Plot Twists Short Stories & Bias Countdown Novels

Keane Mercer was the captain of the Boston Blades, one of the biggest teams in professional hockey. We'd been together for five years, and I hadn't missed a single one of his games. I could never get seats near the glass. Every game, I settled for the best spot I could find in a corner, lifting my camera to capture every moment he was on the ice. I asked him once. "Could you save me a seat in the friends-and-family section just once? The view is so much better from there." He didn't even look up. "I'm the captain. I can't play favorites. Maybe another time." He never said when "another time" would be. I never asked again. The friends-and-family seat remained empty season after season. Until the semifinals this year. For the first time, someone was sitting there. She was a young woman with a warm, bright smile, standing with the help of a crutch. Every time Keane scored, his eyes found hers. When the final buzzer sounded, he skated straight to the stands, lifted her effortlessly into his arms, and carried her out, shielding her as they disappeared into the crowd. I lowered my camera, packed away my gear, and walked out of the arena alone. Then I reopened the transfer offer I'd deleted and clicked "Accept". If I was never going to have a place in Keane's friends-and-family section, then I was done waiting on the sidelines. It was time to build a life that belonged to me.

After I switched bodies with my driver, I ended up trapped in the body of an overweight, unattractive man everyone looked down on. My sister Joanne Harper and my fiancée, Serena Lane, did everything they could to find a way to switch us back. Joanne hired an exorcist and even gave her own blood for the ritual. Serena climbed three thousand icy steps to a remote mountaintop chapel in the middle of a blizzard, dropping to her knees in prayer every few steps. But Julian Brown, now living in my body, looked at them pitifully. “My romance system says we can only switch back if both of you truly fall in love with me.” From that day on, Joanne appeared to indulge his every whim, buying him sports cars and mansions. Behind his back, she made it up to me tenfold, a hundredfold. In public, Serena kissed him and acted affectionate. The moment she turned away, she looked like she wanted to scrub herself head to toe with disinfectant. I thought they were forcing themselves through all of it for my sake. Until one day, I accidentally overheard my sister talking to my fiancée. “The exorcist said that in three more days, they’ll be stuck like this permanently.” “Julian is so innocent. He deserves a good life. Asher’s always been spoiled and arrogant. Maybe this will finally teach him a lesson.” What they didn’t know was that I had a system too. And if I didn’t get my body back in three days, I would die.

I am the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. On the day I gave birth, I drank the birthing tonic that Elena, our pack healer, had brought me. My wolf convulsed violently, and the moment I delivered my pup, I fell into a coma. When I woke again, I was bound by thick silver chains, trapped for five years in a lightless forest prison. It wasn't until Caleb, the Alpha of the Silver River Pack, was hunting down a rogue that he caught my scent by chance and freed me. I dragged my weakened body all the way back to the Silver Moon Pack. Only to hear my Alpha mate Killian announcing before the whole pack that Elena, the very woman who had poisoned me, was about to become the new Luna. And the son I had nearly died to bring into the world was nestled in her arms, sweetly calling her mommy. Eyes burning, I rushed forward and exposed the truth in front of everyone: she had poisoned me. Killian cut me off, impatient. "Lila, as Luna you vanished for five years without a word. Elena carried your burden for you, and instead of being grateful, you make up some pathetic lie to smear her?" Eric's face twisted with disgust. "Daddy, throw this liar out. She's scaring mommy!" And Elena, hiding behind them, gave me a taunting little smile. Something in me let go. That very night, I drank the potion that would sever the mate bond from my side alone. Fine, then. This mate, this son, I no longer wanted either of them.

