Not Castian! Anyone but him! Why is the moon goddess punishing me?! Chrystal thought. An enemy to her father and their kingdom, one banished from her own pack, the moon goddess chose the one person who should never have anything to do with her – the rogue alpha, Castian Rhodes! Will Chystal be able to return to the life she has always known, or will she be forced to embrace a new life with the exiled rogue wolf with whom she has nothing in common except a bond neither of them wants? As masks fall on all sides, which of her mates will she choose, the Noble Alpha, Darius, her lover and betrothed, or the rogue alpha, Castian Rhodes?
The scent of burning sage filled the night air as the Blood Moon rose over the Barone pack's sacred grounds.
The flames of the ceremonial pyres flickered, casting long shadows over the gathered wolves.
The night was warm, and the air was electric with excitement from both the wolves about to be mated and the crowd surrounding the fires.
Chrystal Barone stood in the center of the stone ritual circle, dressed in flowing white robes, her heart pounding, filling her ears with a rushing sound and causing her hands to shake.
Tonight was the night she had prepared for her entire life. The moment she would bond with Darius Strigan – the noble Alpha, her childhood friend, her destined mate.
Darius stood across from her, tall, golden-haired and confident, his piercing blue eyes locked onto hers. His trim, fit frame standing at alert. His hand twitched at his side, anticipation thick in the air.
The Blood Moon Bonding Ceremony was ancient and absolute. Under its power, fated mates would be drawn together, their souls binding forever.
There would be no mistakes. No second chances.
The two had waited for this day, and now, with their families and entire pack in attendance, the hour was near.
A stiff breeze blew, shifting Chrystal's gown and blowing strands of her long, honey-blonde hair into her face.
She shyly brushed her hair behind her ear, glancing away from Darius, who stood beaming at her, his Luna.
At exactly midnight, a deep voice boomed from the head of the circle.
"Step forward, children of the Moon. Let the Goddess reveal your fate," the elder who was leading the ceremony called out, his arms spread toward the couple.
Chrystal and Darius had been betrothed since childhood. This day, this moment, was meant to come.
Chrystal inhaled sharply and took a step forward. Darius did the same. The moment their feet touched the circle's glowing runes, the magic pulsed to life.
For the Blood Moon ritual, if the couple were not fated but still wanted to be together, arrangements would be made for them in another ceremony.
It was not a death sentence or a loss if the Bonding ceremony did not work.
But for the couple standing before their clan with their backs and shoulders straight, shining eyes fixed on the elder before them, they knew there would not be any issue.
They were fated, and it would be shown to everyone tonight.
Warmth spread through Chrystal's chest as the sacred bond awakened – then suddenly, that warmth turned to ice.
A brutal snap shot through her bones and she gasped, clutching her chest.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
It should not feel like this!
This is a bond between mates!
Why such pain?
Chrystal wondered, her mind racing as she glanced up at Darius who was staring down at her, his lips parted as his eyes widened.
He's not affected?
Nothing is happening to him?!
"Argh!" Chrystal cried out as her knees buckled.
The bond was forming – but not with Darius.
Pain coiled around her ribs, burning, twisting, causing her to almost double over as the whole crowd stepped forward as one.
The connection yanked at her soul, pulling her toward someone else.
Someone who was not in the circle.
There was a collective gasp from the crowd as Chrystal staggered forward, away from Darius.
Darius' eyes shifted to where Chrystal was heading.
From the shadows, beyond the ceremony, a low, dark chuckle echoed through the night as a deep voice that sounded like water running over rocks droned, "Well now, isn't this something?"
The crowd began to buzz as many who recognized the voice jolted, gazing among themselves in disbelief.
Darius' eyes widened, and his body stiffened as the man with the voice stepped into the clearing.
Chrystal was being pulled toward someone forbidden.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with storm-gray eyes and a face carved from stone, the rogue Alpha, once a member of the Barone pack – the Moonblaze pack – approached the gathering with long slow strides.
Scars lined his forearms, a testament to countless battles. His black cloak barely concealed the lethal muscles beneath as the night breeze pulled at it, revealing his broad chest and taught torso.
Whispers swept through the crowd.
A name fell from someone's lips, tinged with horror.
"Castian Rhodes."
"The rogue Alpha," another whisperer said.
The traitor. What no one said.
And now, Chrystal's mate.
Chrystal's breath hitched as she struggled against the pull.
No. No, this can't be happening! Chrystal wailed in her mind.
Darius! I'm supposed to be with Darius!
Not Castian! Anyone but him!
Why is the moon goddess punishing me?!
She screamed in her head as Castian's gaze met hers.
His expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of dark amusement in his cold eyes.
The mate bond pulsed between them, hot and undeniable.
He can feel me fighting it.
Fighting him.
Crystal mused as she watched his steady approach.
As she gazed at him, she knew why he had come forward – the pull was affecting him too.
He could not have stayed hidden if he had tried.
Her dry lips pursed as she struggled to stand.
Darius's expression twisted in fury.
"This is a mistake!" he growled, stepping forward between Chrystal and the advancing rogue.
