Barr Wettlaufer

I was the legitimate First Miss of the Browning Clan, but because I tested as "Spiritless," my family treated me like dirt. Just days before my wedding, my father stripped me of my noble marriage contract and handed my powerful fiancé over to my half-sister, Jacalyn. Jacalyn flaunted the stolen noble ring in my face, mocking my dead mother while reeking of the secret herbal incense she used to fake her aura. "A Spiritless waste only deserves to wipe filth for that crippled High Lord in the Low Marches!" My father didn't just agree; he exiled me to the rotting roots of the World Tree to marry Adrien, a dying, coma-bound warlord infected by Abyssal cold iron. He cut off my survival rations and locked me in a freezing stone tomb, fully expecting me to die alongside my new husband before morning. Everyone in the High Court laughed at my misery, waiting for the news of my pathetic death. They thought they had drained my worth to pave the way for Jacalyn's glorious future. But they didn't know my soul had awakened with the primordial Old Blood and seventy years of modern surgical knowledge. I calmly forced my father to sign a severance writ, cutting my ties with the clan forever. Looking at the dying war god on the stone bed, I picked up my surgical scalpel. Once I pulled this Sovereign warlord back from the Abyss, the entire High Court would learn what true despair looked like.

I sacrificed my career as a successful art curator to move to Boston for my husband, Cohen. For three years, he promised my permanent residency was "in process"-a lie that kept me a dependent housewife, trapped in a life that wasn't my own. The truth shattered my world at the DMV. My marriage certificate, though legally valid, had never been properly filed for spousal immigration benefits-a technicality he had deliberately concealed. Worse, documents I had signed at his request contained statements that branded me with a finding of immigration fraud. His spousal sponsorship-the very slot meant for me-had gone to his young research assistant, Kenzie O'Brien. He didn't just betray me; he erased me. He let my visa expire, and the fraudulent statements he'd had me sign triggered a permanent bar from the United States-a trap he had designed from the beginning. That same day, he replaced our apartment lock with a digital access system and locked me out, telling me over the phone, "Kenzie needs entry for lab materials, and I haven't had time to update your access." He had systematically stripped me of my identity, my career, and my legal status, all while building a parallel life with another woman. He saw me as a powerless, inconvenient truth he could simply discard. When I confronted him, he called my behavior "unnecessary" and had his office assistant escort me from the building. He thought he had won. But my quiet departure was just the beginning of his very public downfall.

My world shattered twice. First, the ocean claimed my son. Then, the mountain road took another, a direct sacrifice to the man I loved and the woman he chose. In the hospital, beeps marked the emptiness where my second son used to be, echoing the first loss, both involving Holden and Giana. During the car crash, I was pinned, bleeding, and trapped. Holden, my partner, looked me in the eyes, then chose to save Giana, abandoning me and our unborn child. Soon, I overheard Holden praising Giana for turning our tragedy into a PR win. His hollow apologies and focus on Giana’s "miracle work" reignited the brutal memory of her push and his past denials. A decade of sacrificing my life and two children for a man who saw me as a liability left a bitter taste. His choice was clear; only profound abandonment remained. But this time, I was choosing me. From my profound loss, a dangerous spark ignited: I would not just survive; I would find freedom and make him pay.

I spent a whole year building a custom motorcycle from the ground up, a masterpiece meant to bring glory to my boyfriend's motorcycle club. But when I brought him his favorite donuts to surprise him, I caught him and the club's golden-haired princess having sex right on top of my bike. Instead of feeling guilty, he was furious that I had caught them. "Harley? What the fuck are you doing here?" he roared. "Oh, poor little thing. Did we interrupt you?" the princess giggled, pulling his leather cut over her bare chest. When I fled back home, my own mother didn't comfort me. Instead, she told me she had sold me to a loan shark for a night to pay off her debts. In a single night, the man I loved defiled my life's work, and the mother who raised me treated me like a cheap piece of meat to be traded. I didn't scream or cry. The betrayal was so deep it went past feeling, leaving behind a pure, freezing rage. Why should I be the one to suffer while they took over the garage my father left me? I pulled out my knife, plunged it into the bike's fuel line, and tossed the donuts into the spreading puddle of gasoline. I was done being their victim. I was going to walk into the darkest bar in the city, find the deadliest predator in the state to be my shield, and take back my empire.

The moment I saw my husband massaging his dead brother's pregnant mistress's feet, I knew my marriage was over. He moved her into our home under the guise of "family duty," forcing me to watch as he prioritized her comfort over our vows. The final betrayal came when she stole and deliberately broke my mother's priceless necklace. When I slapped her for the desecration, my husband struck me across the face to defend her. He had violated a sacred honor code by putting his hands on the daughter of another Don-an act of war. I looked him in the eye and swore on my mother's grave that I would bring a bloody revenge upon his entire family. Then I made one phone call to my father, and the demolition of his empire began.

The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?

