When mafia heiress Lyra Valente flees her arranged marriage to the ruthless Luca Moretti, she sets off a war between two powerful families-and awakens a destiny she thought she'd buried. Reborn as a hidden omega with secrets even she doesn't fully understand, Lyra seeks refuge in the arms of Damon Kade, a deadly former assassin with ties to her forgotten past. But love, loyalty, and legacy collide as forbidden feelings ignite and enemies close in. In a world where bloodlines bind tighter than chains, and werewolf instincts clash with mafia honor, will Lyra claim her freedom-or become the queen of a kingdom built on lies?
Rain pounded the stained-glass windows of the Grand Anselmo Cathedral, its relentless rhythm echoing the chaos in Lyra Valente's chest. Outside, thunder cracked the heavens open. Inside, candlelight danced over marble floors and murmuring guests fidgeted in golden chairs, waiting for the ceremony to begin. The Valente-Moretti union wasn't just a wedding-it was an alliance. A truce. A transaction between two of the most powerful mafia families in the country.
And Lyra was the price.
Her reflection stared back from a full-length mirror, painted in ivory silk and fear. The gown clung to her like a shroud. Her lips were painted the soft crimson her mother loved. Her eyes, however, were all her father's: sharp, haunted, calculating. The very same eyes that had once watched blood drip from his fingers onto a white rug after executing a traitor.
"You look perfect," the planner said, mistaking Lyra's silence for bridal nerves.
Perfect. Polished. Powerless.
Her fingers trembled as she touched the delicate chain around her neck, a thin silver necklace that once belonged to her mother. A gift. A reminder. Don't lose yourself in the name of survival, her mother had said once, before the cancer took her. Even if they call it love.
Love had nothing to do with this.
Her father's words, earlier that morning, bit at the edges of her thoughts: "Do not shame this family. Luca Moretti is your future. You're lucky he even agreed to marry you after what happened."
What happened. As if it hadn't been a massacre. As if she hadn't died and come back under a new name, a new body, reborn in the same twisted world. She was no longer that helpless omega girl hunted down for what she knew. She'd been trained in secrecy, in survival. She had allies now-ones who owed her their lives.
Including the man she was about to run to.
The organ began to play. Guests stood. The cathedral doors began to swing open.
Lyra ran.
She didn't hesitate. She clutched her skirts, slipped out the servant's corridor behind the altar, and vanished into the storm. By the time her absence was noticed, she would be halfway across the city. Not toward safety, but toward danger-the kind she trusted.
Across Town: Damon Kade's Safehouse
Lightning flickered through the cracked blinds of Damon Kade's apartment. He cleaned his weapons with ritual precision, the news murmuring in the background.
"...the wedding between Lyra Valente and Luca Moretti is set to be the most historic mafia union in decades..."
Damon snorted. "Guess again."
He had sensed the change in the wind. He'd felt it days ago-something primal tugging at his instincts. His wolf was restless. Hungry.
A knock rattled the door.
He rose, gun in hand, silent as a shadow. He opened the door a crack.
She stood there, drenched, wild-eyed, still in her wedding dress.
"Lyra?"
"No time," she panted. "They'll kill us both if they find me."
Damon opened the door wider, letting her in.
"I thought you were dead," he said.
"I was," she whispered. "But I came back. And this time, I'm not running alone."
When betrayal shatters his perfect life, noble heir Kaelan Thorne finds refuge in a humble tavern-and in Ivy, a fiery waitress with magic in her veins. But love in Eldoria comes at a cost. To protect her, Kaelan must confront his past, defy the elite, and risk everything for a future built on truth, not legacy.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
Desperate to handle her grandmother's towering medical bills, Gianna agreed to a contract marriage with Tristan, the enigmatic man she'd once shared a one-night stand with. She assumed they'd fulfill each other's needs and dissolve the arrangement once the terms expired. Unbeknownst to Gianna, this marriage was a dream Tristan had clung to for ten relentless years. Certain she was just filling someone else's role, Gianna prepared to leave when that other woman returned. But Tristan, his eyes burning with unspoken emotion, seized her trembling hand and declared, "You’re mine. Now and always."
"I heard you're going to marry Marcelo. Is this perhaps your revenge against me? It's very laughable, Renee. That man can barely function." Her foster family, her cheating ex, everyone thought Renee was going to live in pure hell after getting married to a disabled and cruel man. She didn't know if anything good would ever come out of it after all, she had always thought it would be hard for anyone to love her but this cruel man with dark secrets is never going to grant her a divorce because she makes him forget how to breathe.