Baldi Basics 1st Prize

---> if you are interested in my work, please check out my novel The Starving Vulture. Available on Amazon, $3.99 for the Ebook and $14.95 for the Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Starving-Vulture-Miguel-Monta%C3%B1a/dp/1951150899<--------- Aster Likaya is a Battle Mage of the Zeraph Republic. Raised in a military family, she was destined for a life on the front. As a Battle Mage she has mastered the art of Controlling. A simple but effective kind of magic that is necessary when one bonds and commands the essential robotic warmachines of her world. The Gearbanes. And now, she is a Captain. But much to her surprise, she is not handed a company but a unit of stoic and silent soldiers that call themselves DragonWolves. Her second in command, is Lieutenant Able Froster, young but grim faced soldier who has seen combat since he was barely a boy. For their first mission, they are given a simple task. Retrieve an agent of the Republic who is lost in the vast swampland known as the Suha Marshes. Little do they know, that they are not the only factions searching for the man. For in the Suha Marshes, hunt the cannibalistic Birchmen and the Kolysian pirates. All eager for the prize the agent carries. This is the world of Likaya and Froster. Dominated by machines powered by magic, weapons ignited by runes and wars fought over ancient relics forged by a forgotten past. Welcome to Likaya's Wolves.

“To escape a monster, she ran straight into the arms of a devil.” Lila Vance was a debt payment. Wrapped in fifty thousand dollars of French lace, she was minutes away from marrying Marcus Thorne—a man who whispered that she was nothing more than his "property." But Lila refused to be broken. With a ripped dress and a heart full of terror, she bolts from the altar and into the private elevator of the Grand Imperial Hotel. When the doors open, she finds herself in the lion’s den: the penthouse of Adrian Sterling, her fiancé’s most lethal rival. Adrian is a man carved from shadows and sin, a billionaire "Shark" who destroys legacies for sport. When Marcus comes to claim his prize, Adrian offers Lila a choice: go back to the man who will break you, or sign a one-year marriage contract with the man who will own you. As the line between their fake vows and real desire begins to blur, Lila must face a terrifying truth: Adrian Sterling didn't save her out of mercy. He saved her because she is the final piece in a game of revenge he’s been playing for years. In a game of power, who will be the first to break?

Paige Aviva thought she had it all love, stability, and a marriage others admired. But everything falls apart on her fifth wedding anniversary when anonymous photos reveal her husband, Ethan, in an intimate act with her best friend. Her heartbreak deepens when she discovers her younger sister is pregnant with his second child only weeks after Ethan coerced her into aborting theirs. Crushed by betrayal and grief, Paige tries to end her life. But a mysterious, powerful stranger named Raymond stops her at the cliff’s edge, offering her an unusual bargain: he’ll give her the power to make everyone who hurt her suffer if she agrees to his terms. Paige signs a contract, unknowingly stepping into a world of werewolves, mate bonds, ancient curses, and dangerous secrets. As she becomes entangled with Raymond and later discovers he has a vengeful twin, Ryan, Paige learns she is no ordinary woman. She’s a cursed wolf with rare powers, a prize everyone wants to control or destroy. Torn between love, revenge, and survival, Paige must choose who to trust, embrace her true nature, and fight for her life and the life of the child she never expected to carry.

"Our heart beats only with their permission." For as long as she can remember, the bookworm Synecdoche Rochet, 23, has lived a simple life in Maharlika Nation—hiding in the grasses and grains of District G to avoid the terrifying power of the Embassy and its ruthless Ambassador. In a dystopian world that is controlled with surveillance, Synecdoche Rochet embarks on a mission to get back their rights on their district's valuable resources—the grains. When she discovered her intellectual ability, she found herself drawn to the charismatic Giovanni, the long-lost Ambassador's privileged son together with other intelligent students, Ulap, Token, and Keithwarth. They found themselves being the tributes on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling TwistBee—trapped in the Word Arena. An annually commemorated game where each district will represent one letter in the Alphabet, spell the given English words not verbally, but by beating other competitors who have letter tattoos on their arms. The rules are to Spell and beat them. Within the competitor's reach, the team-up of Synecdoche, Giovanni, Ulap, Token, and Keithwarth isn't a coincidence, it's a conspiracy. What if Synecdoche's age will be reversed? Will they use their intelligence for vengeance? Will they compel love and trust to survive the competition? Is their life the price or the prize? "Even the shortest word has the longest meaning."

Lila Williams is an up-coming actress but for five years she chose to focused on her husband as a faithful and devoted wife, giving up on her career and helping her husband achieve his goal which was being the CEO of his father's company at an early age. She had it all, the perfect husband and life too, well so she thought. Unknown to her, her husband was having an affair with her own sister, which is also carrying his child. Lila decided the best way to mend her shattered heart is by destroying the one thing he holds more important than anything else: his career. Nicholas Fernando is a billionaire first generation American; he knows the value of hard work and doing what it takes to survive. His entire life has been geared to the moment he can take the Williams company away from the corrupted men who once left his family homeless. When Lila Williams approaches the billionaire to bribe him with information set to ruin her ex-husband, Nicholas Fernando is chomping at the bit to take everything the William's prize including Lila. A story of love, revenge and healing needs to start somewhere and Lila's pain is the catalyst to the wildest roller coaster ride of her life. Let the bribery begin.

