Introduction
For years, she watched and manipulated to make things the way they should have been before her grandparents got greedy.
Now, at last, she eventually reached the point where none of it was on her anymore, and she got to start her life and try to find love.
The past is no longer hers to carry.
This is the story of a girl broken by others’ choices—until she takes control, turns the tables, and sets out to claim a life, and even a love, that’s finally her own.
Share the book to
About Author

Stephanie Mills
Chapter 1
-
-
- Layla’s POV * * *
-
We just moved into a new house across the street from the Wolf MC clubhouse in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. I didn’t want to move — nobody asked my opinion, though. It’s easier to go along with it, let them think I’m just some dumb kid who doesn’t care.
My mom’s got a new boyfriend now, and he seems decent enough, I guess. I don’t bother interacting with him much; I keep my distance, like always.
Two years ago, my dad died protecting the wife of Spirit MC’s president during a botched hit by a rival club. He was standing right beside me and my godmother when it happened, shielding us with his body. Two bullets hit him in the back, and he was gone.
I’m not angry that he saved her — she’s my godmother, and losing her would’ve gutted me. But I miss him every day. That doesn’t mean I’d trade someone else’s life to have him back. Life doesn’t work that way.
I pull up to the house on my bike, the engine’s low growl cutting through the quiet street. The house is a three-story fixer-upper with peeling white paint and faded blue trim. Of course, Mom picked a place that needs work. It could be pretty once it’s fixed up, but I’m not lifting a finger to help. I’ve got my own plans and only a few weeks to get them done.
The basement apartment is mine — my own space, separate from the chaos of the main house where my three younger brothers are staying with Mom and her boyfriend. I have a bigger brother, Ghost, but Dad sent him away when I was little, for reasons no one’s ever explained.
We were close when Dad was alive, but now? I barely hear from him.
I take a deep breath, still straddling my bike, and glance across the street. The Wolf MC’s clubhouse looms there, a sprawling log cabin that looks like it was once a hotel, converted into their gritty headquarters. Why anyone thought a nice hotel belonged in a nowhere town like Sapulpa is beyond me. This place is a hole-in-the-wall, not some tourist destination.
The MC guys are already staring, their eyes tracking me from the porch. I keep my helmet on, the word “Ice” scrawled in deep purple and silver catching the sunlight. I got the nickname because my hair has always been a white silver color, plus dealing with the 4 of them has made me cold and sarcastic. I don’t like most people. Hell, you can’t even trust your own mom.
I’m dressed in blue jeans, a black tank top, my leather jacket, and boots, ready for whatever this day throws at me. My 9mm is tucked into the holster inside my jacket, and I’ve got knives stashed in a few places. Drunk bikers think they can grab whoever they want and get away with it — not with me. I’ve learned to protect myself the hard way.
“Layla, your stuff’s already in your apartment downstairs,” Mom says, not even glancing up from whatever she’s unpacking.
“Okay, thanks,” I reply, forcing politeness. “You guys need any help?” I don’t want to help, but I ask because it’s expected, not because I care.
“No, we’ve got it handled,” she says, dismissing me.
I knew she’d say that. She doesn’t like me much — I’m the oldest of her four kids, and she’s always babied the younger three: Travis and Thomas, the 16-year-old twins, and Sean, who’s 15. They’re spoiled rotten, always have been. Ghost, my oldest brother as mentioned, is 10 years older than me and off in the military somewhere.
Mom wasn’t around much when I was younger. She’d disappear for months, then show up out of nowhere with a kid or two, claiming they were Dad’s. A year after the twins, she had Sean. It’s like she’d vanish for their pregnancies, only to return once the babies were born, dumping them into our lives like nothing happened.
I pull off my helmet as we talk, letting my silver hair spill out. Across the street, one of the MC guys mutters, “What the fuck, that’s a girl.” Idiots. Like my figure didn’t give it away. Another voice, rougher, adds, “She’s gonna be trouble. Better stay away.”
My family doesn’t bother defending me. They never do. Since Dad died, I’ve had to fend for myself. To them, I’m some distant cousin they tolerate, not a sister or a daughter. I turn to see who’s talking and spot the Wolf MC president chatting with Mom’s new boyfriend. Even he doesn’t say a word in my defense. God only knows what lies Mom’s fed him about me.
Strike one, I think, glaring at them before heading to the side of the house and down the stairs to my apartment.
The basement door is flimsy, a cheap piece of wood I’ll have to replace once I get access to the money Dad left me. The apartment itself isn’t bad, though. It’s not some dank, moldy basement — there are large windows, about three feet by five, letting in plenty of light. I can hang my curtains and make it my own. I step into the living room and start opening the windows facing the street, the faint hum of voices from the clubhouse drifting in.
The president’s talking to my brothers now, something about prospecting for the MC. Good for them. I don’t care if they see me moving around; I haven’t found my curtains yet, and I’m not stopping to worry about it.
I’ve already unpacked the kitchen and half my bedroom. Four boxes sit in the corner: one labeled “living room,” one “bathroom,” and two marked “art room.” I open the living room box and find my curtains, the clock on the wall reading just past noon. Plenty of time to hit the store and grab some food before it gets late.
