The Sword And The Brocade

It was hard for Charlotte to let go of her best friend, Dalton, the boy she fell in love with since she was nine years old, to make way for her sister, Caroline, who happens to be in love with him too. It was hard for her but in order to make someone happy, even if it meant sacrificing her own, she was willing to let go. It all happened around her senior year, where she let go of the only thing that mattered to her and after graduation, she moved away with no intention of going back. Four years later, on her college graduation day, her parents rather demanded her to come home with a reason that shocked her senseless.

I was madly in love with James Gates for 10 years. So mad that everyone in the Imperium said that I was addicted to him. How far did it go? I wouldn't allow any woman to get close to him. I wanted to eliminate every woman around him. In the end, James sent me to rehab. While others quit smoking, drinking, or gaming, I was quitting James. But later, I truly moved on from him. Yet, he regretted it and, in the pouring rain, begged me to love him again.

The darkest corners of the world hold the secrets the leaders want you to forget. Deep inside a cabin covered with moss and shadows, those secrets are not yet forgotten. Under the moon, light glistens off of shining stones lining the porch and bundles of herbs drying from the rafters. Candlelight emanates from the interior and warmth surrounds the occupant. Inside this cabin was a forrest witch who was chanting a spell as she added herbs to a small caldron. Smoke rises and electricity fills the room. Her raven hair started to rise and the smoke turned glowing green. Leaves outside the cabin started swirling in the air raising around the cabin forming a circle. “None may find me where I reside, safe in the forrest this witch hides. Safe from the evil doers and safe from their men. None may ever find me again.” Cold. Like ice from an iceberg, his skin molded smoothly across his frame. The envelop in his hands was sealed by the Elder Lords sigil pressed into blood red wax. Slipping his long pale finger, breaking the seal, one word was inside. “Urgente.” His particular talents were once again needed.

I was the sole front desk clerk at a haunted hotel. Welcoming players, checking in on the bosses’ quarters, and slacking off a bit were all part of the job. At least, that was what I thought. It turned out my days were far from ordinary. A blood-drenched little girl in a tattered red dress kept ringing the service bell. Her eerie voice echoed, “Miss, why didn’t you come play with me?” A creepy black cat with glowing eyes wouldn’t stop meowing and rubbing against my legs. And then there was the old woman with claws like knives, cheerfully knitting me a sweater… out of players’ skin. One day, I took a day off to care for my sick mother. That was my biggest mistake. The entire game instance erupted in chaos. Bosses interrogated players, demanding to know where their precious front desk clerk had gone. “Did she abandon us? Is she never coming back?” I ran. They chased. But no matter how fast I fled, their grip on me only tightened. In the end, escape wasn’t an option.

Elena Tepes is the strongest female werewolf in all of Europe. Not only that she is the Alpha of her pack but also she is the Alpha Supreme of all Europe. Many males came to challenge her, but no one defeated her in a fight. One day she is called by a werewolf from the Silver Pack, in the Republic of Moldova. He said that the Alpha of his pack has a slave. The law of the werewolves forbids any pack to have slaves. Elena, in the beginning, doesn´t believe but either way, it is her duty to find out if it true or not. When Elena gets to the Silver Pack, she saves the slave from a cruel whipping and realizes that the slave is her mate. But she doesn´t want him. Elena doesn´t want a weak mate, that shivers in fear every time he sees her and stutters when he talks. She wants a strong mate. Elena wants a strong mate because she has a mortal enemy- Mihnea, the vampire. He is strong and cunning, and almost impossible to kill. He made a deal with Hades, and he can´t be killed with ordinary weapons. As long as Mihnea is alive, she won´t accept her mate. One day, while Elena looks into Vladimir´s beautiful green eyes and her heart starts beating fast. Little by little, Elena finds herself more drawn by the pure heart of my mate. And when they share a first kiss, everything changes. She wants him, and she wants him forever. But something happened in Vladimir´s past because he keeps telling Elena he is not worthy of love, that he did something terrible, and innocent blood is on his hands. Will Elena learn to accept and love her mate?

After the four elemental stones have been stolen, the magical kingdoms of Castamere and Everus find their kingdoms slowly dying due to the Great Plague. To restore order and balance, the stones must be found and returned to the Dragon's keep. Aeryn is the lost queen of Everus and heir to the Dragon Flame elemental stone. After the great war that leaves both kingdom in shambles, a dangerous sacrifice is preformed and she absorbs the power of the Dragon flame stone to keep it from getting into the wrong hands. The young queen is taken away from her kingdom few days after for her protection. She grows up as a commoner in her rival kingdom till she is kidnapped by a fanatic who sees the power in her fiery eyes. He enrols her into the Queenstrial as one of the thirteen maidens vying for the Crown Prince of Castamere, Lucien's hand in marriage. Her task is simple, spy on the Crown Prince and retrieve the elemental ice stone or risk the kingdom of Castamere and Everus destroyed by the great plague. Falling in love with the Crown Prince was not in the equation especially when he is also hiding a very dangerous dark secret.

When the Wanix Enchanters and the Luan Pack ended their alliance decades ago, the Wanix took their magic and made their own kingdom. Zelda is the newly appointed Empress of Gynem who leads with ease, humor and sarcasm. Meanwhile the Luan Pack is led by the ever confident Alpha Hunter. When half his pack is slaughtered, they seek refuge in Gynem in order to restore their once powerful alliance with the Wanix. Upon meeting, Zelda and Hunter immediately get off on the wrong foot, but with the dreaded Aleni threatening to take over their land, they must work together to save everything they hold dear. Can they overcome differing opinions, poor flirting and a tempting Beta in order to save their land or are they doomed?

"If one day she'd aim her sniper rifle at me, I'll step right into the crosshairs to make sure she won't miss." Alessia Chan is a merciless assassin and the Triad’s lethal princess. She killed a woman against her will and decided to quit the organization. She looked for her previous nanny, whom she found working under Caio Alfieri in the Philippines. Caio Alfieri is a CEO of a well-known construction firm and a man of many secrets. He launched a manhunt to find the murderer who killed his fiancée without knowing Alessia was just under his nose as his dumb maid. What will happen when their secrets are revealed? Can the mafia king soften his heart to the triad princess?

Samantha Montgomery has never had luck on her side. Down on her luck she is shocked to discover that she was the sole inherit of her Great Aunt's will. With her world falling down around her Samantha jumps at the opportunity to start afresh in a new town where no one would know her. What she hadn't expected was the isolated home in the middle of the woods. The feeling that someone or something is watching her. Even the howls at night seem as if they are coming from right below her window. Can she trust Lucien, the mysterious stranger who claims to have known her aunt. Or will he lead her even further into danger.

My grandmother only knows how to draw one thing—infants. They're ugly, but people line up to buy the paintings. I watch as she takes those women into unlit rooms. Then, their bloodcurdling screams will ring out. Oddly enough, they always thank my grandmother when they're leaving. One day, I finally find out what exactly my grandmother paints. I discover the truth when I see an infant crawl out of one of the women's bellies—it looks just like the one my grandmother has painted.