Five Years as My Mate's Stand-In

I was secretly with Cole-my best friend Brooke's brother-for five years, only to find out I'd always been a stand-in for Alexis, my half-sister. He lied to me, took intimate photos of me without consent to share, and humiliated me publicly. Heartbroken, I ended things, took a job in Norlan Town, and even thought I was pregnant. Later, work brought me back to Belmor Town. I reunited with Gabriel, and kept dealing with Alexis's harassment. When my dad died from a sudden heart attack, grief pushed me to fight back-and Gabriel, who'd loved me quietly for years, stood by my side to take on the Price family. Gabriel and I formed a sacred bond. Even when Cole finally woke up, admitted he'd loved me all along, I couldn't go back.

Chapters

Chapter 3

"Atta girl, Lauren! The pack's got high hopes for you. Keep it up," Michael says, his enthusiasm practically buzzing through the phone.

I mumble a quick thanks and hang up, then dial another number without thinking. It picks up almost instantly.

"Lauren? What's got you calling me out of the blue?" My dad's warm, familiar voice hits me like a lifeline.

I choke up, unable to speak for a moment. He prods gently, worry creeping into his tone, and I force myself to sound light. "Just wanted to tell you I got a promotion, Dad. But it means moving to Norlan Town. Come with me, okay?"

He chuckles, relieved. "These old bones aren't up for that kind of move. New pack's pricey, pup. Take care of yourself. My illness. I'm just living day by day."

"Dad!" I cut him off, my voice sharp. "We got through the worst of it. I'm earning now. Once we find a kidney match, you'll be fine. I'm counting on you to walk me down the aisle when I form my sacred bond."

He goes quiet, then sighs. "Lauren, when do I get to meet this mate of yours?"

He's scared he won't live to see me bound, scared I'm with the wrong wolf. But he doesn't say it. He knows I've been carrying too much already.

"Soon," I say, forcing a smile into my voice. "This weekend. I'll bring him to meet you."

Dad's voice lights up, and I can hear the grin in it. We hang up, and I head to the guest room, collapsing into sleep just before dawn.

I don't know how long I'm out before a damp sensation on my forehead jolts me awake. My eyes snap open to Cole's familiar jawline and the faint, clean scent of his shower gel. He notices I'm up and leans down, chuckling softly as he goes for my lips.

I jerk my head away.

He pauses, smirking. "What, still shy?"

I shove him back, scrambling for an excuse. "You hungry?"

He doesn't call out my dodge, just props himself up on one elbow, his gaze playful. "Starving," he says, his voice husky from the shower.

"I'll make something." I bolt up, desperate to get away, but he grabs my waist and pulls me back to the bed.

"First, I'm eating you."

Before I can protest, his lips are on mine, his warm breath trailing down my neck, lingering there with a teasing edge. I clamp my lips shut, fighting the nausea rising in my gut. Is this how he is with Alexis? The thought makes my stomach churn.

I shove him off and sprint to the bathroom, heaving into the sink.

Cole's behind me, his expression unreadable in the mirror. "When was your last cycle?"

I freeze, splashing cold water on my face. "My stomach's just been off lately," I lie.

His tense expression softens slightly. "Alright, after breakfast, I'll go with you to see a healer."

I nod, hesitating before I speak again. "This afternoon. can you come with me to see my dad?"

He's leaning against the doorframe, scrolling through his phone, and gives a distracted "Mhm."

His easy agreement catches me off guard, stirring a flicker of something-hope, maybe, or just confusion. True or not, I can't confront him yet. I need Dad to feel at ease.

I head downstairs to the kitchen. By the time I bring out a bowl of noodles, Cole's already dressed and heading for the door.

"Something came up," he says. "Go to the healer on your own. Call me if you need me."

"What about this afternoon-"

"Text me the address."

The door slams shut before I can finish. I sit at the table, picking at the noodles, but my appetite's gone. I push the bowl away and head to the pharmacy downstairs, grabbing a pregnancy test.

When three red lines appear, my face goes ashen.

Continue to next part

After her fated mate brutally rejects her to favor his mistress, a heartbroken werewolf must navigate the painful fallout of a broken bond. Cast aside and humiliated, she struggles to reclaim her dignity while facing the harsh realities of pack politics. As betrayal turns her world upside down, she discovers an inner strength she never knew existed. In a journey of survival and self-discovery, she must decide if she will sink or rise against those who wronged her.

Action Romance Werewolf

9.4

Ashton's Betrayal, Her Unyielding Vengeance

9.4

I spent a decade as Ashton Maxwell' s shadow, building his empire and warming his bed, only for him to announce his engagement to a senator's daughter right in front of me. When assassins struck that night, he didn't just choose her; he used my body as a human shield against a grenade and then shot me himself to prove his loyalty to her family. I survived, reinvented myself as Grecia Munoz, and returned to burn his world to the ground, eventually forcing him to hand over his entire empire in a desperate plea for forgiveness. He promised to disappear so I could find peace with a kind doctor named Garrick. But Ashton' s definition of love was a sickness. To "protect" me from what he called a weakness, he secretly destroyed Garrick' s career and reputation, driving the only innocent man I ever loved to jump off a bridge. He thought this would drive me back into his arms, into the safety of the monster he created. Instead, I drove to the Hamptons, to the pristine dream home he had built for our future. He knelt before me, begging for understanding, claiming he did it all for us. I didn't offer forgiveness. I raised the pistol he had once given me, aimed at the heart I had already broken, and ended the nightmare once and for all.

