The People We Keep Novels & Stories

My husband's gym was celebrating its grand opening, so I grabbed my best friend and headed over under the guise of "checking the place out," armed with a $10 trial class we had snagged from a group deal. I never once mentioned that I was the owner's wife. The moment we wrapped up the workout, a female trainer slapped a price sheet into our hands and gave us a look that could cut glass. "Let me guess, you two came here to milk the freebies? Our private training sessions cost hundreds. They're not here for people like you to exploit." I let out a disbelieving laugh. "We bought a perfectly valid trial class. How does that make us freeloaders? Get your manager." She rolled her eyes, acting like she was the rules. "Call whoever you want! The owner is my boyfriend, and he can't stand penny-pinchers who show up trying to mooch off his gym." Then, right in front of us, she called him—voice raised, dramatic, dripping with fake indignation. "Babe, there are two cheapskates in your gym demanding the manager. Come deal with them for me!"

Vivian Grant lost her memory and forgot everything about me. Her memory stopped in the year when she loved her ex-husband most. No matter how the people around her tried to explain it, she still believed I was the third party who had come between them. The doctors said her amnesia might be treatable, so I held on to that hope and refused to let go. For three years, we got divorced and remarried over and over again. We became the biggest joke in the city's elite circles. Some people even started betting on us. They bet on when I would finally give up, and when Vivian would finally remember. Then news of our eighth divorce hit the trending charts again. Reporters rushed into the law firm with cameras on their shoulders. They shoved microphones in my face, their questions full of provocation. "Mr. Sterling, as a divorce attorney, how does it feel to have been divorced eight times yourself?" The firm's sign was smashed. The commendation banners clients had given me were trampled underfoot. Before I could respond, my supervisor fired me for damaging the profession's reputation. "Julian Sterling, let me give you some advice. Have some self-respect. Stop clinging to Ms. Grant." I clenched my trembling hands and suddenly felt exhausted. They were right. This time, I really should give up.

“I, Alpha Killian Strox, reject you, this filthy human as my fated mate at this very moment. May the bond be broken and may we be provided more suitable mates.” Alpha Killian spat with disgust clouding his feature and Erika smiled, a bitter one that didn’t mirror how much pain she was feeling. **** Erika grew up knowing she was the hate symbol, the girl nobody wanted to be associated with. Her own family didn’t want her and the church could only keep her for a few months before she was tossed unto the streets. Erika knew what it felt like to be hated by people who didn’t even know you. A quest for a better life and a life without all of these hate was what pushed Erika to find a better future. What she didn’t expect was stumbling upon a world with supernatural beings and what’s worse? Erika wasn’t allowed to leave for knowing the secrets of the realm. A chance for salvation comes when the pack is attacked by a stronger alpha. The nemesis of every other pack, Alpha Killian. Killian is the strongest alpha to have ever lived and one that other supernatural creatures fear and revere. With his life and several clans under his power, he would have never expected that a simple take over trip would lead him to his mate. He had always a mate but the goddess seemed to enjoy toying with him. What is even worse is finding out his mate is human. The moon goddess had him given a weak human mate?

“Roll your fingers into your cunt, fuck your pussy fast, and spill every inch of your juice on my face, cause I want to taste you. Right here and now!” * My best friend’s dad and I hate each other. Or so we thought. It used to be a tug of war for us. He thinks I am a lousy girl who has nothing to worry about, and I think he is a cold man who hides pain and mischief behind that hard-angled face of his. But all of that changed when I bumped into him stroking his cock and moaning my name to the picture I posted on IG to spike my still very obsessed ex. I had many plans for the years, but none included fucking my best friend’s dad during the Christmas celebration she had informed me of. But I did, and every day after that became dangerous, pulling us deeper and deeper into places only cock and cunt could reach. I am just a broken girl. One who saw herself as someone unworthy of love, until I found it in the wrongest of places. I shouldn’t want it. I shouldn’t desire him, but it started as lust and whirled into something dangerous. Now he makes me cum every night and makes me laugh every day, but at what expense do I have to keep us? I have a dream, and it's about two people who shouldn't want each other. 80 forbidden percent and….20 percent Damnation. Hello!!!! And… welcome to Ruins!

“You’re nothing but a slut who crawled into my bed for money—worth less than braille to me.” Nich’s voice was flat, cold, and utterly void of emotion, every word a sharp blade straight to my heart. “N… Nich!” I clung to him from behind, desperate to believe he didn’t mean it—only for him to pry my arms away and shove me aside roughly. “You’re a whore… the most disgusting woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” The slap cracked against my cheek, hard and stinging. Alongside it, he tossed a cheque—half a million pesos—right at my feet. “Get out of my life. Don’t ever let me see your face again.” A bitter, broken laugh bubbled up my throat. I tore the cheque into tiny pieces without a second thought. Tears streamed down my face, but I forced a sharp, unyielding smile. “Fine. I’m leaving. Keep your money. You think as a big-shot CEO you can buy anything you want? You’re wrong. My dignity isn’t for sale—not to a fool, and certainly not to a man as blind and stupid as you.” “From this moment on… we never knew each other.” Every beat of my heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand needles. I once hoped there was goodness even among the wealthy—but I was wrong. Today I learned the cruel truth: for people like him, money is the only law, and wealth is the only justice that matters.

