Today Dinner Chapter 9

I thought rejection was the worst pain a wolf could endure. I was wrong. The night Damon Calder left me marked but unclaimed, he shattered me. My body burned for him, my wolf howled for him—but he walked away without looking back. Now fate has decided to twist the knife deeper. My mother has married his father. Which makes the boy who broke me…the stepbrother who haunts me across the dinner table. The bond between us is half-finished, raw and vicious, clawing through my veins. Every brush of his hand, every stolen glance, every growled word drags me closer to the edge I swore I’d never cross again. But Damon isn’t just my ex-mate. He’s the outlaw Alpha’s son. Dangerous. Reckless. Marked by secrets that could burn us all alive. I should stay away. I should hate him for what he did. But when his storm-gray eyes lock on mine and his voice drops low enough for only me to hear— “Run to whoever you want, Lyric. Your wolf will crawl back to me.” I realize the truth. No matter how hard I fight it… I’m already his.

Attending the ten-year high school reunion for the cheerleading squad and football team, I arrived in an old domestic Ford, while the parking lot was filled with Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maybachs, and even a gold Bugatti. It was as if I were the only relic from another era. The moment I stepped out of my car, a former classmate, whose name I could no longer remember, looked at me with a sneer. “Well, if it isn’t the coach’s pet. How is it that after all these years, you’re still driving this beat-up old Ford?” “This thing looks like it belongs in a scrapyard from the last century!” During dinner, everyone gathered around the Bugatti owner, raising their glasses in celebration, while I was left ignored at the side. Only the cheerleading assistant sat next to me, raising a glass in my direction with a comforting smile. “Don’t let it get to you. Your car may be old, but I believe you’ll be driving a luxury car one day.” I let a small smirk curl at the corner of my lips and lowered my voice. “This car may look unimpressive, but it’s been fully upgraded with a carbon fiber body. It’s already worth over half a million dollars. Too bad, none of you even recognized its true value.”

Alex wanted a perfect Christmas,her expectations were high, a Christmas Eve dinner and a well spent Christmas, all but few of everything she wanted however she got the shock of her life when her boyfriend suddenly broke up with her for no reason. Every expectation she had for Christmas crashed and she was left shattered and broken. Finding out that her ex is a brother to the guy who is bent on punishing her for crashing his car, Alex concluded she will pay him back by pretending to date Josh. Her plan backfired when Josh's grandfather insisted that a wedding will happen. It was up to Alex to make a decision whether she wants to get married and give her kid brother a future or fight her way out of the wedding. Luke would not stand by and watch his ex-girlfriend marry his brother because he still loves her. Josh, who thought Alex is a golddigger, will not accept her so easily. Josh's grandfather was more than happy to set the wedding because he believes Alex is more than who she thinks she is. The long secret that was buried, how long will it stay buried before the world unveils it? Was Alex truly who she thinks she is or she is more?

Three years after graduation, I was waiting tables at a restaurant when I happened to run into some of my old classmates having a private dinner there. The moment they saw me carrying trays, they burst out laughing. My old rival Elliot sneered that I was a useless nobody, then pulled out 50 bucks and tossed it in front of me, telling me to lick the food scraps off his shoe. "Clean my shoe, and that fifty's yours!" Even my ex-girlfriend joined in to humiliate me. "I can't believe this is what you've become three years after graduation, Chase. Good thing I dumped you when I did—I'd hate to be the girlfriend of some broke loser." Elliot and a few others pinned me to the floor, forcing me to kneel and even bark like a dog. My ex clapped her hands, laughing. "Chase, you really do look like a dog when you're on your knees." Then, the restaurant manager rushed in. The moment he saw me, his face went pale with shock. "M–Mr. Levine… are you all right, sir?" Blood dripping down my forehead, I pointed at everyone in that room. "No one leaves this room tonight."

“You murderer!” No A resounding slap followed those words from Katrina’s Mother-in-law. The entire extended family gasped in shock but no one made a move to help. Not even Katrina’s husband, Damon Winchester. He just stood there, watching lazily, like he always did while his mother berated her for every little thing. But this wasn’t little, no. This was more than the fine china dishes that were one of the family’s heirlooms which Katrina broke last thanksgiving and earned her harsh insults from her mother-in-law. This was nothing like the family dinner she made last Christmas that caused half the kitchen to catch fire, needing a renovation. This couldn't be compared to that afternoon in summer, when she knocked over an antique vase while dusting, freezing as it cracked clean down the middle and her mother-in-law murmured that Katrina’s touch spoiled anything of value. No. This was the death of the only woman who loved someone as unlovable as Katrina. The woman who raised her. The woman who constantly fought for Katrina’s place in the Winchester Family even when she didn’t belong. Alana Winchester, Damon’s grandmother. Like every other thing, it was all her fault. Everything Katrina touched turned to ashes.

