Ross Library Lock Haven

I’d just wrapped up a short trip with my daughter, Elara. On the way back, I figured I’d swing by the Hale, our family’s casino, to check in on my son, Cassian. Maybe grab dinner together. I didn’t expect to be mistaken for his latest fling. Correction: not mistaken—accused. Violently. “You think you can just waltz in here like some queen?” she hissed. “I’m the woman Cassian loves! What kind of whore are you? And is this your bastard daughter with him?” She locked us in the basement. No phone. No light. Just concrete walls and the stench of mildew and madness. Then came the fists. She slapped me across the face—again and again—until my skin stung and my ears rang. When that didn’t satisfy her, she pulled a gun and aimed low. The bullet tore through my knee. I bit back a scream, shielding Elara with my body. “You need to die, whore,” she spat. One of her men hesitated, “We should at least tell Mr. Hale first. If we are going to kill these two in his casino.” Lila of course said no. But that man brought Cassian anyway. My son stepped into this dark little room like it was any other Tuesday—until he saw me. His whole body went still. The blood drained from his face. And then, in the smallest, most broken voice I’d ever heard from him, he whispered, “Mom? What are you doing in my basement?”

"Now that's done let me explain the rules of the new game. You are going to tell me a story. All you have to do is survive the story. Simple right?” In order to save the person he loves, Anderson decided to use whatever means necessary. That resolve took him towards a path he never thought was possible. The story is a little slow but it is quite the fun read. Hope you will join us on our journey with Anderson and his road to survival and power.

I take a step back, ready to change course and leave, but the Lycan King closes the distance between us. He’s dangerously close to me now, his body in full display and sending my whole body aflame. The familiar heat between my legs starts to appear. “Where are you going?” he whispers, his breath hot against the top of my head. “Are you really trying to leave?” I don’t say anything. I can’t. All I can think about is how his length would feel like inside me, and that’s not something I want to linger on right now. I need to focus. He laughs softly. “I know you feel it too. There’s no denying it. You’re mine.” * * * Outcast. Freak. Cursed. These are things that Beta heiress Valeria Ross is used to hearing. After all, with her otherwordly appearance, and her cursed white wolf, she’s bound to be set apart from everyone else. So much so that even her mate who promised her eternal love casts her aside, choosing her much better stepsister as a partner. Deciding that things should end on her terms, she decides to flee her pack. Only to run into the arms of the Lycan King, Ares Ryder, who’s spent centuries looking for his mate and finally found it in her. Now Valeria is faced with a hard choice. Will she stay in the shadows of her family, forever tormented with the sight of her mate with her sister? Will she exchange that hell for a softer one, a life with a cruel King who’s known for collecting women like trophies?

It all started with a bet, a bet George Stanley made with his ex-girlfriend, a bet that allowed Vivian to marry her secret love. George thought he could always win yet never expected, that losing Vivian would be his biggest regret. =============== I am still lying on the bed, naked, with his marks all over my body, when he drops those cold words, “Megan is back. I want a divorce.” I am shocked at how callus he can be. I haven’t told him about my pregnancy yet. What should I do now? Will he forget about Megan and carry on with this marriage if I tell him? “It is clearly stated in the contract that we can end this marriage if we don’t fall in love with each other in a year. I don’t love you, Vivian. You failed to win my heart.” He says those words with no emotions, looking into my eyes. I understand I'll never be able to replace Megan in his heart, so I decide to keep my pregnancy a secret from him. “Let’s divorce then,” I say ============ Vivian thought she would live happily with her baby away from George and his cold, heartless world. But fate had already made a different plan for her. She ultimately crossed his path. “You dared to hide my child from me. Now be ready for the consequences.” When George reappeared in Vivian's life, everything became a tornado of chaos. How was she going to keep herself and her child away from him? Would she be able to save herself from getting hurt again?

Cassidy: I consider myself an intelligent liberal woman. Sure some would call me a feminist, and that's being polite. I know my worth and have a standard of who I date. It may not be fair to write off all jocks. I don't have time for players, and jocks tend to be just that on and off the field. Especially Collin Cole. Collin: I love being a player. On and off the court. Being one of the starting players in our high school basketball team is great. I love playing basketball and everything that comes with it, including the popularity and the girls. I rarely date a girl for more than a couple of months. Finding a new girl is easy. They practically fall at my feet, except for Cassidy Summers. This is part of the Ravenwood series. It features characters and events from The Princes of Ravenwood. If you haven't read that book, it is okay. This book can stand alone. Ravenwood Series Reading Order: Book 1 - The Princes of Ravenwood Book 2 - Chasing Kitsune Book 3 - Expect The Unexpected Book 4 - Out Of My League Book 5 - Man's Best Wingman