"She's mine!" he spat, his piercing blue eyes on the man striding leisurely toward the stone ring.
The magic disagreed.
The runes on the ground flared red, binding Chrystal and Castian's fates together.
Her father, Alpha Mason Barone, stood frozen on the dais, his face pale as death.
From the moment his daughter cried out, he had been on his feet. But as the Alpha King, he had to maintain his poise.
The first person Chrystal's eyes had gone to after the pain stared, after Darius, had been her father, but the intense pain had drawn her eyes toward the source of the fierce pull on her heart – Castian Rhodes.
Without any warning, chaos erupted.
"Kill him!" Darius bellowed as he lunged backward, toward Chrystal, his hand reaching for her arm, fury blazing in his eyes.
The warriors surrounding the circle drew their weapons.
"She's my mate!" he snarled, as if directing his rage at the magic circle, the world, or the moon goddess herself.
"End the traitor!" someone else shouted, and the warriors rushed forward.
Blades flashed in the firelight as the pack warriors turned against Castian instantly.
Chrystal barely had time to scream before Castian moved toward her, faster than any wolf she had ever seen.
One moment, he was standing still; the next, he was a blur of motion, taking down three warriors in the span of a breath.
He did not hesitate. Did not falter as he swept toward her, the mate bond still fresh and pulling them together.
Darius lunged at Castian, claws unsheathed, but Castian wasn't there.
Chrystal, the young Luna-to-be, has long waited to be bonded with her childhood betrothed, Darius. On the night her world was to be made complete, it is completely shattered by the moon goddess' decree! Her mate is the vicious killer and rogue wolf, Castian, and now, thanks to the bond, so is she! Marked as a traitor by her own pack, Chrystal is forced to flee the only home she has ever known, or face death. Trapped by a wolf and a bond she does not deserve, Chrystal must choose between running for her life or facing the growing connection she starts to feel with a man she should fear. Will she fight her fate? Or embrace a love that could destroy them both?
"I reject you Marian Storm!" Those were the words she could never have dreamed to hear from the Alpha heir to her father's pack. And certainly not at the New Year's Moon celebration, in front of the whole pack. Leaving the pack compound that had been her prison for three years, Marian was heartbroken and determined never to return. But she knew she would, she must. After her rejection, the only desire left in her life was to kill the Alpha who had taken over her father's pack, failing that, she would leave the pack and become a rouge wolf. She returns home for Christmas to attend her fallen family's memorial service. On Christmas Eve, during the pack's mistletoe ceremony, she receives a gift she never expected, a gift no one wanted – Reyland, the biological son of the Alpha she has sworn to kill. Would this gift given to her by the moon goddess help Marian fulfill her desire to reclaim her pack, or would it stir up new passions within her broken heart and consume her instead?
Fate! Chance! A terrible accident changes the course of Karen's life. Thrown into the world of enigmatic billionaires Taylor Grey and his father Marshal Grey, she must find her way out of the cage presented to her by their family. Karen thought Taylor Grey was offering a helping hand after causing the accident that took away her livelihood, but she soon discovered that his father had other plans for her that she could never have imagined. Forced to play a role she never wanted, can she escape before it's too late for her to return to her own life? Torn between two very different men, who will she turn to for the freedom she desperately seeks? Will Karen find redemption or stay trapped by a family that will do anything to have their way?
Marcia and Jullian were inseparable in college; they were like two halves of one whole. Everyone thought they were a forever couple. On the day of their graduation, Jullian vanished without a trace, and Marcia's world came crashing down. Five years later, after rebuilding her life abroad, Marcia is back home, fully focused on her new company, the new love of her life. Just as things are falling into place, Jullian suddenly reappears, still as captivating as ever. His reason for coming back? To "help" Marcia and to "correct" his past mistakes. Jullian has a proposal – one that feels more like a challenge – sell your company to me and let me take care of you the way I should have years ago. What follows is a battle of wills. Will Marcia hold on to the independence she fought so hard to achieve, or will Jullian's return and his offer of security be too much to resist? It's a showdown between the woman who craves freedom and the one who once let her go.
The dream of everyone with regards to marriage is to be able to find that special someone and settle down with them. Even arranged marriages grant you an opportunity to meet your partner briefly before the wedding. How will you feel about waking up in the morning with someone sleeping next to you who is not just anyone but your legally married partner yet with no memory of how that had happened in just a few hours of going out the previous day? This is the story of Jason Haward and Julia Harrison, two strangers trapped in a marriage they never planned. The quest to find out why led to the unfolding of a mystery which made them realize they are both living a lie. To find out more, read this amazing story of love, betrayal, revenge and murder.
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
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.
For three years, Shane and Yvonne were wed, sharing heated nights, while his devotion clung to his ex. Yvonne strove to be a dutiful wife, yet their marriage felt hollow, built on desire rather than real warmth. All changed when she became pregnant, only for Shane to thrust her onto the operating table, warning, “Either you or the baby survives!” Broken by his cruelty, she vanished in grief and later returned, radiantly accomplished, leaving everyone awestruck. Haunted by remorse, Shane begged for another chance, but Yvonne only smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, men no longer interest me.”
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!