A witch prophesied that the stronger I became, the closer my twin sister, Elara, would come to death. To save her, my parents suppressed my wolf spirit for eighteen years. They forced me to hide my gifts and apologize for every success. The werewolf academy selection trial at eighteen was my only chance to escape this family. But on the day of the trial, they confiscated my token and locked me inside the winter store behind a silver door. “You know Elara could die because of you, and you still want to take the trial?” The silver walls suppressed my wolf spirit, leaving me helpless as the room grew steadily colder. I pounded on the door and begged for help. Mother replied coldly, “Stop pretending. The cooling system isn’t even on.” At that moment, I finally understood. As they left with Elara, the truth became clear. No matter how many times I gave in, they would always demand one more sacrifice. Blood ran from my forehead and slowly froze against my training uniform. I curled up in the darkness and stopped pounding on the door. They thought destroying my future would save Elara. When they returned, Elara was still alive. I was already dead.

To marry Lorenzo Vincenzo, I gave up my photography career. A dream I had held for ten years. But on our fourth anniversary, I asked my sister Greer to draft the divorce papers. She kept asking, over and over. "Why would you leave Lorenzo? He's the top surgeon at St. Vincent's. Rich, gorgeous. Half the city is dying for a shot at him." I swallowed the bitterness clawing up my throat. "Because of a gift." Greer followed my gaze to the music box on the table. The card was in Elara's handwriting. Lorenzo's junior from med school. [Thank you for flying out to do my aunt's surgery, senior. I know it was a long trip. You worked so hard. The little dancers on this music box remind me of us at graduation prom. Hope you like it, Lorenzo.] That day, my father was in a car accident. I rushed him to St. Vincent's. Only Lorenzo could do the surgery. I searched every floor of that hospital, every corridor. Nowhere. I told myself he must be on a business trip. But no. He had left his post for Elara. The same man who once swore he would never abandon the OR for personal matters. Finally, my father died on the table. Greer pulled me into her arms. "The Vincenzo family owns this city. Their reach is everywhere. Where could you possibly go that he would not find you?" I glanced at the flight confirmation on my phone. "Three days. I am flying to Paris, to a photography studio there. And I will make sure he never, ever finds me."

Five years ago, I threw myself in front of a bullet meant for my husband and lost my hearing in the process. Nico Marchetti learned sign language, held my hand through every doctor's appointment and swore he would protect me for the rest of his life. On the night I discovered his betrayal, he sat across from me at a dinner table surrounded by his capos and smiled, "Giulia is the only woman I love. But I hide it well because if she ever found out about Valentina, she'd leave me."  Then he carved his steak and placed it on my plate like a devoted husband. What he didn't know was that I had regained my hearing exactly seven days earlier. I had already contacted the Benedetti family. I had already arranged my escape to Sicily. All I had to do was wait seven more days. Then I disappeared from Nico Marchetti's life forever.

On my birthday, My wife told me there was an emergency at the hospital and she couldn’t come home. She sent me five hundred dollars with a note: Happy birthday. Love you. Ten minutes later, her young resident, Evan Hayes, posted a screenshot of a transfer. Fifty thousand dollars. Congratulations on becoming an attending. I’ll be there for every milestone from now on. Seven years ago, Claire lost both her parents and was buried in debt. I gave up a senior architect position overseas, stayed by her side, and helped her through medical school, residency, and every exam that stood between her and the life she wanted. The first time she put on a white coat, she held me and said, “Adrian, I wouldn’t be here without you.” Years later, she gave someone else the time, patience, and care she once gave me. That night, I didn’t argue. I accepted the London offer I had turned down three times, took off the ring I had worn for seven years, and left. Claire wasn’t worried. “He loves me too much. He’ll come back.” A month later, she called in tears. “I’ll give you everything. Just come home.” She still didn’t understand. I never left because Evan got more. I left because the woman I spent seven years lifting up had finally made my love feel worthless.

