Why Not Both

"It's me against me, Tine. I am not here to lend you some options. You'll let go of that damn profession whether you like it or not. You're going to do as what as I say. You're all mine, baby. Mine."

“Oh!.” I cuss under my breath as I stare down at the creature I had shot with the gun, lying still in front of me. Only this time, it isn’t a deer, as I think it is. It is a living being. Not just any living being but a female, one that lies there stark naked.   *** The cold-hearted Alpha Liam meets his mate in a very strange circumstance. Aerin can’t remember anything from her past. Alpha Liam must do everything to protect her.   But does their love stand a chance when dramas starts unfolding?  

Saraya’s life was a nightmare — trapped with an abusive mother, a cruel stepfather, and two stepbrothers who despised her. But when her stepfather tries to sell her, everything changes. Her brothers die saving her, and Saraya is kidnapped and sold at a dark auction. Just when all hope fades, she’s rescued by Rafael Blackthorn, the mysterious and powerful CEO of Blackthorn Incorporations. Living in his grand mansion, Saraya learns Rafael hides secrets of his own — a tragic past, a six-month-old son, and a world far beyond human understanding. What will happen when she'll know there is much more stored in her fate to know? Would she able to cope up or not?

My foster sister, Gloria Binder, and I married a pair of werewolf brothers. I married the older brother, the steady one who ran the Dixon household. She married the man who held power over the entire pack. We got pregnant in the same year. In a couple of months, they would be able to take a sample of our babies' cardiogen and use it as medicine to treat their fathers' illness. Two months before my due date, the gates of the outer villa were kicked open. The intruders beat me, fists and boots coming down hard, then forced a bowl of labor-inducing medicine down my throat. I screamed at the maid beside me to run and get my mate. But all I got back was his message. He was furious. "You said you wanted peace and quiet and insisted on staying at the secluded villa to rest. Now you're pulling something this low just to drag me over there? I don't have time to waste on you. Judy needs a few plants moved into her yard. She's delicate and can't do heavy work. I'm helping her." The medicine had already taken effect. I could feel the baby thrashing, as if it were about to tear its way out of me. I would have died from the pain if Gloria hadn't come back from gathering herbs and saved my life. She sent people to find my mate and demand justice for me. Yet, all she got was another message. "You're living just fine in the villa. Who would dare hurt you? I need to help my brother plant a few more shrubs for Judy. I don't have time for your petty drama!" Gloria was pregnant, too. After being beaten and kicked, she lost her baby. We lay in a pool of blood, holding each other. "Gloria," I whispered through tears, "I don't want to repay any debts anymore. I want to sever my bond with Lesley."

I was a wedding planner, and I personally designed my husband's wedding to his mistress. I had been with Victor for five years. Three of those years were swallowed by the pandemic. The remaining two were spent married, pregnant, and raising a child. The wedding I had always dreamed of existed only as "next time" whenever it came out of his mouth, until the day I received a new wedding planning request. The client was a young woman, her eyes curved with laughter, her smile bright and full of hope. "This is the venue my boyfriend chose himself," she said softly. "He insisted the wedding had to be held here." I took the file from her, and my gaze stopped on the venue name. The church in Clairmont. The very church I had mentioned to my husband countless times, the place I had dreamed of more than anything else. I was just about to smile and marvel at how someone in this world shared my taste so perfectly when the groom's name leapt into view. Victor Langford. My fingers froze on the page. Across from me, the girl was still wrapped in her happiness. She added gently, "We've only been together for two months, but he said he wants to give me the best wedding possible." I curved my lips into a smile and fixed my eyes on that familiar face—the man I had lived with for five years. After all this time, the day I planned Victor's wedding had finally arrived. Too bad the bride wasn't me.

Camila was born a slave, and for that, she wasn't entitled to a last name. She and her mother, a prisoner of war, served diligently in the house of a Jorvikian General, who took pity on them and gave them a home. Life was relatively smooth until Camila became an unwitting pawn in a plot to ruin the life of Ronan, the first son of the Morosov household. On the morning of Ronan's wedding day, Camila woke up in his bed, clueless about what had transpired. This incident sent their lives spiralling into sorrow and pain. Ronan lost the woman he loved and wanted to marry, while Camila and her mother were branded as enemies and social climbers. Life became unbearable for the young slave, and things worsened when she discovered that the incident had resulted in a pregnancy. Fearing for her child's and her mother's safety in a harsh world, Camila was surprised when the Morosovs showed some humanity. They allowed her to keep the baby on the condition that she would raise the child as a nanny. This option was better than being thrown out on the streets to fend for herself and her baby. Nearly two years later, Ronan returned, having stayed away. When he realised what had happened, he decided to take Camila and his daughter to live with him. Although Camila was to live as his maid and their daughter's nanny, the question remained: would the bond they shared ignite an unknown spark between them? Would Ronan forsake his ambitions and allow himself to fall for a woman he was trained not to love?

When I went to reissue my mate certificate, the Werewolf Affairs Division told me, "Your mate certificate is a forgery. We have no record of your registration." I stared at the clerk, unable to believe what I was hearing. "But Sam and I registered five years ago. That's impossible. Could you please check again?" The clerk gave me a look before double-checking the files. "We found Alpha Sam's record. But the registered mate… isn't you." My voice trembled. "Then who is Sam's legal mate?" The clerk didn't hesitate. "Lily." I gripped the back of the chair, white-knuckled, just to keep myself upright. Until the clerk had spoken that name, I'd still held on to hope. Maybe it was a clerical error. A mix-up. But of all people, it had to be Lily, Sam's childhood friend. And suddenly, everything started to make sense. In five years of being Sam's mate, he had never marked me. We'd only held a mating ceremony—no certificate, no legal bond. I had given up everything for that ceremony, poured all my hope and love into it, believing I was his, only to find the certificate was fake. The five years I'd thought were mine—our happiness—had all been a lie, crafted and upheld by appearances. If none of it was truly mine, then there's only one thing left for me to do. Leave.

Kylie Cooper was Jonathan Sinclair's lover for three years. After they broke up, she became his executive assistant. Jonathan treated her coldly and mocked her with sarcasm. Kylie said, "You used me as a stand-in before. Now that she's back, please let me go." However, Jonathan was confused. "A stand-in? I've only ever loved you..."

Laya’s world is falling apart—haunted by a past she can’t outrun and a future she never chose. When shadows resurface and loyalties are tested, survival might cost her everything.

Dewi Revia Ananta. Required to return to the head office after previously becoming the head of a subsidiary outside Java. This is because of the special task of the central leadership to accompany the new leadership, after the transfer of power in the company. Ironically, it turns out that the new head of the company, a handsome, singular and humble man, is a man that Revia really doesn't want to see again, and even hates him very much. Yunan Ardian Dewangga. Even though they had attended the same high school. However, there was an unfinished story between the two of them. In order to avoid Yunan, Revia tries to change herself into someone who is far from her true personality. Until they create friction when they meet.