Collapsed Vein During Blood Draw

Sebastian Cruz has three rules: 1. Protect your team. 2. Never show weakness. 3. Hate your stepbrother. Julian Frost has one secret: He's been in love with Sebastian since before they were family and Sebastian doesn't even remember. Now they're trapped. Two weeks. One cabin. One bed. A blizzard that won't stop. A father who wants to destroy them both. An injury that could end everything. And a memory that's finally starting to return. By the time the ice thaws, Sebastian will have to choose: His career. His family. His future. Or the man he was never supposed to love...But was always destined to keep. What if the person you're supposed to hate is the only one who's ever really seen you? What if the summer you forgot holds the key to everything you've been searching for? What if the man who could destroy your career is the same man who would die to protect you? What if loving him means losing everything? And what if losing him means losing yourself?

Torn between forbidden desire and destined fate, a young werewolf girl’s heart is caught in an impossible war. Raised in a pack where vampires are the ultimate enemy, she risks everything when she falls in love with one . A mysterious, seductive stranger who sees past her wolf. But just as their secret romance deepens, the Moon Goddess marks her with a mate of her own kind . An Alpha born to lead, and hers by destiny. Now, she must choose between the passion she wasn’t supposed to feel… and the bond she was born to obey.

Kane has spent her whole life believing she was ordinary. Just a quiet girl with a strange past and a father who refuses to talk about her mother's death. But one reckless night-when she's bitten by a rogue wolf-something ancient stirs inside her. Heat burns beneath her skin; her senses sharpen, and a howl rises in her chest. A howl she was never supposed to have. Aria is no ordinary girl. She is the last descendant of the ancient werewolf royal line, one whose power was sealed when her human father's dominant genes buried her mother's legacy. Until now. But as her powers grow stronger, so do the shadows of her mother's world. Ancient enemies awaken. Centuries-old prophecies whisper her name. And worst of all, there is the person close to her, one whom she had trusted, determined to claim her power for themselves. Torn between a modern world she knows and an ancient world calling her home, Aria must make a choice: become prey… or heir to a blood-soaked throne. Yet there is always a cost with power. and hers may be her heart.

BlackCreek was a beautiful city well-known for it's foggy weather, amazing scenery, and the werewolves that guard it. Four packs surround the city, but none compare to the mysterious Reverence Pack and their secretive ways. The only thing that sparks Jett's interest in them now is a new coming-of-age Alpha. The princely young man was as quiet as the forest that surrounded them. And he finds himself pulled to the man in a way he can't describe. Shiro's spent years preparing to take leadership of his pack. He trained both his body and mind to their greatest potential. He prepared for it all except for his mate being the Alpha of the Valor pack. Shiro was a master at keeping his secrets hidden to the world. But there was only so much time before the Alpha found out; before the news would spread. Only so much time before the curse took its toll on them. With so much against them, and secrets that most took to their grave, can a love between two Alphas be strong enough to last all the hate that's sure to follow?

I've raised my son, Caleb Bennett, for nine years, but today I found out he was never mine. Claire Bennett, my wife, shamelessly tells me to leave with nothing. She says Caleb's real father is Lincoln Lancaster, heir to the most powerful family in Berglaton. The Lancaster family has few direct heirs left, so if Lincoln acknowledges Caleb as his son, Lincoln can easily surpass his frail uncle and become the rightful successor. Caleb says, "You think you deserve to be my dad? My real father could crush your whole family with a snap of his fingers!" Margaret Quigley, Claire's mother, adds, "If Claire hadn't gotten pregnant with Lincoln's child back then, do you really think we'd have let someone like you marry into our family?" I don't fight back. I just sign the divorce papers in silence. After that, I take out my phone and call my father, James Lancaster, who has been waiting for me in Berglaton all these years. "Come pick me up on Christmas Eve," I say. "I'm ready to go home and take over the family."

