What The River Knows: A Novel

Avery is a young woman with a dark power she struggles to keep at bay. Her past is full of abandonment, death, abuse and murder. She has lived her life on the run. She's had to be so careful. Running again, she moves to a new town to start over, like she's done a dozen times before. But this time is different - an alluring man named Drake comes into her life whether she likes it or not. Drake is a young Beta with a jerk for an Alpha. Adopted at birth, his parents tried to raise him as best they could. Despite the strong, dark wolf he was given far before his 18th birthday. Despite his anger issues. Despite his wolf's crazy huge aura and unquenchable bloodlust. Drake is convinced he doesn’t have a mate, and is resolved that that is a good thing. He’s too dark for something so good and pure like that. Running into Avery was never supposed to happen. What is he supposed to do now?

Led by my ex-boyfriend, the police raid the base of the major crime syndicate. The antagonist takes his own life, and the only person who could prove my identity as a top-secret undercover operative died two weeks ago. My ex-boyfriend drags me into court. He wants my memories extracted so I can face public judgment and sentencing. Nevertheless, I have no intention of explaining myself. "I plead guilty. Grant me a swift death." The masses are outraged, despising me with every fiber of their being. "Ha! You despicable traitor! You monster! You're a rat who exposes undercover journalists, yet you dare ask for a swift death? "This is the world of a novel. The maximum penalty for a guilty plea is euthanasia, but if judgment is passed by the court, you will suffer endless torment until your last breath!" "You don't deserve euthanasia. You belong in hell!" Rotten eggs and stones pelt me mercilessly. Even with my face now covered in blood, I make no effort to avoid the assaults. I only longed for death. My ex-boyfriend glares at me coldly. "You betrayed me. What right do you have to ask for a swift death? Your memories must be extracted and judged in court. Death will come only after your torment!" They are the ones who demand my memories be extracted and judged, yet after seeing them, why are they also the ones who go mad with regret?

"Ayo, menikah denganku! Aku serius. Di Indonesia seusia kita bahkan sudah banyak yang punya anak!" Tidak seharusnya Aya mendengar kalimat diluar nalar itu diusianya yang masih 20 tahun. Saat dia sedang pusing-pusingnya memikirkan kuliahnya dan kerja parttime di Adelaide, Australia. Dan lagi! Laki-laki sebaya di depannya ini tahu seperti apa masa lalu Aya. Aya yang menjauh dari Indonesia, mengubur semua ingatan buruknya, dan berperang dengan ketakutannya sendiri. Laki-laki ini pasti tahu. Jadi tidak mungkin dia sampai punya perasaan ke Aya, bahkan berniat menikahnya. Ini jelas-jelas diluar nalar. Aya tahu mereka teman SMA. Punya banyak ingatan yang bisa dijadikan bahan berdebat. Tapi, hubungan mereka bukan hubungan romantis yang penting untuk dikenang oleh otak dan hati. Jadi kenapa? Datang tiba-tiba di depannya begini. Di saat Aya sudah menjauh sejauh ini...

After ten years together, Aiden, my Alpha, my first and only love, finally promised to hold the mating ceremony with me during the Spring Hunt Festival. I was overjoyed. That night, at the festival party, I downed a few extra glasses of wine. However, Aiden, who had always been so gentle with me, suddenly became someone I didn't recognize. He scolded me, said I was unfit to be the future Luna if I couldn’t even follow the rules, and shoved me out of the car. Drunk and dazed, I was left alone in the dangerous Shadow Forest. Terrified but unwilling to break, I walked through that forest for five hours in the dead of night. When I finally made it back to our home, I heard him in the other room, sending a voice message to Seraphina, his first love. "If you’re willing to come back," he said, his voice soft and warm, "I’ll do anything for you." Seraphina replied, "Even cancel the mating ceremony?" Time stopped. I silently counted to thirteen. Then, I heard his answer: "Yes." Listening to that voice—the one that used to whisper promises to me—I cried. If that was what he truly wanted, then maybe calling off the ceremony was for the best. So, to spare him the choice, I fled. On the day of our mating ceremony, I disappeared. No one expected what came next. The proud, composed Alpha Aiden went mad trying to find me.

