Ninja Village

The Hunters. The legendary Archers of Alestari were known world wide. Many trained for years, from youth to adulthood, to be good enough to qualify to be an apprentice to the Hunters. Every year, the Hunters would travel all across the land of Alestari, searching for a single apprentice. Many hearts were crushed in this process. Because there were many years, that none were selected to train under the legendary Archers. They would travel to every kingdom, city, town, village and tribe, searching. Royalty and common folk alike revered and worshiped the Hunters, for they were the true protectors of the land. A single Hunter was as good as 20 regular Archers. But they were also known to be excellent spies, as well as swordsmen. Any weapon in the world, they knew how to use properly. Thus they were highly sought after for military purposes and occasionally mercenaries. To have a family member who was a Hunter, was the highest honor. They were treated like royalty, even by royals themselves. Whatever a Hunter said, whoever they chose as an apprentice, no one ever argued. To fight with a Hunters choice, was to eliminate any chances you had of your family becoming one. And for years, no one fought their decision. Until this year. In the kingdom of Alestari, anyone was eligible to try and become an apprentice. Anyone, but a woman. Women were forbidden to learn any kind of weaponry, especially archery. So when the King of the Hunters, chooses a woman to be an apprentice, many were angry. And they were out, to make her pay.

Née sans loup et évitée par sa famille, Rhea Vale a passé sa vie dans l'ombre de sa sœur jumelle, Céline - la fierté de leur village voyou. Mais lorsque l'impitoyable et puissant Alpha Damon Wolfe arrive à la recherche d'une Luna qui peut survivre au rituel mortel de Luna, ce n'est pas Céline qu'il choisit - c'est Rhea. Traînée dans son domaine en tant que candidate réticente, Rhea doit supporter non seulement la cruauté de Damon, mais aussi un monde qui la voit comme faible et jetable. Pourtant, quelque chose d'ancien agite en elle - quelque chose que même Damon ne peut pas expliquer. Alors que les tensions politiques montent, un nouveau rival émerge : le cousin rusé de Damon, Lucien, qui veut à la fois le siège Alpha et le cœur de Rhea. Pris entre deux hommes puissants, hanté par un passé qu'elle n'a jamais connu, et éveillé un pouvoir que le conseil croyait mort depuis longtemps, Rhea doit se battre non seulement pour survivre... mais pour se relever.

"Part One: TakenJessie Coford had a plan: work hard, save money, open her own restaurant. She sacrificed her relationship with the man of her dreams to get it. Then, in the blink of an eye, she lost her job and her apartment and her life crashed around her. Until a letter taking her to Fort Mavis, Texas, and an unexpected windfall.Part Two: TamedShea Prescott was astonished when million Cruz Castillo chose her to design his new home on his ranch. They hardly traveled in the same circles. But Cruz had been hot for Shea since he first saw her and at their first meeting the chemistry between them ignited. Cruz coaxed her deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of erotic sex, awakening latent sexual desires and bringing her orgasms beyond her wildest imaginings. Her body screamed yes at his every touch, but will she say yes to the most important question?USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.Taken by Surprise is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author."

To protect my boyfriend, Nico, the illegitimate son of our allies, the Moretti family, from their internal power struggles, I agreed to leave New York with him. But on the eve of my adoptive father, the Don of the Falcone family, signing our transfer orders, he backed out. Through the hidden door of the cigar lounge, I heard his right-hand man tease him: "So you really kept up that act for three months just to get rid of the princess?" "But she's your childhood sweetheart. You really have the heart to some miserable fishing village in the Baltics all by herself?" Nico's voice was nonchalant. "It's just an outpost across the pond. How far can it be?" "Scarlett is too controlling. If I don't get her out of the picture, how am I supposed to get any breathing room? Besides, I need to put Chloe at ease." I stood behind that hidden door for a long time that night, my grip on the doorknob tightening until my knuckles were white, before I finally let go. I turned and walked away, pulling out my tablet to change my flight plan. I changed the destination from the official plan of that desolate Baltic outpost to a seat at the High Table in Sicily, which is the absolute center of old-world Mafia power. Everyone seemed to have forgotten. I am the princess of the Falcone family. And he is nothing but filth from the gutter. We were never a match.

Ma sœur adoptive Sophia, la dernière louve blanche de race pure du village Grell, a été violée et torturée à mort par un loup-garou égaré inconnu. Sa lettre de suicide ne contenait qu'une phrase : « Lina a vu son visage. » À partir de ce jour, je suis devenue la plus grande pécheresse de la tribu. Parce que je connaissais l'identité du meurtrier, mais je suis restée silencieuse pendant cinq ans. Jusqu'au jour où mon frère adoptif Damien, l'Alpha le plus puissant de Continent du Nord, est revenu. Il a rapporté l'Appareil de Vision des Âmes et a extrait de force les souvenirs de mon âme de loup-garou. Tous les loups-garous ayant subi l'Appareil de Vision des Âmes sont morts ou devenus fous. Ma louve a été torturée sans cesse par l'appareil, mais Damien a réprimé la douleur dans ses yeux et a rugi : « Quand je découvrirai la vérité, je t'enverrai en enfer avec le meurtrier. » Mais lorsqu'ils ont finalement découvert la vérité, Damien a perdu la raison.

