The rain in Silver Ridge didn't just fall; it clawed at the windshield of Cass Miller’s beat-up truck like it was trying to warn her. She pulled her hood low, hurrying toward the back entrance of the diner where she’d spent three years pretending to be nobody. In this corner of the Oregon wilderness, she was just a girl with a quiet job and a habit of looking over her shoulder. She had scrubbed her scent with heavy suppressants and buried her past so deep she almost believed she was human.But the air changed the moment she stepped into the alley. It wasn’t the smell of pine or rain anymore. It was something heavy, metallic, and terrifyingly familiar. It was the scent of a predator that stood at the very top of the food chain.Cass froze, her hand hovering over the door handle. A shadow detached itself from the brick wall, taller and broader than any man had a right to be. He wore a dark tactical jacket, his face partially obscured by a hood, but she didn’t need to see his eyes to know who it was. The sheer pressure of his presence made the hair on her arms stand up."Three years, Cassidy," a voice growled, vibrating through the damp air with a low, American drawl. "Did you really think I wouldn't find you?"Jax Thorne stepped into the sliver of light from the streetlamp. He looked exactly as he had the night she fled—sharp-jawed, lethal, and radiating a territorial heat that made the freezing rain steam off his shoulders. He wasn't just an Alpha; he was the Apex of the Rainier Pack, and he looked like he had spent every second of those three years hunting for the bride who had vanished from his side.Cass backed away, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. "I don't belong to the pack anymore, Jax. I'm a Latent. I’m useless to you."Jax moved with a speed that defied human physics, closing the distance until he was towering over her, his hand slamming against the brick wall beside her head. He leaned in, his scent—cedarwood and lightning—overwhelming her senses."You're a lot of things, Cass," he whispered, his blue eyes glowing with a faint, predatory gold in the dark. "But 'useless' isn't one of them. And 'mine' is the only one that matters tonight."Before she could scream, his hand was over her mouth, and the world tilted as he hoisted her over his shoulder as easily as a sack of grain. He wasn't asking for her to return; he was stealing her back into a world of teeth and moonlight that she was never meant to escape.

The rain in Silver Ridge didn't just fall; it clawed at the windshield of Cass Miller’s beat-up truck like it was trying to warn her. She pulled her hood low, hurrying toward the back entrance of the diner where she’d spent three years pretending to be nobody. In this corner of the Oregon wilderness, she was just a girl with a quiet job and a habit of looking over her shoulder. She had scrubbed her scent with heavy suppressants and buried her past so deep she almost believed she was human.But the air changed the moment she stepped into the alley. It wasn’t the smell of pine or rain anymore. It was something heavy, metallic, and terrifyingly familiar. It was the scent of a predator that stood at the very top of the food chain.Cass froze, her hand hovering over the door handle. A shadow detached itself from the brick wall, taller and broader than any man had a right to be. He wore a dark tactical jacket, his face partially obscured by a hood, but she didn’t need to see his eyes to know who it was. The sheer pressure of his presence made the hair on her arms stand up."Three years, Cassidy," a voice growled, vibrating through the damp air with a low, American drawl. "Did you really think I wouldn't find you?"Jax Thorne stepped into the sliver of light from the streetlamp. He looked exactly as he had the night she fled—sharp-jawed, lethal, and radiating a territorial heat that made the freezing rain steam off his shoulders. He wasn't just an Alpha; he was the Apex of the Rainier Pack, and he looked like he had spent every second of those three years hunting for the bride who had vanished from his side.Cass backed away, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. "I don't belong to the pack anymore, Jax. I'm a Latent. I’m useless to you."Jax moved with a speed that defied human physics, closing the distance until he was towering over her, his hand slamming against the brick wall beside her head. He leaned in, his scent—cedarwood and lightning—overwhelming her senses."You're a lot of things, Cass," he whispered, his blue eyes glowing with a faint, predatory gold in the dark. "But 'useless' isn't one of them. And 'mine' is the only one that matters tonight."Before she could scream, his hand was over her mouth, and the world tilted as he hoisted her over his shoulder as easily as a sack of grain. He wasn't asking for her to return; he was stealing her back into a world of teeth and moonlight that she was never meant to escape.

One reckless night in Las Vegas changes everything when struggling dreamer Lena Carter wakes up married to billionaire CEO Adrian Vale — a man who is powerful, mysterious, and hiding dangerous secrets.What starts as a drunken mistake quickly turns into a carefully controlled arrangement worth billions, but as cameras flash and enemies circle, Lena realizes this marriage was never an accident.Someone planned it.And the more she uncovers the truth about her husband — and the woman who looks exactly like her — the more she understands that walking away may cost more than just her heart.In a world of power, obsession, and hidden identities, love might be the most dangerous gamble of all.