Ray Bradbury Zero Hour Novels & Stories

After my third dive in search of my missing boyfriend, I suffer a miscarriage. When I wake up in the hospital and find out he's still alive, I rip out the IV and drag myself home. But as I approach the house, I overhear Beck Wilder talking to his friends. "Maren had a child with her ex-husband. Who knows if she's really over him? "I can't go through with the wedding without being sure. I'd rather set a trap to see if she'd risk everything for me." Someone hesitates. "What if she finds out you lied? She might get furious and leave you." Beck chuckles confidently. "She's a breeze to manipulate. I'll make her sign the marriage papers and host a lavish wedding. She'll be as meek as a kitten." Two weeks later, I leave the miscarriage report on the wedding dress and walk away. The once-proud heir of the Wilder family is left in tears, scouring every inch of Larkspur in desperate search of his runaway bride.

After a humiliating betrayal shatters her engagement, in a moment of vulnerability, Amelia got into a one night stand with a billionaire - Alexander Reed. A man whose name shook the country. After the encounter, the next morning, Alexander did not see the woman he had a one night stand with, she was already gone. Amelia traveled to a place where no one knew who she was to start a new life. Will they crossed path again? Would he be yearning for more? Would he be thinking about the curvy woman he had a one night stand with? Read this story to find out.

During a train ride, I happen to notice an intimidating-looking man staring at his phone while seated next to me. Surprisingly enough, an R-rated scene is playing out on his screen. Out of the kindness of my heart, I remind the man not to watch such things in a public setting. Without raising his head, he replies coldly, "This is the security footage of my home." Feeling very awkward, I quickly apologize to him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that. I'm really sorry." Just as I'm about to say something else, the male protagonist of the footage suddenly raises his head. At that moment, I feel my blood going cold in my veins. After all, he's Reynolds Mitchell, the fiance with whom I'm supposed to partake in a mating ceremony next month.

When I went to register my son, Cody Vantor, for medical insurance before his first year of kindergarten, I was told I wasn’t his biological mother. "Are you sure this is your child? The system shows a different woman listed as the mother." I said nothing. I quietly snapped a photo of the unfamiliar home address, then followed it to the neighboring complex. When he saw me, my husband, Dorian Vantor, froze. His hand instinctively moved to block the doorway. "So you found out. But making a scene won’t change anything. I haven’t treated you badly these past three years." I looked past him, and my body went cold. The woman behind him was my younger sister, Summer Walsh, fresh out of college. She handed him a glass of water and gave me an apologetic smile. "Don’t blame me, Lennie. The doctor said I have postpartum depression. I can’t handle hearing a baby cry. Thank you for raising Cody for me all these years. I really am grateful." Just then, Cody, who had been waiting in the car downstairs, ran up. He rushed into Summer’s arms like it was second nature, then turned to look at me. "Aunt Lenora, don’t cry. Mommy said you’re a good person. That’s why she asked you to help. Daddy said if I behave and call you ‘Mom’ at your house, I can come back on weekends to see my real Mommy."

On the third anniversary of our bond, I pushed open the private room door, my heart full of hope—only to see Chisel on one knee, leaning in to kiss Sylvia. In that instant, every thread of love and trust inside me snapped. “What are you doing?” My voice trembled; tears blurred my vision. Chisel looked up at me, eyes full of irritation. “Enough, Leah. Stop putting on that wounded look. We were just playing a game. I lost, that’s all. Why are you angry?” I could no longer bear the betrayal. After losing our pup, something inside me died completely. I decided to break the mate bond, to end this painful, scarred union once and for all. Even as Chisel kept apologizing, swearing he would change, I no longer believed him. My voice went cold: “Even if I forgive you, our pup never will.” I left the home that had once been full of love and hope, flying toward a new world that would be mine alone. On the other end of the phone, Chisel’s voice trembled. “Leah, I was wrong. Please… give me another chance…” I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and hung up. My voice was calm, final: “I have nothing more to say to you, Chisel.”

When I heard my husband's startled cry, I lost focus and tumbled down the stairs. By the time I woke up, not only did I lose my baby, but my leg was also wrapped in thick bandages. Shocked, I wanted to question my husband, who was a doctor. But then I overheard him on a call with his terminally ill first love. "Steven, why did your wife miscarry just like me?" "I poured oil on the stairs. She inevitably slipped and fell. Lily, I'll do anything for you in this final month." It turned out this wasn’t an accident. It was all just to make Lily happy because she was dying.

But for Alpha Randall, I would have been married to Winston, Prince of the Riverton Pack, strengthening the bond between our Packs. But I chose to elope with him, my fated mate, the man I had prayed to the Moon Goddess for. Together, we went to his Pack for our fairy tale ending, the kind of love that has its story told for centuries. But life always has different plans… “I, Alpha Randall, reject you, Lyra, as my fated mate.” Betrayed, Rejected, and locked up in his Pack, my entire world shattered before my eyes, the consequences of my actions weighing down on my shoulders. But what am I to do when the ghosts of my past return? Will there ever be a second chance?

Valeria DeLuca built her empire from nothing, turning an old vineyard into a prestigious wine brand. But her family—greedy, reckless, and selfish—destroyed everything. Her father and brother gambled away her fortune, and when the debtors came knocking, her entire world crumbled. Then came Dante Moretti, a feared mafia king, offering a twisted deal. At an underground auction, he silenced the room and made his bid. "Isn’t she up for sale as well?" $200 million. For her. Sold like property. Trapped in his world. But Valeria was no helpless victim. If Dante wanted her submission, she would give him seduction instead. If he wanted her loyalty, she would take his power. But there was something Valeria didn’t know. Dante orchestrated her downfall. He had planned it all—her family’s destruction, the debts, the auction. He had wanted her in his world from the very beginning. And when she found out, there would be hell to pay.

“I will marry you. I don’t want to marry Camelia. All this time I have only taken advantage of her intelligence.” Those words became a knife that mercilessly tore through her heart. For years, Camelia dedicated her brilliance to building William’s company—saving it from bankruptcy, winning impossible negotiations, and turning failures into success. She believed they were partners in love and ambition. She was wrong. To William, Camelia was not a woman to be loved. She was merely a mind to be exploited. A strategy to be used. A stepping stone toward greater profit.

Synopsis Melody Madison gave her heart, her loyalty, and her life to the man she believed was her destiny—only to be betrayed and murdered by him. But fate has far greater plans. She awakens two years before her tragic death, reborn with all the painful memories of her end. No longer willing to be a pawn in someone else's game, Melody makes an oath to protect herself, her father, and their pack. She's ready to expose every lie and will make those who wronged her pay, especially Jay Merlot, her ex-mate, who now parades his new love and ambitions for power. Her return puts her back within the sights of Alpha Don Carter, the most influential Alpha in the South. As she has enemies closing in from all sides, he presents Melody with a shocking deal: protection in return for becoming his Luna for one year. Working together, Melody Madison and Alpha Don Carter make a formidable team in the pursuit of their interlinked goals: her revenge and his rise to the throne. But what was initially intended to be a strategic contract slowly evolves into something much deeper, much more perilous to their guarded hearts. Torn between vengeance and a growing love she had never asked for, Melody has a decision to make: will her past define her future, or will she allow herself the second chance she fought so hard to get? Reborn of the Betrayed Luna is a tale of treachery, redemption, and the daring pursuit of love and power, with every option offering triumph. or destruction.