Fate twists its vines in ways we can't comprehend. For Sylvie, it brought the force of a Tyrant Alpha and the ruthless Salvalor pack. Sylvie learned to live with her handicap. Stay out of business of other wolves and they'll leave her alone. Mostly. War, however, soon reaches her doorstep. Forced to submit to Malphas, one of the last living Lycans, with a bloody streak and reputation for having the shortest fuse, Sylvie's quiet life turns upside down. Run or serve, the choice is easy. Malphas and the wolf within him, Valac, are the two names whispered in fear. Packs are falling, wolves are dying, territories are burning. The sky is red with blood, in his eyes. The thirst for it, unquenchable. He lives for the thrill of the kill, yet struggles to contain his disdain towards wolves. Rebuilding the line of Lycans, and the Kingdom of Silas to its former glory, is most important. Getting revenge is just a convenience. Imagine the surprise when he finds the last village to pillage, before crossing wolven borders, and a hidden gem within it. The Omega runt throws his senses into confused calmness, and for the first time neither he, nor Valac, feel the urge to kill. Refusing to admit, but finding it intriguing, Malphas takes Sylvie as his cup-girl. What threads will fate weave for the two? Will Sylvie survive under Malphas's command? Will he solve the puzzle behind the quiet, little runt or will his anger and cruelty bury her into the ground? Can Sylvie unravel the mystery hidden in Malphas's eyes? Enjoy the slow burning flames and the rusted blood that keeps them going.

At the farewell banquet hosted for my wife, Lorraine Ford, who will be getting assigned into a military unit soon, Lieutenant Chester Johnson speaks up in a sarcastic manner. "You really are generous, Hunter. Commander Ford has already given away your transfer slot in the military to her stepbrother, and yet you're still throwing this banquet for her." I find his words ridiculous, to say the least. "That's impossible! My wife hates pulling strings to make things easier! In the past, she didn't even give me the youth transfer slot even though she had one!" Chester sounds more enthusiastic now. "I've personally read the approval report. Commander Ford has already listed Rowan Langley under the family column! Don't you know that she has already taken him in as her younger stepbrother?" I feel as though lightning has struck me on the spot. Then, I turn to look at my parents and Lorraine, who look quite guilty. My parents quickly grab me by the hand. "Rowan comes from a poor background, not to mention he's a widower, too. If he continues staying in this village, he'll be the subject of everyone's gossip for the rest of his life. "Hunter, you're Lorraine's actual husband, so you must be more gracious toward him." At that moment, I feel sharp pain coming from my heart. Fine. I'll be gracious, as per their request. This time, I'll personally give Lorraine away to her beloved Rowan.

My husband, Commander Jonathan Shelby, was leaving for the military. During his farewell dinner, our neighbor, Mrs. Murphy spoke with glee, as if she was gloating at somebody else’s misfortune. “You’re truly a magnanimous woman. Commander Shelby gave his military spouse quota to Anna instead of you, and you’re still sending him off!” I found her statement ridiculous. “Impossible. My husband hates pulling strings. In the past, he also had a quota on hand. Instead of giving it to me, he gave it to an educated young man so that he could return to his city.” Mrs. Murphy only grew more animated. “I saw the approval report with my own eyes. Under the column of Commander Shelby’s family member, the name ‘Anna Stewart’ was written on it. “Commander Shelby has been supporting two households for a long time. Weren’t you aware of it?” I felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck me. I turned to look at my parents and Jonathan. Guilt was written all over their faces. My parents took my hand. “Anna is a widow. Being a widow alone has already spoiled her reputation. If she remains in the village, they’d judge her for the rest of her life. “Nancy, you’re Jonathan’s legal wife. You need to help her out.” At that moment, my heart ached as if someone had sliced it piece by piece. Fine. I would be as magnanimous as they wanted me to be. I would personally give Jonathan to his widowed sister-in-law.

Sonya Duville moved to a small village where her ancestors had a family land to restart her new beginnings in life. Since a child, Sonya has been curious about an old mansion that was abandoned near her family house. She felt that she should reveal the mystery of the old mansion. She knew that the old mansion had been cursed by a white witch family for centuries. One day, she found out that Knight Richard, a descendant of the old mansion's owner, returning from Romania and living in that old mansion which he changed to become a place for some people to stay overnights. Knight Richard appeared as a gentleman, otherwise, Sonya was curious to find out who he was actually in real life since she and her auntie found some weird occurrences since the day he moved to the mansion. There were some animals dead because a creature sucked their blood and bit them off. In her journey to find the answer, Sonya discovered another mystery within her big family as she knew that she could communicate with some animals. Up to that time, Clayton Stein, a nephew of her auntie, Caroline's late husband, appeared and stayed with them while he was doing an investigation about his uncle's death. The past romance between the witch ‘Rose Duville’, an ancestor of Sonya Duville, and Knight Richard, an arrogant vampire had spelled her curse on Knight Richard since he had broken Rose Duville’s heart with his obsession and arrogance.

As soon as I receive my year-end bonus, I transfer 100 thousand dollars to my wife, Zoe Steele, so that she can prepare the holiday gifts for both families right away. I even tell her to buy the best quality gifts for our parents, especially the box of premium liquor meant for my dad. On New Year's Eve, I rush home to have dinner with my parents. But weirdly enough, Dad, who's an avid drinker, starts having tea instead of liquor at the dining table. This leaves me perplexed. "Dad, why aren't you cracking open a bottle of liquor for yourself during the holidays?" With a smile on my face, I get up to my feet so that I can carry the box of liquor over. "Zoe had someone buy the liquor for you, you know. I hear that the taste is exceptional." "Stop!" Dad slams his pipe against the table loudly, his face a starking shade of crimson. "Edgar, don't ever send such gifts home. I know that life is difficult for you in the city and that making money is hard. We Kennedys may be poor, but we are people with pride! "Now, everyone in the village is gossiping about us behind our backs! They claim that I've been boasting about your wealth!" Dad's words confuse me to no end. After I unscrew a bottle of liquor, I sip from it, only to feel thunderstruck. This isn't premium liquor at all! This is just mineral water packaged as liquor!