Blood Meridian Judge Holden

After two years of development, my game finally launched successfully. My wife had promised me a $75,000 bonus, but instead, she gave the entire $750,000 payout to her male secretary, Wayne. All she tossed me was a $50 grocery coupon. "You're just a stay-at-home husband," she said casually. "You don't spend much. Go buy some groceries and cook dinner." I stared at her in disbelief. "That money is for our son's transplant surgery," I said. "If it's delayed for even a few days, he'll die." Her expression did not change. "He's weak. If he dies, he dies," she said flatly. "At least you won't bring any more bad luck into the office and pass it on to Wayne." She turned away, her tone instantly brightening as she talked about taking Wayne out that night to celebrate with a lavish dinner worth tens of thousands of dollars. In that instant, my heart froze. She had forgotten one thing. The game might be registered under her name, but I still held the core encryption key. I picked up the phone and called a rival company. "You've been trying to get Genyxis's core technology for a long time, haven't you?" I asked calmly. "All I want is $75,000, and it’ll be yours.”

Xiyu was born during a blood moon and harnessed great power. But with such power, love doesn't exist in her dictionary. Hurt by her best friend and companion, she isolates herself from the other residents of the island. Until one day, when a stranger and his companions enter the island magically, she finds herself entwined with a fate she never asked for - a one with a cursed man. Can the curse on this trespasser's body nullify her pain of being left behind?

A powerful witch. A cursed vampire. A castle built on blood. And a secret that could destroy them both. Delphine Ashwood has never fit in—not with her coven, not with polite magical society, and certainly not with anyone who prefers witches quiet and predictable. When she’s hired to repair the failing wards of the infamous Castle Thorne, she expects cold stone, ancient curses, and another lonely contract. What she doesn’t expect is him. Theron Valemont, vampire prince and ruler of the forgotten court, is everything she hates: brooding, controlling, and hiding far too many secrets behind those ice-blue eyes. He didn’t summon her—and he wants her gone. But the castle has other plans. As Delphine unravels the threads of the ancient spell holding the fortress—and Theron’s legacy—together, she discovers a power buried beneath the stone. A power tied to her own bloodline. A power that was never meant to wake. Caught in a slow-burning battle between duty, desire, and destruction, Delphine and Theron must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice. Because the truth isn’t just dangerous. It’s hungry.

Charlotte Whitmore is the daughter of a nobody, a hopeless romantic who believes in fairytales and Prince Charming. Fate finally smiles on her when she is contracted to marry the only man she has ever loved—Christian Hale, heir to the billion-dollar Hale Enterprise. But there is a condition: she must keep his fiancée alive. For three years, Charlotte gives her blood, her heart. She endures his coldness, his indifference hoping that one day, he will choose her. But he never does. When the woman in the coma awakens, Charlotte is discarded without hesitation. Secrets begin to unravel, and she realizes her prince was nothing but a beautifully dressed frog all along. Now she must prove to herself that she is more than a substitute bride. More than a tool for family contracts. More than a woman begging to be loved. She asks for a divorce. ******************************************* Christian Hale has always known his duty—to protect his family’s empire at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing his love. Even if it means sacrificing the woman he has loved for years. So when tragedy strikes, he binds himself to guilt and a deal that allows him to keep the love of his life close in the cruelest way. He believes time will give him a chance with her. But his calculated decisions begin to crumble when she finds out about his deal. Now she hates him. He must try to win her love again, even if it means him losing everything he has. And even the woman he loves at the end.

He was supposed to be a pawn. Now I want to make him my king. Eli thought freedom meant escape. But freedom is just another illusion when the devil himself wants you. Trapped between the violent love of the men who broke him and the dangerous allure of the man who owns his next breath, Eli must choose: return to the past that nearly destroyed him… or surrender to the enemy who might ruin him in ways that feel a little too good. Lies. Lust. Power. Obsession. In this game, love isn’t pure. It’s deadly. Elias Carter willingly walked into hell. He sold himself to the Rossi Mafia under the disguise of being a victim when in actuality he was an FBI agent. He planned on taking down the devil, Luca Rossi the Mafia boss, from the inside out but things take an unexpected turn when Luca suddenly becomes interested in Elias and so did his second in command, Matteo Marino. One saw something pure he wanted to tap into and the other saw something pure that he wanted to ruin. Elias becomes entangled in their brutal games, burning touches and whispered threats that set his body on fire. A bond which should have never existed, began to bloom. The truth is exposed and Elias is faced with two impossible options: destroy them or become one of them. Now, his past wants him dead. His future belongs to the people he was meant to destroy. And his heart? It was never his to begin with. He was now trapped in a world where love wasn't soft, it was war. And he lost.

