Why Not Both

At the pack gathering, I ran into the ex-mate who had betrayed me. His Beta sneered at me with open contempt. "Well, well. Isn't this the rogue who got banished for breaking pack law? This isn't a place for just anyone to wander into." "Alpha already has a Luna. What are you doing here, shameless as ever?" With that, he called for guards to throw me out. I cut him off, my voice cold. "I'm here to pick up my mate." My ex-mate stared at me, his gaze thick with disgust—like I was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe that he couldn't scrape off. "Alice, I already dissolved our mate bond. I have Tina now." I tilted my head, genuinely confused. What made him think I'd come crawling back for a mate who'd betrayed me?

Since the day she was born, Aviana Rain has always had a rough life. Things always went from bad to horrible for her. From being mentally, physically, and verbally abuse to being left almost dead. Being in situations nobody should ever experience or be put into. She has never experienced love, until HIM.

Pitong taon ang inaksaya sa kanyang buhay ni Gailyn Espinoza upang piliin lang na manatili sa tabi ng kanyang asawang si Leon Lombardi. Hindi dahil sa may anak sila kung hindi dahil naniniwala siyang hindi magtatagal ay makikita rin ng asawa ang halaga niya. Subalit taliwas at hindi iyon ang nangyari dahil biglang nahulog ang lalaki sa ibang babae na harap-harapang pinakita niya kay Gailyn.  Sa mismong araw ng kaarawan niya ay piniling umuwi ng Isla ni Gailyn upang makasama ang kanyang mag-ama na doon nakatira, ngunit sa halip na salubungin ng mainit na pagbati at yakap, isang malutong na sampal ng katotohanan ang natuklasan. Ito ang naging wake up call kay Gailyn para magising. Sawang-sawa na siya sa paulit-ulit na pagtitiis kaya sa araw na iyon ay naging buo ang desisyon ni Gailyn na palayain na ang kanyang asawa. She drafted divorce papers, signed away custody of their son, and walked away without a backward glance. Returning to her career, Gailyn chose to silently build a fortune for herself. Sa puntong ito ay sarili naman niya ang uunahing piliin bukod sa mga nagpapasakit sa kanya. Kung kailan handa na ang puso, katawan at kaluluwa ni Gailyn na makipaghiwalay saka naman noon bumaliktad ang ikot ng mundo. Tila nagising siya sa matagal na niyang pangarap dahil ang mag-ama niyang ayaw sa kanya noon ngayon ay humahabol na. “Divorce is not an option, Mrs. Lombardi. Kailanman ay hindi ako papayag sa gusto mong mangyari. Hindi kita hihiwalayan. Walang sinuman ang makakapalit sa papel mo bilang ina sa buhay ng ating anak.”

Maya's marriage to Leo is a silent, polite tomb. Once passionate artists of their own lives, they are now buried under the mountains of parenthood, two ghosts co-managing a household. Desperate to resurrect the man she loves and the woman she lost, Maya makes a radical choice. She doesn't want just a date night-she wants an adventurous detonation. She orchestrates a forbidden fantasy: a single, explosive night with a captivating stranger. The experience is a mirror, reflecting back their boldest, most alive selves. For a glorious moment, it works. But the adventurous high crashes into a brutal dawn. Misunderstandings poison their paradise. Maya's possessive fears twist every glance into a betrayal, while Leo's possessive longing feels like a sentence. The very fantasy meant to unite them becomes the weapon that drives them further apart than ever before. Facing total collapse, they must confront the raw truth: the fantasy didn't break them-it exposed the fractures they'd long ignored. To save their marriage, they must embark on a more perilous adventure than any night of passion: navigating the wreckage of their trust, where every misunderstanding dismantled is a step toward a new foundation, and where possessive love must evolve into a chosen, fiercely protective partnership. This is a raw, intimate story about the wild in lengths we go to save what we love, proving that sometimes, to find each other again, you must first get completely lost.

On the day I'm set to give birth, a rogue crashes his car into the convoy that's meant to transport me and Alison Cranwell to the hospital for a prenatal check-up. My water breaks the moment the crash happens. A mixture of blood and amniotic sap soon dyes my seat crimson. At the same time, intense pain flares from my abdomen. My Alpha mate, Caleb Bright, rushes over immediately and hoists the doctor by the collar. "You must protect the she-wolves and their pups!" Warmth floods my heart at that moment. It continues spreading throughout my body until I get wheeled into an operating theater. Since the general anesthesia has yet to fully take effect, I can vaguely make out Marcus Knight, Caleb's Beta, speaking to him in a lowered tone. "The thing is, Alpha Caleb, Luna Selina is suffering from heavy bleeding as well. But we only have one vial of the most effective Lunar Grass essence left. If we don't use it on her, I'm afraid that she and the pup will—" "Alison is pregnant with my dead brother's only pup. She must not be harmed no matter what," Caleb states icily. "Selina is very strong, and her wolf can endure her grievous wounds. As for that pup… well, we'll have another one in the future." But what Caleb doesn't know is that I didn't just lose my pup that night—I've lost the last trace of love I have for him as well.

