Nine Days Joelina Falk

Everyone has their dark side but some— like Ruby Fridays, have the darkest. High school can be tough for many teenagers, but for her, it was peculiarly hellish. Clever as evil and twice as pretty, Ruby's beauty was both dangerous and lethal. Trouble always follows her, and strangely enough—she's familiar with the feeling of blood on her hands, and the glimmer of naked secrets and truths that keep her enemies up until sunsets and dawns. But when she got enrolled in a prestigious institution—the infamous, "Rosbite Lustro Academy," despite her tainted school records, she realizes that her ruined fate is already sealed by the almost perfect image of the school— that is nothing but a façade to masked the darkness that lurks within its vicinity. Like a twisted fate, as if reflecting Ruby's name, the Academy holds a sinister game of Truth or Dare every Friday Nights. And the official rules are simple yet sinister. Choose truth? You must reveal your deepest, darkest and most hideous secret. Choose dare? Well, that could be even more dangerous—even deadly. When the game takes an even darker turn with her appearance, suddenly no one at the Academy knows who to turn to and trust with the day by day murders in the broken mists. Yet in the darkness, Killian Wilde, a disguised angel who's surprisingly Ruby's counterpart, decides to interfere with her ruined path. Together with him, they will try to venture into the unknown, to understand the world created on their own. Together, they will look for the missing pieces and connect them. Together, they will unravel the cases and reveal the secrets beyond the broken glasses of their hearts. But with them versus the twisted game, can they win against it, even if it's their own secrets and lives at stake?

On New Year's Eve, I waited at home with a box of sparklers, hoping Jake Thompson would come. Instead, an earthquake struck. Trapped under fallen debris, I prayed for his safety. Little did I know, Jake was putting on a grand fireworks display across the city for his high school sweetheart who had just returned from abroad. The whole town buzzed with excitement, wishing them a lifetime of happiness together. Meanwhile, I had lost my hearing in the disaster, with no hope of recovery. When I tried to break off our engagement and leave town, Jake stood before me, his eyes red-rimmed and pleading. I couldn't understand a word he said. I simply wished him, “May you always have a day like today, year after year.”

A doomsday blizzard hit just before Christmas. The zombie virus exploded. Our fortress was a top-tier ski resort. Now, it was about to fall. My husband, Ethan, was a former Navy SEAL. Our head of security. He swore his defense system was foolproof. The blizzard knocked out the power. But he’d sent all the backup generator fuel to the summit. Just to light up a Christmas tree for Chloe. He even had a few guards up there with them, throwing a party. In my last life, I fought him. I herded everyone into the last bunker. But Chloe whined. A crowded Christmas was boring, she said. She stormed out of the safe room and ran right into the jaws of the horde. Ethan carved a path through the horde to secure the walls. Then he sat in silence, cradling Chloe’s bones. He pretended he wanted to start over with me. He let me get pregnant with his child. The day I gave birth, he knocked me unconscious and dumped me into a nearby zombie nest. He always rescued me just before I died. He’d inject me with a serum that kept me from turning. Nineteen times, he threw me to the zombies. I died in agony as they tore the flesh from my bones. "If you hadn't sabotaged my defenses," he’d hissed, "if you hadn't crashed our party and led the horde right to us, Chloe would still be alive!" I opened my eyes. I was back. Christmas Eve.

"I own you!" He towers over me, trapping me against the wall. "I'm not yours to own," I reply. "But you are," He insists, he brings his hand to my neck and trails it down, only touching me with his fingertips. "Every single part of your body is mine." He trails his finger down the valley of my breasts, down my waist where he grabs me and pulls me to his chest. My eyes gazing deep into his, he says "And I can do whatever I want to do with it." *************************************** Bella Arthur is a twenty five -year-old omega, living with her younger sister who has cancer. As an orphan, Bella works two jobs to provide for her sister and pay for her medication. When she's offered a life-changing contract, she must decide whether to regret the contract and find her way through life or risk her life by spending 182 days in the Lycan's palace, known as hell on earth.

