National Living Treasures Award

Because her precious Jeremy needed a lab rat, Harper shipped me off to Bendora Mental Health Institute after my surgery. I got electroshocked until I was drooling and twitching, and she? She just slapped her hand over Jeremy's eyes like, "Ew, babe, don't look." Jeremy scored a Research Award nomination off that mess. Harper celebrated with fireworks so loud they could've woken the dead. Meanwhile, I was lying there in the dark, staring up at the sky while they took my leg. To keep it quiet, Jeremy slapped on a prosthetic and threatened me if I ever opened my mouth. He told Harper I just got "a little banged up" in the trial. Numb, I boxed up my leg in a freezer box. Seven days later, at Jeremy's big gala night, guess who would unwrap it like a party favor? Yeah. Harper.

Harley Gibson is a strictly by-the-book homicide detective with an impressive conviction rate. She is also living a dangerous double life. In the human world, she is respected for her skill at always getting her perp. However, in her native werewolf world, she is on the run, being hunted by the Lycan king, who also happens to be her sperm donor. To Lycan Ian Steel, his only daughter is only a means to an end. Harley doesn't know, but she was destined from birth to become one of the highly sought guardians of Sauther Lake. Ian always had. He killed his mate, Harley's mother, to keep her from taking their daughter back to the lake, where she would be protected from him turning her into his assassin. With divine intervention, Harley escaped Ian's pack. For a while, she stayed under her father's radar by changing her last name and never staying in one place for too long. She became too comfortable in LA after being promoted to homicide detective at the prestigious Santa Monica Police Department. After years of searching for his wayward daughter, Ian finally finds her and pulls out his big gun. Bounty hunter Nicholas Reins is to bring her back. Ian uses his mafia ties to get Nick into the police department under the ruse that he is an FBI agent sent to help Harley solve a high-profile murder case, making national news. Only Ian doesn't know that he also has ties to the syndicate committing the string of murders his daughter is investigating. Nick may be a ruthless huntsman, but the Lycan Princess will soon show him she isn't his usual bounty. Together, they will uncover the truth about her past, their future, solve the 'Anacapa Island' murders, and take down two of the mafia's bosses.

Rhea Hale, a young art restorer at the old Elaria gallery, lives a life of near-perfect calm—canvases, colors, and classical symphonies that fill her every day. But when she touches a mysterious painting titled The Moon Painting, something inside her begins to shift. Strange visions, eyes watching from the fog, and wild emotions she can't explain slowly start to unravel her peaceful world. Across the city, Kaelan Viero—the national hockey team’s captain—carries the charm and composure of a champion. But beneath the arena lights and public spotlight, there's a side of him he never shows… until his eyes lock with a stranger’s in the stands. That brief moment sparks something long buried. And from then on, neither of their lives remains the same. "One glance started it all. And after that... there was no turning back."

I was the top engineer at the National Deep-Sea Institute—and the only person in the world with real deep-sea rescue experience. When my younger brother's submarine went down and he called for help from 35,000 feet below, I hung up on him. Then, calm and unhurried, I went straight to the police station and turned myself in for leaking classified research data. A few minutes later, my father called, furious. "Your brother's life is hanging by a thread—where the hell are you?! I demand you to get to the site and save him right now, or you won't see a single penny of the family fortune!" I pulled the blanket over myself and said into the phone, perfectly composed, "Busy. Don't bother me—I'm trying to sleep."

After eight years of marriage, my husband ignored my protests and brought his so-called cancer-stricken first love into our home. “You heartless woman! You don’t have an ounce of compassion! You’re not even worth a single strand of Luna’s hair!” Even my son chimed in, shouting that if I didn’t let Luna Miller in, he wouldn’t acknowledge me as his mother. That was it. I was done. I divorced him and accepted an invitation to return to the design world—back to the top where I belonged. But then they saw the forged cancer diagnosis. And suddenly, the tears came. “Baby, I was tricked! It was always you—I’ve only ever loved you!” “Mom, don’t leave me! I’m your only child!” I didn’t even look at them. Who let these crazy dogs in? They’re in my way—I’ve got an award to accept.

After joining the nation's top research lab as a sophomore, everyone assumes I've taken shortcuts to get there. Mom throws away the handmade gift I had spent days crafting and says with disdain, "I don't have a daughter who's this shameless." Andreas Fitzgerald, my fiance, doesn't hold back, either. He warns coldly, "Remember your place as Mrs. Fitzgerald." Later, when my younger sister, Elaine Wilde, destroys my left hand, they all pressure me to drop the matter. I wake up in the hospital, pain crawling up my arm, and I know exactly what I have to do. Without hesitation, I dial my mentor, George Landon's, number. "I'm ready to join the classified national rocket program."

My boyfriend cheated. So I made his father mine. I didn’t get into gaming for the fame. I did it to survive. Growing up in a cramped apartment with a worn-out mom and a string of violent men, League of Legends was the only escape I had. After she died, it became all I had left. Now I’m the star ADC at Blackwood University, playing for a national title and the future I clawed my way toward. I should’ve seen it coming—my captain boyfriend screwing my best friend. I didn’t cry. I plotted. And Marcus Cross, our ruthless coach and my ex’s father, is the perfect weapon. What starts as revenge turns into something else. Something darker breaking rules . Is it still revenge if it feels this good?

Fresh out of the National Research Institute, I loaded up on my wife's favorite snacks and ordered a vibrant bouquet of roses, eager to surprise her. I stashed the treats in her office, then stepped out to grab the flowers. But in those fleeting minutes, a stranger had ripped open every package and devoured everything. I glared at him. "Who gave you permission to touch those?" He shot me a look of pure disdain. "Buzz off, flower boy. Drop your crap and scram!" The secretary at the door snickered. "You heard the man. He's Ms. Bowman's husband. Better run before he leaves a bad review." I pulled out my phone and called my wife. "Who is this guy in your office?"

I was the top engineer at the National Deep-Sea Research Center, and the only person in the world with experience in deep-sea rescue. When my sister’s submarine malfunctioned and was stranded ten thousand meters below the surface, I hung up on her distress call. Then I calmly walked into a police station and turned myself in for leaking classified research. A few minutes later, my father called. His voice was frantic and furious. “Your sister is missing. Where the hell are you? I’m ordering you to get to the site immediately and save her, or you won’t see a cent of the family inheritance!” I calmly pulled the blanket over my head and said into the phone, “I don’t have time, and you’re interrupting my sleep.”

On the day Zachary Lake stands at the pinnacle of global technology, accepting his award, I'm lying in a hospital bed, abandoned by doctors because I can't afford treatment for kidney failure. On TV, the host asks him to call the person he's most grateful for. Without hesitation, he dials my number. "Shannon, do you regret leaving me?" he asks. I clutch the astronomical medical bill in my hand, the paper crumpling beneath my fingers. Forcing a light tone, I reply, "Can you take me on as your kept woman now that you're a big deal?" On screen, his face remains expressionless as he hangs up without a word. Then, his cold voice pierces through the broadcast. "Now, I have nothing to feel grateful for." But what he doesn't know is that when he was on the brink of death years ago, I was the one who gave him my kidney.