The Brief Bedford Reader 15th Edition

What would you do if you were different from other humans? What if you can hear other people's minds? For Khali, this was a curse... until her brother died. To uncover the cause of his death and punish the culprits, she needs to use her curse and find out the truth.

"Dr. Shaw! Ms. Sherwood has suffered a massive hemorrhage due to complications from childbirth! She has fallen into a coma and needs an emergency blood transfusion!" "Dr. Shaw! Ms. Lunsford is vomiting from anemia! She needs a blood transfusion immediately!" "Dr. Shaw! The blood bank just declared an emergency! We only have enough blood to save one of the patients right now!" Eugene Shaw stares broodingly at the pale and motionless Lilian Sherwood. Slowly, his hands clench into fists. "Stop all treatment for Ms. Sherwood! Have all the remaining blood in the blood bank transfused to Aurelie!" Lilian curls up in pain. Her mind is blank, but she hangs on to Eugene's every word. She hears him choose Aurelie Lunsford. Her pupils suddenly dilate as the doctor next to her sobs anxiously. "But Dr. Shaw, Ms. Sherwood's condition is more critical than Ms. Lunsford's! She should be your priority, especially since she's carrying your child!" Eugene turns, eyes slightly bloodshot, "She's a medical professional! Saving lives is her duty. I believe she would've made the same choice." Lilian is in disbelief. Tears spill from her eyes, bitter and mocking. Eugene makes his selfishness sound so noble. She regrets everything. If given another chance, she will definitely leave him at all costs! She draws her last despairing breath, and her hand droops limply. Eugene kneels before her hospital bed in panic, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Lilian. I have no choice but to save her!"

I knew there was no escaping it. My father’s sins would be my undoing. He was a wicked man, feared and hated by many, and now that he was dead, the weight of his crimes had fallen squarely on me. I didn’t even have the chance to grieve—or to breathe—before his Beta dragged me away from the south, from everything I’d ever known. I was supposed to be their Alpha. That was my birthright. But it didn’t matter. The pack had other plans for me, and being their leader wasn’t one of them. My father’s Beta delivered me to the northern Alphas, the very men who despised my father the most. And that’s when I learned the cruelest truth: they were my mates. But they didn’t want me. Warning: This is a reverse harem mild dark romance filled with intense emotions and themes that are not for the faint of heart. Read at your own risk. (This is an edited, well-structured version of the First Edition Scarlett) *******

I go to the city where my online boyfriend, Logan Wright, lives to surprise him without telling him first. Instead, I overhear him talking with his friends. "So what if her voice is nice? She's probably ugly as hell if she's reluctant to even send a picture. If the hottest girl on campus hadn't turned me down, I wouldn't even bother messing around with someone like her. "Not only is she ugly, but she's also horny as hell. She keeps saying she has to see what I'm packing down there before we even meet." One of his friends snickers. "So did you show her?" Logan let out a low grunt in agreement. "But it wasn't mine. It was Troy's." His friend blurts, "What the hell? Troy Levine? Your roommate? You said he was at least eight inches. Were you serious?" "Of course. Why would I lie to you? Troy is a real bro. Seeing that I didn't want to send that kind of picture, he offered to do it for me." They freeze for a second, then all burst out laughing. I laugh too. I've heard of body doubles in Showbiz. This is the first time I've seen a body double in online romance. I want every detail on Troy, and I want them in the next three minutes!

My roommate is the kind of person who has to get to the bottom of everything and doesn't stop asking questions until she's satisfied. One night, while I'm sound asleep, she suddenly stands by my bed and calls my name, "Melissa, are you asleep?" Having been awakened by her, I shoot her an annoyed glare, but she just says, "See? You weren't really asleep. Otherwise, how could you have answered me?" One day, she decides to skip class. Thinking that I could help by signing her in on my phone, I do just that. However, near the end of the lecture, she suddenly bursts into the room and asks the professor, "I wasn't here today, so why does it show I was marked present? Is the system down?" The professor traces it back to me, fails me on the spot, and makes me retake the class. Later on, I join a speech contest. My roommate stands up in front of everyone and asks why my speech sounded exactly like her ideas. I get disqualified, lose my scholarship, and am labeled a plagiarist. Devastated, I climb onto the rooftop late at night. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the night when my roommate first asked if I was asleep.

Heather Cassia Del Puerto has every reason to be loved. Citing from people's definitions, she's the epitome of beauty and intelligence. In addition, she has enough wealth and power being the La Villamorés' second owner. However, everyone was suffocated by her so-called perfect insight, and the audacity to think she is always right. Her holier-than-thou attitude annoyed everybody, but a particular tycoon is an exception—Lord Lavigne. Consequently, she didn't bother to change a bit after countless troubles, confident enough that the man everybody has been dreaming of is not going to leave her . . . Or so she thought.