Familiar Summoning

Nova doesn’t know much, but she knows three things. One: Her mother was murdered by wolves. Two: She has terrible nightmares of a large black wolf with vivid blue eyes hunting her down. Three: There’s no out running fate. The past can be painful. Nova’s past is so painful that her brain blocked it out. With clouded memories and nothing more than a sick feeling deep in her gut, she’s forced back home where her mother was murdered to visit her grandmother and estranged sister that she hasn’t seen in eight years. Nova’s expecting the worst. To not make it home alive. To either be mauled or claimed by wild animals. To meet the same fate as her mother. Things start tumbling out of control when she meets an eerily familiar stranger. Nox in all his tall, dark and brooding demeanor leaves her with a bad feeling. It’s probably the fact that he claims to know her or it’s that she’s starting to believe him. But Nox isn’t the only one in her hometown that’s out to get her. They may be true mates, but what neither of them know is that Nova’s mother had more secrets than either are aware of. There’s another wolf that’s looking to collect what is rightfully his and he won’t stop until Nova is mated to him.

6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!

My husband was the leader of the rescue team. As I was trapped in a cave and surrounded by a pack of wolves, I desperately called him over and over. Yet, he hung up on me every single time. When the fire nearly burnt out and the wolves got closer, he finally called me and angrily accused me, "Can you stop wasting public resources? I'm the rescue team leader first, and then your husband." In the background, I heard a soft, feminine voice saying, "Howard, my arm has a cut. Can you take me to the hospital?" I was familiar with that voice. It was my husband's first love. Ever since her husband died, she clung to him. And my husband... He didn't just tolerate it; rather, he seemed to enjoy it. A wave of despair washed over me as I ended the call. My hands were trembling, and I tried to call the police, but before I could, the leader of the wolves pounced on me. I fell hard to the ground, and the rest of the pack, sensing the signal, ran toward me at an extraordinary speed. I didn't stand a chance to fight back, and in mere moments, I was ripped into pieces. Before my consciousness slipped away, I struggled to glance down at my lower abdomen one last time, and my lips quivered. "My baby, I'm sorry I failed you…"

On Mating Day, Elara Vale finds her boyfriend, Liam Ashcroft, cheating on her with her mean half-sister, Seraphina Vale. This happens on the same day he was supposed to choose Elara as his mate. It hurts even more when Liam says Seraphina is his true mate, giving them the right to be together. Heartbroken, Elara runs into the forbidden forest. There, she meets a dangerous stranger. His scent triggers a mating heat Elara was never meant to feel. Thinking he is a rogue, she gives in to one night with him and runs away before morning, never seeing his face. When Elara gets home Elara is really scared to find out that someone has marked Elara. Her father, Rowan Vale tells her that he will kill her if she does not find a man who's willing to marry a woman like Elara who has a mark. Elara thinks that no man wants to be, with her. Then something surprising happens. The man that everyone is afraid of, Alpha Kael Nightborne of Nightfall Pack decides that he wants to marry Elara. Alpha Kael Nightborne chooses Elara to be his bride. There is something about this person that feels really familiar in a kind of way. This person seems to be someone I have met before. I just cannot quite put my finger on who he is.. Something, about him feels dangerously familiar.

While waiting for my husband to pick me up at the parking lot, I came across a trending topic in my city. "How do I deal with an overly-clingy wife?" Amidst a flurry of boastful, lovey-dovey comments, one female username caught my attention. "Just pretend to be incompetent! My childhood friend was forced to marry someone he didn’t love. I gave him the idea to pretend to be directionally-challenged, which he has done for five years now. "When his wife got pregnant, he secretly mixed lubricant into the shower gel, causing her to slip. Then, on the way to the hospital, he pretended to get lost. He deliberately circled the suburbs several times, which led to her miscarriage and now she can't have children anymore." "Coincidentally, today is supposed to be the selection day for her promotion to professor. He offered to drive her to work, but he actually plans to pretend to get lost to make her late so that I can get promoted instead. "When she fails the selection, he’ll use that as a chance to convince her to quit her job, turn her into a useless housewife, and then kick her out!" Reading this suspiciously familiar experience sent a chill down my spine. Before I could ponder further, I heard my husband’s apologetic voice. "Sorry, honey, I got lost. I hope this won't affect your selection."

