I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us And A Grander View Of Life

Appearances can lie, worse when you pretend to be something you are not. For Allison Bush, a 27 year old werewolf by birth, life has been on the move. On the way she moves to a little town in hopes that the life she is still running from will stay exactly where it is. Far from her so that she can at least live her life the way she wants to and not how she is 'supposed' to live it. In this town she surprisingly finds love, which is something that has never happened before... She wasn't supposed to fall in love, she left behind someone who was said to be hers... But Azania Mooi, a 25 year old cop, changed everything that Allison was told from birth. She made her feel again and both their worlds became one.... Or is it really one? Some people can tell you that nothing stays hidden forever... As that is, Allison is sonner faced with the demon she has been running from that is going to reveal her true self, her mate from Havana, Cecelia Kamp has come to claim what is rightfully hers. What happens when you find the person you're supposed to be with happy with someone else? What is Cecelia capable off? Can Allison embrace who she really is and accept herself as a werewolf in order to help the woman she is madly in love with? Or will she still pretend to be human and just do what she does best? Run???

"Monster," I smirked to myself as I read the morning paper. If they only knew the truth. I sipped my coffee as I skimmed through the story. They had all the details wrong and the police were idiots. I heard the bell chime on the door to the coffee shop and saw her walk in. Her hair was down just the way I liked it. She was perfect I thought to myself as I eyed her and planned my next move. I think when she finally saw me she made the connection. Her eyes got wide. "Ethan?" Ethan Graves is a well-known man in the community with a dark secret. His darkness is so great that even he can't control it sometimes. He plays his role well during the day but at night he takes on a whole new persona. The newspapers call him a monster and the police are baffled. Then the new detective on the case walks in. The one that he let go. The one he was obsessed with. It was finally time to make her his. The game of cat and mouse had never been something he would ever consider, he usually likes the woman to be weak and defenseless against his charm and good looks. However, for this kill, he would play the game and Josephine Wells would be his trophy.

**Dez** Dezmond woke in a cold sweat. The ache in his heart was worse than ever before. It had been growing more intense over the past few weeks. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He didn't bother looking in the mirror, he knew what he would see. His face would be white and his eyes haunted with the need to find answers. Dezmond needed to know why he was being tormented in his dreams. He was never supposed to dream again. "I can't take this anymore." said Dezmond gloomily. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Ruby** Ruby couldn't focus in class, another night of tossing and turning. Seeing the flames consume her house. Hearing the screams as her family slowly died, knowing there was nothing she could do. It had been almost three years since the incident. The day she lost her family in the fire. She was the only one who wasn't in the house. And she relived that horror every night in her dreams. Though recently her nightmares felt different. More like a warning rather than a memory. "Rough night?" whispered Haven. Haven had been friends with Ruby since they were little kids. "Yeah, they started happening again." Ruby whispered back. They never really stopped. "Have you talked to anyone about it? Ruby, you can't keep it a secret forever." This is the same discussion they had just after the incident.

Sofia had always lived a quiet, peaceful life among humans, unaware of the secrets buried deep within her. That all changed when she accidentally hits a young wolf child on a secluded forest road. The child dies because he had not activated his wolf curse so he was still human. The incident triggered a curse, awakening parts of her she never knew existed. Now imprisoned in the royal pack’s cell, Sofia awaited judgment, fear and guilt gnawing at her. She didn’t know who these people were, but their dominating presence terrified her. The guilt of having killed a child weighed heavily on her, but even more unsettling were the strange changes she began to experience in her body,changes she didn’t understand were leading to her first shift with the coming full moon. “Is she in here?” Alaric, the Alpha King, demanded, his voice cutting through the silence. His anger was palpable as he entered the cell. The guards pointed to where Sofia huddled, trembling in the corner. But when Alaric saw her, his fury dissolved into shock. The fragile woman before him was his.... his mate? The revelation hit him hard, filling him with both anguish and confusion. Sofia, though lost in her fear, felt an inexplicable pull toward this powerful, angry man,which she didn't understand. Alaric’s mind raced. How would his pack react to the news that their Alpha’s mate had killed one of their pups? He faced an agonizing choice: protect Sofia and risk the pack’s wrath or reject his mate to maintain his loyalty. With the full moon fast approaching, his decision would determine not only his leadership but also his bond with his mate.

Ryder didn't lose just one mate; he lost two. His first mate died the day he found her. Angelica was his second chance mate. She was his everything. The reason his heart beat and the air he breathed. She was the mother of their child, his beautiful angel. But in the blink of an eye, she was dead. Ryder had to find a way to live, a way to move on without her. He had to for the sake of their daughter. How does one continue to live without the person who breathes life into you? How do you move on from that? Is it possible to love again? Ryder doesn't think so, but she does. She's the complete opposite of Angelica. There's nothing sweet and innocent about her. She's hard, cocky, and speaks her mind. Angelica was soft and delicate; she is hard around the edges, and tattoos cover her body. She finds the mate bond interesting, and he is her next adventure. She doesn't take no for an answer, and it infuriates the Beta beyond belief. He wants to choke her, scream at her, tell her to leave him alone, and never return, but he wants to hold her and pull her into his arms at the same time. It's a battle with his heart. How does he allow someone else in when his heart still belongs to her.

Falling for the man who is paying you for sex is a dangerous business. Stella Kaye Wyatt is running from an abusive past she'd like to forget. She secures a new identity by working at a brothel to stay hidden. When her once knight-in-shining armor boyfriend becomes what she escaped, she feels responsible for trying to save him at a high cost to herself. Alaric John Carter is an adventure seeker who uses adrenaline highs to forget his own troubled past. When his life crosses paths with Stella's and he's informed of her sexual job, he takes advantage as a paying customer with surprisingly deep pockets. Despite strictly being a business arrangement, real feelings begin to develop between the two. Stella begins to dream of a better life, but will handsome Alaric accept her for who she truly is when he learns the dark truth she's hiding? As Stella's past returns to reclaim her and Alaric's secrets are revealed, the truth will potentially end not only their feelings for each other, but their lives.