Serving bonds after bullied by my family and mate
I'm Savannah. After winning the silver medal at the Werewolf Dance championship, I felt a mix of pride and relief. My instructor thought I could've won gold if not for my past pregnancy, but I was still happy with my achievement.
Stepping off the flight, I was greeted by Mark, whose bouquet carried a fresh, lovely scent. I owed him big for exposing Quinn's cheating. When Harrison showed up at the airport, I ignored him completely. He'd lost the right to be in my life after all he'd done.
At my apartment, Quinn and my parents tried to cause trouble, but I showed them the document cutting our ties. Mark stood up for me, calling the enforcers. Later, when they tried to smear me online, Mark came to my rescue again with old photos and videos.
In the end, the Whitmores became outcasts. And on my bonding day with Mark, I saw Harrison lurking in the shadows, broken. I'd finally found someone who truly cared about me, my real protector under the full moon.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 3
I hid in the shadows and overheard his words. Lying in bed, my breath came in ragged gasps, and I only realized my eyes had turned red when the tears started to fall.
I first met Harrison at the Howling Night Gala, the most important event in our werewolf community. I was performing a traditional moon dance on stage, my movements synchronized with the rhythm of the drums. Harrison was the one playing those drums, his eyes closed as he lost himself in the music. Our community elder introduced us after the show, and from the moment I caught his scent-spicy and warm, like a bonfire on a cold night-I was hooked. His focus on creating the perfect beat was almost hypnotic.
During rehearsal, I missed a step and nearly tumbled off the raised stone platform. In a flash, Harrison was there, throwing himself beneath me. He broke his right leg with a sickening snap, but I landed safely.
I was shaking all over, scared out of my wits. He just pulled me close, his grip firm. "What's there to be afraid of? This leg will heal in no time. But if you'd gotten hurt? Your dance career, your place in the Gala-gone! I couldn't let that happen."
Those words made me fall hard. I thought I'd found my forever. But now I know his passion for music doesn't mean he's got a faithful heart. He was into the dancer in me, sure. But Quinn, with her fresh, spring - like scent and energetic moves, has clearly caught his eye too.
I was half - conscious when Harrison padded into the room, carrying a bowl of warm moonroot porridge, the smell of honey and spices filling the air. "Babe, rise and shine. You can't starve yourself-it's bad for you and our little one."
I stayed still, not even blinking. To my surprise, he didn't get annoyed. Instead, he carefully helped me sit up, his touch gentle. "Even if you're angry at me and don't feel like eating, think about the pup. It's so small, it needs every bit of strength. Have some porridge, and then you can chew me out all you want."
His patience was eerie. I couldn't help but look at him. His hand held the bowl steady, and I caught a faint whiff of the nervous, almost desperate scent he always gave off when he wanted something. The last time he'd been this sweet, he'd tried to convince me to drop out of the Moonlit Dance Trials so Quinn could take my place.
"You're carrying a pup now," he'd said then. "There's no way you can compete. Might as well let Quinn go-she's been itching to join that trial for ages."
It clicked instantly. He wasn't being nice out of the blue. I grabbed the porridge from him, my expression cold, and stared him down. "Cut the crap. What do you want this time?"
Harrison let out a strained laugh. "Come on, babe, what's with the attitude? Can't I just make you breakfast without some hidden agenda?"
"Fine. If you've got nothing to ask, I'll take this as a rare moment of kindness."
His expression shifted, and I caught a sharp spike of anxiety in his scent, like he was terrified I'd see through his act. "It's about Quinn. She's been craving your shadowberry stew non - stop. I've already gathered all the ingredients. Just whip it up tomorrow, and I'll deliver it to her."
Even though I'd braced myself, his words still hit hard. Memories flooded back. Growing up, I'd been the family's do - everything helper.
Quinn was the golden child. While she got to attend the exclusive Howl - Crafting workshops and the coveted Moon - Song training, I had to plead for months just to get money for basic herbology lessons.
