Scooby Doo Pointing

Out on a holiday with my boyfriend, Jack, and my good friend, Eva, a catastrophe occurred. As the floods came, we waited for the rescue helicopter to come. As I fastened the safety rope, I noticed that my metal safety clip had been swapped for a plastic ring. Climbing up the rope ladder, Jack said nonchalantly, "Eva's luggage is heavy. She needs another safety clip, so I gave her yours. You can wait for the next rescue." I replied in a panic, pointing at the water level already past my chest, "But I can't swim!" Jack replied irritatedly, "Naomi, stop causing a scene! You're a strong swimmer, what's a little time in the water? Eva is my boss's relative. If something happens to her, my promotion is gone. Why can't you understand that?" "Which matters more? My life or her luggage?" I reached for the rope ladder when he kicked my hand away. "I've studied the waters. The flood won't rise so quickly. It will at most be at the level of your neck. You won't die!" I said nothing further. Watching the floods rise crazily, I quickly pressed my family's special alarm on my wrist.

“You helped your sister to run away with her boyfriend, right?” Aadil Waziri yelled at his newlyweds wife Inayat and he shook her head. “I didn't know she would run away.” She defended herself. “That means you knew. Then you could have told me about that. I would have backed out. I would never marry her forcefully. Now see what you have gotten yourself into. You spoiled both of our lives. You are stuck with me forever and me with you. But you have to pay for it. I will make your life hell. You are really my wife in papers but I will never claim you as my wife.” Pointing his finger at her he snarled at her. “Then why did you agree to marry me? You could have said no to this marriage.” Now Inayat lost her temper and yelled at him which enraged him more and he grabbed her jaw firmly, looking deadly into her eyes. “Because I want to ruin your life. You have to pay for your sister’s faults all your life. Welcome to my hellhole.” Saying that he let go of her face with a jerk and started laughing like a maniac.

"Like what you see?" he asked, his voice low and seductive. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're lying," he commented, his voice husky. "I can smell your desire, Gracie. You want me, just as much as I want you." ~~~~~ "You have no right to judge me or my actions! How dare you?!" He spat at her. Gracie swallowed hard, feeling a wave of fear wash over her, as he called out to his guards. "Strip her of all her clothings, and put her where she belongs!" he barked, pointing towards her. __________ In a far-away land, there lived a powerful Lycan King who was dreaded by all, for his cruelty and mercilessness was way beyond the imagination of all under his reign, and far away from him. Alpha Jerri was no match to anyone, and even his closest pals feared for their lives. All the young girls around went into hiding all because of his cruelty, yet, getting any of his choice to satisfy his lust, took him nothing to achieve. Gracie, a young girl who was at the mercy of her father, was frustrated with her life, but only a glimmer of hope kept her going… A story of pain, trauma, lust and insane satisfaction… leading to a cloudy world of the unknown.. Gracie must stay strong to hang on, or be at the mercy of her oppressors!

When the mafia heir, Marco Gallante, barged into the family vault with his mistress, I was standing before the Virgin Mary statue, cross-checking bloodstained ledgers. Fiore Albero cowered behind him, pointing at the ledgers in my hands and shrieking, "Marco, I'm scared..." I did not even bother looking up, just flicked the ash off my cigar. However, Marco kicked the desk over with one swift boot. "Chiara Moltisanti, Fiore can't stand the sight of all this blood and violence. Sign the divorce papers, now!" I stared at the mess scattered across the floor, thinking back to the pregnancy report the family doctor had handed me just ten minutes ago. The Gallante bloodline was dying out in this generation. Ever since the eldest son, Luca Gallante, died in that accident, Marco became the sole heir. The Don, Carmine Gallante, dreamed of nothing more than a legitimate boy of pure blood to carry on the family name and glory. So, I smiled, bright and sharp, with unmistakable mockery. "Perfect. Since you want true love, then the Don's throne will never be yours." Besides, I never wanted Marco, that useless fool. What I wanted was the Gallante empire, a mafia dynasty spanning three continents with 100 years of roots, and the control that left him with nowhere to run and no legs to stand on. This time, I would cut him out completely, keep the bloodline, and sit at the head of the family.

In the Crimson city in Moon City dominantly inhabited by members of the Crimson pack, there were reported records of the daily increase of missing humans and the livestock. Traces or trails weren't left by the perpetrators of these acts, and the remains of these humans could not be found as well. The Alpha of the Crimson pack was on the edge of pointing fingers at the Greyhound pack, another pack that inhabited Diamond city as the ones behind this activity. But he got a message from Governor Klaus Mickelson, urging them to refrain from the massacre and killings if they had a hand in it. Since this was the situation, Crimson eye pack had to return a message to the Greyhound pack, requesting for a monthly meeting hosted in Moon City with several smaller packs as well. This meeting session was going to help the packs to have unified reasoning and coordinated ideas in order to devise a means to find the source of these sudden killings in the city. Meanwhile, Damon Mickelson, the son of Klaus Mickelson, Alpha of the Greyhound pack, refused to attend the meeting. He stated the availability of some unresolved conflict with the Crimson eye pack as his reason. But his parents and the elders reminded him of the importance of attending the meeting. They made him understand that he needed to attend the meeting because it was a duty that he owed the pack as the future Alpha. Tessa Randolph, the second daughter of John Randolph, tried to convince her father to allow the meeting to be hosted by another pack. She wanted to stay back and allow her elder brother to attend the meeting in her place, but her reasons were all worthless to the ears of her father.

