Ucla Powell Library Hours Novels & Stories

In the shadowed alleys of Ravenwood, Celeste Osborne finds herself irresistibly drawn to the enigmatic and dangerously alluring Lucian Bathory. Hired as an au pair for the mysterious Bathory family, Celeste quickly discovers that Lucian is no ordinary man—he’s a centuries-old vampire with a thirst for blood and a hunger that goes far beyond the physical. As Celeste is pulled deeper into Lucian’s dark world, the boundaries between fear and desire begin to blur. Her days are filled with tension, but it’s in the secret hours of the night that their passions ignite. Lucian’s touch awakens something wild within her, something she never knew existed, but it comes at a price. His world is one of power, danger, and ancient rivalries, and loving him means embracing a darkness that could consume her whole. As their forbidden romance intensifies, Celeste must decide if she’s willing to surrender to the seductive pull of Lucian’s world, where every kiss could be her last and every touch could bind her to him for eternity. In this tale of love, lust, and immortality, Celeste will learn that some desires are worth risking everything—even her soul. "Crimson Shadows: Forbidden Thirst" is Book I of the Crimson Shadows series. It is a dark and passionate story where love and danger entwine, pushing the boundaries of what it means to surrender to desire.

My boyfriend's childhood sweetheart bound herself to a transfer system: everything she ate would be redirected straight into my stomach. She opened a streaming account and broadcast herself eating for twelve hours straight. She earned a fortune. Meanwhile, I collapsed with acute pancreatitis and was rushed to the hospital. When I explained the situation to my boyfriend, he only stared at me like I was insane. "How could something that absurd exist? If food could really be transferred, no one in the world would ever starve. You're just jealous that she's making money from streaming." After that, every time his childhood sweetheart went live, I ended up hospitalized again. I kept hovering between life and death. I sought medical help, but the doctors couldn't explain my condition. Some even wanted to commit me to a psychiatric ward. Then, one day, in order to outdo her rivals in a PK match, she devoured ten pounds of rice in a single sitting. At that very moment, my spleen and stomach ruptured, and I bled to death on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of her very first livestream. This time, I was prepared. I rushed out and bought twenty takeout meals. "This time," I said, "I'll eat first."

I was sound asleep the night before the wedding when a video call from my best friend, Eve, came in. “Aisling, my wedding’s starting in half an hour. Where is my maid of honor?” I pulled back the curtains and stared in resignation at the still night at one in the morning. “Eve, what are you talking about? It’s not even dawn. Who gets married in the wee hours? You’re working overtime as my alarm clock.” It was a pause on the line until Eve’s camera shifted to the blue skies behind the groom. “Are you still asleep, Aisling? It’s morning. “Our families have arrived. Everyone’s waiting on you. Get here quickly.” The call ended, and I snapped awake. Judging by the family members caught in the frame of the camera, it didn’t seem like a prank. The wedding venue was downstairs in the hotel ballroom, so the time difference didn’t make sense at all. Just in case, I put on my maid-of-honor dress and made haste to the venue. Right after I stepped out of my room, a drunk guest mistook me for an escort. During a struggle, he stabbed me to death. When I came to, I was back to the moment just before Eve FaceTimed me.

On my wedding night, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a tampered condom left me in excruciating pain. The surgery took over twenty-four hours, and the story spread like wildfire. My husband, Alexander, let it be known that anyone who managed to photograph me in my post-surgery state would be rewarded with ten million dollars. Overnight, I went from being a billionaire's new wife to the laughingstock of every elite circle in New York. The next day, Alexander's childhood sweetheart Dahlia showed up at my door. That was when I learned the truth: she'd coated the condom with industrial-strength adhesive as part of what she called a "social experiment." She didn't show a shred of remorse. Her tone was flippant and cruel: "It was just an experiment. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd react like that? Besides, we both know you were never good enough for Alexander. So drop the act." Alexander stood beside her, his gaze cold and dismissive: "If it weren't for the marriage contract, no one would've touched you. You know that, right?" What he didn't know was that the woman he was calling a slut had saved his life more times than he could count.

Isabella Monroy is hours away from marrying the man she loves — until the night before the wedding turns into a nightmare. After her best friend secretly spikes her drink, Isabella wakes up in the wrong room, half-dressed, with a dangerously handsome stranger stepping out of the bathroom. Her fiancé and her guests witness her leaving the room. And that cost her wedding and reputation. The stranger is Dante Moretti — a seductive billionaire who is secretly the ruthless King of Mafia, known as Draco. Their encounter had been a complete misunderstanding… or so they both thought. Weeks later, with her life in ruins, Isabella runs into Dante again. Sparks and hate collide. Dante is amused by her anger, drawn to her fire, and refuses to stay away. But when a rival mafia faction uses Isabella as leverage, Dante’s true identity comes to light. As danger encircles her, Isabella uncovers the truth: her best friend Camila and her fiancé Sebastian betrayed her. The “accidental” night was a setup meant to trap her. Now forced into Dante’s dangerous world for protection, Isabella battles her feelings for the man who ruined her life… and then saved it. Their chemistry turns explosive, their enemies grow ruthless, and their pasts collide in blood, passion, and betrayal. But that only made Dante more obsessed.

