A Path To The Murky Place Novels & Stories

In the tenth year after I had married in his place, my brother, Thayer Ashford, suddenly returned. The whole family fell silent as they looked at him. He yawned as he spoke with careless ease, “I traveled through thirteen countries. I’m exhausted. “Where’s Seraphina? She should be in primary school by now, right? Why hasn’t she come to see me?” Seraphina was Thayer’s daughter. Back then, Thayer had abruptly announced he had a child. Yet on the very day of his wedding, he staged his own death, leaving behind Seraphina and his fiancée, Isolde Fairchild. The Fairchilds belonged to the old-money elite of the city. My parents did not dare offend them, so they decided to package me—fresh out of graduation—and send me to the wedding in Thayer’s place. Over these ten years, I became a competent husband and a responsible father. As my parents watched Thayer’s brazen composure, their gazes shifted toward me. I gave them a faint smile. “Sera went to Novaforge with Isolde.”

After being reborn, I make up my mind to stop chasing after my childhood crush, Emil McLaren. When he puts up a sign banning my presence at his birthday party, I pack my bags and decide to go to Wanoki Island. When he says my scent makes his house feel nauseating, I quietly move out without complaint. When he says he doesn't want to breathe the same city air as me after our graduation, I leave and never look back. Then he tells me my existence might make his beloved first love uncomfortable. I nod and soon go public with someone else. In this life, I do the opposite of everything I did before. Because in my past life, I got what I wanted—I married Emil. But then his first love jumped off a cliff. He called me her murderer and tormented me. In the end, I jumped into the sea in a state of mental confusion and died. This time, all I want is to live. So, I find myself someone new. However, Emil blocks my path, his eyes bloodshot as he glares at me. "Penelope, I'll forgive this little joke of yours if you come with me right now."

Derrick Caldwell once promised me that on the night of our pack's founding feast, he would announce that we'd been married for eight years. However, on the big day, his childhood friend, Lilith Sterling, takes my place. She sits beside him—the spot reserved for his Luna. The warriors say, "We heard you have a mate with whom you've been married for eight years, Alpha. Is this her?" Derrick smiles without denying it. He silently allows their assumption to stand. I want him to explain this to me, but he merely says, "You may have helped me become the Alpha, but your lowly birth is nothing compared to Lilith's noble status. As my mate, you need to be more tolerant." I don't argue with him. Instead, I turn and leave the pack he and I built together. Later, I start my own pack and turn it into the largest one in the federation. Derrick stands among the crowd during a ceremony where the Alpha King confers a medal of honor to me. He proudly tells anyone who will listen that I'm his wife. I act like I don't see him, and his eyes turn red with desperation.

On her 18th birthday, a lowly Omega named Chloe Vanguard is publicly humiliated and brutally rejected by her fated mate, the powerful Alpha Julian Blackwood. Instead of claiming her, Julian banishes Chloe from the pack to be with her treacherous stepsister, leaving the broken girl to cough up blood on the cold palace floor. Fueled by a new, dark resolve, Chloe accepts her exile and vows that the Alpha will one day regret throwing away a "priceless diamond" for "rotting trash."

Zara Alaric had always lived in the shadow of her stepsister, Selene was pampered, adored, and destined for a life of luxury. But when Selene disappears on the eve of her wedding, leaving only a letter behind, Zara is thrust into a world she never asked for: forced to marry Adrian Voss, a ruthless billionaire CEO with a heart as cold as his empire. At first, Adrian despises her, and surviving his cruel rules, verbal lashings, and the hostility of his family seems impossible. Yet, as Zara proves her intelligence, courage, and resilience, sparks of tension ignite into an undeniable chemistry. Just when their love begins to blossom, Selene returns, scheming to reclaim her place, while Margot the stepmother who orchestrated their lives manipulates events to test their bond. Threatened by blackmail, betrayal, and life-or-death stakes, Zara and Adrian must navigate deception, power, and passion. Can love truly bloom amidst lies, danger, and ambition or will the past destroy everything they’ve fought to build?

