Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards For Short Story

Adriano Ferrari is the Capo of the Lato Oscuro Mafia organization. As, Capo one thing that is expected of him is that he must have a wife. He begrudgingly agrees to take a wife and he struggles to make the marriage work as he feels like marriage was a big waste of time. He also has a lot of darkness and skeletons in his closet that he's afraid to bring her into. Ismeralda Romano is the daughter of the Consigliere of the Lato Oscuro. Like every girl in the Mafia, she is to be married off by the time she is eighteen. Ismeralda has already prepared herself for marriage but what she didn't prepare herself for was that she would be married to a stone, cold-hearted man who would by all means push her away. Ismeralda vows to make her marriage work and she makes it her goal to show Adriano the brighter things in life. In their crazy world, will her plan to save her husband and her marriage work?

__________________ Ivy Reed, a twenty year old with a haunting past. Ace Romano, the Italian mafia boss and also Ivy's brother's best friend who instantly takes a liking in Ivy when he first sees her.

Stella Louisse Ocampo is a cheater, Janeah Mitch Tan is a two timer, Angel Clarisse Aquino is a second lover, Athena Elyse Fuego is a user and Athena Hope Monterverde is a destroyer. Stella knows that they have different paths as they crossed the bridge called 'love. In Isla Del Mundo where everything seems so free, will Stella and the rest of the team be able to finally cure their hearts and flee?

Princess Arielle, that's what she's been called her whole life. She's brave, disciplined, upthight and beautiful. When a threat is made to her life, Princess Arielle becomes Marissa, a common maid to the very enemy who threatened her life. Prince Scott, the guy every girl wants. Fun-loving, Care-free, Impulsive. In other words Arielle's opposite. When Scott goes on a business trip to Revillon he finds himself enthralled with his maid who seems like more than he can handle. Trouble arises when Prince Scott falls in love with the very lady, he came to get help to destroy.

She was paid to make him fall in love with her, marry her and then disappear. Just when she thought things would go well and she would be over and done with her six months deal, Ria Gabriel found herself deep rooted and unable to untangle herself from the love web.

Alaia finally had enough of her boyfriend and decided to run. so far she had succeeded in running from her demons, till she bump into this beautiful demon who wouldn't let her run ten feet away from him, before he comes wrapping his arms around her. Alpha Brandon, the Alpha of the Europe and Africa, finally see what he has been searching for for decades and he is not ready to let go if even if she decides to run.

When the three famous celestial brothers—Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon—have their divine attributes ripped away, there is almost nothing left with them as they become mere humans. Not until a mortal woman, Rheis, adopts them as her sons. Their lives abruptly change from having no omnipotent powers or worshippers to becoming heirs to billions upon billions of properties. And while on a family trip in Italy, the brothers receive an invitation to an exclusive elite party called the Lupercalian Twist, which takes place every fifteen years on the fifteenth of February. The main highlight of the event involves the men being randomly paired with a woman they have never met before. Each bachelor is being demanded to win the woman's heart before the event ends, otherwise, they risk losing all of their possessions to the institution. As the event requires Hades the need for a wife, no one appears to be eligible for him except for a woman he met by chance before and that is Stephenie. But how far Hades can go risking everything he has to win Stephenie's heart when her ex-fiancé unexpectedly reappears to steal his wife?

She was deceived by people who were wolves in sheep's clothing and ended up dead on the operating table with both her eyes and uterus removed. However, God was kind enough to give her a second chance of life. She was gifted with ethereal beauty and a gaze that could kill. Every gesture and expression she made was as poisonous as opium poppy. Step by step, she laid out her scheme, swore to send people who murdered her down to hell and suffer in eternal doom. At the same time, she took great lengths to insinuate herself in the life of her ex-fiancé after breaking off the engagement in her past life for the douchebag. One day, she approached him with a seductive smile and said, "Mr. Gu, you might view me as wild and promiscuous, but in reality, I am a well-mannered lady. I am also loyal and faithful to my loved one. You will have to see past this facade in order to know the real me."

Chloe was just 16 when her parents woke her in the middle of the night with their screams. When she went to see what was wrong there was a tall figure in the dark, standing on its hind legs yet looked like a beast with piercing amber eyes staring down at her parent before slashing though them. Chloe screamed and when they caught eyes something screamed to her to "RUN". So she ran, out the back door and into the woods behind her house. The voice in her head screaming to her to keep running and so she did, as fast as she could without looking back. Suddenly she could hear something running towards her, getting closer and closer till she was finally caught. Screaming and thrashing as best as she could til hearing a voice telling her to calm down. She looked up at him, he looked concerned and she was terrified. Panicking, looking around her and seeing nothing but darkness except this man holding her, she passed out in his arms. He looked down to her, brushing her hair from her face, lifting her and carrying her to the pack doctor. He could sense her wolf but was unsure of where she had come from.

The story revolves around Olivia, the abandoned daughter of an Alpha. She is treated badly and has to run away from the pack when the ill treatment became too much. Her life changes when she mistakenly hides at the evil forest and she is taken by a werewolf, Augustus. He had been cursed and unless he finds Olivia in each lifetime, he would live like a wild animal in the bush. Olivia tried all her best to run away from him but all attempts proved abortive and at the end of the day, Augustus told her that for every time he has to find her and be with her, if not, he would be condemned to a life of loneliness and doom. At the end, Olivia stayed with Augustus and fell in love with him after rejecting him for several months. Augustus took Olivia back to his pack and she was shocked to see that he was the revered Lycan king. She is extremely happy and at the end of the day, her status is elevated and even people from her pack can see her from afar. The Story focuses on love, dominance, commitment and power.