Mark Twain Library Long Beach Novels & Stories

I stared at the photos attached to an email. My Alpha mate, Marcus Hale, was supposed to be negotiating a partnership with another pack. But the photo showed him standing in Firefly Woods, a famous dating spot. Across from him were his long-lost first love and my two children. The four of them looked happy and complete, like a perfect family frozen in time. My heart jolted painfully. At the same moment, I realized that what I had with Marcus was over.

Every year, the village had to choose a girl of age to become the Blossom Bride. The girl who was chosen would be sent into the cave as the village god’s wife. She would spend the entire night with him. If she came out alive, she would be honored for the rest of her life as a village elder. Any child she bore was said to be blessed, destined for a life of effortless fortune. If she died, the village would simply wait for the next year, when another Blossom Bride would be chosen. The blessing of the Blossom Bride was believed to pass on to her parents and elders as well. However, no one wanted to be chosen. To escape the ritual, families quietly left the village, one after another. I was the only one who volunteered. I had a lust problem, and I had always wondered what it would feel like to be with a god.

He groaned. "I can hear your heart, little one. Does that excite you?" He can hear my heart! She had to clear her throat before she could answer. "It's the way you talk." One of his claws caressed her cheek. He leaned down close, those golden eyes gleaming, his face a shadow. Her breath caught. "I could lick you again, make you scream with pleasure. Would you like that?" ************************************** Purchased by the Demon King, Victoria O'Hare is thrown into the world of the immortal. Brutal and ruled by instinct, the Demon King comes to her in the dark, filling her world with pleasure and fear. Cursed and broken, King Sebastian struggles to control his inner demon. He now owns a sweet little beauty. One who calls to him in the darkness. One he could kill in an instant. Victoria struggles to show Sebastian there is more to him than his brutal nature. Despite his curse, Sebastian is tempted to accept all Victoria has to offer. When a desperate werewolf and an evil army threaten war, King Sebastian must accept what he is and protect the woman he loves...if his inner demon doesn't kill her first.

Rary didn't expect to meet her mate so soon. in fact, all she wanted was to live one day at a time, without much news. But absolutely everything changes drastically when she crosses the path of Vidar, the powerful Alpha King. Despite the unusual circumstances that bring them together, a strong bond forms between them, revealing a supernatural connection and a sealed destiny between a human and a werewolf.

Seventeen-year-old Isla Morgan has lost everything—her mother, her home, and her place in the world. When a mysterious invitation leads her to Moonridge Academy, a hidden school tucked deep in the Oregon woods, she thinks it’s a chance to disappear. But Moonridge has other plans. Drawn to four powerful Alpha-blooded males, Isla begins to unravel secrets no one dares speak aloud. She’s not just another student—she’s the reincarnation of Elara, a long-dead Omega whose power once threatened to unite—or destroy—the shifter world. Now, hunted by a rogue faction, haunted by fragmented memories, and bound to four mates with ties to her past life, Isla must decide: Will she repeat history—or break the curse that’s doomed every Omega before her?

Pain. That was all I remembered after I lost my mom to a sudden death. I was seven when that happened. And after that, my father took over the house and the company, and married a week later to my mom's best friend, while stating it was for my own good. The world turned their backs on me, calling me trash and a jinx. But that wasn't the worst thing I had to endure. My father drugged and sold me as a replacement for the debts he could not repay. In return, I got stuck in the hands of a ruthless disfigured man, who always hid his face behind a mask. “I'll never let you go, Georgina. You're mine, and the sooner you accept that, the better”. His cold voice echoed in my ears as he grabbed my neck and made my legs become weak. I thought all hope was lost, but I miraculously escaped. … Ha. It's funny how fast time flies. It's been 8 years, and I finally returned to the city that broke me. But this time, I didn't return the same way I had left. I didn't return as the docile fool. Rather, I returned as someone they could not touch. A mother to my lovely twins. And the most sought after miraculous doctor. “My daughter, you're back home. Everyone, she is my daughter”. “My wife, I have finally found you. Return home with me”. They tried to control me again. How sick and irritating. Did they think I was the old Georgina they knew? They are wrong. The old Georgina had died, and this new Georgina had returned to make them pay. I will reclaim everything they took away. The company, the house. Including restoring my mother's honor! I'm Georgina, and you are welcome to my story…

