Survival

His steely gaze bore into mine, an abyss of emotionless darkness. "Marc-" "SHUT UP!" I flinched, a shudder coursing through me. He came on closer, his fingers tightening around my neck, a cruel parody of a caress. I met his frightening stare, I stared at him breathing heavily. "Just be still." I lowered my face, eyelids fluttering shut, as if seeking solace in the darkness. "I own you." His declaration resounding heavy in the air, an unbreakable chain binding me to this desire’s. In that moment, I knew - there was no escaping the clutches of this man who held me captive, body and soul. **************** In the heart of a city shrouded in shadows and secrets, Elena Santiago's life takes a dangerous plunge. Her father's debts drag them to the doorstep of Don Marco De Luca, an astute and enigmatic mafia overlord, thrusting Elena into a world of scary gambles and lethal allure. Boundaries blur between allegiance and survival as Elena must survive through a web of deception, where every move becomes a battle cry. With her family's future teetering on a razor's edge, she finds herself torn between defying the merciless Don and submitting to a life of total servitude. ******** Will she succumb to his desires… or hers?!

   She let out a gasp as I spun her around and pressed her Firmly between the wall and my chest, loving the way she fit perfectly into my arms. She had no idea how badly I wanted to consume All of her.      “Let go of me you bastard! You're harassing me!” She screamed and I chuckled Before grabbed her hands and holding them up above her head.    She moaned slightly and I knew I was affecting her as much as she was affecting me.     “It seems you don't understand what it means to be claimed by me. What it means to be mine and I don't mind showing you over and over again till every part of your body aches for me. Now be a good girl and arch your back”... ~     She was only meant to be a game, he was only meant to be a means of survival but when lust and desire gets in the way, the tables are turned quickly and Raeliya is caught in the middle of two brothers who want nothing more than to make her theirs. The only difference was one betrayed her and called it fate; the other bled for her and called it love.    As power shifts, alliances crumble and secrets long buried rise to the surface, Raeliya must choose between the love that broke her and the obsession That might destroy her.

Morrigan has always been an outsider in her own pack, known for living in the snow-capped mountains of the north and their “survival of the fittest” mentality. Her parents passed soon after she was born, and so she was raised by two very different uncles. Idris, her mother’s brother and Gamma of the pack, has nourished her intelligence and strength, training her almost daily. Oskar, her fathers brother, who temporarily holds the Beta position until Anders, her older brother, is of age, could care less about her, banishing her to the basement of his home and isolating her from the rest of the pack. When she turned eighteen and didn’t meet her mate in the pack, she knew that she had to leave, and she knew just how to do it. Every year, the Royal Guard comes to packs across the kingdom to watch and train the warriors, and if someone impresses them enough, they may be invited to attend Royal Guard training at the capital. Being so difficult to get to, they only go to The Summit Keepers every ten years, and this is the year. When Morrigan gets recruited, it feels like a dream come true, but as she arrives in the capital, she realizes things may not be as they seem. Will this new world truly be like she thought? Or will she run into trouble?

In a world where humans are more like slaves, Elena found herself at the mercy of Zadian, A ruthless Alpha, known for his hatred for rogues and Humans, she was human. His woman. Zadian was nothing like any man she has ever encountered before and this will make her very afraid of him, that and his very obvious dislike for humans. Never in her life did Elena think a harmless research visit to her father's research lab will be the start of her doom. This story's main idea is a love between a werewolf that was thought to be a monster, forced to become almost inhuman for the survival of his pack and a girl from a different world who might be the very key to stopping the war going on between humans and werewolves. Will she ever be brave enough to tame the beast who’s bent on making her his? How will Elena adjust to her new life knowing that well everyone there hated her and wanted her dead? Was she capable of ever loving the monster than Zadian was despite everything he does goes against not only her beliefs but her morals as well? This isn’t a sweet love story, it’s a story as dark as night, a thrilling exciting story that will have readers questioning their morals and rooting for what they may deemed questionable! Elena's life will be changed forever, but was it for the better or…worse?

"Skylar Starlight, you are sentenced to death for having consorted with a member of our worst enemy's clan... The lycans. And this sentence is irrevocable," said the wise old man with a heavy heart. Skylar, a heartbroken werewolf, fell in love with a handsome lycan despite the rules of their packs forbidding their union. "But my love for him is stronger than any pack law," she declared passionately. The old man shook his head. "Your love may be strong, but it is doomed. The lycans and werewolves cannot unite. They have been enemies for centuries." "But why? Why do we have to be enemies?" she asked tearfully. "It's the way destiny has dictated it. The lycans and werewolves were never meant to be together," he explained. "But what about love? Doesn't that conquer all?" she pleaded. The old man sighed. "Love knows no boundaries, but this is not just about love. It's about the safety and survival of our kind." Skylar's heart sank as she realized the harsh reality of their world. Her fate was sealed, and her love would never be accepted. Join Skylar on her journey as she defies the odds and fights against the cruelty, hatred, and thirst for power that surrounds her. Will her love story come to a tragic end? Or will she prove that love truly knows no boundaries?

