

I was slowly dying from Silverthorn Wolfsbane, and there was only one cure—the Miracle Elixir. But my mate, Leo Ashford, bought it and gave it to my adoptive sister, Jane Smith. He did it because he thought I was faking my illness. I gave up on the treatment and swallowed a potent painkiller instead. It would kill me in three days by shutting down my organs. In those three days, I gave up everything. I handed over the fur manufacturing business I built from the ground up to Jane, and my parents praised me for caring about my sister. I offered to sever our mate bond, and Leo praised me for finally being sensible. When I told my son he could call Jane "mommy", he happily said that his new mommy was the best! I transferred all my savings to Jane, and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. They were just pleased with my "better behavior". "Viola is finally not so bad." I wondered—would they regret it after I was gone?

It’s getting hot… and spooky… on this special Halloween edition of GoodChat! Actor Fulop Budavari sits down with Paint Me Yours Miss Bad Kisser star Alexa Reddy for a fiery, fun conversation filled with behind-the-scenes tea and hauntingly good laughs. From her favorite on-set moments to braving hot wings & hot spooky questions challenge, Alexa proves she’s just as bold off-screen as she is on.

"""After I lost the baby, I gave up everything my mate, Alpha Rhydian, hated. I stopped using our bond to sense where he was. I could sleep soundly even when he didn't come back to our bedroom all night. I didn't even tell him when a rogue's silver blade sliced my arm during a border skirmish. The pack doctor told me to notify my family. I just answered calmly, """"I don't have a family."""" The doctor recognized me. """"You're the Luna. Alpha Rhydian is at headquarters. Should I inform him?"""" I shook my head gently. """"No, don't."""" But half an hour later, Rhydian came anyway. His tall frame cast a shadow over me, his voice ice-cold. """"You're hurt. Why didn't you call me through the mind link?"""" I lowered my eyes. """"It's just a scratch. No need to bother the Alpha."""" A low growl rumbled in his chest. The air crackled with his fury. He was about to speak when a guard whispered outside the door, """"The Alpha cares so much for Isla. She just pricked her finger on a rose thorn, and he gave her the pack's most precious moonlight herb."""" I saw his jaw clench. His gray-blue eyes shot to me, searching for the jealous rage I always used to show. I gave him nothing. Not even a blink. I just leaned back against the cheap hospital pillows and closed my eyes. But Rhydian's composure finally shattered. """

Don't move. Your dress isn't on properly." Alpha Leo Stonewell lifted a hand to adjust my ceremonial gown. But the next second, the words that came out of his mouth sent a chill down my spine. "Layla, let Lilith wear this dress instead. Don't show up at our marking ceremony on the night of the full moon. She'll take your place then." I looked up immediately. "Have you lost your mind?" He sighed softly as if to suggest I was being unreasonable. "Lilith is just an Omega in the pack. I can't bear to let her stay with me without a rightful title. Tomorrow, I'll officially mark her during the ceremony." The northern wind sliced across my face. It felt bitterly cold, but it could hardly compare to the freezing ache in my chest. "We're supposed to become mates tomorrow. If you're going to mark her, then what did the past ten years between us even mean?" Leo frowned. Impatience crept into his voice. "Your wolf spirit has been dormant all this time. To the other werewolves in the pack, you're no different from an Omega. Layla, don't worry. Even if I mark her, I'll still take care of you for the rest of your life. Let her have this marking ceremony. Lilith is young and beautiful. She can't handle being wronged." My face slowly drained of color. If this Alpha thought I wasn't as young or beautiful as Lilith Lambert, then I didn't want him as my mate either

I grew up abroad. My mother feared I might marry a foreign man, so she arranged an engagement for me with a talented and handsome man in Flodon. She insisted that I return home to get engaged. I came back and started shopping for an engagement dress at a luxury boutique. I selected an off-white strapless gown and decided to try it on. Suddenly, a woman nearby glanced at the dress in my hand and told the saleswoman, “That’s a unique design. Let me try it.” The saleswoman immediately yanked it out of my hands. I protested indignantly, “Excuse me, I was here first. Don’t you understand the principle of ‘first come, first served’? Or do you just not care about common decency?” The woman scoffed and retorted, “This dress costs $188,000. Do you really think a broke nobody like you can even afford it? “I’m Lucas Goodwin’s sister in all but blood. He’s the chairman of Goodwin’s Group. In Flodon, the Goodwin family sets the rules.” What a coincidence! Lucas Goodwin was my fiance! I immediately called him and said, “Hey, your ‘sister in all but blood’ just stole my engagement dress. Do something about it.”

