Where We Left Off

'"Tell me what you want, Amara,” Zane said, voice like silk over fire. His lips were a whisper from mine. I could feel the tension in his body. The restraint. The raw, maddening awareness. He dragged a finger down my cheek. “To be touched? Or to be remembered?” I stared at him. “Neither. I just want you gone.” “You don’t mean that,” he said, leaning in just a fraction closer. “I do,” I lied. His breath fanned my lips. His nose grazed mine. I felt every inch of my body coil, traitorous and trembling. I wanted him to kiss me. But it would be wrong. He was engaged to someone else.' *** He is the bridegroom. She is the wedding planner. He doesn’t seem to remember her. Or so he says. Five years ago, wedding planner Amara Ibe was madly in love with her fiancé, Zane Blackwood. Until she exposed a massive corruption scandal that was tied to Zane’s father’s company, to which Zane was the primary heir. Her whistleblower tip destroyed Zane’s career, or so she thought. Now Zane is back, bigger and better than ever, and about to marry someone else in the wedding of the century. The catch? Amara has been hired to plan the wedding. And Zane doesn’t seem to remember her. Behind the luxury wedding, perfect vows and Zane’s strangely elusive fiancée, nothing is what it seems. Everyone has secrets, and Amara gradually realizes that everything the couple sells out to the public is a lie. And loving this man could destroy her… again.

The Vale family was the most powerful mafia syndicate in the New York City. And I—along with a few other carefully chosen girls—had been handpicked to join their ranks, trained from the ground up so that the next head of the family could choose his wife from among us. Wife. That was the kinder word for it. The truth was whoever got picked would become his shield, his weapon, his most loyal protector. Someone who would kill for him. Die for him. Years passed. One by one, the others fell away. In the end, only Elara Quinn and I remained. And then, Elara died—killed on a secret mission. After that, there were no more choices left. I became Adrian Vale’s wife by default. I had given everything to Adrian. And I loved him. I thought he loved me too until I took a bullet to the chest—meant for him. As I lay there, barely breathing, I heard Adrian talking to his assistant, “Don’t bury her in the Vale cemetery. My half is reserved for Elara.” That was it. Elara—who had never even lived long enough to marry him—still had a space carved beside him in death. I? I had taken the hit that should have ended him… and yet I wasn’t even good enough to be buried near him. I slowly closed my eyes. And when I opened them again, I was back on the day the Vale family formally announced Adrian as their new head. The day everything began.

When disgraced journalist Elliot Dorne receives an anonymous invitation to Wintercroft Hall—a decaying mansion on a fog-shrouded island—he is promised the story of a lifetime. But upon his arrival, Elliot finds himself among six strangers, each with their own shadowy past. Their enigmatic host, the frail and reclusive Vivienne Ashworth, claims she has summoned them to reveal a deadly truth about the Ashworth family legacy. Before she can confess, Vivienne collapses, and chaos ensues. A violent storm traps the guests on the island, and the discovery of a gruesome murder sets paranoia ablaze. As Elliot uncovers cryptic messages, hidden rooms, and a chilling photograph that ties him to the Ashworth family, he realizes that nothing about this gathering is random. With the mansion’s dark history unraveling and secrets surfacing at every turn, Elliot must confront the ghosts of his own past to survive. But the deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes—someone inside Wintercroft Hall is playing a deadly game, and not everyone will make it out alive. When disgraced journalist Elliot Dorne is invited to the remote and crumbling Wintercroft Hall, he’s promised the story that could save his career. But the mansion’s sinister halls conceal more than just secrets—they harbor a legacy of betrayal, murder, and lies. Elliot is joined by six strangers, all summoned by the enigmatic Vivienne Ashworth. Frail and reclusive, she claims to know the truth about their darkest sins. Before she can reveal anything, a violent storm cuts them off from the outside world—and the first body is discovered. As cryptic messages and chilling clues emerge, Elliot realizes that his connection to the Ashworth family runs deeper than he could have imagined. Someone in Wintercroft Hall knows the truth about his past, and they’ll stop at nothing .

Samantha Lee and David Collins come from families that hate each other because of business rivalries. They’ve been raised to avoid and despise one another, but one unexpected night changes everything. Samantha’s cousins, who don’t know what David looks like, unknowingly end up hanging out with him and his siblings at a bar. Despite trying to stop them, Samantha gets caught up in the fun. The next morning, she wakes up in David’s apartment with no memory of how she got there—and a terrible feeling that something happened between them. Determined to move on, Samantha avoids David whenever she sees him. But at one event, she feels dizzy and ends up in the hospital, where she discovers she’s pregnant. David overhears the news and wants to step up, but Samantha’s family quickly sends her abroad to keep the secret and protect their reputation. For five years, Samantha raises her child alone, far from David and their feuding families. But when her grandfather dies, she has to return home, terrified of running into David again. Now, Samantha must face her past, and the future of their child. Can they overcome their families’ hatred, or will the past keep them apart forever?

