Halloween Short Stories

"Sheltered her entire life, Jubilee Thornton yearns to spread her wings and fly after a childhood marked by illness. Her first goal? To attract the attention of the handsome schoolteacher she’s had a crush on for years, Heath DiMarco. One fateful night, Jubilee throws caution to the wind and kisses Heath—until he pushes her away and tells her they can never be together. Heartbroken, Jubilee vows to forget Heath and live the life she’s always wanted. In a fit of inspiration, she creates a list of resolutions: to go skinny-dipping, to go on dates, and to finally lose her virginity. Heath DiMarco moved to the small town of Fair Haven seven years ago to escape the memories of his past. Now a well-respected elementary school teacher, he can’t afford to have a dalliance with the youngest sister of his best friend, no matter how much that single kiss on Halloween night shook his world. That is until Heath finds Jubilee’s list of risqué resolutions. He can’t bear the thought of her with any man but him. Yet he knows he can’t have her himself. Instead, Heath decides he’ll vet the men Jubilee wants to date. Jubilee agrees, but only if he teaches her how to flirt—and how to kiss. He knows he should tell her no, but he can’t resist the temptation she presents. As desire heats to a roaring flame between them, secrets threaten everything they both hold dear. Unless they untangle themselves from a dangerous web of lies, they will face heartbreak—or be transformed by a passionate love."

According to my mother, the men who were loved by the daughters of the Granger family were blessed with fortune beyond belief. In exchange, however, the women of our family were cursed with short lives, not being able to live past the age of 30. Only by having their husbands willingly agree to share their lifespans with them on their wedding day could they return to normal. I didn't want to die young, so I started picking out a husband ever since I was a child. I saved the brooding young boy next-door who was being bullied. I stayed by his side as he went from rags to riches, becoming one of the rising stars of the business world. On the day of our marriage, however, he abandoned me at the altar and went straight to his first love, the woman who used to bully him in the past. While I was searching for a new husband, he had the gall to threaten me with his status. "Penelope, don't push it. You're really testing my patience." Little did he know that he only had his fame and fortune because of me.

Love is around and sometimes where you least expect it! Trey Comstock is a guitarist in one of the world’s hottest rock bands: Feisty. Bailey Kline carries a noble and important last name but outside of that, she’s got nothing going in her life. Both are at very different points in their lives trying to find themselves and find love. They meet while Trent is in the process of divorcing another and Bailey sees an opportunity to take advantage of him for her own financial gain. But will her attempt to get ahead in life pan out? Will Trent see right through her scheme or will he perhaps go along with it just to test her? She's in for a surprise when she finds out he's been using her the entire time as well! Find out as these two push and pull each other to the brink! **This is a five part mini-series and while the stories continue in order they can be read as a stand alone. You will follow them better however, reading in order. A new one will come out every four-six weeks until complete. This is part two, Trey's story.**

I’d just wrapped up a short trip with my daughter, Elara. On the way back, I figured I’d swing by the Hale, our family’s casino, to check in on my son, Cassian. Maybe grab dinner together. I didn’t expect to be mistaken for his latest fling. Correction: not mistaken—accused. Violently. “You think you can just waltz in here like some queen?” she hissed. “I’m the woman Cassian loves! What kind of whore are you? And is this your bastard daughter with him?” She locked us in the basement. No phone. No light. Just concrete walls and the stench of mildew and madness. Then came the fists. She slapped me across the face—again and again—until my skin stung and my ears rang. When that didn’t satisfy her, she pulled a gun and aimed low. The bullet tore through my knee. I bit back a scream, shielding Elara with my body. “You need to die, whore,” she spat. One of her men hesitated, “We should at least tell Mr. Hale first. If we are going to kill these two in his casino.” Lila of course said no. But that man brought Cassian anyway. My son stepped into this dark little room like it was any other Tuesday—until he saw me. His whole body went still. The blood drained from his face. And then, in the smallest, most broken voice I’d ever heard from him, he whispered, “Mom? What are you doing in my basement?”

When he was 8, she was 3 and a fairy at a Halloween party. His eyes could not leave her side. When he was 15, she was 10, they met at the school entrance, she was in a hurry with her parents and did not see him but he did, his eyes lingered on her every step. When he was 19 she was 14, and was the feisty little thing he has ever seen but then she disappeared... He kept her deeply in his heart, and was eager to meet her again until he saw her as a lady of the night.

