Winter Garden

Brielle Hartley swore she’d never return to Willow Creek, the small town packed with too many memories and one infuriating man she hoped to forget. But when her mother needs help, Brielle is forced back home—only to discover that the first person she runs into is the last man she ever wanted to see: Jaxon Reed, the boy who spent their senior year getting under her skin…and apparently still has the talent. Now older, broader, and annoyingly irresistible,Jaxon has become a respected volunteer in the community. But he hasn’t changed his habit of poking at Brielle’s nerves. Their reunion strikes immediate sparks some angry, some dangerously magnetic. What begins as avoidance turns into constant collisions: at the farmers market, around town, and eventually at the community garden project they’re roped into running together. With every stubborn argument and every unexpected moment of softness, the walls between them weaken. Tension turns into chemistry, chemistry into longing, and longing into something neither of them wants to admit. As Brielle fights the pull she feels toward the man she once despised, Jaxon battles with the guilt of the past and the fear that he’s already blown his second chance. What they don’t realize is that the very history that pushed them apart may be the key to bringing them together. Enemies? Absolutely. Attraction? Undeniable. Love? Inevitable…if they’re brave enough to take it.

I am the youngest daughter of the White family. As rulers of the Moon Shadow pack, the White family showered me with love from the young age. That was until my brothers brought home an orphaned Omega named Calista. In less than a month, she had stolen all the affection that once belonged to me. All it took was a slight frown from me when she tried to move into my bedroom, and my eldest brother, the Alpha, slapped me on the face. My second brother, the Beta, locked me in the cellar. I never wanted to compete with Calista. All I wanted was to live the rest of my days quietly. But on the day of my eighteenth birthday, Calista falsely accused me of attacking her when I shifted. My brothers called me evil, and they cut all ties with me. They believed that I was spoiled rotten and that my jealousy of Calista had made me turn vicious. Little did they know that I had already secretly applied to be the guard of the Land of Winter and to live there in solitude for 20 years. After this farewell, I would never see them again. On the day that I left, they all broke down in regret.

Book 1, Alania Wilson is a she-wolf daughter of the Red Winter Pack's beta, born with extraordinary abilities, desired by all the alphas for her ability to become one of the strongest Luna ever. When she is 14 years old, Alpha Julius of the Blue Mountain Pack tries to kidnap and abuse her to make her his and prevent anyone else from having her. Her father and brother will send her away to protect her, and when she is 18, she will return home to fulfill her destiny. But she comes back stronger than ever and with the intention of not accepting her mate because she wants to be the master of her own destiny and become the first alpha female. The moon goddess has another path prepared for her. When she finds her mate in her alpha Hansen, she tries to evade the mating bond by using magic. Hansen, without knowing that she is his mate feels the bond between them. The desire and attraction are getting stronger, and Alania falls in love with him. When Alania decides to confess to Hansen that she is his mate and seems to have found happiness, Alpha Julius reappears, and everything changes.

I chase my six-year-old daughter out of the house on a cold winter day. I cut her new clothes to pieces and dirty her dainty little face with mud. Then, I give her all my savings. She looks at me tearfully and reaches out for me, wanting me to hold her. However, I harden my heart and push her away, saying, "Leave! Go to Bowen Group and look for their CEO, Logan Bowen. Show him my death certificate and your DNA test—he'll take you in." She sobs while looking at me. "Don't you want me anymore, Mommy? Let's go look for Daddy together." After a brief silence, I say, "I can't go with you. I lied to him back then to have you." Yes, I'm a liar. I orchestrated everything from meeting Logan, dating him, to ultimately leaving him with his child in my womb. Even the death certificate I've given my daughter is fake. From beginning to end, I've lied to him about everything except our daughter.

"Mom, Dad, I’ve decided to come home for the blind dates you mentioned. I’ll be back by the end of the month." In the early spring, with the lingering chill of winter in the air, Valerie Stonecutter pushed open the door while speaking softly into the phone. Her gentle voice drifted through the rain like a thread weaving through the mist. Pulling her collar tighter against the cold, she heard her parents breathe a sigh of relief on the other end. "Val," her father began, his voice heavy with age. “Your mom and I haven’t been in good health these past few years. So now that you’ve made up your mind, that’s good. When you’re back, I’ll have your Aunt Laura arrange a few suitable candidates for you to meet." Hearing that her parents were already making arrangements for her future, Valerie’s gaze flickered, her emotions momentarily unsettled. After a few more words of small talk, she ended the call. She glanced around her home with a heavy heart, her thoughts tangled in a quiet storm. Then she retreated to her bedroom and began to pack.