“Get on your knees, my little pet," Jerome growled, his voice rough with command. His fingers tangled in my hair, guiding me down as my pulse roared in my ears. The heat of his body pressed closer, and I trembled not from fear, but from the dark thrill of surrender. "Show me how hungry you are." Rachel is a college senior studying art and design, and her life feels dull and uninspiring. She has been dating Jack since freshman year, but their relationship is lukewarm he doesn’t ignore her, but he doesn’t truly care about her either, especially since he’s always eyeing her best friend, Jessica. Rachel feels stuck in a routine, going through the motions without any real passion until everything changes when her drawing teacher gets into an accident. The school brings in a substitute Jerome, a young, breathtakingly attractive artist who immediately commands the room. Rachel tries to ignore the way her body reacts to him, but the pull is too strong. His gaze lingers on her a second too long, his voice sends shivers down her spine, and when he gets close, she can’t think straight. She knows it’s wrong teachers and students can’t be together but she can’t resist. Then she discovers Jerome’s secret he’s a werewolf, part of a powerful pack with three other dangerously seductive men Dante, Kade, and Elias. They’ve been watching her, waiting, and now that she’s near Jerome, their instincts take over. They growl, they claim, and Rachel, despite her fear, finds herself drawn deeper into their world. Drawn into a world of forbidden desire, Rachel surrenders to a passionate affair.

They were best friends and even more— or so she thought. Winnie and Jason had a love that felt unbreakable, destined… until he chose power and wealth over her. His betrayal shattered her heart and left her drowning in pain. Now working as a private caregiver for the same Alpha who turned out to be Jason’s brother-in-law, Winnie only wants peace and a quiet life. But fate has other plans. Because the man she’s meant to serve, the Alpha himself, is the same man she once had a passionate moment with. And somewhere between guilt, loyalty, and unspoken desire, Winnie finds herself falling for him all over again. She’s falling for her ex-mate’s powerful brother-in-law. Will she be strong enough to resist the bond pulling her closer to him, or will fate trap her once more in its cruel game of love, betrayal, and secrets?

“Aria,” He called my name so sweetly as my legs wobbled. No, no, no..I can’t fall for his charms again. “Don’t touch me!” My voice betrayed me. A moan came out as Lucas drew closer to me. “What do you think, that I will ever let you go? Never ever…” His breath fanned my face, and one more trick from him, then I’m doomed. I’m here for revenge, but he wants to ruin me. *** Aria, the girl everyone knows as the one marked under the blood moon. She was chosen by the moon goddess years ago to bear the mark, but little did she know what her destiny was. She was faced with so much torture from the people because they think that whoever bears that mark would cause nothing but destruction. Aria became a threat to the kingdom. Enemies wanting to take the one who bears the mark. And the one person she trusts betrays her. Lucas, his quest for more power made him sacrifice Aria to access the throne. Years later, war started in the kingdom, and Aria, the forbidden Luna, came back with a completely different personality, not that once sweet Aria they all knew but instead a strong and powerful Aria that no one could challenge. Lucas regretted everything he did to Aria, but Aria no longer wanted love but revenge. But with their mate bond activated and with nothing but revenge in her heart leading the kingdom to doom, Lucas must choose either to surrender to the mate he once betrayed or lose his world to the wrath of the Luna he forgot.

Jason Schwartz had been a close friend of my father's, despite the age gap. The year I met him, I was fearless, the kind of girl who thought nothing could touch her. I bit down hard on the hand he offered me. Jason just laughed. "You're adorable," he said. "Like a little wolf." On my 18th birthday, he shoved me onto the bed, his eyes red, as if he had been holding back for years. "Diana, I've finally waited long enough for you to grow up." He was the one who pulled me into that first flutter of desire, the one who led me across every line I wasn't supposed to cross. I grew into exactly the kind of girl he wanted. The day my father was hacked to death by his enemies, Jason took my hand and stepped into his place without hesitation. When I was pregnant, he brought home a girl covered in blood. "Diana, she's not like you. She's like wild grass, tough and stubborn." He said he admired wild grass. But he forgot something. He was the one who raised me into a rose that only knew the shelter of a greenhouse. Good thing I didn't need him anymore.