Ray Bradbury Zero Hour Novels & Stories

Lucy Carrigan has run away from her hometown to live a secluded life in Sedona, Arizona. Unbeknownst to her, Gabriel Herman, the banished stray Alpha of the Moonlight Pack, has discovered she is his beloved mate. An undeniable connection brings the two broken mates together, and Gabriel must find a way to tell Lucy what he is. Will she be able to heal from her previous trauma and begin a romantic relationship with Gabriel? Would a human and a hybrid wolf shifter being mates be as taboo as his uncle, current Alpha of the Moonlight Pack, wants everyone to believe? Will they learn how to work together to weather the storms cast their way? *** "Gabriel," she whispered. "Yeah?" he asked, spinning his head toward her, making direct eye contact as the light faded. "Can I kiss you?" she asked, biting her lip. "You have my consent, Freckles." He winked. The Stray Alpha is created by Laura Dickey-Couch, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

In the Philippines, there is a well-known and commonly practiced superstitious belief called pagpag, loosely translated as "to dust-off." One should never go home directly after visiting a wake or a funeral, because the ghost of the deceased might latch on and cause hauntings or attract evil. Now, where can Filipinos pagpag and lead spirits astray? It could be anywhere: a restaurant, a mall, that house down the street where your toxic ex lives… but usually, people opt for 7-Eleven convenience stores and nobody knows why. Follow the story of Akira Basilio: a part-time staff who mans the Luntian Street 7-Eleven on Thursday and Friday nights, which sounds completely normal; except Akira had the ability to communicate with the dead. She maintained a quiet life by keeping her sixth sense a secret from both the living and the departed, until a particularly persistent spirit flips everything into chaos when he entangles Akira in a hunt for a murderer.

Everyone in Phantom Pack knew their Alpha, Riven Drake, was devoted to me — completely and without question. No matter how slammed he was, he always called to check in, right on time, every time. But the night before our marking ceremony, he vanished. No call, no word, nothing. I lost all sense of him through our mate bond, and my gut told me he was in danger. I was ready to drop everything and go find him — body wrecked as I was — when he finally walked through the door. He came in holding a woman who reeked of him, barely able to stand, and dropped to his knees in front of me. "Natasha, Helen got hurt saving my life. I can't just let her die." To atone for his sins before me, he stabbed himself with a silver dagger. Then, not even an hour after our marking ceremony ended, I heard his Beta laughing with him: "Alpha, that aphrodisiac must've been something else. Helen looked like she was about to pass out." Riven's voice had a satisfied edge to it. "Yeah, I'll have to go easier next time. Don't want her cutting me off." "Anyway — my little troublemaker's calling." It hit me like a punch to the chest. I picked up my phone and called my brother. "Cole. I want to come home to Starlight Pack. Can you send someone in five days?" He sounded surprised, then happy. "Of course. I'll have someone there in five days." Five days. I was giving myself five days. Giving Riven five days. He thought I was just another werewolf. Thought he had me completely figured out. He had no idea I was something else entirely — a descendant of the Dragon Clan, something out of legend. I was never his to control.

Nora Ashford thought she was giving a desperate couple the gift of life. Instead, she became a pawn in a cruel game. Contracted as a surrogate for billionaire CEO Marcus Wolfe and his fiancée Jade Rivers…. Nora's former best friend…. she endures nine months of isolation, control, and cold indifference. But when she gives birth, Marcus rips the baby from her arms and discards her like trash, invoking a contract clause she never saw coming: zero custody, zero rights, zero compensation beyond medical costs. Broken and alone, Nora discovers the devastating truth…. Jade was never infertile. The surrogacy was a lie to avoid "ruining her body." Worse, Marcus isn't just ruthless; he's the man who had her father killed five years ago to steal his groundbreaking tech company. Enter Elias Moretti… a dangerous nightclub owner with mafia ties and a smile that promises violence. He saves Nora from rock bottom and offers her something irresistible: revenge. He'll help her destroy Marcus and reclaim her daughter. But Elias has secrets of his own. He orchestrated their meeting. He's been watching her for years. And the baby Nora carried? The fertility clinic switched the sample. Elias is the biological father. Caught between two ruthless men…. one who discarded her, one who's obsessed with her…. Nora must become the player instead of the pawn. As Marcus realizes what he's lost and begins a terrifying pursuit to win her back, and Elias's true motives unravel, Nora faces an impossible choice: revenge or redemption, safety or passion, the monster she knows or the devil she's falling for. In a world where everyone has an agenda, Nora must fight for her daughter, her identity, and her survival.

