Why Are They Fighting

On the night my family got wiped out, someone had hidden me behind the barrels inside the wine cellar. The gunshots kept going off the entire night outside the cellar. I could only curl up between the barrels while listening to unfamiliar voices cursing in Etarino. All I could do was gnash my teeth together in order to not make any sounds. At the break of dawn, the wine cellar's door was opened from the outside. Two people could be seen standing in front of the pouring light. The first person was Antonio Corleone, a 15-year-old teenager who was also the oldest son of the Corleone family. He was still holding a gun, which had smoke wafting from its barrel. The second person was Matteo Corleone, Antonio's younger brother. His clothes were stained with blood that didn't belong to him. Antonio crouched down before draping a coat over my body. "Don't be scared, Elena," he said. "From today onward, I'm your family." Matteo squeezed Antonio away before stuffing a warm slice of panettone into my hands. With red-rimmed eyes, he said, "My brother is right. I'll kill whoever has the guts to hurt you." It was Christmas Day of 1999. Back then, I was ten years old. For the next 20 years, I grew up in the estate located in Vosaro and became an essential part of the Corleone family. At the same time, I also grew up to be the woman both Antonio and Matteo have a crush on. The entire family has noticed their obsession and love for me. Antonio and Matteo help me exact vengeance on the people who killed my family. They even buy a football team and name it after me. Everyone thinks that the brothers are head over heels in love with me. They patiently wait for the news when one of them will marry me. Even I also think the same. But on the night before my 30th birthday, when Don Corleone asks the brothers who among them wishes to marry me, Antonio snuffs out the cigar in a crystal ashtray. "Father, you should know that I'm terribly busy with the family's affairs, so I have no time to marry anyone." Matteo swirls the whiskey in his glass while wearing a flippant smile. "Father, I'm only 33 years old, and I'm not done having fun just yet. Besides, marrying Elena is just a joking promise that I've made when I was young. I'm not going to follow through with it." The next day, the brothers decide to propose to my enemy's daughter, Sophia Volpe, at my birthday banquet which I have painstakingly prepared. They even force me to drink the entire bottle of grappa despite the fact that I've been suffering from stomach issues for ten years just to please Sophia. When I get carted into the ambulance after suffering from stomach bleeding, Antonio and Matteo immediately cover Sophia's eyes with their hands while claiming that I'm just faking my illness. The moment I feel blood rising from my throat, I've made up my mind. On the day I'm set to get discharged, I dial a phone number. "I will get married to the heir of the Rossi family."

Two months remained until debut evaluation night. Before our unit performance, our main dancer suddenly offered me her center position. I stared at her, confused, "The trainers always praise your stage presence. Why give up your spot?" "You... you deserve center more than I do." Her smile was painfully forced, and she was fidgeting with her practice clothes - obviously not saying what she really felt. Puzzled by her strange behavior, I asked, "Are my moves too big? Am I making it hard for you to perform?" She suddenly started shaking, looking at me with pure fear in her eyes. After what felt like forever, she finally choked out, "Please, just stop. I won't try to compete with you for center anymore!"

Flynn Greg has lived her entire life in the shadows — poisoned, lied to, and betrayed by the very people she calls family. At 23, she believes Roselyn is her mother, unaware the woman murdered her real mother during childbirth and stole her life. For years, Roselyn’s poison kept Flynn’s wolf weak, ensuring she’d never rise, never fight, and never claim what was hers. But fate isn’t so easily silenced. Betrayed by her half-sister Celine and rejected by her mate, Ranon, a power-hungry wolf desperate to marry into the Alpha bloodline — Flynn is drugged and framed in a twisted scheme to disgrace her. Left powerless, humiliated, and marked for banishment, she should have been broken. Instead, the night brings her something beautiful. A one-night encounter with an emotionally unavailable, secretive stranger named Ray sets off a bond neither of them expected. But Ray isn’t who he seems — and neither is Ranon. Unknown to them all, the two men are twins separated at birth by their own mother, born into a brutal bloodline of ruthless ambition. As secrets unravel and Flynn’s dormant powers surge to life, she uncovers the horrifying truth about her past, her lineage, and the prophecy she was born to fulfill. The girl they called weak is the heir and greatest Alpha wolf no one saw coming… and she’s out for blood. Now, Flynn must decide: will she surrender to her heart’s pull toward Ray, a man carrying unaware secrets of his own — or solely focus on the vengeance that she had sworn to dish? One thing is certain: those who betrayed her will kneel, and the pack that cast her aside will learn the true power of a wolf who was never meant to be caged.

My stepson, Lucas Lincoln, is trapped in a fire. After calling the fire brigade, I quickly ring my husband, Jasper Lincoln. Jasper is the leader of a search-and-rescue team, after all. But to my dismay, Jasper is currently keeping his ex-wife, Yvonne Schmidt, company. Yvonne has won the "Forensic Doctor of the Year" award, and so they are out celebrating it. My phone calls are rejected again and again. Jasper never once calls me back, even after Lucas' cries for help disappear entirely. By the time the fire brigade arrives to quell the flames, Lucas has been burned to a crisp. I tell Jasper what happened to our son, but he only gleefully says, "He was nothing but a troublemaker who'd contribute nothing to society. If he's dead, then so be it. This way, he won't grow up to become a menace. "Yvonne happens to be giving a public talk tomorrow and is still in need of a specimen demonstrating burn injuries. She can use Noah's corpse for her demonstration since it's still fresh." I sneer. So Jasper thinks that my own son, Noah Green, is the one who died in the fire. I immediately send Lucas' blackened corpse to Yvonne's operating room.

