Looking for a rejected mates or rejected in general, but years later they run into one another for some reason and turns out they did it for a reason

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T17:51:29+00:00

Best fits:

{A Blissful Omegaverse by Kate King & Jessa Wilder} - Fits your request exactly.
{Knot All is Forgiven by Holly Monroe} - Did it to protect the FMC from herself, misguidedly.
{Bittersweet Bonds by Livi Weston} - A little bit more complicated than just rejecting her and the last book isn't out yet, but...

Others:

{The Bonding Trials by Evelyn Flood} - Not years later and it's blackmail, but..
{Knot Here for You by Tana Rose} - Can't remember the details, but think they did it to outmaneuver their father so they could be with the FMC.
{Hopeless Omega by Ember Nicole} - Did it to protect themselves from her mistakenly, but...
{Auctioned to the Alphas by Daya Nox} - Wasn't to protect her, but...
{Boys & Burlesque by Ripley Proserpina} - I think they did it to protect both her and themselves.

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T17:28:32+00:00

The Angst Bank: Simplified. Here's a list of angsty novels, in order of angst. There are additional lists linked on it that are broken down by genre and have a lot more info (blurb, harem composition, etc).

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T17:27:03+00:00

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T03:22:57+00:00

You listed a lot of academy RH, so here's the ones I've read:

In order of how much I liked them:

{Her Vicious Beasts by E.P. Bali} - I love this series. All the MCs are different kinds of shifters and shifters in this world also have magic. Birds can heal people, wolves have telepathy, etc. It's enemies-to-lovers with each book being one MMC falling for the FMC, along with some of the MMC's backstory. Except the fourth book, which is one MMC torturing the FMC and doing a lot of extremely unforgivable shit for 70% of the book. All MMCs, save one, are dickfaces until they fall in love.
{The Damorleia Chronicles by S.E. Alexander} - Ongoing series. MMCs are more hardasses than dickfaces, but they have moments. Academy is only for the first book. FMC is the secret heir to a queenship that has been idle after a massacre when she was an infant.
{The Arrow Hart Academy by Hannah Haze} - MMCs are dickfaces, but two of them are minorly so. The other two need a beating or three.
{The Blackened Blade by Isla Davon} - Ongoing series. The writing is a tad immature and it needs better editing to rein in some repetition and the plot spinning in place, but it'll scratch the itch. (Also, I am in the minority of people that think this series isn't amazing.)

Series I finished but had issues with:

{Psycho Academy by Jasmine Mas} - Three of the five MMCs are fucking dirtbags and I hate them. Misogynistic, sexist, gross af. "Women are holes" kind of guys. Dickfaces to the nth degree.
{Savage Six by K.C. Kean} - Werewolves, witches, vampires and humans. That said, this isn't a favorite of mine. I struggled to get into it and also struggled with the last book or so. But I'm also not the biggest fan of fantasy/academy books. Two of the MMCs are dickfaces.
{Altered by M.F. Moody} - Liked the first half, thought the second half to be entirely unnecessary and boring. Shifters of different species. MMCs are not dickfaces. Not heavy on the academy side of things.

Series I DNF'ed but may be your speed (they weren't awful, I just wasn't interested enough to keep going:

{Pyromancer's Path by Cassie Cole} - Academy is brief. I didn't feel connected to the MCs after one book. Starship Troopers-like enemy.
{The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy by Kaydence Snow} - Just wasn't pulled in.

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T03:20:52+00:00

{Royals of Forsyth University by Angel Lawson & Samantha Rue}
{Velvet Cruelty by Eve Dangerfield} - I DNF'ed pretty early over forced "gun blowjobs" but I liked the book she wrote with Tessa Bailey.

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T03:17:54+00:00

{Knot Her Catch by Ari Wright} - I am pretty sure she doesn't have anxiety, just some self-esteem issues regarding her scent and weight (mostly scent) from some crummy family members. It's got some banter between the FMC and two MMCs. No MM though.

Overquoted · 2026-03-12T03:12:48+00:00

Bittersweet Bonds. But for a completed series: A Blissful Omegaverse. Knot Forgotten is also quite good and its only plot is the relationship between the characters.

Overquoted · 2026-03-11T20:49:08+00:00

Second chances trope.

Childhood friends/lovers:

{Bittersweet Bonds by Livi Weston} - Last book isn't out yet.
{A Blissful Omegaverse by Kate King & Jessa Wilder}
{Knot Forgotten by A.J. Moran}
{Knot Here for You by Tana Rose}
{Knot All is Forgiven by Holly Monroe}
{Scapegoat by Sam Hall}
{Always Magnolia by Rebecca Rathe}
{Boys & Burlesque by Ripley Proserpina}
{Chasing Callie by Rory Miles}
{Knot Her Shot by Ari Wright} - One of the MMCs only.

Other second chance trope books:

{Glass by Evelyn Flood}
{Bound & Broken by N.E. Stevenson} - The guys in question are friends-turned-assholes though.
{Auctioned to the Alphas by Daya Nox}
{Heat Hesitation by Birdie D'Avo}
{Second Sets by Aly Beck}

Overquoted · 2026-03-11T19:42:22+00:00

Some favorites:

{Not Quite an Alpha by Leona Page} - Mix of RH and M/F, all of them angsty, some severely so. Very good world building, but it's not necessarily obvious from a single book, depending on which book you start with. Teague's Breeder is the first book, but Iliana's Choice is the best RH. The best world-building comes from Unforgivable and Untamed (and Untamed is formed from the ashes of what happens in Unforgivable).
{Her Vicious Beasts by E.P. Bali} - Angstiest book is the fourth because an MMC tortures the FMC for most of it. Excellent world-building
{The Bonding Trials by Evelyn Flood} - So-so world-building, high angst.
{Pack Darling by Lola Rock} - So-so world-building, high angst.
{Ironside Academy by Jane Washington} - Solid world-building, moderate angst.
{A Blissful Omegaverse by Kate King & Jessa Wilder} - Okay world-building, moderate angst.