Seven months pregnant, and I accidentally overheard a conversation between my Alpha mate Kane Frost and the pack Beta Ethan Roberts. "This one's going to Vivian too?" Ethan's voice was thick with fury. "You're really giving away Elena's pup to repay a life debt?" Kane was silent for a long moment. "Vivian saved me." "Seven years ago, that silver dagger was meant for my heart." "She took that blade for me. The residual silver poison destroyed her womb. She can never have a pup of her own." "Her only wish is to keep Elena's pup by her side." Ethan slammed his fist against the wall. "But she's already gotten two pups!" "This is the last one." Kane's voice was hoarse, but there was no hesitation. "Vivian promised me. After she gets this pup, she'll leave Silvermoon territory." "When this is over, I'll have another pup with Elena." "I'll spend the rest of my life loving her. Making it up to her. To the pups we'll have together." My stomach churned. I nearly threw up right there. Three years. I'd been pregnant twice before. And every time, after the surgery, Kane held me and told me the pup had stopped breathing before it could be born. I'd cried myself raw over those two little souls who never got to see the light. I'd clutched their tiny clothes every night, unable to let go. Only now did I understand. They never died. They were alive. Kane had stolen them from me, given them to someone else. Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and endless. I gently touched my swollen belly. "This time, little one. Mommy's taking you away."

After graduating from high school, my twin sister, Ella, and I were both accepted to Newland University. My parents put eighty thousand dollars in Ella's college fund and gave her a three-thousand-dollar monthly allowance, but put only eight thousand in mine and gave me three hundred a month. They took it for granted that I would move to Newland to look after her. The day the whole family threw a graduation party for my sister, I boarded a flight to the West Coast with a single suitcase and a full scholarship to one of the country's top engineering schools. What they didn't know was that the reporter who showed up that afternoon to interview "the outstanding Ashford graduate" had never been looking for my sister. The person they wanted was me, the daughter they'd already pushed out the door.

After I came of age, I entered the Gallo family's trial period. Only those who passed the family's trials within five years would earn the right to wear the family crest. Anyone who failed would be sent to the shooting range as a live target. This year's trial was to seize a weapons shipment at the port. I was the first to locate the weapons cache, but when Vera blundered into the ambush, I had to stay behind and clean up the mess to save her. After the fierce gunfight, my team's casualties ended up exactly one more than Vera's. At the crest ceremony, my mother Carmela once again pinned the family crest to Vera Gallo's chest, smiling with satisfaction. "Vera brought back the weapons with the fewest casualties. She passes the trial again this year, without question. "Not that the crest needs to be awarded twice, but Elsa, you really aren't as capable as Vera. Better luck next time." Better luck next time. I'd been hearing those exact words for four years straight. Ever since Vera was brought back four years ago, I, the adopted orphan, had become the most unwelcome person in the house. Because she claimed everything I had should have been hers. The moment she heard that Carmela had treated me well, she'd spiral into hysterics and threaten to kill herself. From then on, I waited four years and never once received the crest from Carmela's hands. This time, I was done waiting. I was going home. My real home.

On my wedding day, all my friends told me I hit the ultimate jackpot. Everyone knew the story: my groom was gorgeous, insanely rich, and the don of the most powerful mafia family in town. At the altar, he held my hand, kissed it, and promised me forever. Looking into his eyes, I really thought I got my happily ever after. But over the next eight months, he bailed on our city hall appointments to sign the marriage license—25 times. Always with a new excuse. Right before our 26th attempt, he flaked again. All because Sienna, his late savior's daughter, had another "emergency." I didn't lose my mind like I used to. I just quietly took off my engagement ring, packed my bags, and bought a single ticket to London. Every single compromise chipped away at my love until nothing was left. This time, I'm the one dumping him.

The day I learned I was pregnant, I walked out of a private clinic holding the test results, ready to tell my husband that we were finally going to have a child. I never got the chance to make the call. A sports car driven by Damian's foster sister, Serena, struck me outside the clinic. When Damian arrived, he rushed past the paramedics and lifted Serena into his arms, even though she had suffered only minor injuries. He never recognized his wife being loaded into the ambulance. After surgery, he called to tell me that Serena had been in an accident and needed him beside her. "I am sorry, but I have to cancel our anniversary dinner." I did not tell him that I was the other person involved in the crash. I did not tell him that the child we had wanted for five years was gone. He gave me the title of Donna while reserving his forbidden devotion for her. Since he could not bear to lose either of us, I would make the choice for him. In seven days, I would leave New York and return to my parents in Sicily. Damian would receive the two gifts I left behind. The first would be a divorce that restored his freedom. The second would be the wedding he and Serena had always wanted. This time, I would not ask why he betrayed me. I would quietly give them my blessing, and then I would disappear forever.

