Speaks The Nightbird

At the dinner table, my wife's best friend suddenly speaks to her in Lytian. "Three years ago, you married Julian in a grand wedding just to help Jace get Julian's letter of forgiveness. Over the years, I've seen Julian fall more and more deeply in love with you. Yet, you're still lying to him. "You gave him sterilization pills but passed them off as his depression medication. Aren't you afraid that he'll fall apart if he finds out the truth?" My wife, Erica Inman, briefly shows a conflicted expression on her face. She then gives a bitter smile and says, "A child unwanted by their mother has no reason to be born. As long as Julian doesn't stand in the way of Jace's happiness, I will keep my promise and stay by his side for the rest of his life." No one knows that I've learned Lytian to keep up with Erica. I stand in the living room and look at the fresh kiss mark on my neck. As I glance at the medication I take regularly for my depression, my whole body turns cold. It turns out that all of Erica's affection toward me was fake. What I thought was my salvation turns out to be nothing but a carefully planned deception. Since that's the case, I'll do my part to make sure they all get what they want.

Hamlet Creek University, just by the name itself, already speaks prestigiousness and rarity. It is the most competitive secondary school within the busy borders of the metropolis of Jordan. Sprouted in the heart of the crowd-pleasing city, Hamlet Creek University has everything you could have experience in your life. And by saying everything, that includes mystery. This has been proven by a group of friends who, without them having a pinch of clue, have taken their high school life to a way more complicated adventure that not everyone has given the opportunity to experience. They should be thankful, though. Because high school is meant to be memorable in a way that it would remind you of your low scores and cheating moments with your seatmates, and not of the cold mysteries waiting to be unravelled, and the deaths of random people on random hours. Everyone knows that it all started on the Dean’s murder. But that’s the only thing they know. The Dean has died. After that, they are devastated, clueless, unaware that the Dean’s is just the starting point of a death chain. A lot more has to follow. The entire Hamlet Creek has only seen it as a normal and unfortunate event of dying and bidding goodbyes, but as for Travis and friends, it’s more than just that. Some of them has died, too, and that simply tells that it isn’t coincidence because it’s a hunting game and the culprit is on loose. The group knows nothing on how to stop the killer. They just have one thing that will serve as their guide—pictures. And with this, they will come to seek for the culprit and put period to this labyrinth of death and mystery. They will succeed. But not everyone can make it to the end.

Antonio has ruled the underworld for decades. A feared mafia boss with a trillion dollar empire, he operates between legitimacy and bloodshed, respected by allies and hunted by enemies. Violence is his language. Control is his law. Love has never been part of the equation except for his nine year old daughter, Ava, the only weakness he allows himself. When Ava is injured in a simple accident, Antonio brings her to a hospital in the States where he meets Dr. Minah Williams. Minah is everything his world isn’t: calm, brilliant, compassionate. A doctor in the middle of a brutal divorce, she’s spent years surviving an abusive marriage to a powerful AI specialist who discarded her for a famous model only to become dangerously obsessed when she finally begins to move on. Unlike everyone else, Minah speaks to Antonio without fear. And unlike anyone before her, Antonio listens. As an instant yet restrained connection forms, two dangerous worlds collide. Antonio’s enemies begin to circle. Minah’s ex hires investigators, stalking her from the shadows, unable to accept that another man one far more powerful has entered her life. Protection turns possessive. Desire turns deadly. And Minah is forced to confront the truth: Surrendering to Antonio may cost her the life she built… but refusing him could cost her everything. Because loving a demon always comes with a price.

