Jungle House

As I was about to leave The Crimson Curtain, my brother Corvus's elite vampire club, a woman who claimed to be the manager stopped me. "Ma'am, you just helped yourself to a priceless vial of Elder's Blood. You have to pay." I looked at the unfamiliar face, sensing the weak blood of a lesser vampire. She must be a fledgling, I thought, new to the club and unaware of who I was. "Your boss approved it," I said flatly. "Take it up with him." But the woman just sneered at me. "Plenty of women try to get close to our boss. If every one of you took what you wanted, how would we stay in business?" She shoved a copy of the club rules at me. Anyone who takes Elder's Blood without permission pays with three times the amount in heart's blood. Or they don't leave. Vampire guards started to close in, some even drawing silver blades, ready to take me down. I laughed, a cold, sharp sound. I couldn't believe Corvus's club had such an insane rule. "I am the Lord of House Volkov. Corvus's own sister. If he needs compensation, he can come to me himself." But her mockery only sharpened. "You look like some low-born stray. Claiming ties to a noble house? Pathetic. Hand over the heart's blood. Now." My patience snapped. I sent a message to the family elders through our bloodline. "Tell Corvus to either make this woman disappear forever, or I'm taking back ownership of this club. All of it."

“What is your proudest moment alive?” “That I hate my family.” Rosie Ellery hates her family. Her parents don’t even bother to hide the fact that they treat both children differently. Rosie never gets the proper life she deserves, while her step-disabled-sister, gets it all. Rosie knows she should get out of this fuck up house before her parents sell her to a stranger. Alex Angelo graduated from a good college and has a decent job as an editor in a magazine company. Mrs. Angelo is a single parent and rarely home because she travels a lot for work, which Alex and Ayle, his sister, are being grateful for. In conclusion, Alex Angelo has a stable life. Or at least that’s what he would like to believe. Rosie Ellery and Alex Angelo meet through a social experiment run by Your Daily Updates! Magazine. The blonde screams everything but his mom’s approval. After what Ayle has been through, Alex knows better than to try his luck. But damn... You only live once. ‘Let’s play with the fire. Better crying for the result than dying in curiosity.’ For the first time, the obedient puppy chooses to stop pleasing other souls, but a certain blonde. Growing up in a fuck up house, makes Rosie Ellery realize one thing. ‘I’ve had enough of people who doesn’t value my worth. Go fuck yourself if you don’t like me.’ “Let me teach you how to forgive people and move on with your life.” “And why would I do that?” “So you can start a new life with me, obviously?”

After the real son, Asher Vale, was brought back, everything in our house became tied to drawing lots. The chef of the day, who would have to cook a particular person's preferred dishes, had to be decided by drawing lots. Even our parents' kisses and hugs were chosen the same way. I always drew the short stick. The long stick, by default, belonged to Asher. He never had to do anything to receive our parents' love. Whenever I felt it was unfair and wanted to cry, Mom would scold me sharply, "I bought the lot-drawing box because I was afraid you'd feel hurt. I wanted to be fair to both of you. If you want something, decide it yourselves. Your father and I won't interfere. If you can't draw the long stick, you can only blame your bad luck." So I began practicing every day, shaking the box diligently, over and over, in hopes that one day, it would help me earn my parents' love. Unfortunately, for ten years, I never once drew the long stick. Until my birthday. Asher wanted to go to the amusement park, and Mom once again told us to decide by drawing lots. I secretly glued the two short sticks together and handed them to Mom, hoping to keep her with me. She slapped me hard across the face, screaming that I was cheating and disobedient. Then she stormed out of the house with Asher. When I fell to the ground, the short stick stabbed deep into my neck. 'I'm sorry, Mom. Next time, I'll work harder. Next time, I'll definitely draw the long stick.'

My father raised me on one principle: fair exchange. If I wanted anything, I had to earn it myself. Fifty cents for washing the dishes. A dollar for mopping the floor. Five dollars for a perfect score on a test. To buy the pair of white sneakers I had been dreaming of, I spent three months collecting recyclables. In that house, I lived like a pieceworker, paid by the task. It was not until my senior year of high school that everything began to crack. I collapsed during morning study, my body worn down by years of malnutrition. The doctor said I needed better nutrition. My father stood by my hospital bed and started doing the math. "Three hundred for the hospital stay. Two hundred for medication. Chester, this all goes on your tab for the future." I turned my head and saw a boy in a school uniform in the next bed. His father was feeding him spoonfuls of chicken soup, his eyes red with worry. In that moment, the world I had known for 18 years fell apart. It turned out not every child had to earn their parents' love. After I was discharged, I went home and saw the pair of designer sneakers on my brother's feet; it was worth thousands. That was when I finally woke up. I tore up the family photo and, without hesitation, applied to the college farthest from home. Ten years later, my father called me in tears. My brother had taken all his retirement savings, sold the house, and run off with his girlfriend. He was left with nothing. No home. No one. I smiled and tossed him a rag. "Want a place to stay? Sure. It's 50 cents per window. Earn your own rent."