I watch as he gently places the gun on the table. Seconds tick by a heavy silence filling the room. He takes a stand and makes his way to me. He takes a stance behind my chair and places his firm arms on my armchair, caging me. I bask in his scent and warmth. "You choose now Lana, here and now." He whispers into my ear. His traces my knuckles before grabbing my notebook out of my hands, and tossing it on the table. "I wasn't done with that." I say. He laughs, I feel his chest rumble as he laughs. I turn to face him, feeling my breaths shorten with each passing second. "Eyes on the prize, Lana." He turns my head back towards the table. "You choose the notebook you can go back to living your life in fear and delusion, then one day end up dead in a dumpster or," He brushes a strand of hair from my face, " You could pick up the gun and hunt your past which shall it be Lana?" I feel beads of sweat on my back and my anxiety prickling through my skin. I have to choose, here and now. I extend my hand and pick my choice.

"Our heart beats only with their permission." For as long as she can remember, the bookworm Synecdoche Rochet, 23, has lived a simple life in Maharlika Nation—hiding in the grasses and grains of District G to avoid the terrifying power of the Embassy and its ruthless Ambassador. In a dytopian world that is controlled and opressed, Synecdoche Rochet embarks on a mission to get back their rights on their district's valuable resources—the grains. When she discovered her intellectual ability, she found herself drawn to the charismatic Giovanni, the long-lost Ambassador's previleged son together with other intelligent students, Ulap, Token and Keithwarth. They found themselves being the tributes on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling TwistBee—trapped in the Word Arena. An annually commemorated survival game where each district will represent 1 letter in the Alphabet, spell the given English words not verbally, but by brutal killings of other competitors who have letter tattoos on their arms. The rules are to Spell and Kill. Within the killer's reach, the team-up of Synecdoche, Giovanni, Ulap, Token and Keithwarth isn't a coincidence, it's a conspiracy. What if Synecdoche's age will be reversed? Will they use their intelligence for vengeance? Will they compel love and trust to survive the battle royale? Is their life the price or the prize? "Even the shortest word has the longest meaning. Spell the words and kill with swords!"

At the company holiday party raffle, I'd barely stepped on stage when my superior, Victor Grant, shoved a crumpled slip into my hand. "Special prize for our top sales guy. Go on, open it. Let's show everyone." All eyes were on me as I unfolded it. Scrawled across the paper: [VIP janitor status unlocked—every toilet in the company, three days.] The room lost it—laughter everywhere. Victor crossed his arms, grinning. "Fair, right? Everyone knows you climbed the ranks hooking up with rich cougars. Gotta avoid hard feelings for the others, yeah? While the rest of us take a break, you can get busy. You're not gonna back out, are you?" The crowd cracked up. My girlfriend—and CEO—Rachel Sullivan stood off to the side, watching. Didn't say a word. Everyone waited for me to explode. Instead, I just nodded. Next day, over 300 refund requests hit. Cash flow flatlined. Victor and Rachel begged me to talk the buyers down. I shrugged. "Nah. Don't wanna save the company and make my performance too good. That'd just cause more ' hard feelings,' right?"

He claimed her for revenge. He kept her for the sin. Isabella was stolen a beautiful, defiant prize taken as part of Alessandro De Luca's brutal revenge. Alessandro De Luca is a king among shadows, a ruthless Capo whose empire is built on blood, lies, and the ashes of his enemies. He is a man who takes what he wants, and what he wants now is retribution. His perfect pawn? Isabella the defiant, stunning daughter of the man who took everything from him. Dragged from her gilded cage and into his lavish, terrifying world, she is meant to be his trophy, his torment, and the ultimate symbol of his victory. But a pawn with fire in her veins is impossible to control. She is forbidden. Addictive. Dangerous. With every heated glance and accidental brush of skin, Isabella threatens to unravel the cold calculation in him, tearing down the walls of the devil he's become... or awakening something even darker. Their deadly game of ownership and defiance is quickly complicated by a new, more venomous threat: Alessandro’s twin brother. Twisted, obsessive, and hellbent on tearing his world apart, the only thing his brother craves more than Alessandro’s throne is the woman Alessandro has claimed. With enemies closing in on every side, the stakes are simple: Betrayal is certain. Survival is not. Desire is a trap that could kill them both.

Renee, a Disney and Harry Potter aficionado, is not your average girl. Beneath her nerdy exterior lies a secret - she is a rare breed of wolf. To protect herself, she must pretend to be wolf-less, a facade that subjects her to relentless bullying. Her first mate, who once shared clandestine moments with her, rejects her when she reveals their fated connection. His rejection is not of her wolf identity, but of her nerdy quirks, claiming he was only after one thing. Heartbroken, Renee leaves behind her past and embarks on a new journey, starting a catering business. It’s here that she encounters Jace, her second chance mate who has been patiently waiting for his destined partner. But just as things start looking up, her past resurfaces. Her former mate reappears, and she finds herself the prize in a competition between two Alphas. However, only one truly values her, nerdy quirks and all. The other, having discovered her true identity, is playing a dangerous game of deception. As Renee navigates this complex love triangle, she must decide who to trust and who to love. But the question remains: Will Renee choose the one who loves her for who she truly is or fall prey to the deceptive games of her past? The answer lies within the unfolding chapters of her life.