_When the queen they tormented returns with no memory of their cruelty, three stepbrothers must win back the woman they drove away—before she remembers why she left._ Kaia was nothing but the unwanted stepsister to three powerful brothers: Dante, the ruthless Alpha heir; Marcus, the silver-tongued Beta; and Ash, the enigmatic Seer. They made her childhood a living hell—until one night of forbidden passion changed everything, and she vanished without a trace. Years later, a mysterious woman named “Scarlet” appears at a rogue checkpoint, bearing the ancient royal mark of a long-lost pack queen. She’s beautiful, dangerous, and has no memory of who she was. When the three brothers are summoned to identify her, they’re stunned to discover the truth: she’s Kaia, transformed into something far more powerful than they ever imagined. Now she’s falling for all three men who once tormented her, and they’re desperate to reclaim what they lost. But as Scarlet begins to remember fragments of her past—the bullying, the betrayal, and the dark power sealed in her royal bloodline—she realizes the brothers aren’t just fighting for her love. They’re fighting for their lives. Because when a forgotten queen remembers her crown, she also remembers her enemies.

Dabere thought her life couldn’t get any worse, until the loan sharks came for her. Cornered in a dark alley, she was ready to meet death… until a beast with golden eyes appeared, saved her life, and licked the blood off her arm like it was the finest wine. Then he vanished into the night. But he didn’t stay gone. Weeks later, Dabere walks into her lecture hall and sees him again—Kyrien. Her new professor. The Lycan Vampire Hybrid who’s vampire side awoke the moment he tasted her blood, and now the only human on earth that can possibly quench his thirst is her. So he makes an offer she can’t refuse: her blood in exchange to make all of her problems disappear for good. Only Kyrien becomes a problem in his own right, one Dabere can’t seem to run from. But there’s an even bigger problem lurking in the shadows; Karel. Kyrien’s identical twin, his sworn enemy, and the assassin sent to kill her. But the moment he lays eyes on Dabere, his dormant wolf awakens for the first time and calls her mate. Two Alphas. Two rival realms. And one girl caught in the middle of their obsession, neither of them willing to let go. Only, Dabere isn’t quite as human as she thinks. PS = Trigger Warning.

Every day, my son and husband finish all the house chores before I even get home. But only because they're bringing my husband's first love, Sally Sullivan, back for Thanksgiving, I pour boiling water on my son's face. I also kick both my son and husband out when it's 104°F outside. Desperate to save our son, my husband sprawls across the front porch, begging me to open the door. "Wanda, open the door! We need to save our son! I only invited Sally over because she saved you once back then. I didn't mean anything else by it!" "Mom, it hurts!" my son cries. "Mom, can't you kiss me? Mom…" Meanwhile, I'm slouching on the couch, snacking away as I watch TV. In the end, my husband can't take it anymore and brings me to the Bad Mom Court for trial. The moment my memories are extracted, the entire court bursts into tears.

Just after stepping out of the shower, I received a private message from my so-called uncle, Hank Shephard—a distant relative I barely ever spoke to. "Francis, that new car you posted looks impressive. Perfect for William's wedding!" I hadn't even figured out how to reply to that out-of-nowhere comment when another message popped up. "Your cousin William is getting married next month. Just treat your car as his wedding gift." The entitlement in his tone made my head hurt. I didn't bother arguing and closed the chat window. Apparently, he did not think there was anything wrong with what he had said. Messages kept coming. "Don't worry, your uncle won't let you suffer a loss. "When it's your turn to get married, I'll have William drive that car as your lead wedding car. It'll make you look good." I stared at the screen in silence. That was the moment I realized—Some people don't just feel entitled to your belongings. They believe your life exists to serve theirs.

The day my husband, Lucas Maxwell, helps his childhood sweetheart—Cecilia Brown, who has cancer—lose her virginity, I leave behind a divorce agreement and walk away. Before I leave, I drop a comment beneath a photo of them on his social media. Their fingers are tightly interlocked in the photo. "Let's get divorced. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness." A minute later, he calls me. "How did I end up marrying someone as selfish as you, Fiona Sinclair? Do you really have the heart to let her die without leaving anything behind?" I sneer, "You're no longer my husband. How is that my problem?" That's when he panics.

Two years ago, as a graduate of Werewolf Medical School, I volunteered to go to the most remote and poorest pack, as it had always been my dream to help werewolf patients in need. I heard from my teacher that the werewolves in the Rogue Pack were the poorest and that their living conditions were the worst. Most of the werewolves there were old and weak, so I volunteered to go to that pack as soon as I graduated. After I arrived, I helped them build an infirmary and even set up a blood station. Every year, I led them in voluntary blood donations. But one time—right after I had taken a short break following a blood donation—they turned on me. They slandered me, calling me a selfish and heartless healer. Worse still, they accused me of faking illness, claiming I was lying comfortably in bed while patients were dying—refusing to lift a finger to save them. Not only that, they stormed into the infirmary, seized all my herbs and equipment, and completely trashed the place I had built for them with my own hands. Recalling the days I had spent day and night healing them—only to see my infirmary destroyed and my dream shattered—I let out a bitter smile. I picked up the phone and called the dean of my home pack. "I'm ready to return," I said. "I want to serve the patients in our own pack." Then, without a trace of regret, I left that place behind. However, after I gave up, the whole pack regretted it and begged me to return.