My dancing chance came from Quinn, too. She'd lost interest in the Moonlit Dance classes, but since the fees were paid, I'd jumped at the opportunity.
When she got jealous and wanted back in, our parents only let me stay to rile her up. I'd danced in the dusty training halls without proper wraps, while Quinn would "accidentally" stomp on my feet during group practice, then giggle with her friends. "Savannah, dancing without wraps? So low - class!"
When Harrison proposed, I'd thought I'd finally escaped that endless cycle. But now I realized-it was just another form of the same old suffering. This time, the one tearing me apart was my own mate.
Keep Reading
The story is getting intense! Switch to App to
Unlock All Chapters
You may also like
9.2
"Isabella this is the right time for you to choose between me or Hector, because any one you choose now will be your husband till the contract end."
"Think well Isabella don't make mistake."
She spilled coffee on the wrong man.
Isabella Ramirez is drowning in debt, exhaustion, and fear-working double shifts to keep her dying mother alive. One mistake in a crowded café brings her face-to-face with Alejandro De La Vega, a billionaire feared for his cold heart and ruthless power.
His punishment is cruel.
His offer is worse.
One year as his wife in exchange for her family's freedom.
But inside his mansion, Isabella learns that marriage without love is a cage. Betrayal hides behind charming smiles.
A former wife returns with secrets. A cousin watches from the shadows. And the contract that binds her may destroy her heart.
When lies explode and power turns brutal, Isabella must choose between survival and love-before she loses herself completely.
Tropes
Contract Marriage
Poor Girl × Billionaire CEO
Forced Proximity
Inheritance Deadline
Emotional Abuse & Redemption
Love vs Power
Public Scandal
Love Triangle
One True Love
9.4
Hayley was betrayed by those who should have loved her most. To save their precious adopted daughter from a punishment she deserved, her own parents sent Hayley straight into a living hell—an infamous prison where survival demanded cruelty, and weakness meant death.
Four years later, the girl who had entered those iron gates no longer existed. She emerged with a single, unbreakable rule carved into her soul: Every betrayal would be repaid tenfold.
The day she walked free, the world trembled. A convoy of luxury cars lined the road. A legion of loyal followers awaited her triumphant return.
Her father tried to buy her silence with money. But money had long lost its power over her.
Her adopted sister hid behind sweet words and false kindness. But empty smiles no longer fooled her.
Everything that had once been stolen would be reclaimed—piece by piece.
When her parents attempted to tie themselves to the city's most feared man by offering their adopted daughter, Hayley's lips curved into a cold smirk. "Not on my watch."
Backed by a legendary hacker, shadowy allies, and an entire prison willing to burn the world for her, Hayley dismantled her enemies with terrifying precision.
Then the tyrant noticed her. "You're interesting," he said. "Be my woman, and the city is yours."
Hayley raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You want to own me? Survive me first."
High society became their battlefield. Power collided with desire. Ambition clashed with obsession. In this ruthless game of dominance and temptation, only one would kneel first.
The girl once abandoned in hell rose from its ashes, crowned by fire and vengeance—And in the end, even the most feared ruler in the city would bow, offering his empire to the woman who had conquered both hell… and him.
8.4
To save her legacy, she'll marry her greatest enemy. To save her life, she'll have to trust his lies.
Aria Hale has only one objective: to destroy the Veridian family. Twenty years ago, they ruined her mother's career and her family's reputation. Now, as Hale Enterprises is about to go out of business, she is forced into a marriage of convenience with the man she dislikes most: Luca Veridian.
Luca is a ruthless, calculating, and cold-hearted man. He doesn't just want the Hale company; he wants proof of their wrongdoings. He makes the deal for the marriage contract for one year for his own purposes: to get close enough to Aria to put her in jail.
The rules are simple: Live together. Act as if you're in love. Don't show your true intentions.
