Who Was Lao Tzu

When April Caddel was just a child, her world changed with the arrival of Orion King—a guarded teenager taken in by her loving parents. For over a decade, Orion was her protector, her strict older “brother,” and the unshakable force in her life… until he vanished without a goodbye. Now, six years later, Orion is back. No longer the boy she knew, he’s a powerful, aloof businessman with a new name and carefully guarded secrets. But April’s heart remembers the boy who saw her when no one else did. And her body reacts to the man he’s become. Orion is determined to help April rebuild her life, all while clinging to the one rule he’s never dared to break—he is her brother in every way that counts. But April is no longer the little girl who followed his lead. She’s falling for the one man she was never supposed to want. As boundaries blur and emotions spiral, forbidden love burns between them, threatening to upend everything they thought was safe. The arrival of Orion’s entitled half-siblings and a father who wants his son back only adds fuel to the fire. They share no blood. But will that ever be enough? When love dares to bloom in forbidden soil, will it survive the storm? Or would their love story become one more secret they can never afford to tell?

“I would’ve died for my sister. Instead, I lived for her son.” Jade, the ruthless Alpha, made me his mate out of vengeance, not love. Now I’m trapped in a loveless bond, raising the son of the woman everyone adored, the same woman whose death they blame on me. But the real monster wears a smile and the secrets buried in this Pack run deeper than anyone knows including the truth about Jade’s father’s illness, and the child growing inside me. They all think I’m the villain. But I might be the only one who can save them. If I survive.

“No! I don’t care if you buy me the city skyline, Jason. I’d still tell you to fuck off.” Jason Hale smirked. “What if I bought you the moon?” Samantha Torres’ life isn’t what she planned. Once a top science student, she now waits tables to pay off debt and care for her family. And the one wound she’s never healed? Jason, the man she loved in college, who cheated and broke her heart. Now, five years later, Jason is back. He’s heir to a billion–dollar empire and determined to win her again. He claims he’s changed, and he tempts her with lavish gifts, promises, and the same charm that once ruined her. But Jason has dangerous secrets, and Samantha swore that she would never fall for him again. Until her brother’s gambling debt pulls the mob to her doorstep…and Jason becomes the only man who can save her. Now she is drawn back into his world of wealth and risk, and Samantha finds herself torn between old wounds and new desires. But enemies circle fast: his ruthless twin, the woman who once came between them, and a rival who wants her for himself. Will Samantha walk away from Jason, or will she risk everything to find out if love is worth the danger?

The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the air as the full moon created long shadows across the Ancient Clearing. Tonight, was supposed to be our marking ceremony, a sacred ritual binding Alpha Anderson and his chosen Luna before the eyes of the Frostmoon Pack. “My heart,” his gaze locked on Leah, who stood under the moonlight “has always belonged to another. My first love, the one whose spirit has been weakened by the venom of wolfsbane, is my Luna.” He drew Leah closer, his hand possessively circling her waist. Under the watchful gaze of the moon, he smiled. “Our traditions are clear,” he continued, “Only the woman who stands with me at this altar, witnessed by all, shall be my Luna. Though I had always thought that Irene was my mate which I mistakenly marked a time ago. But thanks to the goddess for making me see clearly before it was too late.” They exchanged vows beneath the trees, witnessed by the werewolves and the Moon Goddess. The silver crowns were placed, the ceremonial kiss sealed their bond. I stood hidden in the shadows of the surrounding forest. For twelve years, from the moment my wolf recognized his at eighteen until my thirtieth moon cycle, my love for Anderson had never changed. But his heart, it was clear, belonged to Leah. If that was the truth, then I would release him. He had never truly seen me, never truly cared. Yet, the act of my departure seemed to unravel him in ways I couldn’t understand.

“I thought he was the dream I had been waiting for, but he turned out to be the nightmare that would haunt my entire life.” Oprah Rizario has everything she wants; a mansion, a lot of money and luxury life. Swerte siya sa buhay ngunit sa kabila nito ay hindi na niya kapiling pa ang kaniyang mga magulang. Hindi niya inaasahan na darating sa kaniyang buhay si Garrett Rhoden na nagtatrabaho sa underground business. Nais din nitong paghigantihan ang natitirang Rizario dahil sa pagkawala ng kaniyang ama. Sa kabila ng galit at poot ay hindi inaasahan na ang pagtatagpo nila ay magdudulot din ng hindi inaasahang pangyayari. Tuluyan bang maglalaho ang paghihinagpis at galit ng mga ito?

