The Pelican Brief Novels & Stories

"How could you conspire with them. I trusted you Layla!" He was really mad. "I didn't give them the code Damon, okay? I don't know how they got it?" She said. She strangely felt no nervousness or fear. Only the guilty felt fear. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about him? God! We've been dating for almost a year and you never told me he was a ex-convict", he said a shade quieter. He watched Layla look down for a minute and stare back up at him, tears gathering in her deep blue eyes. "If I did tell you, would you still have fallen for me...?" Working in a coffee shop wasn't Layla's dream. She has a degree in Business Administration but getting a got job in America was difficult for minority groups like her. But her boss, William Grey was wonderful, plus, she did get some pretty awesome customers like Damon Prince, the billionaire businessman and New York's most eligible bachelor and some pretty awful ones as well like Logan West, Damon's annoying and stuck-up assistant. After a brief argument with Logan, Damon comes to the coffee shop to make an apology to Layla on behalf of Logan and offers her a check. She turns both down and demands that Logan apologizes or they can forget about their coffee orders. She wasn't going to be pushed around by some rich folks. This intrigues Damon and he gradually falls in love with her. They begin a beautiful relationship but it's not all roses. They soon meet Damon's ex, Yasmin Kyle and Layla's criminal and terrible father, Dario Hernandez. Their trust and love for each other is tested as well as family ties but will they pull through or are something's just not meant to be?

Am Vorabend unserer siebzehnten Hochzeitsplanung schwor mir mein Mann, der Mafia-Boss, dass die Zeremonie diesmal ungestört bleiben würde. „Diesmal verspreche ich es dir, Vicky.“ Seine Stimme klang ernst. „Ich habe Klara gesagt, dass sie morgen selbst zurechtkommen muss – selbst wenn der Himmel einstürzt.“ Das Baby in meinem Bauch war bereits im fünften Monat. Lorenz und ich waren seit drei Jahren zusammen, ich war im fünften Monat schwanger, und dennoch hatte nicht eine einzige Hochzeit stattgefunden. Denn zuvor hatte er die Hochzeit bereits sechzehn Mal abgesagt. Jedes einzelne Mal wegen seiner Ziehschwester Klara. Beim ersten Mal behauptete sie, Fieber zu haben. Noch im Brautkleid wartete ich die ganze Nacht mit Lorenz im Krankenhaus – nur um festzustellen, dass sie lediglich eine leichte Erkältung hatte. Beim zweiten Mal klagte sie über Herzprobleme. Lorenz ließ mich stehen und rannte zu ihr. In Wahrheit saß sie gemütlich beim Nachmittagstee mit Freundinnen. Beim dritten Mal sagte sie, sie hätte Angst vor dem Gewitter. Mitten im Ehegelübde ließ er mich allein – vor allen Gästen. Aber diesmal war alles anders. Vor drei Tagen war ein Brief aus Nordmark angekommen. Mein Vater, der Don der Familie Delbrück, hatte persönlich eine Einladung zur Rückkehr geschickt. Wenn Lorenz mich zum siebzehnten Mal wegen Klara im Stich lässt, werde ich für immer verschwinden.

Daisy Thompson works at Sneakz Burger Emporium under the protection of Uncle Mateo, living within a werewolf territory while hiding her true identity. When suspicious customers arrive asking about the restaurant's dangerous "Volcanic Sauce," Daisy's instincts are triggered. A male voice at the drive-through raises alarm bells, causing Daisy to retreat to a hidden safe room with a guard named Thomas. As Alpha Maison, son of Alpha Logan and heir to the local werewolf pack, enters the restaurant, tension mounts. Though Maison has always shown hostility toward Daisy, his wolf senses she's in danger. Meanwhile, in the safe room, Daisy realizes Thomas is not one of Uncle Mateo's loyal guards but an infiltrator sent to capture her. Thomas reveals a shocking truth: Daisy's wolf pendant marks her as "royal blood" and "the last surviving heir of the Northern Territories"—information completely unknown to her. When Thomas attacks, Daisy defends herself with hidden silver blades until Maison bursts in. After a brief confrontation, Maison kills Thomas, and Daisy leads them through a secret tunnel back to pack territory. As they emerge near Alpha Logan's pack house, questions loom large. Daisy must confront the possibility that everything she knew about her identity was a lie, while Maison must decide how much to tell his father about this mysterious young woman who has been living at the edge of their territory. Just as they begin to discuss their next steps, Luna Mara appears, expressing relief at finding Daisy safe. The story sets up a larger mystery about Daisy's true heritage and royal lineage and why she's been hidden within a witness protection program all these years.

