Fictional Mountains

My younger sister Avery Denning's fiance, Timothy Lane, is injured by a raging bull on the eve of their wedding. Timothy ends up impotent because of the incident. Refusing to marry an impotent man, Avery flees from the wedding. I gaze at Timothy, abandoned, along with my humiliated parents. My parents then beg me to marry Timothy instead, to which I agree. Since marrying Timothy, I've shouldered the burden of juggling household chores and outside work, working tirelessly from morning till night. He miraculously recovers from his impotence and even becomes the wealthiest man in town. But Avery suddenly returns on the day Timothy is officially announced as the wealthiest man in Greenwood Vale. She sobs as she explains that she didn't flee the wedding of her own will. Instead, Avery claims that I had tricked her into going into the mountains to search for a miraculous berry that could cure Timothy's impotence. She also claims that I had struck her unconscious on said mountain range. Timothy immediately believes Avery's lies. He angrily slaps me and even tosses me into a river to drown. My words fall on deaf ears, and I swiftly pull Timothy and Avery down into the river with me. When I next wake up, I am back to the day of my wedding to Timothy. This time, Avery shows up, too. But what they don't know is that without me, Timothy will never recover from his impotence nor become the wealthiest man in Greenwood Vale.

Maya grew up in the shadows of Stonehaven—the maid's daughter, human and invisible among wolves. Alec was the Alpha's son, her childhood friend, her first love, her impossible dream. One stolen night changed everything. When Maya discovered she was pregnant, she ran. Not because she didn't love him—but because what she carried was impossible. Forbidden. The kind of secret that gets you killed. Seven years later, her daughter's power explodes in a surge felt by every pack for a hundred miles. And now they're coming. When Alec tracks the surge, he's expecting a threat. What he finds is the woman he thought was dead—and a seven-year-old daughter he never knew existed. Out of options and out of time, Maya does the one thing she swore she'd never do: she follows him home to Stonehaven. To the pack that never wanted her. To face wolves who see her child as an abomination. Now Maya must navigate a pack that wants her daughter dead, rebuild trust with the man whose heart she broke, and survive the attention of something dark and ancient rising from the northern mountains—something that felt her daughter's power and will destroy everything to claim it. An Alpha who will burn the world to protect what's his. A mother who will face any danger to keep her daughter safe. And a little girl who holds a power no one has ever seen before. One impossible love. One dangerous secret. One choice that could save them all—or destroy everything.

Miguel has built his life around the land. Born of indigenous Costa Rican ancestry, he believes ownership is stewardship, not control. High in the mountains of Monteverde, he struggles to preserve his farms and a failing eco-lodge sustained by pristine mountain springs that carry life-giving water for the entire valley. Bobby, a kindergarten teacher from Ireland, arrives in Costa Rica carrying a private grief. A genetic diagnosis has ended her hopes of motherhood, and leaving Ireland for Costa Rica is the only way she knows to start a new life. Vulnerable and unmoored, she falls under the influence of Sean, a charismatic expatriate who offers work, protection, and belonging—while quietly binding her to his business interests. The springs beneath Cabinas Las Nubes become the fulcrum of their collision. To Miguel, it is sacred. To Sean, it is a commodity to be stripped and laundered through shell companies tied to South American narco networks. When Miguel refuses to legitimize the illegal extraction, intimidation escalates into violence, culminating in the kidnapping of a child—Christopher—to force his compliance. Bobby recognizes the danger too late but refuses to run again. Risking her life to save Christopher, she confronts the man who once controlled her and exposes the depth of her courage. Her choice strengthens Miguel’s resolve. Working from within, he dismantles Sean’s operation and reclaims the land before it is destroyed. Set against Costa Rica’s ancient waters and living terrain, the novel explores grief, integrity, and the quiet ferocity of love chosen under threat.

