O'block Chicago Novels & Stories

“Why does everyone assume I need a tragic backstory to justify what I am?” Adrian said, strolling slowly toward me like he had all the time in the world. His eyes locked on mine as he continued, “Oh no, honey. It isn't because mummy dearest died giving birth to me. Or because dear old dad was too busy to tuck me in at night" He stopped when he was directly in front of me. So close that his tall frame was towering intimidatingly over me. I lifted my chin stubbornly to look him in the eye, refusing to cower. He smirked at that, his hand going to swipe a stray strand of hair from my face. “Some of us,” he murmured, “are not broken.” His eyes darkened. “Some of us are just simply… evil.” ~ I was dragged to the execution block in chains, accused of being a monster the world had erased. Then the Alpha's wolf claimed me as mate and forced him to halt the execution. In a world where hybrids were hunted to extinction, I was the last mistake left alive. The last thing Lucien Dreadmoor wanted was his mate being the single weapon that could completely wipe out wolves from existence. The bond tied us together anyway, trapping me in his keep, his rules, his control. He called it protection. I called it a cage. As war stirs at the borders and a vampire prince begins circling, whispers spread that my blood could start another war… or end it. The Alpha wants to break the bond. The Vampire wants to claim me. And somewhere between fate and freedom, I must decide which monster I am willing to stand beside… and which one I am willing to become.

After I landed in the hospital—again—from working myself into the ground, Jacob swore he was done playing house stockbroker. "Starting tomorrow, I'll do anything. Haul bricks, deliver pizza, whatever. I'm not letting you carry this alone." His eyes were glassy as he stormed out of the exam room like he was about to save the day or something. Then the doctor walked in and handed me a report. I was pregnant. Again. Heart racing, I chased after Jacob... and froze. He was standing outside some super VIP room. The same guys who used to bang on our door for money were suddenly all respectful. "Mr. Klein, should we block her door again tomorrow?" Jacob twirled our engagement ring around his finger. "No need. She already lost one baby paying off those debts. The test's over. Time she knew who I really am." Then my best friend—Lillian Morvain—strolled out and wrapped her arms around his waist like she belonged there. "Jacob, don't go soft. Your tests usually last at least five years. What if she's just another gold digger? Plus... I'd miss you." He hesitated. Smirked. "Fine. We'll do it your way. She's not going anywhere anyway." I stood there, clutching my stomach, sliding down the wall like the air had been punched out of me. Later, I pushed open the office door. "Dr. Spencer, I need a termination. Three days from now."

My mother-in-law was somehow allergic to me. As long as I was in the house, her skin would break out in rashes, and she would struggle to breathe. The hospital could not find any specific allergen. They said it might be something to do with my scent. To give his mother some relief, my husband Keith asked me to stay in a hotel every weekend. I quietly packed away everything that was mine. I even stopped wearing my favorite perfume just so I could stay home for one extra day. However, her condition only grew worse. The days I was allowed to be home dropped from five days a week to three, and eventually to just one. I never complained. I only hoped she would get better soon. One day, I left work early to pick up a document from home. I heard laughter from inside the house. "Mom, your trick really works! Every time you cough, my brother kicks that woman out." It was Keith's god-sister Caroline, who had studied abroad. My mother-in-law laughed smugly. "Caroline, you're the best. You can cook, and you give great massages. You're nothing like that useless block of wood who's always in the way. "Keith, hurry up and marry Caroline already. Get rid of that woman!" Keith's voice was full of indulgence. "Mom, don't say things like that. Caroline, look at the perfume I bought you. You've worked hard lately." All strength left my body as I stood frozen at the door.

