Booth Library Hours Novels & Stories

When I was eight months pregnant, my husband's foster sister invited me to hike a snow-covered mountain. Midway up, an avalanche hit. We were both buried. My husband rushed to the scene, but before I could utter a word, his sister accused me: "She planned this! She tricked me into coming today!" I tried desperately to explain. He didn't listen. Instead, he lashed out at me. "Sandra doesn't know any better, but you should! So what if she's blunt? Is this your petty revenge? Your pathetic life couldn't even begin to repay hers if she'd been hurt!" Then he left. Took her hand. Walked away. I screamed after him, begging him to save our baby. He didn't even glance back. Worse, he unhooked my safety harness and shoved me out of the rescue group. "Since you're so clever, find your own way down." Not long after, another avalanche hit. This time, I couldn't get back up. Three hours later, Sandra was in a car accident. She needed a blood transfusion. That's when he finally thought of me. But by then, he didn't know—I was already gone. Me, and the child I'd never hold, were still buried under the snow.

My best friend's boyfriend was cheating, so I tagged along to bust him at a hotel. Fifteen hours until go time. Felicity Cook booked a room right next to Jake's, jaw tight. "They'll be here tonight. When the time comes, we'll catch them red-handed." Inside, I could barely keep my eyes open. She'd been a wreck since last night, and I hadn't slept a minute trying to keep her sane. Figured I had time, so I set an alarm and crashed. When I opened my eyes, a guy was lying next to me. Felicity kicked the door in and pointed at me. "Lydia Lloyd! I can't believe you betrayed me! You're my best friend! Why would you sneak around and steal my boyfriend?" I just stared, mind blank, trying to get words out. She snapped, yanked out a kitchen knife, and in front of everyone, drove it into me again and again. I hit the floor, drowning in my own blood, eyes stuck open like my body refused to let me go. I came here to catch a cheater—how did I end up the side chick? Then I blinked... and I was right back at the moment I first walked into that hotel with Felicity.

After ten years together, Aiden, my Alpha, my first and only love, finally promised to hold the mating ceremony with me during the Spring Hunt Festival. I was overjoyed. That night, at the festival party, I downed a few extra glasses of wine. However, Aiden, who had always been so gentle with me, suddenly became someone I didn't recognize. He scolded me, said I was unfit to be the future Luna if I couldn’t even follow the rules, and shoved me out of the car. Drunk and dazed, I was left alone in the dangerous Shadow Forest. Terrified but unwilling to break, I walked through that forest for five hours in the dead of night. When I finally made it back to our home, I heard him in the other room, sending a voice message to Seraphina, his first love. "If you’re willing to come back," he said, his voice soft and warm, "I’ll do anything for you." Seraphina replied, "Even cancel the mating ceremony?" Time stopped. I silently counted to thirteen. Then, I heard his answer: "Yes." Listening to that voice—the one that used to whisper promises to me—I cried. If that was what he truly wanted, then maybe calling off the ceremony was for the best. So, to spare him the choice, I fled. On the day of our mating ceremony, I disappeared. No one expected what came next. The proud, composed Alpha Aiden went mad trying to find me.

WARNING: This book is unapologetically slutty. ••• “You can fuck me, but only with my mask on.” My boss doesn't know I'm his little wh*re sunshine. ••• Elissa can't remember the last time she got laid by a man. She is too caught up in meeting ends meet, and healing from the trauma caused by her stepmother. But her life changes when she goes to a masquerade ball and her eyes land on the gorgeous mysterious stranger, succumbing to his charm. They have a wild night together, their heated, lustful encounter leaving her breathless and wanting more. However, when dawn breaks, she flees the hotel room, and he is left with only her lingerie and an unrelenting obsession to find her. But when Elissa returns to her normal life, fate brings them together again in a shocking twist: Elissa’s new billionaire boss, Thane, is the mysterious man who has rocked her world. Now, he’s determined to claim her as his own, one sensual seduction at a time. But there’s a catch— he’s unaware that his secretary is the same woman he’s been p*unding at midnight, and Elissa must hide her arousal during work hours, waiting for the clock to strike 3 a.m. when she can transform into masked Cinderella once more. But for how long will it take for her identity to be revealed?

My husband's first love had been trapped in a car for an hour. After they pulled her out, his rage shifted onto me. “It’s your fault she got hurt,” he spat, his eyes blazing as he grabbed me. Before I could make sense of what was happening, he forced me into a wooden box, slamming the lid down with a deafening crack. “You’re going to feel every ounce of the pain she went through,” he hissed, nailing it shut. I pounded on the walls, my screams tearing through the air. “Please, I didn’t do anything! Let me out!” My throat burned with the effort, my fists aching, but nothing stopped him. “Stay in there until you’ve figured out how to act like a decent human being,” he said, his voice cold, dripping with contempt. Hours passed. My body twisted unnaturally in the tight space, bones throbbing as blood smeared the wood beneath me. I whispered into the dark, the pain unbearable. "Please… just let me out…" But he didn’t care. A week later, he returned, his laughter echoing with hers as they entered the house, carefree from their trip. He finally opened the box. But by then, I was already gone. The woman he locked away was no longer breathing, no longer pleading. Just a cold, silent corpse.

