The Family Game

It was my third day working as an NPC cashier in a horror game when the supermarket got completely wrecked by players. They stormed in, smashing shelves, looting everything, setting fires, feeling real proud of themselves. "Told you the shopkeeper here was useless. Absolutely trash in all combat stats," one said. "Grab whatever you want. Once we're done, we'll just kill the owner," another chimed in. My mouth was gagged. I shook my head in terror. One of the players sneered. "Begging? That won't save you." No! That was not what I was trying to say! I was trying to tell them that today was the NPC internal shopping day. Three minutes from now, every single dungeon boss in the entire game would be rushing here to shop.

Before our wedding, my fiancée, Sarah Hargrave—a professor of medieval history—held a private ceremony in a secluded chapel in the countryside. But not with me. Under the glow of candlelight, she cradled Benjamin Wheeler—her first love, his face gaunt from the cancer consuming him—in her arms. Her smile was soft, almost reverent, as she murmured, "In the eyes of God, vows made before the altar are the only ones that matter. Even if the law says I belong to Daniel, my soul was never his." And so, to the faint echo of hymns and the scent of old incense, they drank from the same silver cup, exchanged rings, and stepped together into the dimly lit sacristy—their makeshift bridal chamber. I watched. Silent. Motionless. No outbursts, no demands for explanation. Just the quiet dialing of a clinic to undo the vasectomy I'd gotten for our future. From fifteen to thirty, I had loved Sarah for fifteen long years. But in all that time, there'd never been room for me. That space had always belonged to Benjamin, my stepbrother. So I let her go. Afterward, I joined a geological research team bound for the isolation of Antarctica—a land cut off from the world, quiet and clean. Before I left, I handed Sarah a divorce agreement…and a final gift to mark the end. I never anticipated that Sarah, who'd always met my devotion with frosty detachment, who'd never once glanced back as I walked away, would look ten years older overnight.

What if death wasn't the end? What if your soul could live on, even after your body had stopped breathing? What if there was a way to come back to life, even after you had died? These are the questions that haunted Alessia, a young lady who died a few days to her wedding. Finding herself in the afterlife, Alessia was given a chance at a second life - but only if she could find the soul that her own had been intertwined with from birth. What if the 31 days given to her to complete her task is only about her own survival but also to unravel secrets? And what if she isn't fated to live again?

On my first day back with the Cannon family as the true heiress, I heard the voice of the family’s guardian spirit. “You must stop your father from investing in the West City project. There’s an ancient tomb beneath the site. He’ll lose everything.” I convinced my father, Aaron Cannon, to abandon the project and invest in North City instead. But a factory next to the North City site had a toxic gas leak. Dozens of workers died overnight. Aaron lost his entire fortune to the compensation. While the family was drowning in despair, the guardian spirit spoke again. “Money can be earned again, but it’s a pity your mother will die in a car crash tomorrow when she goes out to borrow money from an old friend.” I immediately stopped my mother, Sally Cannon, from leaving the house. She avoided the car accident but tragically died from a sudden heart attack. With tears streaming down his face, Aaron told me she had been having chest pains for days but had endured the pain. She had only decided to go to the hospital today because she could not bear it any longer. My blood ran cold. By stopping her from going out, I had ultimately caused her death. Overwhelmed with grief, Aaron drank pesticide and died on the spot. Overnight, there was no one left in the family but me and the fake heiress, Pearl Cannon. To repay the debts and support my education, Pearl took on three jobs a day. Then, the guardian spirit spoke to me once more. “Your sister has been dragged into an alley. Go save her now!” I rushed to the location. I arrived breathless and frantic, but I was already too late. My sister lay in a pool of blood. She was not breathing anymore. I thought, ‘Mia Talbert, it’s all your fault! You’re a curse. You should’ve died instead!’ Consumed by despair, I jumped from a tall building and ended my miserable life. When I opened my eyes, I had traveled to the past.

