A Minute To Midnight

Book two. Please read "Not All That Glitters" before "Not All Who Wander Are Lost."Christmas 2019 in Auburn brought with it a chance for new beginnings. Complicated relationships started to mend and different recoveries were being made. As far as Whitney York and Hollis Bogard were concerned, they knew every hardship they'd face from that point on would be easier since they had each other for support.Fast forward to May, five months later. While making the last minute preparations for she and Whitney's Christmas gift to New York for a week, Hollis gets some disheartening news. If that weren't bad enough, patching things up with her parents was turning out to be a long, winding road. Dalton's prolonged, stressful testimonies to ensure he gets more than a cash settlement from the wealthy prick who put him in a wheelchair after driving drunk is the last straw. As Hollis starts wrestling with her inner demons again, slipping downward is inevitable. Will she confide in Whitney, or risk relapsing?Since disowning her, Whitney stopped hearing from her perfect family altogether. While the lovers are wrapping up in New York, she suddenly comes face to face with Hollywood's latest headliner;Theresa, her famous sister, has died. Urged to attend the funeral, Whitney makes it clear she won't go without Hollis, the very person her parents blame for staying in Maine.Buckle in! Disclaimer: Strong mature content, graphic scenes, drug usage. 18+, please. This novel won’t be for you if you’re not comfortable with any of the above topics.2020 All Rights Reserved (you know how it goes) Please don't attempt to steal any part of my work.

I had been married to Derek for six years, and we had a three-year-old son. He was poor, earning only $2,000 a month, but I had no complaints; I took care of everything at home for him. After getting dinner on the table for the whole family, I finally had a minute to check my phone. A video popped up on my feed: a twenty-two-year-old girl from a rural area whose hands, roughened by years of hard labor, looked like they belonged to a sixty-two-year-old woman. I looked down at my own hands, just as worn and scarred, and stared at them blankly before tapping into the comments. I expected people to feel bad for her. However, to my surprise, the comments section was flooded with a single sentiment: "Why would anyone marry a penniless loser?" One of the top-liked comments came from a couple; in their photo, they were pictured holding hands—fingers tightly intertwined—with the girl sporting a massive diamond ring. The accompanying caption read: "A man who truly loves you would never bear to let you suffer." I felt a pang of envy. Given the choice, who wouldn't want a glamorous life? As I was about to close the app, I accidentally tapped on the couple's photo, enlarging it. In the background, previously too blurry to make out, was a face I recognized. It looked exactly like my husband, Derek Sterling. I froze, and almost against my will, I tapped into the account's profile. Post after post of lavish photos of them together flooded my screen. And then I saw him clearly. The scar above his brow, the one he got when a shelf fell on him while protecting me, was still plainly visible. It was my husband. It was Derek.

Nicole thought that her life would be easy now after she left behind all the memories of an awful night, but an unexpected tribulation led to her moving into a new city, trying to forget the inexplicable incident that happened to her. Little did she know that she could never escape from it because the devil would always find her, no matter how hard she tried to get away from him. He was meant to be her medicine, but he turned out to be poisonous. I hear his hoarse voice bringing me back from the daze as he growls in between the kisses. "You have no idea how dangerous it can be..." He says with his lips going down to the area just above my breast, he sucks in desperately, squeezing my ass gently, making me whimper in bliss. I cling to his shirt, trying to hold my body from collapsing. "Careful...You are messing with the devil, Cole." He doesn't let me breathe for a minute as he starts attacking me with his open-mouthed kisses back. Rapture succumbs to me as I feel his lips again on my neck, traveling higher. I breathe heavily, unable to maintain my composure while being acquainted with this unfamiliar sensation. His lips reach my ear as he gently nibbles my earlobe. "You know why people call me the devil?" His breath fanned over my ear. "It's not because I am a sinner." His harsh breath comes out of his pants, showing me how equally affected he is as he continues. "It's because I am capable of making innocent people commit sins."

