Holding Time

A fresh start... Morgan Eastman cannot wait to finish high school. One more year is all that stands in the way of her new life. A way out… Ethan Lowry has it all. Well, almost. Captain of the soccer team, beloved by all, the only thing he needs… is to get away from home. Escape the prison holding him back. A bet that would ruin them both… Ethan soon learns the bet isn’t going as planned. Instead of Morgan falling for him, for the first time in his life, he is chasing after her. How didn’t he notice it before? Morgan is stunning. She’s smart. She’s kind. She’s everything he ever wanted. Everything he ever needed. This couldn’t possibly be love… could it? There’s only one thing Ethan knows for certain. Morgan can never find out about the bet. It would ruin them. And now, the only thing Ethan needs most in his life… is Morgan. If all is fair in love and war, then why does it hurt so… damn… much?

On the day of the marking ceremony, Sabrina Carter returned to the pack. My fated mate and my childhood friend both abandoned me at the same time to welcome her. "Nicole, we can redo the ceremony another day." "Sabrina needs us more right now." After saying that, they turned and walked away without a single glance back. The two men who once swore they loved me turned my most anticipated wedding into a public joke. I stood there alone while everyone pointed, whispered, and laughed. Then, Sabrina posted a photo on Instagram, showing off how she was being doted on by both the pack Alpha and Beta. Every call I made to the two men was rejected again and again. In the photo, the ring that symbolized the Luna was on her finger. And Charlie Spencer had fastened the moonstone protection necklace, the one meant for me, around her neck instead. That was the moment something inside me finally broke for good. I bought a bond severing potion. I was done holding on. I was going to sever my mate bond with Joshua Ford.

For the 23rd time, I'm left standing at the altar as Jace Larkin hurries off because his foster sister, Celine Keaton, threatens to end her life again. The guests mock me, saying that we'll never tie the knot and attending our wedding will bring bad luck. I tune them out, holding on to Jace's promise that he'll come back and marry me. I buy his promise yet again, only for him to prove me wrong one more time. After I clean up the mess and pacify the angry guests, I reach home in the middle of the night. While passing the study, I hear Jace's voice. "Cece's always been mentally unstable. Of course, I have to stay with her. Regina will never leave me, even if I postpone our wedding a hundred times." Sorry, Jace, but I'll have to disappoint you this time. Blinking back tears, I unlock my phone and text my childhood friend, Clement Halloway. "Let's get married in three days."

Sansa Vale gave Killian Wolfe everything—her body, love, devotion, inheritance, even her dignity. She endured his humiliations and endless affairs. But when she lost her unborn child and caught him in bed with her best friend on their anniversary night, she broke—and walked away. Fleeing across the ocean, she crashed into the arms of a stranger: older, powerful, mysterious. Winston Wolfe made her feel something she thought she’d lost—desire. Then he vanished, leaving her with a shattered heart and a secret she never meant to keep. When Killian fakes her death to get rid of her, she plays along. Now she’s back—not as the meek wife, but as an heiress ready to reclaim her throne and burn him to the ground. Until she discovers the truth—Winston is Killian’s adoptive father. Caught in a wicked game of power, lust, and betrayal, Sansa must choose: revenge, or the man who made her feel alive again. Love is war. And this time, Sansa’s holding the leash.

My sister, Yvette Chandler, and my boyfriend, Gabriel Johnson, have never gotten along. She doesn't believe that he, a playboy, will settle down and be faithful to me. She even tries to stop us from being together after he proposes to me. To convince her of Gabriel's loyalty, I sign up for a new WhatsApp account to test him. He's frosty toward me and keeps me at arm's length. I'm gleeful over this when he suddenly sends me a voice message. "I already told you I won't fool around with anyone other than you and your sister. Who's going to satisfy you once I'm married when you're so insatiable, Yvette?"