Rated 18 Contains possessive, obsessive, and arrogant ML. Heavy on smút. A lot of explicit content. Please proceed with caution. EXCERPT; "Will you think me a monster if I do what you are afraid of?" He whispered, his eyes never leaving mine. "Sei un mostro(You're a monster)," I spat at Matteo. "Nothing can change that." "I've always cared for you, but you chose to betray me by running away with my child. Did you know how my reputation dropped because of that? I become a laughing stock BECAUSE of you. A man who can't keep his woman in check." His hand gripped my neck, cutting off my air supply. I gasped, pounding his chest as he smirked. "Go on, scream, darling," he taunted. "I love the sound of your screams." Gasping for breath as he released me, I saw the bulge in his pants and shook my head in disgust. "You don't care for me, Matteo. Your idea of caring is twisted, controlling, possessive, and obsessive....!" _________ Deirdre faced a heart-wrenching choice: surrender her child or endure a bitter court battle. The mere thought of another woman in her child's life, especially one of Matteo's passing fancies, was unbearable. Their journey began coerced onto a cruise, tossed astray by a raging storm, mirroring the turmoil in their hearts. Amid nature's fury, both were entangled in their tempest - a fiery passion reigniting into deep love. Yet, family disapproval marred their brief happiness, threatening to tear them apart. A lethal secret emerged, endangering both her and her child's lives. Compelled to hide this truth, Deirdre knew silence couldn't last. When Matteo discovered her secret, he presented an ultimatum: risk everything and reveal it or bear lifelong consequences in silence.

On her third wedding anniversary, Emilia believes she is about to give her husband, Jason, the greatest gift of all. The company her late parents left. She thinks love and trust will keep them together forever. But in one cruel moment, Emilia learns the truth: Jason never truly loved her. He betrays her, takes everything she owns, and leaves her with nothing but heartbreak. Lost, hurt, and with nowhere to turn, Emilia’s world falls apart. One night, she meets a quiet stranger who helps her when she needs it most. Their meeting is brief, and meant to be forgotten, or so Emilia thinks. Trying to rebuild her life from scratch, Emilia finds a new job and hopes for a fresh start. But fate has other plans. Her new boss turns out to be Sebastian, the man she never expected to see again. Old misunderstandings, wounded pride, and hidden feelings turn their working days into a battle of sharp words and silent glances. When Sebastian's family pressures him to get married, he makes a risky decision: a pretend marriage. To Emilia, it sounds like a chance to stand tall again and reclaim what was stolen from her. What begins as a deal slowly turns into something much deeper. But the past refuses to stay buried. Jealous enemies spread lies, old wounds reopen, and Emilia must decide if she is strong enough to believe in love again. As danger closes in and secrets are revealed, Emilia learns that true love is not about gifts or promises; it is about courage, and choosing to stand up for yourself. Will Emilia finally get the happy ending she deserves, or will the shadows of betrayal steal her future once more? A powerful story of loss, strength, and finding love when you least expect it.