I decided to take a break and do just that. Grabbing my keys, I headed out to my Harley, its chrome gleaming under the midday sun. The bike roared to life beneath me. As I cruised through the small-town streets of Sapulpa, the wind whipping past my leather jacket, I let my mind wander. The town was as dull as I’d expected — faded storefronts, a couple of diners, and not much else.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the sidewalk. Tall, broad-shouldered, with a graying beard and a worn leather vest.
Uncle Rick? I shook my head, my silver hair catching in the breeze. No way. I hadn’t seen him since I was eight, back when Dad sent Ghost away for reasons no one ever explained. I must be seeing things, projecting ghosts from a past I barely remember.
I pushed the thought aside and kept riding until I hit the Walmart parking lot, the asphalt shimmering in the Oklahoma heat. I pulled into a spot near the entrance, kicking down the stand and cutting the engine. Just as I swung my leg off the bike, a beat-up black pickup truck rolled in behind me, its tires crunching on loose gravel.
My stomach twisted as I recognized the dented fender and the faded Spirit MC sticker on the tailgate. It was Uncle Rick’s truck. Guess I wasn’t imagining things after all.
I pulled off my helmet, letting my hair spill over my shoulders, and watched as Uncle Rick climbed out of the truck. He looked older than I remembered, but his presence still carried that quiet strength I’d clung to as a kid. Before I could process what was happening, he was striding toward me, his boots scuffing the pavement.
“Uncle Rick?” I said. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with us.”
His face softened, but there was a weight in his eyes, something heavy and unspoken. “That’s not true, princess,” he said. He reached into the truck and pulled out a sleek black laptop and a cheap burner phone, holding them out to me. “I’ve got a file for you to read. It’s on this laptop — locked tight, so no one else can get into it. And take this phone. Don’t let your mom see it, Layla. She wasn’t supposed to take you kids, and this laptop will explain why. I love you, you hear me? Always have. I’m gonna text you every day to check in, and you call me whenever you need me. If you’re in trouble, send the code word ‘unicorn,’ and I’ll find you, no matter where you are.”
He tells me as I look at him confused. My fingers closed around the laptop and phone. “I love you too, Uncle,” I managed. “I’ll check in, and I’ll let you know if I’m in trouble.”
“I love you too uncle. I will check in and let you know if I am in trouble.” He gave me a hug then left. Well that was short guess he is busy.
With that, he climbed back into his truck and peeled out.
/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Latest Chapters
#130 Chapter 130
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 06:35#129 Chapter 129
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 06:05#128 Chapter 128
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 11:45#127 Chapter 127
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 09:20#126 Chapter 126
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 07:40#125 Chapter 125
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 07:05#124 Chapter 124
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 07:05#123 Chapter 123
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 07:05#122 Chapter 122
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 06:35#121 Chapter 121
Last Updated: 08/01/2025 06:35
Comments
Visitor
it would be such a great read but it’s all over the place & the juicy parts have no bang to them. I think with some changes & not jumping around so much it will be one of my favorites. don’t give up! you have a great story here! ~from Alabama
05/20/2025 18:04user2505173105
really enjoy the story
05/18/2025 19:43Visitor
liked the story line but hard to read. Run on sentences and mistakes. sorry
05/12/2025 14:05
You Might Like 😍
Alpha's White Lie
When a new guy moves into the empty apartment across the hall, Rosalie Peters finds herself lured towards the hunky man. Blake Cooper is a very hot, successful, and wealthy businessman with a life built on a little white lie.
Rosy’s life, on the other hand, is full of mystery. She’s hiding a secret that would tear apart love and friendship.
As the secrets in Rosy’s life start to unfold, she finds herself seeking refuge with Blake.
What Rosy didn’t anticipate was Blake’s admiration for her was so much more than just love; It was supernatural.
Life for Rosy changes when she discovers that Blake’s biggest secret was animalistic and so much bigger than hers!
Will Blake’s white lies make or break his relationship with Rosy?
How will Rosy adjust to all the secrets that throw her life into chaos?
And what will happen when Blake’s twin brother, Max, comes forward to claim his twin bond with Rosy’s?!
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
My Marked Luna
"Yes,"
He exhales, raises his hand, and brings it down to slap my naked as again... harder than before. I gasp at the impact. It hurts, but it is so hot, and sexy.
"Will you do it again?"
"No,"
"No, what?"
"No, Sir,"
"Best girl," he brings his lips to kiss my behind while he caresses it softly.
"Now, I'm going to fck you," He sits me on his lap in a straddling position. We lock gazes. His long fingers find their way to my entrance and insert them.
"You're soaking for me, baby," he is pleased. He moves his fingers in and out, making me moan in pleasure.
"Hmm," But suddenly, they are gone. I cry as he leaves my body aching for him. He switches our position within a second, so I'm under him. My breath is shallow, and my senses are incoherent as I anticipate his hardness in me. The feeling is fantastic.
"Please," I beg. I want him. I need it so badly.
"So, how would you like to come, baby?" he whispers.
Oh, goddess!