My friend and I married into the Castellar family together. I married the older brother, who worked in high finance. My best friend married the younger, a senior fire officer. They didn’t tell us the truth until we were both pregnant. They were vampires. We were furious. But in the end, we forgave them because we still loved them. Until that night. We were staying at a vacation cabin when the fire started after midnight. The front door sealed itself shut, locked by a spell, trapping me inside. My best friend had gone out for a walk and escaped the fire by sheer luck. A car passed by on the forest road. She ran into the headlights, begging the driver to ram the door and save me. The man said coldly, “Pay first.” Inside the cabin, blood ran down my legs and soaked the floor. I tried to transfer the money, but my account was frozen. I called my husband. He hung up three times before the call finally went through. But the voice that answered wasn’t his. It was a woman’s. Vicky sounded calm, almost amused. She said he was busy. Then she added lightly that he’d been helping her set up a subcard and had accidentally disabled mine. My best friend called her husband next. She was crying. She told him there was a fire and I was trapped. He snapped back at her. “Stop lying. I hate people who make false emergency calls. I’m with Vicky checking fire hazards in her new place. Don’t bother me.” She didn’t hesitate again. She shoved the driver out, and drove straight into the cabin. The door shattered. She dragged me out with her bare hands. We lost our babies on the way to the hospital. When I woke up,we looked at each other for a long time. “I’m getting divorced,” she said. “So am I.”

Near the end of the year, my best friend, Bethany Greer, and I decide to buy matching gold-plated bangles from Temu for ten dollars just to keep up appearances. The moment we open the package, we both freeze in shock. The heavy weight in our hands and the dazzling shine of pure gold practically scream luxury and authenticity. My hands tremble as I quickly snap a photo and message the seller. I text, "There seems to be something wrong with this order." The seller replies instantly, sounding incredibly arrogant. "Why did you only say something is wrong only after you received it? What were you doing earlier?" I try to send photos as proof. "No, seriously, look at what I'm holding first. I ordered fake bangles..." The seller does not even look at the pictures and immediately sends a voice message in an incredibly rude tone. "I don't care what you order! Once the package is opened, there's no seven-day return policy! Even if it rots in your hands, that's your problem! Don't try making excuses to scam stuff for free. Once the packaging is opened, it belongs to you. Not even the Almighty can help you return it! "And if you dare spread nonsense, I'll report you for posting malicious reviews!" I stare thoughtfully at the gold bangle on my wrist that is worth thousands of dollars. Well, since he insists so strongly, I guess I'll reluctantly keep it. I just hope he doesn't regret it when he realizes the real bangle is missing!

Four years of secretly living with Joshua Horton behind our parents' backs. Then a new sticky note showed up on our wish wall. [After living with Nellie all these years, I'm trapped. Marrying her is just a way to make our mess look legit. If I could do it over, I never would've moved in.] Signed: [Joshua] But the date was six years from now. Joshua had put up that wall himself the day we moved in. Over the years, I'd covered it with tiny wishes. He'd made every one come true. Only two notes were his. The first said: [When we graduate, I'm marrying you! Nellie, you have to stay with me!] He wrote that four years ago. The other came from six years in the future. Graduation was one week away. Out of those two promises, I could only help him keep one.

Today was supposed to be my wedding day. The D-day, the big day—whatever people liked to call it. For me, it was meant to be the happiest day of my life. Our life. But to the likes of me, happiness was nothing but a cruel illusion. The groom, Clyde Monroe, wasn’t waiting for me at the altar. Instead, the ruthless, calculating billionaire—known for his icy demeanor and unmatched power—was on one knee before someone else. Someone who was supposed to be dead. His ex-girlfriend. As the truth unraveled, so did the fragile threads of the life we were building. Betrayal, grief, humiliation—I felt it all. Clyde’s haunted past, one I had only glimpsed, was now ripping apart the fragile illusion of the bond I thought we shared. The truth? I was nothing more than a pawn, a random babymaker caught in a game I never signed up to play. My name is Margaux Olsen, and I am his unwanted bride.

I always knew who I was born to be ,but the white crystal goddess of my pack had other plans for me . My great-grandmother the leader of the white pack , and the great white wolf protected our pack from other wolf packs . We were the strongest after the annihilation of the strongest pack which ever lived , - THE BLOOD PACK . A pack everyone believes were blood suckers I am supposed to become the next GREAT WHITE WOLF after my great grandmother but our white crystal goddess rejects me . I am to be the next great protector of my pack , but I'm unable to shift ,. I need help to protect my people from other dangerous packs out there Not until I soon found out our crystal goodness plans for me , mating me to the strongest dark alpha , the only survivor of the BLOOD PACK whom I later found out to be an hybrid, an abomination. even knowing it's dangerous ,I could never care less just for the protection of my people I took me years ,but I found him and together we made a deal , a stupid deal that must be kept a secret from my pack ,else I'd be banished forever or killed --I offer him my blood for protection of my people. I am Arabella the future GREAT WHITE WOLF of the white crystal pack . At least I thought I was .