Ray Bradbury Zero Hour Novels & Stories

A car accident left my mother-in-law bleeding and desperate for help, but her plea was heartlessly rejected by her own daughter. Even on her deathbed, my mother-in-law's only wish was to see her one last time. However, she was busy staying by her first love's side, euthanizing his dog. "You better stay as far away from me as possible! My mom's perfectly fine!" she shouted before hanging up on me, only to spend the night tangled with her first love in a hotel room. It was not until after the cremation ceremony that she returned—carrying a birthday cake. What greeted her was not a celebration but her mother's funeral. She cried, sobbing uncontrollably, "Mom! You haven't even celebrated my birthday yet! Don't leave me!" I stared at her and pulled the divorce papers from my bag. How fitting. This time, I was leaving too.

Having been rejected and banished by her father and her mate,the beta, Poor and abused Brielle was left to rot at the edge of the pack, the territory of the cruel Alpha king, Zadyre. Terrified, she finds out the king is her second chance mate, but that's not all. He wants nothing to do with her. All he wants is his heir, and then she will be killed and replaced by a woman better. Torn and rejected, she fled his kingdom, never to see him again, but what he doesn't know is she fled with what matters to his legacy, his pups. Now, five years later, they meet again, but things have changed. Zadyre wants her with every fibre of her being and would do anything to get her back, but Brielle hates him with every fibre of her being. How long would she be able to hold a grudge against his past self? How long can she act like she doesn't feel the attraction building between them? And how long does it take for him to leave her once again when he finds out she stole what mattered to him the most and ran. His HEIR.

On my wedding day, my arranged fiancé abandoned me and chose my sister instead. As I became the laughingstock of every elite guest in attendance, my business partner James Crawford shocked everyone by publicly proposing to me with a passionate declaration of love. After we married, he was incredibly attentive, especially during my pregnancy when he catered to my every need. I thought my suffering had finally ended. Until I overheard his confession to my sister: "I've only ever loved you." James's voice carried a passion I'd never heard him use with me. "Marry her? I was only after her resources, connections, and her talent for making money. She's nothing but a useful cash cow." "Now that she's pregnant, even better." His tone was coldly calculating. "With the baby, she'll be even more dependent on me, more devoted. She'll never leave." Everything I had treasured—our love, our marriage—was all a lie. Learning the truth, I turned and walked away without a word. I was done with this charade. Everything that belonged to me, I would reclaim with my own hands.

My boyfriend, Allen, is a fitness coach who is cheerful, handsome, and has eight-pack abs. After getting together with me, he transferred all his female students to other colleagues and would send me daily check-in photos. In anticipation of becoming his fiancee, I happily prepared for our engagement ceremony. However, two weeks before the ceremony, I discovered a bright red lipstick mark on Allen’s workout pants. I quickly pulled up the check-in photo he had sent me that day. Through the reflection on a dumbbell, I saw a woman standing next to Allen—her lips painted in the exact same lipstick color. Most of the previous photos had flaws, but I had trusted Allen too much to notice them. Looking at his message under the photo, I let out a cold laugh. "Baby, I have to work overtime today to train a male student." He actually dared to deceive me. Just then, my phone rang. It was the wedding planning company confirming the engagement ceremony setup. I quickly responded with a confirmation. The ceremony would proceed as planned—except I had a special surprise prepared for Allen, one he would never forget.

After a wild, drunken class reunion, I woke up next to a male model. I had no clue what I was doing since it was my first time in this kind of situation. I called my best friend for help on what to do, and while the male model was still out cold, I left my wallet and bolted. When I got home, my best friend dragged me over to show me a picture of her new boyfriend. My jaw dropped. The guy in the photo was the spitting image of the man I had just left.

Everyone has gathered around to play games together. The current game requires all players to transfer red wine to each other via our mouths. Before my fiance, Teodoro Lamperti, is able to transfer the wine to me, his female best friend, Cristina Ghedini, shoves me away before kissing him on the mouth right away. "What are you doing? Today is Serafina's big day, you know!" Teodoro might be complaining on the outside, yet he's patting Cristina gently on the back. The atmosphere in the villa becomes eerily silent. Everyone stares at me as I sit on the floor in a wretched manner. Cristina merely smiles nonchalantly. Then, she leans against Teodoro's shoulder. "Don't be so petty, Serafina. Teodor and I are as thick as thieves since we were kids. We're used to sharing everything together." Teodoro begins advising me as well. "It's just a game, Serafina. You've always been gracious, haven't you? Don't act like a sore loser." Everyone thinks that I'll explode into rage and flip the table of food over, like I had done in the past. But this time, I just draw to my feet and take off the engagement ring. Then, I slide it onto Cristina's finger. "This ring is yours now. Congratulations on your marriage. Remember to invite me to your wedding."

