Mark Twain Library Long Beach Novels & Stories

“Mate with me and have my pups.” Serena was still on the ground. Her ears were ringing from the absurd demand she’d just heard. Mate? Pups? She blinked up at him, confused and breathless. “What the hell?” ********** She came to prove their world was real… She didn’t expect to be crowned its Queen. When desperate artifact researcher Serena Rael crashes the sacred mating ritual of the Trueblood Alpha King, Kaelen Syrus, she shatters more than tradition — she triggers an ancient Moonbond that cannot be broken. Now bound to a cold, powerful king who despises humans, Serena is obligated to bear his pups in order to survive a realm ruled by wolves, secrets, and deadly magic. But her presence has awakened something far older than fate: a prophecy, a mark, a war and a journey to other packs and realms. He lost his mate to a human. She is a defiant human, who never wished to belong to a werewolf. Fate doesn’t care. But as hidden truths rise and betrayal cuts deep, Serena must choose: The love that claimed her… or the life and freedom she once fought for.

Rain and Ami are the best of friends since their nappies, however as they were growing up, Rain's feelings for Ami grew beyond friendship. Ami was a hoyden and boyish due to her environment. As she was orphaned at a very early age, the only people around her were her uncle and his uncle's stepson, Rain and his male cousins. Rain and Ami's friendship became shaky on the night of Rain's bride search ball. Rain's passionate kiss addled Ami's mind into thinking she was to be his bride. Will it be a happy ever after for them both or will Rain continue to defy fate? Will Ami settle for a foreigner who she feels treasured her more?

I looked up at him as he cages me between his thighs. His hands gripping my thighs and his breath in my neck.  "Good. Now that we've come to an agreement, spread your legs wide open for me Little mate." At Bloodmoon Academy, the truth is deadlier than the secrets. Teya Wellington has only one goal in this hellhole:  uncover the truth behind her twin sister’s tragic death at the prestigious—and dangerous—Bloodmoon Dominion Academy. Everyone, even their parents,  believes and says that Reya took her own life. Teya knows better though.  Disguised under a false identity, she enters a world ruled by power, magic, and monsters who wear human faces.  When she attracts the attention of the academy’s Alpha and a mysterious professor with secrets of his own, Teya finds herself caught in a storm of forbidden attraction, ruthless politics, and unraveling truths. But the deeper she digs, the more tangled the lies become. And the truth? It might destroy her.

"Why do you keep appearing before me then?" Kenzie shouted, a tear rolled down her left cheek and she sniffled. "Why are you acting hot and cold? You keep confusing me with your actions!" She clenched her fists beside her and continued through gritted teeth, "Why do you keep making my heart waver? Do I love you or do I hate you?" She asked in between sobs. Killian didn't respond but turned and walked out of the building."I'll hate you then." She mumbled then stood up. She walked over to her desk and removed the flashdrive from the computer on her desk. "And I have to be the spy again." ***** Within the werewolves, there's commandments they must follow to keep their identity and one of the commandments is 'Any werewolf that discovers that he has a human mate must immediately reject him/her, this is the pack's law to keep humans away and their secret safe.' But Killian is an Alpha with not only a human mate but with the dangerous hound bloodline that can cause doom for both the werewolves and humans. What will Alpha Killian do with his dangerous and forbidden love? And what will he do once he realized the mysterious beastly murders in town might be his doing, will he keep his mate or let her go to protect her.

Three days before my marking ceremony, someone set fire to the bridal shop while I was inside trying on my ceremonial dress. Alpha Marcus threw the arsonist into the pack prison, sentencing them to the harshest punishment our laws allowed. I lay in the hospital bed, my body covered in third-degree burns, refusing to wake fully as the reality of my disfigurement sank in. In my semi-conscious state, I heard Marcus speaking with the pack's healing witch. "Alpha, we can still heal her completely with the ancient magic. If we wait any longer, Sarah will bear these scars for life! You just want Miss Rachel to be your Luna at the marking ceremony. This is cruel beyond measure!" "Let her keep the scars. I'll provide for her for the rest of her life, but if she's healed, she'll definitely cause trouble at the marking ceremony." "I promised Rachel that her pup would be welcomed into the pack with full honors. Only when Sarah is completely disfigured will she be grateful enough to raise Rachel's child as her own. The scars are necessary - at least this way, she won't dare mistreat the pup." In the corner of the room, where no one was watching, a tear slid down my burned cheek. So this was the truth. The marking ceremony I'd dreamed of was nothing but a lie. The mate bond I longed for would be my death sentence. If that's how it had to be, I would give him what he wanted.

