before we were strangers

***What happens when a girl falls in love with the one person she's not supposed to?*** "You and me, and never us: a complicated series of almost-interactions." It's the summer before college and Kara is forced to spend the holidays with her new family. Little does she know, a lot can happen in one hot summer. The moment Kara lays her eyes on Ryder, she knows she's a goner. She has never met anyone as sexy, fun, and liberating. But she's made a promise that she won't give herself away before marriage. The moment Ryder lays his eyes on Kara, he knows his life wouldn't be the same again. He has never met a girl so pure and genuine. He's made it his life mission to be with her, for better or for worse. "If God is love, you're my religion." Sometimes we can't choose who we fall in love with. Kara and Ryder's love for one another is the kind of love that only comes once in a blue moon, but unfortunately, they can never be anything more than a brother and sister. All that love, yet it is barely anything at all...

Jake, the guy I used to work with. The guy that I had unspoken tension and chemistry with from the first day we met. I say unspoken because nothing was ever said or done about it at the time. Why? because we were both in relationships. The last time I saw him was over a year ago, and a lot has changed since then, well some things. I was single, he was still taken, and that should be enough to keep me at bay, right? Wrong! One night we meet at the club and everything changes. I become the kind of woman I never thought I was, the kind to go after another woman's man. And he becomes something he never thought he was either, a cheater. It was only supposed to be a one-time thing, but it was like the moment we had a taste, we keep coming back for more. Temptation is a hard thing to fight, and I guess in this case, it is a fight that we both lost.

Elle is raised as an Omega after she is supposedly found as a pup by the Alpha of the Blue Crest pack. Blue Crest Omegas are treated no better than slaves, forced to endure the pack's whims while taking care of a pack that does not even respect them. She longs for the day that she will meet her mate – that one person who completes her and will love her instead of despising her for no reason at all. The day that should have been her fairytale turned into her nightmare when Blue Crest's Alpha heir rejects her in front of everyone in order to humiliate her. The truth about Elle is known only by two people. Elle is not just an Omega. She is a descendant of the Moon Goddess who is destined to make her pack the strongest in history. Alpha Kade of the Nightshade pack has yet to find his mate even though he is twenty-four years old. That changes when he visits the Blue Crest pack to discuss an alliance between their packs. He has waited to find his mate and finally has. He also recognizes that she is not just an Omega like Alpha Andrew insists. He finds great amusement in the fact that her ex-mate was such a fool, but he is thankful for it since she was given to him, and he will always praise the Moon Goddess for such a gift. A prophecy, destiny, and supernatural forces are at play as Alpha Kade and Elle are forced to figure it all out before anything happens. Alpha Andrew is not a forgiving man and will stop at nothing to get her back. Can they figure out who their enemies are before it is too late? Can Alpha Kade protect his Luna?

From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sexy standalone novel about the baddest bad boy doctor and the sweet little nurse that he falls for. When I left my small hometown years ago, I never expected to come back. I certainly never expected that when I did, I'd be working for him. He's the town's doctor. He's supposed to be a respectable member of society, a pillar for the community. He's supposed to have come a long way from the bad boy who rode a motorcycle in high school. But he hasn't. One glance from those lustful eyes looking at me tells me that he has the same voracious appetites that he did when we were younger. Only it's not quite the same stare. It's more urgent. It's more intense. I'm not the same nerdy girl who tutored him. I've grown up, developed fertile curves that I know he finds irresistible. In this small town, rumors travel fast, and the family doctor can't be seen as a player. So he does try to resist. And I do too. But with every smoldering glance and moment of sexual tension, we find our barriers breaking down. After a stressful night of touch-and-go baby delivery, a moment of elation overcomes our inhibitions. It seems like maybe we'll need to confront those rumors sooner rather than later, especially before I begin to show the results of that night. Can I give this doctor the family he has always desired?

I sensed his presence before I ever saw him, my mate... I looked up to meet amber eyes gazing at me confidently. Zane Black, Alpha of the Blue moon pack, was gorgeous, powerful and just what every woman dreamed of… or so he thought. “Hello, mate...” he said with a smirk. I looked at him blankly for a moment before I slowly smirked at him. “I reject you, Mr. Alpha,” I said in a bored tone. His brows furrowed as he stared at me uncomprehendingly. Then slowly realization dawned and his expression changed to disbelief, pain and finally rage.  “You reject me? You think I am not worthy to be your mate? I promise you, the day will come when you will beg for my love. You will regret rejecting me. That day, I will be the one who will have the last laugh,” he vowed. “Let’s see, Alpha. I will just tell you one thing. I, Kayla Xanders, had never ever tasted defeat in my life till day,” I said confidently.  I watched his eyes go wide in shock as he heard my name. Before he could reply, I turned, and walked away from him. Bring it on, Alpha. Let the games begin. __________________ An unexpected rogue attack changed the life of Kayla Xanders. She lost her family as well as half of her pack. At just sixteen, she took over as the Alpha of the Crescent moon pack and vows to avenge the murder of her family. Seven years later, she had become a ruthless Alpha, feared and respected by all. When she meets her mate, Zane, a playboy with an attitude, she rejects him outright. Soon, they start their games against each other. Why did she really reject Zane? And will he ever win her over? 