When I woke up today, I didn't expect my one happiness in life to hit me in the face. Literally. He hit me in the face. Amia's father ditched her mother when he found his mate, and growing up in an abusive household, Amia is used to watching her mother be on the losing side when it comes to love. She's sworn she'll never be like her. After a night that was supposed to be special with her boyfriend, the Alpha's son, she realizes she's in a position she never wanted to be in. And if that weren't enough, Amia's ex-best-friend, Levi, steps in to play the hero. He's a little too late, four years too late. When Levi starts saying things that make a little too much sense, Amia has to take a good look in the mirror. CONTENT WARNING: This book contains physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and alcohol abuse. Some chapters may be triggering for survivors.

She married a stranger to survive her worst day. He married a stranger to give his dying grandmother peace. Mira was supposed to marry her boyfriend of three years. Instead, he called on their wedding day to say he loves her best friend. She was heartbroken and humiliated. Daniel Chen, on the other hand, was raised single-handedly by his grandmother. His parents left him at an early age to chase their career. He needs a wife in four hours or his dying grandmother's last wish dies with her. Daniel had contracted a wife to get married to him but she didn’t show up on their wedding day. Daniel and Mia happened to meet at the registry, coincidentally. When Mia overheard Daniel's conversation on phone, she eventually made up her mind to marry him. She was meant to marry today anyway. Read out to find more about the marriage of convenience that becomes inconvenient. A romance where the wedding comes first and love might never come at all.

New book: Alpha's moonborn mate is OUT now. Read it today:) _____ (Book #2. Protected by the bully: OUT NOW. Read it on Goodnovel.) . Whenever she'd be asked about a thing in life that disgusted her the most, she would fume in anger and answer, "That bad bully !" Shouting loudly, she would point at the round big corner table in the school canteen where he would sit with his bully gang. ****** Valentine, was adopted by doctor Jason Pereira, of Dark Shine pack, an elder doctor who looked after the warriors and soldiers of the pack Alpha Hercules best buddy. Ryley Shine, was the son of Alpha Hercules and going to be alpha, and the bad bully who loved to bully the wolves studying in the school, to be precise her... He hated her sight, her eyes, her smile, her heart beats, her tears... Everything about her just because she was his mate, A HUMAN NAIVE NERDY MATE! Genre: Vampire/Werewolf + Romance + Teen fiction.*Not fully edited! It's under editing at the moment.*

It's Family Day at my daughter, Hannah Neel's, preschool, but my wife, Samantha Miller, says she has to work and tells both Hannah and me not to go. Seeing the disappointment on Hannah's face breaks my heart, so I bring her to school anyway. As soon as we step through the gates, I see Samantha. She's holding her childhood friend—Oscar Barnett's—hand, with a little boy clutching her other. The three of them look like a perfect family, laughing and chatting, as if they belong together. When Samantha sees us, her smile fades, and she lets go of Oscar's hand. "Zach, it's not what you think. Oscar's raising his son alone. Today's his fifth birthday, and he just wanted to give him a little taste of a mother's love," she says quickly. I study her for a moment, then kneel and gently take Hannah's hand in mine. "Sweetheart, say hello to the lady."

My mother was the best portrait artist in the police station. She had a strong sense of justice and brooked no evil. However, all I got was a sharp retort when I called her to save me. "You know it's your sister's coming-of-age celebration today, and you're cursing her? Kidnapped, are you? Fine, the kidnappers can kill you for all I care." She assumed it was a prank call. So, she refused to go to the police station and do her job. I wasn't saved in time and was tortured to death. When the DNA report came out, she came to the scene all wobbly. She drew a portrait of me with my bones as reference, her hand trembling all the way. "Jessica? It can't be her. This is a mistake!" She tried again and again. Yet, it didn't matter how many times she redid it as the portrait showed my face. My mother, who had hated me my whole life, teared up.