“Shoot me, butterfly, do it,” Russo said with a smirk, and Chloe’s grip on the firearm faltered. “Who says I can't?” She retorted, hoping her hesitancy wasn’t showing on my face. “You love me, butterfly, but if you are going to do it, look into my eyes.” He replied and Chloe chuckled. “Your problem is that you trust everyone to much.” Chloe smirked before looking straight into his eyes and taking the shot. ____ Everything changed for FBI agent, Chloe Bells when she walked in on her husband cheating. Her barely surviving marriage fell apart, and Chloe was losing herself fast in the quicksands. When the FBI offered her a chance to catch a break, she took it happily. One of her hardest undercover missions was to bring in one of the most feared men in the world, Alessandro Russo. It shouldn’t be hard for Chloe to transition into Alissa, the street fighter who needs a job, but nothing prepared her for the consequences of working closely with the crime boss himself—consequences like falling for him and going against her undercover instructions!

She was the pride and joy of the pack. a role model to the she-wolves her age, but that all changed when her father, alpha of Rosewood pack was killed in a rogue attack. her uncle, who was the beta of the pack took over the alpha position then kicked her and her mother out of the pack. forcing her into a life of a rogue. Anita, the alpha's daughter who is only 18 years of age, learns to live life outside of a pack, as a rogue and take care of herself and her mother. Who was consumed by the grief of losing her mate. To a point that she lost her mind and was now a useless she-wolf in the eyes of the new alpha, her uncle.

An Alpha's Game is a gripping tale of betrayal, love, and redemption. Natalia's life takes a drastic turn when her father loses an alpha duel, and she is offered as a tribute to the Devil Claw Wolfpack. Forced to live like a wife to the Alpha, Draco, she realizes his true character and the sinister motives of his Beta, Liam. As she tries to escape and uncover the truth about his late wife's death, she finds herself falling for Draco. But when she loses her baby and discovers Elsa's treachery, she must fight for her life and the future of the pack. With the Beta plotting a revolt, Natalia tries to warn Draco, but he refuses to believe her until it's almost too late. In a daring escape, Natalia gives birth to a son with Draco by her side. But as they face the wrath of the Beta, Draco must fight for his pack and his family in a deadly duel. Will Draco emerge victorious, or will Liam succeed in his quest for power? An Alpha's Game will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

I Long Chen have been reborn to rule over everything, if buddha blocks kill buddha, if god blocks kill god, sentient beings bow down before me, life and death are under my control, to ascend the sky or go through the gates from hell, only I am SUPREME.

School had just dismissed us for the exam-break when my roommate begged me not to leave her alone in the dorm. She said she was scared and wanted to come home with me. Out of kindness, I brought her back with me. I had no idea that the very first night, she would sneak into my brother's room, and by the next morning, she was screaming that he had assaulted her. Because of that, my brother missed the exam, and his reputation was ruined. When the school board found out, they expelled him. No other school would take him in. To keep me from getting involved in this mess at school, my parents had no choice but to let that roommate live with us. After that, she treated our home like her personal hotel: never lifting a finger, demanding that my parents wait on her every night, and even having them wash her feet. My brother dropped out and took up work at an illegal factory just to support her spending. Then one day, a machine crushed him at that factory. My parents, already exhausted and heartbroken, fell gravely ill and passed away soon after. I was consumed by hatred. In the end, I dragged the roommate who destroyed my family down into the flames with me. Even as I died, I still couldn't understand. What kind of bitter grudge did her family have against mine for her to ruin us like that? But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day she asked to come home with me…

“Learned your lesson?” I nod, biting my bottom lip as he moves his hand further up. “Prove it.” As he squeezes my thigh, I lean back onto his shoulder, instinctively, having him turn his head to the side of mine. “I hate you!” I can feel his smirk against my skin as I sigh. “Tell me anyway.” I click my tongue, turning my head away from him. “I’m yours. And I should know that I’d land here.” *** Nerthus goes by many names. Hiding from an unpleasant past, she keeps her true identity a secret while working as an escort. As she covers an appointment with a mysterious new client for a sick colleague, she thinks it will be a one-night thing as he is known to never book an escort twice. Until he books her again. When her other clients start mysteriously canceling their appointments, she suddenly finds herself in a tricky, but quite alluring situation. She tries everything to resist his irresistible temptations that threaten getting her fingers burnt. But she risks it anyway. Will Nerthus realize her mistake too late? And will she be able to resist her forbidden desire for her mysterious new client? *** TW: explicit and foul language; frequent sex scenes; violence; SA ***