Ucla Powell Library Hours Novels & Stories

When Nyx Calder enrolls at Briarcrest Academy, she has no intention of climbing its gilded social hierarchy. The school is built on legacy, power, and unspoken rules, and Nyx is there only to survive it. But survival becomes impossible when she collides with Alaric Moore. Briarcrest’s most untouchable student, the unchallenged ruler of its academic and social elite… and the stepbrother she never asked for. Alaric thrives on control. Nyx thrives on defiance. Their rivalry ignites in classrooms and spills into whispered confrontations after hours, each encounter sharpening the tension between them. Forced into constant competition by the academy’s ruthless merit system, they become obsessed with outdoing one another, until hatred begins to feel dangerously like something else. Something forbidden. Something that could destroy them both. Behind Briarcrest’s pristine halls lies a system designed to crush anyone who threatens its order. As Nyx uncovers how deeply the academy manipulates its students, Alaric is forced to choose between the future he was raised for and the girl who refuses to kneel, and when the rules say she should. At Briarcrest, love is forbidden, rebellion is costly, and bloodlines matter more than truth. But how far does the academy’s power really reach? What happens when loyalty to legacy collides with forbidden desire? And when the system demands one of them fall… who will it be? At Briarcrest, breaking the rules could cost them everything, but not breaking them might cost even more.

Ten years after being the sole survivor of a catastrophic train disaster, a Tanzanian student discovers that his survival wasn't a miracle—it was a mutation. Now, he is the most wanted organism on Earth. FULL SYNOPSIS The crash should have killed him. The truck should have finished the job. Ten years ago, a midnight train to Mbeya was derailed by a mysterious explosion of violet light. Hundreds perished in the wreckage. Only one person walked away: an eight-year-old boy found without a scratch. The world called it a miracle. The government called it a closed case. Now a Form Six student, the boy just wants a normal life. But "normal" ends the day he is struck by a speeding semi-trailer in the city streets. In front of a horrified crowd, his severed limbs don't just bleed—they boil, snap, and regenerate in a terrifying display of biological immortality. Caught on camera, the video goes viral within hours, shattering his anonymity and alerting the shadows. He is no longer a student. He is Patient Zero. Hunted by "Six," a ruthless biotech corporation seeking to harvest his DNA to engineer a new breed of mutants, and pursued by a government desperate to bury the secrets of the Mbeya Incident, he is forced to run. With no allies and a body that refuses to die, he must uncover the truth about what really happened on that train ten years ago before he becomes a lab rat for the highest bidder. He survived the crash. But can he survive the hunt?

My best friend's boyfriend was cheating, so I tagged along to bust him at a hotel. Fifteen hours until go time. Felicity Cook booked a room right next to Jake's, jaw tight. "They'll be here tonight. When the time comes, we'll catch them red-handed." Inside, I could barely keep my eyes open. She'd been a wreck since last night, and I hadn't slept a minute trying to keep her sane. Figured I had time, so I set an alarm and crashed. When I opened my eyes, a guy was lying next to me. Felicity kicked the door in and pointed at me. "Lydia Lloyd! I can't believe you betrayed me! You're my best friend! Why would you sneak around and steal my boyfriend?" I just stared, mind blank, trying to get words out. She snapped, yanked out a kitchen knife, and in front of everyone, drove it into me again and again. I hit the floor, drowning in my own blood, eyes stuck open like my body refused to let me go. I came here to catch a cheater—how did I end up the side chick? Then I blinked... and I was right back at the moment I first walked into that hotel with Felicity.

Elysia had loved Orion for ten years, watching from the shadows as he chased after someone else. Their contract marriage was supposed to be temporary—a favor for family, a mask for the public—but a year of shared mornings, quiet dinners, and unspoken tenderness made her believe maybe, just maybe, he had chosen her. Then the woman he never stopped loving came back. And in less than 24 hours, he handed Elysia the divorce papers. No warning. No hesitation. She didn’t beg. She signed and walked out of the home she helped build—quietly carrying the child he never asked for. But secrets don’t stay buried. When Orion finds out she’s pregnant, his world doesn’t crack—it detonates. The woman he thought he could cast aside… is the one now slipping through his fingers. “You erased me like I never existed.” her voice was calm, eyes distant. It broke him. “Because I thought you’d always be there.” She sighed. "I havr someone who looks at me and really sees me now. You can leave." Now, it’s not just about love—it’s about guilt, consequences, and Orion chasing trying to win Elysia back after she finally stopped waiting. Will she forgive him or move on with her new lover?

