Introduction
Share the book to
About Author

mhizeniola2
Chapter 1
Aspen Carter never waited in lines.
Not at five-star restaurants, not at exclusive clubs, and certainly not for coffee. She had assistants for that. Assistants who knew her usual iced oat milk latte, light ice, extra caramel, and exactly how to get it into her hands within minutes of her craving it.
But today, for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she wanted to get it herself.
Maybe it was the exhaustion of back-to-back investor meetings. Maybe it was the suffocating perfection of her life pristine penthouses, luxury cars, and people who only spoke to her when they needed something. Or maybe it was just the need to do something normal for once.
So when her driver pulled up in front of a small, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in Brooklyn a place called Grounded with a handwritten sign that looked like it hadn’t been changed in years Aspen felt something she hadn’t in a long time.
Curiosity.
She stepped inside, the tiny bell above the door chiming as she entered. The scent of freshly brewed espresso and warm cinnamon filled the air, a stark contrast to the sterile, overpriced cafés she was used to in Manhattan. The shop was cozy, all rustic wood and mismatched chairs, with local artwork covering the walls. It felt real.
And so did the man behind the counter.
Leo Moreno barely looked up when she walked in.
Which was unusual. He was used to customers doing a double take, especially when someone like her walked through the door. She didn’t belong here her crisp white blazer and designer heels practically screamed Upper East Side royalty, and the way she scanned the café like she was analyzing a stock portfolio told him she wasn’t here by accident.
Still, he wasn’t impressed.
“Cash only,” he said before she even reached the counter.
Aspen blinked, caught off guard. “Excuse me?”
Leo finally glanced up, his dark brown eyes locking onto hers. She was beautiful annoyingly beautiful but there was something unreadable in her expression. Like she wasn’t used to being told no.
“I said cash only.” He nodded toward the small, handwritten sign taped to the counter. “Our card reader’s been busted for weeks.”
Aspen exhaled, reaching into her purse and pulling out a sleek black card. “I don’t carry cash.”
Leo shrugged. “Then I don’t carry coffee.”
She stared at him. No one spoke to her like this. Not board members, not competitors, and certainly not baristas.
“Seriously?” she asked, arching a perfectly sculpted brow.
Leo leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. “You’re welcome to find another place that takes your billionaire credit card.”
Aspen narrowed her eyes. “How do you know I’m?”
Leo gave her a pointed once-over. “Call it a wild guess.”
She should have been irritated. She was irritated. But she was also intrigued.
“Fine.” She dug into her bag, fingers brushing against something metallic. Pulling it out, she smirked. “Do you take gold?”
Leo blinked at the heavy, rose-gold money clip she held between two fingers. A few hundred dollar bills were folded inside, but it was the clip itself that caught his attention. Engraved, minimalistic, and expensive as hell.
He sighed, taking one of the bills. “I hate rich people.”
Aspen laughed an actual, genuine laugh. “That makes two of us
Leo made her drink begrudgingly, his fingers moving expertly over the espresso machine. Aspen watched, leaning against the counter, feeling oddly entertained by how unimpressed he was with her.
“You always this charming?” she asked.
“You always this difficult?”
She smiled, taking the cup from him. It was warm in her hands, a stark contrast to the cold, pre-ordered lattes she was used to. She took a sip and paused, surprised by how good it was.
“Not bad,” she admitted.
Leo rolled his eyes as he wiped down the counter. “Glad it meets your high standards, princess.”
Aspen raised an eyebrow. “Did you just call me princess?”
“Would you prefer an heiress?”
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “You know, most people at least pretend to be nice to me.”
“That’s probably because they want something from you.”
The words hit harder than she expected. Aspen had spent years surrounded by people who smiled to her face while silently calculating what they could gain from her. Investors, partners, employees everyone wanted something. But this guy? He didn’t seem to care about who she was or what she was worth.
It was refreshing.
Aspen took another sip of her coffee and tilted her head. “What’s your name?”
Leo hesitated for a beat, then answered, “Leo.”
“No last name?”
He smirked. “You don’t need it.”
“Fine, Leo. I’m Aspen.”
“I know,” he said casually, rinsing out a cup.
