Bittersweet Novels & Stories

Zachary Lawson brought his pregnant secretary to my bridal store for a fitting. They had chosen a white gown. His friends were in the VIP lounge, betting on how long I'd last before I'd lose it. I lasted until the very end, where his secretary had tried out the final gown. I was still there, taking her measurement down to the precise decimal. "I can't believe your wife took your mistress' measurements. Her patience is impressive!" Zachary had sunk into the couch's soft caress, flicking his cigarette. "She's a barren woman who lives on my money. She'll have to get used to the part. I don't need a stepmother to manhandle my son." I pulled the tailor's tape back and showed them the bill. "The measurements are perfect. Two million. That's the deposit." Zachary tossed an asset split agreement over to me. "Sign this. Wendy's mood swings are horrible during pregnancy. She's not staying put unless she gets to be my wife. I'll need you to get a divorce and not take a single cent. Once the baby's here, I'll take you back into the fold." I signed the papers without even a moment's pause. Then, I tore the check into tiny little pieces.

Alpha Kaelan, my fated mate, despised me. He blamed me for the death of his childhood sweetheart, Lila. He hated our fated bond. He hated my power. He hated that the Elders forced him to mark me. He hated that our mating drove Lila to her death. So for twenty years, we were trapped in a cage of hatred, each wishing the other would drop dead. Until the day I was poisoned and dying. The moment I felt the poison, I knew. Kaelan did this. My wolf howled, fighting to keep me alive until he came home. I killed him with a silver dagger. But then, as he lay dying, I heard him whisper to his second-in-command. "Don't you dare kill her. The antidote I got from the witch… give it to Selene. And she can never know it was from me..." "And... you have to find out... who's been poisoning her all this time." After he died, a searing pain tore through my chest. Tears streamed down my face. I refused the antidote. I wanted this whole mistake to end. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back before he marked me. I took a deal with the Supernatural Council and left the continent behind. This time, I rejected our bond. I would give him and his precious Lila the happy ending they deserved.

As the full moon hangs above the masquerade, Apollo Cadwell shows up with Bella Lohart. One is my Beta mate, the other his childhood sweetheart. Since she doesn't have a gown for the ball, he gives her my dress instead. It's a one-of-a-kind piece I've handmade myself—priceless, even—that I'm supposed to wear for our mating ceremony. "Bella has never been to a masquerade before," he says. "A beautiful dress will help her feel more confident." I calmly hand the dress over and watch Bella slip into the gown I've designed stitch by stitch. She clings to Apollo's arm, acting sweet. "You're the best, Apollo. Can I borrow the ring on your hand as well? That moonstone is too dazzling to miss." One of our friends can no longer stand it and speaks up. "Nora spent an entire month making that ring by hand. Are you just going to give it away like that? Have you even considered Nora's feelings?" He patiently slides the ring onto Bella's finger, then replies casually, "I'm just letting her wear it for a night. Nora won't mind. I'll just soothe her afterward, and she'll be fine." He's right about one thing. I will be fine. Slowly, I began erasing myself from his world. Before leaving, I keep my promise to the Elder that I'll personally travel to The Spine of the World on the Faron Continent to continue my research on the Moonshadow Herb Alchemy Research. From that night on, Apollo and I might never cross paths again.

Eighteen and desperate due to my mother's illness, I enter the orbit of Enzo Lombardi, a powerful, feared mafia boss. He treats me with impossible sweetness, and I find myself sinking into his possessive love and lavish spoiling. Everything changes the day a woman named Isabella Gallo shows up. She claims she's the one Enzo truly loves, and she laughs as she slides a two-million-dollar check across the table, demanding that I leave him. I turn down the money. She then suggests we both send him a message at the same time and see who he cares about more. Holding on to one last bit of hope, I text Enzo that I'm in a car accident. Isabella, on the other hand, tells him her plane is about to land. I wait for his reply, but nothing comes. Instead, I watch as Isabella picks up his call. At that moment, I understood it was time for me to go.

