Montana State Library Novels & Stories

Kyra Hopkins doesn’t believe in marriage and long term relationships. She co-manages her dream job with her two best friends Lily and Bipasha. With the two worried about her no-dating state, they hit a club with plans to GET KYRA LAID. In a White tiny dress they leave her in a bar nurturing a glass of water and pondering what exactly her newest client’s birthday party theme should be. Horses or cars. That’s what she voices out to the sinfully hot man who took the seat beside hers. And he’s got Kyra’s feet feeling like they were lit on fire. Worst of all, she got what it meant to have butterflies flutter in your stomach walls. Best of all, the man knows what she wants and he wants it too and more. Kyra got in for the ride of her life, planned for a weekend because remember? Kyra doesn’t do long term. But then, neither is Nicholai Damien Ivanov or Sin as he’s more popularly known as into long term relationships. One night stands or at a stretch a weekend fling. Why does the angel in white getting stuck in his head and refusing to leave? Why couldn’t his PI track her from the little information she dropped about herself. The questions haunted his nights and refused to leave until he caught sight of his Angel in a black dress on another man’s arm, then his sister hugged her referring to her as Kyra while his Angel introduced herself to him as April. Sin got his answer and meant to show her how much they weren’t over yet. In fact they hadn’t even begun. It was just the beginning of Nicholai Ivanov’s obsession with his one-night stand.

Mom is always very strict with both my elder sisters, Esther and Emily Kingston. She always wakes them up at 5:00 am to make them study. And if they refuse to wake up, Mom will grab an embroidery needle and stab it into my arm. When fresh blood spills out, Esther and Emily will both get a fright and scramble to their desks at once to begin studying. Sometime during the year-end exam, Esther gets one easy question wrong, and I receive ten lashes with Mom's belt. Emily gets only the second-highest score in class, and I am forced to kneel on glass until my knees turn bloodied and torn. Esther and Emily feel sorry for me and fall to their knees, begging Mom to have mercy on me and promising that they will study hard and make her proud of them. Mom smiles happily and says that this teaching method works very well. However, after the SATs, Esther applies for a college out of state, and Emily tells Mom that she is eloping with a young man whom she has fallen in love with. Mom is so angry that she yanks me over and stuffs me into a huge fish tank before beginning to fill it up with water. She then takes a video of me, threatening to drown me alive if they don't listen to her and do exactly as she says. The water keeps rising in the tank. I feel scared, but I don't struggle because Mom always tells me that the only reason for my existence is to be made an example out of for Esther and Emily. She often quotes Shakespeare's "Othello", telling me about how I am the "sacrificial" dog one beats to scare a lion and teach it obedience. I think that I am considered quite a qualified dog after all, right?

“Shut up!” He roared, as he tore my slave garment from my body in less than a second, leaving my body bare, except for my bra and panties. I had given up already, tired of writhing on the floor, tired of trying to wiggle out of his hold, and tired of pleading. What was the use? My legs were already held hostage in the confines of his own limbs, my throat was now sore, and all my plea fell on deaf ears. I shut my eyes tightly, already welcoming my cursed fate, when suddenly the door burst ajar. “Who dares to interrupt my pleasure time? My assailant asked, about to turn his head way back to see who had been standing by the door, when suddenly, in a twinkle of an eye, his head went off flying from his neck, to the ground idly. And so, I screamed; especially as I felt his blood splatter all over my chest and face. But in my screaming and shocked state, I was still able to hear the first words of the man since he had stepped into the room. “How dare you to touch my mate?” He roared. ***** Olivera, the only wolfless girl in the Red Moon’s Pack was captured alongside her best friend by the deadliest pack in the entire region. While performing her slave duties for the new pack, she was almost raped by her taskmaster, but for the intervention of Raul, the Alpha of the pack, who is reckoned for his infamous curse, ruthlessness and womanizing traits. Journey along with Olivera, and see how a shy, seizure plagued wolfless girl tamed the big bad alpha, especially when it was discovered that she was a hybrid, the chosen who would restore peace between the two supernatural realms at war.

