Game On: Tempting Twenty-eight Novels & Stories

"This realm is your only chance of coming back to life in the mortal world, and if you attract those consequences, take note that you will die.” “Death?” I ask, mostly to myself. And to the voice, “What do you mean by 'I’m on my way to death'?” ~~~ Nova was having a bad day, and all she wanted was for the day to end already. But the universe seemed to have misunderstood her wish, because not only did her day not end, but she met with an accident that left her in a coma. As if that wasn't bad enough, she became trapped in a dimension between life and death, where she had to face a series of trials that would determine if she wakes... or fades from existence. Enter Zephyr, the spirit assigned to guide her to the light – her recovery. The spirit who never tried to disguise his want for her failure. The spirit she should've never fallen in love with. But in a world where survival is determined by the number of challenges a soul can conquer, the heart still found its way around love. With her complicated feelings in an already complicated world, Nova must decide what she's truly fighting for – her life, or the one being who's capable of ending it. *** In a short time, the remaining one hundred and twelve souls are pushed out. When we’re complete and standing, a voice – different from on the bus – greets us. “Welcome, Souls, to the survival games.”

I never chose to enter the Arena— the place that swallows humans and supernaturals from every era and throws them into a death game with only one rule: survive. One moment I was walking down a normal street. The next, I woke up in a prehistoric jungle with the ground trembling under massive, thundering footsteps. That’s where I met him—Kael. An Alpha Werewolf with lethal instincts, a body built for violence, and eyes that could pin me in place more easily than his claws ever could. He had zero interest in saving anyone. Especially me. To him, I was a burden. To me, he was a threat. And he definitely wasn’t planning to keep me alive. “You’re not human, Maddie.” His breath ghosted my ear, hot and shivering down my spine. “And whatever you are… you shouldn’t exist in this world.” But the Arena made its choice before either of us could: Every round in this cursed place keeps forcing us together—fighting back-to-back, bleeding for each other, breathing in sync. Yet every time danger closes in, I end up pressed against his chest, his breath warm against my ear as he growls instructions I shouldn’t find intoxicating. “Stay with me, Maddie. You won’t survive a single night without me.” Maybe he’s right. Maybe I don’t want to survive without him. But the truth inside me—what I am, what I carry— …might be the very thing that gets him killed. And when Kael finally corners me in the dark, his voice a low, wicked whisper at my neck, I realize the Arena isn’t the deadliest thing here. He is. “Tell me what you are, little flame… before I’m forced to claim you.”

Luca Moretti doesn’t ask. He takes. The ruthless Italian mafia boss has crushed empires and buried enemies without a flicker of remorse. But one man has always stood just out of reach—his greatest rival, the untouchable billionaire Damian Laurent. Until Luca discovers Damian’s greatest weakness: his son. Adrien Laurent is beautiful, defiant, and far too tempting for his own good. Dragged from his sheltered world straight into Luca’s dark empire, the younger man fights like a wildcat, eyes blazing with fury even as his body betrays him under Luca’s rough hands. What begins as cold-blooded revenge quickly spirals into something far more dangerous. The more Adrien resists, the more Luca hungers to break him… to claim him… to own every inch of the man who was supposed to be nothing but leverage. Now the lines are blurring. The game has changed. Luca becomes obsessed with the way Adrien trembles and begs, obsessed with breaking him, owning him, fucking him until the only name he screams is his captor’s. He stole him to destroy his enemy. Now he’ll burn everything down before he ever lets his pretty little obsession go.

Maya de Cruz is at the lowest point of her life—her career is in ruins, her uncaring family has her backed into a corner, and her past continues to haunt her. In the depths of her despair, Maya’s world tilts when Aaric Salvaterre Bernardi—her ex boyfriend, now her sister’s fiancé—appears with an offer too tempting to resist, one that could either save her or destroy everything she once held dear. Aaric, with his deadly charm and power to subdue anyone, drags Maya back into the web of his dangerous world. What begins as a risky deal slowly turns into a seductive and inescapable game of desire. Maya struggles to suppress the emotions slowly invading her heart, but Aaric's undeniable magnetism pulls her deeper into his orbit. Every glance, every word, unravels her defenses, leaving her at war with a dilemma that threatens to shatter her principles and pride. Amidst a swirl of intrigue and dark secrets that are increasingly revealed, Maya finds herself at the crossroads between a burning forbidden love and the threat of losing herself. As reason gives way to desire, a single question lingers like a haunting melody: will Maya dare to risk it all for the man who shattered her world, yet awakened a flame within her she thought had long died?  