My sister Aurora and I mated to Alpha twins. Five months into my pregnancy, I was attacked by a group of rogue wolves. I reached my Alpha mate Alexander for help through mind-link. But he ignored me for nine times. The rogues circled me, biting at my arms and legs, drawing blood with each attack. Pain ripped through my body. With one last desperate cry, I reached out through our bond a tenth time. This time, Alexander's cold voice cut through my mind: "Have you acted enough? My sister Vicky has been kidnapped. Don't bother me anymore." Victoria was Alexander and Ethan’s stepsister, the one that they truly loved. With nothing to stop them now, the rogue wolves pounced on me. One tore open my stomach with his fangs, and I watched in horror as they ripped my unborn child to pieces. When I was almost died, Aurora found me and fought against the rogues. But there were too many. Soon Aurora was bitten and bleeding heavily beside me. She mind-linked her mate Ethan for help, but all she received was: "I'm looking for Vicky. Don't bother me." Aurora had no choice but to shift and drag me onto her wolf's back. She raced down the mountain, but a sudden thunderstorm caused a mudslide, trapping us. Fortunately, the border patrol guards found us, and both Aurora and I barely survived. When I woke up in the pack hospital, my first thought was simple: sever the mate bond.

"You're no daughter of this pack," my mother hissed, her golden eyes flashing in the firelight. "If you can't support your Alpha sister, then get out." I should have seen it coming. In the Ashveil Pack, family means everything—unless you're me. Vera Darkthorne, the disappointment. While my perfect sister Eris got the love, the title, even my mate Cain, I got a mating ceremony where nobody showed up. Not even the man who swore he'd always be mine. That night, I ran. Now I've built a new life in Berlin's underground werewolf syndicate, where strength is the only law that matters. I've learned to fight, to lead, to make wolves twice my size back down with just a look. But when a message comes that Eris's dying, the pack demands my return. "Come home, Vera," my father's voice crackles through the phone. "Your sister needs you." I almost laugh. After everything? But this time, I'm not the weak wolf they left behind. This time, I have fangs of my own. And when wolves hunt you down, you don't run—you rip their throats out first.

Alice suffers brutal bullying in silence every day. She endures it all to protect them—because her parents kill anyone who hurts her. Yet one by one, her tormentors meet gruesome deaths. But when a raging fire exposes the basement, a horrific shrine inside reveals a truth so twisted it makes murder look like mercy.

When I was three months pregnant, a pack of Rogues ambushed me. In the last moments before my consciousness began to fade, I begged for rescue through my mind-link to my Alpha mate, Adrian. But he never answered. I was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, only to be informed that the Saint-Tier Healer had been forcefully taken South by Adrian to treat Evelyn, his first love, after she lost her mate. When I woke to the pain of losing my pup, my fingers shook as I checked social media, then I saw Evelyn's post: [I knew that no matter how far away I am or how much time has passed, Adrian would always come for me. He even brought a Saint-Tier Healer to ease the pain in my heart.] In the photo, Adrian's dark eyes, which were usually cold and distant, were focused on the woman beside him with tenderness. While I was fighting for my life and losing our cub, my Alpha was protecting another pregnant wolf. I chuckled at myself bitterly. It felt as if the bond mark on my chest was withering away. I then dialed a number without hesitation. "Dr. Clark, I accept the position at the Northern Ancient Wolf Research Institute. Yes, the sooner the better. I won't be holding a farewell ceremony."

Vertical superstars Tess Dinerstein and Lottie Guidi test their unbreakable friendship and discuss everything being a girlboss in the entertainment industry entails. From Shakespearean origins to modern day mantras (plus a surprise special guest), you won’t want to miss the insight these titans of vertical entertainment have to offer!