I called the wrong name in the dark… and woke up bound to the wrong man. What was meant to fix my broken marriage became a mistake I can’t undo—one that marked me with a bond I don’t understand… and can’t escape. Now he hears my thoughts. Feels my fear. And knows exactly how to use it against me. Killian isn’t just my mate. He’s my stepbrother—an Alpha with power, secrets, and a reason to keep me close. I should hate him. I should run. But the bond won’t let me. And now… he’s come to take me back.

WARNING: Not suitable for young readers or sensitive minds. Some parts contain graphic sex scenes, adult language, and situations intended for mature readers only. TESSIMOND COUSINS SERIES #2 As an only child of the Fortezo family, Myca is set to marry the man of her choice at a party with her entire clan and distant relatives. She never believed that she would have a good life if she marries her male cousin from a distant relative as her family believed. So she ran away and hid on a private island. She thought fate would never play with her life again. She still believed that she could change her parents' decision if she stayed on that island for a few days. But she finds a stout man lying unconscious on the shore of her island whom she believes he has drowned. What if fate plays with their lives? What if Myca's simple admiration for the man turns into something else? What if this man marks her?

My junior accidentally broke the most expensive piece of equipment in the lab and asked me to help fix it. I had just started touching the instrument when she suddenly stepped back, tears brimming, and said, "Michelle, I can't take responsibility for this. I really can't afford it." Before I could even process her words, Nicky Hardy—the unattainable crush I had chased for three years—rushed in and shielded her behind him. Then he turned to me with a glare that could freeze fire. "Michelle, don't go too far. You can't expect her to take the fall for you." I stared at him, dumbfounded. "You know full well I was shoved into this research group. I don't understand any of this stuff. How could I do the experiments on my own?" His eyes grew colder, dripping with disdain. "I've been saying it—what can a nepo baby actually accomplish? And now the equipment's ruined, and you still have the nerve to push the blame onto Elizabeth?" I opened my mouth to argue, but then I caught a flicker of triumph across Elizabeth Horwitz's face in Nicky's arms. That was when it clicked. They only knew I got in through connections—they had no idea I'd financed this very equipment myself. They wanted to play their petty power games over a piece of lab equipment worth over ten million? Interesting.

“It’s not my fault you keep losing our babies!” Jasper snapped. “And instead of being jealous of Lillian, you should be grateful to her!” ~ ~ ~ Rose Ashford’s marriage to Jasper Thompson had been a happy one but too many miscarriages led to one decision that would shake the foundation of the love they once shared. Lillian, Rose’s best friend volunteered to be their surrogate and that’s when things changed for the worse. Rose was kicked aside and disrespected by her husband, shamed and abused by her in-laws, and constantly received shady remarks from her so-called best friend. For the sake of Rose’s baby that Lillian was carrying, she was willing to endure it all until she a shocking revelation shatters her heart into a million pieces. She demanded a divorce, but Jasper isn't willing, he called her dramatic and said she couldn't live without him. Desperate for revenge, she teamed up with Jasper’s rival, Kaiser Montclair. Gone was the meek woman who worshipped her husband and loved her best friend, she was out for their downfall. On this journey of revenge, secrets and lies are uncovered.

“You said I was a burden. You signed the papers and walked out. So why are you standing at my door with flowers, Justin? The woman you abandoned doesn't live here anymore." Harper Wells had a husband who called her a burden, a boss who called her replaceable, and a body that was slowly giving up on her. She had nothing left. So she disappeared. What came back was something neither Justin nor Vivian saw coming. Healthy. Powerful. Untouchable. And completely done. But the man who never stopped fighting for her, who sat in hospital corridors at midnight and called research institutes because waiting until morning felt wrong, Dr. Joel, is still there. Still steady. Still choosing her. Now Justin wants her back. Vivian wants her gone. And Harper Wells just wants to finally choose herself.