grows up alongside Caleb, the future Alpha, training with warriors, earning her place through grit and stubbornness alone. She has plans: college, business school, a life built on her own terms. She knows she will never have a mate. She knows she doesn't belong. Then everything shatters. Caleb finds his true mate and Neah is cast aside overnight. Wolves from rival packs show up at the border asking for her by name. A half-dead Alpha from the most powerful pack in three territories crashes into her life claiming *she* is his mate. And a phone call from a voice she buried three years ago delivers an impossible truth—her mother is alive, her father's death was no accident, and someone has been watching her since the day of the crash, waiting for the right moment to collect. Liam Ashford, the ruthless young Alpha of Shadow Peak, never wanted a mate. He watched the bond destroy his father and nearly destroy his pack. But his wolf dragged him across three territories to a human girl with no wolf, no rank, and no idea how valuable she really is. Neah doesn't need a mate. She needs answers. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes the bond she keeps rejecting may be the only thing standing between her and the people who want her dead. What is it about a ordinary human girl that has every powerful wolf in the region willing to kill or die to claim her?

The day we submitted our college applications, the school beauty, Hayley Law, suggested we all go rafting to unwind. Every single person in class raised their hand in agreement. In my previous life, as the class monitor, I did everything I could to stop them. Wild rafting was far too dangerous. Without any safety measures in place, accidents could easily happen. In the end, everyone made it back safely and got into the colleges they wanted. But before the semester even started, news came that Hayley had gone rafting alone, slipped into the water, and drowned. When Terry Vargas, my boyfriend and the most popular guy in school, heard what happened, he took the lead in organizing a memorial at sea. Then, when the waves were at their worst, he shoved me into the ocean. Later, when the police questioned them, they all told the same story as if they had planned it. "Katrina insisted on a sea burial for Hayley. During the storm, she got swept away by the waves and disappeared." They even produced fake evidence to clear Terry's name. My parents were shattered. They went to Terry again and again, desperate for the truth, but he had them set up and locked away in a mental institution, where they were tormented to death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Hayley first suggested the rafting trip. I stood there quietly, watching my classmates pile into the bus she had rented, heading off to that same reckless trip. This time, I would just look out for myself.

The Alpha I loved and his powerful father, the Lycan King, were both drugged with a Heat Potion. Without a second thought, I climbed into the King's bed. In my last life, I was forced to be Damien's cure. To mate with him. To bear his pups. But he spent every night at her grave, mourning his "true love," Isabella. He never touched me again. Five years into our mating, after an argument, he shifted into his wolf form. He tore me and my pups limb from limb. He was convinced I'd used some dirty trick to mark him, keeping him from his true love. He believed it was my fault Isabella left, heartbroken, and died in an "accident." When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back on the night they were drugged. This time, I will not be the cure. I will be the Queen.

Caroline Rossi was finally happy. Three months pregnant, with loving husbands, the Rossi twins. They knew about her dark past, and she knew about theirs. And they had just accepted each other. But what happens when their ex wife, who had been murdered years ago by the twins enemy, returns, alive?

On my 50th wedding anniversary, I took my worn, crumbling marriage certificate to City Hall to renew it. The clerk glanced at it—and froze. “This certificate is fake. Our records show you’ve never been married.” I stared. “Impossible. I’ve been married to Damien Slater for fifty years.” The clerk pulled up his file. “Well…Yes, Mr. Slater is married—but his wife’s name is Vanessa Grant.” Vanessa. His widowed sister-in-law. A military doctor who’d spent decades living among the troops. My hands shook as I returned home and confronted Damien. He didn’t even try to deny it. “I’ve treated you well all these years. Isn’t that enough? Vanessa is my true love. I only ever wanted her—our children, our life.” My son counseled me and said, “To spare your feelings, my parents kept it a secret their whole lives. You’re getting old now. What more do you want?” Only then did I learn the truth. The child I had raised with my own hands was never mine by blood. Decades ago, Vanessa and I gave birth on the same day. To ensure her child would grow up with intellect, privilege, and a future that I could provide, Damien switched our children. My own son? Damien drowned him in the pond the moment he drew breath. And I—fool that I was—raised Vanessa’s boy as my own. I even got him all the way to Claremont University. The truth broke me, and I collapsed. When I opened my eyes again—I was back. Back to the day I went into labor.

Riley was always considered a normal girl, until one night she gets kidnapped. What happens when she falls in love with the man who took her from everything?

Janet Sanders is at the top of her game and as a result, business has never been better, even with a new killer in town. After all, since her twin brother's murder at the hands of a deranged serial killer, not much can hurt or surprise you. That is, until she finds out that her father, Dan Sanders, may have been the culprit all along. Therefore Janet, now shrouded with an ironclad will, decided to do what she knows she can do best, dedicating all of her time to two things: her ever profitable career as an escort, and making sure that Dan Sanders is sent to the deepest pit in hell, even if it means she has to hand-deliver him to the devil herself. Now that the handsome Antonio has made his way back into her life with the hopes of capturing who the media has dubbed as "The Strangler" along with Janet's heart, she's dead set on sending him packing once and for all as she has seen firsthand the steep price of "love" for the Sanders family

Davina Russell had one goal before graduation—complete her ridiculous list and prove everyone wrong. Too bad, the last item got exposed to the entire school. And thanks to her long-time enemy, Shannon, she was stuck with an impossible challenge. When Kael, an exchange student, showed up—things got even more complicated. But Kael had secrets and Davina was somehow connected to it. Shannon wasn't also done ruining Davina's life. Worse? A third party showed up and suddenly seemed interested in Davina… and also had his own reasons for getting close. With graduation approaching and her reputation on the line, Davina must decide—would she stick to the plan, or risk it all for a chance at real love?

Everyone has a right to smile, love, and find happiness, but that wasn't the case for Hayat Ali. She is a 25-year-old Muslim girl who works as a school teacher. She lives with her loving father, evil stepmother and stepsister. Many will say that there's no such thing as an evil stepmother or even a stepsister but this is because they have read Cinderella or even read this book. Ever since she could remember her stepmother Maryam, hated her because of the love that she got from her father. She and her daughter always try to make life miserable for Hayat when her father isn't at home. All that changed when a young man saw how she treated his son with the kindness and love that he wanted for his son. Aayan Muhsin is a 30-year-old father and widower who is a millionaire. Aayan hasn't believed in God ever since he lost his wife due to cancer four years after his son Azaan was born. He raised his son with the help of his parents. When he lost his wife, he lost everything that he held dear to his heart except his son. Azaan. All that changed when he saw her with his son. Aayan knew that his son needed a mother's love and that he would need her guidance. So when his father told him about her. He accepted it for his son's sake. But what he didn't know was the fact that she would change their lives for the better or maybe for the worse. Trials will make them question their love and loyalty to each other. People would want to keep them apart, will they succeed, or will their love for each other be stronger than any trial that will come their way?