Would've Could've Should've

I took my last breath when his hatred for had reached it's peak. I chose to take my own life, when I could no longer bear the wait of his hatred When my ashes was handed to Leo, my mate, he smiled and patted it. He was pleased I had finally died. “Filthy thing. She should’ve died a death more painful than this,” he said as he tipped the urn sending it crashing to the ground. He believed I had killed his first love. Despite all our years together, he was waiting for this moment to get his revenge. The air carried my ashes as he stepped over them and walked away. But not long after he returned in regret begging to have me returned to him.

For as many years as I've been married, I've lived as a widow in all but name. Desperate for a child, my husband even pushed me into his brother's bed. It was only when I lay in his brother's bed that I truly understood what it means to experience the passionate ecstasy between a man and a woman, a desire so intense it felt like life and death.

Ve·tur /vetr/ /vɛːtʏr/ /veːtʊr/ Faroese, Icelandic, Old Norse noun meaning winter Groomed to be pure perfection in the eyes of a never-satisfied mother, Cyan struggled to find her place within her clan. She knew her responsibility to them, but she had yet to deliver. They accepted her, failure and all, they still loved her. But love and acceptance are futile in the eyes of time. And time is something she can’t take for granted because soon, it will run out. Refusing to tempt fate, and for their own selfish gain, those closest to Cyan betrayed her in the worst way possible. Secrets. Lies. Absolute deception. She didn’t break though. She snapped. And when she snapped, time no longer mattered because she would end them all.

Willa has been running for as long as she could remember along side her twin brother, West and her mother. Their Mother has always told them that a someone is after them. Life was difficult since their mother trained them to be ready for anything, even her death. Two years after their mom died, the twins luck has finally run out and they are captured but they are shocked to discover that it's their own father and brothers they've been running from. Now reunited, will the twins finally find happiness and family or will they end up being destroyed by their family's dark secret? With everyone hiding secrets, what is the truth? What is safe? The twins have only ever believed in their motto, Chaos not cash, maim not murder and each other. Can they trust anyone else and more importantly, should they?

Evelina Dray: I have spent years cataloging what Obscura wanted forgotten. Erased names. Broken prophecies. Bloodlines rewritten by fear. Knowledge is supposed to be neutral, but I’ve learned that every truth has a cost, and someone always bleeds for it. Draven Kael is not a secret I was meant to find. He is a weapon the world buried and prayed would stay buried. He should terrify me. He does. But fear has never stopped me from opening a door. The Interregnum believes I will choose safety. Obscura believes I will choose loyalty. They are wrong. I will choose the truth, even if it burns everything I am standing on. Draven Kael: They call me a monster because it’s easier than admitting they built me this way. I was forged to kill dragons, to end bloodlines, to erase problems before they learned how to scream. The Interregnum didn’t give me purpose. It gave me permission. Evelina Dray is not supposed to see me. She looks anyway. She doesn’t flinch when she learns what I am, what I’ve done, what I was designed to destroy. That makes her dangerous. That makes her mine. This war is not ending. Not here. Not now. And when the world finally tears itself open, it won’t be heroes who decide what survives. It will be the weapons that were never meant to love anything at all.

On my 50th wedding anniversary, I took my worn, crumbling marriage certificate to City Hall to renew it. The clerk glanced at it—and froze. “This certificate is fake. Our records show you’ve never been married.” I stared. “Impossible. I’ve been married to Damien Slater for fifty years.” The clerk pulled up his file. “Well…Yes, Mr. Slater is married—but his wife’s name is Vanessa Grant.” Vanessa. His widowed sister-in-law. A military doctor who’d spent decades living among the troops. My hands shook as I returned home and confronted Damien. He didn’t even try to deny it. “I’ve treated you well all these years. Isn’t that enough? Vanessa is my true love. I only ever wanted her—our children, our life.” My son counseled me and said, “To spare your feelings, my parents kept it a secret their whole lives. You’re getting old now. What more do you want?” Only then did I learn the truth. The child I had raised with my own hands was never mine by blood. Decades ago, Vanessa and I gave birth on the same day. To ensure her child would grow up with intellect, privilege, and a future that I could provide, Damien switched our children. My own son? Damien drowned him in the pond the moment he drew breath. And I—fool that I was—raised Vanessa’s boy as my own. I even got him all the way to Claremont University. The truth broke me, and I collapsed. When I opened my eyes again—I was back. Back to the day I went into labor.

When my husband once again chooses to abandon me to celebrate his true love's birthday, I finally let go. He takes his true love stargazing; I don't cause a fuss. He buys her an expensive scarf, but all I do is smile. I even tell him to buy another hat—it's pretty cold. He thinks I've finally learned to be obedient. However, he has no idea I've secretly renounced my citizenship to join Doctors Without Borders. By the time he comes to his senses, I've vanished without a trace.

"You can't escape from a mate bond ... trust me. I’ve tried." After a one-night stand with a billionaire Jordy, Emma was kicked out of the house and forced to be a poor homeless girl. To survive, she did the only thing she could and went to a place full of mystery. The perfect girl had no idea how silly she was when two alphas wanted her and claimed her. And the worst part was one of the alphas named Jordy, the man who took her virgin that night. Emma tried to hide the secrets, but it was hard to be buried, and fate always had a plan. Now, could Emma hide her identity a secret or would she be found out and punished for running from her Two Alphas? Which brother would she choose? The over-protective big brother Jordy, or the bad boy younger brother Austin? These hot and sexy brothers would have Emma begging for more. She would love them. She would hate them. But they only want to hide her away and marry them.

Sandra Lowry is renting out her property for a living. A lifetime investment she couldn't really afford. When her best friend/property agent told her they were bidding on a new prospect that could cover her next 5-year rent, she was excited. The client, a handsome actor with a tragic past who would be living in her compound for the next 6 months. With her own past tragedy, the two developed an instant friendship that was rare and found a connection beyond what they've ever had before. Unbeknownst to her that her past was on its way to catch up with her and prevent her from moving on.

Nova and Valen barely escaped Isroth with their lives and now they’ve crash-landed on an empty planet—no people, no tools to fix their ship. Nova has spent her life building and creating mechanics, but this is the most advanced vessel in the galaxy, and she can’t figure out what’s wrong with it. But maybe the crash was a blessing in disguise. They’ve seen their entire lives together, but this is the first real time they’ve ever had with one another. This is their chance to see if their future is worth fighting for, and if there is anything between them besides attraction and fate. On this empty planet, there is no fighting, no war, no conflict. Their days and nights are filled with uncertain glances, soft touches, and life-altering vows. What was once never a question is now a serious consideration: do they even want to fix the ship, or is this the beginning of a brand new, perfect life?