I was the legitimate First Miss of the Browning Clan, but because I tested as "Spiritless," my family treated me like dirt. Just days before my wedding, my father stripped me of my noble marriage contract and handed my powerful fiancé over to my half-sister, Jacalyn. Jacalyn flaunted the stolen noble ring in my face, mocking my dead mother while reeking of the secret herbal incense she used to fake her aura. "A Spiritless waste only deserves to wipe filth for that crippled High Lord in the Low Marches!" My father didn't just agree; he exiled me to the rotting roots of the World Tree to marry Adrien, a dying, coma-bound warlord infected by Abyssal cold iron. He cut off my survival rations and locked me in a freezing stone tomb, fully expecting me to die alongside my new husband before morning. Everyone in the High Court laughed at my misery, waiting for the news of my pathetic death. They thought they had drained my worth to pave the way for Jacalyn's glorious future. But they didn't know my soul had awakened with the primordial Old Blood and seventy years of modern surgical knowledge. I calmly forced my father to sign a severance writ, cutting my ties with the clan forever. Looking at the dying war god on the stone bed, I picked up my surgical scalpel. Once I pulled this Sovereign warlord back from the Abyss, the entire High Court would learn what true despair looked like.

"Do you take me for an escort? Or a casual pheromone dispenser?" Quinn Sterling had made the biggest mistake of her life. Climbing into the wrong car was bad enough. Tearing open the bespoke shirt of her ice-cold CEO and triggering his untamed Alpha rut was catastrophic. She thought Winston would demand a non-disclosure agreement. Instead, Manhattan's most terrifying luxury titan handed her a marriage proposal. "Kensington family honor dictates that I do not abandon a mate carrying my scent. I will take full responsibility for you." As an illegitimate daughter battling a betrayal from a two-timing fiancé, Quinn has no desire to play Cinderella in the billionaire's high-society world. She rejects him, draws the line, and dives back into her designs. But Winston Kensington doesn't take 'no' for an answer. When her ex comes crawling back, and corporate rivals circle in the dark, the ruthless CEO steps out of the shadows. "Touch her," Winston growls, his icy aura suffocating the entire room, "and you answer to me."

Lillian woke in a werecreature universe as a total loser. Good news was that women ruled here and could take multiple mates, yet she still ended up as the one everyone looked down on. Compared to her talented sister at every turn, she watched her first match get stolen and her next four mates reject her without mercy. The first mate was the King of Succubine himself. On their very first meeting, he warned Lillian that he was only staying long enough to recover from his injuries-and that there could never be anything between them. The second mate was a merman. He took one look at her and said he had no interest in a loser like her, tossing her some cash so she could break off their bond herself. The third mate was the progenitor vampire-over a thousand years old. He admitted to admiring her sister instead and made it clear he had no interest in a layabout like Lillian. Lillian cut every bond and chose her own path instead. But as she rose higher and higher, those same men returned, full of regret and begging her to look at them again. The fourth mate was a werewolf Lillian had rescued from an underground fighting ring. She thought he might actually stay-until he revealed himself as royalty. And of course, he wanted to break their bond for more power.

I knelt on the cold stone of the Dragon God Altar, waiting to marry Lord Harper Carney. It was my only chance to escape the gilded cage of my family. But when Harper finally arrived, he wasn't alone. His arm was wrapped tightly around my cousin, Hettie. Right in front of the entire court, he coldly announced that our marriage was a mistake. Hettie leaned into his embrace, wearing a triumphant smile while playing the innocent victim. The assembled nobles openly jeered at me. They mocked my greatest failing—that I was a worthless "Dragonless" born without the inner fire. My own father was furious, not at them, but at me. He demanded I go to Hettie's estate and beg for her forgiveness. When I refused, he threatened to cut off all my funds and revoke my only job at the Royal Scribes' Office. I was publicly abandoned, stripped of my dignity, and left with absolutely nothing. I didn't cry, and I didn't scream. Why should I be the one to apologize when they were the ones who betrayed me? For years, I had endured their abuse, treated like a pawn to be sacrificed at will. But looking at their smug faces, my despair turned into cold resolve. I took off my betrothal coronet and dropped it at Harper's feet, publicly nullifying the contract myself. I thought I would have to face the ruin alone, until a mysterious, powerful man with burning golden eyes stepped out of the shadows. "Marry me," he said. "I will be your shield, and we will crush them together."

I woke up to the stench of rust and rotting flesh, no longer a master botanist who commanded life itself, but a D-class exile dumped on a wasteland planet. Memories that weren't mine flooded in. I was framed by my stepsister, betrayed by my fiancé, and banished by my own family to the Ashfall Peninsula to die. The original girl actually starved to death in despair. The moment I opened my eyes, a scavenger tried to smash my skull with a rusty pipe just to eat me. After I killed him to survive, I discovered a harsher truth: in this universe, plant seeds are classified as A-level strategic resources, completely monopolized by the Imperium. But the universe had a sick sense of humor. A mandatory background scan suddenly triggered a galactic broadcast: I, the exiled trash, was a perfect genetic match for the Imperium's top war hero, General Alexander Orr. The family that ruthlessly erased my existence instantly saw me as a golden ticket. My cheating ex-fiancé was dispatched to drag me back, furious that his "property" was matched with someone else. They all thought I was still that weak, naive girl they could manipulate. But as I held the pure, glowing Life Source Crystals I had secretly extracted from the scrap heap, a cold smile crept onto my face. "I didn't come here to die. I came here to build an empire." I turned my back on the galactic broadcast and stepped into the deadly wilderness.

