Annie Rancourt

After Selena was forced to leave Alpha Kian's kingdom for being his second chance mate she swore to never come back, leaving her family and friends behind. Without any other choice, she leaves the pack and has to survive on her own. With no pack or family to help her, she starts over and builds up her life. When fate one day interferes and she finds herself captured by the king's men as an enemy and tossed in the castle's prison to be tortured. Can she escape without the king finding out his mate has come back to his kingdom, and keep her secrets hidden from him? When her life and the ones she cares about depend on her secrets. Is the King still the cold-hearted mate she once met a late night in the dark or has he changed?

"That dress is a problem." He closes the distance in two steps. "Take it off or I’ll do it for you. We both know I’m not bluffing." He was my dad’s best friend. Until he vanished. Now he’s my boss… and the one man I’m not supposed to want. When I walk into Ryder Vane’s office, resume in hand, I don’t expect him to recognize me. He doesn’t. Not the little girl he once read bedtime stories to. Not the daughter of the man he betrayed. Not the secret I’ve been keeping since the night everything fell apart. Ryder is Hollywood royalty—brilliant, commanding, impossible to ignore. And he just hired me as his assistant. I wanted distance. Closure. Maybe a little revenge. What I didn’t plan on was the sparks. The stolen glances. The late nights that blur the lines between right and ruin. He’s twice my age. My dad’s ex–best friend. And completely off-limits. But secrets don’t stay buried in this town. And when the past comes crashing back with a stalker’s note and a kiss I can’t take back… The biggest scandal won’t be what’s in the tabloids. It’ll be what’s in my heart.

“I want to get a divorce, Mark,” I repeated myself in case he didn't hear me the first time—even though I knew he'd heard me clearly. He stared at me with a frown before answering coldly, "It's not up to you! I'm very busy, don't waste my time with such boring topics, or try to attract my attention!" The last thing I was going to do was argue or bicker with him. "I will have the lawyer send you the divorce agreement," was all I said, as calmly as I could muster. He didn't even say another word after that and just went through the door he'd been standing in front of, slamming it harshly behind him. My eyes lingered on the knob of the door a bit absentmindedly before I pulled the wedding ring off my finger and placed it on the table. I grabbed my suitcase, which I'd already had my things packed in and headed out of the house.

I have been through three marriages initiated by my stepmom in order to pay off my late father’s debt. This time around, I was betrothed to a disabled man, Shawn. According to my stepmom, Shawn was a useless cripple from an average-earning family so she signed me off to him without thinking twice, ignoring my tears and pleas. But guess what? I was surprised to see Shawn rise to his feet to do his manly duties to me on our wedding night. He was also the owner of the biggest group of companies in the country. Could he be the man of my dreams?