What Happens In The Wager: A Tale Of Shipwreck, Mutiny And Murder?

Shayla Hale learned young that love is the cruelest lie of all. When her father brought home his secret family, her world shattered. When college was supposed to be her fresh start, Grayson Cross destroyed that too...with his charming smile, his devastating lies, and a bet that would break her completely. Seven years later, she's rebuilt her life far from the ruins he left behind. She has her son, her best friend, and walls so high no one can hurt her again. She survived the worst betrayal of her life and built a new world far from the wreckage. A world where she's safe. Where her secrets stay buried. Where the man who destroyed her can never find her. Until the day she accepts a job as a personal assistant to a powerful CEO, and discovers her new boss is the last person she ever wanted to see again. Grayson Cross. Cold. Ruthless. Unforgiving. He doesn't know why she disappeared seven years ago. He doesn't know what he took from her. And he has no idea about the little boy with his eyes waiting at home. Some bets have consequences that last forever. Some lies can never be forgiven. And some men will destroy everything to get back what they lost. He ruined her once. But this time, she might just ruin him back.

When Athena, a hybrid, meets Cameron, the billionaire Lycan King's son, in the parking lot of Silverwood Academy, an unlikely bond forms. But Athena has been trained to resist the mate bond at all costs, believing it will lead to her mate's death. Cameron's legacy depends on activating their bond and he's determined to win Athena over. Can they defy the goddess's warning and risk everything for love, or will their forbidden attraction seal their fate?

I knew my husband, Josh Perkins, had faked his death and taken on his younger twin brother's identity—but I never said a word. Instead, I went straight to the commander of the military district and filed an official report of my husband's death, requesting his name be permanently removed from the service rolls. In my last life, my brother-in-law died in an accident. Josh gave up his rank as regimental commander, abandoned his own name, and stepped into his brother's shoes—all to spare his fragile sister-in-law from becoming a widow. Back then, I recognized him immediately. I confronted him and demanded to know why he was pretending to be a dead man. But Josh just looked through me, cold as a winter morning. "Riley, I know you're grieving Josh. But I'm not him. Don't mistake me for my brother." He shielded that delicate sister-in-law of his behind him, then shoved me into the icy river and warned me not to harbor delusions. Later, our five-year-old daughter cried, asking why her daddy didn't want her anymore. For that, she was dragged to the cowshed for "reflection"—left there, starving, for three days and nights. My mother-in-law called me a curse, a jinx who'd killed her son, and threw my daughter and me out with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Josh made sure everyone knew I'd "gone mad"—that I was lusting after my brother-in-law before my husband was even cold in the ground. The whole town turned their backs on us. That last winter, I wandered the streets with my girl, dazed and numb, until the cold finally took us both. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back to the very day Josh buried his old life and stole his brother's.

Morgan is just trying to survive her cousin’s destination wedding in Bermuda. She didn’t come prepared for emotional damage, and she certainly didn't expect the biggest drama of the weekend to involve a head injury, a blocked tunnel, and a very confusing run-in with three dudes dressed like they raided a Pirates of the Caribbean casting call. Turns out they’re not LARPing. They aren't actors. It's not a fun sunset cruise. No. They’re privateers. Like, real ones. From the actual year 1725. And Morgan? She’s stuck. She may have a pretty good handle on how to survive in the wilderness, thanks to her ex-Green Beret dad. But eighteenth-century ships, sexist crewmates, and suspicious captains aren’t exactly her area of expertise. Especially not Flynn, the broody, grumpy, maddeningly handsome Captain who might rather toss her overboard than deal with whatever disaster she’s brought onto his ship. But as danger closes in, from rival ships to secrets Morgan didn’t mean to bring with her, she’ll have to find her place in this brutal new world. That is… if she doesn’t drive Flynn to keelhauling her first. Or fall for him. Maybe both. Adventure, slow-burn tension, and fish-out-of-water chaos collide in this swoony, high-stakes romantic tale across time. For fans of enemies-to-lovers, pirate drama, and heroines who don’t know when to shut the fuck up.

I’d just set sail to escort the cargo to the border when a Category 8 typhoon warning suddenly blared. I steer the ship back in the direction of the harbor, only to realize that the ship has run out of fuel. The distress beacon has been dismantled, too. Immediately, I pick up the radio and call the maritime rescuers for help. As soon as the call gets connected, I hear my wife, Melanie Watkins' mocking laughter instead. "I've already rewired the emergency number so that you can never reach the rescuers. Have fun surviving in the ocean!" Her student, Darell Parker, is with her as well. "Remember when you made fun of me for not knowing how to swim, Clifton? Well, now you're given the chance to show off your swimming skills! You can swim all the way back to the shore on your own! You'd better not be as slow as the sea turtles!" The waves have almost capsized the cargo ship. If I can't get rescued anytime soon, I'll end up dying in the sea. I can only grit my teeth before pleading to Melanie, "No one can possibly swim back to shore! Help me call the maritime rescuers—" But she laughs coldly in return. "Why do you need the rescuers' help? Didn't you say one must learn how to protect themselves? Now swim! "If you think the waters are too cold, then swim faster! Maybe you'll feel warmer the faster you swim!" I give up on arguing with Melanie. After that, I head toward the cargo area with a blade in hand and get ready to sever the ropes tying the cargo down. Said cargo contains the ransom money that's capable of saving Ella Zimmerman, the daughter of Hugh Zimmerman, the wealthiest man in Starbury.

After the cruise ship strikes a hidden reef, panicked passengers shove me and Kristen Langford into the sea. My boyfriend, Elijah Jensen, is the ship's captain, so he plunges into the water. But instead of saving me, he grabs Kristen and boards the last lifeboat. I thrash and cry for help, but he slaps my hand away. "You can swim. Stop pretending for attention!" Elijah snaps. "Kristen's body temperature is dropping. I have to get her to a hospital!" The waters around me are pitch-black, and his words feel like a death sentence. When the tracking bracelet I always wear is discovered inside a shark, Elijah dives alone into shark-infested waters, searching for three days and nights. In the end, the brilliant captain who once ruled the oceans can never sail again.