The Food Lab

Dante Matino Cruz is a delivery rider, sweating day and night just to keep food on the table and medicine for his ailing mother. Life is hard, but his pride is harder—no shortcuts, no handouts, no selling himself for money. Celestine Isla Navarro is a CEO who thrives in a world where hesitation means weakness. She’s used to buying what she wants and bending people to her will. But the day she crosses paths with Dante—sun-bronzed, stubborn, and infuriatingly unyielding—something inside her shifts. Her first proposition is reckless: a single night, no strings attached. Dante’s answer? Not for sale. But fate doesn’t end with one rejection. Celestine offers him something else: a job. A dangerous but well-paid position as her personal bodyguard. The money could save his mother, even secure work for his childhood friend, Liza. It’s everything he’s been breaking his back for—served on a silver platter. Now Dante faces a brutal choice: swallow his pride to protect his family, or stand firm against a woman who never takes “no” for an answer. What begins as a battle of wills turns into a dangerous, slow-burning game of temptation. Pride versus desire. Fire against fire. And in this game, someone will surrender. The question is—who will break first?

As a zombie outbreak spreads across the world, my boyfriend insists on delaying our evacuation so his drama-queen childhood sweetheart can catch the last rescue chopper. However, this is the last evacuation after the outbreak, and our team's only chance to survive. When she still doesn't show up, I knock my boyfriend out and haul him onto the helicopter. In the end, his childhood sweetheart is devoured by the surging horde, while I seize the opportunity to escape and start a peaceful, quiet life with him in the safe zone. The night before I am to take command and lead a massive counterattack against the undead, my boyfriend laces my drink with a tranquilizer and dumps me into a swarm of zombies. Thousands of zombies tear me apart, and I die in excruciating pain. He stands on the fortress wall, a cold smile on his lips. "Had you not been so selfish, Esmeralda would've survived. Now, you'll experience her suffering and atone with your life!" Given a second chance at life, I wake up on the day my boyfriend refused to evacuate on time. Since he's so determined to stand by his childhood sweetheart through thick and thin, I'll make sure they both become zombie food!

* "I'm a fairy, the last of my kind. I'm not all rainbow wings and fairy dust. I am chaos and mayhem. Blood and death. I am here for revenge!" My mate holds me against the floor as she looks down at me defiantly. It's so cute! She even has a wee little knife to my throat as she yells at me. I can't help but get excited about how much fun this is going to be. "Fuck, that's hot baby doll." I say seriously as my dragon starts to purr for her.* The revolution began when a strong group of shifters known as 'The council' decided that magic wielders held too much power in this world. They have hunted and killed men, women and children alike, basking in their spot at the top of the food chain. They have no idea what is waiting in the shadows, hiding under their beds and ready to slit their throats. The resistance, led by one little dangerous fairy they call 'Slayer'. She is ready to lay down her life to bring back balance to the world and nothing will stand in her way. Not even the cinnamon roll dragon, broody vampire, smitten hellhound, loyal werewolf and cocky siren who all claim that she is their soulmate, and they won't take no for an answer.

My best friend and I were in relationships with the brothers from the Wilson Family, and we both got pregnant at the same time. She flaunted her relationship publicly, making everyone in Junopia know that Rick had left the monastery for her. On the other hand, I kept silent about my relationship with the heir of the Wilson Family. Thus, everyone mistakenly thought I was single. That was until my best friend saw my pregnancy report. In a fit of rage, she rallied a group of friends, stormed into my dorm, and vandalized my room with food waste. "I thought you were my best friend, and here you are, trying to steal my man," she accused. Not only did she live-stream this accusation, trying to paint me as the other woman, but she also spiked my chicken soup, hoping to get rid of my unborn child. In defiance, I poured the contaminated soup over her head. "Just so you know, Rick isn't the only Wilson brother," I retorted. Later, Rayden, the man who controlled Junopia, wrapped his arm around me and declared icily, "I've heard troubling rumors about my wife being called a mistress. We need to talk."

The end of the world was upon us, but there weren't enough spots for evacuation. The roars of the zombies echoed in my ears as my fiancé, Oliver, gritted his teeth and pulled me onto the rescue vehicle—securing the last available seat. I arrived safely at the survivor base. Lina, his first love, did not. The zombies tore her apart. Oliver still went through with our marriage, but I never expected that he had only done so to make me suffer. In his eyes, I was the one who had killed Lina. If she had to endure such agony, then I should, too. For five years, he hated me. My life was worse than that of a stray dog scavenging for food on the street. On the day my divorce was finalized, he kidnapped me, dragged me into the wilderness, and wrapped his fingers around my throat. Then, he threw us both into the swarm of the undead. When I opened my eyes again, I was somehow reborn on the day the apocalypse began. The rescue team was shouting impatiently, "One more! We have room for one more—hurry!" I turned to Oliver, watching his hesitation. Then, with a quiet smile, I took a step back and let someone else have the last seat.