Anita," her angelic voice calls to me. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Her soft, delicate hands caressing my face, sparkling green eyes grounding me from the dark past I wish I could forget. "You're safe, it's okay." I bring my hand up, running my finger over the mound of scar tissue. The constant reminder of that night. The raised bump covers the bullet fragment embedded in my sternum. She takes my hands as more thunder rumbles and tears roll down my cheeks. "Breathe Anita," she says in a soothing whisper. My lungs were burning with the need for air and it was then that I realized I'd been holding it. I take in a gasping breath and recall the first time my eyes met her green eyes. My sister had been lifted off me and my eyes opening had startled her. The first time she touched me gave me strength to hold on. I held her hand tight, trying to tell her what happened, but couldn't get enough breath to form words. Sitting in the present going through the same as I had five years ago. "They were all found, Anita. They can't hurt you anymore. It's just a storm. All the doors and windows are locked, the alarm is set. It's just you and me." "Will you keep the light on tonight, please?"

By the third year of my marriage to Daniel Hawthorne, the war had already taken more than it ever returned, and this time it took his younger brother, Thomas Hawthorne. My sister-in-law, Eleanor, collapsed, and in the weeks that followed she tried to follow her husband into death— once with sleeping pills, once by the river beyond the officers’ quarters— only to be dragged back both times, each time clinging to me afterward as though I were the last thing keeping her grounded. I stayed with her, wiped her tears, and whispered that Thomas would want her to live, until the day she received the test results confirming she was three months pregnant, and the grief of losing her husband was slowly softened by the arrival of new life. I smiled too, believing grief had finally loosened its grip. That night, holding my own pregnancy test in my hand and thinking it was finally time to tell Daniel, I passed the study and heard his friend say quietly, “She’s carrying your child. You convinced the doctors to adjust the timeline so everyone would believe the baby belonged to your brother. Aren’t you afraid Margaret will find out?” Daniel didn’t hesitate. “She won’t,” he said calmly. “She loves me. She wouldn’t leave. I won’t let her know.” I didn’t step inside. I didn’t confront him. Instead, I opened the letter I had received weeks earlier— an official deployment order from the international medical corps, assigning me to a frontline war zone— and tapped Accept.

While presiding over a transnational meeting, I received a distressing call from my daughter's kindergarten teacher. "Mrs. Payton, a kid drew a massive clown on Anna's face during nap time! No matter how much I try to wash it off, it won't come off!" I immediately rushed to the kindergarten. My daughter, Anna Payton, was sobbing at the door. Her usually fair and tender face was now red and swollen. The clown drawing on it was particularly eye-catching. The new teacher was so panicked that she was crying herself, her voice trembling. "The parent of the other child is in the office. They said they're willing to compensate any amount, but... But there's no way you can make their son apologize." My anger surged as I kicked open the office door. However, I instantly froze in place. In the office, my husband, Arlo Payton, who was supposed to be in Swizor for a year of intensive studies, was holding up the bully. The next second, the little boy in his arms pointed at Anna and laughed. "Look, Dad. Clownface is here!"

Henry is known as the head of an investment firm in NYC, but his shadowed presence hides the fact that he is also the boss of a Mafia in Italy. Deep down, he carries the trauma left by his abusive, alcoholic father, making him reluctant to form relationships with anyone—except for one person, his childhood friend, Sarah. However, he left both his childhood and Sarah behind in a mysterious case. After an accidental meeting, his eyes catch that beloved silhouette, and he is drawn once again to her beauty and sweetness. On the other side, holding onto her dream of becoming a singer, Sarah has worked hard for her parents to fuel her journey. She wins an investment competition and is about to attend Harvard as part of the prize. Little does she know, the day she steps into her dream is also the day her future becomes intertwined with Henry, her first crush who had disappeared from her life. Will Sarah successfully hold onto him this time, or will he vanish once more into the darkness? How will the cruel cost of power affect the pure love they share?

Flavia— a lost and found baby raised as a vampire slave turns into a wolf on her sixteen birthday which seals her fate of abuse for years. There is nothing she hates more than vampires and it keeps her going until she breaks free yet luck has never been on her side. The young werewolf is caught by royal guards who take her to the Vampire king; the most vile and disgusting creature. She knows nothing but death awaits her there and she is ready to go down swinging. But, what happens when the scarred crown prince claims her as his soul mate. It disgusts her to no end but she will scoop that low. War breaks and they find themselves sitting on the throne of blood. An uncle wants their heads and crowns while dragons burn their city day and night. It’s hard holding onto life, a crown and love at the same time, especially when your so cold soul mate is not really your soul mate. PLEASE NOTE: This is book 2 of ‘The Royally Screwed’ series but can be read as a stand alone. The book contains sexual content, strong language and violence.