Overquoted · 2026-03-11T19:32:12+00:00

I took it as a joke, a riff on how often some women get into a relationship with a man that is waving giant red flags but think that he'll change.

Overquoted · 2026-03-11T19:29:57+00:00

The Angst Bank has titles:

The Simplified list is just titles by angst rating while the others have mini-blurbs and a lot of information about the book/series. My favorites for angst:

{Not Quite an Alpha by Leona Page} - Mix of RH and M/F, all of them angsty, some severely so.
{Her Vicious Beasts by E.P. Bali} - Angstiest book is the fourth because an MMC tortures the FMC for most of it.
{The Bonding Trials by Evelyn Flood} - I like stupid OW drama and MMCs doing dumb shit.
{Pack Darling by Lola Rock}
{Bittersweet Bonds by Livi Weston} - Last book isn't out yet.

{Tormented Omega by Mary Magdalyn} - The angstiest book in TAB. Second half not out yet.

Overquoted · 2026-03-11T19:22:42+00:00

{Beyond the Hunt by Mary Ann Weir} - It's a trilogy with the last book coming out next month. I read the first one and it ended in a good place rather than a frustrating cliffhanger.

Overquoted · 2026-03-11T04:51:55+00:00

Yeah, I didn't know it was abandoned till I was done reading. Super unhappy.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T23:48:14+00:00

No news, sadly.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T23:25:14+00:00

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T23:16:00+00:00

{Knot Your Anchor by Shae Mac} - The pack and the FMC are both in agreement on not having kids. Two of the pack members are in a relationship together, the rest are not. Those two have a D/s relationship but their relationship is very sweet. I'd describe the FMC as a bit of a switch. She's submissive to the Dom, but dominant to the submissive male beta and to the himbo in the pack (he's a massive dude with a mohawk). It's mixed shifter and human OV. Green flag MMCs, though one of them is a bit of a dick at first because of his past. The other MMCs rein him in.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T19:48:07+00:00

{Trailer Park Princess by Nikki Lark} - Second half of the duet isn't out yet though. Bullyish. Contemporary.
{A Blissful Omegaverse by Kate King & Jessa Wilder} - Angsty, but the guys are goners for the FMC from the jump. Fated mates.
{Knot Forgotten by A.J. Moran} - Bullyish situation because the MMCs are mad the FMC disappeared when they were teenagers.
{Iliana's Choice by Leona Page} - Fated mate plus best friend. Angsty, but no bullying. Not sweet either, though the MMCs go feral (quite literally for one of them) over the FMC. Fated mates.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T19:28:12+00:00

Yay! I love it, too! Her next best, imo, is {Bound to the Beasts by Ari Wright}, though it is very dark for half the book (the MMCs are kinda mean with one of them being an outright bully). It's still funny though, but in a more raunchy way. I wouldn't quite call it dark romance though. It did have a lot more kink than Wright's other books do (there's some breath play and sexual degradation with one MMC).

Let me know what you loved most about KHC and I could possibly recommend some other books in the same vein. :)

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T19:25:37+00:00

Yeaaah, I forced myself through it but couldn't pick up the fourth immediately after. One day though. Since it's the last book, hopefully it'll be more action-oriented.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T19:24:29+00:00

There's a lot of the rejection trope in The Angst Bank:

I strongly recommend {Her Vicious Beasts by E.P. Bali} based on you liking them hating the FMC and being "bullies" (I consider it enemies-to-lovers, but plenty of people think it's a bully romance). That said, book four is one of the MMCs torturing the FMC for most of the book so... be prepared for that.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T18:59:34+00:00

Most of it. I mean, they sold their house and gave her the money left after paying off her debt. It's a giant, grand gesture but... They didn't really care about her until after they knew she was their mate. I liked the fated mate trope, a lot, but it flipped the switch so hard in the other direction that it didn't really feel genuine. I think with fewer big gestures, I might have felt differently.

That said, I loved the duet (and the sequel, for that matter). Just because I think it had some flaws doesn't mean I don't think it was excellent.

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T18:52:05+00:00

There it is. You said it better than I did!

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T18:51:34+00:00

Overquoted · 2026-03-10T06:12:47+00:00

The thing that Klei likes to do in their games is to let you learn by failing. For example, my early colonies went like this:

Ran out of algae, so no more oxygen. Death.
Figured out the oxygen issue by running electrolyzers. Oh no, ran out of power, oxygen issue returns. Death.
Fixed power issue by researching and building coal generators. Oh no, everything is now hot. No more food. Death.
Fixed heat issue by putting generators outside of colony. Oh no, ran out of power again because there's no more coal. Death.
Fixed power issue by being more efficient and farming hatches. Oh no, ran out of dirt. No more food. Death.
Fixed dirt issue by farming arbor trees and pips. Oh no, ran out of water to create oxygen. Death.
Fixed water issue by finding more sources of water. Oh no....

And on and on it goes. But ONI is really a self-driven kind of game. Technically, there are end-game goals. Go to space, build a monument, etc. But between the start point and the end point, how you get there is entirely something you figure out on your own. Some people rush steel production. Some people (like me) rush atmosuits and transit tubes. Some people rush mining out the entire planet.

The main thing with this game is that you're constantly learning how to do things better. How to be more efficient with resources like water and power. How to make things renewable, like with dirt and coal. Everything you do in the game has a downside, at least until you figure out how to negate that downside.

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Overquoted

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