Hindered By Tradition

My in-laws, who have flown back to the country for the Christmas holidays, visit my home on Christmas Eve for dinner. But Selena Collins, the housekeeper, has only prepared two plates of cold shrimp ravioli despite the fact that I've specifically reminded her about my mother-in-law, Lora Fischer's allergy to shrimps. Selena just tells me in a stoic manner, "Mrs. Peterson, I know that you country bumpkins love taking advantage of everything. So, I completely understand that your parents want to mooch off a meal from the Peterson family during the holidays. "But as Mr. Peterson's most caring housekeeper, I have the right to protect the Petersons' assets from getting leeched by outsiders. Yes, this includes a regular meal. "Then again, I have a heart of gold, you see. I won't starve the elders at all. These are leftover shrimp ravioli from last year. Your parents should hurry up and leave after polishing the ravioli off. "Mr. Peterson is very busy with his work. I can't let him deal with your impoverished parents after getting home from a stressful day at work." I'm stunned at first, but I soon realize that Selena has mistaken my in-laws for my parents. She's purposefully causing me trouble as always. I'm about to explain the truth to Selena when I see my enraged in-laws turning to leave. But Selena wastes no time in calling the bodyguards over to stop them. "I completely understand that country bumpkins like you two have poor character, but wasting food is a really bad trait. "Since the shrimp ravioli is already prepared for you, please finish them all before leaving."

On the night of her eighteenth birthday, Zara Ashlen expected to be chosen. Instead, Damon Wells the Alpha she was fated to love rejected her in front of the entire pack. No reason. No apology. Just cold, certain words that tore the bond from her chest and left her with nothing. So she ran. Five years later, Zara has built a quiet life far from pack territory. A job. An apartment. A daughter she would burn the world down to protect. She doesn't think about the bond anymore. She doesn't think about Damon. She almost believes she's free. Then the summons arrives a mandatory pack summit she cannot refuse and Zara is dragged back into the world she escaped. But something is different this time. Something ancient and unstoppable stirs the moment she walks into that room. And it has nothing to do with Damon. Kael Drevon is the Lycan King. Ruthless. Untouchable. A man who has never once failed to take what he wants. He has spent years waiting for a mate the bond refused to show him. Until now. Until her. Zara has no intention of belonging to another Alpha not after what the last one cost her. But Kael didn't build a kingdom by accepting no. And the closer he gets, the more she realizes her daughter's rare blood has made them both a target. Running once saved her life. This time, her only chance at survival might be the King she's desperately trying to resist.

"I am your Alpha," Liard growled, his body pressing dangerously close to hers. "You will not run from me." Helena’s breath hitched, her fingers trembling as they gripped the edge of the infirmary table. "You made a vow," she whispered, voice laced with fury and longing. "No mates. No love. Or have you already forgotten?" His jaw clenched, but his hands found her waist, heat radiating between them. "I tried to forget. I tried to fight it. But every time I close my eyes, I see you. I feel you." His voice dropped lower, a rough, desperate plea. "Damn it, Helena. You were never supposed to be mine." Helena shoved against his chest, her own emotions warring within her. "And I was never supposed to love you, Liard. But fate is cruel." She turned away, biting down the pain in her voice. "Do you know what they’ll do to me if they find out? Do you know what Rhider will do?" Liard’s grip on her tightened. "I don’t care." His breath ghosted against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "Let them try to take you from me. I will burn this world before I ever let you go." ********* For years, Alpha Liard Stormbane has ruled with a heart of ice, swearing never to take a mate, never to fall into the same weakness that destroyed his father. But when he is gravely injured and taken to the pack infirmary, fate shatters his control—his mate is none other than Helena, the pack’s healer…and his Beta’s mother.

"You're too weak to be my Luna." Those were the words that shattered Erin Arckwight's world. Rejected publicly by her mate - the Alpha of her own pack - she did what any broken wolf would do. She ran straight into the Forbidden Forest, the one place most wolves never venture into. But what most people do not know is that the Forbidden Forest doesn't break you. It remakes you. When Erin descends into the feral state that all werewolves fear, she doesn't lose herself. Instead, she awakens an ancient power that's been sleeping in her bloodline for three thousand years. And she's not alone. Kade Thornhart, the scarred and dangerous leader of the feral pack, doesn't trust the stubborn, sarcastic girl who stumbles into his territory. But he can't deny the fire in her amber eyes or the way his wolf claims her as his. She was rejected by an Alpha. Now she'll be claimed by something far more dangerous.

Adrianna Yvonne's world is turned upside down when she walks in on her husband and sister in a compromising position on her wedding night. The betrayal cuts deep, and she finds herself reeling from the shock. In a desperate attempt to escape the pain, she flees to a nearby club, where she drowns her sorrows in alcohol and loses herself in the music. In her vulnerable state, she meets a mysterious stranger and, fueled by pain and recklessness, they share a one-night stand. However, the consequences of her actions become even more complicated when Adrianna discovers that the stranger she had a one night stand with is her husband's elder brother.