*SNEAK PEAK* "Olivia wait." "Just stop and listen to me..." "Olivia!" he snapped. I stopped in my tracks before I turned around and glared at him. "What the f**k do you want? I'm done with you. I'm done trying to win you over okay!?" I felt my eyes burn as I panted. Emotion after emotions swirling around like a f*****g whirlpool. I hated this feeling...I wanted it gone. The overwhelming feeling of betrayal piercing at my heart the longer I stared at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt." I took a deep breath as I silently cursed when a tear escaped and trailed down my cheek. "It's not that you didn't intend to hurt me; I just wasn't meant to find out, was I." "It's a lot more complicated than that." I shrugged and wiped at my face before looking off into the distance. After staying in silence for a minute or so I met his gaze. He took a step forward as he frowned. "Olivia..." "We all have the right to love someone right?" He hesitated before he nodded his head in agreement. I faintly nodded my head agreeing with myself before I sighed. I have to do this. I could almost feel my heart breaking into a million pieces. "I, Olivia Steel from the nightingale Pack reject..." Before I could continue Damon's eyes darkened before he stalked towards me and pushed me against a tree causing me to gasp at the impact. "Don't you f*****g dare."

The Moretti Family's Thanksgiving party was in full swing downstairs—crystal clinks, fake laughs, classic mafia gloss. Meanwhile, I was curled up in a servant's room on the third floor. Jackson Moretti's wife. Legally, anyway. My hands were ice. I gripped the ultrasound report like it could anchor me. Three heartbeats. Strong, steady. It was supposed to be a surprise—his big Thanksgiving gift. To the outside world, Jackson was a polished Stanford grad, running a top-tier consulting firm in San Francisco. But behind the scenes? He ran the Moretti empire—cold, calculated, pulling strings in the West Coast's darkest corners. Three years of marriage and we barely spoke, but I still clung to the hope that maybe... maybe there was something real left. Then I heard him downstairs. "You really not letting your wife come down?" "Isabella?" He laughed. "She'd kill the vibe." Another voice chimed in. "Lina's back, right? Wild you married her twin. Which one do you actually like?" Jackson didn't miss a beat. "Isabella's just a stand-in. Quiet. Predictable. I could tell her to drop dead and she'd say 'okay.'" "So when are you ditching her?" "Dunno. She thinks she matters. I'm just playing her." I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob. A minute later, I was heading downstairs, numb. I brushed my fingers over my belly. "Sorry, babies," I whispered. Triplets. His. He thought I was blind. Weak. Stuck. What he didn't know? A quiet woman, once she snaps—she can burn it all down.

Can jealousy make a monster out of human? General Jiang never thought so until he become a victim of one of his green-eyed friend's plots. And Jiang Yin Yue ,was the precious daughter of the General Jiang. She led a happy life until one crucial night. She lost everything in that one night. The noble life she lived happily...,Her loving family which she treasured most in the world...,The honor of her family which maintained for many generations..., everything disappeared in front of her eyes, while she was watching helplessly. Despite losing everything, she determined to survive. No matter how lonely, how painful, how much sorrow she felt, she thoroughly determined to survive, gathering all the courage she could mange to find. With the sole intention of avenging her family. Now everyday, every hour, every minute, every second, even every breathe she takes solely dedicated to succeed her mission of revenge. Changing herself completely with a different appearance, different character, and different personality...she is reaching her goal step by step very patiently but still with a traumatized mind. On her journey he get to experience the loyalty of a human, importance and worth of a sincere friendship and the warmth of a tender love. Experiencing those qualities, will she get her lost gentleness back? will she recover from her trauma? will she be able to give up the hatred deeply rooted in her mind? Fighting with the people in power, avenging for her family's unjust deaths, restoring her family's lost honor, It is the story of a daughter who became the "PRIDE OF HER FAMILY" as her father always used to say.

For the down on her luck graphic designer, Amy Hart, accepting the live-in nanny job for billionaire Damien Ross's eight-month-old son is easy. What’s not is her promise to herself: never, ever sleep with the billionaire playboy. Damien had a reputation for never pursuing women. Women pursued him. Emotionally closed-off and irresistibly magnetic, the tycoon built his empire believing love is a fallacy, capable of eroding power and legacy. He abandoned his pregnant ex-girlfriend at seven months in order to avoid its clutches limiting him. Amy, however, is different. She neither flirts nor simpers. She draws a clear line, and she devotes her entire focus to infant Theo. Her aloofness infuriates him… and then begins to consume him. He initiates a quiet psychological war: paying attention to minute details, and uttering words to penetrate her cool facade. Then one night, she is forced to overhear him making love to another woman in the other wing of the enormous apartment. The sound of his muffled, raunchy sounds traveled through the walls of the skyscraper. He is aware that she can hear him; but he makes no effort to stop his amorous rendezvous. Instead of hatred, Amy experiences a tumultuous swirl of shame, jealousy, and an irresistible craving she cannot ignore. For the first time, she did not only seek to resist the untouchable billionaire. She sought to break him. Within this world of affluence, envious ex-girlfriends, and incendiary, taboo desire, one question burns in Amy's mind: Can the she actually change a man who built his empire on a cold heart and with claims he will never fall prey to love again? The Playboy Billionaire's Nanny is a simmering, intoxicating story of psychological seduction, and reckless relinquishment.

