The Summer Solstice Nick Joaquin

When fate decides to play its funny tricks, a clueless Luna is forced to fight against the impossible.. Eighteen year old and shy, Miranda Dagel is in her final year in high school, but is anything but excited about her forthcoming graduation. She has lived her life in a complete haze, never doing anything interesting. She hates her fat self, her school and hates her life. Eighteen now and still no boyfriend. Even her bestfriend wouldn't understand her restlessness. Mira finds herself longing, desperate for something exciting _ an adventure. Searching for a way to escape reality. One warm summer night, Mira's eyes catch a shadow standing by her window. Soon this shadow would become a reality_her reality. A man who scares her but shifts her perspective of the world, a living labyrinth who could change from a human to something else entirely. Little did she know that the adventure she had always sought for would start with an abduction. From that moment, it may become impossible to escape this reality.. because this may now be her world, her world as the Alpha's abducted Luna.

“You cannot love me, Enora. I had told you that you couldn’t.” His brown eyes were almost popping out of their sockets, he yanked his hand away from mine and took a step backward, ruffling his brunette hair, he cursed. I love this man. “You cannot love me, I am your best friend’s father.” “But I can fuck my best friend’s father?” My voice cracked in disbelief, is this what my life is now? I had tears in my eyes, it’s always been like this since I met him, yet I love him. ~~ It was summer break and Enora had just gotten the job of filling in for the personal assistant of Mr Wright , her best friend's father. It was a thirty-day business trip that started with a kiss, then sex, and then love. Enora couldn’t help but fall head over heels for her best friend's father, he’s the first man to ever treat her like a princess, but Nathan has other intentions which didn’t include loving her.

It’s all fun and games until a body washes up…. Beth Monroe just wants to make it through the summer baseball season without being the constant target of her brother Shane’s jokes, but he is relentless, and she’s ready to lock herself in her room and hide. Until the new girl shows up. Halley appears in small town Barryville like a ghost. No one knows where she came from or anything about her past, not even her last name. When she gives Beth a piece of unsolicited advice that, “It’s what’s on the outside that counts,” Beth changes everything about herself. By the time Beth realizes she’s becoming a monster, it might be too late, and Halley has already sunk her claws into Beth’s best friend Ryan—who might’ve been something more if Beth had opened her eyes a little earlier. As Halley’s past catches up to her, Beth realizes there’s more to this mysterious girl than she realized. Can she stop Halley from revealing her true, monstrous nature to Ryan before it’s too late?

In the midst of a bustling metropolis, Sumire, a diligent and determined orphan with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, is engrossed in her studies while seated on a park bench under the radiant rays of the summer sun. It is here that she met a five-year-old boy, who unbeknownst to her, will change the course of her destiny. Mort, her fated mate, is an enigmatic vampire whose heart is captured at the very first glimpse of Sumire. Little does she realize that a world of supernatural beings surrounds her, as Mort's obssesion and desire for her sets into motion a series of events that will forever alter her life's trajectory. Their initial meeting serves as the threshold to an unknown realm, one inhabited by lurking monsters whose predatory instincts unveil a perilous threat. On a fateful night, beneath the crimson shroud of intimacy, that Mort awakens Sumire's dormant memories and primal thirst for blood. This awakening occurs whilst their enemies lurk menacingly outside their bedroom door, launching an unsuspecting assault on the bounty placed upon her head. How will Sumire navigate this newfound reality, where the tales of mere mortals pale in comparison? Will she be able to unravel the enigma of her own existence before it engulfs her?

Betsy— Mother says everything a lady can do to help herself in this cruel world is to fend and take care of herself without losing a strand of her hair to shameful behavior. And I totally agree with her. But how do I explain compromising my faith, my ideals and my principle? One I had been upholding since I was a kid, all because of a hot body my brother calls a best friend. I wasn't going to take the chance to be swayed by someone I should see as my brother, my Alpha, someone I shouldn't think of having, not going to happen. Did I mention I've got a boyfriend who loves me? Now I can tell, I'm such a mess! Drake— I may be color blind, but not with her. I see everything clearly when she's around. Betsy is my best friend's younger sister. We never got to be so close to each other, her mother had taken her away from the pack since her father's death. But Nick had stayed behind as my beta, it was his duty. Now that she's back to the town and to the pack, I couldn't believe how she managed to fill my thoughts, and get into my mind. And that was it. I was going to find out exactly what made her so different from other she-wolves. Was it the way she swings that tiny waist? Or was it just in my head?

