Fractured Realms

Far from the world of Earth lies a vast realm of ancient kingdoms, each striving for power, stability, and survival amid ever-shifting alliances and rivalries. Bound by tradition, these kingdoms practice a unique marriage ritual that determines political ties and future heirs. When alliances are to be strengthened, princes from friendly realms gather in a grand ceremonial arena, where a chosen princess demonstrates her abilities—speed, strength, magic, or flight—while the princes pursue. Her eventual capture symbolizes destiny, unity, and the merging of two royal bloodlines. For two days, the princess and her chosen prince remain secluded, honoring the sacred customs that seal their kingdom’s bond. Afterward, she returns to her homeland to undergo traditional examinations confirming whether the alliance has borne fruit. If so, she journeys to her prince’s kingdom to complete the remaining steps of the ritual and prepare for the future of both realms. Through these time-honored customs, kingdoms rise or fall, heirs are shaped, and political landscapes shift—each marriage carrying the power to redraw borders, forge unity, or ignite new conflicts in a world that forever hungers for expansion.

For seventeen years, Azirah has been trapped in Duskhallow Orphanage, a front for dark witchcraft experiments where she is the centerpiece of a sinister plan. Her escape leads her into the world of werewolves, where she encounters Nergal, a tormented Alpha marked by guilt. Their meeting reveals her connection to the Shadowborn prophecy, a warning of an abyss that could consume their world. As Azirah uncovers her powers, she is drawn into a fractured world of rival Alphas. Nergal fights to protect her, Zassan battles his bond with Vesta, a vengeful witch and his mate, and Draven faces betrayal from Gaia, a rogue wolf tied to their enemies. With the blood moon approaching, old grudges and dark forces rise, threatening to plunge the realm into chaos. In a desperate bid to save their world, Azirah and Nergal retrieve the Oracle artifact, but the final battle reveals the Shadowborn clan’s ultimate weapon—Nergal’s shadow-self, a dark manifestation of his fears. To end the abyss, Azirah sacrifices herself, only to be restored by the Moon Goddess, who takes her powers to ensure her safety. As the abyss is sealed and the brothers unite, peace returns to the realm—but Azirah’s visions warn that the shadows may rise again.

My younger twin sister, Emma Lawson, is everyone's favorite because she is sickly. A snowstorm traps us on the mountain and the rescue helicopter arrives with room for only one more. I have terminal cancer and am ready to let Emma take my place. Then she suddenly clutches her head and cries that she feels dizzy. My whole family rushes to her side and together they push her into the cabin. My husband, Leon Ziegler, touches my fractured arm and says, "Sarah, you'll have to wait for the next helicopter." My daughter, Daria Ziegler, even throws a snowball at me. "Aunt Emma is sicker than you. Stop trying to take her spot." Only when the helicopter takes off do I see Emma pressed against the window, smugly sticking her tongue out. She has been lying the whole time. When I am finally rescued, the doctors tell me I have three days left to live. I decide to trade everything I own for a small piece of my family's affection.

Alina Hart, a sharp-tongued high school senior, hides behind sarcasm and wit to mask the pain of fractured family life. Shipped off to a prestigious boarding school by a father who no longer sees her, Alina struggles to find her place in a world of strict rules and academic expectations. Enter Professor Cristiano Wright, a 27-year-old literature teacher whose calm demeanor and sharp intellect make him both an enigma and a fascination. Tasked by Alina’s older brother Ethan to keep an eye on her, Wright finds himself drawn to the complexity beneath her rebellious exterior. In the backdrop of Shakespearean sonnets and Romantic poetry, Alina and Wright navigate an increasingly fraught connection. What begins as reluctant mentorship soon transforms into a tangled web of forbidden emotions, unspoken words, and an undeniable pull that neither can ignore. Set against the bustling corridors of an urban high school and the quiet corners of a library filled with unspoken confessions, Silent Flames, Forbidden Paths explores the fine line between admiration and desire, duty and vulnerability. As Alina and Wright grapple with their feelings, they must confront their moral boundaries and the cost of their choices. Can they maintain the lines they’ve drawn, or will their emotions blur them beyond recognition?

Barbara Neil Aryan never planned to become a killer. But after discovering her boyfriend’s betrayal with her best friend, a thirst for vengeance and a mental illness leaves her with no choice. Desperate to escape incarceration, she stumbles into the dark underworld, where she is promised a chance to reinvent herself and clear her name, but Barbie gets sucked further into the underworld, where she is reborn as the “Black Widow,” an assassin with an unmatchable kill record and a deadly reputation. Even though it is not the life she imagined for herself, she embraces it, until her broken world shatters once again when she’s assigned an impossible target: Xavier Knight. He’s cunning, he’s lethal...and something she never expected—a werewolf. But those creatures aren’t real, right? Xavier is everything Barbara despises—arrogant, magnetic, and maddeningly charming, but as he draws her into his world, Barbara discovers more than just a target. For the first time in her life, she’s faced with a man who might actually mend her fractured heart and restore her hope in men. Now, Barbara stands on the edge of two paths: abandoning her deadly past or embracing an unknown future in Xavier’s arms. But when vengeance is all you know, can you really surrender to love?