"Please help me... I'll do anything. I just want my mother to live." I cried, tears streaming down my face in torrents, my body trembling in fear. Kael stared down at me, his glowering eyes devoid of any emotion and a chill ran down my spine. "Anything, you say?" He asked, pointing the edge of his sword against my neck and I stiffened, refusing to breathe. "Anything... " I whispered, my voice small yet resolute. A corner of his lips quirked up, not quite forming a smile. "How about my slave?l ***** “She was supposed to be his captive, not his salvation. When Aira sneaks into forbidden Lycan territory to save her mother, she is caught and thrown at the mercy of the ruthless Lycan King, Kael Drathlor. In a desperate bargain, she trades her freedom for her mother’s life. But as she becomes the king’s unwilling companion, Aira discovers a terrifying truth—Kael is cursed, unable to die, unable to feel the mate bond that should tie them together. As dark forces conspire against them and Kael spirals further into self-destruction, Aira must decide: escape and save herself, or risk everything for the beast who might never love her back. In a world where fate is both a gift and a curse, can she break the chains of destiny before it’s too late?”

It was almost New Year. I had just withdrawn money from the bank when I noticed that the amount on my passbook didn't match the cash in my hand. I counted carefully—my passbook showed a different figure than the five thousand dollars I was holding. Frustrated, I turned and went back to the counter to find the teller who had handled my transaction. Clutching the receipt, I tried to be polite. "Excuse me, I think there might be a mistake with this transaction." Instantly, she snapped, pointing her finger at my nose. "Don't you know that once you leave the counter, we are not responsible for any discrepancies?" I waved my hands, trying to explain. "No, wait, look again. I clearly withdrew five thousand dollars, but on my passbook, it shows…" She cut me off impatiently. "When you filled out the form, it was all right there. Once you leave the counter, it's not our problem. You signed the form yourself, confirming everything. Are we supposed to correct it every time someone claims a mistake after leaving the bank?" I froze. No wonder she kept repeating that the bank isn't responsible after leaving the counter. She thought I had come back to ask for more money. What I was really trying to explain was simple: I withdrew five thousand, yet my passbook showed that I deposited five thousand.

My younger brother, Samuel, gave me a call and asked me to go to his university. However, his unusually serious tone took me aback. I rushed over to his counselling office, only to see him, his fellow counselors, and a female junior whom I had coincidentally helped in the last semester. The female junior, Sally, was covering her slightly protruding belly. She abruptly dropped to her knees before me in front of the counselors. “Honey, I know this unexpected pregnancy has put a lot of pressure on you. But you can’t just abandon me and our baby!” she choked back with tears. Then, she reached out to grab the hem of my clothes. However, I stepped back and left. Sally’s cries turned sharp and shrill. “You heartless jerk! How could you behave like this?! If I’d known that you’d pretend not to know me the second it was over, I would’ve never gone to a hotel with you!” One of the counselors looked furious, and he seemed furious beyond measure. “Kid, being young is no excuse. A man needs to take responsibility!” A crowd began to gather outside the office. Their pointing fingers and contemptuous stares nearly overwhelmed me. In the middle of the chaos, Samuel casually leaned against the wall and spoke with a drawl. “Chris, aren’t you going to stay and see your unborn baby?”

To scrape together my mother's surgery money, I worked myself to the bone at this company for three straight years. My performance was always number one. By myself, I supported half the sales department. Then, a newly hired HR director decided every desk needed an AI camera, claiming it was to optimize efficiency. Every blink, every breath I took was measured and calculated by the system. "Warning. Employee Nathan Gray blinked more than twenty times within one minute. Mental distraction detected. Fine: 50." "Warning. Employee Nathan Gray took 3.5 seconds to drink water, exceeding the standard by 1.5 seconds. Slacking detected. Fine: 100." "Warning. Employee Nathan Gray's mouth corners drooped for over thirty seconds. Suspected spread of negative emotion. Fine: 200." The most ridiculous part was the way he stood in front of the entire department, pointing proudly at my data on the giant screen. "See that?" he said smugly. "This is the power of technology. In front of AI, you lazy freeloaders have nowhere to hide. Nathan, your bonus for this month has already been wiped out by the system. If you don't like it, get lost. Plenty of people are lining up to take your place." What he didn't know was that the AI system he trusted so blindly had its core code written by me. Tonight, I was going to show him what happened when he angered the one who built the machine.

Just one second before Alpha Daniel’s fated mark burned into my skin, a sharp voice pierced the air at the bonding ceremony. “Stop!” Jessica, Daniel’s first love, stumbled forward, her belly swollen. “Are you all really going to let this vicious woman become your Luna?” she cried, pointing at me with trembling hands. “She’s been torturing me for months! She poisoned my tea, left knives at my door, and tried to force me to abort Alpha’s pup!” My mind went blank at her sudden, fabricated accusations. “What? I didn’t—” Before I could finish, Jessica lunged toward me. Acting on instinct, I raised my arm to block her, but she collapsed heavily to the floor. “My pup!” she shrieked. “Daniel, look! She’s trying to hurt us again! Call the enforcers to arrest her!” In the next heartbeat, Daniel rushed forward, shielding Jessica in his arms without hesitation. He looked at me, his gaze cold and disappointed. “Rosie, why couldn’t you just behave? This pup is our pack’s heir!” Around us, the elders exchanged dark, knowing glances, silently condemning me. With no way to prove my innocence, I was sentenced to three years in the nightmare Silver Prison. Whips, hunger, endless violence… Eventually, I learned what Daniel really meant by “behave”. But why was he the one who regretted it?