While on vacation, I return to my hometown to help my parents harvest pears. After seeing my Instagram post, my son's homeroom teacher, Ernest Dugan, sends me a private message. "So you sell pears, Mr. Miller? The kindergarten hasn't finalized next month's fruit supplier yet, so we'll order from you. You won't suffer any loss from this deal. I'll pay five dollars per pound. You just need to arrange transportation and deliver them to the kindergarten." I almost laugh out loud. My family's pears are the famous Green Jewel variety; they are known as the "Hermes of pears". They sell for over 100 dollars per pound on average. Five dollars wouldn't even cover the cost of a single pear. Even though Ernest is being ridiculous, I still reply politely, "Sorry, all of our pears are reserved. You'll need to find another supplier." To my surprise, Ernest immediately posts photos of my family's pears in the parent group chat. He writes, "Next month's fruit selection for the kindergarten will be upgraded to Green Jewel pears. If anyone wishes to buy some for personal consumption, feel free to place orders below. The price is five dollars per pound." The chat group buzzes with activity as parents rush to place orders one after another. Three days later, they block the truck carrying my shipment to Windford. Determined to force the sale, they surround the vehicle and refuse to let it leave. Before they can ransack the truck, several military-plated vehicles arrive and seal off the road. A group of officials steps out with stern, angry expressions. One of them coldly demands, "These are pears specially ordered for this weekend's state banquet. Who said you could lay a finger on them?"

When my wife, Rosalie Wood, had her first meal after she regained consciousness, the attending doctor, Ethan Joeman, took my seat. He cut the steak while he pointed at her rosy face and looked at me with open defiance. “Do you know how medical miracles happen? It is not because of your constant presence. It is because of my in‑depth treatment.” My fingers that held the knife and fork turned pale. Ethan grew even more brazen. His feet rubbed against my wife's calves under the table. “A person in a vegetative state can still feel things. Every night after you left, I did awakening therapy for her. She said her body could not move, yet the sense of being conquered made her feel as though her soul left her body. She woke up because she wanted to feel it again. Last night, she said she wanted to thank her savior and asked me to check her firmness after recovery. She did not disappoint me.” I looked at Rosalie, who stared at the doctor with admiration, and my chest tightened. To pay for her treatment, I sold my house and car. I slept on a folding bed in this hospital for three years. I bathed her and turned her over every day. It turned out that my three years of round‑the‑clock care meant nothing compared to a few acts of harassment committed while she was vulnerable. I took a drug from my bag and smiled as I poured Ethan a glass of wine. I thought, ‘You went through a lot, yet her awakening was only a brief moment of clarity before death. She has super‑drug‑resistant syphilis. Congratulations. You caught it too.’

I jolt awake to splash of ice cold water making contact with my warm skin and ripping me from my dreams. Looking up I see my perpetrator and best friend Bailey giggling, and holding a now half-emptied bucket. “Wake up loser! Last day on the beach and you choose to sleep?” I roll my eyes in annoyance at her bubbly enthusiasm. “Alright I’ll get in for a bit but I’m not going to stay long,” I state with a huff. We each grab a floatie and make our way waist deep before hopping on and linking arms to keep from drifting apart. “Are you excited to be heading back tomorrow? I know I am!” Bailey quipped. Honestly I’d been avoiding that thought the whole trip. Returning to our pack was the last thing I wanted to think about. This week at the beach had been the calm environment I desperately needed after senior year. Returning would mean I would have to finally confront the drama that has become my life the last three months. All through high school I kept my head down, focusing on my team and training. Despite keeping to myself there was always one person stirring sh*t up, my ex, Austin. His father, the Alpha to our pack, gave his life in one of the pack battles last year. Leaving his Luna to raise Austin and his sister on her own. Austin would now be eligible for the Alpha title which worried me. Up until we left he had shown blatant disrespect to my father, Beta to our pack. Not to mention he still had his eyes and ears on me. Returning was the last thing I had on my mind, knowing sh*t is about to hit the fan.

On the day of my mate-bonding ceremony, someone threw a corrosive potion at me, leaving my face disfigured. In front of everyone, Oliver Fielding—my fated mate, the one promised to me for eight years—coldly rejected me and claimed the Alpha's younger stepsister, Isabella Dorsey, instead. That same night, Alpha Lucas Dorsey placed a moonstone ring in my hand. "If Oliver won't claim you, then I will. And I'll make sure you get justice." He brushes his fingers over my corroded, scarred cheek and whispers tenderly, "Evelyn, even in such a state, you're more beautiful than anyone else." Since he claimed me, Lucas has treated me like something sacred. He remembers every little thing I love and hate. Even when the painful memories overwhelm me and I lash out in panic, he just presses a kiss to my palm, his pain lingering in the touch. How could I not be completely lost to him? However, three years later, I overhear Lucas speaking with his assassin outside the council chamber. "That silver-laced corrosive potion I had you prepare—was the dosage correct?" The assassin hesitates before replying, "Alpha, if you care about Evelyn so much, why would you—" "Isabella wants Oliver, so I'll help her by removing the obstacle—Evelyn." He runs his thumb over the herbal sachet I made him and murmurs, "It's just… I've grown strangely reluctant to let Evelyn go. She's my pawn, after all." I wipe away my tears. If I'm nothing more than an obstacle to him, I'll save him the trouble and walk away on my own.