When Alpha Silas Whitlock, the strongest Alpha of the Thunder Stone pack, had expected to settle down with his mate in a peaceful life, he is betrayed by his Beta and half-brother, Ezra, who frames him for a murder he didn’t commit. Now, he has no option but to run from the people who he once considered family. However, what he hadn't expected was to run into his real mate. The only problem is that she’s a weak human with no idea of the existence of the supernatural world and Silas needs a strong warrior by his side if he has to get back his pack and defeat his brother. Zoya had once had the perfect life and the perfect job at New York City Hospital. However, one wrong move with her perverted boss ends her transferred to a clinic in the middle of nowhere. To top it off, her ‘arranged’ fiancé decides to cheat on her with her cousin! Just as she is about to say ‘fuck you’ to her past and start a new life in the mountains, she ends up finding a very naked man inside her cabin in the middle of the woods. What on earth is going on? Things couldn’t get any worse, could they? If only she had the slightest clue… Will Silas be able to look past Zoya’s humanity and accept her as his mate? Or will Zoya have to watch the man she has come to love be claimed by another, breaking her heart forever? Or will fate give her a second chance at love with a man just as broken as her?

The day my adopted sister Xina was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, I was captured by rival pack hunters and taken across pack territories. In a hidden den beneath the mountains, I was chained like an omega during the day and subjected to endless humiliation. At night, they locked me in a moonless chamber and extracted my blood and bone marrow while I was conscious. By the time my pack found me, my body was broken beyond recognition, covered in bite marks, and infected with numerous diseases that even our supernatural healing couldn't combat. My mother, Alpha Serena, looked at me barely clinging to life, and howled so painfully she collapsed several times. My brother Ivan even traveled beyond our ancestral lands to find healers who could treat me. But in my half-conscious state, I accidentally overheard their conversation: "Mother, we captured Lisa just to save Xina, and let her be violated by so many rogues. Now we're taking one of her kidneys too—isn't that going to kill her?" Mother was silent for a long time, then choked up and said: "For Xina, I had no choice." "Besides, Lisa challenged Xina's rank all these years, made her severely depressed. This is just me atoning to Xina on her behalf." "It doesn't matter if she's been tainted. From now on, we'll keep her in the packhouse and take care of her. That'll count as compensation." As the silver blade sliced into my body, tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes. A den with four wolves... was simply too crowded.

Sarah is a dominating CEO who has a dark mysterious past. She was born in an unchartered island in Southeast Asia. Having experienced poverty at a very young age, she vowed to be the first female in their place to be successful in life. Lucky enough, a benefactor supported her financially so she can get into college and achieve her dreams. This is where she met Mark, the lone heir to a multi-million dollar company based in the Philippines. Their relationship went sour when Mark got depressed and broke up with her brought by jealousy since Sarah was able was able to graduate and he did not because of his carefree attitude. In spite of what transpired, Sarah continued pursuing her dreams. It is at this time that her past starts haunting her each time there is a blood moon. At nights like this, she transforms into a creature known as a manananggal, a half-woman with the wings of a bat who sucks blood out of her victims. Unfortunately, Mark’s mom and dad became one of them. Mark promised to kill Sarah and avenge the death of his parents. He even went to the extent of hiring a group called the ghost hunters to try and track her down. He also posted a price on the head of Sarah so the bounty hunters would go after her too. In one of their skirmishes, Sarah was captured. Mark devised a plan to save her and was successful. They both ran away into the mountains to escape their inevitable demise. But fate has its way of unfolding. Sarah bore a son out of her relationship with Mark. At first, they were not sure if their son inherited the curse of the manananggal. Their son inherited the curse of the blood thirst.

I get sent away to the countryside because my parents fear that I'll use my privileged background to lord over others. In turn, they're taking in Tina from that family to the city for her upbringing and schooling. In the countryside, I get up at 4:00 am daily to feed the pigs, then it's a grueling three-hour trek through the mountains to school. I'm also barely surviving due to constant malnutrition. I reach out to my parents for a mere 300 dollars for tuition, only for them to accuse me of spending recklessly. In the meantime, they're donating an entire building just to secure a spot for Tina at her preferred school. I finally make it into Tina's high school and earn a guaranteed university admission spot, only for my parents to order me to hand it over to her as they unleash their fury on me, yelling, "You're clearly bad to the bone, always trying to take things that belong to Tina." "Tina almost gave up on life because of what you did. You're indebted to her for the rest of your life." They, using their parental rights, forfeit my guaranteed university admission spot to fulfill Tina's wish. They then transfer all company shares and real estate to her for her future security, while the whole family makes arrangements to move abroad together. I take in everything before me, no longer feeling hurt. I calmly pack my belongings and walk away from the place where I don't belong.