Lyria Vale thought her life of privilege was the hardest challenge she’d face—until she was chosen for Alpha Hall, an elite squad in Blackthorn Sovereign Academy where heirs are tested… and eliminated. Quite literally killed if they fail to pass academy tests. When out on a mandatory wilderness survival camping trip, Lyria and her group are kidnapped by a rogue group of trolls. Which is a break breach of accords between the human realm and Mystic realm. This specific tribe of trolls is suffering from an extinction threat because the massacred their entire female population for mixing with male human they considered inferior. Now they turn to kidnapping female heirs to breed with because they believe they have superior genes. As everything unfolds Lyria discovers her growing feelings for Alaric in a place where any distractions will cost her life or the lives of the ones she loves. Survival becomes a game of wit, strategy, and courage. In a place where every glance, every corridor, and every alliance could mean life or death, Lyria must learn quickly: in this world, power is earned, trust is a weapon, and the shadows are haunting. Will she keep her promise to return alive to her parents or will she succumb to her impending death and become another heir in history?

Mary's world collapsed the night she caught her boyfriend cheating — on his own birthday — after years of love and loyalty. Shattered and desperate to forget, she let her best friend drag her to a club where she met the last man she expected. Jordan. Cold. Devastatingly handsome. A billionaire who held her like she mattered. By morning, he was gone. One month later, Mary discovered she was pregnant. Alone, broke, and forgotten, she fought to raise her son with everything she had. Until fate pulled Jordan back into her life the moment he looked into a little boy's eyes and saw his own reflection staring back. But entering Jordan's world didn't save Mary. It destroyed her. His controlling mother despised her. His fiancée humiliated her. And the man she loved stood silently while they tore her apart piece by piece. When she could no longer recognize the Jordan she once knew, Mary did the only thing left. She disappeared. Taking her son and never looking back. Four years later, she returned. Not as the broken girl they remembered. Mary came back as one of the most respected doctors in the country — admired by the very people who once looked down on her. The power had shifted, and everyone felt it. But when Jordan's mother secretly arranges the kidnapping of her son, Mary and Jordan are forced into a dangerous alliance to bring him home safely. And as old feelings resurface, Jordan is finally confronted with the truth he spent years running from. "I loved you from the beginning, Mary… I was just too weak to protect you." Now Mary faces the hardest decision of her life. Can she forgive the man who once broke her heart — or has too much been lost to ever go back?

Ivy Woods has always felt like an outsider in the normal world, and her entire life was a lie. Her mother and father were killed when she was eight years old. Her grandmother told her that she suffers from hallucinations, but the truth is that Ivy has a wolf inside her that materialized when she was five years old. One day, she meets this stranger in a bar, who almost marked her as his Luna but then rejected her days after. Feeling humiliated, she wanders into the woods, only to have her life change forever. She then meets Alpha Blake of the Silver Moon Pack, who has been waiting twenty years to find his mate, only to discover her at the edge of death. To save her life, he must mark her as his mate immediately. When he learns that she knows nothing of the were-world, he must solve the mystery of why someone would go to such extremes to hide her with the help of his best friend and beta, Rick. But Rick has a secret that may end his decade-long friendship with Blake; he is the stranger who rejected Ivy, and he is her true mate. Alpha Blake also has a darkness in him that is not compatible with Ivy. The more he absorbs her power, the more he cannot contain it. Ivy also finds out the real reason to her parents' deaths, and she wishes she had never met the Silver moon pack.

After being betrayed and cast aside by her billionaire husband, Lucas, Layla Patel vows to take revenge. But as she orchestrates her plan, she's forced to confront the past and the man who broke her heart. Will she succeed in her quest for revenge, or will the flames of their old passion reignite, tempting her to give him a second chance?

Zira Valdez was as innocent as they come. Since she was eight she thought the boy who saved her would become her salvation. When all the signs were telling her he was her destruction, she ignored them. She believed in his lies, in those small moments where she had a glimmer of hope. She believed wholeheartedly that she owed Trenton Heath her life. That was until two weeks before her eighteenth birthday that she learned the truth. For Trenton, it was all a game and he was stringing her along. He wasn't even the one to save her, but since she is willing to do anything for him, then he will take everything from her. Just everything around Zira was about to give her a deadly blow, her true savior stepped forward. He once again saved her, pulled her from the darkness, and offered her refuge. This time, she wanted to grasp the light with all of her might. Axton Heath was ten years older than Zira and Trenton's uncle. From the moment Axton's fate became intertwined with Zira's, she became his everything. He was the one to save her when she was eight, but because he was older and had just entered the military, he had no choice but to leave her with his family. When he returns before her eighteenth birthday with the intent to make her his Luna, he learns his little fated mate has suffered and he wants nothing more than to make them all pay with blood. Against all odds, their love defies everything. Zira will find strength in his love. Axton will risk everything for her love, including his life.

What if you really were transported to a fantasy world and expected to kill monsters to survive?No special abilities, no OP weapons, no status screen to boost your stats. Never mind finding the dragon's treasure or defeating the Demon Lord, you only need to worry about one thing: how to stay alive.All the people summoned form parties and set off on their adventures, leaving behind the people who nobody wants in their group.Story of my life, thinks Colin.