I am Amber Jasper, daughter of the Alpha of the Scarlet Pack. But others only thought I was the lowest of slaves, and no one knew I existed. Because my father never wanted to acknowledge me, he treated me as a stain on his life just because my mother was omega. The day I turned eighteen, my father killed my mate in front of me, just so he could get me to marry his vicious enemy instead of my stepsister. And it was also the day I received the deadliest curse of all. I will never forget him gasping for breath, lifting his head helplessly with rage in his eyes, and saying with his last strength, "I, Eric Johnson, curse you with my life to never be happy, to be betrayed for all eternity-". This curse that filled the rest of my life .... *** I am Alpha King Ryan, and I have watched my father be struck down in front of me, a nightmare that has haunted me for years! And now the chance for revenge has come. [Alpha, we've picked up Luke's daughter and will be returning soon.] A grin of pure, unadulterated happiness tore across my face and I laughed triumphantly. I had been waiting for this day for what felt like an eternity. After enduring years of painful memories and biding my time until the perfect moment presented itself to me, as if by magic, that moment had arrived. But as I stood there stoically as the car parked and the back door opened, my heart almost stopped. As much as I wanted to throw her away from me, I inhaled deeply and my wolf surged forward growling a single word possessively as our eyes locked. "MATE!" My stomach sank and a wave of disgust washed over me as I fought furiously against my wolf for control. No, it's not possible! I will never accept her as my mate, I will make her the lowest of slaves! I will destroy everything about her, just like her father once did to me!
(Amber's POV)
Today was my eighteenth birthday and it seemed as though I had been waiting for this day forever. For years I had been hidden away from the rest of the pack, a dirty little secret whose mere presence brought shame on my father, the Alpha of the Scarlet Pack, and today was the first day that I had ever been seen in public.
For so many years I have lived here as a slave, my true identity kept from anyone. But recently, out of the blue, my father told me he was going to have a Bar Mitzvah for me and introduce me to the entire werewolf world. My wolf Rae and I have no idea why he's doing this.
To be honest, I have a bad feeling that this is definitely not a simple bar mitzvah. I wasn't a child anymore, I didn't believe in fairy tales. But I can't resist, I'm not just any daughter who can be capricious and disobey her father, I'm just an unloved slave.
I am not even allowed to see my real mother.
My mother is still lying in a hospital bed, relying on instruments to keep her life alive with difficulty. Whenever I didn't go along with my father's plans, he threatened me with my mother's life. And I know he wasn't kidding; he really wouldn't hesitate to pull out my mother's oxygen tube.
"The fucking arrogant prick." My wolf Rae raged in my head, "How can he be so heartless as to dangle our mothers life over us at every opportunity just to get what he wants!"
"There's not much we can do about it, Rae," I replied quietly as I made my way over to where my father stood side by side with his wife and other daughter, my stepmother and stepsister, who watched me wryly as I approached.
"I mean there is... but you won't let me do anything about it..."
"It wouldn't solve anything Rae. We aren't strong enough to challenge and defeat him, besides, I desperately want to see mom again. If we can just get through tonight then there's a chance..."
"Never had a chance!" Rae scoffed loudly. "He's a sneaky bastard, I don't believe he'll keep any promises!"
Rea was right, my father hadn't promised me anything, but I believed that maybe today would be the beginning of all the changes. My father's admitting my existence to the pack might mean that I would meet my mate. Perhaps my mate could help me escape from my father's imprisonment.
"I have a feeling that our mate will show up tonight..." Rae exclaimed excitedly, immediately agreeing with me.
Displeased with my distraction, my father shattered my fantasy with his cold voice. "Amber, come here."
Instantly, all the werewolves in the auditorium turned their gaze towards me. My face immediately burned, and for a moment, I felt dizzy. I still couldn't get used to being scrutinized by so many people. But my father's gaze was as sharp as a whip, sending shivers down my spine. I quickly walked over and stood on his left side.
And on the other side of me were my stepsister and stepmother.
"I don't want to stand near her. She's a fucking embarrassment." My stepsister murmured to her mother as she shot me a filthy look.
"If you pretend she doesn't exist it will make getting through tonight a lot easier."
"I'm the Alpha's daughter! She's nothing but a bitch, just like her mother! How can she stand with me? This is just humiliating to me! " She pressed as she glared at me furiously, but a look from my father silenced her as I stood in front of him.
My father cleared his throat and began introducing me to the crowd with the authoritative voice of an alpha. "This is my other daughter, Amber. Today is her 18th birthday, and just like me, I know you all are eager to know what level her wolf will be. We'll see the result before midnight tonight. But one thing is clear, she is beautiful, and I believe it is a shared treasure of our pack..."
What did he mean? My beauty is a treasure for our pack? Was he planning to sell me to some powerful pack for resources? I knew our pack had been losing money these years... but I was still shocked by his shamelessness! He didn't even bother concealing it from the pack members!
I clenched my fists. This was it! This was why he'd presented me tonight! I felt smoke rising in my throat and my chest uncontrollably heaved up and down.
Bastard! The fact that my father is a bastard has never changed!
The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause. My father didn't give them a chance to ask questions because he saw my eyes turning red. He knew that if he continued, I might not be under his control anymore.