Bianca was born a rogue—an outsider who learned early that survival meant making herself useful. When she saved Alpha Matthew Morrison's life twice, she thought she'd finally found someone who saw her value. Instead, she became his obligation, his duty, the wife he married because honor demanded it, not because his heart did. For four years, Bianca tried to earn Matthew's love through service, through healing, through being the perfect Luna and mother to their son, Theo. She told herself that someday he would see her, truly see her, and choose her. Then Mia came back—Matthew's first love, with a terminal illness and a bucket list of dreams she wanted to fulfill before she died. . Now Matthew demands the ultimate sacrifice: Bianca must risk her life, her healing abilities, and her future to cure the woman who's already taken everything from her. When Bianca discovers that Mia's "terminal illness" is built on lies and manipulation, she realizes the truth—she was never the wife, never the Luna, never the mother in Matthew's eyes. She was always just the rogue girl convenient enough to save and use. But Bianca is done being convenient. She's done sacrificing herself for a man who'll never love her. She's done watching another woman live her life while she fades into the background. Armed with evidence of Mia's deception and divorce papers hidden in plain sight, Bianca prepares to do what she should have done four years ago—walk away before they destroy her completely. The only question is: will Matthew sign away their bond before he realizes what he's losing, or will Bianca's carefully constructed escape plan crumble when the man who never loved her suddenly can't bear to let her go?

THIS TIME SERIES : BOOK 1 It was then she knew a bullet pierced her heart. When she looked, it was Francis; the one who killed her was the man of her dreams. Kianna, who came back to time for some reason, decided to never give her love to anyone this time. Especially him-- but fate seems to be playing her life. Why did he suddenly give motives to Kianna? Will she ever forget him and give him what he deserves?

Amelia's leg tapped against the table as she asked, "What are your thoughts on love?" Her hands were clasped together on her lap, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity. Lucas met her gaze, a smirk playing on his lips. "Love is a waste of time," he replied. "It's a tool designed to weigh people down. Without it, we could achieve so much more." Amelia's eyes lit up with interest; he had just ticked almost all her boxes green. "I agree," she said, her smirk matching his. "Love is nothing but bullshit. We could save a lot of time by keeping our relationship minimal." With a proactive glint in her eye, she added, "What do you say? We should get married to fulfill our filial duties." _____________ Their marriage was a facade, a contract between two individuals who didn't believe in love but were forced to get married to fulfill their obligations. Everything was going as planned, until suddenly... "Have you eaten, dear?" "How is my baby?" "Is he doing well?" Lucas's words, once empty and mechanical, now held a tender tone. Amelia found him falling for her, and she seemed to be falling too. Why were they succumbing to the very thing they once scorned? Love, once a distant possibility, was now becoming an option. But would they choose it?

Five days before my wedding, a group of MadeMen drag me to an underground casino. "I'm the fiancé of Lorenzo Gambino, Don of the Gambino family and Gambino Corporation! Think of the consequences you'll face if you dare touch a hair on my head!" My stern warning is met by mocking laughter. I curl up in agony under the brutal blows of their baseball bats; they pierce my ankles with sharp blades, severing my tendons. I gather the remnants of my consciousness to shield my abdomen, where my and Lorenzo's child grows. Lorenzo finally arrives with hired mercenaries. He razes the underground casino to the ground and saves me. I lie on the hospital bed and force myself to hang on. I don't want to end up in a coma. Unexpectedly, I overhear Lorenzo's conversation with a doctor. "It's not too late to operate, Boss. If we delay this any longer, Ms. Jones won't be able to stand anymore! There are many other ways for you to marry Ms. Valente—why did you have to do this to Ms. Jones?" "Being crippled is the only way Renee will obediently accept my and Kelly's child. I can keep a cripple by my side but not a troublemaker. Kelly values ceremony more than anything—I promised her I would give her a perfect wedding," Lorenzo says coldly. "But… Ms. Jones is pregnant. She's four months along…" "Make her miscarry, then." Tears stream down my face without anyone noticing. It turns out no one wants to bless the wedding I've been looking forward to. If so, any woman who wants to be Lorenzo's wife can have him. He's just a small mafia boss, anyway. I'm going back to being the heiress of the East Coast mafia's Don. I'll be the queen of my own life.

"Please," I whisper as his teeth graze my neck, my body betraying every promise I made to keep him at a distance. "We can't—" "Can't?" His laugh is dark, dangerous. "Your wolf is screaming for me, Fin. I can smell how much you want this." His hands pin my wrists above my head, his body pressing mine against the wall. "Tell me to stop. Tell me you don't dream about my hands on your skin, my mark on your throat." His lips brush my ear, voice rough with need. "Tell me, and I'll walk away. But we both know you're tired of denying what's between us." Finley Bennett never expected to be Alpha of Forest Trails pack. But when her brother refuses the role, she's determined to prove a female can lead - even if it means burying her broken heart. Because the one wolf who was supposed to be her perfect match chose another, leaving her with nothing but duty to cling to. When Mountain Ridge's powerful Alpha arrives to discuss border threats, his sudden marking of her as his mate offers a second chance at happiness. But fate isn't finished testing her yet. Another cruel rejection leaves her wondering if she's destined to lead alone. As mysterious attacks threaten pack lands and ancient magic stirs, Finley must navigate pack politics, unseen enemies, and the return of her first mate. But something darker lurks beneath the surface - a hidden enemy whose manipulation could cost her everything she's fought to protect. With her territory under siege and her heart torn between two wolves who rejected her, Finley must decide: can she trust fate's choice a third time? Or will opening her heart again destroy everything she's built?