Grace Turner was the picture of suburban perfection—devoted wife, PTA president, and quiet survivor of a loveless marriage. But when her husband’s financial collapse drags her family into ruin, she teams up with her two closest friends for one desperate, reckless act: robbing a neighborhood grocery store. What they didn’t know? The store is a front for a brutal crime syndicate. Now, with the gang’s blood money in their hands, the women are given two choices—work off the debt, or disappear. For Grace, survival means submission to their mysterious leader, Cain Russo—a man as dangerous as he is magnetic. Cold-blooded and commanding, Cain makes it clear: she belongs to him until the debt is paid. But lines blur when power games turn into obsession, and desire burns hotter than fear. As Grace is pulled deeper into Cain’s violent world—and his bed—she’ll have to decide what’s more dangerous: the gang that owns her… or the man who’s claimed her.

My stepsister, Chloe, wanted to test the loyalty of my childhood sweetheart. So she drugged him with a lust potion. Then she threw him in my room. I couldn't watch him suffer. He was spiraling into a bloodlust. For a vampire, that's a death sentence. So I gave him the only cure. Myself. When Chloe found us, she fled in a jealous rage. She married a cursed, brutal king—the Lord of Eternal Night. And he killed her. Julian and I were blood-bound, but he began to hate me. He ignored me for a century. Then a rival clan ambushed us. He shielded me with his body. He burned to ash to save my life. Before he faded, he gave me one last look. "If I could do it all over again, Elena," he whispered, "I never would have needed saving." My world shattered. Darkness took me. I opened my eyes. I was back in Julian's room. On the night it all went wrong.

In Valle Vitale, nothing stays buried. Not blood, not secrets, and certainly not the dead. Auryn was trained to be sharp, silent, and dangerous. Working as a risk analyst for Obsidian—a private security firm that caters to powerful clients with darker secrets than most—was supposed to be her quiet cover. But after a savage attack on her first night, she realizes nothing about Valle Vitale is safe. The creature that mauled her wore a familiar face. The man who saved her is her cold, beautiful billionaire boss—Killian DuskBane, an Halomir. And the people she had spent all her life loathing might be her only hope of surviving what comes next. Something ancient stirs in the dark, something that once shattered the world. And now, it’s calling to her. But she's just the spark. And every faction—Mystic, Halomir, Hollowed, and human, is about to burn.

Epperly Wakes is your typical good girl, she feeds the homeless, volunteers at animal shelters, and reads to the elderly. Hack Hyland is your typical mafia Don, he murders his enemies, keeps his family close, and has billions of dollars. What happens when these two opposites come together? Will the old saying be correct, will opposites attract? Or will it be too much for both?

In a world where power is currency and women are pawns, Ava Campelli has just been sold to the highest bidder through a wedding veil. Born into a legacy of blood and quiet obedience, Ava knew her fate was sealed long before she could dream of escape. When she’s forced to marry Nico Moretti, the cold, ruthless heir to a criminal empire, her life becomes a performance of silence and survival. From the outside, she’s a vision in white. On the inside, she’s breaking. Nico is everything she feared: calculated, controlling, and obsessed with ownership. What begins with a diamond ring and a kiss in front of hundreds quickly descends into possession, manipulation, and brutal expectations behind closed doors. His touch is demanding, his love conditional, and Ava is expected to be the perfect wife—seen, not heard. But behind the carefully painted smile and submissive posture, something dangerous is beginning to stir in Ava. Each cruel word, every forced touch, is a spark. And one day soon, she may burn the whole kingdom down. A story of power, pain, and the quiet beginnings of rebellion—Bound By Blood and Vows is a haunting tale of a girl who learns that surviving is only the beginning and if she can't win his heart, then she will steal it when she leaves.