In the final days before the world collapsed, Ivy Brooks died... betrayed by the very people she trusted most. She had fought, struggled, and sacrificed everything just to survive the apocalypse only to be pushed into death along with her three daughters at the very end by her own husband. With her last breath, Ivy made a vow. If she could turn back time...she would never be weak again and of course protect her daughters. This time, she would stand at the top. When Ivy opened her eyes, she found herself back in time with her still rounded belly of her third baby.... Twenty days before the apocalypse. Armed with memories of the future and a mysterious system in her mind, Ivy moved without hesitation. She hoarded supplies, secured weapons, and took control of every resource she could get her hands on. While others laughed, doubted, and wasted time... Ivy was building her empire along with her daughters. In this life, she would not be prey but will be an hunter. With danger closing in and only twenty days to prepare, Ivy must outplay enemies both old and new, uncover the truth behind the system, and carve out her own kingdom in a collapsing world. Because this time...she wasn't just going to survive the apocalypse. She was going to rule it along with a man, a love interest from the past before her marriage collapse. He provided everything Ivy needed. Money especially in change of a marriage with her and when the apocalypse started too....he ruled it with her as well as her daughters.

Haley woke in a galaxy of werecreatures as a princess-until the real one returned. The crown cast her onto a deserted planet, saddled with eight disabled, low-ranked mates. Some demanded freedom; others schemed or had volatile esper powers. Sick of it all, she ended their bonds. More mates were coming anyway. Only then did those arrogant males kneel. "I'll reclaim your palace." "Use me, Domina. I can do even the impossible." "I'm your loyal pup. Only you matter." "My fortune and I are yours." Haley only shrugged. "You begged for this."

Elyse, a fierce warrior from a post-apocalyptic world, awakened as a wererabbit in an interstellar world where her engagement was canceled and an entire pack wanted her dead. A mysterious system offered one way out: win over a ruthless serpent commander, an arrogant merman warlord, and a cunning werefox leader. She expected protection, not three possessive mates willing to defy the universe for her! Elyse insisted she could never have children, but the commander begged only for her love, while the merman threatened a planet for her sake. Then unexpectedly, her belly began to grow. "System, didn't you say I was infertile?!"

My engagement to Kile, the heir of House Golden, was witnessed by the Duke himself. I thought my days as a helpless orphan were over. But right before our wedding, he coldly informed me that my status was being revoked. I was to enter his family as a lesser consort. The title of primary wife was being given to his lover, Journey. She hid behind Kile, wearing a spotless white dress and trembling like a fragile lotus. "Cassie, please don't blame him, I can live without a title," she cried, playing the perfect victim. Kile shielded her, glaring at me with pure disgust, shouting that I was being completely unreasonable. The next day, the entire Elder Council cornered me in their grand hall. They told me that as a "Dragonless" nobody, I should be immensely grateful for any scrap they threw my way. They all stared at me, waiting for me to swallow my pride and accept a lifetime of humiliation. They thought I was entirely broken. They thought I had no backing and no choice but to bow down to their cruelty. Instead, I looked straight at the Chief Elder and smiled. "I refuse to be a lesser consort," I announced clearly, watching Kile's smug expression freeze. "But to preserve our families' dignity, I will fulfill the contract." I looked right into Kile's shocked eyes. "I will marry your dead older brother, Lord Ayden."

I was the adopted, "Dragonless" daughter of the Sterling family, bound by a prestigious marriage contract to my fiancé, Julian. But during the annual charity ball, I followed a secret note to a guest suite, only to catch him tangled on the sofa with my cousin, Isabelle. When I calmly called the Dragon Guard to expose their affair, my adoptive parents didn't comfort me. Instead, they furiously blamed me. "It was an emergency! Our kind Isabelle used her scent to save him, and you just tried to destroy him!" They praised her as a hero, officially handed my fiancé over to her, and decided to punish me for tarnishing the family name. Their revenge was a new marriage contract. They were going to sell me off to Lord Valerius, a cruel, elderly man notorious for outliving three wives. I stared at the death sentence in my hands, my blood running cold. I was the one betrayed, yet I was being discarded like useless trash to pave the way for my cousin's happiness. Why should I let them destroy my life just to protect their twisted, perfect image? I didn't cry, and I refused to be their sacrificial lamb. I drafted a cold, calculated business proposal, packed my bags, and walked out of that toxic house forever. I was going to propose to the most ruthless, powerful predator in the kingdom-Gideon Montgomery. If I had to step into a dragon's lair, I would be the one to choose it.