Aspen blinked. “Wait you do?”
Leo shrugged. “You own Vyre. Your face is in every business magazine. People either love you or hate you, depending on how much they care about billionaires running the world.”
“And which side do you fall on?”
Leo met her gaze. “I’m still deciding.”
A slow smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She should have been annoyed. Instead, she was intrigued.
“Well, let me know when you make up your mind,” she said, turning to leave.
Leo called after her. “Bring cash next time, princess.”
Aspen laughed softly to herself as she stepped outside.
She would be coming back.
Aspen didn’t return to Grounded the next day.
Or the day after that.
She told herself it was ridiculous she had meetings, deals, and a company to run. But for some reason, the coffee from her usual high-end café didn’t taste as good anymore.
So, three days later, she found herself back in Brooklyn, standing in front of Grounded like an idiot.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Maybe for Leo to look surprised that she’d come back. Maybe for him to be a little friendlier.
Instead, he barely looked up when she approached the counter. “Cash or no coffee.”
Aspen smirked and slid a crisp twenty-dollar bill across the counter. “You wound me, barista.”
Leo’s lips twitched slightly as he took the bill. “Progress.”
She leaned against the counter as he started making her drink. “So, Leo, how does a guy like you end up running a cash-only coffee shop in Brooklyn?”
“I don’t run it,” he said, focusing on the espresso machine. “I just work here.”
Aspen frowned. “You don’t own this place?”
“Nope.” He glanced at her. “Disappointed?”
She shrugged. “A little. I had this whole narrative in my head struggling artist opens indie coffee shop to make ends meet, refuses to sell out, fights off evil corporate overlords.”
Leo chuckled. “Nice try. I just work here to pay rent. My real thing is art.”
Aspen raised an eyebrow. “You’re an artist?”
He nodded. “Paint, mostly. Some mixed media.”
“And you’re still broke?”
Leo shot her a look. “Not all of us make billions off an app that profits from influencers selling teeth-whitening kits.”
Aspen grinned. “Ouch. You don’t like Vyre, do you?”
“It’s nothing personal,” Leo said, setting her drink in front of her. “I just think social media’s killing real art.”
She studied him, intrigued. “You’re a little intense for a barista.”
“And you’re a little nosy for a billionaire.”
Aspen took her coffee and smiled. “See you tomorrow, barista.”
Leo watched her go, shaking his head.
He had a feeling she wasn’t kidding.
Aspen came back the next day.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
It became a routine, something she looked forward to in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
At first, it was the coffee. Then it was the banter. Then it was him.
Leo, with his sarcastic comments and unimpressed attitude. Leo, who didn’t care about her net worth or her press coverage. Leo, who made her laugh in a way she hadn’t in years.
She learned things about him in bits and pieces. He grew up in Queens. His mom worked as a nurse. He dropped out of art school because he couldn’t afford it. He painted at night, in a tiny apartment that doubled as his studio.
And, most importantly he didn’t want her money.
Aspen wasn’t used to that.
People in her world always wanted something funding, investments, and connections. But Leo? He just made her coffee, called her princess, and sent her on her way.
Which only made her want to come back more.
What she didn’t realize was that she was about to become just as much a part of his routine as he had become a part of hers.
Neither of them saw it coming.
Neither of them knew how complicated it would get.
And neither of them expected that a simple coffee shop in Brooklyn would be the start of something that would change both their lives forever.
Aspen wasn’t sure when it happened when Grounded became more than just a coffee shop and when Leo’s smirk became something she looked forward to more than her morning meetings.
But by the end of the second week, she found herself clearing space in her schedule just to stop by.
It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t her. Aspen Carter didn’t do routines that weren’t meticulously planned. She didn’t waste time on things that didn’t serve a strategic purpose.
And yet, here she was, standing at the counter of Grounded again, handing Leo another crisp twenty.
“Starting to think you just like giving me your money,” he mused, sliding the bill into the register.
Aspen sipped her coffee, feigning indifference. “I just like your coffee.”
Leo leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “You know, if you liked it that much, you’d order something different once in a while.”
Aspen smirked. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants.”