A young girl is married off to an Alpha by her parents against her will. She is forced to leave her old life behind and move in with the Alpha, who is known for his power and control within the pack. Despite her initial resistance, she eventually comes to accept her new life alongside Alpha Aiden. However, she soon realizes that the Alpha is a cruel and abusive man who uses his position to control her every move. Aiden wanted the title and in order to receive it he had to take a wife. As Grabiela is about to enter his life, Aiden decides to make it fun and turn it into a game, with her as the main pond, between him and his friends. When the abuse and lies weigh too heavy she realizes that she has to leave but will he let her go? Or will he tighten his grip and lock the doors? ”I’m guessing the meeting wasn't to talk about the food arrangements for when you take over the pack?” ”They’ve arranged for me to marry Gabriella Santos from the Trimoon pack,” ”So what, when have you ever backed down from a challenge?” ”How is tying my life to another in marriage, a challenge?” ”The challenge is to make her submit to you.” ”We’ll make it more interesting-” ”- I bet you won't be able to get it done before the end of the year,” ”I’ll have her submitting to me by the end of the month,” ”Not just submit. You have to have her wrapped around your finger, hopelessly in love with you by the end of the year,” ”Ten grand to whoever wins,” ***Explicit sexual abuse, violence, and otherwise TW scenes later in the book. Will warn in Author Notes***

[ DARK ROMANCE 21+ ] "W-What are y-you doing here..." Her soft voice lets out in quiet shock. He enjoys that dulcet melody of her feminine voice, as he closed the door behind him, bolting it without looking away from her. Fearfully, her gaze trails behind him at the door before connecting with his again. She grows rapidly angered. "Get out of my room!!! How dare you?! Get out!!!" He suppresses the urge to chuckle at what he perceived as her adorable fury. Instead, he manages to grasp it with a deviant smirk. “Not unless I get what I want..doll face." "I'll scream!" She bellows, her hands clutching at the duvet around her. He strides forward and grabs the smartphone sitting atop the dresser in front of her bed. He easily slips it over the top of a high shelf, far from her petite reach. Then he turns to her and replies smoothly with a hint of derisiveness. "Scream all you like, princess...I've given the entire staff a day off.." She stares at him with the briefest of puzzled looks, and he finds her incredibly adorable in her contemplation. He felt his arousal increase and the next words fell huskily out of his mouth. "It's only you and I..ALONE.." Her innocent tourmaline eyes lock with his fervent sapphire ones. "W-What d-do you want ?" Her frightened voice barely above a whisper. His eyes rove over her figure in a degradingly suggestive manner. He provides a crude answer. "Why, of course to fūck you senseless, kitten." her face drains of color as she stares at him in repleted horror. He was unfazed by her stiffened posture and frightened expression. All he could do by his eyes was drink in her natural beauty like a man who'd gone days without water.

Chiara Ravensworth is a witch—half Magickal, half Mundane. Her mother, a covert agent for the Council of Magickal Elders, lives in the shadows, while Chiara stays with her father in the ordinary world. Divorced but still in love, her parents’ strange balance mirrors Chiara’s own: caught between two realms, searching for where she truly belongs. Gideon Swan has no memory of his Magickal bloodline. Orphaned, bullied, and fiercely intelligent, he carved out a life in the mundane world posing as a ‘psychic.’ Now filthy rich and famously reclusive, Gideon is haunted by vivid dreams of a woman he’s never met—and by the violent, uncontrolled powers that surge within him, erupting in natural disasters. He hides from the world to protect it. Until Chiara appears at his door on a storm-torn evening—and something within him quiets for the first time. She’s the woman from his dreams. Bound by an ancient, rare bond—twin flames—their connection is both a gift and a curse. Together, they could become the greatest force for good the world has ever seen… or, as twin flames in history did, they destroy each other in the fire of their own making. While in the shadows, something dark and patient waits. It needs only one thing to rise: their union, so it could harness that flame for itself.

I made my way directly to the library with the present I had for Asher all nicely wrapped up, ready to be torn open. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. When I arrived at the library, no one was there. I sat there for a whole 20 minutes waiting for Mr. no show. I felt stupid for thinking he would actually come. I got dolled up for no reason at all. Maybe I’ll still meet my mate today. Then it won’t be for no reason. I got up from the table seat and went into the hall, hearing a lot of whispers regarding my new appearance. Some asking if I’m a new girl, others saying I’m trying too hard and others saying I look drop dead gorgeous. I didn’t know how to feel about myself. As I was wandering around the halls waiting for school to start, a smell hit me like a truck. It filled my lungs and took over my mind. It was the smell of after the rain had fallen. Petrichor. "Mate", I growled. I let the scent lead my feet to where my mate was. I was so excited and my palms are sweaty. It led me to the janitor’s closet and before I opened it I heard a moan. I put my ear to the door and heard shuffling. “Hurry Saige, I smell my mate, I can’t let her meet me like this.” I know that voice my heart skips a beat, fear and anger covers my heart like a blanket. It can’t be. It can’t be. There’s no way.

Stephen's beloved Phoebe fell into a coma. To everyone, I became the villain—accused of harming her out of unrequited love for Stephen. Mute, I had no way to defend myself before Stephen locked me away in the basement. He said I would only be freed when Phoebe woke up. Broken and hopeless, I succumbed to fear and starvation, eventually developing amnesia. Day by day, my memories began to slip away. Yet, Stephen, tears in his eyes, begged me not to forget him. But all I wanted was to leave it all behind and keep moving forward.