My roommate, Sylvia Colman, is the ultimate overachiever at Southend High School. She sleeps only three hours a day and takes first place in every exam throughout all three years of high school. As for me, I'm known as the "sleepy slacker" in our school. I sleep in class, constantly fail exams, and can even fall asleep while walking. My parents are completely disappointed in me. They say I'm a hopeless mess. My childhood friend, Jeffrey Rivers, also turns his back on me. He claims I've fallen too far and becomes Sylvia's die-hard fan instead. But when the dean of studies summons me for a talk to tell me that I face the possibility of being expelled, I accidentally discover the secret behind Sylvia's inexhaustible energy. It turns out she has been transferring all of her exhaustion and drowsiness onto me. She's the one stealing my energy, my grades, and my life! On the night before the SAT, Sylvia confidently stays up all night doing practice papers for one final push before the real deal. I smile slightly as a plan forms in my mind. Inwardly, I sneer, "You despicable thief who stole my life… I have a wonderful surprise in store for you. Stay tuned and accept my gift to you!"

Winter thought she was finally safe. She was wrong. After escaping a violently obsessive ex who controlled, isolated, and hunted her for two years, Winter moves into the fortified Moretti estate with her mother, hoping a new city and a powerful stepfamily will keep her hidden. But safety is an illusion—and predators always recognize their own. From the moment she steps through the iron gates, Winter becomes the focus of three dangerous men: Dante, the cold, controlling eldest who rules through dominance and precision. Kai, the volatile enforcer whose violence is as effortless as his desire. Luca, the gentle-faced strategist whose protection feels disturbingly intimate. When Marcus—Winter’s abusive ex—reappears within hours of her arrival, stalking the mansion and threatening bloodshed, the brothers respond with brutal certainty: Winter is theirs now, and no one touches what belongs to them. As Marcus escalates from messages to violence, Winter finds herself caught between two nightmares—one man who wants to reclaim her through fear, and three men who protect her with possession, control, and force. The Moretti brothers promise safety, but their protection comes at a cost: her freedom, her choices, and possibly her heart. With danger closing in and the line between rescue and captivity blurring, Winter must decide whether the wolves guarding her are saving her life—or simply replacing one cage with another.

Jake Ryan had been best friends with Jay Morgan since they were in middle school. Jake had always valued being an only sibling, especially when Jay’s younger sister, Rachel, was always in the picture. Her personality always rubbed Jake the wrong way, and the fact that she always had to butt into her big brother’s business annoyed him more than he could say. Rachel, on the other hand, had way too much fun bothering Jake, he let it be known that she always rubbed him wrong, and she took great joy in making sure to always let it happen. Even after their drunk, and oh stupid night, she still teased him. But when the Jake came to be her personal one man rescue mission to help her out of a blizzard, she wanted no part of it. And a few minutes too long of arguing and annoying each other meant that they were stuck in her family cabin until help came, if they came. What could happen with two people, who clearly hated each other, were forced to spend the unknown amount of hours together? Could they get over the bickering along enough to figure out how to get help? Could they actually pull together and work through their problems? Better yet, could they finally stop denying the attraction they’ve both buried since high school?

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a baby picture of me that my parents kept hidden. My parents lied to me, I have a twin brother. I sat on my bed staring at the picture. How could they do this to us? I sat there for what felt like hours staring at the picture. I jumped as my mom opened my door. I tried to hide the picture but it was too late she saw it. "Why didn't you tell me?!" I demanded as she sighed. "To protect him," my mom said as I frowned. "I don't believe you!" I yelled as she frowned. "I don't care if you don't believe me but you won't speak of this to anyone!" She snapped ripping the photo from my hand. I got up following her down stares when I saw Drake the Alpha. I quickly ducked as my mom handed me the picture. She smiled at him as he looked at her. "What are you doing here?" "I heard that you know when one or both of the Lycans are," he said as her smile vanished. "I'm sorry but that's not true," she said as they tensed. I felt his anger and impatience. "If you don't tell me I will take you before the pack and kill you, your husband and little Sapphire.

When the criminal tortured me to death, I was three-month pregnant. But my husband Mark - the city's most prominent detective - was at the hospital with his first love Emma, accompanying her for her medical checkup. Three days ago, he demanded me to donate my kidney to Emma. When I refused, telling him I was two months pregnant with our child, his eyes had turned cold. "Stop lying," he had snarled. "You're just being selfish, trying to let Emma die." He pulled over on the dark highway. "Get out," he ordered. "Walk home since you're so heartless. " I stood there in the darkness and was kidnapped by the vengeful criminal, whom Mark had once imprisoned. He cut out my tongue. With cruel satisfaction, he used my phone to call my husband. Mark's response was brief and cold: "Whatever it is, Emma's medical checkup is more important! She needs me right now." The criminal let out a dark chuckle. "Well, well... Seems like the great detective values his ex's life more than his current wife's." When Mark arrived at the crime scene hours later, he was horrified by the brutality inflicted on the corpse. He angrily condemned the murderer for treating a pregnant woman so cruelly But he didn't recognize that the mutilated body before him was his own wife - me.