I grew up alongside Griffith, the Alpha of the Avalora Pack. Everyone said I was the luckiest woman in the entire kingdom of Mycintia. Griffith rejected the mate bond arranged for him by the Moon Goddess to be with me. He declared to the world that I was his one and only love. But after my miscarriage, I accidentally overheard him speaking to the healer, "Find a way to drug the Luna and remove her womb. Make sure she can never bear children again." Then, I saw him gently caressing another woman's stomach and saying, "Give her the best prenatal medicine. I want her to give birth to the strongest and most intelligent child." I knew that woman. She was Giselle, the fated mate the Moon Goddess had originally chosen for him. Griffith's voice turned grave as he issued his next command. "The Luna must never find out about this. And you must take care of her health at all costs. Otherwise, you'll suffer the consequences." Pain sliced through me. I had never imagined that the man who once swore he loved me more than life itself could betray me so cruelly. In the end, I left without a word. Since they wanted to be together so much, I stepped aside to let him and his destined mate be together. Yet, he told me later that after losing me, he lost the ability to love.

What the council wants, the council gets. And what they can't get, they eliminate. When she is forced back to Oakblood and into Kingsbury College, Rain Riverton is well aware there are only two ways out. Survive or die. But survival isn't as simple as it seems, not when the council is watching her every move, not when the students at Kingsbury possess magic she could only dream of owning. And certainly not when she gains the attention of the one person she shouldn't. Kai Malek is as dangerous as the council she fears, or maybe more. Her tormentor and the reason she left Oakblood years ago. He swore to kill her, and there is nothing more sacred than a blood oath. Oakblood isn't what it used to be. Kingsbury isn't the safe haven everyone thinks it is, and Rain isn't the same girl she was when she crossed the wards into the cursed town. The council wants something with her and she is going to make sure they never get it, even if it costs her sanity, her life... or the enemy she has no business caring about.

A sheltered woman has her first night with a stranger—only to discover he’s the ruthless billionaire who just became her new boss. I thought he was a stranger. A man I would never see again. A man who made me feel wanted for the first time in my life. We agreed it was only one night—no names, no promises, no future. But fate has a dark sense of humor. On my first day at my new job, I walk into the boardroom… and there he is. Liam Hawthorne. The ruthless billionaire CEO who owns the company—and now owns my biggest secret. He recognizes me instantly. And he’s not letting me pretend it never happened. When he corners me after the meeting, his voice is low, dangerous, possessive: “You can run from everyone else, but not from me.” I’m hiding another truth from him—the consequences of that night. The little heartbeat growing inside me. And when he finds out, Liam Hawthorne will burn the world down to claim what’s his… including me.

Growing up as a human in a werewolf world has not been nothing short of a nightmare for Katie but she’s strong and won’t allow her circumstances to deter her from living her life to the fullest. When circumstances beyond her control pushes her to get married to a male she hardly knows, nothing prepared her for a roller-coaster of emotions that follows. ****** Dominic is the richest man in the city and the future alpha of the most powerful pack in the city. As a wealthy and powerful men, he was been surrounded by females who don’t care about him but his status and want to use him to climb up the social ladder. With his family desperate for him to have a bride and an heir, they set up a marriage for him with a human while he keeps his real identity hidden from her. Will the marriage between Katie and Dominic bloom into true love or are they getting more than they bargained for?

From a stall in the office restroom, I overhear someone badmouthing me. Henry Fielder, the intern I've been mentoring for three months, grumbles, "The guy's got zero people skills. He's a total fossil, like a robot stuck in one mode." I'm about to push the door open and jump in when someone laughs and piles on. "The paperwork is incomplete. The receipts aren't compliant. I can't reimburse it without a manager's signature. We could recite his canned empathy lines in our sleep!" Once they're gone, I quietly head back to my office. Later, Henry drops a thick stack of expense reports onto my desk. "Quit waving the rulebook and rejecting everyone's reimbursements." I skim the fake receipts, and for once, I don't call him out. Instead, I give a thin smile and say, "I have a headache. I can't make out the words."