“I, Alpha Damon, reject you, Kaima, as my mate. You are a stain on my pack, a weakling who offers nothing but shame.” Those were the words that shattered Kaima’s world. Cast out into the Forbidden Forest to die, the low-status omega expected the shadows to claim her life. Instead, they whispered her name. Betrayal has a way of waking up the ancient things that should have stayed buried. Deep within Kaima’s blood, the First Fang—the original primal wolf spirit—stirs. It doesn't want her to survive; it wants her to reign. When she is found by Rowan, the lethal Alpha of the Black-Ridge Pack, he doesn't see a broken girl. He senses a power that hasn't walked the earth in five centuries. Bound to Rowan by a dangerous Soul Resonance, Kaima begins a meteoric rise. She is no longer the girl who hides; she is the girl whose scent makes Alphas drop to their knees in terror. As she masters her new dominance, she must navigate a world of "face-slapping" revenge, pack politics, and a second-chance bond that is as erotic as it is deadly. From the ashes of a public rejection, a Queen is born. The Council wants her dead, her former mate wants her back, but the Beast? The Beast wants blood.

Born into a powerful pack but cursed with a fatal flaw, Elara never shifted. In a world where rank is decided at twelve and futures are carved in strength, she became something worse than low-born—she became nothing. Ignored by her high-ranking family, denied education, and treated as little more than a servant, Elara survives in the shadows of a system that was never meant for her to exist. When the Moon Goddess finally intervenes, choosing her as the fated mate of the future Alpha Prince, it should have changed everything. Instead, it ruins her. The prince rejects the bond without hesitation—casting her aside for her perfect, powerful sister. But breaking a divine match comes with consequences, and Elara is the one forced to pay the price. Given away in her sister’s place, she is bound to the prince’s uncle—Alpha Darius, the most feared wolf of their kind. Ruthless. Unforgiving. A brute whispered in fear. Everyone expects her to break. But Darius doesn’t destroy her. He claims her. As Elara is pulled deeper into a world of power, politics, and dangerous desire, the girl no one wanted begins to change. And when the prince who discarded her comes crawling back, he finds something no one expected: The weakest omega in the pack now belongs to the most dangerous Alpha alive. And this time, she won’t be cast aside.

“I, Julius Armstrong, reject Doris Charles as my mate.” The laughter came right after. This was the second time my mate rejected me because I cannot talk. In the pack, they call me dumb not because I am stupid, but because I am mute. When I turned eighteen, my first mate rejected me for that reason. Today, it was the Gamma. He is twenty-one, the same age as the Alpha and Beta. This was his third rejection. The first girl was too fat, the second was too short and now, I was dumb. I never wanted to attend the mating ceremony. I knew how it would end, but my stepmother forced me to go, and my stepsisters came just to watch me get mocked again. The next day, wolves who had found their mates returned to officially claim them before the Alpha and pack leaders. I went only because I was forced, just to stand there and watch my stepsister get chosen. Then something happened that no one expected. The Alpha claimed me as his mate in front of everyone. Was I shocked? Yes. Did I believe him? No. Did I think it was a cruel joke? Absolutely. Because no Alpha would choose a rejected, mute girl like me.

“**You should have remained hidden, Omega.**” Ashryn never meant to step into the fire-lit ring. Weak, unmated, and unwanted, he has survived his entire life by staying unseen. But the Moon does not care for survival—it cares for fate. And the moment Ashryn feels the bond tug at his chest, he knows the truth is far crueler than hope. Kaelor is the Alpha who rejects him before the entire pack, shattering Ashryn’s dignity with a single word: *defective*. Humiliated and broken, Ashryn runs into the wilds, determined to disappear forever. Yet fate is not finished with him. The bond refuses to die, pulsing louder with every mile of distance. When Kaelor finds him again, regret burns hotter than pride. The Alpha who denied his mate now refuses to let him go—claiming protection where Ashryn sees a cage. Trapped between desire and fear, mercy and possession, Ashryn must decide whether love born of pain can ever be trusted. Because some bonds are not meant to be gentle. Some are forged in rejection, sharpened by regret, and sealed by a Moon that never makes mistakes. **He was never meant to exist. Yet fate refuses to let him go.**

My father cheated. I cut him out of my life. To get my forgiveness, my father put Lucas Moretti, the Don of New York, in my bed. I fell for Lucas, fast. He knew how to play gentle. Night after night, he’d hold me tight, fuck me like he owned me, and whisper how obsessed he was with me. Six months later, I was pregnant. I was the princess of New York's underworld. My father and Lucas gave me everything. They treated me like I was made of glass. But the day of the baby's blessing at the church? They were a no-show. My father said there was family business to handle. Then I got an anonymous link. A wedding. Live. In the video, my father, Lorenzo, was walking his mistress, Carla—the woman who killed my mother—down the aisle, a happy smile plastered on his face. And the other happy couple? My fiancé, and my father's bastard daughter, Sofia. I could hear Lucas’s voice clearly: "Well, Bella used to bully Sofia. I'm just helping her get the justice she deserves... As for Bella, it's time she was unburdened from a life she isn't built for." "I'll take over the Gallo family shares for her," he continued, "so she and our child can live without a care in the world." My father’s voice followed. "Bella’s too much like her mother—ambitious. That’s not a good thing for a woman." As my world shattered, a text from an unknown number lit up my screen: "Marry me, and the child you're carrying will be the sole heir of the Russo family."