Everyone in my circle knows I’m not one to be trifled with. Growing up, I lived by a simple rule: if someone wrongs me, I return the favor. I don't take crap from anyone. Yet, my colleagues seemed to think I was a pushover, and each of them tried to test that theory. In a team meeting, they deliberately stole credit for my work, passing off a proposal I’d spent three sleepless nights perfecting as their own. They pushed the entire annual strategic initiative onto me, hoping for some freeloading on their performance rating. I didn't waste my breath arguing with them. Instead, I marched over to the project director's desk and plastered my work submission logs and chat screenshots right there for everyone to see. Then, during the project review meeting, in front of the entire department, I had their contribution levels marked as zero. They complained that I was being ruthless. I just smiled. They hadn't seen anything yet. I don’t go looking for trouble, but I certainly don’t fear it. Anyone who dares to mess with me will learn that I’ll pay them back a hundred, or even a thousand times over.

When an overhead steel frame came crashing down toward my adopted sister, Sophie Bennett, my brother Marcus Bennett rushed forward to push her out of the way.   In my previous life, I lunged after him and dragged him back. I knew that if he ran beneath it, the frame would crush him too.   Sophie survived, but both of her legs were crushed beyond repair. Unable to accept that she would never walk again, she eventually swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills and took her own life.   At her funeral, my mom sobbed until she fainted. The moment she came to, she grabbed my hair and screamed, "Why wasn't it you? We never should have brought you home!"   My dad broke my legs with a baseball bat, and Marcus forced me to crawl to Sophie's grave and apologize. Later, they dumped me back in the rough neighborhood where I had grown up and watched as a gang of street thugs beat me to death.   When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the accident.   Sophie stood frozen beneath the falling steel frame while Marcus charged toward her.   This time, I took one step back.

Christmas was just around the corner, and I was out picking up holiday gifts for my parents. I was browsing a vintage boutique when something in the display case stopped me cold—my mother's jeweled bracelet.  My heart sank. My father had always kept it. Besides, Mom was the only daughter of the country's richest man. Who would have the guts to pawn her belongings? I had my team track down the consignor and drove straight to his address. Parked right outside his apartment building was my father's limited-edition Porsche. I headed upstairs to the unit. On the shoe rack by the entryway sat my father's custom-made leather shoes. His initials were embossed right on the toe caps. Propped next to them was his go-to umbrella—the one he carried everywhere. I drew in a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

Twenty came and went without a whisper. My wolf remained buried deep, refusing to awaken. Behind my back, the pack's whispers turned toxic, branding me a defective heir and mourning the doomed future of our bloodline. Even my own mother couldn't look at me without secretly sighing, grieving the useless son she'd brought into the world. Then came the day the Stoneshire pack—notorious for their brutality—marched across our borders, looking for blood. They tore through our lines, leaving my packmates slaughtered, bruised, and broken. I just watched from the shadows, entirely unmoved, as boredom crept in with every passing second. God, what a nuisance. With a heavy, irritated sigh, I finally stepped out of the dark—and for the very first time, I let my inner beast completely off its leash.

When I remarried Alpha Liam Ashford, I made only one request: we would not re-establish the mate bond. He agreed. A month later, I cheated on him. Liam wrecked the room like a man gone mad, his face twisted with barely restrained fury. "Are you doing this to get back at me?" This time I was the calm one. "I was just curious how thrilling cheating could be, since you went back to Sofia Vance again and again." His eyes burned red as he forced out a smile through clenched teeth. "Is this what satisfies you? Revenge?" I gave a small laugh. I was already dying. Where would I find the energy for revenge?

I had once been Luna of the Dubois Pack, mated to Alpha Elias Nightshade, and together we had a son, Jack Nightshade. Five years after I staged my death and vanished, Elias tracked me down, with Jack at his side. I raised the Wolfsbane Potion and told them I would rather drink poison than return with them. That was before 8-year-old Jack coldly threatened to kill my bedridden mother if I refused to go back. Elias stood nearby, his presence oppressive, his voice leaving no room for defiance. "Clara, make your choice. Your mother can die gasping for air, or you can take your place as Luna again." My whole body shook with fury, but I had no choice. I lowered the potion, remarried him, and bound myself to him through the mate bond once again...

Ethan was the Alpha heir to the Moonridge Pack. Even though I was an Omega, everyone in the pack envied me because I worked as his personal maid. I took care of his daily needs and handled his food tasting, all for an annual salary of 90,000 dollars. That was until a new maid named Zoey arrived at the villa. When she heard about my compensation, the rag in her hand dropped to the floor. "An Omega, working as Ethan's personal maid for 90 grand a year?" she scoffed. "And he also gives her jewelry? Is she a maid or his lover?" The next morning, she went straight to Alpha James. "James, I want to try for the position of Ethan's personal maid," she said. "I'll do it for 40 grand. I promise I'll be even better than Layla." Later, she cornered me, looking incredibly smug. "James has already agreed. He's been wanting to fire you for a while anyway. You'll be kicked out of the villa in a few days." She waited for me to lose my composure, but I only bit the inside of my lip, struggling to keep myself from laughing. Finally... I was going to be free! Ethan was the type of person who could be an angel one moment and a devil the next. When he was in a good mood, he would carelessly toss me a gemstone bracelet he'd just won at an auction. But in the blink of an eye, he could have me locked in the confinement cell for three days just because I was a few seconds late bringing him coffee. Too many people wanted him dead; tasting his food for poison was no different than walking into the jaws of death.