Action Modern Mystery

7.7

Betrayed, I Married the Feared Cripple

7.7

Three days after my fiancé publicly dumped me for my stepsister, the Supreme Don issued a command that silenced the entire estate. I wasn't being cast aside. I was being sold to Damien Russo. The "Broken Don." A crippled, scarred monster rumored to have murdered his last two wives. My adoptive mother, Elena, didn't cry for me. She smirked. To her, I was finally being disposed of. She was so confident I was walking to my death that she decided to loot my corpse before I even left. She forged documents to steal my entire inheritance—my biological mother’s trust fund—to pay for my stepsister’s lavish wedding to my ex. "She won't need money where she's going," my stepsister laughed, wearing a dress bought with my stolen funds. They thought they were sending a lamb to the slaughter. They thought I was too weak, too stupid, and too afraid of the monster to fight back. But they made a fatal mistake. With my aunt’s help, I didn't just find the proof of their embezzlement; I found a weapon. I’m not running from the monster. I’m going to marry him. And when I hand him the evidence that the Herrera family stole from his bride, he won't be my executioner. He will be my vengeance.

Action Mafia Romance

7.4

Futuristic Corporate War Zone

7.4

In a city where data is power and truth is a weapon, some secrets are worth killing for. Mara Quinn is a ghost in the system, an underground journalist known only as Cipher, feared by corporations and hunted by those with everything to lose. When she breaches a classified network inside Axiom Industries, she uncovers something no one was meant to see: ORACLE, a predictive AI capable of shaping human behavior on a global scale. She expects retaliation. She doesn't expect Kael Draven. Cold, brilliant, and untouchable, Kael is the architect behind Axiom's empire, and a man who doesn't make threats he can't execute. Instead of silencing Mara, he offers her a choice: work under his watch, or disappear from existence entirely. Trapped inside his glass fortress known as The Spire, Mara is pulled deeper into a world of surveillance, manipulation, and power plays that stretch far beyond anything she imagined. But ORACLE isn't just a tool, it's already been used. Governments have fallen. Empires have shifted. And someone else is pulling the strings. As a rival syndicate closes in and a hidden war erupts across the city, Mara and Kael are forced into an uneasy alliance, one built on intellect, suspicion, and a dangerous, undeniable pull neither of them can ignore. Because in a world where every move is predicted... the only thing more dangerous than control is feeling. And the system is already watching.

Action Modern Sci-Fi

7.1

His Dangerous Touch

7.1

Aurora Andrews has never known a life free from pain. Orphaned and left in the care of her cruel uncle and aunt, she endured years of abuse that taught her the safest place was in the shadows. But even in college, her silence couldn't shield her from the cruelty of her peers. Just as she reaches her breaking point, fate intervenes in the form of Alexander Mark, the powerful and enigmatic CEO of the Vanguard Group company. Alexander saves her from a nightmare, but one impulsive, accidental night binds their fates together. When the morning light comes, he leaves her with a heartless dismissal, assuming she is just another gold digger looking for a payout. But Aurora carries a secret more precious than anything. Forced to drop out of school to protect her unborn baby, Aurora fights to survive in a world that wants to break her. But the shadows of her past are closing in; what will happen when her abusive aunt and uncle discover she is pregnant? And what will become of her when Alexander Mark walks back into her life, unaware of the child growing in her womb? He left her thinking she was a whore. But the truth is far more dangerous. When their paths inevitably cross again, will he accept the child as his own? Or will he destroy the only chance Aurora has at a happy ending? "I'm not a whore, I promise you, Sir. I just wanted to save you... and nothing else."

Action Billionaire Modern

7.2

Pregnant Oracle: The CEO's Most Dangerous Mistake

7.2

I stared at the ceiling tiles of the sterile clinic, counting water stains to keep from screaming. The IVF transfer was complete, but the nurse didn’t call me a mother—she called the life inside me an "asset" for Caldwell Holdings. When I walked into my husband Alexander’s office to demand a divorce, he didn't even look up from his desk. He just laughed, shredded my legal papers, and told me I was nothing more than a high-end broodmare for his inheritance. The nightmare only deepened from there. To keep me in line, Alexander fabricated evidence of an affair to destroy my reputation. When I tried to run, he revealed he controlled the facility where my sister was on life support, threatening to pull the plug if I didn't submit. "One phone call, and her ventilator stops," he whispered. Even my own parents turned against me, demanding I apologize to Alexander’s mistress just to secure their next business merger. I was a prisoner in my own life, trapped between a husband who wanted to own me and a family that had already sold me. I couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with this pregnancy until I saw the fear in Alexander's eyes when his uncle, the powerful Harrison Sterling, started showing up at my door. I finally hacked into the clinic’s high-security database and found the truth. There had been a catastrophic lab breach the day of my procedure. The donor wasn't some anonymous third party. I wasn't carrying my husband's child. I was carrying his uncle's heir. As Alexander sent a hitman to stage a fatal "accident" on the Manhattan Bridge, I realized the war had just begun. This time, I wasn't just fighting for my life—I was holding the nuclear leverage that would burn the Caldwell empire to the ground.

Action Modern Romance

Five Years as My Mate's Stand-In

Chapter 3

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