Marina Library Maryland Novels & Stories

“But I think we’ve got it under control.” She smiled again, unbothered. “Of course, dear. Just trying to help.” By the time we left the house for an afternoon walk, my nerves were already frayed. Marina had insisted on coming along, claiming she needed the fresh air. I’d hoped the outing would ease the tension, but I should’ve known better. As we strolled through the park, Marina kept up a steady stream of commentary. “You know, walking is good, but have you thought about swimming? It’s much gentler on the joints. I bet there’s a prenatal class around here somewhere.”

“If you need me anytime, you just come knock on my door ok? Sarah said kindly. Mary nodded her head happy to have a friend. And she could feel it. Sarah truly wanted to be her friend. Mary felt like she was walking on clouds she was so excited. They continued down to the main floor where Sarah took Mary down a hallway. They passed set of double doors that Sarah explained housed the library. They passed a glass wall where she could clearly see an enormous gym on the other side of the glass. There were lots of people in there so Mary quickly walked by trying not to attract any attention. They then came up to a door near the end of the hall. Sarah knocked on the door and then opened it. “Alpha,

Mara blinked. After all the darkness it hurt. Then she stepped out. And stopped. There was no lonely coast before them. No remote beach. It's a small industrial port. Container. Cranes. An investor. Several vans. In the background a city. Grey sky. Kirchturm. Trams. Bremen Mara couldn't speak. She was already there. Not somewhere on the North Sea. Not far away. Bremen. All the time. The island was apparently only a few kilometers off the coast.

I replied politely. "There's a lot I've got to show you," she said, smiling back at me. “Follow me, please,” Mary said, gesturing toward the mansion. Her heels clicked softly on the polished stone floor as we entered through the massive front doors. I couldn’t help my curiosity. “Wow… this place is massive,” I muttered. Noticing a large room filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves and what looked like ancient tomes, I asked, "Is that a library?" Mary shook her head gently. “No, Lyra. That is Alpha Jerome’s private study. Nobody is allowed in there without his permission.”

The university library was nearly empty at 9 PM on a Thursday, exactly how Mara preferred it. She'd claimed her usual spot in the back corner of the third floor, surrounded by towering shelves of forgotten literature that nobody bothered with anymore. Her psychology textbook lay open in front of her, but she'd read the same paragraph three times without absorbing a single word. The quiet was hypnotic. Just the distant hum of the heating system and the occasional whisper of pages turning somewhere far below. Then she heard footsteps.

One day he took the girls to a small town far from the coast where he would sell a part of the food he collected to get money and buy some supplies he needed in the cabin. During that month, Marina never touched the water. Once all of her chores were done, she would go to the beach and walk down the shore until she was so far from the cabin that it looked like a little dot on the horizon. Every day she was invaded by the homesickness, but she never entered the water and left the beach instead. Marina knew quite well that there was no place for her on land, but this did not make her feel uneasy or made her homesickness grew stronger. Instead, it just made her more wishful to know all the wond

When they slid against my skin, I remembered the night before and got hard all over again. I was hoping Vlad would be in the mood for love that afternoon; I needed someone to take my mind off Javier. My ass was already tingling as I got to his office, a tall building on Lincoln Road. Marina, a statuesque blonde from Minsk, was on the phone when I walked into the reception area. While I waited I gazed at the lush photos of Russian landscapes on the walls: the banks of the Volga, snow-capped Urals, the harbor at Vladivostok. The furniture was sleek and Scandinavian, blond woods and eggshell cushions. The whole office breathed money.

Far beneath her cabin floor, in the stone cellar with its blood-water cauldron, Doreana whispered one word to the darkness that clung to the walls like living mist: “Soon.” The Marina House was nearly empty tonight. Most humans avoided the lake during winter — the wind cut too sharply, and the docks groaned like they carried ghosts. Perfect for deals made in shadows. At 8:57 p.m., Bram pulled into the back lot, headlights off. His car hissed as it cooled, and he scanned the marina — quiet, lights dimmed, the water cold and still. He clutched the small metal container in his pocket like it was a winning lottery ticket.

They could hardly take out their anger on someone like her. "I'll be fine," Belinda replied Lexie. Her phone vibrated then, and she reached for it inside her purse. On reading the text on the screen, her lips spread into a smile. "Mary's here." The coffee in Lexie's throat shot down the wrong pipe, causing her to choke violently. Pounding her chest, she coughed up the straying liquid, before shooting Belinda a wide-eyed look. "Mary? As in Mary Vaughn?" "Mm-hmm." Belinda nodded, as though the Luna joining them for a cup of coffee was a completely normal occurrence. "She arrived in Chicago last night. I should call Marcus over too."

“Locals come here a lot. Tourists too, but it never loses its charm.” “That’s good to know,” I said. My throat felt dry again. I reached for my water and took a slow drink, buying myself a second to think. Maria leaned forward a little. “If you’d like, after lunch I can take you down to the marina,” she said. “It’s quieter there. Less crowded. Good for thinking.” “I might take you up on that,” I said. “Quiet sounds… nice.”