An Open Mind Is Like A Fortress

This story takes place in the same universe as my other story, Little Red Riding Witch. This is the story of a one-night stand that turns into a fated/forbidden romance. Sammy and Delilah spend a weekend in bed one summer only to have Delilah disappear without a trace. 4 years later, Sammy receives a scholarship and entrance college. When he gets there, he will discover that his professor is his one-night stand. Things immediately heat up between the two of them as they are both drawn to one another. Sammy also meets a nice girl, Stacy Monroe. This will create a love triangle between Sammy, Delilah, and Stacy. Delilah also gets blackmailed by a coworker putting another wedge between her and Sammy. They will connect, break up and reconnect throughout the book as they discover truths and come to an understanding. People Sammy knows will begin dying around Santa Cruz. Delilah will tell Sammy the truth about her nature, but he won't believe her until his family reveals that they hunt monsters like her. His family is part of a secret society of demon hunters who are descended from the archangel Michael. Sammy is a special hunter, The Innocent, who can call the fiery blade to smite demons. Behind the scenes, there is a secret benefactor working to bring Sammy into this world of supernatural creatures. They are the ones who paid for his school tuition and set him up to be reunited with Delilah. They are part of a cult that wants to bring about the end of everything and sees the union between Samson (a descendent of Angels) and Delilah (a demon succubus) as the way to make this happen. Their future child holds the key to our future. A fated romance with a dark twist.

3 years ago, the Southern witch sealed the mate bond between Dylan and me with her spell. She said that if we still truly loved each other after 3 years, the bond would remain. Otherwise, it would be broken. During these years, I helped him become the Alpha of our pack as his Luna. But in his heart, there was someone else, his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor. When Eleanor found out that we had started our mate bond, she chose to leave with another werewolf. Dylan was drunk and cried out her name in my arms. His wolf claws scratched me. At that moment, my arm was bleeding, so was my heart. But I believed that he would gradually fall in love with me as time went on. I thought 3 years would be quite enough for that. When the 3 years are almost up, Eleanor returned. Dylan dropped an important meeting to meet with her. We lost $2 billion because of that. Dylan started being by her side every day, just like before. I used to be so afraid that when the time came, we wouldn’t be in love, and that I might lose Dylan. 7 days later, our mate bond would be gone. This time, I didn’t care anymore. It was just a countdown for me to become the Alpha Queen of my own pack.

Evonne Shannon was a poor student mother sponsored. She was also the crush I had been courting for a long time. Wanting to allow her to shine, I gave up my place in the piano competition for her. However, she glared at me with disdain for deciding this on my own. She then instantly turned around and handed the registration form to her boyfriend, Angelo Zambrano, and said, "Ange, only you deserve this competition." Evonne liked sports cars, so I begged my mother to buy her a limited-edition McLaren supercar. But in return, Evonne mocked me and called me shallow. "Don't think I'll accept you just because I'm accepting the car, Chase Shannon. You've never understood me." With my help, Evonne got to put on a facade of a mysterious billionaire's daughter. But the moment she got money from me, she turned around and went on a romantic getaway with Angelo. I thought of Evonne as my everything and even asked my mother to arrange for her to join the family company. Within half a year, she was promoted to a core team member. She then conspired with Angelo to drain the company dry and even forced me to my death. "What else can you do besides insult me with money and a materialistic lifestyle, Chase? You're the most disgusting obstacle on my path to success. Only when you're dead can I marry Ange," she declared. I was heartbroken when I heard this, and that was when Evonne pushed me off the sidewalk and into traffic. Immediately after that incident, I was reincarnated to the day I bought Evonne a piano. She was glaring at me with disdain. "If you don't want to buy it, just say so. There's no need to humiliate me like this." I let out a dismissive scoff. "Am I the one who's humiliating you, or are you the shameless one? You beg for food but complain that it's cold. You're worse than those stray dogs on the streets. At least they show gratitude after getting scraps."