When he approached to give me a final hug, I dodged him in disgust. Immediately, he threatened me. "If you cause any problems tonight, or open your mouth to the wrong people, then I won't arrange for the visit to your mother, do you understand?"
I nodded quietly as Rae's anger rolled off me in waves and he tightened his grip on me. As the Alpha and my father, he must have felt Rea's insecurities.
So he whispered a warning to us, "That goes for your bitch of a wolf as well. I can quite easily have her suppressed if she steps out of line, leaving you all alone. You wouldn't want that would you?"
His words were mechanical and emotionless, and even though I stood with them, we were not family, and I was still a slave. I swallowed the emotions that were about to overwhelm me, and with a dignified smile on my face, I carefully scanned the crowd in front of me, trying to distract myself from my bitter disappointment.
"Amber, perhaps we'll be lucky and our mate will be here to save us from this pathetic existence," Rae murmured sarcastically to me as my father's voice faded into the background, "We could run away together, find our mother and bring her somewhere safe..."
My expression remained cold when someone greeted me. The pack members, just like my father, were all bastards. They all accepted what my father had done to me without question. But Rae's excited voice suddenly stopped, catching my attention.
In the next moment, I could feel an odd sense of excitement beginning to ripple from her. She was on high alert and I could feel her anxious pacing in my mind increase in intensity as the omega's began making their way into the ballroom and filling the tables with various dishes that gave off mouth watering aromas.
As my eyes drifted over the workers they landed on one particular man. He was tall and wiry, with a gentle-looking face, and as he turned to glance in our direction, our eyes locked, and the plate of food that he had been carrying clattered to the floor noisily...
Instantly, I felt as though I couldn't breathe. All of the air had been stolen from my lungs and my heart felt as though it would burst as Rae screamed loudly in my head.
"MATE!!!" Rea's voice exploded in my head, and for a moment I froze in place.
"MATE! Amber! Go to him!"
The sweet smell of my mate washed over me and I pushed my way through the crowd, ready to cling to him, but a familiar chorus echoed through the hall, "Amber!"
My father's angry face appeared in front of me, his glaring eyes blocking me from my mate.
"Father..." I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat as I tried to explain, but a sneer spread across his face as he tightened his grip on my arm and turned his head to look at the man standing in shock.
I was afraid my father would hurt him and gathered my courage to try to say something, "Father, he's my..."
"Mate?" Father interrupted without waiting for me to finish, his tone filled with mockery. Quickly he added, "The Moon Goddess gave you this poor Omega as a mate?"
Yes! She did! How I wanted to say it out loud! But then I remembered how my mother had been tortured by him just because she was an Omega. The excitement in my eyes vanished.
My father would kill him! He would kill my mate! No! I will never allow this to happen! "No... he's not..." I immediately shook my head and tried to signal my partner with my eyes not to approach me. I didn't want him to be in danger because of me.
But he didn't seem to read my eyes, and with the attraction of the mate bound, he rushed past my father and tried to grab my hand, yelling "MATE!"
"No!" I quickly shook him off. "I, Amber Jasper, daughter of the Alpha of the Scarlet Pack, reject..."
I hadn't even finished my oath of refusal when I saw my father turn into wolf, his claws swiftly piercing my mate's neck.
Pfft...
In an instant, blood began to gush from his neck and even splashed onto my face.
"No!!!"
I watched him fall to the ground with a frightened look in his eyes...
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
A twist of fate bound Allison to Derek in marriage-she, a powerful heiress with countless hidden identities; he, the city's most admired man, now lying silent in a coma. For three years, Allison used her unmatched medical skills to heal him, all while quietly falling in love. But when Derek's long-lost love returned from abroad, he handed Allison divorce papers without a second thought. Resolved to stop chasing shadows, Allison signed the papers and turned her back on love-rising to fame as a dazzling force in business, medicine, and more. Only when she stood high above the world did Derek finally see her worth. He knelt before her, eyes brimming with regret. "Will you take me back?" he whispered.
For two years Caitlin quietly wore Isaac's ring, trying to melt the frost from his heart-until his first love returned, pregnant. Devastated and hiding her own pregnancy, Caitlin presented divorce papers. Isaac ripped them apart with a sneer, "Tired of your games already?" Later, Caitlin stormed back into the spotlight-a billionaire designer with endless admirers. Desperate, Isaac pinned her to the wall, pleading, "Honey, give me one more chance."
Lyric had spent her life being hated. Bullied for her scarred face and hated by everyone-including her own mate-she was always told she was ugly. Her mate only kept her around to gain territory, and the moment he got what he wanted, he rejected her, leaving her broken and alone. Then, she met him. The first man to call her beautiful. The first man to show her what it felt like to be loved. It was only one night, but it changed everything. For Lyric, he was a saint, a savior. For him, she was the only woman that had ever made him cum in bed-a problem he had been battling for years. Lyric thought her life would finally be different, but like everyone else in her life, he lied. And when she found out who he really was, she realized he wasn't just dangerous-he was the kind of man you don't escape from. Lyric wanted to run. She wanted freedom. But she desired to navigate her way and take back her respect, to rise above the ashes. Eventually, she was forced into a dark world she didn't wish to get involved with.
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.