My boyfriend, Elias Whitmore, was broke. He was also deaf and could not speak. To save up for his hearing aids, I worked as a server in the private dining suite of a high-end restaurant. Daphne Voss, the wealthy heiress who often booked that room, once said to me, "Maisie, you really should find a boyfriend with money and a healthy body. Someone like my boyfriend. He dropped twenty million dollars on a piece of jewelry for me without even blinking." She smiled as she held out her glass. "He does have one twisted little hobby, though. He likes pretending he's deaf and mute so he can play girls for fools. I heard there was some idiot before I came along who worked eighteen different jobs just to buy him hearing aids." I lowered my eyes and poured her wine. "My boyfriend would never do that," I said. "He loves me." Just then, the door to the private room opened. A man with a cold, refined air stepped inside and frowned at Daphne. "Darling, are you done eating? I told you not to chat with the servers. Poverty has a way of rubbing off." He lifted the shopping bag in his hand. "I bought you a new Lévère bag. Come take a look." My hand froze around the wine bottle. I stood rooted to the spot. That man's face was identical to my deaf and mute boyfriend's.

The Vittori family was the most powerful mafia family in Ravenport. After six sons in a row, they finally welcomed a daughter. Dominic Vittori, the head of the family, was so overwhelmed with joy that he made the announcement on the spot. His newborn daughter, Thea Vittori, would inherit the entire family. But on the night of Thea's first birthday party, the private physician turned deathly pale after examining her. "Mr. Vittori," he said, his voice trembling. "Miss Vittori is in respiratory failure. I'm afraid she may not make it through the night." Seraphina Vale, Dominic's wife, fainted on the spot. The eldest son, Luca Vittori, racked the slide on his pistol. The fourth son, Dante Vittori, drew a dagger. The sixth son, Rocco Vittori, slipped on a pair of brass knuckles. Every one of them turned toward me. I was the new nanny. I was the person who had been taking care of Thea. Despair swallowed me whole. Then, all of a sudden, Thea's voice rang inside my head. "Luca's girlfriend! It's her perfume! There's poison in it! I smelled it, and then I couldn't breathe! I'm not dead. I just look dead! Get me somewhere with fresh air! I prayed forever to be born into this rich, pampered life. I cannot die from poison now! Somebody save me! Whoever saves me gets seven hundred million dollars!" The next second, I lunged toward Thea. "Don't touch her!" I shouted.

People always say rich men like to play dirty. But my husband never did. Even in our most intimate moments, he was always tender. He never got rough, never suggested anything wild. He used to tell me, "I can't bear to hurt you." Everyone envied me. They said I'd married the perfect man, wealthy, gentle, and attentive. Until our second wedding anniversary. I flew across the country to surprise Gavin Baker at the hotel where he was staying on a business trip.  Before I could knock, I heard sounds coming from the bedroom. The rustle of sheets and heavy breathing. Then a sweet, flirtatious female voice giggled. "Baby, is your wife really that boring in bed?" Gavin's voice was thick with desire. "Of course. She's like a dead fish. I don't even want to touch her. You're the only one who can actually turn me on." The world froze around me. My blood ran cold. So that was the truth. Everything I'd mistaken for tenderness was nothing more than disgust. At that moment, my phone vibrated. A notification popped up. My flight reservation to Paris had been confirmed. Good. Because once I left for Paris, I wasn't coming back.

My father was the head of the Moretti family, the most powerful mafia organization in Veridian. After having nine sons in a row, he finally got the daughter he'd always dreamed of: Me. Unfortunately, I was born sick. My health had been fragile ever since I came into this world. Because of that, my nine brothers spoiled me beyond reason. George, my oldest brother, constantly filled my room with gifts. "Give all of it to Vivian." John, my second brother, would patiently sit beside my bed and feed me medicine himself. "If anyone dares make you cry, I'll break every rib in their body." Then there was William, my third brother. One day, I casually mentioned that I liked gemstones. A week later, he spent thirty million dollars at an auction to win a sapphire necklace for me. That was how I grew up.  Then I met Lucas. Against my family's wishes, I married him. His family's wealth wasn't even one percent of ours. But I didn't care. I thought I had found true love. For five years, I believed I was living a fairy tale. Until the day he brought another woman home. Her name was Anila, his business partner. That afternoon, I merely sneezed. Anila immediately laughed. "You're this weak? How exactly are you supposed to have Lucas's children?" Before I could respond, I looked toward my husband. But he simply stood there watching. My eyes burned, tears began to fall. Slowly, I picked up a dagger from the table and pressed the blade against my throat. "If you're really that disgusted by me... Then maybe I shouldn't keep living..." The reaction was instant. Panic exploded throughout the villa. Everyone scrambled to stop me. Because every person in that house knew one thing. If even a single hair on my head was harmed there... My nine brothers would make sure Lucas's entire family disappeared from Veridian by sunrise.