Carmenta Bloom’s life is the epitome of gilded misery, and she is no stranger to controversy. With wealth and glory as her inheritance, she has everything but the freedom to live on her own terms. When a scandal threatens her family’s ironclad reputation, Carmenta is cast into a prison of her own making under the watchful eye of her bodyguard, Perion. Perion is her captor in every sense. He moves mountains and pounds them to ground again. He controls her, isolates her, and refuses to allow any escape—except one she never anticipated: his presence begins to consume her. Perion isn’t who he claims to be. He isn’t just a hired hand—he’s tied to a powerful mafia syndicate, his motives shrouded in secrecy. To him, Carmenta is a key piece in a high-stakes war his syndicate is waging. As Carmenta’s fiery spirit challenges Perion’s icy resolve, the line between duty and love begins to blur. Perion starts to see the woman behind the façade, and Carmenta, despite her mistrust, feels drawn to the man she thinks is her protector. He begins to question everything—his loyalty and the woman who has somehow gotten under his skin. Torn between duty and desire, Perion must face the consequences of his lies, while Carmenta must decide if she’s willing to risk everything—her heart, her life, and her very soul—for the man who was never meant to protect her. As war closes in and trust crumbles, they must confront what they’ve both been running from or be destroyed by it.

On the day the Cole family went bankrupt, Adrian Cole left behind a suicide note and went alone to the snow mountains to end his life. I chased after him without hesitation, searching for him in the snow for a full ten hours. Just as despair hollowed me out completely, I saw his secretary, Zoe Bennett, livestreaming Adrian's proposal on social media. One of his friends joked in the comments, "You're about to be a groom. Aren't you afraid your woman will get mad?" His reply was icy cold. "I only promised her the title of Mrs. Cole. She shouldn't even think about anything else." Another comment followed. "She's marrying in with ten billion in investment. Is she really willing to swallow that kind of grievance?" I could almost see Adrian sneering as he typed, "She got ten billion for the position of Mrs. Cole. She's not losing out. If it weren't for her, Zoe wouldn't have been forced to go abroad. These last few days are my compensation to Zoe." My fingernails dug deep into my flesh. Calmly, I burned everything that had anything to do with him. On the day of the wedding, he went mad searching for me everywhere. In the upscale venue across the street, I had just slipped on a diamond ring given to me by another man, Julian Cross. Unbeknownst to him, while he was calculating the countdown to our breakup, I was also preparing to marry someone else.

Shantali Mae Cross, a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Ancient Arts, encounters an impossible phenomenon during her night shift—smoke from the heating vents coalesces into the form of a cobra near ancient Egyptian canopic jars, showing her visions of possible futures. She sees herself accepting a promotion, arguing with a dark-haired man in a hospital, wearing a wedding dress, and standing at a graveside in autumn. Shaken by the experience, Shantali becomes obsessed with understanding what she witnessed, diving into research about serpent smoke divination practices. Her investigation reveals that others throughout history have experienced similar visions at crucial crossroads in their lives, but those who became consumed with interpreting and controlling their prophetic glimpses inevitably destroyed the very relationships and opportunities the visions had shown them. As Shantali spirals deeper into her research, she begins shutting out her boyfriend David, a fellow security guard who loves her deeply. When David witnesses the cobra phenomenon himself, he helps ground her in reality rather than obsession. Through her studies, particularly the warnings left by Dr. Amelia Thorne—a researcher who died alone after chasing similar mysteries—Shantali realizes the cobra's true message: choose love over fear, presence over obsession. The visions weren't warnings of tragedy but glimpses of a life fully lived with all its ordinary struggles and profound connections. When David proposes, Shantali chooses their real relationship over her pursuit of supernatural answers. She completes her research by writing a fictional novel about her experience, transforming obsession into art while helping future cobra witnesses understand that some mysteries are meant to guide rather than be solved. The story explores themes of choice versus destiny, the danger of sacrificing present love for future certainty, and the wisdom of embracing life's uncertainties alongside those who love us.