Novel & Cerita Team Umizoomi: Milli

***WARNING THIS BOOK CONTAINS LOTS OF EXPLICIT SCENES, VIOLENCE, AND VULGAR LANGUAGE*** To the world, I am Alberto Morello. A ruthless asshole, merciless, dangerous, the definition of death. But to Francisco Blanco, I am his brother, his best friend, the man that swore to rule the world we live in alongside him. That’s why when he asked me to be the godfather of his only daughter, Isadora, I didn’t hesitate to accept. I may be a coldhearted bastard to just about everyone in this bloody world, but I swore to care for that little girl as my own. What I never expected was for that little girl to grow into the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. I tried to fight the attraction, knowing that it was the one line I couldn’t cross. I couldn’t do that to my best friend, to his sweet girl. I am sick in all ways imaginable, and I couldn’t do that to them, to her… But when they both team up against me to get me to come back home after years staying away, will I be able to stop myself from falling into temptation? And if I do have a taste of the forbidden, will I be able to stop?

Tamine Jordan has three rules for surviving Blackridge Academy: 1. Keep her head down. 2. Avoid the Thorpe brothers at all costs. 3. Never, ever, let her heart get involved again. But rules have a way of shattering, especially when your cheating ex and his infuriatingly charming half-brother are determined to make your life impossible. Atlas Thorpe, the boy who broke her heart, is cruel, smug, and still playing games that leave her humiliated in front of half the school. Evans Thorpe, the hockey team’s golden boy, should be easier to ignore… except one reckless night left her tangled in his memory and in his sights. Now Evans has maneuvered his way into her Literature class, and thanks to the world’s most sadistic teacher, Tamine is stuck tutoring him. Being near him is dangerous; not just because of his relentless teasing and disarming smile, but because she can’t stop remembering the way he once touched her. And when two brothers are locked in a rivalry where the prize is her, it’s only a matter of time before someone gets burned. The real question is, will Tamine survive the game, or end up playing it too?

The temperature starts to drop once we reach the top of the mountain. My two childhood friends, who swore to protect me with their lives, don't even spare me a glance. One is hastily wrapping all his clothes around Lisette Locke, while the other is warming her with his body. I'm so cold that my heart condition acts up; I beg them to save me. However, they're infuriated by this. "How can you still be trying to get our attention at a time like this, Cecilia? Run around for a while if you're cold!" "We'll buy you that white down jacket you wanted when we get back, but you can't take it from Lise now!" The rescue team arrives, and I barely make it out alive. I'm hospitalized for a week, but neither of them come to visit me. I see from my social media that they're busy celebrating Lisette's birthday. We've been friends for over a decade, yet I mean nothing when compared to the driver's daughter. I call my father and say, "Dad, "I'm willing to marry into the Jorgensen family!"

Two ancient royal bloodlines survived the fall of empires — not in castles or crowns, but in billion-dollar corporations and global influence. In the dazzling metropolis of Aurora Country, the Vale and Albourne families remain as symbols of wealth, power, and legacy. Bound by a centuries-old friendship, their alliance is now cemented in secret: a marriage contract between their only heirs. Valerie Vale, 22, the unseen princess, lives quietly as a team leader in the creative design department at AV Tech, the flagship company owned by both families. Free-spirited, bright, and hidden from the public to protect her rare lineage, she loves her ordinary life — and has no plans to give it up. Leon Albourne, 23, is Aurora’s golden boy. Nicknamed “The Perfect Prince,” he’s admired for his brilliance, composure, and leadership. Every move he makes is under scrutiny — except the most important one of all: marrying Valerie Vale in secret, on the eve of her 23rd birthday. Now, they must live together under one roof. To the world, Leon is married — but no one knows to whom. To each other, they are bound by duty — and three house rules. But behind Leon’s cold gaze is a truth hidden for 11 years — he’s loved Valerie since the moment they met. And now, the game begins.

On our first wedding anniversary, my husband came home with a woman who was six months pregnant. He introduced her as his cousin, someone who had fallen on hard times, and asked me to take care of her. I was just about to agree when fragments of imaginary commentary floated through my mind: [She's just my 'cousin'. Uh-uh, that's a cliche.] [Poor supporting female character! A maid by day, the husband's bedwarmer by night.] [But she totally deserved it! If she hadn't broken up the main couple, they'd have a whole soccer team of kids by now!] Wait—what? Supporting female character? Me? And what's this about breaking them up? So now these two get to cheat under my roof, and somehow I'm the villain? Before I could process it all, my husband was already dragging her luggage inside. "Alice doesn't like fried food," he said matter-of-factly. "And nothing too salty or spicy. Make sure you keep that in mind when you're cooking. "Oh, and pregnant women love sweets. Go out now and buy a cherry cake. The one from that bakery in the suburbs."