“And apparently, what you want is an iced caramel macchiato with light ice and extra caramel every single day.”
She shrugged. “Consistency is key.”
Leo shook his head, wiping his hands on a towel. “You’re something else, princess.”
Aspen tilted her head. “So, have you decided yet?”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Decided what?”
She grinned. “Whether you like me or hate me.”
Leo studied her for a second, then smirked. “Still deciding.”
Aspen didn’t know why that made her annoyingly happy.
Aspen was about to fire back another witty response when the door to Grounded swung open, and a woman stormed in, heading straight for Leo.
“Leo, where the hell have you been?” she demanded.
Aspen blinked. The girl was young, maybe early twenties, with the same dark brown eyes as Leo. There was a sharpness to her tone, a frustration that didn’t sound like an ex-girlfriend it sounded personal.
Leo sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Jordan, not now.”
Jordan?
Aspen took a step back, watching the exchange unfold.
“No, now,” Jordan snapped. “Mom’s hospital bill is overdue. Again. And before you say anything, I already know you don’t have it.”
Aspen felt a pang of discomfort. This wasn’t her place this wasn’t her world.
Leo’s jaw tightened. “I told you, I’m working on it.”
Jordan let out a humorless laugh. “Right. Because barista wages are gonna cover medical debt.”
Aspen had never felt more like an outsider in her life.
She should leave. This wasn’t her problem.
And yet, the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“I can help.”
Leo’s head snapped toward her so fast she almost took a step back. His eyes darkened, a storm brewing beneath the surface.
Jordan, on the other hand, looked at Aspen like she had just offered to land a spaceship on the moon. “Wait, who are you
Latest Chapters
#145 Chapter 145 Home
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:16#144 Chapter 144 The Battle for Haven
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:16#143 Chapter 143 Fractures Beneath the Surface
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:11#142 Chapter 142 After the Ashes
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:11#141 Chapter 141 The First Strike
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:11#140 Chapter 140 The Cost of Trust
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:06#139 Chapter 139 Sparks Across the Ashes
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:06#138 Chapter 138 Shadows on the Horizon
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:06#137 Chapter 137 A World Worth Building
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:01#136 Chapter 136 Ashes and Blood
Last Updated: 05/12/2025 21:01
Comments
You Might Like 😍
After One Night with the Alpha
I thought I was waiting for love. Instead, I got fucked by a beast.
My world was supposed to bloom at the Moonshade Bay Full Moon Festival—champagne buzzing in my veins, a hotel room booked for Jason and me to finally cross that line after two years. I’d slipped into lacy lingerie, left the door unlocked, and lay on the bed, heart pounding with nervous excitement.
But the man who climbed into my bed wasn’t Jason.
In the pitch-black room, drowned in a heady, spicy scent that made my head spin, I felt hands—urgent, scorching—searing my skin. His thick, pulsing cock pressed against my dripping cunt, and before I could gasp, he thrust hard, tearing through my innocence with ruthless force. Pain burned, my walls clenching as I clawed at his iron shoulders, stifling sobs. Wet, slick sounds echoed with every brutal stroke, his body unrelenting until he shuddered, spilling hot and deep inside me.
"That was amazing, Jason," I managed to say.
"Who the fuck is Jason?"
My blood turned to ice. Light slashed across his face—Brad Rayne, Alpha of Moonshade Pack, a werewolf, not my boyfriend. Horror choked me as I realized what I’d done.
I ran away for my life!
But weeks later, I woke up pregnant with his heir!
They say my heterochromatic eyes mark me as a rare true mate. But I’m no wolf. I’m just Elle, a nobody from the human district, now trapped in Brad's world.
Brad’s cold gaze pins me: “You carry my blood. You’re mine.”
There is no other choice for me but to chose this cage. My body also betrays me, craving the beast who ruined me.
WARNING: Mature Readers Only
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.
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
The Son of Red Fang
Alpha Cole Redmen is the youngest of six born to Alpha Charles and Luna Sara Mae, leaders of the Red Fang pack. Born prematurely, Alpha Charles rejected him without hesitation as weak and undeserving of his very life. He is reminded daily of his father’s hatred for him paving the way for the rest of his family to become the same.