Eleanor worked herself to the bone—three jobs a day, even selling her mother’s only heirloom—all to pay off her boyfriend Luca’s debts. Then, on their third anniversary, she caught him shopping for rings… with her best friend. Turns out, Luca isn’t the struggling artist he pretended to be. He’s the only heir to the city’s most elusive billionaire. Heartbroken and reckless, Eleanor ends up in the arms of an older, devastatingly attractive stranger—a man whose powerful presence and faint resemblance to Luca pull her in like a dangerous dream. Only after she says yes to Luca’s proposal does she discover the truth: The stranger from that night is his father.

"Your mate bond is false, Elena. It broke a year ago when Sophia returned—Elias's real mate now," Selene said, her voice heavy with pity. I'd saved the Moon Goddess by accident. Her reward was the Lunar Heartstone—and the truth that shattered me. "The Lunar Heartstone is meant for true mates to share. Since you're mateless—it's yours alone," she added softly. Something inside me broke. Then hardened. Eight years I gave him as his Luna. I destroyed my body trying to give him an heir. Now I'm finally pregnant with twins—while Elias is out there building a family with her. I touch my belly. "My pups don't need a cheater as their father." Three days. Then we disappear. Turns out the Alpha who threw me away is now searching everywhere. Desperate. Broken. Begging. Sorry, Elias. You're too late.

I am Elena Swan, nineteen years old, and I was betrayed by my fiancé. Worse, he laughed and mocked me, calling me a stupid blonde. I was devastated. My heart was shattered, and my self-worth crumbled before my eyes. Then, a strange message appeared on my phone, claiming that I was the Luna chosen by the Moon Goddess for the strongest Alpha. I thought I had finally lost my mind. Maybe the pain had broken me so badly that I was starting to hallucinate. But fate had other plans. A ridiculously handsome man with piercing blue eyes and unimaginable wealth suddenly entered my life and changed everything. ... "She's just some blonde girl who likes sleeping with me." A proud smile spread across his face. He looked completely pleased with himself, as if he enjoyed saying those words. "As a man, why would I turn her down? She was willing to be my bed partner. So what's wrong with having another girl on the side for myself?" The group burst into laughter, and the sound echoed through the speakers. It was loud, cruel, and impossible to ignore. Killian leaned back casually before continuing. "Besides, she'll keep waiting for me at the apartment and keep believing everything I tell her." His smile widened. "She's way too innocent." He laughed again. "And way too stupid." ... His expression remained calm as he spoke. "You are the Luna chosen for me by the Moon Goddess." His grip on my chin loosened slightly. "And whether you like it or not, you cannot escape the destiny written in your blood." His voice wasn't loud. It wasn't threatening. Yet every word landed heavily, as though he were simply stating a fact that could never be changed.

I had stopped pretending the night Sebastian sailed past our bedroom door for the third time and didn’t look back. I had married him to keep my father’s company intact. Out of my father's desperation. The vows were for the cameras and the board, everything else was ledger entries and quiet compromises. He chased his affairs in public while I held the facade. He saw my composure and called it martyrdom. He never figured out that my calm was armor, not devotion. Then Samantha came home, twenty-three, luminous, curious, the kind of warmth that made places in me I’d kept cordoned off ache. She drifted into my life with easy laughter and careless questions. A sister-in-law, that became my obsession. We started with late-night talks, her voice soft in an empty house, her hand brushing mine while we pretended we were discussing nothing at all. Those small touches stopped being accidental, but deliberate. While Sebastian was busy elsewhere, I took his sister. Not to win anything on a balance sheet, not to score a victory, but to finally have the means to protect who I am, and who I love. Samantha was bewildered at first, shame and curiosity tangling on her face, but the way she leaned into the moments we stole told me more than words ever could. It was messy and urgent and selfish. She became my refuge and my ruin. The tenderness I had once sold to survive became a liability I was suddenly proud to bear. When the scandal around Sebastian crescendoed, I didn’t hide behind the marriage or the name. I stepped into the light, shoulder to shoulder with her, exposed and fierce. I traded anonymity for that, truth wrapped in possession, and I, Mikayla Stonefield, would have done it again.