The Study Of Vanitas

Lesley Hummer, my husband's sister, lies to me about being unable to conceive. She wants me to help her produce a child. To my shock and horror, my husband and mother-in-law agree with her! I refuse to give in, so they drug me and force me into bed with my her husband. When the pregnancy comes to term, I give birth to a daughter. My husband and his family go nuts because it's not a boy. They kill the baby before my very eyes! They even take away all my organs that can be exchanged for money. Then, they continue searching for a surrogate for Lesley. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day Lesley kneeled before me to beg me.

Madison Suarez is a general surgeon in one of the biggest hospitals in the country. Her mother died after she was born and she was raised by her father in a country side and a far away town. After deciding to travel to the city to study, she left her father alone. When she was a child, she was forbidden to go outside of their house. Her father didn’t let her to play or even go to school. She was isolated from the world. When she decided to study medicine, she traveled to the city even though her father was against it and since then they never saw each other. Aleister is a 500-year-old superior vampire. His kinds are the ones who protects humanity from the immortal beings. He is an actor and also the son of the superior vampire leader. Meanwhile, Mallory is an actress and the leader of the inferior vampires or known as bad vampires. The two kinds of vampires have been enemies for generations. Madison’s life is about to turn upside down as she slowly discovers the hidden truth about her identity. She slowly discovered that she has a werewolf blood inside her. Her ordinary life started being tangled with the immortal world.

My father raised me on one principle: fair exchange. If I wanted anything, I had to earn it myself. Fifty cents for washing the dishes. A dollar for mopping the floor. Five dollars for a perfect score on a test. To buy the pair of white sneakers I had been dreaming of, I spent three months collecting recyclables. In that house, I lived like a pieceworker, paid by the task. It was not until my senior year of high school that everything began to crack. I collapsed during morning study, my body worn down by years of malnutrition. The doctor said I needed better nutrition. My father stood by my hospital bed and started doing the math. "Three hundred for the hospital stay. Two hundred for medication. Chester, this all goes on your tab for the future." I turned my head and saw a boy in a school uniform in the next bed. His father was feeding him spoonfuls of chicken soup, his eyes red with worry. In that moment, the world I had known for 18 years fell apart. It turned out not every child had to earn their parents' love. After I was discharged, I went home and saw the pair of designer sneakers on my brother's feet; it was worth thousands. That was when I finally woke up. I tore up the family photo and, without hesitation, applied to the college farthest from home. Ten years later, my father called me in tears. My brother had taken all his retirement savings, sold the house, and run off with his girlfriend. He was left with nothing. No home. No one. I smiled and tossed him a rag. "Want a place to stay? Sure. It's 50 cents per window. Earn your own rent."

Jaimee is about to go on the journey of a lifetime, but she must leave behind the first man who has ever shown her love and the family they have built. Memories of her life and adventures flood the story as she makes her journey and finds out what is truly important!

Princess Nathania replaces the role of Prince Nathan, her twin brother who is suffering from a serious illness. That made her forced to live as her brother and made her undergo things outside of her habits, including the abundant attention of the palace dwellers and the people of Lithonia Kingdom. Also, the terrible rivalry of Edafos and Fotia who wanted to overthrow Lithonia as the greatest dynasty on earth. On a mission to find silver leafy plants in the forbidden forest, Nathania must face the cruelty of the demon king, who is none other than The Crown Prince of Fotia who nearly killed her with a fire that burned five years ago in a lavender garden. Not to mention The Crown Prince Edafos, the owner of the terrible power who had openly declared war on her. Can Nathania bear the burden of being The Crown Prince of Lithonia without having the power of a god like her brother?

Eight years into our bond, I spotted a child at the kindergarten who looked uncannily like Malcolm—my mate. Malcolm had told me he was away on a business trip. However then he was holding that child in his arms, gently coaxing him. "Be good, sweetheart. In a few days, I'll bring you and your mom home. You're my only child. I'll never abandon you." The child smiled, content and trusting. I stood hidden around the corner, unable to breathe from the pain gripping my chest. Eight years ago, I had taken a silver blade to the stomach to save Malcolm. I lost my wolf that day—and with it, the ability to ever carry a pup. Back then, Malcolm had sat beside my hospital bed and made a promise: "You are the only mate I will ever choose. Whether or not we have a pup doesn't change that." However, what I saw now felt like a brutal slap—a reality too sharp to ignore. What value would Luna have if she'd lost her wolf and could no longer bear heirs? How could I possibly compare to someone who could give him a child, and the pack, a future? Choking back the pain swelling in my chest, I picked up the phone and called my father. "Dad… would you still want a daughter who's lost her wolf?" His voice came through, steady and sure. "Of course. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

Joy Gao was an average high school girl who suddenly understood cat’s language when she was about to turn sixteen years old. Then she was told by her father that she was a Shaman. According to the legend, there were Shamans living in the ancient and mysterious Habitat that especially built for Shamans, but there was none that knew where it was located, because the place was protected by powerful magic shield untraveled as yet by anyone who was not chosen. She began her journey to the Nine-Tower in the Habitat to study her spiritual power to become a Shaman. While she was learning in the Habitat, she met the love of her life, her best friend Sunshine Su, and other companions. Together they took the adventure to save the Habitat.

"This is a notice regarding proper use of the air conditioning. Please sign to acknowledge receipt." My six-year-old son stood there with a stern little frown, slapping a sheet of paper down in front of me. I glanced at the page. Written in colorful marker were several neatly listed "charges." The whole thing felt absurd. When I did not respond, he pointed at the paper like a tiny adult. "Mom, you didn't turn the air down in time yesterday. That could've affected my health. It was very irresponsible." I looked toward my husband, who had just gotten home from work, hoping he would say something, anything, in my defense. Instead, he snatched up the paper and slapped it down on the table, his voice sharp. "Can't you be more attentive? Our son's health comes first. If you can't even handle something this simple, what kind of mother are you?" With someone backing him up, our son's eyes immediately reddened. He burst into tears. "Mom doesn't love me!" The two of them, playing judge and jury, left me suddenly breathless. "Fine," I said at last. "If I'm such an unfit mother, I'll leave. Let your father find you a new one, someone who knows how to set the air conditioning properly."

Your wish is my command... Lots of people think that with these words, their life would change. Though, they're not entirely wrong. Just be cautious, for when the wrong wishes are granted, there is only one path left for you to take: Doom. Olivia Lilan Wind; the crown princess of the Kingdom of Air. As the sole heir to one of the most powerful elements and being mated to the next Lycan king, she's got a lot on her back. But what if she were to go to another dimension. Learn to coexist with the beings that live in that world. What if, she were to learn to love someone without being bound to mateship? Which path will she choose? For her Kingdom? Or for herself?--- Everyone thinks that it's normal to waste their childhood years, training... If it's what everyone does then it's normal but in the other world... In that world training their whole childhood and teenage years is what they call... NORMAL? One must always remember the prophecy of the four great war heroes that had saved the world of magic from being an inevitable barren world... 'The child to be born on the rarest light, carrying the symbol of the moon. Mated with the long-lost child of darkness and wielding an immense amount of magic affinity same as that of a goddess. Shall save this world once again from the barren fate that is lurking in the unknown future.'

A story of reincarnation. The Queen of the Arab world asks the help of an alchemist to create a potion for her King to fall in love with her. They, however, fall in love with each other and their forbidden love is threatened by the King's power. A gush of wind sends them to another time during their flight from the citadel. They come alive again in modern times, New York where they rekindle their love and protect it from the forces of the King, who has come down to end them as well.