Cynophobia

I'm learning to swim when my childhood friend, Vivian Thorne, fakes a cramp. My boyfriend, Oliver Wilde, suddenly lets go of my hand and swims toward her. I'm left alone in the two-yard-deep pool, completely stunned. After Oliver carries Vivian ashore, he smiles as he watches me thrash around. "Vivian says you rely on me too much and need a push to learn, so just swim over here yourself." I choke on water and sink. At the sight of my struggle, Vivian laughs so hard she slaps her thigh. Oliver says something to her, then drapes a towel over her shoulders in resignation. Even though I can't hear what he says, I bet it must be, "Now that you've had your laugh, don't tease her the next time. Aria is already pitiful enough with her fear of water." It's true that I was born with a fear of water. I've known them for seven years. All this time, Oliver and Vivian have been tormenting me under the guise of helping me overcome my fear of water. In college, at the beach, Vivian deliberately pushes me off the speedboat. Oliver jumps in to shield her and watches me swallow a bellyful of seawater in the waves. On the graduation rafting trip, Vivian suddenly capsizes the kayak. Oliver swims over to pull her up and watches me slam into a rock, my leg bleeding nonstop. Last year at the water park, Vivian shoves me down the waterslide. Oliver slides down to catch her and leaves me in the pool, nearly suffocating with fear. Every time, my fear and despair are met with a burst of laughter from Vivian. Meanwhile, Oliver stands behind her, always saying the same thing. "No more next time." However, the next time always turns into Vivian's new way of having fun at my expense. Water floods into my mouth and nose, the suffocation shooting straight to the top of my skull. But suddenly, I realize that I can actually float on my own. I grab the safety rope and haul myself ashore. Two pairs of hands reach out to pull me up, but I push them away. "From now on, I don't need you two to help me build up my courage anymore."

My CEO boyfriend, Dylan Abbott, has a phobia of getting married. Because of that, he sets up a weird rule that requires me to pass all 99 trials set up by his secretary, Lynette Woods, before finally agreeing to marry me. The first time we're about to get married, I wait for Dylan at the marriage registration department for three hours. But that's when I'm informed that Lynette has lost Dylan's ID, causing our registration to get delayed. The second time we're about to get married, Lynette happens to be driving around in my car. She stages a brake failure and hits a passerby on purpose. By the time I'm done dealing with the accident and rush to the City Hall with Dylan, it's already closed for the day. The 98th time we're about to get married, Lynette laces my glass of water with rat poison. Because of that, I'm taken to the hospital immediately to have my stomach pumped out, hence missing out on the marriage registration. When it's the 99th time for us to get married, I'm under the impression that I've passed Lynette's trials, which means Dylan won't flake out on me anymore. But I spend the day waiting for Dylan at the City Hall till nightfall. I've spammed so many phone calls and text messages to him, and yet he never shows up. In the end, I come across a post Lynette has made on her social media feed about her and Dylan being officially married. "My boss loves me far too much! All I said was that I wanted to get married as well, and he was quick to marry me at the City Hall! I love him so much!" I just leave a like on the post without losing my temper or kicking up a ruckus. That's when Dylan calls me on the phone all of a sudden. "Don't misunderstand the whole thing, Felicia. This marriage is just a joke. Lynette is a graduate hailing from an overseas university. I merely married her because I want her to keep working for my company without any complaints. "Once the divorce procedures are over, I'll marry you immediately before throwing you the grandest wedding ever, okay?" What Dylan doesn't know is that I've already signed an agreement with the system. If I can't get married with Dylan in five years, that means I've lost the bet. My time will be up in three days. By then, I'll get annihilated by the system. There will no longer be a future for me and Dylan.

A NOVEL ON STOCKHOLM SYNDROME BOOK 1 OF A THREE BOOK SERIES *TRIGGER WARNING* This book contains scenes that some readers may find disturbing… and also slightly annoying. “Miss. Iris, do you believe she has a point?” she asked and returned to her seat once again. “I don’t think so, her father and uncle deserve to go to jail.” My answer extracted a smile from her like she was proud of my response. “My name is Christine; I am a renowned medico-legal psychotherapist. Been in the business for over twenty years and that is what a case of Stockholm syndrome looks like. In my years of experience, we see situations similar to this but its our job to help the victims realize” “Wow…” I started, really amazed at what she had said and what her work entails. I was only concerned why they locked me in a room with a psychotherapist “it must be difficult at times” I added. “yeah, its difficult every time” she laughed “but today isn’t about me, I have a question for you.” There was a brief pause in between before she carried on “Does Hunter deserve to go to jail?”

In a world where humans and lycans co-exist, both societies must adapt to new norms and circumstances. Lycans became prominent city leaders due to their superior strength and intelligence. As the idea of a destined mate faded into myth, lycans began to choose their mates from among human participants in an annual mating ceremony. And at that ceremony, human beings stay far away from Alpha Nero Aimilios Astadel. The human race has a long history of warning its young, especially female offspring, to keep their distance from the Alpha. Avert your gaze, stay out of his way, and under no circumstances should you anger him. What if, an average human named Verity Catina Eirian showed up at the mating ceremony and was mated with Alpha Astadel, the most powerful and notorious Alpha, who didn't believe in fated mates and who showed no mercy to his enemies? Will Verity heed her mother's advice and stay away from Alpha Astadel, or will he win over his destined mate?

Phoebe traveled to the Firebricks Pack with her cousin Joana, who is newly mated to the Gamma there. Upon meeting Alpha Hudson, she realized that they are mates. He avoids her but she is defiant to know the reason. He ditches her for a month and never expected that she would be waiting for his return at his pack. When she finally is able to confront him, the secret he holds leaves her flabbergasted. What on earth could be keeping the Alpha from his mate? Will Phoebe be able to handle the secret he unfolds, or will she turn her back on him? He didn't give her a choice because he rejected her. The moon goddess interfered and now he has to chase after her, but she has no memories of him. Has she already moved on? If her memories return, will she be able to forgive him? Is there a happy ending for this fated couple? ****** I opened the door on my side and exited the vehicle as well. "Why are you so upset?" The back and forth pacing halted at the sound of my voice. The anger he was fuming hadn't dissolved yet. "You were whoring around with another man!" "Whoring?" I retorted, "Looks who talking?" "You have no right to be kissing anyone else," he came around to the other side of the car. "You are my mate, for fuck's sake!" "You mean the mate that you don't want!" I shouted at him, "All you do is neglect me, and I have needs. If you get to fuck someone else, then so do I." The growl he emitted echoed across the hills. He lifted the car and slammed it down. I gulped down my fears and observed the raging Alpha. ********************** All rights reserved

As if slamming me harshly onto the wall wasn't enough for him, he grabbed my neck aggressively, his claws piercing into my neck making me scream in pain, but Conrad didn't flinch. He held me tightly as anger spread through him like a disease. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs screamed for air. Yet his hand only tightened around my neck. "Die!" he growled in his wolf voice, the sound deep, monstrous, and filled with murderous rage. "Con...rad" I choked out weakly. *** I'm the daughter of a rogue werewolf. After the pack wolves succeeded in annihilating my kin and nearly killing me, I yearned for revenge against all pack wolves that have ever existed. To get my revenge, I sneaked into the academy designed for future Alphas, hoping to hide my identity as both a rogue and a girl. Entering the academy was easy, but I never knew I would have to deal with Conrad. Conrad seems determined to make my life a living hell. Worse, he suspects I'm hiding something. If he discovers I'm a rogue, I'm dead. If he discovers I'm a girl, my mission is over.