When Dr. Ella Harper uncovers her billionaire husband Marcus’s affair with a glamorous model, the perfect marriage she believed in shatters. Betrayed by the man who vowed eternal love, Ella is forced to confront the ghosts of her past—her mother’s heartbreak and her own vow to never forgive a cheater. Determined to reclaim her strength, she seizes a life-changing opportunity to study abroad and secretly signs divorce papers, leaving Marcus a parting gift he’ll never forget: the truth, delivered when she’s already halfway across the world. “You’ll only know I’m gone when it’s too late, Marcus. Then you’ll see I’m not a woman to be played with.” Devastated by his mistake, Marcus spirals into desperation, chasing after Ella and pleading for forgiveness. But Ella, now thriving in her new life, has moved on—her heart guarded, her future bright, and a new suitor vying for her affection. Years later, Marcus is still haunted by his betrayal, refusing to give up on the woman he loves. Yet a shocking secret—a hidden child born from their fractured love—threatens to unravel everything. Will Ella ever open her heart to Marcus again, or will the pain of his betrayal and the weight of their shared secret keep them apart forever?

“…I’m the only one who gets to treat you like that, Pearce. You are mine, and I do not take too kindly to those who want to share in what’s mine…” ****************************************************************** Anthony Pearce and Blake Lindell have been locked in a feud for as long as they can remember. The spark that ignited their rivalry? Well, that depends on which side of the clay you ask. You’d think their parents’ constant meddling or the time they spend together on the basketball court would help smooth things over, but nope—this relationship remains stubbornly unshaped. Everything changes, though, when Blake is forced to ditch the court and take up pottery—Anthony’s territory, where he’s the undisputed “King of Clay.” Now, tasked with the mission of getting Blake up to speed before graduation, Anthony has to spend even more time in close quarters with his rival. Will they be able to sculpt their fractured friendship back into a masterpiece, or is their bond too cracked and brittle to repair? And when a buried secret surfaces about the rumor that shattered Anthony’s ninth-grade year, will it soften their hardened hearts or leave them shattered beyond the kiln’s fix? One thing’s for sure—things are about to get messy.

Humans? A low-level world? No cultivators or gods? Can the world be trampled on like ants by the strongmen of the upper realms? This is Long Chen's new journey after being reborn from the flames of the Vermilion Bird to fight against the strong cultivators who have always used the lower worlds as their slaves and playthings. And discover the ugly worlds and the people who are the rulers of those worlds. Protecting, destroying, and shaping are Long Chen's new goals. A journey in which Long Chen met various powerful cultivators and even so-called gods. Fighting, defeating, protecting, it's all in Long Chen's heart. He will also meet his parents, whom he hasn't seen since the day he was born. Would Long Chen accept them? Or will he decide to have nothing to do with them? Can Long Chen maintain his goal, or will he once again fall into the same temptation as the Black Dragon? "I live for myself, destiny? Fate cannot stop me! I'll keep standing no matter how many times I fall. As long as I'm still breathing, there will be no surrender in my life.

Isla Walker thought her summer would be dull, not dangerous. A scholarship student at an elite High school, Isla’s only goal was survival. Juggling part-time jobs to escape her drunk father and leech of a stepmother, she never expected her already fractured life to spiral into a nightmare. Sold like property to settle her family's crushing debts, Isla finds herself handed over to a man feared across cities — Grayson Voss, the cold and calculating mafia lord of the Voss Syndicate. But Grayson isn’t a stranger. He’s the man who saved her once. And the man who now owns her. What Isla doesn't know is that Grayson has been watching her. Ever since that night at the club, her face has haunted him — softening his steel walls and stirring something he's spent years burying. But affection has no place in his world. To him, Isla is nothing more than collateral — a debt repayment. A useful pawn. One he can't afford to care about. Except he does. And when someone lays a hand on what he owns... all hell breaks loose.

Sage Davis was once the name on everyone's lips, a rising basketball star with unmatched talent and a promising future. But one wrong move, one selfish mis-timed dunk during a critical game cost her team the trophy and left her with a shattered ankle and a fractured reputation. A year off the court has left her anxious and stripped of the confidence that once defined her. Now 19, she is back, taller, stronger, but haunted by doubts and the pressure of living up to her former glory. Enter Andrew Jefferson, turning forty, striking, with the kind of presence that commands attention. He is the new coach of the team and, awkwardly enough, her best friend's father. Sage expected discipline, rules, and professional distance but what she didn't expect was the spark, a mere fickle at first, and then a flame. He sees the fire in her, the talent she possesses, and the fragility she tries to hide. Against all odds, she finds herself drawn to the one man she should never want. Their connection is forbidden. Dangerous. Taboo. But as the line between right and wrong blurs, Sage must decide if she’s willing to risk everything, her future, her friendship, and the fragile pieces of herself she is still putting back together, for a love that was never supposed to happen. This is a story of redemption, desire, and the kind of love that breaks rules, norms……and hearts.