"You're nothing but a dirty pet human to me," Damien sneered, his predatory step making me cower. "Get away from me. I would sue you the minute I escape from here," I retorted, my voice trembling with fear. "Sue me? A Lycan king?" His laugh sent shivers down my spine. "Let's see if you'll ever escape," he grinned wickedly, grabbing me and slamming me against the wall as I winced in pain. "You're mine to break, Talia," his words hit me like a bucket of ice water, his fiery red eyes piercing into mine, sending a chill down my spine. I had to escape. *** After escaping from the mental asylum where she had been imprisoned, Talia finds herself abducted and brought to the werewolf kingdom as a pet slave for the Lycan king—a reality she never knew existed. As she delves deeper into Damien's mysterious world, her feelings for him begin to blossom, leading her down a path filled with danger and intrigue. But when she discovers a shocking connection between her past and Damien's, her world is turned upside down. Amidst escalating tensions and betrayals, Talia and Damien's bond is put to the test, and they must confront their deepest fears and desires to survive in a world where love and loyalty are at war with themselves. Will they emerge victorious, or will the shadows of the past consume them both? Find out in this spellbinding tale of "The Lycan's Forbidden Queen," where forbidden love collides with dark secrets, and the line between predator and prey blurs into oblivion.

The Devouring Queen is a paranormal revenge fantasy set between a blood drenched Lycan kingdom and a starving vampire empire, where every moon can crown a monarch or claim a corpse. The story follows Elara, once a gentle Luna who was betrayed and murdered on her wedding night. Instead of finding peace, she awakens three years in the past inside the stolen body of a hidden vampire princess. She returns to life in a world already preparing for her death, because in thirty nights the Lycan King must kill his true mate to awaken an ancient god beast. Now two women wear the same face, and only one can survive the prophecy that hungers for blood. Elara, reborn as a ghost wearing royal skin, abandons innocence and embraces the power she never had in her first life. With a quiet voice and a predator’s smile, she steps into a kingdom filled with secrets, manipulations and creatures who underestimate her. Cassius, the beautiful and broken Lycan King, is trapped between the woman he once loved, the version he helped destroy, and a prophecy that demands sacrifice. Their love is poisonous, irresistible and destined to end in ruin. As the nights slip away, Elara weaves a dark game of power and deception. She announces a false pregnancy, visits the chained original bride under midnight moons, and manipulates courts and armies with deadly grace. The mirrors around her begin to bleed, the lies thicken, and the prophecy tightens like a noose. The climax erupts in a courtyard filled with fallen soldiers, where the two identical brides tear the king apart to decide which destiny will rule. The kingdoms that remain have only two choices: kneel or burn.

Esmeralda Cantari has spent her life being told she is a mistake. The unwanted daughter of a powerful angel prince and a disgraced witch, she was cast aside by her father and barely tolerated by her mother’s coven. When her magic fails to appear like every other young mage’s, the coven finally exiles her for good. But the night they drive her out, something awakens. Blood answers her call. Wings of midnight blue and black tear free from her back. And suddenly the powerless girl everyone despised becomes something far more dangerous. Returning to Rosewood Sanctum for her third year, Esmeralda must hide abilities that could make her a target in a school ruled by powerful bloodlines—including the half-siblings who have bullied her for years. Yet strange things are already happening around the academy. Students are disappearing. Bodies are found drained of blood. And rumors of ancient monsters once thought extinct begin to circulate. The only people who seem to notice Esmeralda’s true potential are the most feared group of heirs at Rosewood: a shadow demon with dangerous curiosity, a brooding shifter whose beast reacts to her presence, a brilliant mage who feels he’s seen her before, a relentless fae warrior who sees her strength, and an angel prince who is watching her far too closely. As the mystery deepens, Esmeralda begins to realize her awakening may not be a coincidence. Something ancient is rising in the shadows of the supernatural world. And it has already started hunting for her.