Duke University Libraries Novels & Stories

Kourtney Elijah is the eldest daughter of the Elijah family in New York. Due to her stepmother's scheme, she was sent to the countryside by her despicable father at a young age. When the patriarch of the Elijah family celebrated his 60th birthday, they brought her back. She returned quietly, only to be mocked as a rural underachiever and poor girl, which angered the influential figures. A professor from a prestigious university said, "Underachiever? That's a joke! Let me introduce you to the genius who top universities worldwide are vying for!" A billionaire exclaimed, "Poor girl? Nonsense! All my wealth is thanks to Kourtney's contributions!" A certain man declared, "This is my wife. Whoever dares to mock her, I will annihilate them!"

The golden rule of my life is simple: "Stay away from Leo Wilson." He’s my best friend’s twin, a cruel, untouchable king who makes my life a living hell. In the daylight, he lets his world tear me to pieces while he stands by with that cold, mocking smirk. He wants me broken. I want him gone. But when the campus goes dark, the game changes. Behind locked doors, his aggression shifts into something possessive and frantic. One touch, and I’m forgetting the rule. One whisper, and I’m throwing away the best friendship I have. I’m playing a dangerous, gut-wrenching game. I’m crossing the line, and I know exactly how hard I’m going to fall.

Welcome to Blackwood University, where the tuition costs a fortune, but the secrets cost your life. I thought a scholarship to the country’s most elite university was my ticket out of the shadows. I was wrong. I didn’t just walk into a school; I walked into a lion’s den. And sitting on the throne is Niccolò De Luca. Nico is beautiful, brilliant, and brutal. He is the heir to the most powerful crime syndicate on the East Coast, and he runs this campus like his personal kingdom. He breaks hearts, he breaks bones, and now, he’s decided to break me. Not because I’m the scholarship case. But because he knows who I really am. I am the daughter of the man who stole millions from the De Luca family and vanished. Nico intends to use me to lure my father out of hiding. His plan is simple: torment me until I break, make my life a living hell, and keep me under his thumb until the debt is paid in blood. But the line between hate and obsession is razor-thin. When his torment turns into possessiveness, and his taunts turn into touches I can’t refuse, the game changes. I was supposed to be his pawn, but I’m becoming his weakness. Now, with a rival family closing in on campus and my father’s enemies circling, Nico has to make a choice: Hand me over to settle the score... or burn the world down to keep me. "You think you can hide from me in the library, little mouse?" Nico whispered, his breath hot against the shell of my ear as he pinned me against the stacks. "You are living on borrowed time. And unfortunately for you, I’m the one collecting the interest."

Synopsis For as long as she can remember, Noah Leister has lived in hiding. Forced to disguise herself as a boy to escape the enemies hunting her. She doesn’t know why. Unknown to her, she is the prophesied Moon Guardian, a being of immense power, and the mate of the strongest Alpha in werewolf history. Alpha Ares Luther is feared, ruthless, and cursed with loneliness for his father’s sins. When a prophecy reveals that his mate is hidden among humans, Ares infiltrates Siege University as a lecturer to find her. But nothing prepares him for Noah, the infuriating, sharp-tongued boy who unsettles him like no one ever has. The attraction is maddening, impossible, his mate is supposed to be a woman. Yet, the more he tries to stay away, the stronger the pull becomes. As rogue attacks threaten the university, Noah’s carefully constructed world shatters when she witnesses a brutal werewolf battle and shifts for the first time, revealing her true identity as a werewolf and the Moon Guardian. And she has no idea what she has just unleashed in him. For the first time, Ares’ loneliness fades. He has found her. But before they could claim their happiness, fate sharpens its claws. Betrayal slithers into their midst, hidden behind the face of a friend. Nathan, Noah’s trusted companion, a divine-power Hunter . He has been hunting for the moon guardian, unaware she's been under his nose. And now, he allied with Ares’ ruthless uncle, William. William has spent years plotting Ares’ downfall, and Noah is the perfect weapon. With her power awakening and enemies closing, Ares and Noah must fight not only for their love but for their very survival. Will their enemies succeed in tearing them apart, or will fate take another turn?

Cailen has only one wish. To have a family he could belong to and a home to call his. ***** At thirteen, Cailen had been to different foster homes, each of them returning him for one reason or another. His heart had already taken so much rejection that hopelessness had set in, giving up on himself and shutting down, that even when a family does welcome him and love him, he still has his doubts. When Cailen returns from University to visit his family, he finds himself struggling to keep a secret that he knows will make him lose the only home and family that he has. Will Cailen lose himself? Or will he lose his family?

After being given a second chance at life, I made a deliberate choice to avoid Nevaeh Charlton entirely. When she enrolled at Brookshire University, I left the country and went to study in Hollandia instead. When she followed me there, I disappeared again—this time, chasing war zones across continents as a field reporter, always just out of her reach. Years passed. In the end, I returned home with the woman I loved, ready to marry her and begin a new life together. On the day of our wedding, Nevaeh was stopped outside the venue. Her eyes were rimmed red, and her voice was unsteady. "Why don't you love me anymore?"

Thea Voss has spent her whole life being treated like a burden by the family that took her in. Trapped in a basement, saving every dollar for Veritas University, she believes escape is the only future she’ll ever have. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, a billionaire announces he is searching for his long-lost granddaughter—and two powerful twin Alphas transfer into Thea’s school to find her. When strange powers begin awakening inside Thea and one of the twins claims he caught her scent, her ordinary life starts to fall apart. Because if the rumors are true, she may be the lost Alpha princess they’ve been hunting all along.

Julian Vance is the disciplined, fiercely proud captain of the university ice hockey team. His sworn enemy is Kael Sterling, the arrogant and explosive star player of their rival school. When a brutal game ends in a locker room confrontation, a dangerous bet sparks a dark obsession. But the stakes shatter when Julian's mother and Kael's father unexpectedly marry. Now, forced to live under the same roof and play for the same team, their fierce rivalry turns into an agonizing forced proximity. Society's rules dictate they are forbidden, and their mutual hatred demands they stay apart, but the electric tension between them refuses to be ignored. As the ice melts and boundaries blur, Julian and Kael must decide if their forbidden connection will cost them their dreams, or if surrendering to each other is the ultimate victory.

Frustrated by abusive father and domestic violence, 18 year old Veronica is on run to start a new life on her own. working several part time jobs to pay her bills and save for university. In the long run, she catches the eye of Italian Mafia boss who visits her university during a seminar. Her introvert personality and sad, pessimistic aura around her makes him suspicious and curious about her. and he is determined to find everything about her. is he going to love her, who had been lost in the long run while yearning for it? a journey of doom and downfall, miseries and anguish. will she ever accept him? while he is going to tame her. a dark romance which will be able to bloom or was doomed from the beginning?

In my previous life, I was accepted as a pilot and was about to enter aviation university for training. But because I stepped in to save the campus belle, Diana Fowler, from being assaulted by thugs, they retaliated against me. They broke both my legs, shattering my dream of flying. What angered me even more was that Diana, the very woman I saved, led the police to my hospital bed and identified me as the rapist. The two thugs who assaulted her were praised as heroes instead. My mother was so furious that she suffered a heart attack. When I was in prison, I fell into despair and took my own life. After being reborn, I watch indifferently as Diana cries for help in the alley. This time, I coldly put on my headphones.