Scarlets has always been different. Born an omega but shielded from the cruelty that usually came with it, her life under Alpha Jackson’s care has been peaceful — almost charmed. She’s found love with Cole, the Alpha’s golden son: the boy who once saved her, the boy she’s always trusted. The only scar on her past is the shadowy memory of a cruel boy who wore the same face as her beloved — a figure from her childhood who left bruises deeper than skin. After six long years, Lloyd — Cole’s estranged twin brother — returns to the pack. His presence brings back buried fears and half-remembered nightmares. But something doesn’t add up. The man who once haunted her steps with surprising gentleness now. He watches her with sadness, not cruelty. As Scarlet struggles to make sense of the past and the confusing present, she finds herself torn between two brothers. In a world where loyalty is everything and betrayal is a death sentence, Scarlet must choose who to trust before it's too late.

My mate Derek, Alpha of the SilverCrest Pack, secretly marked me two years ago. But he still hasn't held our mating ceremony to publicly announce my position. I've been working as his "assistant," helping him manage pack affairs all this time. Every time Derek cheats with his childhood sweetheart, Vivian, he promises to finally hold our mating ceremony. Two years. Ten promised ceremonies. Ten broken promises. The first time, he said Vivian's dog had died. "I can't hold a celebration while she's grieving," he told me, his eyes not quite meeting mine. "It wouldn't be right." The second time, Vivian had a stomach ache. He left the ceremony venue minutes before it was supposed to start, rushing off to cook soup for his precious childhood friend. After that, each scheduled mating ceremony fell through because his childhood sweetheart always had some kind of emergency. I've cried. I've screamed. I've begged. Derek always gives me the same answer: "Viv and I are just friends. You're my true mate. Taking care of pack members is your responsibility too. Don't be so jealous." After the tenth canceled ceremony, I finally gave up. I slid the mate bond dissolution papers across his desk. "The Alpha Council has approved our request to break the mate bond," I said, my voice steadier than I expected. "You and I are no longer connected." That’s when the powerful Alpha went crazy...

Sophia Kristalene Grande is in her best state of mind whilst trying to move forward from the heartbreak she dealt with in the past. Living the best life she can ever have in the Big Apple! But one morning she just woke up to a scandal that made her life a bit complicated. Causing her to go back to where it should be fixed - the Philippines. Oh! She can't go back! No! Never! The country is a bit too small to hide from the man who broke her young heart which was Malcolm Hinge Humphries

The girl my family sponsored was a manipulative opportunist. She had my childhood friends wrapped around her finger. I helped her out of pity for her poor background, but she climbed her way up, slowly taking my place. She faked innocence in front of the brothers while sabotaging me behind my back. When they found out, they called me petty rather than blame her. I got fed up, married my college crush, and moved on. But they flew in overnight, begging for forgiveness.

The Moonstone pack's Luna - Audrey Winter was dealt a devastating blow on the third anniversary of her marriage. It turned out that the coveted moonstone necklace was not prepared by her partner Arthur for her. The owner of that necklace was Victoria, Arthur's stepsister, who was also his first love. Audrey's world collapsed. For three years, she had been playing the role of the perfect Luna, believing that their partnership might bear fruit. It was also on that day that she discovered she was carrying Arthur's child, a secret that could either bind them together or tear them apart forever. "If she's so important to you, why did you mark me?" Audrey questioned Arthur after being betrayed again. His silence said it all, but his grandfather Elder William's shocking revelations about Arthur's past changed everything. The truth about his mother's cause of death and his stepmother's intentional sacrifice could potentially overturn the entire Moonstone pack. The arrival of Nathan Snowfang, a fellow student at Audrey Lycanthrope Academy, has reawakened Arthur's possessive instinct, even as he continues to prioritize Victoria's needs over his own partnership. Audrey would she sacrifice her self-esteem for love, or would she sever the relationship and choose freedom? More importantly, what will happen when Arthur discovers her secret pregnancy?

My boy friend Caleb Ford's childhood sweetheart, Julia Leclair, is losing her hair from chemotherapy. So, he orders me to cut mine off and make her a wig. "Julia's allergic to synthetic wigs. You've been growing your hair for ten years—it's perfect." I refuse, but his friends tie me down. Someone shaves my head to the scalp, buzzing through my thick, glossy hair until nothing's left but a butchered mess. Julia sits in her wheelchair and laughs, saying I look like a toad. Caleb smiles and nods in agreement. He adds with a chuckle, "It's just some hair. Was that really necessary?" But back when I was bullied for having uneven, choppy short hair for six straight years, it was he who stood in front of me. He had his arms spread wide as he shielded me from harm. Now he's the one wielding the blade. One by one, their little circle chimes in. They tell me not to hold a grudge against someone who's sick. Caleb snaps impatiently, "Stop trying to talk sense into her. She can get lost! Did you see that fit she threw over a few strands of hair? It's not like they won't grow back." I turn around and walk away. I never look back. Later, I hear that Caleb begs for my forgiveness by kneeling his way up 9000 steps until his knees are ruined.