At my engagement party, a female dog was sitting on my fiancee’s seat. Her guy best friend, Ryan Anderson, was holding the leash. “Bro, don’t take it personally. Your fiancee drank too much the night before at her bachelorette party, that’s why I’m letting her sleep in for a bit longer.” Everyone looked at me mockingly as they laughed. I felt as though someone had slapped me. All the guests had arrived, but Lily Smith showed up late. “It’s our engagement party today. Are you asking me to marry a dog?” I asked as I suppressed my anger. Lily grabbed Ryan’s sleeve and glared at me impatiently. “What are you talking about? Ryan saw that I was too tired, so he let me rest for a bit longer. Are you seriously offended? “As my fiance, you should be more understanding, like him!” It felt ridiculous and wrong to me. My heart sank as I stood up. “Fine, since he treats you so well, you should marry him then!”

I find out I'm about two months pregnant before my wedding. Luke Logan drunkenly caresses my belly and half-jokes, "I'm not ready to be a father, Summer. Can we not keep the baby?" My heart is calm. I say softly, "Sure." In my past life, I insisted on keeping the child. Meanwhile, Riley Richards had an accidental miscarriage, making it difficult for her to conceive again. Luke held a grudge against me for that and treated me coldly after we married. As for the son that I put one foot in the coffin to bring into this world, he, too, cried and fussed. He wanted Riley to be his mother. Later, I got into an accident and suffered from significant blood loss. However, Luke and our son merely hurried past me to be with Riley as she went into labor. I slowly bled to death on the floor above, while Luke and our son celebrated the birth of Riley's child on the floor below. Now that I've been reborn, I won't lose sight of myself and take the wrong path again. I call Eric Nottingham. "I'll join the expedition team to Glacia."

She was the daughter of a monster. He was the brother of a ghost. And their love was never supposed to exist. Sama Arthur has spent her entire life locked away in a golden cage—an Omega born to a cruel kingpin who saw her as a pawn, not a person. The only man who ever showed her kindness died for it. So she ran. She bled. She disappeared. Now she lives under a stolen name, with trembling hands and nightmares she hides behind lipstick and laughter. But monsters have long memories. And so does Dean Wason. Dean is an Alpha forged in blood, trained to kill, and fueled by one thing—revenge. His younger brother was executed with a bullet to the head. The killer walked free. Now Dean wants to break him—but not with bullets. With heartbreak. With suffering. With the thing his enemy loves most. So he hunts Sama. He stalks her. Finds her. But when he finally sees the terrified woman dancing under neon lights, he doesn’t see a target. He sees something twisted and broken. Something like him. And that changes everything. She’s supposed to die. He’s supposed to walk away. But obsession is a wildfire—and neither of them is safe. What starts as a trap turns into a war of dominance and surrender, secrets and scars. Dean wants to hate her. Sama wants to survive him. But desire is betrayal. And love? Love is lethal. When lies unravel and the truth cuts deep, Sama learns that Dean isn’t just the man who could destroy her—he’s the only one who ever truly saw her. And Dean? He realizes that the woman who ruined his mission is the only one who ever understood his pain.

Helena Whitmore was never meant to be Adrian Cavendish’s wife. But when her world crumbles, he’s there—with an offer she can’t refuse. A marriage built on necessity. A deal written in ink. But Adrian doesn’t do anything without a reason. And from the moment she steps into his world, she realizes—this was never just business. Because Adrian has secrets. Secrets that make her pulse race and her stomach twist. And the most dangerous part? She’s not sure if she wants to run from him… or straight into his arms.

This Christmas was supposed to be quiet. My boyfriend cheated earlier, bluntly, and I was left with nothing but heartbreak and resentment which now reeked from within me. I planned to spend the holidays curled on my couch, watching Tik Tok, scrolling through my social media accounts, anything that wouldn't make me cry. But then Chloe, my best friend, invited me over. Her family's place was warm, full of life and exactly the escape I needed. I never expected anything. Definitely not him. Dominic Callahan. Chloe's father. I've always noticed him, strong, distant, way too captivating for someone his age though he never looked twice at me.... until now. I noticed the change. His eyes lingered longer. His words slower, even his stare. The air between us became tighter. I assured my self it was greif.... My emotions were taking a better part of me. But when he kissed me, I didn't refuse. When he pulled me into his room, I didn't say no. And then it became a normal thing. Everything in me flagged it wrong. Chloe didn't deserve this betrayal. But my desires didn't care about rules. And neither does her elder brother. Now, before Christmas lights go down...I'm with child. I only came for peace. But I found obsession, dirty secrets and something way too dangerous to name. This was supposed to be my holiday escape....so why does it feel like the beginning of my doom? Find out what happens next!