Artemis Gifts

“Are you reading my mind right now?” he asks me while coming closer. “No, I am not.” “I wish you were. So that you can know how you have consumed my mind, how much I think about you. How I want to hold you and care for you. This is what has been going through my mind from the first day I saw you at our border with a protruding belly.” *** Lyra thought marriage to the Alpha would be her salvation, a chance to escape her father’s suffocating control. But when she overhears a deadly plan—one that marks her and her unborn child as pawns in a sinister power play—she makes the only choice that can save her life. With nothing but a cloak to hide her secret and no one to trust, Lyra runs. In a world where loyalty is tested and alliances shift like shadows, Lyra finds refuge in a rival pack, only to uncover gifts she never knew she possessed. But as her powers grow, so do the dangers lurking in the dark. While Damian, her estranged husband, searches for answers about his missing wife and child, and the truth behind his parents’ deaths—an even greater threat looms over them all. Yet some secrets refuse to stay hidden.

In the eighth year of our secret office marriage, Marvin lit up every LED screen in Ocean City, just to make his little assistant smile. Amidst the well-wishes from everyone, the assistant cheerfully handed out gifts to the entire office. I casually tossed my gift into the trash. The assistant immediately ran to Marvin's office, tears streaming down her face, to report me. Moments later, Marvin, furious, suspended me from my position. As I walked out of the company building, Marvin's voice echoed from the loudspeakers on the top floor. "Celebrating Wendy's successful completion of her work, the gift is ready!" Wendy—was the assistant's name. As I watched the crowd rush past me, I calmly cut all ties with Marvin. This hidden marriage had come to an end.

Sophia was forced to marry a man she never loved just to stop her father from going to jail. The marriage however turned out to be a living hell after she discovered a painful truth that destroyed her. Sophia usually gets home late from work every day with expensive gifts, looking so flashy. She starts getting cold with Shawn, disrespecting him as though he never meant anything to her. He reported Sophia to Joana, her cousin, but she denied her involvement. Sophia kept her secret affair with Mathew away from everyone. Shawn stopped worrying about her mischief and decided to carry out his investigation on her. On her way to work, he trailed her movement and found Sophia heading to a different route. He was confused and kept trialing and behold, her cab alighted in front of a big mansion. Shawn was devastated and knew his girlfriend was cheating on him. He took a photo of her for evidence and returned home, disclosing it to Joana, her cousin. Hard for her to believe, they waited for Sophia to return. As usual, she returned very late. Shawn confronted her and accused her of cheating, but she denied it until he showed her the evidence. She was stunned! She had no idea Shawn trailed her. Frustrated by her act, Shawn beats Sophia to a pulp and throws her out of his house. Now his father's words were starting to get to him. He regretted not listening to his father. Sophia left his apartment in pain and went crying in Matthew's arms.

Isabella Dean was uprooted from her life north of Atlanta at the beginning of her senior year of high school after a tragic accident that killed her father. Her mother took her to live with her aunt, Linda, in Asheville, NC where she was welcomed immediately by the school bully. This encounter got Isabella immediately recognized by a group of girls who befriended her and took her in as one of their friends. As she adjusted to her new life, she continued to have to protect herself from the bully, Lucy Upshaw, and recover from a hidden brain injury sustained in the accident. While in the hospital, she died and returned changed and with gifts she had to learn to live with. She discovered along with her new friend, Amber Collins, that her house was haunted by a mysterious girl. She and Amber also rescued a group of girls from sex traffickers and helped the victims flee. She and her friends helped get them adopted by local families, but they also had to deal with the bigotry of some people who didn’t like that some of the girls were transgender and genetically modified by their assailants. Isabella, meanwhile, had to deal with her own problems with her mother and recover from her surgery while still being attacked by Lucy. This is just the beginning for these girls who learn how to fight ghosts and demons with the help of their Native American friend, Winona. They learn to use their talents to help others deal with things that go bump in night.

Love. Duty. Valor. Secrets & Betrayals *** In the Kingdom of Vakythia, power cleaves the populace into two distinct classes: the Blessed, wielding gifts granted by the Ember, and the ordinary citizens, devoid of such divine favor. Arwyn Balchor, a rebellious girl and a blessed healer, finds her life intertwined with that of Thrystan Gaelen, the Fire Prince and future king of Vakythia— propelling her from the shantytown of Wyrm to the opulent palace. But blending in is a fragile thing, especially with a watchful enemy lurking in the shadows, poised to sabotage her every move. And as if that weren't enough, she unwittingly captures the attention of the Prince Thrystan Gaelan. Amidst swirling palace politics and brewing tensions, Arwyn begins to experience haunting visions linked to the plague ravaging a part of the Kingdom and a mysterious woman. As the kingdom prepares for the grand annual Sun Festival, an insidious threat looms closer, with the plague creeping ever nearer to the Capital.