BLURB: Ava Hayes, a spoiled Alpha princess used to getting everything she wants, is heartbroken when her parents refuse to let her marry her boyfriend, Dante Rivers.  She elopes with Dante to marry him, but unfortunately, along the way, she meets her mate, Sebastian Wolfe, who doesn’t take "no" for an answer. He gives her two options: accept him and become his mistress, or reject him and die with her lover. Given the stories she's heard about Sebastian, going to hell seems like the better choice. Will her story become a werewolf Romeo and Juliet, or will she accept becoming Sebastian's mistress?

No matter how far I ran, no matter how deep I hid, I knew one truth… He would always find me. Knock. Knock. I jolted up from my sitting position, with my heart hammering in my chest. Just as I was saying... He had found me. But by the time he broke down the rickety door, I was already standing and facing him with a knife to my wrist. I'd rather die than return home with him as his mate. *** Eve thought she and her mother had successfully escaped her abusive father by getting married to the former Alpha of a pack far away from where they lived. But all her hopes were cut short the moment she realized her new stepbrother, Alpha Saint, who was also the current Alpha of her new pack, was the same man she had a one-night stand with eight months ago, along with his best friend, Beta Kyrie. And on that fateful night, she had stolen very valuable items from these men. Hated and controlled by her stepbrother, Saint, who saw her as nothing but a thieving whore, Eve decided to find solace in Kyrie, who was already falling madly in love with her. But Saint would rather fight his best friend to the death than let him anywhere close to the woman he was secretly obsessed with from the day he set eyes on her – Eve. All hell was let loose when Eve turned twenty-one and found out that not only was she mated to the man she loved and desired – Kyrie. She was also mated to her overly possessive stepbrother, whom she dreaded with her life. *** TRIGGER WARNING! This is a dark romance novel, which might contain some unsettling themes rated 18+. It is everything dark and forbidden. Please, be guided.

Jackeline Moon (Jack for short) was born with a fate that would change the whole world. At a young age, she experienced the cruelty of the world and matured more quickly than anyone around her age. To hide and seek the truth about herself and to get revenge for her family, she built her prestige and gained immense power whilst disguised as a man. She was now a strong female wolf with no need of another’s protection. But that was until she meets Alice, an unforeseen surprise, a mate that she never thought she’ll have. What sparks would arise between them or would they reject one another. As the story between the 2 builds up, an unforeseen darkness approaches them.

After I became pregnant, my figure changed, and my face grew puffy. My fiancé began to treat me with a subtle, almost imperceptible sense of disdain. When the baby was five months along, it happened to be Valentine's Day. That day, he finally agreed to take our wedding photos, something I'd been hoping for. But just as we arrived at the bridal studio, his phone rang. "Mike, I just got back to the country. My friends are hosting a gathering, and everyone's bringing their boyfriends. Could you come and pretend to be mine?" It was a few short sentences, yet it completely altered the expression on his face. He turned abruptly, stepping out of the studio with a look of urgency. "Lucy's back. I have to go see her," he said. Hearing those words, a fire of rage ignited inside me, one I couldn't suppress. "For her? You're going to leave me here alone?" I demanded. "Do you even know how long I've been looking forward to today? It's Valentine's Day, and instead of staying with me, you're going to be with her?" His impatience flared visibly as I stood my ground. Without a word, his hand pushed me aside, and he strode out of the shop. "We can take wedding photos any day. I'm the only one Lucy has in this country. I have to go see her," he said. Then, gripping my wrist with alarming force, he shoved me, sending me sprawling to the floor. Without a backward glance, he got into his car and drove off. I felt a sudden, wet heat flowing from my lower abdomen. Pain surged through my stomach, sharp and unbearable, as my consciousness started to fade. A wave of despair and terror consumed me. Someone. Anyone. Please save my baby.

Max has never admitted to anyone that he dreams about his past, snippets of information about people he’s sure are his parents… reading him a book, raising him up in the air, calling him another name he can’t remember… They seemed happy. So why did he find himself growing up at an orphanage?Celine is always haunted by the event that changed her life forever, her sister getting taken. When her sister disappeared, she wished it had been her instead. They said she was dead, but she knew deep in her heart that her sister was still alive. Haunted by her past, she navigates her day-to-day tasks like a sleeping robot, waiting to be awakened by the right operator.Two individuals, thrown together by fate whose secrets might destroy the fabric of their existence. Will they find the love lurking in the shadows or will it remain elusive?--=--This is the second book in the Orphan Trilogy, and because Celine and Clara's stories are intertwined there may be parts that you are familiar with if you read the first book. But don't worry these are all from Max's and Celine's perspectives so you will definitely see new material.