This Present Darkness

Naomi Venice was a daughter of one of Florence's noble family, Venice. As someone who loves books, she would often go to libraries. While strolling, she passed by an alleyway where she saw a library. She went there with her personal maid, Lillian, to browse for some books when something strange happened. It was gone in an instant and they got home completely fine. Late at night, something strange happened and when Naomi woke up, she found herself in an unknown world and occupying an unknown body. Defenseless and no fighting capabilities to protect herself, she was almost driven to her wits end. Will she be able to survive in an unknown world despite her circumstances?

At Lycanthrope University everyone knows the ropes - you study hard, play harder, and when you become of age you’re forced to attend a mating ritual where you’re paired with your mate for an eternity. When Devon is “accidentally” paired with his best friend, Nate, his entire world gets turned upside down. Sure, when there was an uneven number in the year, there were some gay pairings, but it was weird and unlikely. And he never thought it would happen to him. Now he has to fight the evil vampyres, prove himself worthy of the title of alpha, explain this his girlfriend why he’s linked to a guy, and tell his best friend he wants to break their mateship. Yikes!

Mom accidentally adds me into a group chat called "Happy Family". In the group chat, I saw Mom, Dad, and a stranger who's nicknamed "sweetheart". They are in the middle of organizing a birthday party for him. However, the thing is, tomorrow will be my birthday, which they have forgotten for the tenth time in a row. Mom says, "The venue must be dreamy. I want him to feel like an actual prince." Dad transfers a huge sum of money to "sweetheart". "Money is no problem! Just don't let Christopher find out about this. It'll screw things up for us!" I quietly take screenshots of everything, planning to find a chance to expose my parents' true colors and end everything with them once and for all. At that moment, my younger sister, who's always been great at her studies, sends me a screenshot via our private chat. It's a screenshot of the chat history between her and Mom. "Mom, have you made preparations for Christopher's surprise party yet? You promised me that this is the last time you'd lie to him!"

How do you turn your life interesting overnight? No idea, but it probably doesn't involve falling through a mirror into another world after popping a pimple... Maisie was your average introvert, looking for a bit of spice in her life. That's probably why she ignored the warning signs that the mirror was more than it seemed. The $5 price tag on a full-length mirror probably should have been a hint, too.

Ashley, the want to be alone outsider, can't believe what hit him when he met Austin, the goodlooking, nice soccerstar. Which leads to a marathon of emotions and some secrets from the past.

Connor’s life came crashing down eight years ago and he vowed to never return home, but that all changed when his mother died and he had to return home to settle everything. He hadn’t planned on running into the first person he ever loved and the first one that ever broke his heart. He didn’t plan on getting a stalker that made his life miserable and would not let him find peace.

I stood between both of them masking my son from his gorgeous daddy but my stubborn son cocked his head and gave his dad a very beautiful sunburnt smile. I couldn't help but chuckle my baby is too cute. "Mommy, is this Daddy?" Oh my God! I looked behind us at Jale who was only a few steps away from us. I bet he clearly heard what my son had just asked me. The was he was looking at me with curiousty, I knew he wanted an answer to that question too. Who am I even kidding from his viking gold hair, brown chocolate eyes, his fair skin, to proud attitude. Everything he was was the same thing my boy was. Chase was a true young version of his daddy but I would never let him know that. I crouched down in front of my angel and kissed his forehead before answering his question. My eyes shot up at Jale again who pretended like he was looking at something on his phone yet his phone's screen was blank then. After making sure he had his attention to us, I cupped my baby's cheeks and made him look into my eyes. "No honey, this man is not your daddy but uncle. He is uncle Jale." I could see Jale's face fall from the sides of my face. Suck a jerk! What did he expect that I was going to say Chase is his son. That is something I would never do in my life. I would never let Jale into my son's life. I will never let him know he is my baby's daddy because he doesn't deserve my little boy at all. He doesn't deserve us after all the horrible things he did to me five years ago.

I loved Stella for five years, and we were even engaged. However, she never helped when my grandfather was dying, all because the adopted son of my family suggested that she should use the opportunity to put me through adversity—so that I would toughen up. After my grandfather died helplessly, I toughened up just as she hoped for, no longer relying on her for everything. Naturally, I no longer loved her anymore either.

24-year-old, Zackary “Zack” Hernandez has aquaphobia, or a person who has a fear of water. Determined to cure his phobia and to reunite with his childhood friends, he decided to go back to the lake house where he was born and to also figure out the truth behind his nightmares that seemed to happen in the lake house. Before going there, here are the only things they expected to happen: have a blissful reunion, have extraordinary birthday celebrations, a relaxing vacation, to meet his grandparents and sister again, and of course to go back home safe and sound. But what they did not know was they only got themselves on the serial killer's hands and now it's impossible to go back. The shocking, gripping, and wicked THRILLER story of family, betrayals, and heinous crimes. That will surely make you think of how much knowledge do you know about the history of your family.

I know I shouldn’t want him. Or them. There’s my best friend’s father, whose low, velvety voice makes my pulse stutter whenever he speaks. My stepbrother, whose accidental touches make my skin burn with unspoken tension. And my sister’s mate, whose cold, lingering gaze betrays a hunger I shouldn’t see. Every glance, every brush of skin, drags me deeper into temptation. Every heartbeat reminds me that wanting them is dangerous, forbidden… and maybe reckless. I’m caught between loyalty, morality, and desire, and every moment I give in only makes the fire stronger. Some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. Some fires are impossible to resist. And I’m learning the hard way… forbidden has never felt this good.