Grind to Greatness: The Barista System - Chapter 14 - 13 – Third Place Was Enough

Alexis an outcast, a “Hunted” yet able to hide under their noses, desiring to live at every cost. Even if it meant pretending to be a man.But she was also once one of the moon goddess’s three pillars. She was in charge of assigning mates, but her curiosity into what it would feel like to have a mate, to fall in love was considered a breach of rules.The goddess’s three pillars do not fall in love! It was forbidden.So she was sentenced, removed and reduced to the status of a mere werewolf. Her memories were wiped and she no longer knew what she once was, not even after her rebirth.In a world of werewolves where shifting was a must, what would happen to her? A girl who never shifted? Never manifested.What would she do now, suddenly having found herself struck with a heat cycle—something she had never once experienced. She was abnormal, never manifested, yet, there she stood in the middle of hundreds of guests drowning in her sudden heat that one way or the other drew his attention.Keelion Fane. The one who should have never known.He is the leader of the pack, but he is feared—said to be cold-hearted and cruel. He is an alpha who hasn’t found his mate for so long that he had no choice but to find a substitute.But Alexis was stuck. With nowhere to run, in his grasp.She…was doomed.

A literal ‘red flag’ in a world that sees her as a threat.Excerpt:“You shouldn’t be here,” Zenon growled, his voice low, eyes dark with conflict as he leaned away.Elira looked up at him, lips parted and swollen. “Then why did you kiss me?”“I couldn’t resist you.” His arms tightened around her waist instead of letting go.“Then don’t,” she said, without breaking the gaze.“Remember, you asked for it.” Zenon’s eyes darkened with desire as his lips found the perfect spot on her neck.---Elira Shaw was never meant to shine.Born an omega to a once-respected Beta bloodline, she’s lived as a ghost in her uncle's home, the acting Beta of the Ashfang Pack.After her parents' mysterious deaths when she was thirteen, Elira became little more than a servant to her aunt and cousin, Regina, the flawless Luna-to-be, groomed to marry one of the Alpha's sons.With no rank, no power, and no name worth remembering, Elira has long accepted her fate.But her fate transforms on her 18th birthday — the night of the grand mating ceremony.Not one, but the wolves of all three of Alpha Cyprus Ashford’s sons recognize her as their mate.The pack erupts into chaos. Regina's engagement plans crumble in fury. And Elira, the despised orphan, is suddenly the most important wolf alive.

There was a prominent old martial arts family which in the hundred years would give birth only to males, never a girl. Finally, one day, a girl was born. She was a tassel blower among ten thousand green groves. Ultimately, she turned into an agile and brave tomboy!

There was also an imperial descendant who his old father had six princesses. His father was just short of a son to inherit the throne. Finally, one day, he got a bastard son who was his youngest child. With countless spoiling, in the end that son was brought up into a universally unmatched egomania!

“Zhen as the nation’s number one beauty, as the nation only first class figure, obviously needs to have a professional bodyguard constantly at our side for protection. That will be you, the iron-willed female King Kong pretending to be a little eunuch.”

- Description from Novelupdates

Maria is the only daughter of Jackson, the Alpha of the prestigious Blue Moon Pack in Aberdeen, Scotland. Her mother, the Luna, was revered for her grace and strength. But despite her lineage, Maria's life has been far from perfect.At seventeen, she couldn't shift into her wolf or sense her fated mate, a secret her parents kept hidden out of shame in the pack.By nineteen, still unable to shift, she was forced into an engagement with Bernard, her childhood friend and the future Alpha of their pack, who already had a mate only Maria knows about.Maria and Bernard attended the same college, where their engagement was the talk of the campus, earning Maria both admiration and envy.Yet, behind the smiles, Maria's heart belonged to James Brooklyn, the next Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack—the sworn rivals of her people.Everything took a darker turn on the night of her engagement to Bernard when her parents were brutally murdered.Will Maria survive the deadly power struggles within her pack, uncover the identity of her true mate, and claim the life she deserves?Or will the curse of the Blue Moon destroy her and everyone she loves after finding out who killed her parents?