“You are under arrest, Sienna Hopper for the murder of Jace Wright!” . . . “You said you were angry and went to his house with a bat, did you not? You trashed his apartment. Everything but him? And from the picture we received, his nose was broken. Now you said you didn’t touch him but you broke his nose. Do you mind explaining that to us?” My interrogator quirked a brow at me, the all-knowing look on his face and it said one word, culprit. Fuck that looked bad. It was bad. “I want a lawyer,” I instantly said. ***** Sienna is a rash and impulsive girl but beneath the tough girl act is a heartbroken and abused girl. When her mother gets ill with cancer, with a bill worth a lifetime. With the heat of everything, her ass-cheating ex calls her once again and there, and then she snaps, storms over to his house, destroys everything, and lands a punch squarely on his face. When she retires home, an old wound opens and she ends up at the bar, just to drink away her sorrow but then she ends up in bed with the city’s most powerful, cold-hearted lawyer, Greyson. Just a one-night stand, she tells herself. Nothing more. Until the next morning, when she’s arrested for her ex’s murder. And the only person willing to take her case? The same man she just slept with. She can’t afford his fees, but he has a proposition: marry him, have his child, and he’ll defend her in court. Two things Sienna has vowed in life never to be, a wife and a mother. But desperate time calls for desperate measures, isn’t that right, it’s just a marriage, and a child.

Ember accepted her lot in life. On the run, she only wishes to find out the truth behind her dreams and solve the memory of her past. Keegan has only cared about protecting his pack, but when he sees the beauty dancing on stage and the flicker of flames in her eyes his body screams, Mate! Can Keegan tame the flames of Ember and together solve the mystery of her missing past? Or will they all burn together? Excerpt: “This is the reason I’m always tired,” I think to myself. Twenty-four years of coming here and still not a single clue, but every time I close my eyes, I return to this place. I know my surroundings perfectly. Oddly the place is beautiful to the eyes. The old house sat among flowers growing around all sides. The aroma of honeysuckle and jasmine fill my lungs filling me with a moment's peace. I’m sitting in my usual spot. Gripping the ropes of a swing in the front yard held by a large oak tree. Waiting I begin pushing my legs back and forth sending me in motion. I know something is about to happen. It happens every night. The house moves in front of my eyes. I see the shadows coming, but I don’t stop swinging. They are black as night but I can see smiles within the shadow grinning bright. “What is this place!” I cry, fed up with this nightly repetition, but no sound emerges. A noise can be heard from the back of the house. One of the shadows turns toward it. I jump down to follow only to have the other shadow hold me back. “Don’t go. Not yet. Listen to me!”

Ivy Sinclaire was born powerful—Heiress to House of Valemont and Manhattan royalty. Power doesn’t stop betrayal from crawling into her life—all cloaked in the form of her husband and her closest friend/ legal counsel. On the night she receives her Woman of Year award in global business, she walks into her office and finds Harry between Vivienne’s legs on her Italian marble desk—the same one she had closed multi-million deals on. The same night, her car crashes in a fiery wreck, and she’s declared dead, but alas! Ivy isn’t dead. She is saved by the one man who’s always wanted her and her nemesis. Chase Sterling. An arrogant billionaire and philanthropist in a tailored suit. A man who’s watched Ivy from the shadows for years. Keeping his distance, waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in and be her hero. “They tried to kill you and they almost succeeded,” Chase scoffs, adjusting his cufflinks. “I shouldn’t have trusted them,” Ivy wipes the tears streaming down her cheeks violently. “So what now?” She looks him dead in the eye. “I’ll give you 30% of House of Valemont. In return, you help me destroy them.” Reborn as Victoria St. James, Ivy returns to New York—unrecognizable, vengeful, and dangerous. With Chase at her side, she sets the stage for a merciless takedown, but as their dark alliance deepens into something twisted and magnetic, the question remains: who’s really in control? Because Chase didn’t just save her… He remade her, and he has no intention of letting her go.

Nagmadaling nagpahanap si Elijah Reigo ng babaeng papalit bilang bride sa kasal nila sa Isla nang biglang naglaho na parang bula ang kanyang kasintahan. Sakto namang na-stranded si Claudette Revista sa Isla matapos ang malakas na bagyo. Dinala siya ng mga tauhan ni Elijah sa isang rest house at pinilit na maging asawa ng isang mafia boss. Sa Isla na iyon, hindi basta basta ang buhay dahil kailangan sundin ni Claudette ang lahat ng utos kung gusto niyang mabuhay. Ang kalayaan? Nasa dulo ng panganib.

Sophia’s world come crashing when she was sent out of her house and her mother needed to undergo a surgery Her best friend ‘Lia’ offers her a job in secret to dance for a vip client. She meets a billionaire “jake” who is in need of a bride to help keep his business going, he offers a contract marriage to Sophia in return for helping her with the financial battle she’s facing. What will happen when she moves in with jake and find out his a twin? Someone she had met before Jake and knows how desperate she is. Will she be able to hide the fact that the marriage is based on business from the other twin brother?

On New Year's Eve, I prepare a feast. The clock strikes twelve, but my husband, Vincent Porter, still isn't home. My daughter, Lorelei Porter, tugs at my sleeve and holds up my phone. "Look Mommy, Daddy is at this lady's house!" Vincent has posted an update on Twitter. He is with Christine Snow, his childhood sweetheart. They are smiling at the camera, with a boy who looks about ten standing between them. In front of them sits a swan-shaped cake. The caption reads, "The most special day for the most special you." My heart sinks into my stomach. A marriage that came later in life can never compete with a pair of childhood sweethearts. I accept defeat.