Apphia's life is harsh, from being mistreated by her pack members to her mate rejecting her brutally. She is on her own. Battered on a harsh night, she meets her second chance mate, the powerful, dangerous Lycan Alpha, and boy, is she in for the ride of her life. However, everything gets complicated as she discovers she is no ordinary wolf. Tormented by the threat to her life, Apphia has no choice but to face her fears. Will Apphia be able to defeat the iniquity after her life and finally be happy with her mate? Follow for more.
Warning: Mature Content
The Matchmaker
No one escapes the Matchmaker unscathed. The process is simple—each participant is paired with a supernatural being, often sealing their fate with blood. Death is the most common outcome, and Saphira expects nothing less. But when the impossible happens, she is matched with a creature so legendary, so powerful, that even the bravest tremble at its name—a royal dragon.
Now bound to an ancient force of destruction, Saphira finds herself among the royal pack. With them, she navigates a world of power, deception, and destiny. As she walks this new path, familiar faces resurface, bringing long-buried secrets to light. Her heritage—once a mystery—begins to unravel, revealing a truth that may change everything.
Crowned by Fate
“She’d just be a Breeder, you would be the Luna. Once she’s pregnant, I wouldn’t touch her again.” my mate Leon’s jaw tightened.
I laughed, a bitter, broken sound.
“You’re unbelievable. I’d rather accept your rejection than live like that.”
As a girl without a wolf, I left my mate and my pack behind.
Among humans, I survived by becoming a master of the temporary: drifting job to job… until I became the best bartender in a dusty Texas town.
That’s where Alpha Adrian found me.
No one could resist the charming Adrian, and I joined his mysterious pack hidden deep in the desert.
The Alpha King Tournament, held once every four years, had begun. Over fifty packs from across North America were competing.
The werewolf world was on the verge of a revolution. That’s when I saw Leon again...
Torn between two Alphas, I had no idea that what awaited us wasn’t just a competition—but a series of brutal, unforgiving trials.
Author Note:New book out now! The River Knows Her Name
Mystery, secrets, suspense—your next page-turner is here.
Welcome to Hell
An ordinary man with a bright future ahead.
But a single betrayal was enough to shatter everything.
Framed by the woman he loved and his own brother, he was sentenced and thrown into the worst place imaginable: a prison where rules don’t exist—and danger has a name, a face… and hungry eyes.
Now, he shares a cell with the most feared man in the entire facility.
Dominant. Intense. Obsessive.
And he wants him.
Not out of love.
Not out of mercy.
But out of pure, ruthless desire.
In a world with no laws, no escape, and no one to save him, he becomes the wolf’s bunny—submissive to his touch, a prisoner of pleasure… and completely unable to resist.
Because sometimes, it’s the monster who knows exactly how to make you feel alive.
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Goddess Of The Underworld.
When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armor, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of a border pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to stay; of cake, iron, and daylight negotiations. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a why-choose, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
Crossing the lines ( Sleeping with my Best friends)
get together with the rest of our college friends,led me to reveal some of my secrets. And some of theirs. From being accused by friends I gave up. Little did I know the get together was just a ruse for them to get back into my life and they were playing the long game, making sure I belonged to them and them only.
Dean's POV : The minute we I opened the door and saw her ,so beautiful, I knew it was either going to go our way or she ran. We fell in love with her at Eighteen,she was seventeen and off limits,she saw us as brother so we waited, when she disappeared we let her ,she thought we had no idea where she was ,she as absolutely fucking wrong. We watch her every move and knew how to make her cave to our wishes.
Aleck's POV : Little Layla had become so fucking beautiful, Dean and I decided she would be ours. She walked around the island unaware if what was coming her way.one way or the other Our best friend would end up under us in our bed and she would ask for it too.
Letting Go
That fateful night leads to Molly and her best friend Tom holding a secret close to their hearts but keeping this secret could also mean destroying any chance of a new future for Molly.
When Tom's oldest brother Christian meets Molly his dislike for her is instant and he puts little effort into hiding it. The problem is he's attracted to her just as much as he dislikes her and staying away from her starts to become a battle, a battle that he's not sure he can win.
When Molly's secret is revealed and she’s forced to face the pain from her past can she find the strength to stay and work through the pain or will she run away from everything she knows including the one man who gives her hope for a happy future? Hope that she never thought she would feel again.
The Rejected Luna: From Outcast to Alpha Queen
Then she came back.
Layla—my pure-blooded half-sister with her perfect smile and poison tongue. Within days of her return from Europe, Paxton was ready to throw me away like yesterday's news.
"I want to sever our bond, Freya. Lyra is my true mate."
Wrong move, Alpha.
He thinks I'm just another submissive mate who'll quietly disappear. He's forgotten I'm a mixed-blood Alpha who's been playing nice for far too long. While he's busy playing house with my backstabbing sister, Lucas Morgan—the most dangerous Alpha in the territory—is making me an offer I can't refuse.
Paxton wants to discard me? Fine.
But he's about to learn that some women don't just walk away—they burn everything down on their way out.
I'm done being the good girl. Done being the perfect mate. Done hiding what I really am.
About Author

Stephanie Mills
Download AnyStories App to discover more Fantasy Stories.