When my husband and I drop by his childhood home for Christmas dinner, my mother-in-law, Melissa Potter, is the only one busying away in the kitchen. Everyone else is on their phones. I've just taken a seat when Melissa begins to lecture me. "What, are you just going to sit your ass down and wait for food to come? Don't you know when to lend a helping hand? Am I supposed to exhaust myself for your sake?" From time to time, she keeps rattling the pots and pans loudly. "I can't believe those with healthy bodies want a 70-year-old like me to serve them! Does anyone here have any conscience?" Feeling a little uneasy, I gave my husband a tiny nudge. "Why don't you help Mom out?" After Melissa hears my suggestion, she gets even more pissed off. Thinking that this is my first Christmas with my in-laws, I don't really want to cause a scene here, so I get up to my feet and help her out. But the moment I enter the kitchen, Melissa delegates all the tasks to me. I endure my fury as much as I can while finishing the Christmas dinner preparations. When I'm about to head back to the dining table and dig in, Melissa suddenly speaks up. "Hold up. We got scores to settle before dinner."

Nineteen-year-old Rose should have lived a charmed life as an Alpha’s daughter, but nothing about her world is easy. Her mother died in a pack war she can’t remember, her wolf has never awakened, and her father’s rules keep her caged. On the night of the Luna Festival, Rose seizes one breath of freedom. She sneaks out with her best friend Laura—only to lose her in the crush of bodies and stumble into danger. Cornered by men with cruel intentions, she’s saved by a stranger with spellbinding mismatched eyes—one blue, one green. He vanishes before she gets his name, but his face brands itself into her dreams. When she meets “him” again, his eyes are only blue. He speaks like he knows her. He remembers details only her savior would know. Every time she sees him, something small is different—the gaze, the scent, the smile—but the same face keeps her believing… until the truth snaps into place. It was never one man. It was four. Quadruplet brothers who share a face and a secret—and who cleverly traded places to keep Rose in the dark. Drawn into their dangerous game of heat and deception, Rose becomes their forbidden. What happens when the quadruplets decide to make her their plaything? And what will Rose do when she finally uncovers the secrets they’ve been hiding all along?

When I was 18 years old, I stepped between Eric Ludlow and a silver arrow loosed by another contender so I could help him win the Alpha Trials. The silver sank deep into my wolf. Ever since then, I've lived as a broken werewolf without a mind-link and unable to conceive. Drowning in guilt, Eric decided to mark me. He pulled me close and vowed, "I'll love you for the rest of my life, Evelyn. I'll never see you as less." I really did believe him back then. At 25, he wins the pack war again and emerges as the strongest Alpha. But he turns our mate bond into a joke. At the celebration dinner, during a thoughtless game of Truth or Dare with his secretary, Mia Sadler, he speaks across the mind-link to everyone. "Evelyn, you're painfully dull. You're not the least bit appealing, your scent is thin, and you can't even bear a pup. You're just dead weight. I wish you'd never been saved back then. I wish you'd died." I clutch the medical report that says my wolf is about to be gone for good, staying silent. He assumes I can't hear anything since I don't have a mind-link. I beg the pack healer for a brutal, life-draining potion, just to know what a mate bond with him feels like. It's fine. I'll be dead soon, just the way Eric wants.

In a world ruled by wolves and blood-bound hierarchies, Alessia, the once-proud daughter of the Moonglade Pack, watches her life crumble into ash. Betrayed by the Council and branded as the daughter of a traitor, she is sold at a brutal auction—nothing more than property to be claimed. Her spirit, though battered, remains unbroken. It is there, among jeering alphas and blood-stained floors, that Damian Blackthorn steps from the shadows. Without hesitation, he claims Alessia—not for pleasure, not for mercy, but for reasons even he doesn’t fully understand. Alessia’s arrival at Blackthorn Manor is met with fear, resentment, and whispered rebellion. The pack does not accept her. Rowen, a cunning omega with dreams of revolt, sows seeds of rebellion within the pack, whispering that a true Luna would be chosen, not bought. Beyond the manor walls, greater threats gather. Kael Ironclaw, Alpha of a savage rival pack, covets Alessia for reasons deeper than the mate bond. Whispers of an ancient Blood Moon prophecy rise—one that speaks of a Luna born from betrayal who will either save the shifter world... or destroy it. Amid growing tensions, assassinations are attempted. Trust fractures. Friends become enemies. As the Blood Moon nears, Alessia unearths dark truths: her father’s betrayal may have been a lie spun by the Council to cover darker secrets. Alessia herself carries a dormant power that the Blood Moon will awaken—power enough to change the fate of wolves forever. In the final battle beneath the Blood Moon’s gaze, she faces the ultimate truth: some fates are not chosen.And when the dust settles, Alessia and Damian will stand together—not because fate demanded it, but because they fought for it.

