Refuge: An Unnatural History Of Family And Place

Nicole Evans never asked to be followed. She never asked for eyes in the dark, for a man like Vane to orbit her life with silence and devotion sharp enough to wound. But obsession doesn’t ask permission. It waits. It watches. It becomes inevitable. What began with missing men and shadows on rooftops soon unraveled into something far more intimate—an assassin who couldn’t let go, and a woman who, piece by piece, stopped trying to make him. As friends vanished and her world narrowed, Nicole found herself drawn toward the very thing she feared most—not out of love, but recognition. In his violence, there was something terrifyingly tender. In his silence, something that listened more closely than anyone else ever had. Theirs is not a love story in any ordinary sense. It’s a descent—a long, slow collapse into dependency, into surrender. A story told in bruises and shared tea, in blood and in stillness. A quiet unraveling that doesn’t end in escape, but in a house by the sea, where memory lingers and echoes never fade. Some stories don’t ask to be understood. Only remembered.

My father disappeared a year ago after giving me one piece of advice. Never go anywhere near Vivian. Vivian just happens to be my mother. The same mother who walked out of my life eleven years ago. When she suddenly invites me to move into her fancy Manhattan mansion with her ancient vampire bloodmate, I say no. Then I realize something. If anyone knows what happened to my father, it's probably the people he warned me about. Now I'm living under the same roof as a ridiculously attractive vampire who might have murdered my dad, pretending to be the perfect intern while secretly investigating him. As if that isn't enough, a terrifying Alpha werewolf takes one look at me and decides I'm his fated mate. Apparently my life wasn't chaotic enough already. The more questions I ask, the more bodies turn up, the more secrets I uncover, and the more I realize my father wasn't hiding from monsters. He was hiding me.Now someone wants my blood, two supernatural enemies refuse to leave my side, and if I don't uncover the truth soon...I'm probably going to end up as the next body.

In a war-torn world where supernatural beings known as "subnaturals" or "subs" have emerged from hiding, triggering a global conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, eighteen-year-old Lena Hargrove has spent the past six years as a ward of the state following her parents' deaths. Renowned as war heroes who sacrificed themselves to rescue their daughter from kidnappers, Lena's parents were largely absent throughout her childhood, leaving her with complicated feelings about their legacy and her own identity. As Lena struggles to understand her newfound identity and the abilities that begin to manifest, she uncovers a web of secrets about her parents' true role in the war. They weren't just fighting for humanity; they were part of a hidden movement working toward peace between humans and subnaturals. More importantly, Lena learns she was kidnapped not by chance. Hunted by extremists from both sides who either want to use her power or eliminate her entirely, Lena must navigate a dangerous landscape of political intrigue and ancient supernatural factions. Along the way, she assembles an unlikely group of allies—humans sympathetic to the sub cause, subs living in hiding among humans, and others like her caught between worlds. As her powers grow and her understanding of both sides deepens, Lena realizes that ending the war might require more than diplomacy or combat—it might demand a fundamental reimagining of what it means to be human or supernatural in a world where the boundaries between the two are increasingly blurred. But to fulfill her destiny, Lena must first confront the truth about her kidnapping, her parents' sacrifice, —a truth that will test her loyalty to both sides of her heritage and force her to decide what kind of world she wants to fight for.

Lena built The Crib as neutral ground : a sanctuary where vampires don’t hunt, witches don’t curse, and even Alphas respect her authority. No chaos. No war. No attachments. Until a cursed Alpha collapses at her door. Darion carries betrayal in his past, danger in his blood, and a bond with Lena that should never exist. Protecting him means exposing the secret power she’s hidden for years — a power strong enough to start a war. Now enemies are closing in, the sanctuary is no longer safe, and Lena must choose: Protect the Alpha fate tied to her… Or protect the secret that could destroy them both. Because some mates aren’t meant to find each other. And some sanctuaries were never meant to fall.

After I set up the camera, I realized the clients booked for a family portrait were the parents and older brother I'd run from five years earlier. The moment our eyes met, my mother's smile froze. Her eyes went red, and she asked uncertainly, "Remy... is that you?" "You're alive?" With one finger resting on the shutter, I reminded them, "Keep smiling. Look at the camera." My father shot to his feet. "Are you really this spiteful? Five years of hiding from us. What grievance in a family takes five years to get over?" I looked at the dog beside my brother, also named Remy, and couldn't understand what he was angry about. They were the ones who'd spent my whole childhood telling me I existed for one reason: to be marrow for my brother. Even the dog got to be in the family portrait I wasn't allowed in as a child. I gave up on that family a long time ago.

Melody Blackthorne, a thirty-nine year old graphic designer and Mother of two, flees her married life in Denver to build a new life. A salty coastal life where nostalgia meets motherhood. She encounters a kind stranger, Gage along the coast of Emerald Isle whilst hiding from her husband Blaze. An inherited cottage, positive memories, strength and determination propel Melody forward as she navigates hurricanes and a divorce.