Zelena Artemis Caitlin Harris is a typical girl who loves her family so much. Dahil para sa kaniya, pamilya ang dapat na inuuna nino man. Kahit pa ang ibig sabihin nito ay ibenta niya ang sarili niya sa iba para lamang masuportahan ang kaniyang ina, at dalawang nakababatang kapatid. Si Zeno Black ay isang binatang bilyonaryo at kinatatakutan ng lahat. He's a ruthless, wicked Mafia Boss, and he is the boss of a mafia group called the Blacks. Everything was fine until Zelena came to Zeno's club, and free herself for a night. Pero paggising niya kinaumagahan, isang estranghero ang tumambad sa kanyang mukha. Hindi rin naman maikakailang sa una nilang pagkikita ay nagkagusto sa kanya ang binata. At dahil doon, naisipan ni Zeno ang isang kakaibang bagay. Ang gawing playmate sa kama si Zelena na nakita niya sa bar. And Zelena always deem na wala lang ang nangyari sa kanila, but everything will takes place as she start unraveling the truth about her life, and his dad who was killed when she was a child. Little did she know na ang pagkikita nila ng lalaki ang tuluyang magpapabago sa buhay niya. Because Zeno's father was the one who killed her dad, and what upsets her more is Zeno hid it to her, but despite of that she believes him. But no, everything was just a plan, a mafia group called Dritt Organization planned it all. All the killings were their doing, they set up everything--from start to finish. And when Zelena and Zeno knew it, they start eliminating the group, they start working together. Once and for all, all the beginnings has an ending, for some is a tragic ending, but on their love story, it is magically a happy ending.

From the beginning, it was clear what Avara Latimer's fate would be. Since her birth, every aspect of her life has been planned with precision. Avara's life was one of pure indulgence, with the villagers showering her with the best of everything to ensure the god's favor. However, there was an ulterior motive behind the gifts, and it wasn't given out of kindness. Her island home thrived with life, and to ensure its continuous abundance, she was chosen as a bridal sacrifice for the malevolent dragon god, Kagran, who lived up the mountains. But with rations running low and some of the villagers growing more resentful of her privileges, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to leave the village. And just as she had feared, her worst nightmare became a reality. On a cold winter's night they come and take her from her home, leaving her to brave the unforgiving mountains alone - a whole year before the sacrifice was planned.

The seventh time Claire Fisher bailed on our marriage license appointment, I finally cut her out of my life—for good. From then on, if she was at a party, I wasn't. When she was scheduled to perform at our college's anniversary celebration, I made sure to leave early. The moment my company announced a collaboration with hers, I resigned without a second thought. Even on Christmas Eve, when she showed up at my parents' house with gifts, I slipped out with a half-hearted excuse about "visiting a friend." I blocked her number. Deleted her from my contacts. Burned every bridge and salted the earth behind me. No calls. No texts. No social media. I didn't reach out. She couldn't reach me. Simple as that. For the better part of my life, I was hopelessly in love with her—waiting on her, caring for her, putting her first in every way that mattered. I gave her all of me without ever holding back. But after the seventh time she left me sitting alone at the City Hall, something inside me broke. I was done. If that meant spending the rest of my life alone, so be it. Better that than sitting in an empty apartment, listening to the silence, holding on to hope for someone who never planned to show up.

On her 21st birthday, as a college student with a limited amount of money, her best friend Alissa sent out 10 invitations to 10 billionaires hoping for a few little gifts and/or money. They received 7 gifts from 7 billionaires but 3 gifts were especially unique... The billionaires themselves, The Crown Brothers.

“Are you here to save me?” I asked bitterly, thinking of the look in my father’s eyes as he tried to wring the life out of me. “Or are you just here to bring me gifts and false hope?”The stranger didn’t answer, but I could feel his presence as he approached. Still, I didn’t turn to face him, even when I felt a warm, gentle hand squeeze my shoulder.Abused. Neglected. Caged. That’s how Princess Ember, the daughter of the Alpha King of Allusia, has spent her young life. Sold like chattel to another Alpha in exchange for the promise of warriors for her father against an uprising, Ember’s life feels like it might be over. But a stranger comes to her in the night, her only refuge from the daily attacks from her father. Will he be her savior? Or will she just find herself in another gilded cage?An Alpha for the Stolen Princess is created by Claire Wilkins, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.