As they play a deadly game of cat and mouse in their shared penthouse apartment, the lines between protection and sabotage get blurred. Luca, the ruthless man, is hiding his own demons, and Aria, the ruthless woman, has a secret that might destroy both their empires.
Yet, when a shadow from their past, the mysterious "Architect," comes back to finish what was started all those years ago, Aria and Luca learn that they are not the players in this game, but the pawns instead.
Betrayed by blood, bound by contract, Aria and Luca must now choose whether to keep their secrets and die, or fall in love and burn the world down together.
7.8
The thunder cracked over the Hamptons, but it was nothing compared to Elena Sharp's scream. She lay twisted on the marble foyer, accusing me of trying to kill her baby. My husband, Julian, walked in, saw the scene, and his eyes froze me out of his life forever.
He didn't listen, shoving a separation agreement across the desk, accusing me of murder. Stripped of my name and home, I was thrown out, left with nothing but my clothes and a terrifying secret growing inside me.
My accounts frozen, I ended up in a crumbling Philadelphia row house, forced to pawn heirlooms. During a fire, my water broke, and I delivered our premature daughter, June, whose lungs were damaged. I stole formula to feed her, facing massive medical bills.
Accused of destroying an heir, I was exiled while carrying his true legacy, fighting for every breath. The injustice burned, but June's life was my only fight.
Three years later, June needed life-saving surgery. Julian's dying grandmother called me back with the funds, forcing a cruel charade with the man who hated me, a man still oblivious to his daughter.
7.9
Emily Parker has a simple life plan: write her steamy romance novels, collect her royalties, sleep whenever she wants, and avoid anything that sounds like responsibility.
Marriage? Absolutely not.
But when her aunt threatens to drag her back to the countryside and marry her off the traditional way, Emily makes a desperate promise-she'll find a husband in three months.
There's just one problem.
She's single. She hates dating. And she's far too lazy to fall in love.
So she does what any rational, comfort-loving woman would do-she signs up for a contract marriage. Temporary husband. Minimal effort. Clean divorce. Peace restored.
Except the man who accepts her proposal isn't just some convenient stranger.
He's Adrian Vale. Thirty-one. Devastatingly calm. CEO of a global empire.
And he remembers her.
Emily may have lost her childhood memories in the accident that killed their parents-but Adrian never forgot a single detail. Not the night that changed everything. Not the little girl who once held his hand. Not the name she would one day unknowingly choose as her pen name: Vale.
To her, it was just a contract.
To him, it was fate.
As secrets from the past begin to surface and the truth behind their shared tragedy threatens to tear them apart, Emily must decide whether to keep running from responsibility... or finally choose the man who has loved her long before she could remember him.
She wanted a temporary husband.
He's been waiting for her his entire life.
7.4
My husband stood by the window of his Manhattan office, his silhouette cutting through the storm like a blade. He didn't even look at me as he tossed the divorce papers onto the desk, his voice a cold baritone. "Sign it," Isaiah commanded, "or your brother’s dialysis treatment ends today."
He believed the lie that I had pushed his pregnant mistress down a flight of stairs in a jealous rage. To save my dying brother, I signed the confession and accepted the role of a murderer, trading my freedom for a life of disgrace.
At the funeral, Isaiah forced me to crawl on my knees through the freezing mud to the grave while a mob of mourners spat on me and cursed my name. When I went to prison, his influence followed me into the showers, where inmates told me the King wanted me to "remember my crime" before they used rusty shears to hack off my finger.
Five years later, I was a ghost living in a damp basement with the son Isaiah never knew I had, hiding my mangled hand under a leather glove. When he eventually tracked us down, he didn't show mercy; he tore my son from my arms, calling me an unfit monster and swearing I would rot in a cage.
I couldn't understand how the man I once loved could look at my broken body and see only a criminal, never realizing that every scar I carried was a gift from his own hatred.
As he walked away with my child, I swallowed a bottle of pills to end the nightmare, leaving Isaiah to rip the glove from my hand and discover the mangled truth just as my eyes finally closed.