Michael Afton Bear Mask Novels & Stories

In a world where dragons rule the skies and magic pulses through every heartbeat, the spirit of Queen Zenobia endures. Centuries ago, she sacrificed her life to imprison the dark sorcerer Kal. Now she is reborn as Princess Elena Beaufort, who is unaware of her formidable powers and destiny. As shadows of the past stir and long-hidden truths surface, Elena finds herself thrust into a struggle that could determine the fate of her realm. With allies at her side and enemies lurking in the shadows, Elena must navigate a treacherous path of danger, betrayal, and unexpected love. Will she uncover her true identity in time to protect her loved ones and complete Zenobia's unfinished battle? ---- "A Queen will always turn pain into power" I am ruthless against my enemy, but I wouldn't let anyone dear to me suffer this time. I swore to the heavens, no matter how many lifetimes passes by I will come back to protect my people and my love. I will not let him face the death for me, this time I will be the one protecting him. --- “Lea please….” Liam asked looking at the silent Lea. “Why can’t you be in a relationship with me?” Lea blurted out unconsciously. “Be…Because…I..” Liam stammered. “It's okay you don’t have to answer me,” Lea said and then added, “It's not like I can be in a relationship with you as well at the moment ”. This time it was Liam who was confused by her words and asked “But why?”. “Because I am already engaged to someone else”.

I marry the comatose heir of Jebony's most affluent family for the ten million dollars in wedding gifts. In the year after the wedding, I undergo 12 rounds of IVF and finally give birth to the Larkin family's successor. When our son turns five, Jacob Larkin miraculously wakes up. The media goes wild, calling me the Larkin family's lucky star. They say I'll live a life of endless privilege. I merely smile—the first look Jacob gives me after waking up is one full of disdain. He even warns me icily, "You're nothing more than a woman my father paid to bear me an heir. Don't kid yourself that I'll ever fall for you! "I grew up with Angela. If not for that accident, you would never have become my wife." I hand him the divorce papers and say calmly, "I'll step aside, then. I'll give you and Ms. Lloyd what you want."

Before the wedding, Alpha Kevin’s first love, Sandra Barlow, was betrothed to none other than David Wright—the most infamous rogue Alpha along the Mississippi River. A wolf so ruthless, even the werewolf Council preferred to pretend he didn’t exist. Alpha Kevin, ever the noble hero, couldn't bear to see his precious white moonlight thrown into the fire pit. So, what did he do? With the werewolf army of the Midnight Ridge Pack, he stormed into the rogue den and snatched her away from Alpha David. That very night, they registered their marriage and held a wedding. And me? Oh, the entire Midnight Ridge Pack was practically at the thought of watching Gamma Diana Gilbert—the strongest female warrior in the pack—get humiliated. After all, my years of loyalty, my unmatched skills, my blood spilled for this pack? Worthless. Why? Because their beloved Alpha had chosen another. I braced myself for the whispers, the pitying glances. But then— The very next day, Alpha David, the same rogue who’d been so cruelly robbed of his mate, climbed onto my villa’s security wall like a damn cat burglar. He perched there, arms crossed, watching me with an infuriatingly lazy smirk. “Wife pays for her husband’s debt,” he drawled, his voice carrying the rough edge of a wolf who lived lawless and free. “Alpha Kevin stole my mate. So I figured—you should compensate me by becoming my rogue Luna.” He grinned, canines flashing. “ That’s fair, isn’t it?” I nodded. “Fair.”

Connie Reid doesn't date athletes. She doesn't talk about her past. And she definitely doesn't play hockey anymore. She built her new life at Crestfield University carefully — warm smile, sharp instincts, a matchmaking reputation that keeps everyone else's love lives running smoothly while her own heart stays locked away. It works perfectly. Until the university board decides her skills belong to them. The deal is simple and non-negotiable: fake a relationship with Kyrian Maddox — Crestfield's most controversial hockey recruit — on a live reality dating show, or watch her most painful secret broadcast to every student on campus. Kyrian Maddox doesn't explain himself to anyone. He arrived at Crestfield already carrying a scandal he didn't cause and a reputation he can't escape. The PR arrangement forced on him is just another thing he has no choice but to endure. The girl they've paired him with is warm, clever and reads people like open books. He finds that deeply suspicious. Off camera they're strangers who tolerate each other in cold silence. On camera they're convincing enough to trend. But the longer they share a house, an ice rink and the weight of secrets neither will speak aloud, the harder it becomes to remember where the performance ends. Then the boy who destroyed Connie's life walks into the show house smiling like no time has passed. And everything she buried starts clawing its way back to the surface. Kyrian notices the shift in her before she can hide it. What he doesn't know yet is that protecting her might cost him everything he came to Crestfield to rebuild. Some performances become real. Some secrets refuse to stay buried. And some people are worth burning everything down for.