On the day Moon Spencer received the Medal of Honor, she made a public declaration of love on live television to her accompanying military medic, Xavier Quinn. “If it weren’t for Xavier, I’d have died in that storm at sea. He is the most important person in my life.” At the same time, her husband, Nathan Johnson, was lying on his deathbed at home. For years, he had taken care of Moon’s parents and raised their child alone. The strain destroyed his health, and he had little time left. He never expected that after twenty years of sacrifice, he would not even hear a word of thanks from her. What truly broke him was their daughter’s comment. “Dad, don’t you think Dr. Quinn and Mom are perfect together? You should leave sooner and make room for him.” Nathan collapsed in fury and regret. He died that night. When he opened his eyes again, he was back to the night before Moon left for her coastal deployment. This time, he refused to stay behind as the forgotten man who kept everything running. In this life, he would pursue his own dream.

My mother-in-law's illness relapsed again, and only my husband, Xavier Grey could save her. However, Xavier, known as "The Healer", refused to leave the grave of his first love, Eve Parker. When I begged him, pleading desperately for help, he responded coldly, "What's this new trick of yours? Stay out of my sight!" In the end, my mother-in-law passed away in the emergency room. Yet, at the same time, his beloved first love returned from the dead. Now, standing before my mother-in-law's brand-new gravestone, Xavier finally went mad.

"No matter the price," I said calmly to the witch across from me, "I will buy the scroll that severs a mate bond." I am Jean Thompson, Luna of the Crescent Pack in name only, and mate—also in name only—to Alpha Felix Frost. In the five years I carried this title, I endured Felix's indifference, my in-laws' scorn, and the pack's cold neglect. All because I loved Felix. I believed, with a devotion that consumed me, that one day my sincerity would move his heart. But on the very day of our fifth anniversary—when I discovered I was carrying twins—I stumbled upon him leading the entire pack of warriors to the airport… to welcome his childhood sweetheart, Mary Lockwood. That moment shattered the last of my hope. When he returned, I hid the bond-severing scroll among a stack of business documents and set it in front of him. "What's this? If it's important, give it to me later—" Before he could finish, Mary's syrup-sweet voice slipped in between us, "Alpha, our reservation is about to begin." Felix didn't even bother to look. He pressed his handprint casually on the scroll, ending five years of our bond. Just like that, our mate bond was severed. But I walked away with more than freedom. I carried with me a secret that could shake the entire pack—two lives growing inside me. Twins, foretold to become kings of the werewolves: the Alpha heirs. Later, in a place far beyond his reach, I gained everything I had once longed for—respect, trust, and love. But Felix came back like a storm I could not escape. His eyes were bloodshot, his body trembling with fury as he trapped me against the wall. "I never agreed to sever our bond," he growled. "Where do you think you're going with my pups?"

When I was 18 years old, I stepped between Eric Ludlow and a silver arrow loosed by another contender so I could help him win the Alpha Trials. The silver sank deep into my wolf. Ever since then, I've lived as a broken werewolf without a mind-link and unable to conceive. Drowning in guilt, Eric decided to mark me. He pulled me close and vowed, "I'll love you for the rest of my life, Evelyn. I'll never see you as less." I really did believe him back then. At 25, he wins the pack war again and emerges as the strongest Alpha. But he turns our mate bond into a joke. At the celebration dinner, during a thoughtless game of Truth or Dare with his secretary, Mia Sadler, he speaks across the mind-link to everyone. "Evelyn, you're painfully dull. You're not the least bit appealing, your scent is thin, and you can't even bear a pup. You're just dead weight. I wish you'd never been saved back then. I wish you'd died." I clutch the medical report that says my wolf is about to be gone for good, staying silent. He assumes I can't hear anything since I don't have a mind-link. I beg the pack healer for a brutal, life-draining potion, just to know what a mate bond with him feels like. It's fine. I'll be dead soon, just the way Eric wants.