In my first life, my twin sister and I were born with a rare bloodline, and tradition demanded that we marry into rival factions. I married Lucian Vale, crown prince of the Vampire Court, and became the princess everyone revered. My sister was sent to the Hunters' Order. Within a few years, its brutal discipline had killed her. Lucian blamed me for stealing my sister Rosalie Ashford's future and driving her to her death. He poured all that hatred into punishing me, then drained every drop of my blood to feed his Bloodmoon Scepter. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day our marriages were arranged. I changed the bride's name on Lucian's contract to Rosalie's without a second thought. Everyone believed Rosalie and I carried the same bloodline, only hers was a little weaker. Only I knew the truth. Her blood had mutated years ago, turning into a lethal curse. If Lucian loved her so much, then he could drink the poison from her veins himself.

To be with Luca, I left New York and moved to Montreal. Three years of slaving over the stove, teaching myself the books, studying every detail of how to dress—all to fit into his world. To become his Donna. I actually believed I was on my way. But tonight, at the family banquet, the woman beside him wasn't me. It was Liliana—his childhood friend. His understudy leaned in and muttered in Italian. "Don, if you're settling things with Liliana, what happens to Catherine?" Luca took a slow drag of his cigar. "I love Catherine. But for the family, my Donna can't be some nobody." "And if she finds out?" "She loves me too much to walk away. I'll give her everything but the title." My chest tightened. A tremor ran through me that I couldn't stop. What they didn't know—I'd learned Italian in secret. I caught every single word. Liliana swept in wearing a long red dress. She shot me a look from above and gestured for me to move. Luca patted my hand. "Liliana's here to hold the room tonight. Go watch the kitchen. Don't let the staff screw up." I looked into his eyes. Three years of this—and it was all a joke I'd played on myself. I turned and walked out, pulling off his necklace and letting it drop to the carpet. My phone buzzed. My father asked how much longer I'd stay away. I stopped and typed. "Three days. I'm coming back to New York." Luca, when you find out your family doesn't even hold a candle to mine... what then?

Lucien Arden took the throne. He crowned Rosalind Hartwell empress. And Evelyn Hartwell—the principal wife who had fought at his side all the way from embattled prince to emperor—was given only the rank of Imperial Consort. The day the decree came down, Silverleaf Palace was completely silent. Every servant kept their head lowered and hardly dared to breathe, afraid that Evelyn would weep, or throw things, or come apart the way any consort does when the emperor's favor leaves her. Evelyn simply accepted the decree, calmly. “I thank His Majesty for his generosity.” There was no movement in her voice and nothing in her face. Even her beautiful eyes held not the slightest trace of grief. She turned, went back into the inner rooms, and picked up her book where she had left it. As though the decree that had just stripped her of her place as his principal wife had nothing whatever to do with her.

Yarden Stone had been cheating on me for three years, yet he had hidden the other woman so well that I could never catch him. Once, I found a lace choker in the back seat of his car. It still held someone’s body warmth. More than once, I had noticed fresh bite marks behind his ear. Every time, I would lose my mind. I would tear the house apart and demand to know who the woman was. Yarden would always frown wearily. “Lily, how long are you going to keep suspecting me of cheating? If you’re going to accuse me, then at least find the woman you claim I’m seeing.” I started following him around twenty-four hours a day. I even called all our friends and relatives and had them wait outside hotels and apartment buildings to catch him in the act. But every time we broke down a door, we found Yarden sitting on the couch in perfectly neat clothes. He always said, “Are you going to search this place?” When we left, my mom took my hand and sighed. “Lily, trust is the most important thing in a marriage. You cause a scene every day. What do you think that does to Yarden’s reputation?” Even my best friend tried to talk some sense into me. “You’re under too much stress. Maybe it’s all in your head.” But I remembered the lipstick that was still on Yarden Stone’s lips. He had not wiped it off completely. The color was so bright that it almost hurt my eyes.