While the criminal was brutally killing me, my dad, the head of the criminal investigation division, and my mom, the chief forensic pathologist, were attending my sister Lily Lambert’s match. In a bid for revenge, the criminal, who had once been captured by my dad, cut out my tongue and used my phone to call him. My dad only said one thing before hanging up. "No matter what’s going on, Lily’s match is the top priority today!" The criminal sneered, "Seems I’ve kidnapped the wrong person. I thought they would love their biological daughter more!" At the crime scene, my parents were shocked by the brutal state of the body and condemned the cruelty of the killer. However, they did not realize that the horrifically mutilated corpse was their own daughter.

They say that when you love someone, tell them. I told him and we became lovers- a celebrated couple and business partners. I was the veritable Cinderella who has caught her Prince Charming. We had two blissful years until I woke up to the harsh reality that he never loved me and was just a stand-in for his true love. After a tragic incident, my Prince Charming turned into my worst nightmare. Overnight, he stripped me of my identity and everything that goes with it: name, wealth and protection. He let me suffer humiliation and pain. He left me broken and almost made me lose my precious sons. The children he did not deserve to know about. Now, I am back on my feet. With the help of my four long-lost brothers, I regained everything my ex-husband took away from me. With an empire behind me, it's time for revenge. “It's time to make you pay for what you have put me through. And I won't stop until I win.” “Now, who lost everything, my dear Ex? Certainly not me.”

THE REJECTED LUNA SERIES BOOK 1 - ALPHA KING'S RUNAWAY MATE BOOK 2 - ALPHA KING ARAMIS "Open the door," he shouted at my face, "Don't make me get physical with you, Octavia," he warned me angrily. "No! You have to see your daughter's face," I was holding our days-old daughters and requesting him to take a look at her beautiful face and change his mind. "This is not my daughter and you are not my God damn mate," he shouted as he pulled his nose up in disgust. "Silas! How can you not look at her face and not know she is your daughter? How can you reject me and accept my sister?" I was sobbing and begging for him to hold his daughter. "Because she is my mate and you are just someone with a rouge's blood in your system," every word he said towards me and his daughter was going to be engraved on the walls of my heart forever. "If you walked out of this door and got engaged to my sister today, you will never see my or my daughter's face ever again," I warned him in tears. "Good! I would love to never see you two again," he didn't care and pushed me out of his way. ... Hated and unwanted by her step-mother and half-sister. Octavia had a difficult life growing up. Her father has been the only one who cared for her. A night with her mate and pregnancy was all it took for her to lose all respect. Betrayed and hurt by her own mate, Octavia decided to leave with her baby and never come back. What will she do when she is forced to return to unwanted circumstances? Will Silas realize his mistake before it's too late? Read now to find out.

*Warning- This book contains mature themes Rue ~ her name has brought many to their knees when uttered. A devious witch who brings chaos to the were kind. She simply wants them all dead. That is until everything changes. With a twist of fate Rue finds herself trapped inside an enchanted forest with none other than the soon to be werewolf king, Ares, who so happens to be her mate. With a possessive werewolf king and a devious witch who thinks she is too beautiful to be mated to a 'mutt', their story is bound to bring chaos and it has only just begun. "I'm going to stretch you out and make you submit to me little witch." Ares grumbles, his canines teasingly tracing where he was supposed to mark me. His words held a promise and I nearly came undone by the thought of him dominating me.

"Of all people, why you?" His words were like daggers, piercing through the depths of my soul, shredding my heart into pieces. He ran his fingers through his messy, sexy-looking hair, cursing under his breath a couple of times. Disappointment, anger, and disbelief radiated from his aura. "But why, Adrian?" I asked, my voice breaking. Was I too ugly or undesirable for him to show this level of contempt for having me as his mate? "Isn't it obvious? I don't want you. I need a strong Luna by my side, and your sister, being a shifter, is an obvious choice. I can't love a weak, regular-looking she-wolf like you. Don't you understand? This mateship is a mistake. I can't be mated with you. It's shameful. You will only embarrass me." ******************* Aria Williams was devastated when her mate, Adrian Patterson, rejected her in favor of her sister, Cassie. Heartbroken, she decided to live as a rogue. For two years, she had learned to put everything behind her and move on with her life. But one night changed everything, prompting her to look back and confront the one person she had been running away from. Is she ready to confront the ghosts of her past? More so, is she ready to claim the destiny that the Moon Goddess has bestowed upon her?