I was once the beloved daughter of the powerful Alpha and Luna of The Midnight Ridge Pack. I thought I had everything—a loving family, a protective brother, and a perfect fated mate—Steve Dolton, the strongest Beta of The Midnight Ridge Pack and the man I had loved for eighteen years. But when I turned eighteen, my world shattered. I discovered that I had been switched at birth and that Penny was the true heir of the pack. In an instant, I became the most awkward existence within The Midnight Ridge Pack. Though my parents promised I would always be their daughter, when Penny offended The Rogue King, they didn’t hesitate to make me take the blame and threw me into the infamous rogue den. I endured torture from silver chains and wolfsbane, my body covered in scars, becoming the lowest slave in the rogue den. It wasn’t until the fifth year that my brother-Alpha Joe and my former fiancé- Steve, came to the rogue den to take me back to The Midnight Ridge Pack. I overheard the casual chatter of the servants. "Does she seriously think she can come back?" "She made Miss Penny suffer outside for over a decade, stole ten years of happiness from her, and now she has the audacity to return and keep taking what belongs to Miss Penny. Shameless." "I heard that bringing her back this time is to help Miss Penny..." My throat tightened, and my palms grew cold. "Julia, come back home with us. We were wrong about you!" "Steve and I will treat you twice as well. You're still our precious little princess!" Amid their urging and apologies, I loosened my hand grip on the tattered hem of my dress. I had already promised to marry the son of The Rogue King. Our wedding was just around the corner.

“Richard, if Lynn and I were hit by a car at the same time, who would you save first?” I once asked, curled up in his arms, teasing like a spoiled pup. He just scoffed, ruffling my hair. “That kind of situation doesn’t exist.” But when blinding headlights tore through the rain— He didn’t hesitate. He shielded Lynn in his embrace, and I was thrown into the blood-soaked street. Through the agony, I heard my phone buzz. A message from him: [What tantrum are you throwing now? Why didn’t you come to Moonstone today?] While the machines beeped beside me, I caught the sound of his gentle voice drifting from the next room—comforting her. “Don’t be afraid. I just reacted to the person closest to me.” That was the moment I wiped away bloody tears with a smile. Fine, Richard. Then you’ll watch with your own eyes—ten days from now, when I put on a wedding dress, it won’t be for you. It’ll be for your sworn enemy, the Alpha of Bloodmoon. On the eve of the ceremony, a helicopter thundered down onto the estate balcony. He kicked open my door, yanked my wrist with his tie. “Come with me.”

Our bodies tangled in the car. My husband moved inside me, lips claiming my chest, when the sudden ring of a phone ripped me out of our intoxicating haze. Gabriel answered without hesitation. It was one of his closest friends from the medical world, speaking in German. “Don,” the voice said casually, “your mistress is two months pregnant. What are you going to do?” Gabriel didn’t pause. His tone was calm. “Grace can’t have children,” he replied. “I’ll let her carry the baby to term, then adopt it as my own. That secures the heir. This stays between us.” Something inside me froze. The one thing he had forgotten— I majored in German. And he learned it just to win me. I didn’t scream. I didn’t confront him. Instead, I smiled, stayed quiet, and kept playing the perfect wife. Later, I slipped the divorce papers into a real estate contract and watched him sign without reading. Then I quietly registered a new identity. For the next three days, his absence—and her taunting messages—erased the last illusions I had about love. When my new identity finally went live, I walked away without looking back. Carrying his child. And disappearing from his world forever.

Rain was my mate's childhood sweetheart. When she found out I'd been exposed to wolfsbane as a child, she slipped a trace amount into my mushroom soup. The moment I swallowed it, a searing pain ripped through my chest. My powers drained away. My wolf howled inside me, thrashing in agony. Panicked, I grabbed my flask — years ago, my father had collected sacred spring water that could neutralize wolfsbane, just in case. But she had swapped that too. The flask was full of the same poisoned soup. The blood drained from my face. Every ounce of strength left my body. I collapsed, clinging to the leg of my mate, Liam. "Please — I've been poisoned. Wolfsbane. You have to help me — " Liam hesitated. But Rain crossed her arms and laughed. "Liam, your fiancée really is quite the actress. It's just mushroom soup. I've been a healer for years, and I've never seen anyone get poisoned from soup." The other werewolves piled on. "Cut the act! Nobody gets poisoned from mushroom soup." "She's just jealous that Rain became a healer. She wants to ruin the celebration." Liam's face went cold again. "Rain's a healer. If there was anything wrong with the soup, she'd know. You'll be fine." I stopped begging. I spent the last shred of my energy reaching through the mind-link to my father — Alpha Hale of the Granite Pack.

During a gathering with friends, my husband, Kevin Graham, was asked a question by his buddy in Froise. "What are you going to do with your lover, who's two months pregnant with your baby?" Kevin smiled while helping me cut up my steak, and he replied in Froise, "Evie doesn't like children. I'll get Kandi Chutnam to give birth to the baby and send them overseas after that. At least I'll have a child of my own." Tears streamed down my cheek as I ate my steak, and Kevin asked nervously, "What's wrong, Evie?" I wiped away my tears and replied with a smile, "I must've used too much hot sauce." However, there was no hot sauce on the table. I was crying because I understood Froise.