Wyatt Roberts, CEO of a successful food company in the Philippines, had wealth, good looks, and power, but lacked love. A past heartbreak had built strong walls around his heart. He was serious, and his employees were intimidated by him. His peaceful life was upset by his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of a powerful business partner of his company, who kept trying to get him to marry her. Desperate, Wyatt asked his new secretary, Effie Cynara, to pretend to be his girlfriend. Feeling pressured, Effie agreed to a one-month fake relationship, hoping to quickly end the problem. But being around each other started to change Wyatt. Effie's kindness, strength, and positive attitude brought back feelings he thought were gone. Their fake relationship became real and risky. Wyatt liked Effie, even though she was counting down the days until their agreement ended. Their growing feelings threatened to ruin their plan. Could Wyatt overcome his fear of being hurt again and take a chance on love with Effie? Or would the end of their agreement and his past hurt keep him alone, even though his heart was opening up to the woman who just wanted to escape his complicated life? The situation was serious, and time was running out.

Animals were driven with only a few instincts to live their lives by: to find food, shelter, and to mate. Humankind was driven by multiple things: lust, anger, hate, grief, jealousy, joy, and a host of other instincts and emotions. When lycans were created the goddess of such things thought it would be enthralling, exhilarating to see how such savage wolves and desensitized humans would meld together as one... The result was disastrous. The select few humans she chose to go forward with her experiment with the strength of her sacred animal, the lupine, destroyed one another. He was a mosaic, composed of broken pieces. She was an unfinished art project The moon godddess ends the lives of Lycans she sees as a threat to the Lycan community. Instead of being ripped apart by her hounds, she gives a warrior the chance to redeem himself and his friends through gifting him a mate who is bound to change his life. An accident links a potential future servant to the moon goddess to the warrior. How will Pomelia Grace, a holy novice react to being mated to such a man, Warren of Bane pack? All of the humans she chose went mad with the power, abilities, and strength that came with the wolf gene. The goddess had succeeded in creating a unique race but had a hard time managing her creations without killing them out of anger.

“I, Alpha Draco of the Peony pack hereby reject you, Helena, as my mate. I refuse to have anything to do with you anymore. You will be banished from this pack, never to set foot on this land anymore or you will pay for it with your life” his thick voice boomed through the cold and dark cell where I was kept all day with no food or water. My chapped lips parted painfully as the flesh drew each other tightly. I couldn’t even beg or plead for mercy. It was a miracle that I was not even killed because I was probably the most hated person in the pack at that moment. He didn’t allow me to utter whatever I had in mind before he turned his back on me. My finger grazed his cold hand as I tried to hold onto him, I was late. The warm eyes that had always behold me now look at me with disdain. There was no hope anywhere, his extreme sadness was visible even through his back as his footstep retracted into the long distance. At the loud clunk of the prison’s door kissing its hinge, my whole world crumbled. The only thing left in me was the small life breathing in my womb, something Draco never knew of. Right there, I made the resolution to live for my baby and find out the truth behind what happened in the pack that night.

Two weeks before our wedding, Jonah Alston suddenly wants to postpone it. He says, "Sasha says she's having her first exhibition on that day. She'll be alone during the opening, and I'm worried she'll get stage fright. I have to help her. We're just going through the motions with the wedding, anyway. What does it matter whether it's a day earlier or later?" This isn't his first time postponing our wedding for Sasha Lester's sake, though. The first time he did it was because he claimed she missed having homecooked food after undergoing surgery. He'd flown abroad to care for her for two months. The second time was because he said she wanted to head into the mountains to get inspired. He'd gone with her out of concern for her safety. Now, this is the third time. I hang up and look at Austin Everett, my childhood sweetheart. He sits across from me, looking leisurely as he taps his emerald-embedded walking cane on the marble floor. I ask, "Do you need a wife?" On my wedding day, Sasha holds up her glass and waits for Jonah to clink it with his. However, his eyes are red as he watches a livestream—it's the wedding of the scion of Everett Group, the country's largest property development company.

I could hear the thoughts of the poorest girl in the entire school. At our campus ball, she deliberately ate food that contained nuts to give herself an allergic reaction and blame me for it. With tears streaming down her face, she cried, "I know you don't like me! I know you look down on girls as poor as me, but you can't bully me like this!" Everyone believed her and turned on me, including my fiancé, Mark Hawkins, who was expected to form a political alliance with my family through our engagement. He pinned me in place and demanded that I apologize to the 'victim'. I shook my head, trying desperately to explain that it was not me who put the nuts in her food. That was when I heard the thoughts of that 'poor' girl, Alice, ''So what if she's the mafia don's daughter? I still brought her down. Being defended by her rich, clueless fiancé feels incredible!' I was stunned. Before I could react, Mark pushed me to the floor and said firmly, "Helen, apologizing won't kill you." A disbelieving laugh slipped out of me. I wondered if he would still say the same thing if he could hear Alice's thoughts. When I finally gained the ability to share the thoughts I heard with someone else, I chose Mark without hesitation.