Serene’s heart raced as she stood in Nicholas’s dimly lit study, the scent of leather and whiskey heavy in the air. She’d been dusting the bookshelves when he entered, his presence filling the room like a storm. Now, he stood inches away, his black suit hugging his broad shoulders, his dark mullet framing a gaze that burned with intent. “You missed a spot,” he murmured, his voice a low growl, pointing to a shelf she’d already cleaned. Her cheeks flushed as she turned, the hem of her maid uniform riding up her thighs. “I-I’ll get it, Mr. Volkov,” she stammered, reaching up, but his hand caught her wrist, firm yet gentle. “No,” he said, stepping closer, his breath warm against her ear. “Let me show you.” His fingers slid down her arm, leaving a trail of heat, before guiding her hand to the shelf. His chest pressed against her back, and she gasped at the hardness of his body, the evidence of his arousal unmistakable. “You’re trembling, little maid,” he whispered, his lips brushing her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “Do I scare you… or do I excite you?” Her breath hitched as his free hand trailed up her thigh, slipping beneath the lace of her uniform. “Mr. Volkov…” she whimpered, but her protest melted into a moan as his fingers found her, teasing her through the thin fabric of her panties. “ Nicholas,” he corrected, his voice rough with desire, his touch growing bolder, circling her most sensitive spot until her knees buckled. “Say it,” he demanded, nipping her earlobe. “N-Nicholas,” she gasped, her body arching into him, surrendering to the fire he’d ignited. In that moment, the billionaire and his naive maid were bound by a hunger neither could deny.

The most powerful Godfather in the mafia underworld—Dante Costello—had an expensive diamond signet ring custom-made to fit my finger perfectly and sent straight to our home. He said that whoever could wear the ring would become the lady of his family. The Monroe family had long since fallen from grace. All that remained were four women. On ordinary days, we fought endlessly, tearing each other apart. Every single one of us wanted to marry Dante because marrying him meant preserving a life of dignity and comfort. In the first life, the fake heiress, Blair, secretly had the ring resized smaller and married into the family. Dante took one look at her, then had her thrown into the river to drown. “Not her.” In the second life, my cousin, Chloe, underwent plastic surgery to alter her fingers and force the ring on. Dante gifted her a staged car accident. “Still not her.” In the third life, my stepmother, Catherine, clenched her teeth and forced the ring onto her finger. Her blood hadn’t even dried when she married Dante. He coldly slashed her face, then locked her in the basement, where she slowly wasted away until death. By the fourth life, all three of them were terrified. None of them dared to marry him anymore, so they hurriedly pushed me forward instead. I put on the ring. This time, the size was perfect. Just when I thought my good days had finally begun, Dante stabbed me to death on our wedding night, his eyes burning red with madness. After my rebirth, the consigliere of the Dante family delivered the ring once again. This time, all four of us avoided it like the plague.

"Married?" I smiled wryly. "Are you referring to that miserable marriage?" All I remember is that marriage is hell-like suffering. Even I can still feel the pain, disappointment, and betrayal Ash Knight inflicted on me. So, why did he have to bring up that fucking marriage when we had been separated for so long. For years I loved him and he threw me away like trash. And he came back and tried to hurt me again. "I can even make her kneel at my feet with just a few sweet words. She is just a woman who is crazy about me even though I have done many things, she will still love me like a loyal female dog," Ash Knight said. I, Freya Loraine, swear revenge on Ash Knight. He is nothing but my ex husband who wants me back.

His body pressed me against the wall, his breath hot against my ear. “You would make a good little wife,” Damon whispered, his fingers tilting my chin until I had no choice but to meet his piercing gaze. “And maybe you should...” “I would never marry a man like you!” I spoke very firmly. And yet… my heart betrayed me, racing like it remembered a night I swore I’d buried forever. --- The first night I sold myself, it was supposed to be the last. My father had just died, the debts were drowning me, and desperation drove me into a stranger’s bed. One night. One mistake. One child I never planned for. Three years later, I’ve clawed my way through college, fought to survive, and built a life for my daughter. Now I work for Damon Blackwell—the most ruthless billionaire in America. Cold, arrogant, and addictively dangerous. Then he corners me with a shocking proposition: to be his pretend wife for a year. But how could I? How could I offer my daughter a temporary fatherhood? But Damon doesn't care. And when he meets my little girl, everything shifts. Her allergies, her quirks, her smile… everything about her was so similar to him. And suddenly, I’m staring at the man I fear and desire most, wondering... What are the odds that this man standing before me is the same man from three years ago?