My husband's parents were stung by an unidentified venomous queen hornet and rushed to the hospital. As soon as I heard the news, I hurried to the entomology research institute to seek help from my husband, who was the director, hoping he could assist the doctors with the diagnosis. Instead, he called for security to block me at the entrance. "I don't handle work matters after hours," he said coldly. "Penny's mother is sick, and I need to go take care of her." I tried to show him the critical condition notice from the hospital, but he tore it up in one swift motion. "People die every day. So what if your dad and mom died?" After my in-laws passed away, I filed a lawsuit against Penny Madison, who had deliberately disturbed the beehive that led to the attack. My husband, who had disappeared for several days, suddenly showed up as an expert witness in court. He fabricated a false professional opinion to exonerate Penny. When I decided to leave the country, he lost his temper. "What do your parents' short lives have to do with me? Is it so hard to understand that after a long day at work, I just want to rest? And now you want to drag Penny into this mess. Just because your own family is broken, you want to ruin someone else's? How can you be so vicious? You deserve to lose your parents!" Watching his brazen attempts to twist the truth, I suddenly realized something. He still didn't know that he had become an orphan.

“Reject me,” Naya sternly said with eyes full of hate. Kael smiled. “Why would I do that? I told you, didn’t I? You’re mine now. I don’t care about your mission. I’ll fill you up with my seed you will forget that damn mission of yours.” His fingers traced her lips. “Beg all you want but I will not reject you or let you go. You're my possession, Naya, from here on and until your last breath.” *** In a world ruled by powerful rivaling packs, Naya, a skilled fighter and beta’s daughter of the Light Shadow Pack, is sent on a dangerous mission to assassinate an enemy pack’s royal heir. But when she is captured by Kael, an alpha prince of the West Wood Pack notorious for his unhinged behavior and fierce power, Naya’s plans are thrown into disarray. Forced to submit to Kael and become his slave, Naya struggles to maintain her pride and wonders when she will ever escape from his grasp. As they all say, Kael is the most deranged alpha someone will ever meet in their life. To make things worse, Naya finds out Kael is her mate. Regardless, Naya has her own mission to fulfill so she does everything to escape. But with enemies emerging from the shadows and secrets revealing one by one, Naya is left to wonder who to believe and trust. Can Naya escape Kael’s grasp and fulfill her mission? Who is the real enemy and who is on her side? Will Kael’s power block her from reaching the truth or is he the key to everything she seeks?

Aradia never imagined selling herself at the Blood Moon Market would bring anything but suffering. Desperate to save her blind sister Emma, she steps onto the auction block ready to sacrifice everything. The mysterious hooded Alpha Xior buys her for an impossible sum; she expects cruelty. Instead, he offers peace. For seventeen years, Xior has been haunted by his parents' murder that made him king at eight. Tormented by nightmares, he searched desperately for a cure. But holding Aradia close makes the nightmares vanish. For the first time since childhood, he sleeps. She becomes his salvation, secret weapon, and obsession. But the past is never buried. As Aradia settles into palace life, truths surface: Xior’s parents led the pack that slaughtered hers and destroyed her village. The Blood Moon Market exists because of his family’s laws. Her sister grows bitter, jealous, and ungrateful. The Moon Goddess’s priestess reveals Aradia as the last descendant of an ancient bloodline destined to balance wolves and humans. She is Xior’s true fated mate, but their bond threatens werewolf society. Rival alphas plot to steal her, his council demands a wolf mate, and a mysterious enemy resurfaces to destroy everything he built. Caught between love and vengeance, duty and desire, Aradia must decide: can she forgive the man whose family destroyed hers? Can she accept a bond making her the most powerful and vulnerable in the realm? When war arrives, will her love for Xior save them, or will the Blood Moon claim its due? In a world where wolves rule and humans suffer, one girl’s sacrifice might change everything. But some bonds are forged in blood, and some secrets are too dangerous to survive.

They say fated mates are sacred, practically unbreakable. But Aiden wasn’t mine, and I wasn’t his. That didn’t stop me from loving him like he was the last man left in this cursed world. He swore he didn’t need a bond to love me. Said it was pure. Said he’d love me unconditionally. Said he’d choose me—always. But now he’s in our bed, moaning another woman’s name like a prayer. Wearing a forbidden pendant laced in black magic—magic strong enough to block the mate bond so I wouldn’t feel the betrayal. Too late, Aiden. I felt it. Like a dagger slicing straight through my soul. And just as I hit rock bottom, he shows up. A young, enigmatic Alpha—feared, powerful, far too young for me. Alpha Damon. He’s asking questions about illegal mate bond magic. Magic my husband used to cheat without consequences. Magic that ties back to a dark conspiracy. Turns out, my perfect little marriage is just the rotten tip of a magic-smuggling empire. Damon wants my help. Needs me close. Says I’m the only one who knows enough to crack this wide open. But every time he says my name, something in me stirs, something I swore was long dead. I shouldn’t want him. I couldn't him. He’s too young. Too dangerous. Too…everything. But goddess help me—he’s the first man who’s ever looked at me like I wasn’t something broken. Like I wasn’t disposable. Like I was worth fighting for.