After I, Rosalie Ricci, was stood up 17 times, the mafia don, Daniel Marino, finally holds the perfect engagement banquet for me. In our second year together, we are ready to get married. But every single time, he has an excuse to hold our engagement off. He says he's busy with work, the timing isn't right yet, or that he isn't quite ready. I never blame him because I love him. I have loved him since our school days. In fact, I have loved him for seven whole years. This is the 18th time. I stand in the banquet hall wearing the gown he personally chose for me and watch as he slips the ring onto my finger. He kisses me with a passionate intensity he has never shown me before. At that moment, I believe that I have finally secured my perfect happiness after waiting seven long years. My happiness only lasts until the guests leave. As I step into the back garden, I see Daniel holding my twin sister, Leah Ricci, in his arms. He says in a hushed voice, "I announced my engagement to Rosalie 18 times. This time, you're finally back." That's when I realize that the engagement banquet that I have longed for is nothing more than a ploy by Daniel to draw Leah back to him. But when I decided to let them be together, Daniel panics.

On my birthday, Connor Simpson's first love jumped off a building due to depression. She died on the spot. Connor blamed everything on me. I never celebrated my birthday again after she died. After the murderer electrocuted me for more than ten hours, they forced me to call Connor. "Connor, it's my 25th birthday today. Can you come over and spend time with me?" However, Connor did not notice anything unusual. His voice was laced with venomous iciness. "Clarisse Winter, Audrey wouldn't have died if it weren't for you. How dare you ask me to celebrate your birthday? If only you were the one who died." I heard him coaxing a woman on the other end just before he hung up on me. That low and gentle tone was what I loved to hear the most in the past. That night, the murderer cut my body into countless pieces, packed them in bags, and threw them in front of the police station. Connor was summoned back overnight. He spent two days and two nights piecing together the body parts, but he did not realize that the dead person was the wife that he hated the most.

A writer once said, "We don't need down jackets in summer, fans in winter, and attention after we're disappointed." After the breakup, I became happy and even found myself. Thanks for letting me go. This is a series of stories after breakups. A relationship may not necessarily make people happier, but a breakup will definitely do it. “Seven Ear Piercings” I had a secret relationship with my stepmother's son. When we broke up, it became particularly unpleasant. One day, he got drunk and intercepted me in the bathroom. He said, "I'm a masochist. We'll torment each other until our hair turns grey. What can you do to me?" “Blind Date With an Undercover Cop” I never expected to meet him again. The last time I saw him, he was a clumsy barista who messed up my order nine times in a row. I felt sorry for him, so I tried to crack a joke. "Hey, are you an undercover cop?" He looked startled and denied it quickly. But as soon as I left the cafe, he locked the door and disappeared. Later on, we ran into each other again. He stopped me and said, "You're under arrest, because you have stolen my heart, darling."

“I want you again, Aurora… naked, begging, and this time as my mate.” In Last Christmas, after a painful betrayal, Aurora Wright made a mistake she never forgot. She spent one night with a stranger whose touch left her breathless, and that night ended in a pregnancy she faced alone. Two months after giving birth, Aurora is hired as the lead photographer for Averne’s Christmas festival. When she arrives in the winter city beyond Paris, she discovers that the man from that night is Leon Valmont, the cold and dangerously handsome CEO of the entire project. Leon is not just a CEO. He is the Alpha prince of Averne, a hidden werewolf kingdom. And the moment he sees Aurora holding a child with familiar eyes, he knows the truth. “You disappeared after that night,” Leon growls, stepping close enough to claim her breath. “But you are not leaving again. Not you… and not my child.”Caught between a possessive Alpha prince, a truth she tried to hide, and a bond that never faded, Aurora must face the man she never meant to see again. This Christmas, her baby daddy does not just want answers. He wants his mate. And he wants his family back.

Wendy McNaulty never expected her twenties to look like this—sharing a quirky Boston townhouse with her two best friends, juggling a job she doesn’t love, and navigating a love life that’s as messy as the city’s winter slush. With Grady, her charming and overly confident roommate, and Scott, the quiet and steady best friend who knows her better than anyone, Wendy’s life is a whirlwind of late-night pizza runs, laughter, and unspoken tension. When a disastrous breakup pushes her to “figure herself out,” Wendy vows to swear off romance and focus on herself—only to find love and scandal showing up where she least expects it. As lines blur between friendship and something deeper, Wendy is forced to confront her own heart. Torn between the thrill of the new and the comfort of what’s always been, she begins to unravel feelings she’s kept buried for years. But just when she thinks she has it all figured out, an unexpected twist threatens to change everything. In the midst of secrets, mistakes, and the kind of vulnerability she’s always avoided, Wendy learns that true love doesn’t always come in the form you expect—it’s often been standing right beside you all along.