I was known throughout the Shadow Pack as the perfect, obedient she-wolf. So obedient, in fact, that when my mate David left me during our eighty-eighth Bonding Ceremony, I still chose to forgive him. Until that fateful day—our eighty-ninth ceremony—when an anonymous werewolf gifted us a wedding present worth five hundred million dollars. The screen meant to play our sweet memories suddenly switched to a live broadcast: Amy, auctioning off her virginity for exactly five hundred million dollars. In our Pack, the first night symbolizes the deepest loyalty and love between true mates. If a she-wolf loses her first night to someone other than her mate, she is shunned by the entire Pack—branded with shame and rejection. Tears shimmered in Amy’s eyes as she looked straight into the camera, like it was her final goodbye. “David, if I can’t be your mate, then my purity means nothing.” “I only hope… you’ll never forget me.” David didn’t even hesitate. He threw away our moonstone ring and bolted from the ceremony hall. The Pack murmured in stunned disbelief. Everyone knew one thing: I loved David—but David only had eyes for his so-called savior, Amy. Now, the only question anyone whispered about was whether we’d make it to the ninetieth Bonding Ceremony. But I knew the truth— There would never be a ninetieth. So I left, my heart shattered in silence. But later, I heard he had regretted everything he had done— And had been desperately searching for me ever since. Because the truth was, I was the one who saved his life—not Amy.

Evelyn's dream of marrying Alexander, the city's youngest billionaire and her longtime crush, shatters when she discovers she's merely a replacement for his former lover, Isabella. Heartbroken, Evelyn disappears on their wedding day, only to find out later that she's carrying Alexander's twins. Five years later, fate brings them back together, forcing them to confront their past. As old wounds resurface and secrets unravel, Evelyn and Alexander navigate a complex web of emotions, trust, and redemption. Amidst passionate reunions and heartfelt confessions, they grapple with forgiveness and a newfound understanding, striving to rebuild their relationship for the sake of their family. "Whispers of Yesterday's Love" is a poignant tale of love lost and found, highlighting the enduring power of forgiveness, redemption, and second chances. As Evelyn and Alexander navigate their tangled past and present, will they be able to overcome their betrayals and rebuild a love that once seemed unbreakable, or will the shadows of their past continue to haunt their future?

"I'm tired of being lonely now. I'm tired!" Andrew screamed to no one in particular. "I have money, I have houses, cars and everything a man could wish for but I want one thing now. Just one thing. A family. A family to love and that will love me back." Andrew is a man who's lost his way. He's made a bet with an old woman to find a family who loves him by Christmas or he'll lose a mysterious prize. But Andrew has no idea where to start. May June is a single mother struggling to provide for her brother and daughter. She's determined to give them a good life, but she's afraid that her ex-husband will try to take her daughter away from her. As the holiday season approackhes, both Andrew and May June must face their fears and fight for the things they love. Can they overcome their challenges and find happiness?

At a company party, Taylor Kennedy plays a game of mouth-to-mouth cookie biting with his female assistant as everyone watches. I blend into the crowd and laugh along. The room instantly falls silent. The assistant bursts into tears and plays the victim. Taylor lets go of her, turns to me, and coldly scolds me in front of the entire company. He berates me for not knowing how to read the room and being a buzzkill. Then, without hesitation, he wraps his arm around the assistant and kisses her deeply as I watch. If this were before, I would've stormed over in a rage and ripped them apart. Then, I would've humiliated her in front of everyone, not caring whose pride I trampled. But now, I feel nothing. Not even as I watch them kiss. Not even though today marks my ten-year anniversary with Taylor.

Nadine Sullivan doesn't come home to have dinner with me on my birthday. Instead, she transfers 100 dollars to me and sends me a text, saying, "I love you." Coincidentally, a resident doctor at her hospital updates his social media with a photo. It's a screenshot of her transferring 10,000 dollars to him. She's also texted him, "I love you to the moon and back." I don't throw a tantrum or kick up a fuss. All I do is leave the city without hesitation. The first day after my departure, I hear that Nadine is unfazed. She says, "He'll be back after a few days." The first month after my departure, Nadine calls me. "I'll transfer 100 thousand dollars to you, alright? Can you come back now?" I've never wanted her money, though.

Now everything is changing...with everyone of us sweeping under the carpet the scars of yesterday's sins. Those scars are what kept me alive until you are all born to hear the story. The world government was powerful and taking advantage of the human colonial minds, they buried our freedom and equity. But now that we the Elites whom they educated and rose to revolts against the fingers that had fed us... What do you call it? Oh! yes they had termed it Rebellion. They did call us rebels, for seeking a small ration part of the best that nature has given to mankind. Al-sural-tu-Nas. This for mankind, tell ye that the beast you trained in the dark had turned to an angel in the day. We are filled from the pot of lies now that our bellies cannot contain what they obtain, the promises that were compromised, treaties that were breached, least they covered the black mails and lies with a blanket of Diplomacy. But now is the snatch of the gallon beer from the drunkard because now there is what when diplomacy fails.....is war. "Now we are free." Later in the future a seed germinates bearing fruits of the YESTERDAYS as she possess the abilities to time travel and set broken pieces together but this has consequences in the future of mankind. Read along