Part One:When Jamie Dalton moved into the house her grandparents left her she was just looking to reconnect with her past and settle in familiar surroundings. Digging through the attic for treasures, she found a nearly life-sized statue of a wolf and a very old, very strange book, Legends of the Werewolf. She was shocked when her new neighbor, Mike Volka, introduced himself and the eyes watching her looked just like the wolf in the book. Using the hypnotic power of the shifter, he draws her into his web and they have sex so hot it nearly burns down the house.Part TwoShifter Lia Popescue is desperate to find the book, Legends of the Werewolf, her only clue as to what happened to her pack. Her attempts to recover it bring her into contact with Riley Morgan, a contact that explodes with sexual chemistry. When she loses her heart to the sexy detective, she wonders how he will handle knowing the truth about her.USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.Wolf Tales is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Today I had my first kiss. It wasn’t planned. It was also with a complete stranger. As I walked through the crowded halls of Crestwood High, my heart light with excitement, I felt it before I saw it—a familiar presence, sharp and wrong. My boyfriend, Mark, was nearby and he wasn’t alone. “You’re a bad boy,” the cheerleader laughed softly. “Only for you,” Mark replied before his lips closed over hers. At that moment, I felt sick to my stomach. “Oh, Mark. Stop it. You know we can’t be seen together. What if your girlfriend finds us?” “She’s in class. She’s never late. You don’t need to worry.” My heart was heavy in my chest, but also a wave of fury and resentment crossed me. “Bethany?” Mark breathed, staring at me in shock “What are you—” Before he could get the entire question out, I turned to the gentleman beside me, placing my hands on his shoulders and pulling him toward me. He went easily, though his eyes showed nothing but confusion. I closed my eyes tightly so I wouldn’t have to see his expression any longer. Then, our lips touched. Later, I walked into my class but found,It was him… The man I kissed only moments ago in the hallway. The man I had given my first kiss to, was my professor.

Five years ago, Elara Thorne died in a wreckage of twisted metal and flames. Or so the world believed. In reality, she was running from the powerful Vance family who wanted her erased, and running from Julian Vance, the man who had shattered her heart before she could even tell him she was carrying his twins. Now, Elara is a shadow in the city, a mother living on the edge of survival. But the "Ice King" of New York has a long memory and even longer reach. When Julian catches a glimpse of a familiar face at an elite gala, his world of cold calculation turns into a furnace of obsession. He doesn't find a grieving ex-lover. He finds a woman who has become a lioness, and two children who are the perfect, sapphire-eyed images of himself. Julian doesn’t ask for forgiveness. He demands a debt. He drags Elara from the gutters of Brooklyn into the heights of his glass palace, forcing her into a Marriage of Convenience. He wants his heirs. He wants his revenge. And most of all, he wants to possess the woman who dared to make a fool of him. But Julian has forgotten one thing: a woman who has already survived death has nothing left to fear. As Elara steps back into the world of the elite, she isn't there to play the dutiful wife. She is a Trojan horse in a red silk dress, ready to dismantle the Vance empire from within.

A rewritten fate. A second chance. A choice that could save or destroy everything. Lara Voss wakes up seven years into the past with no memory of her previous life, her body familiar but her soul echoing with warnings she cannot name. Her pack calls her wolfless, broken, cursed, and they’ve never understood why Alpha Kael chose her when he could have anyone else. What she doesn’t know is the truth she once died for. She doesn’t know the Moon Goddess has sent her back, or that a choice once shattered her future. She doesn’t know this second chance carries a warning carved into fate itself: choose revenge, and she looses it all—choose love, and destiny can be remade. Danger moves quietly through the packs. Desire coils under every breath. Dark magic stirs. Enemies watch her too closely. And amid all of it, Lara feels herself pulled toward a destiny she cannot understand and cannot escape. She was sent back to save everything. But she can still lose it all. As Lara uncovers the growing darkness, fragments of her missing memories begin bleeding through. Betrayal, blood, and deceit rise. To survive, she must face the power waking inside her—one that can either break the world or heal it. A woman reborn with no memory. An Alpha with dark secrets. A mission that will determine the fate of everything she loves.

Three years after our breakup, I ran into my ex-girlfriend, and she had her new boyfriend by her side. "Hey, isn't that Henry the expert?" Diego Stanley taunted with a smirk. "Three years post-breakup, and you're slumming it here playing with clay?" I furrowed my brow, ignored them, and carefully moved the Victorian-era porcelain musician figurine onto its preset base in the display case. When I wasn't biting, he reached out to grab the figurine from my arms. "What's this junk you're treating like gold? Let me take a look." Cynthia Wyatt frowned, her voice laced with that familiar arrogance. "Henry, I've given you three years to shape up, and you're still the same loser? Come on, hand over that clay doll to Diego. Don't kill the vibe. If you play nice, I might even reconsider our old engagement." As Diego's hand neared the figurine, I dodged quickly and barked, "Hands off! It's a historical artifact!" Diego got pissed off and shoved me hard. "Some flea market find, and you're acting all high and mighty?" In the ensuing scuffle, I lost my balance, and the figurine slipped from my grasp, crashing to the floor. That sealed their fate. This entitled pair was about to go bankrupt trying to fix it.