By adulthood, his father’s hatred and abuse towards him has spilled over into the rest of the pack making him the scapegoat for those with the sadistic need to see him suffer. The rest are simply too afraid to even look his way leaving him little in the way of friends or family to turn to.
Alpha Demetri Black is the leader of a sanctuary pack known as Crimson Dawn. It’s been years since a wolf has made their way to his pack via the warrior’s prospect program but that doesn’t mean he’s not looking for the tell tale signs of a wolf in need of help.
Malnourished and injured upon his arrival, Cole’s anxious and overly submissive demeanor lands him in the very situation he’s desperate to avoid, in the attention of an unknown alpha.
Yet somehow through the darkness of severe illness and injury he runs into the very person he’s been desperate to find since he turned eighteen, his Luna. His one way ticket out of the hell he’s been born into.
Will Cole find the courage needed to leave his pack once and for all, to seek the love and acceptance he’s never had?
Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of mental, physical and sexual abuse that may trigger sensitive readers. This book is intended for adult readers only.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
The Forgotten Princess And Her Beta Mates
Unfortunately, she did wander off and she did find Lucy. From that very first day, Lucy takes or gets what belongs to Dallas. Her favorite doll, the last gift from her Mother. Her dress for the Scarlet Ball, she bought with money she had earned herself. Her Mother's necklace, a family heirloom.
Dallas has put up with all of it, because everyone keeps reminding her of the fact that Lucy has no one and nothing.
Dallas swears revenge on the day she finds her Mate in bed with Lucy.
Shadow Valley Pack will regret pushing Dallas aside for Lucy.
The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate
"You're like a sister to me."
Those were the actual words that broke the camel's back.
Not after what just happened. Not after the hot, breathless, soul-shaking night we spent tangled in each other's arms.
I knew from the beginning that Tristan Hayes was a line I shouldn't cross.
He wasn't just anyone, he was my brother's best friend. The man I spent years secretly wanting.
But that night... we were broken. We had just buried our parents. And the grief was too heavy, too real...so I begged him to touch me.
To make me forget. To fill the silence that death left behind.
And he did. He held me like I was something fragile.
Kissed me like I was the only thing he needed to breathe.
Then left me bleeding with six words that burned deeper than rejection ever could.
So, I ran. Away from everything that cost me pain.
Now, five years later, I'm back.
Fresh from rejecting the mate who abused me. Still carrying the scars of a pup I never got to hold.
And the man waiting for me at the airport isn't my brother.
It's Tristan.
And he's not the guy I left behind.
He's a biker.
An Alpha.
And when he looked at me, I knew there was no where else to run to.
Her Obsession.
For three years, Mafia leader Conner O’Neill has felt eyes on him. A phantom touch in the night. Perfume lingering on his pillows. Warm cookies in his oven. Enemies' heads delivered to his doorstep, gift-wrapped in bloodied silk. It isn’t fear that coils in his gut—it’s fascination. Someone is watching him. Someone who knows him. Someone who kills for him.
Her name is Sage—and she’s been his shadow since the night he unknowingly stole her heart with a bullet to another man’s brain. For her, it was love at first sight. Violent. Beautiful. Inevitable. Raised in darkness, owned by a monster, Sage was never meant to love. But Conner changed that. And she’s been his ever since, waiting for the day she can step out of the shadows and into his arms.
But the man who owns her doesn’t let go of his toys. And the man she loves doesn’t know she exists—yet.
She’s done watching. It’s time he learns the truth.
He belongs to her. And she’ll kill anyone who tries to take him away.
The Alpha's Hunt
If she is claimed she will be his. If she is not, she will return in shame and be shunned from her pack.
Hazel knows the ways of the Alphas, being the daughter of a Beta, but what she doesn't count on is the presence of the Lycan King. The leader of all is participating in his first-ever hunt, and she is his prey.
Warning: This book contains a LOT of mature content such as strong language, explicit sx scenes, physical and mental abuse, BDSM, etc.*
Surrendering to Destiny
Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.
From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.
Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
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
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."
About Author

mhizeniola2
Download AnyStories App to discover more Fantasy Stories.