"There's still half a year left before the contract is up. I'm getting ready to file for a divorce from Steven." As Celine Harlow speaks, she looks at the video which has been replayed on her iPad over a hundred times. In the video, her husband, Steven Kirk, keeps staring at his childhood sweetheart, Quinn Lambert, lovingly. "Oh, Quinn! I still can't forget about you at all! Will you please return to my side?" After that, he takes the initiative to capture Quinn's lips in a kiss. Meanwhile, Celine's son, Zane Kirk, whom she has risked her life giving birth to, keeps screaming at the top of his lungs, "Daddy, I want Quinn as my mommy!" Celine's resolve to leave her marriage behind is steeled even more. On the other end of the line, Steven's mother, Evelyn Kennedy, falls silent for a moment. She then advises Celine to think through her decision carefully. "You have to think this through. If you get divorced, not only will you have to give up on your current job, but you also won't be able to obtain any assets because of the contract." Celine doesn't hesitate at all. "I know. Since our marriage certificate is fake, I'll definitely get divorced without asking for a single cent. Don't worry." But Evelyn tries to get Celine to stay. "If you insist on getting a divorce, you won't get the custody over Zane. Are you sure you have the heart to never see him again?"

Her back hit the cold wall before she could even breathe. Damian’s hand slid to her jaw, tilting her face up to his. His voice was a low, trembling threat. “Do you feel what you’re doing to me, Aria?” Her heartbeat stuttered. “You’re my sister’s husband…” “Exactly,” he whispered. “That’s why I shouldn’t want you.” He leaned closer, his breath brushing her lips. “But wanting you is all I’ve done… every damn day.” *** Aria Hale has spent her life unseen, ignored by her father, used by her sister, and taught that her feelings don’t matter. But everything changes the day she moves into her sister’s penthouse… the same home ruled by Damian Cross. Thirty-six. Billionaire. Cold. Married to her sister. And quietly, obsessively fixated on Aria. He watches her too long. Stands too close. Speaks too softly for a man with no heart. He looks at her like she’s the only warmth in his frozen world. Aria tries to avoid him. Tries to reject him. Tries to pretend she doesn’t feel the air tighten when he enters a room. But Damian does not let go. He corners. He interferes. He destroys anything that dares approach her. Because wrong or not, forbidden or not— he has already decided she belongs to him. And when the truth behind his obsession finally comes to light… Aria will learn that some desires, once awakened, are impossible to escape.

********* “Did you really come all the way here to tell me you were with another woman you slept with and impregnated?” “What?” Travis is the one who speaks, his voice echoing his shock as he looks from me to Kian. Kian’s usual blank look remains as if he is unaffected by my words and the pain he has caused me. “Let’s not do this here, Leslie. You know I can’t just leave her.” I scoff. “I never stopped you. You know what? You should have never come here. You should have stayed with her since that is where your loyalties lie now and I am no longer in the picture.” Kian frowns, moving closer and intimidating me just a little with his height and muscular frame, “What does that mean? You are my wife.” “Ex-wife,” I say the words without even thinking. I didn’t think any of this through but I don’t care because my entire being seems to agree that this is what’s best for me, “I want a divorce, Kian.” His eyes grow wide, unable to contain the shock at my words and I am proud of myself that I finally got a reaction that isn’t anger or coldness from him. “Both the divorce papers and my resignation will find their way to you soon.” I add before he can get over his shock and I don’t wait for him to reply as I turn to an equally stunned Travis. “Take me home, Travis.”