*First book in the Lost trilogy* Hilda Miller, a tortured she-wolf confused of her origins, had decided there was absolutely no fate worse than not having a wolf. Except being mated to Alpha Vaughan Lupus. The mad king. Powerful, controlling, intense--and cursed, the hardhearted Alpha forces her to reconsider her assumptions about worse fates with his chilling personality and uptight ways. With a fast approaching war hot on their heels, Hilda and Vaughan are forced to set aside their differences and work together to put a stop to it. But being this close, they find they have to battle more things other than an approaching war; like their consuming desire for each other...
Latent
•Copyright
©All rights reserved.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Warning: this book is rated 18+ and is not suitable for readers under the ages of 18.
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Six years ago...
The Alpha of the Stillmoon pack stood in the shadows and surveyed his three daughters. All between the ages of eleven and thirteen, they carelessly played underneath the silvery shine of the moonlight alongside other pack-children.
Their excited shrieks and gleeful laughter were washed out into discomfiting silence by his thoughts.
At a night like this, the Alpha would've looked upon the ethereally beautiful faces of his daughters-- and cursed the moongoddess. Cursed her for not allowing his mate live long enough to bear him a son.
But tonight was different.
At that moment his eyes left the little forms of his daughters to watch the departing figure of the pack Seer. She'd revealed a lot tonight, a lot to douse his burning bitterness against fate and have his hard, unbelieving heart start to reluctantly believe that maybe, just maybe, all hope wasn't lost for his pack.
Even now the Seer's words flitted into his mind, forcing him to comprehend the grave importance of what she'd revealed-- or failed to reveal completely.
As was expected with all oracles of the Moongoddess, glibness and ambiguity were prominent attributes they identified by. Where he stood, he still struggled to grasp the full meaning of her message.
'A daughter from your loins that equals a hundred sons. . .' she'd said.
After being told this he hadn't bothered as much about having only daughters; not If having one of them could be the same as owning a hundred sons...
'A daughter of your ilk that equals two kingdoms. . .'
His mouth watered greedily at the promise of such immense power. It was almost too good to be true; a mere daughter of his wielding such power, and going from ruling a small, insignificant pack in the fringes of Alaska to having a shot at owning two kingdoms.
But if it was anything life had taught him early on, it was that if something was too good to be true-- it probably was.
But an opportunity like that blithely falling onto his lap... He would do anything to get it. Among other things it would mean protection, and he would need that now the Hunters were forming alliances with vampire factions...
'A girl of might to bring untold wins and riches to our pack. . .'
A girl of might, the Alpha thought distantly. Two of his daughters already fit that description. But the third... A dark scowl marred his handsome face. It disappeared when his gaze fell on his first daughter.
Anna. She'd shifted into her wolf at a very early age, a mere five, when, originally, werewolves began turning into their beasts at seven. And he, along with quite possibly the rest of the pack, had sensed a raging power in her wolf just waiting to be honed.
Shea, his second, although had turned into her wolf at the regular age, had displayed a rare talent In finding the pack's livestock that had gone missing for three months. Without aid or assistance, she'd traced them down to the birch that had concealed them, and brought them back to the pack safely. A potential expert tracker.
His grey eyes shifted to the last of his daughters-- for a moment they flashed a fervid yellow. And his fangs: they expressed his displeasure by sharpening to dangerous points.
His third was useless, the runt of the litter. As if to express his point, the group of children she'd been playing with all shifted into their wolves and went on to go for a run in the pack forest, while she watched their retreating figures with a broken expression on her face, her thin shoulders hunched.
Why? Because she couldn't change into her wolf. She was a Latent.
A low snarl escaped his bared teeth. He should do away with her. Such an embarrassment was bad for his pack's reputation. And as if fate had decided that giving him a Latent for a daughter was not punishment enough, it had made her completely inherit her late mother's looks.
The midnight black hair. The cobalt blue eyes. The petite frame. Everything.
His palms fisted. Although he hadn't loved his mate enough for their bond to deepen and her death to affect him to the point he turned rogue or took his life, he had cared for her. Cared enough to despise any reminder of her whatsoever after her passing.
When the Alpha had asked the Seer which of his daughters would fulfil the prophecy, why, and how, her reply had been:
"Hilda... Only she can thaw the ice. After her nineteenth birthday, Alpha, take her along with you to the Festival of Lanterns. There, Fate's will will be set to motion."
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." Darcy stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You're not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She stared at me in the mirror. "You can't even glance at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of gazing at that scar?" Heather Bailey got a surprise from her husband: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. She was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman. After signing the divorce papers, shockwaves caught her up. Her flower shop was burned to the ground. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers from influential families, she started her revenge on Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted, but that was just the beginning.
Maria took her sister’s place and was engaged to Anthony, a disabled man who had lost his status as the family heir. At first, they were just a nominal couple. However, things changed when things about Maria were gradually exposed. It turned out she was a professional hacker, a mysterious composer, and the sole successor to an international jade sculpting master… The more that was revealed about her, the less Anthony could rest easy. A famous singer, an award-winning actor, an heir of a rich family—so many excellent men were chasing after his fiancee, Maria. What should Anthony do?
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
"Miss Brown, I am the butler here at your service," the butler replied. "My master wants to buy the baby in your belly." "What?!" Does that mean the abortion didn't take place? Did they kidnap her from the operating table just to buy the baby? But why her? "You..." Alice was about to ask a question, but the man in front of her calmly continued, as if he had expected her question, "You're pregnant with his child, and he needs a child. That's all I can tell you." Alice was forced to sign a surrogacy contract and eight months later gave birth to two healthy babies. Fortunately, the man was unaware of her daughter's existence. It wasn't until five years later that fate brought them together again...
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.