I was born in the slums with nothing to my name, yet somehow, I once saved the most dangerous man in all of Sicile. In a crumbling shack, I treated his wounds while he patched the leaks in my roof whenever it rained. Later, he pulled me out of that miserable life and brought me into the heavily guarded estate of a mafia family. Together, we even had a son. However, seven years had passed, and he still had never publicly acknowledged either our child or me, all because my background was too lowly. Gabriele Carlos once told me that as long as our son proved himself exceptional enough, the family would eventually accept him. So even at only seven years old, my son pushed himself desperately hard to study languages, etiquette, and even firearms training. On his birthday, he was burning with fever, his little face pale, yet he still came out as the top student in his grade. Holding his award certificate tightly in his hands, his eyes shone brighter than I had ever seen. “Ma, Papa’s finally going to acknowledge me this time, isn’t he?” So, I took the certificate and went to look for Gabriele at his residence. However, through the heavy doors, I overheard him discussing a wedding with the daughter of another mafia family. They talked about the wedding date, the alliance between their families, and how the territories and profits would be divided afterward. Then, someone suddenly asked, “What about her and the child?” After a brief silence, Gabriele answered calmly, “Just keep them hidden.” Those words struck me hard. So the seven years my son and I had spent waiting meant nothing at all. We had only been fooling ourselves, believing things would change. Well, Gabriele might want us hidden, but unfortunately for him, I was done hiding.

The night my sister died during a failed emergency procedure, a gang of thugs stopped the car that was taking me to the funeral home. They desecrated her body right in front of me, then beat me until every bone in my body felt shattered and the tendons in my hands were severed. The next day, the news that my hands were ruined and I would never be able to operate again made the headlines. Because of that, my fiancée of eight years, Sandra Walker, broke off our engagement. The very next day, she left for an overseas medical conference with the man she had always loved. When I was on the verge of collapse, Sandra's aunt, Magnolia Walker, set off fireworks for me and announced our wedding to the entire city. "Kayden Foster, I've loved you for so long. Now, I can finally stand by your side. In this life, you're the only man I want to marry!" In that endless despair, I clung to her as my only lifeline. On our wedding day, after I came back from paying my respects to my sister, I accidentally overheard Magnolia talking to her assistant, Robin Myers. "Dr. Walker, for your niece Sandy to be able to marry Quinton Kerr, I arranged for an intern to operate on Kayden's sister, hired people to cripple him, and had his sister's body violated. The police are still investigating, and I'm starting to get a little nervous. Isn't this too cruel?" After a brief silence, Magnolia spoke in a tired voice. "What choice did I have? Kayden was too proud. If I hadn't removed the sister he depended on and ruined both his hands, how could I make him fall apart? How else could I have made him break things off with Sandy without anyone suspecting a thing? "Quin and I were never meant to be in this life. As long as he's happy, that's enough..."

I gave up on my inheritance right during the time my love for Matteo Rossini ran the deepest. When I was about to leave, Papa looked at me before saying lightly, "I bet that you'll come home in three years." Back then, I didn't take his words to heart. After spending three years overcoming life's hurdles with Matteo, he finally becomes the Don of his family. On the day the inheritance party is to be held, I decide to wear a dress that I've treasured for a very long time but never had the heart to wear. But the moment I walk into the banquet hall, I see Matteo holding hands with a radiant young woman. She's Isabella Ginevra, a popular socialite in the elite society. Isabella flits among the guests charismatically, as though she were the lady of the house. She's capable of engaging in any conversational topic, be it finance strategies or channels to obtain firearms. I try to participate in a conversation, only for Isabella to cut me off with a titter. "I thought you've been spending the past few years being cooped up indoors. It turns out that you know a thing or two about these topics, huh?" Everyone around us falls silent for a brief moment. My expression freezes on my face. Then, I turn to look at Matteo subconsciously. But he doesn't even bother looking my way. Instead, he merely says softly, "We're talking business here, Bianca. You should sit with the other ladies." I clench my fists instantly. But in the end, I opt to not say anything and just walk away. Through the throngs of the guests, I can see Matteo and Isabella chatting animatedly with each other in low tones. For once, Matteo looks relaxed and at ease—an expression that I haven't seen for a long time. Suddenly, I hear a guest remarking, "If someone like Ms. Ginevra were to become the Donna, she'd be of great help to the Don." A chorus of agreements ring out around him. Matteo just smiles in return, though he doesn't deny that remark. In fact, he even toasts to Isabella and drinks to her in front of everyone. That's when I draw to my feet and walk over to snatch the glass out of his hand. "I think so too. In that case, she can have the position as the Donna, then."