1945 Pulitzer Winning

Zac Jesselton and I grew up together. From the time we were little, we never went more than three days without seeing each other. Ever since I confessed my feelings to him, he started avoiding me. He even went as far as hiring bodyguards to monitor my every move. “If Nancy ever shows up within half a mile, remind me to leave immediately.” That was the sentence he said most often to his bodyguards and friends. I did as he wished and stopped chasing after him. I married someone my parents introduced me to. However, the same man who had once insisted on keeping his distance started clinging to me and refused to leave me alone.

My dad urgently requested that I bring Jeffrey back as he was rushed to the emergency room following a car accident. I nodded, holding back tears, but deep down, I knew Jeffrey harbored resentment toward me. He blamed me for his shattered relationship, my inherited wealth, and for coming between him and his first love. Nothing could deter him from pursuing her, not even me. "Evalyn, today is Melinda's birthday. Can you just be reasonable for once?" He spoke these words amidst the familiar sounds of laughter before abruptly ending the call. Moments later, my dad took his last breath, his eyes wide open in a final, stark gaze. As I fulfilled his last requests, organizing everything as he had instructed, I decided to let Jeffrey go. It was only then that he began to regret everything…

The day I find out I only have three days left to live, my mate comes home with a mate termination contract. He wants to break up with me and form a new bond with another she-wolf who's pretending to be dying—just to fulfill her so-called final wish. "Sweetheart, I don't have a choice," Caleb Lowe says, holding me in his arms. "Ruby's been poisoned with silver. She's got about a week left. Her dying wish is to marry me. But don't worry. You're the only one I love," he adds, looking at me with those sincere eyes. "Once the bonding ceremony is over and she's gone, we'll get back together—just like before." I look down and give a small laugh, then sign the termination contract. Forget it. I'm dying anyway. Who he ends up with doesn't matter anymore. I might as well let him have what he wants.

My husband, Zachary Larson, and I are holding a welcome dinner for my sister, Julia Scott. When someone asks what Julia's greatest regret is, she raises her glass and looks at Zachary dreamily. "It's probably the time I wasn't brave enough to keep his child." Everyone starts to whisper amongst themselves. I tighten my grip on the pregnancy check-up report I'm about to reveal to them. My stomach twists with the emotions swirling in my head. Julia suddenly returns to her senses and chuckles. "I was just kidding. We were only friends with benefits, so don't take it to heart, Queenie. He married you, so you're the one he loves."

After being reborn, I didn't stop my Alpha mate, Caden, from bringing home his childhood friend—Lilith. She was carrying a pup, and he wanted to take care of her. I didn't fight it. I broke the mate bond myself. Handed him exactly what he wanted. Set up every private moment between them. Then slipped out of their story. Because in my past life, even as I lay dying, Caden hated me for not letting Lilith stay with us while she was with pup. She lost it on the way out. Couldn't carry again. And Caden? He said once I was gone, he'd make it right. Be with her. Protect her. So this time, I let him. Gave them everything. Gave them everything they wanted. So why did Caden lose his mind searching the world for me—begging me to come back?

I was Brandon Sandler’s most cherished canary—pampered, sheltered, and utterly his for five years. Then came the news of his engagement to another woman. Only then did I realize his affection had been a carefully crafted revenge. He trapped me by his side, flaunting his love for another while subjecting me to relentless humiliation. Eventually, I stopped caring. But the ruthless business tycoon, who once held himself above all, clutched me with red-rimmed eyes, begging me to come home. He said he regretted everything. My hand instinctively cradled my stomach as I glanced at the man behind him. “Darling,” I murmured, “this man is scaring our baby.”

Ethan West and I were together for seven years. Because of one promise, I gave up the thrill of being a gold-medal race car driver to become a housewife, tied to the mundane rhythm of pots and pans. Yet, Ethan never changed. His gentle care and thoughtfulness remained constant over the years, and I believed he loved me. Until the day I saw him, madly holding another woman, kissing her as if the world would end. It was then I learned the truth: I was Ethan's wife, but Tara was the unattainable princess he had always longed for.

After Raven Fuentes's Childhood sweethearts Lyra Ross is taken by rogue wolves, Raven Fuentes hates me with everything he has. He'd rather spend his nights patrolling in the cold and drinking himself numb than face me, his mate. I care for him, try to please him, do everything I can… but all I get in return is his icy rejection. "The one you wronged is Lyra. If anyone should've been taken, it should've been you—not her." His words crush me. My heart breaks completely. And yet, when I'm attacked by a pack of rogues, it's Raven who throws himself into the fray to save me. He dies under their savage claws. Even in his final moments, he won't look at me. "If I had a choice, I'd never want to be tied to you again." At the funeral, Raven's mother faints on the stone platform holding his body, sobbing uncontrollably. "I should've never forced him into a mate bond with you. I would've rather he ended up with Lyra!" His father strokes his face one last time, his voice shaking with rage and grief. "He saved your life three times! This time, it cost him his own. You owe him three lives, and not even death can repay that debt!" Raven was the captain of the protection force. He spent his life shielding others. Everyone calls him a hero. The only tragedy, they say, is that he married me. And honestly, I agree. They forbid me from attending his funeral. They won't even let me say goodbye. Not long after, I hear the Silvermoon Pack has developed a time-travel device. Without hesitation, I pay the price so that I can go back in time. This time, I'll do what everyone wishes I had done. I'll cut all ties with Raven and stay far away from everyone.

On the day I discovered I was pregnant, my husband's first love—who also happened to be my half-sister—returned.

I'd been married to my lawyer husband for eight years. In all that time, he never once acknowledged me as his wife in public. He wouldn't even let our daughter call him "Dad." Again and again, he missed out on her childhood because of his childhood sweetheart. Even when she hurt our daughter, he still forgave her. I was worn out and empty. So I decided to leave. I took our daughter and vanished from his world. But he refused the divorce. He started searching for us like a madman, turning the whole world upside down. Only this time, neither my daughter nor I will be looking back.