Felix Laurent had one dream: art school in Paris. Then his family's bankruptcy turned him into a bargaining chip. When his brother refuses to marry billionaire CEO Damien Cross, Felix becomes the replacement. Six days to learn a new identity. Six days before he walks down the aisle as someone else. Three years trapped in a contract marriage before he can reclaim his life. Damien Cross doesn't do love. He does business. This marriage is just another merger, another deal. He barely remembers the arrogant heir he's marrying. But the man standing at the altar isn't who Damien expected. Gentle where he should be bold. Artistic where he should be cunning. And far too innocent for someone who's supposed to be a Playboy. When the truth shatters everything, Damien faces an impossible choice: destroy the man who deceived him, or fight for the love he never saw coming. Some lies are worth forgiving. Some deceptions lead to truth.

"I, Ruby Quinn, reject you, Alpha Colt Reinhart, as my mate…" ************************** Walking in on my mate, Alpha Colt Reinhart, fucking a red-haired slut on our matrimonial bed was a severe jab to my heart. To make matters worse, he gloated to my face about taking her as his breeder and mocked my inability to bear a child in our four years of being together. The pain from his betrayal came with a great urge to redeem a bit of my dignity, so I rejected him and went crying to his cousin and my childhood sweetheart, Killian Reinhart. We didn’t do anything we weren’t supposed to do. He just let me sleep in his suite after consoling me. It was also the last time I laid my eyes on Colt. However, four years later, I became a mother of three boys with an insane resemblance to Killian, which was very illogical. And if that wasn’t enough complication, Colt returns to my life, pleading for a second chance, and claiming paternity of my kids. It becomes a nasty fight between the two brothers, and it can only end when I choose one of them as the father of my triplets. But how do I do that, when I wasn’t so sure myself?

Alpha Joe signed a marriage contract with me to save his heart-sick crush— in exchange for my heart. On the day of the wedding, I was pushed onto the operating table. Her heart was taken. He was kissing his bride, while I died alone on a cold hospital bed. But fate gave me a second life— I returned as the most power ful Alpha, Stephen, vowing to make every betrayer pay in blood. Alpha Joe thought I was still the helpless little Omega. He never expected me to come back— with a lethal power , and memories sharp enough to kill him.

I once thought Jareth was the love of my life. He said "Mom's in the hospital," but then turned around and kissed Lily in the VIP seats at the concert; when his bipolar disorder flared up, he was violent with me, but then told Lily, "You’re such a good girl"; he had videos with Lily saved on his phone, and in the chat records, he called me "the cold, emotionless finance robot." Five years of love, ruined in his lies and betrayals. He thought I would cry and scream, but all I did was watch him finish his final act. When he knelt on the ground and said, "I was wrong," what I handed him was the merger agreement: "Sign it. This is the first debt you owe me." Those broken hearts will eventually turn into sharp blades that will pierce him. And I will rise from the ruins, living more beautifully than anyone else.

Outside the police tape surrounding a fancy hotel, a police officer can be seen blocking my way. "There seems to be a bomb hidden in the hotel! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to get any closer!" I'm just about to dig out my work badge when the intern next to me, Christine Wyatt, covers her mouth in a pretentiously shocked manner. "Officer, there's a detonator and a timer in his bag! Those things look so scary!" The entire scene goes eerily silent. Almost immediately, I see a few guns getting aimed at my forehead. Anxiety begins overwhelming me. "I'm a bomb disposal expert from the Headquarters Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit! My bag contains all the tools necessary to dispose of a bomb!" "Throw your bag over to me and keep your hands where I can see them!" Captain Scott Hunter roars at me. My bag is opened afterward. Things like an insulated cutter, a bomb suppression blanket, and a liquid nitrogen cooling tank are scattered across the ground. Before I can explain myself, Christine suddenly points at me while screaming, "Why are you still playing dumb? You just told me that you wanted to set off an explosion in that hotel! "What, now that the police are here, you dare not admit what you just said, huh? You're a terrorist through and through!" Scott reacts quickly by pinning me on the hood of the police cruiser with my hands folded behind my back. "We're taking you back for a thorough interrogation!" My heart almost stops at those words. The bomb that's packed with enough firepower to take out half a street has already gone on a countdown in the hotel lobby. But I, the only bomb disposal expert who can get rid of the bomb, have handcuffs put on me because of Christine's nonsensical accusations. Right now, there are only 29 minutes left before the bomb goes off.

On the day I was promoted to department head, I invited my parents on a trip during the Independence Day holiday. However, my mother invited my older sister, Anna Smith, and her entire family. She even posted about it on her social media. [My eldest daughter is so filial. The first thing she does after getting her salary is to invite me on a trip.] Anna replied: [It's only right to be filial to your parents.] Our relatives all praised Anna and even sent messages in the family chat group, telling me to learn from her. I silently looked at my mother's post on social media and canceled the supplementary card I gave her. This time, I wanted to see how they kept up that loving mother and dutiful child act.