(Prev Title Alpha Hades and The Red Rose) "On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?" Quote co. Meatloaf and Jim Cummings 1976/1977 from 'You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth.' Alpha Hades is an Alpha with a tragic past. He has crafted the persona of The Dark Alpha, to deter his rivals from attacking his pack. As a child, his parents and all previous pack members were wiped out in a rogue attack. He alone survived with the help of his wolf, Cerberus, and the assistance of a human girl called Lydia. But now, Cerberus is dying, and Hades is searching for Lydia in the hope that she is the key to saving him, as Cerberus is convinced that she is their mate. The Red Rose is a human huntress, who is feared by all wolves. She hunts rogues and single-handedly, deals out justice to them as she searches for the Rogue Alpha. He is the one responsible for all of the attacks on the packs, and for an attack on her when she was a child. What will happen when these two meet during a pack dispute? Will Hades find Lydia, before it is too late? And will The Red Rose be able to end, the Rogue Alpha's killing spree?

Russell Knight is not your average geek. Sure, he may seem like the quiet, shy, and vulnerable guy in school. But there is far more to Russel than meets the eye. At just 10 years old, Russell had already gone through the heartache of losing both of his parents. He was left under the guardianship care of his uncle Frederick Knight, a struggling handyman living from paycheck to paycheck in the small town of Lakeview. But now that the years have gone by, he finds a way to let out steam and anger taking a liking to getting his hands dirty. Loving the feel of adrenaline as he steps into the underground rinks of a good old fashion cage fight. As the summer ends, and junior year of college begins, he sees eye to eye with Samantha Adams, his new roommate. Will she be able to handle all his hidden secrets? or will she call it quits before it even begins? Realizing college is not what she expected, Russell won't make it easy for her to concentrate in school. He's hot, very hot, and it's going to take a lot of willpower to keep their hands off of each other.

In the summer of 1998, teenager Amelia Jessica discovered a secret of her parents that changed her life. Ethan Travis was her only brother that she always looked up to that's why she doesn't know why he was acting strange whenever she was around. On the day of their parent's wedding anniversary, she overheard her Mom and Dad talking about the biological mother of Ethan. She was furious and ran to her brother's room. She loudly opened the door and shocked to saw a girl on top of his brother. She felt disgusted and disappointed at the same time but a new feeling blossomed inside of her. Jealousy. Years later she found herself acting her hearts out behind a camera. She became the top actress and model of her generation. She focused on her career when she lost her hope that her brother will see her as a woman not just his baby sister. Little did she know that a new adventure will come on her way because of her best friend Cindy.Let's find out more about Amelia Jessica's story in My Little Secrets...Book 2 of Behind That Mask.

***What happens when a girl falls in love with the one person she's not supposed to?*** "You and me, and never us: a complicated series of almost-interactions." It's the summer before college and Kara is forced to spend the holidays with her new family. Little does she know, a lot can happen in one hot summer. The moment Kara lays her eyes on Ryder, she knows she's a goner. She has never met anyone as sexy, fun, and liberating. But she's made a promise that she won't give herself away before marriage. The moment Ryder lays his eyes on Kara, he knows his life wouldn't be the same again. He has never met a girl so pure and genuine. He's made it his life mission to be with her, for better or for worse. "If God is love, you're my religion." Sometimes we can't choose who we fall in love with. Kara and Ryder's love for one another is the kind of love that only comes once in a blue moon, but unfortunately, they can never be anything more than a brother and sister. All that love, yet it is barely anything at all...

Isla Walker thought her summer would be dull, not dangerous. A scholarship student at an elite High school, Isla’s only goal was survival. Juggling part-time jobs to escape her drunk father and leech of a stepmother, she never expected her already fractured life to spiral into a nightmare. Sold like property to settle her family's crushing debts, Isla finds herself handed over to a man feared across cities — Grayson Voss, the cold and calculating mafia lord of the Voss Syndicate. But Grayson isn’t a stranger. He’s the man who saved her once. And the man who now owns her. What Isla doesn't know is that Grayson has been watching her. Ever since that night at the club, her face has haunted him — softening his steel walls and stirring something he's spent years burying. But affection has no place in his world. To him, Isla is nothing more than collateral — a debt repayment. A useful pawn. One he can't afford to care about. Except he does. And when someone lays a hand on what he owns... all hell breaks loose.