Shantali Jackson awakens from cryostasis to discover she's been asleep for over 600 years. A working-class woman from the pre-collapse era, she finds herself in a sterile medical facility, where staff address her as royalty and claim she's the beloved of Prince Costa—a man she barely remembers meeting at Le Glow Club one fateful night. As fragmented memories surface, Shantali learns the devastating truth: she and Costa were never willing participants in the preservation program. After publicly defying their arranged marriages to choose each other, they were declared enemies of the state and forcibly preserved by the Emergency Preservation Committee. They've been awakened seventeen times for six centuries, only to have their memories wiped when they refused to comply with the Council's genetic breeding program. This time is different—the memory suppression technology is failing, and ghostly echowisps (manifestations of psychic trauma) guide them through their escape. With the help of Marcus, a resistance member, they flee to the underground networks where Shantali discovers shocking truths: her half-brother Elliot became a resistance leader, Costa's parents have been working to undermine the Council for centuries, and the outside world has been habitable for generations. The couple escapes to Haven's Gate, one of seven thriving Eastern Sanctuaries where humanity has rebuilt naturally. But freedom is short-lived when they learn Dr. Thorne and other preservation specialists are using extracted consciousness data to create a new form of control—artificial minds programmed for obedience. Refusing to remain passive victims, Shantali and Costa make a bold choice: they'll pose as desperate refugees seeking re-preservation, walking willingly into Dr. Thorne's trap to stop his plans once and for all. Their love story becomes humanity's last hope against a system that would sacrifice free will for genetic perfection. A tale of choice, resistance, and the power of love.

When seventeen-year-old Willow Hayes moves into the remote Thorne mansion with her mother's new husband, she expects awkwardness - not a supernatural war for survival. Her stepbrother, Kael Thorne, is the arrogant king of Crestwood High and heir to a secret werewolf Pack. But when their eyes meet, an ancient Mate Bond snaps into place, marking Willow as the one person who can prevent Kael from succumbing to the deadly Feral Shift - a state of uncontrolled rage that means death. The problem? Kael's father, Alpha Marcus Thorne, sees Willow's humanity as a fatal weakness that endangers the entire Pack. His rival, the brutal Darek Ironfang, sees her as the perfect weapon to destroy Kael's claim to leadership. And Sierra, Kael's scorned ex-girlfriend, will stop at nothing to expose their forbidden connection. Caught between werewolf politics and deadly Pack law, Willow must transform from invisible high school student to strategic mastermind. As Kael faces three brutal Trials to claim the Alpha title - the Blood Hunt, the Leadership Rite, and the Ritual of Dominance - Willow becomes his secret weapon: the Obsidian Anchor, using their psychic bond to control his Feral instincts from afar. But the bond demands a terrible price. Each time Willow stabilizes Kael's wolf, she risks fragmenting her own mind. When betrayal strikes from within and enemies attack from without, Willow must make an impossible choice: save herself, or save the wolf who has become her entire world. In a final, devastating confrontation, Kael faces the Feral Shift in front of the entire Pack. Only Willow's unprecedented psychic command - and her willingness to sacrifice everything - can pull him back from the brink. Together, they forge a revolutionary new law: the Alpha's power is incomplete without the Mate's wisdom.

He rejected her when she didn't know what he meant to her. He left her when she needed him the most. He left her broken and alone in the claws of this cruel world. But now he’s back to claim what’s his. Will she accept him now? Read story to find out about his REJECTED LOVE…. My mate. So weak. So pathetic. I have a weak and pathetic mate. He thought as he looked at her with disgust and displeasure in his eyes. Just like me, when I was human. She is a human! I don't want a mate. I don't want a weak and pathetic mate! She can't fix me! She's nothing! Screw this! His thoughts were going berserk with the rushing flashes of his past. He tucked his hand roughly through his hair in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the replay of those horrible evocations. He laid her on the small grass patch at the side of the deserted road. She was half-conscious, so she could hear him. "Hey!" He said, jerking her pale face gently. Blood was covering half of her face but she was still looking beautiful in the moonlight. The sparks weren’t going unnoticed as he reminded himself that it was just the mate-bond. He was determined in his decision and he wasn’t going to change it. The girl opened her eyes slightly and with that, he did what he thought was right at that time. "I, Kane Wilson, reject you as my mate!" He said, with all the strength he could have mustered in his miserable state of emotions and with that, he left her there, feeling extreme pain in his heart. But he pushed that pain aside and ran from there in inhuman speed. Away from her!