“And the night we met again,” I whisper, “my wolf recognized you.” Silence. “Recognized me how?” she asks carefully. My chest burns even as my pulse thunders in my ears. “As my mate.” The word falls between us like shattered glass. Avara laughs. “That’s not funny.” “I know.” “You’re my brother.” “I know.” I find myself inching closer… closer. “That’s impossible. This is sick.” “I know,” I say again, voice breaking now. “I fought it. Gods, I fought it. I tried to convince myself my instincts were wrong, that my wolf was broken, that I was losing my mind.” Her hands shake. “Stop.” “I can’t,” I say hoarsely. “Because every second I’m near you, it gets worse. Because my wolf wants to kneel at your feet and tear the world apart to protect you.” Avara stands abruptly, backing away until her spine hits the wall. “You’re lying.” “I wish I were.” …………………………… Fifteen years after vanishing from the Silvermoon pack, Kaeden Vane returns, older, lethal, and right on time at thirty-three, the age decreed by the Moon Goddess for succession, having spent years years amassing forbidden knowledge, mastering dangerous magic, and preparing to destroy his father, the man who murdered his mother in a bid for godhood. His return reunites him with Avara Vane, his seemingly fragile, human adopted sister that Silas, their father, adopted as an ‘act of mercy’. She is a Nyxarel, whose parents were slaughtered by the man she calls father and who has been conveniently placed and subdued by his father, until it is the right time to use her blood to attain immortality. And one touch is all it takes for Kaeden’s wolf to recognize her as his mate, an impossible, unforgivable bond…

It was the night of my husband's and my third anniversary, and I had gotten home early. I caught him in bed with another woman—for the tenth time. But unlike the previous times, I did not throw a tantrum. I even closed the door to the master bedroom quietly, not wanting to interrupt. In Scott Jameson's eyes, I had no choice but to tolerate his cheating because I became Mrs. Jameson by getting pregnant with his child. Three months later, he flung divorce papers at me. "My young lover wants me to give her a home and to bear my son. Sign the papers." I looked into his cold, distant eyes and said with conviction, "All right. All I want is custody of our son. I don't want a cent of the Jamesons' money." The court proceedings were difficult, and I was accused of being mentally unstable. Many people made fun of me for not knowing my place. All of Cloverton was waiting for me to humiliate myself, counting the seconds until a nobody like me succumbed to desperation. However, I fought the case with everything I had. Eventually, I was finally able to leave with my son. No one knew that Scott suffered from a serious case of asthenozoospermia. His sperm were completely useless. No other woman could have Scott's baby except me, as I happened to be unusually fertile. My son would be the only heir to the Jameson family legacy.

“I, Arnold Allirick, reject Daisy as my mate.” He was determined and he was not going to change this at all. He made his decision and he was not going to change his decision at any cost. Her mate rejected her only because she was naive and never learnt using her powers. Being brought up by a human couple, she embraced only human life. It was none of his fault, but Arnold, who was the next Alpha, wanted a mate who was fit to be the next Luna. Without helping Daisy, he rejected her outright. Just because his father wanted it. His father's wish was to have a daughter-in-law who would be as intelligent and wonderful as his wife, and not as naive as Daisy. After breaking up with this rejection, Daisy no longer wanted to move forward. Her wish was to live like a common human and this was the reason why she accepted Arnold's rejection. But the reason for which she let Arnold go, the same reason now seemed useless to her. Daisy agrees to resume her life following the command of the wolf inside her, but the Moon Goddess might not have wanted that. Moon Goddess had to pay for what happened to Daisy, and maybe that's why Ahaz came into her life. Daisy starts liking him even though she does not want to, but the problem was that Ahaz was a Vampire Prince. Will Daisy now be able to take the risk of falling in love with Ahaz after knowing his secret?