Cole Hartness has abandoned me in the snow mountain for a week. By the time the search-and-rescue team finds me, I'm practically on my deathbed. Cole remains high and mighty even when surrounded by the others. "Rach is kind enough to forgive you even though you almost killed her in the snow mountain. If it wasn't for her pleading for your sake, you'd be staying here for another week. "Our engagement banquet shall be delayed. We'll only proceed with it once Rach makes a full recovery." Cole is already prepared for my impending tantrum. After all, he knows that I've been looking forward to the engagement banquet for a long time. But I reply obediently, "Okay." For a few moments, Cole finds himself stunned. "You owe Rach this much! Once she's done recovering, we'll get engaged! Stop being so unreasonable—" "Cole, I'd like to rest for a while," I cut him off before closing my eyes tiredly. What Cole doesn't know is that I've already decided to leave him the moment he makes the decision to ditch me in the mountain. That is, if I can survive the avalanche.

Wolves are born, not turned. Rex fell in love, finding his mate in a human, which was forbidden to do, if he acted on that urge he knew the punishment would be severe. After saving his human from a group of Alphas trying to turn a human into a chew toy. Surprising the Alphas, Rex ran in and took off with his human. Spending time with his human made Rex realize he couldn’t live without him. Finding a long forgotten ritual, Rex was able to turn his human into a wolf so they could remain together. The consequences from that decision ignited a war between the Sire Lines, wolves from all corners of Gaia having their wolves and humans together in one body, tempering the bloodlust of their inner wolf brought a peaceful balance to the wolf. Some wolves being unhappy with the awakening of their humanity, a few started putting together a team of wolves, armed with a plan to eliminate Rex and his mate to satisfy a very old grudge, gaining the favor of Vuk Majka, the Mother of Wolves, to aid their cause. Vuk’s sister, Pandora sides with Rex and his wolves trying to keep Nature and Creation from wiping the slate clean, remaking Gaia from the ground to the Heavens.

Timothy Blackthorn has it all. Alpha heir to the most powerful pack, hockey captain with a god-tier body, and a reputation for breaking hearts as easily as he breaks records. When the Moon Goddess reveals quiet, overlooked Penelope Hale as his destined mate, Timothy does the unthinkable: he rejects her. Publicly. Brutally. In front of thousands. Big mistake. Exiled and humiliated, Penelope finds refuge with the rival Bloodfang Pack, where she discovers two things that will change everything: she's a hockey prodigy with a killer instinct, and her "lowly" bloodline hides noble secrets that could topple kingdoms. Now she's back on the ice, leading Bloodfang to victory after victory, while Timothy's perfect life crumbles around him. His wolf is going feral without their mate. His team is losing. And the girl he threw away? She's become the most dangerous player in the league. But when pack politics turn deadly and silver daggers flash in the moonlight, Timothy and Penelope must face the truth: some bonds can't be broken, even by pride. Some love is worth fighting for. And sometimes, the mate you reject is the only one who can save you.

One vampire. One Vampire hunter. A forbidden bond. Isabelle Howell seems like your average everyday girl, but I'll let you in on a little secret. She's actually a Slayer and a very good one at that. She spends her nights tangling with the somewhat unsavoury supernaturals that roam the earth, feasting on innocents. Committed to her job and unknown hero to the average humans who walk around blissfully unaware. Isabelle is over the moon when she is given a high priority assignment, something she has waited for, for so long. The chance to prove she can handle herself, the chance to work her way up to the elite team and go on the really dangerous assignments. Her target, you ask? Cassius Lockwood. Powerful pureblood vampire. As handsome as he is cruel. The blood- fiend, well known for his merciless ways. His reputation doesn't put her off if anything she finds the challenge exciting. That is, however, until she has him (or who she thinks is him) cowering before her. At a time where she should be thrilled, it just isn’t right and what he says to her will haunt her for the rest of her days.

Overnight, an electronic notification sounded in the minds of all office workers. It was from a "Performance-Share System". The rules: employees who paired off could split their year-end bonuses 50/50. I was a junior associate at Summit Financial, one of the biggest wealth management firms in Manhattan. In my previous life, I agreed to pair with my manager, Jared, and the intern he brought in — Stephanie. By the time the project went into its crunch phase, they'd shoved every garbage task and every blown deadline onto me. I pulled all-nighters for months. My body was running on fumes. When the one promotion that could have saved me came up, they cut me out of the team without a second thought. In the end I was fired for "burnout and poor performance." I couldn't make my mortgage. I jumped. They took the work I'd done with me, walked out with million-dollar bonuses each, and flew off on vacation together. Then I opened my eyes again. I was back, on the exact day the pair-binding system went live. This time, I'm not just keeping every cent of what I earn. This time, I'm putting them in prison.