I've spent the day trying on bridal gowns with my fiance, Philip Dillon. Just as I'm about to pay for the wedding gown that I really want, another woman suddenly snatches it out of my hands. "Sorry, but I had my sights set on this gown first!" I frown instantly at her words. That's when one of my friends suddenly pats me on the shoulder before murmuring to me, "Hang on. Let your fiance deal with this situation. He already placed an order on this wedding gown when it was first released, so he must be specifically waiting for you to come here and pick it out." I turn to look at Philip instinctively. As expected, I see him approaching the woman… only to help her stuff the gown's hem, which is sticking out, back into the gown's bag. "Since someone else has already set her sights on the gown, then I suppose we don't have any other choice." Philip then pinches me on the cheek, the smile on his face tender yet casual. "My Elyse is the most gracious woman I've ever known. It's not like this is the one and only gown for you, right?" I just stare at the woman's smug look, feeling very dazed. Instead of responding to Philip, I just shoot a small smile at my friend, who looked pretty awkward on my behalf. "It's fine. I don't want the wedding gown anymore." It's true that the gown isn't the one and only gown for me. Similarly, it's not like Philip is the one and only man for me in life as well.

My younger sister, Mindy Sampson, has a rare blood condition. She needs regular blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant. My husband, Ian Huffman, and I are matches. My mother says we should draw lots. Whoever draws the short stick will become Mindy's blood donor. In the next five years, I am always the one who draws the short stick. Because of constant blood draws and bone marrow extractions, my body breaks down. Before I die, I stumble upon Ian holding Mindy and saying, "Cindy is so stupid. There are only short sticks in the container. Every time, we let her draw first. How could she ever get a long one? "She is going to die without ever knowing you are not sick at all. Once she dies and we get the insurance money, we can travel the world." When I open my eyes again, I am back in the fifth year after Mindy is diagnosed. I look at the container of sticks on the table and smile. Then, I look at Ian and say, "This time, you draw first."

"They Drank To Survive. Now, They Can't Live Without Him." Ezra was taken in as a baby and raised in a house that had everything… power, money, and control. To the outside world, they were perfect. For a while, that was enough. Then he found out the truth. He isn’t their brother. He’s the reason they’re still alive. He grew up alongside four vampire brothers, each one stronger, colder, and more dangerous than the last. What no one knows is that Ezra was never truly one of them. He was the reason they lived. His blood keeps them stable. Keeps them alive. At first, it was just something he endured. Then it became something they depended on. And somewhere along the way, the line between need and something else disappeared. So he runs away. He builds a life away from them. One where he’s not being used. One where he finally has control over himself. But it doesn’t last. When he crosses paths with them again, everything comes back, stronger than before. The pull between them isn’t just history anymore. It’s something deeper. Something neither of them can ignore. And when it finally snaps into place, it changes everything. A bond none of them expected. One that ties all five of them together. Now they can’t stay away from each other. And the rest of the world is starting to notice. With enemies closing in and the truth about Ezra’s existence beginning to surface, walking away is no longer an option. Breaking the bond could destroy them. Keeping it might be worse.

The jock only falls for the nerd in movies right???? Asher Prince is the star quarterback of Waterford High and as his last name suggests, he's treated like literal royalty. The golden boy at school and the only child to wealthy parents, Asher never had to fight or struggle to get anywhere in life. But every golden boy has a secret to hide... It's senior year and he's put under more pressure to succeed and win, but his grades are slipping with each passing class. His teachers suggest he get a tutor, and with his father literally holding his future in his hands, Asher has no choice but to relent. Enter Liam Marsh. Valedictorian, top of every class and already accepted into three Ivy League schools. He seems like the perfect tutor, but there's one problem… Liam is gay and very much out of the closet. He's also constantly bullied and pushed around by Asher's peers. But Liam never lets anything get him down. With time ticking out and his future in the balance, will Asher make a choice that would benefit his future or give in to peer pressure and reject Liam's help out of fear of being ostracized? ***PLEASE NOTE: Although this is a work of fiction it is based on how teenagers would react to certain situations. There are a lot of homophobic slurs and cussing in this novel, so please do not read this if you are easily triggered.***

“I think you’ll find out soon enough, Seraphina, that I’m not one to take no for an answer.” I don’t flinch when he steps closer. My eyes shut against their will as I tried to swallow the anger running through my veins at his words. “Certainly not orders from daddy's gi—” Slap! ***** When Seraphina is forced into a marriage with Lazaro to secure peace between their feuding families, sparks fly—both of desire and destruction. Lazaro doesn’t believe in love, only in possession. Seraphina refuses to be owned. As enemies close in and secrets unravel, the line between hatred and hunger blurs. -----