In my previous life, I had been suffering from a terminal illness when I won the lottery.  To my shock, Mommy advised me to forgo treatment and leave the winnings to my younger brother, David, to use for his marriage.  I refused to become an accessory to his future, so, behind my parents’ backs, I donated every bit of it to an orphanage.  When they found out, they were furious. They called me a heartless, ungrateful wretch.  After severing ties with me, they abandoned me at the hospital. On David's birthday, they gathered as a family and celebrated him while I was left to die in the hospital, utterly alone. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day I had won the lottery.  Recalling the pain and betrayal of my past life, I resolved to leave my parents that very day.  But to my surprise, when I returned home, they had completely changed.  They doted on me and showered me with affection.

The woman in Eden's arms should have been me — but I died on the marking ceremony night. The life that I had planned properly since childhood was ripped away without mercy. My supposed mate and twin sister danced around in glee, looking very happy. If only they knew I was standing before them right now as a ghost — watching every smile, every touch, every stolen moment. Quietly waiting to watch them fall from their high pedestal.

Five rounds of interviews, and I finally landed an offer from Gauthier Corp—earned it fair and square. I told Yvette Klutz, my girlfriend. Dumb move. She reported me behind my back and got me dropped. "Kevin's freaking out about not landing a job, so I gave him this one. Just shoot out a few more résumés. It's only a few days." Right. Kevin Hardwick got the job and a full-on welcome parade. I laughed—dry, dead inside—then called my sister, the CEO. "Haisley, think our company needs a new executive assistant?"

In my past life, I was performing emergency pipeline repairs 300 meters beneath the ocean when my oxygen line ruptured. I swam back for help, only to have my wife, Summer Yates, and her first love, Zachary Gibson, lock me out of the diving bell. Not only did they ignore whether I lived or died, but they also started live-streaming an extreme no-oxygen endurance challenge to the entire internet. In the end, I suffocated and drowned. Even after my death, Summer and Zachary smeared my name, calling me a deranged saboteur, while they ran off together with my massive life insurance payout. When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn to the exact moment I was banging on the hatch. Right on cue, Summer's sweet, teasing chuckle came through the comm. "All units, don't open the hatch. Carter wants to attempt an extreme challenge today. He's going to swim back to the surface without oxygen!" Immediately after, Zachary's voice followed, trembling with excitement. "Babe, the sponsors said if Carter succeeds this time, I'll be the lead director on next month's million-dollar documentary series!" In my past life, I had begged them through mouthfuls of blood, only to be met with Summer's impatient urging. "Stop wasting your energy. You should save your oxygen and start swimming up. You're such a strong swimmer. Just hold on for another half hour, and you'll make Zachary's dream come true!" Now, as I listened to this pair of scumbags plot against me, I sneered and cut the communication. I raised the highest-powered underwater cutting torch in my hand and aimed it directly at the main load-bearing cable connecting the diving bell to the surface vessel above. They wanted me dead, so none of them would be leaving alive either.

Daianara Zahara got her heart captured by an online writer in an online platform where she spent most of her time writing. Due to that, she started looking for the guy using her connection, but it seems that their destiny is not meant to be as she wasn't able to find the guy. Years had passed by, she knew that it was impossible for her to meet the guy who doesn't even know her existence. So, she finally decided to agree to a blind date arranged by her mother. The guy is Seby La Cour, a CEO and a billionaire. She doesn't know anything about the guy until she laid her eyes on him. And, you know what's amazing? The guy is the same guy she is looking for. Let us see where this love will lead them both, especially when her love for the man slowly became hate. Will they have a happy ending or this is just another story of the one that got away?

A car accident left me with severe brain injuries. I was left hanging by a thread. My wife, a renowned medical genius, personally operated on me for 18 consecutive hours, pulling me back from death's grasp. Yet, the first words I said to her after waking up were, "Grace, I want a divorce." Her eyes were filled with tears. "Derek, I just saved your life, and now, you want to leave me? Is it because I've been too busy at the hospital? Because I haven't spent enough time with you?" I frowned. "It's exactly because you saved me that I want this divorce. I won't let you sacrifice your reputation for me." The family elders tried to reason with me. "Grace is such a wonderful wife. She takes care of everything and loves you deeply. Why insist on a divorce? Why throw away such happiness?" No matter who approached me, I dismissed them with the same response. "If you think she's so perfect, then she'll be available once we're divorced." The elders were furious. "Fine! Get your divorce! But don't come crying to us when you regret it!" I whispered under my breath, "The only thing I regret is not divorcing her sooner."