He claimed her for revenge. He kept her for the sin. Isabella was stolen a beautiful, defiant prize taken as part of Alessandro De Luca's brutal revenge. Alessandro De Luca is a king among shadows, a ruthless Capo whose empire is built on blood, lies, and the ashes of his enemies. He is a man who takes what he wants, and what he wants now is retribution. His perfect pawn? Isabella the defiant, stunning daughter of the man who took everything from him. Dragged from her gilded cage and into his lavish, terrifying world, she is meant to be his trophy, his torment, and the ultimate symbol of his victory. But a pawn with fire in her veins is impossible to control. She is forbidden. Addictive. Dangerous. With every heated glance and accidental brush of skin, Isabella threatens to unravel the cold calculation in him, tearing down the walls of the devil he's become... or awakening something even darker. Their deadly game of ownership and defiance is quickly complicated by a new, more venomous threat: Alessandro’s twin brother. Twisted, obsessive, and hellbent on tearing his world apart, the only thing his brother craves more than Alessandro’s throne is the woman Alessandro has claimed. With enemies closing in on every side, the stakes are simple: Betrayal is certain. Survival is not. Desire is a trap that could kill them both.

“Show me,” he said, voice low and rough, “how good you're willing to serve me.” I should’ve spat in his face. Except, I nodded…because outside that tent, his men waited. The ones who’d tear me apart piece by piece if I said no. The ones I’d be handed to. I slid my palm between my thighs, breath hitching at my own touch, just a warning stroke and to stay alive. But when I brushed again, deeper this time, I gasped. “Keep going,” Malrik said, leaning back, watching like I was the most fascinating sin he’d ever seen. So I did. With shame thick in my throat and my heart pounding against cracked ribs. I did it for my sister, for survival, for him. *** Kaelith thought being rejected by her mate was the worst thing that could happen but she was wrong. Sold to a rogue warlord as leverage, branded like cattle, and forced into a savage camp where women are broken for sport and pleasure, Kaelith expects to die or worse. But she ends up in the mercy of Malrik Dren, the warlord himself. What happens when a broken girl becomes a weapon, and the monster meant to break her starts to fall?

"Our heart beats only with their permission." For as long as she can remember, the bookworm Synecdoche Rochet, 23, has lived a simple life in Maharlika Nation—hiding in the grasses and grains of District G to avoid the terrifying power of the Embassy and its ruthless Ambassador. In a dytopian world that is controlled and opressed, Synecdoche Rochet embarks on a mission to get back their rights on their district's valuable resources—the grains. When she discovered her intellectual ability, she found herself drawn to the charismatic Giovanni, the long-lost Ambassador's previleged son together with other intelligent students, Ulap, Token and Keithwarth. They found themselves being the tributes on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling TwistBee—trapped in the Word Arena. An annually commemorated survival game where each district will represent 1 letter in the Alphabet, spell the given English words not verbally, but by brutal killings of other competitors who have letter tattoos on their arms. The rules are to Spell and Kill. Within the killer's reach, the team-up of Synecdoche, Giovanni, Ulap, Token and Keithwarth isn't a coincidence, it's a conspiracy. What if Synecdoche's age will be reversed? Will they use their intelligence for vengeance? Will they compel love and trust to survive the battle royale? Is their life the price or the prize? "Even the shortest word has the longest meaning. Spell the words and kill with swords!"

“You took a photo of me without my permission.” “Then why do you look like you want to be seen?” Elliot Marlowe is a struggling photographer living paycheck to paycheck in a tiny New York apartment. One accidental photo in Central Park changes everything—a haunting shot of a mysterious, brooding man who turns out to be none other than Damien Whitlock, the untouchable billionaire tech mogul with a reputation as cold as his fortune. Instead of suing, Damien makes Elliot an offer: become his personal photographer. It's the beginning of a dangerous game—one filled with stolen glances, unspoken truths, and a fake relationship meant to protect Damien’s public image. But behind Damien’s icy exterior lies an artist scarred by betrayal, and behind Elliot’s lens is a man desperate to feel seen for the first time. As the line between performance and passion begins to blur, secrets unravel. A fake kiss becomes real. A lie about love becomes a truth too big to silence. And when heartbreak and ambition threaten to tear them apart, both must choose between fear and vulnerability, between survival and surrender. In a world where image is everything, can two men find the courage to be each other’s truth? Or will the picture-perfect illusion destroy them both?

Maxine A. K. A Max John's is a senior at St John's. She doesn't believe in love nor in mysteries or fate. Her spiritual being feels threatened. For some reason she sometimes dreams about a mystical girl she has never met. She is abused at home, she fights for survival and dignity, but is oblivious of who she really is and where she comes from, or what she'll become. Her existence was declined eon years ago. What if she has a bigger purpose....what if her past caught up with her long ago but never realized it? Until….. Maya is a known kindergarten teacher, she has to start teaching at St Johns. She is a princess in a land oblivious to mankind. Her people are escapees of descendants of a world one can wish to be part of. A city where no man lives. She was chosen to lead her people but doesn't want to. She runs away to live amongst humans. She always wanted to be free and choose her own life, and lover. She dreams about a young girl. She never questioned why? Until...... All calls they return to their homes, humanity is at stake, and they are the only ones to fight who was coming, what had been going on eons ago? What will they do? Duck, or dive?