Ninety Five

When the power meter in the house trips, Mom's foster daughter, Juniper Hawthorne, is trapped in the dark for five minutes. Even though I have claustrophobia, Mom locks me in an empty, pitch-black room. "You knew Juniper was terrified of the dark, yet you intentionally shut off the power just to frighten her! I'll teach you how to behave today!" I cry and beg her not to, but all I receive in return is a harsh slap. "Claustrophobia? That's just what happens when a kid grows up too spoiled." Late that night, I sense someone breaking into the house. The first thing I do is to call Mom, a renowned criminal psychologist, for help, only to be yelled at. "You're still really getting into this role just to fight Juniper for attention, aren't you? "Kidnappers, huh? Well, go ahead and die so you'll stop bothering me!" As she wishes, I'm brutally tortured and killed. My body is buried beneath Mom's favorite flowerbed. After I die, my soul is trapped in the body of a cat. All I can do is helplessly circle Mom until five days have passed. The police arrive with a mangled body and request her help in creating a portrait of the killer.

I'd been married to Joshua Merck for five years, but we still didn't have kids. To stay healthy, I took those pricey custom vitamins he ordered from overseas—never missed a dose. Then my cousin came back from studying abroad, took one look at the bottle, and was like, "That brand doesn't even make custom vitamins." I sent them to the hospital for testing. The lab report hit me like a truck—birth control pills. Powerful ones. Suddenly, all those mornings with Joshua hovering over me, acting so concerned while I took my "vitamins," made sense. The whole thing had been a lie. Five years of lies. Just as I was gearing up to confront him, my phone buzzed—a group chat notification. Shirley Hoare had tagged Joshua. [Honey, I had a prenatal checkup today, and the doctor said I'm carrying twins! Your family's about to get two grandchildren at once—excited?] My heart turned to ash. Everything clicked. Fine. We were done. I pulled out my phone and replied to my childhood sweetheart's message from three days ago: [After watching the northern lights, I still wanted to see penguins in Antarctica.]

Olivia was proposed to by her lover Jacob, but she couldn't agree. They could not make love or even kiss. Because this was a vampire-ruled country, werewolves were vampires' slaves. All werewolf women must remain chaste, because every young girl was a tribute waiting to be chosen by a vampire. Once a girl turned 15, she would enter the annual lottery. Only girls who were not chosen five times in a row were allowed to fall in love with their mate, and vampires considered five years of waiting a mercy. Olivia had not been selected for four consecutive years, and as long as she failed again this year, she could marry Jacob. This year's tribute lottery was special, and all tributes would be dedicated to the legendary Vampire Duke Damien. Olivia was lucky not to be chosen. Unfortunately, her sister became a tribute. To save her sister, Olivia volunteered to be a tribute. Unbeknownst to Olivia, her blood had aroused Damien's interest. When a vampire came looking for the blood pet chosen by Damien, an accident caused Olivia to swap identities with another tribute. Olivia planned to escape, but was found by vampires and became their appetizer. Just as Olivia was about to fall into nothingness, she heard an indifferent voice.“Who allowed you to hurt my pet?”

After five years of being mated to Alpha Lucas, I finally got pregnant. Lucas and I were ecstatic, but five months into the pregnancy, I suffered an accidental miscarriage. The Chief Healer told me it was because my wolf was too weak. I couldn't handle the news and blacked out. The usually stoic Alpha couldn't stop weeping. I thought he was as devastated as I was. That was until I accidentally overheard his conversation with his Beta. "Alpha, why gag the healer? Luna clearly ingested Wolfsbane. Why aren't we hunting down the culprit?" Beta Marcus's voice was full of confusion. "We bury this." Lucas's voice was heavy with suppressed pain. "It was Isabella. She slipped Wolfsbane into Emily's tonic by mistake. Isabella suffered severe brain damage saving me three years ago; she has the mind of a five-year-old. She can't tell the difference between Wolfsbane and Moon Grass..." "She just wanted to help brew the tonic to help Emily get better, to make me happy. But if the Council catches wind of this, they will absolutely execute Isabella for murdering the Alpha heir." Ever since Isabella saved his life three years ago and became mentally regressed, she had shamelessly invaded our lives. On stormy nights, she would crawl into Lucas's bed wearing translucent lingerie, crying that she was scared, forcing Lucas to hold her all night while I was relegated to the guest room. He always said Isabella was brain-damaged, stuck with the IQ of a five-year-old, just like a child. He treated her like a sister and told me not to hold it against her. Since you loved your Isabella so much, I would grant you your wish. I picked up the private phone I hadn't used in five years. "I regret it. I'm willing to return to the Royal Pack. Come get me tomorrow." But when I truly disappeared, the once arrogant Alpha killed his precious Isabella and begged me to come back.

"They're both dead." King states. "Let's wait at front until the Sheriff arrives."I'm a 17 years old Chippewa descendant, a high school senior from Grand Portage, Minnesota.First day of school when I'm going back home, I see someone on the School Bus that I haven't seen in five years. King Thunderbird.The animal attacks start and suddenly three people are brutally killed.Who's the killer?Will the fourth victim uncovered the identity of the killer?

Monica felt there was something different about her husband when he came home from bukber or buka together with his business partners. The husband she married for five years now seems not at home, there is just a reason for him to leave the house, namely bukber or buka together with business partners during this Ramadan month. Anton's clothes often smell of women's perfume, there are also traces of women's lipstick on his clothes. Can Monica uncover the facts of what really happened?

After five years of marriage, Julian Hart discarded his "barren" wife for his pregnant mistress. He left Evelyn for dead on a cold marble floor, never realizing the secret she was carrying. Evelyn survived, but she woke up with no memory of the man who destroyed her. Now, with a powerful protector by her side, she is no longer a submissive placeholder. As she rises to power, Julian finally realizes the price of his betrayal. He wants a second chance. She wants his ruin.

People said the five years I spent with Chase Sean had witnessed my unrequited love for him.By the reservoir, he casually threw my bag into the water.He joked, "If Evelyn Thea has the courage to jump in and retrieve the bag for me, I'll admit her as my girlfriend."He didn't expect that I would actually jump.In that instant, a rare panic flashed across his eyes.Later, I resurfaced from the reservoir with bloody thighs, clutching a broken bracelet.It was a gift from Chase...

Garren Ryuu, the God of dragons, has waited over five hundred years for his mate. An equal on all fronts. But when he comes face to face with his mate at long last, he is forced to make a decision. Turn his back on his people and their traditions for his heart or break it and accept the life of a mad king. It's a dark and dangerous path that only the strong survive. So will fate be on his side or is she just another cruel obstacle set to take him down?

" How do the dead come back to life?" Hazel queried when she met her supposed dead husband at her sister's engagement party. The man she mourned for five years has been alive and well. But he's no longer hers, he's her sister's. Roman didn't believe it at first. Hazel persisted, but when he finally discovered the truth, she's thousands of miles away and is about to wed his business rival.