The day I found out I was pregnant, my husband Dario Vitale's adopted sister Sofia pushed me down the stairs. I lost the baby. And I ended up in a coma. For five years while I slept, he punished her, tormented her, and made her pray for me every single day for five years. But the moment I woke up, everything had changed. Everything that was mine now had Sofia written all over it. My spot. My space. My place in his life. She'd taken over every last bit of it. When I confronted Dario, he didn't even realize how completely he'd already taken her side. "Camila, you're awake now. Sofia's spent five years paying for what she did—isn't that enough? Can we... let this go?" Five years. And in the end, he decided I'd forgiven her for him. The pain in my chest hurt worse than anything my body had been through. The man who used to look at me like I was his whole world—he wasn't there anymore. I called my sister Ayana. "Three days. I'm going back to the Manhattan firm. And I'm never seeing Dario again."

At our seventh anniversary gala, my husband, Alexander Rossetti, had gifted me the city's one of a kind Rose Manor. I was kissing Alexander. That's when his Capo, Romeo, stepped up with his wine glass, lowering his voice in pure Sicilian dialect with a teasing grin: "Don, the Jasmine Manor for Elena's all settled, identical to the one you gave to Donna." Alexander let out a chuckle. He shot back in Sicilian, casual as ever: "What can I say? She begged me in bed, said she wanted the same thing as her sister. " He kissed my cheek as he spoke, gazing at me with all the warmth in the world, while telling his men: "Don't say her name. If my Donna finds out, we're all in deep shit." His men exchanged knowing smirks, raised their glasses to him, and swore up and down they'd keep their mouths shut. He kissed my cheek, and didn't notice my smile had frozen solid. Maybe Alexander was too smug. He forgot one thing. My grandmother came from one of the oldest families in Sicily. I understood every single word they said. Fireworks burst overhead. Alexander said: "I love you, Olivia. We'll be together forever." I hugged him back, but behind his back, I pulled out my phone, opened the weapons research invitation that Santoro Institute had sent me days ago, and hit "Accept." Three days from now, I would vanish from his world completely.

I was about to toast him. My mate. Alpha Ryker. That’s when he announced it. Our mating ceremony was being postponed. Again. To the next full moon. I took a slow sip of my wine, letting the red burn its way down my throat. “Okay.” He glanced at me, a flash of surprise in his eyes. “You’re… not mad?” I swirled the wine in my glass. My voice was flat. “No. I’m not mad.” We’d known we were mates for a year. This was the 17th time he had postponed our final bonding. We were both used to it. I drained my glass and stood up to go upstairs. As I passed him, he grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. The possessive scent of an Alpha wrapped around me instantly. “Aurora, I swear I will officially mark you in front of the pack at the next full moon. You’re already mine. The whole pack knows it. What’s a few more days?” “Trust me. I won’t break my promise this time.” I looked down at his hand on my waist, then back up at his face. I leaned into his chest with a small smile. “Okay.” In the last year, he’d said “next week” nine times. He’d said “I swear” thirteen times. He’d said “trust me” sixteen times. But the ceremony that would finally bond our souls and bodies never happened. And it wouldn’t happen next month, either. Because this time, it was my turn to break the promise.

My ex, Luca Romano, had a rival family on his tail, so he begged me to hide him at my family's private estate for five days. For old times' sake, I agreed and gave him a temporary passcode that would work for five days. Five days later, I finished my work out of town and returned to the estate. When I entered the passcode, the door wouldn't open. Someone had changed it. I rang the doorbell. A woman I had never seen before came out wearing my nightgown. She yawned as if she owned the place. The moment she saw me, she looked at me with disgust. "So you're the ex-girlfriend who won't leave Luca alone? "You two already broke up, and now you're showing up at his place in the middle of the night? Don't you have any shame?"