When Ethan Reed shoves divorce papers across the anniversary dinner Mia Thompson spent hours preparing, he believes he's trading up — swapping his quiet schoolteacher wife for her glamorous best friend and the "power couple" image his investors demand. What he doesn't know: the woman he's throwing away funded his entire empire with her dead parents' life insurance money — and still owns 45% of the company he just sold for $25 million. For six years, Mia paid his loans, wrote his pitch decks, and worked two jobs while he coded his dreams into reality. She loved him enough to carry his child alone for eight weeks, waiting for the perfect moment to tell him. That moment came in a doorway — divorce papers in one hand, her best friend smirking behind him in a red dress. She signed. She walked out. She collapsed in a hospital parking lot and lost the baby no one knew existed. Some men burn down the wrong house. Some women have to lose everything before they realize they were holding the match the whole time. And some betrayals come with a price tag — exactly $25 million, plus interest.

“Coming back after just leaving a few hours ago with no injury on you, I guess you must have chicken out” his mocking voice said making me stop in my tracks, turning around. “Seems you have something against me, elder” I said, looking at him. “I have nothing against you, girl. I have something against the creature living rent free inside of you” he said. Guess someone is blunt today. “What happened to the creature inside of me?” I asked, looking at him calmly. “They are vile, unfit and too weak to stand against a demon like us” he spat at me. “And what is your solution, elder?” I asked. “Leave the king and go back to where you came from, we don’t want you here. Our king deserves better” he said, glaring at me hatefully. Hated for being a wolf Being abused physically and mentally by a demon who has an unhealthy obsession over her mate Trying to prove herself to her mate’s kingdom while trying to protect her loved one’s, Lillian definitely have enough on her plate, will she prove herself she is not the names she is being called or will a bigger threat, not only claim her life but the one’s around her and the throne?

Flash Marriage with My Stoic Boss: Cold in Public, Passionate in Private Blurb Nora Ward has two rules for marriage: low-maintenance and zero drama. As a chief cardiology resident running on coffee and four hours of sleep, she doesn't have time for romance. A blind date gone wrong lands her at the wrong table with the right man — Adrian Cross, a cold, brutally efficient cardiothoracic surgeon just back from the US. They size each other up over iced coffee. Same schedule. Same pragmatism. Same need for a spouse who stays out of the way. Thirty minutes later, they leave the courthouse with a marriage certificate and no intention of ever seeing each other outside a hospital. Problem is — they work at the same hospital. And Adrian Cross just happens to be her department's newly appointed deputy chair. Now she has to face him at morning rounds, pretend he's a stranger, and ignore the way his voice drops an octave when he says "Dr. Ward" — professional, distant, infuriating. Rules are easy to make. Harder to keep when your stoic husband corners you in the on-call room after midnight and proves he's anything but cold. This is why you don't flash-marry your boss.

Riccardo Salvatore Armani is a man with a great body and brilliant mind who can be compared to a Greek god but with the heart of Lucifer. Yes, with both devilish and lovable hearts. Everyone conquered his devilish heart and none conquered his lovable heart, or yet… With no parents, no helpers, no bodyguards, no friends, no past, and no girls around, he is living a robotic life with the only character of yelling at people and killing ruthlessly everyone who comes in his way. Ishita Kapoor is a girl with a goddess physique, an Angel heart, and a brilliant and stupid brain at the same time. Having everyone around her, she is living a best yet worst life because of society's pressure on her. Everyone who sees her from the outside will see her best life but only when those who get to see under her always-covered body, will come to know her true life. Having everything and everyone doesn’t help her in her state.But, when a simple dare locked these two people in 2000sq. feet for 24 hours, he thought that this was just a day and it wouldn’t change his life and she thought she successfully completed her dare with the mystic man but they both didn’t know that there was more on their way which would change their life completely. MAFIA'S NOT SO INNOCENT GIRL is created by Priya Amour, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

On the night of my 30th birthday, I waited until the early hours of the morning, but my husband, Theodore Hawk never showed up. Instead, I came across an Instagram post from his childhood sweetheart, Emily Gallagher. [What romantic is not the starry night, it is having you by my side.] In the picture, she was wearing a delicate, sky-blue camisole that revealed just enough to charm and seduce. A man stood close behind her, his hand firmly gripping her waist. The scene was set in the seaside villa that Theodore had gifted her, their figures intimately entwined under the soft glow of the night. Someone had commented beneath the post: [I can’t stand you two being this lovey-dovey all the time! Just get married already!] Emily had responded with a shy-face emoji. I had just liked the post when Theodore, who I had failed to reach all night, blew up my phone with calls. "Are you out of your mind, Camilla? Emi and I grew up together! If we wanted to be together, we would’ve done so long ago! Why are you being so petty?" Looking at how Theodore gently held her in his arms, comforting her, I realized something. Letting go of someone you’ve loved for seven years... can take only a moment.