On my five-hundred-and-twentieth flight into Chicago, my boyfriend finally came to the airport for me. He held a bouquet of air-flown Blue Moon roses, and the diamond ring inside the velvet box caught the terminal lights. The moment he dropped to one knee, I heard the shocked gasps around us. “Eliana Lowe,” he said, his gray-blue eyes lifted to mine. “Marry me.” My fingers tightened around the handle of my suitcase. I held out my hand, my voice already shaking. "Luca, we--" The ring had barely slid over my finger when Luca laughed. He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was looking over my shoulder at the row of black SUVs idling by the curb. "Told you she'd say yes. Hand over the key to Warehouse Three." Laughter burst from the SUVs. Luca's circle spilled into view: casino managers, dock supervisors, rich kids who lived off the Moretti name, and Vivian Gray at the front in pale fur, laughing hard enough to wipe at the corner of her eye. “No wonder she stayed at your heels for ten years. If I had a pet this obedient, I wouldn’t have the heart to throw it out either.” Luca smiled and patted my head soothingly.“Eliana, it was just a joke. Don't be angry. I’ll make it up to you later.” I looked at the ring on my finger, then at the people laughing behind him. For ten years, I had played along with his games. This time, I didn’t want to anymore.

Luca Devereaux has spent twelve seasons building the perfect image. He is the captain of the Chicago Phantoms, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the man every sponsor wants on their poster. He is calm under pressure, professional in every interview, and completely untouchable. The only person in the world who has ever made him feel like he might come apart is Ronan Calloway. Ronan is the captain of the Boston Bruins and the league's leading scorer for two straight seasons. He is quiet, intense, and impossible to read. He does not chase drama, he does not play games, But for three years, he has watched Luca with the kind of focus that goes beyond rivalry. He has counted Luca's habits, studied his tells, and waited for the perfect time.. When a brutal championship game collision ends with a nine-second fight broadcast to millions, the world sees the first crack in Luca's perfect armor. But that is nothing compared to what happens after the final whistle, when Ronan locks a locker room door and they are finally, truly alone. What begins as obsession slowly becomes something neither of them has words for. They meet in empty arenas and dark corridors. They push each other away and pull each other back. The hockey world is watching. Management is watching. And somewhere out there, someone is taking photographs. This is a story about two men who have spent years hiding behind control, competition, and composure. And about what happens when the one person who can see through all of it refuses to look away.

The morning was cold and I was currency. My father handed me to Dimitri Volkov, Bratva, like I was a contract clause. I said no at the altar. Loud enough for everyone to hear. The priest kept going. Dimitri didn’t even blink. That was fact one: I was married without consent, in Chicago, to a man who accepted silence as agreement. I left him later. Not in rage. In clarity, after I saw another girl get caught in his world with no choice, just like me. Then I went to war. Law school had taught me precision, so I used it. Civil suits. Asset forfeiture. Anonymous tips to the right agencies. I took apart everything legitimate he’d built, piece by piece, until he bled territories and pride. He showed up bruised once, signed over forty percent of his clean empire to my name, brought therapy receipts. That was fact two: I dismantled the man who caged me, on paper, without firing a shot. I still have the necklace. The one he left in my lap that first night. I wore it through the worst, through the year I rebuilt alone, through every hearing. Last month I was pregnant in a courtroom, arguing a case I won. He was in the gallery. The diamonds sat above my collar. No one asked. I never explained. That was fact three: I took something from that night and made it mine. It doesn’t belong to him anymore. It doesn’t belong to what he did. It belongs to me.