Swamp Lights

Community Service. Two words I should be thankful for, but I’m not. I resent the hours it’s away from building my business. When they push the little girl into the room, her crazy curls barely held back by the barrette in her hair, and studious glasses on her face, I can tell she’s scared. Something inside of me breaks, and I want this girl to feel wanted again. What I’m unprepared for is meeting her mom. The second our hands touch, there are fireworks, bright lights, and a picture of the future I could one day have. The future I’ve never allowed myself to wish for. Community service becomes more than a chore. In the months that follow, I realize they’re just like me: they’ve been abandoned, left behind by the world, forgotten by those who should love them. Thanks to the one last hope in both our lives - we found the light in the darkness we’d been searching for.Trick is created by Laramie Briscoe, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.

Brianna grew up among the socialites and the Occult of New Orleans. When her adoptive father dies when she is only 10 she discovers just how sinister her mother can be. Now 21 she is in a race against time to get out before the Vipers find out exactly what they are losing. So that one day she can return and seek the retribution owed for the death of her father and to keep his coven's legacy from falling into darkness. Following her fathers divine word as a seer she takes to the Bayou to discover "The Beast that is her heart," What she finds is a whole lot of testosterone and a struggling family trying to keep a foothold as their pack dies out. They too have a vendetta of their own, for an old wound that Brianna's presence dredges up in their hearts. Can Brianna avenge herself and her father? Can they each protect their hearts? Because there's more than one beast in the swamp that she is falling for. Will she choose wisely or will she even choose at all? Being tangled in a web of friendships, family and broken souls, will they find their way together? or will the Vipers devour her soul?

Alessia had been given an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy as a reward for her outstanding contribution in her workplace. It was like a life-changing experience for her. However, Alessia encountered a devastating turn of events upon her arrival in the country when she was abducted by unknown men and found herself being auctioned in a bidding event. Not only that, she was bid on by the ruthless mafia lord, Angelo Santoro. ~~ "Ten million," I heard someone say from the crowd. The lights from the ceiling were blinding my eyes, and the handcuffs secured around me weren't making the panic inside me any better. I had no idea why I was at an auction event. "Fifteen million," another voice came through, making me more confused than ever. "Twenty million," another followed, and then someone raised the bid to "Thirty million." "Two hundred million," this time, the voice was sharp and carried danger as he spoke. The whole room fell into dead silence. In that moment, my eyes met his. Dark and penetrating, they instantly sent shivers down my spine.

The woman Aelfric was to marry had agreed to undergo this ritual with him. It was the only way for them, as two of the area's few healers, to become strong enough to stop the devastating Swamp Fever from claiming the lives of hundreds of children each year. As healers, they had exceptional training, the problem was power. Aelfric's research had revealed exactly where healing power came from and why, until now, it was so limited. After this ritual, he and his beloved would change the tides of disease and death in these lands, perhaps the entire world forever. Aelfric knew Silver-Dew abhorred the idea of immortality. What they were about to do would rid their bodies of their very souls, freeing the concentrated power of the life-spark to be used for their magic. He'd painstakingly crafted each of them a vessel to safeguard their soul. Sil wore hers around her neck: a beautiful, lovingly crafted pendant with a blood red stone in the center. The stone was rendered from the carefully heated blood of the beast that had captured her, the very beast Aelfric had slain.

On the day I won the national esports championship, my girlfriend of eight years told me she wanted to go on stage and personally present me with flowers. Standing on the podium, my heart was racing. I reached into my pocket to pull out the ring I'd hidden there, ready to propose to her in front of the entire nation. But what happened next shocked me. She giggled and, instead of handing me the bouquet, she gave it to her male best friend. Under the bright lights, they became the center of attention. The crowd cheered, and their congratulatory messages flooded the trending topics. Even his fans tagged me in posts, mocking, [I told you not to get in the way of our couple, now look at you.] I simply posted on Twitter, [Respect and blessings. Please be locked together forever.]

Aisling Maverick life becomes living hell when her mate Azelaic Rowen who was a beta disappear from her life without any trace. Aisling was left heartbroken but with only one choice to return to her pack, to family. Being the weakest omega in her pack she faced a lot of backlash from the pack members and from her father but Aisling's life took a unexpected turn when she met Archard harvest. The ruthless heir of Dark wolves Pack. Aisling unknownly, challenge him and found herself in the plan of him. The lights above me began to flicker. A few seconds later, the lights went out, turning the hallway utterly dark, which made me stop from running because I couldn't see anything. " No..No…No… Not now, please goddammit!" I thought. Suddenly, a sharp pain cuts through my thoughts, a hand that grips my arm and squeezes too tight. It's Him. He caught me and I felt an inmes pressure on my arm and had a vise-like grip on my arm. He could rip my arm out of my torso.My heart was pounding out of my chest. He could hear it. The only thing I could see was his glowing eyes in the dark void. His eyes were devastated. Large, dark, and inviting, they were the sort of open windows that decent people draped. I was so caught up in them that I forgot about my pain for a moment

One day, I received a call from the property management. They politely advised me that even if it was a wedding, there was no need to make such a ruckus all night long, disturbing the neighbors. They said they were caught in the middle, and it was hard for them to deal with it. I replied, "You must be mistaken. I don't even have a boyfriend, so how could I be getting married?" Since I refused to admit it, the property management sent me a video from the community's security cameras. In the video, the hallway was decorated with lights and flowers, and guests were coming and going. A large group of people were escorting the bride into the new home. And the groom was none other than my ex-boyfriend, who I had broken up with two and a half years ago!

"Sweetie, are you coming? I'll wait for you at our usual spot." Henry Lane is about to go to bed when he receives a voice message. It's spoken in Rushky. He turns his back to me as his face lights up in joy. Then, he answers in Rushky, "Of course. I love you." I'm about to fall asleep, but I jolt when I hear that. The sweet voice on the other end of the line rings out again. "Your wife won't find out about this, will she?" "I'm talking to you to her face now." Henry snorts. "We're speaking in Rushky; she can't understand us." My heart twists painfully. It turns out he's never loved or truly understood me. He thinks I'm just a housewife whose world revolves around him; he has no idea I once studied in Rushnia for two years as an exchange student. I suppress my sorrow and heartbreak as I caress my belly. Then, I make an appointment with a local hospital for an abortion.

I'd been married to Joshua Merck for five years, but we still didn't have kids. To stay healthy, I took those pricey custom vitamins he ordered from overseas—never missed a dose. Then my cousin came back from studying abroad, took one look at the bottle, and was like, "That brand doesn't even make custom vitamins." I sent them to the hospital for testing. The lab report hit me like a truck—birth control pills. Powerful ones. Suddenly, all those mornings with Joshua hovering over me, acting so concerned while I took my "vitamins," made sense. The whole thing had been a lie. Five years of lies. Just as I was gearing up to confront him, my phone buzzed—a group chat notification. Shirley Hoare had tagged Joshua. [Honey, I had a prenatal checkup today, and the doctor said I'm carrying twins! Your family's about to get two grandchildren at once—excited?] My heart turned to ash. Everything clicked. Fine. We were done. I pulled out my phone and replied to my childhood sweetheart's message from three days ago: [After watching the northern lights, I still wanted to see penguins in Antarctica.]

"Ouch, that hurts!" Underneath the bright lights, the man makes me lie facedown on the bed. Then, he pushes my waist down from behind, seemingly looking for the best spot. I feel something odd press against me and cry out, telling him to stop. He doesn't, though. In fact, he grabs hold of my belt.