Bagaimana rasanya menjadi seorang janda yang dikejar-kejar cintanya oleh brondong yang memiliki kualitas premium? Inilah yang terjadi kepada Sofie, seorang janda dengan satu putra ini dan juga seorang desainer interior yang bekerja di sebuah perusahaan konsultan berskala internasional. Kembalinya Sofie ke dunia kerja, dikejutkan dengan kehadiran seorang pria yang sempat ditemuinya tanpa sengaja. Pria itu bernama Rakha, yang ditugaskan menjadi asisten Sofie dalam proyek-proyeknya. Kehadiran Rakha, ternyata tidak hanya mempermudah pekerjaannya, tetapi juga kehidupan pribadinya. Tetapi siapa sangka, jika sang asisten ternyata memiliki kehidupan ganda yang sangat berbeda. Ketika di siang hari, Rakha adalah seorang desainer interior maka di malam harinya, ia berubah menjadi seseorang yang sangat berbeda. Sementara, perjalanan Rakha untuk meraih cinta Sofie tidak semudah yang ia inginkan. Hingga terjadi suatu insiden yang membuat Rakha tidak sadarkan diri hingga harus mendapatkan perawatan. Di saat itulah, Sofie mendapatkan sebuah informasi akan siapa sebenarnya Rakha dan apa penyakit yang dideritanya. Rasa sesal karena telah bersikap dingin terhadap Rakha membuat hatinya perlahan luluh. Di saat itulah, Sofie menemukan catatan harian dan kumpulan sketsa milik Rakha, yang menjelaskan penyakit yang dideritanya. Betapa terkejutnya Sofie, setelah membacanya. Rakha yang selama ini ia kenal ternyata bukanlah Rakha yang ia ketahui. Di balik keramahan dan kelembutannya, ternyata ada sosok lain yang memiliki perbedaan karakter seratus delapan puluh derajat. Belum selesai dengan keterkejutannya, kedua orang tua Rakha, membawa Rakha ke London untuk mendapatkan perawatan dan memberikan cek bernilai puluhan ribu dollar untuk Sofie dan juga lima orang pengawal pribadi. Apakah sebenarnya yang disembunyikan Rakha dan siapakah Rakha sebenarnya? Mengapa kedua orangtua Rakha memberikan pengawal-pengawalnya untuk Sofie? Apakah cinta Sofie dan Rakha akan bertemu kembali?

After my physical examination, I'm about to leave the pack infirmary located in my cousin's territory when a heavily made-up healer suddenly grabs my arm. She hisses, "Stop right there! You think you can break something in the infirmary and just run away? No way!" I look at her unfamiliar face and blink, feeling utterly confused. "What did I break?" She points to the crystal potion bottles on the shelves and wrinkles her nose exaggeratedly. "You reek, and your stench has contaminated all the potions, making them unusable! Alpha Xander bought these at a high cost, and all of it is worth 500 thousand dollars. There's also compensation for causing me emotional distress—that's another 200 thousand. "Altogether, that's 700 thousand dollars. Will you pay by cash or card?" My scent is a mix of violet and amber. It's noble and cool, like a winter dusk. Of course, not everyone loves this scent, but "contamination"? Please! I can't fathom why the infirmary in Xander's territory is operating like a scam. I laugh out of anger and say, "I'm Alpha Xander's cousin. I don't pay a single cent in his territory. If anyone has a problem with that, have Xander come say it to my face." But the healer only rolls her eyes. "You bitch, trying to use such lowly tricks to get my Alpha's attention? You wish! If you don't pay up today, I'll strip you naked and throw you onto the street so that everyone can smell how foul you are!" She has no idea who she's threatening. I take a deep breath and quickly contact my Beta. "Tell Xander—either banish this healer from the pack, or I'll banish him."