My younger brother, Owen Rivera, and I are playing in Dad's refrigerated truck. Owen wants to grab my ice cream from me, but I refuse to let him have his way. He shoves me forcefully, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the floor, knocking me out on the spot. When I finally wake up and locate him in the freezer, I find out that he's gotten reduced to a frozen statue. The security footage shows that Owen has been screaming the words "Mommy, help me!" hysterically for three hours before his death. After Mom is done watching the footage, she breaks down on the spot. Then, she yanks me by my hair before slamming me against the wall. "What were you doing? You were at the entrance, dammit! Why didn't you open the door for Owen?" With reddened eyes, Dad throws me into the freezer. "Owen was cold and frightened in the freezer! You should have a taste of the same thing too!" The thick and heavy door is slammed in my face. Darkness and a bone-chilling coldness devour me instantly. I curl into a small ball in the corner Owen has just died in. My teeth are starting to chatter, and my consciousness is starting to slip away. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I don't feel cold. I'm not cold at all. I will never eat ice cream ever again in my next lifetime.

After ten years together, Aiden, my Alpha, my first and only love, finally promised to hold the mating ceremony with me during the Spring Hunt Festival. I was overjoyed. That night, at the festival party, I downed a few extra glasses of wine. However, Aiden, who had always been so gentle with me, suddenly became someone I didn't recognize. He scolded me, said I was unfit to be the future Luna if I couldn’t even follow the rules, and shoved me out of the car. Drunk and dazed, I was left alone in the dangerous Shadow Forest. Terrified but unwilling to break, I walked through that forest for five hours in the dead of night. When I finally made it back to our home, I heard him in the other room, sending a voice message to Seraphina, his first love. "If you’re willing to come back," he said, his voice soft and warm, "I’ll do anything for you." Seraphina replied, "Even cancel the mating ceremony?" Time stopped. I silently counted to thirteen. Then, I heard his answer: "Yes." Listening to that voice—the one that used to whisper promises to me—I cried. If that was what he truly wanted, then maybe calling off the ceremony was for the best. So, to spare him the choice, I fled. On the day of our mating ceremony, I disappeared. No one expected what came next. The proud, composed Alpha Aiden went mad trying to find me.

Vivian Cole has always believed that the law is built on truth. As the brilliant personal assistant and junior lawyer to the formidable Damien Blackwood, managing partner of Blackwood & Vale, she's determined to make her mark through hard work, integrity, and unwavering ambition. Everything changes when a woman presumed dead for four years walks back into the firm carrying secrets capable of destroying powerful people. Within hours, a violent attack forces Vivian into hiding alongside her enigmatic boss, the mysterious Clara Whitmore, and Roman Ellis—a ruthless attorney from a rival law firm whose fearless approach to life is as dangerous as it is irresistible. As they race to unravel a conspiracy rooted in the infamous Morrison case, hidden betrayals, corrupt alliances, and a traitor lurking within the legal world threaten to destroy them long before the truth can be exposed. Caught between two extraordinary men, Vivian finds herself pulled in opposite directions. Damien offers the safety of unwavering loyalty, quiet devotion, and a love that protects. Roman awakens the reckless side she never knew existed, tempting her toward a passion fueled by risk, ambition, and dangerous desire. With every secret uncovered, the line between justice and revenge begins to blur, and Vivian must decide whether to follow the path that feels secure... or the one that could cost her everything. In a world where trust is fragile, love is complicated, and betrayal wears the face of a friend, the most dangerous attachment may not be to the truth—but to the people willing to risk everything for it.

WARNING: This book is unapologetically slutty. ••• “You can fuck me, but only with my mask on.” My boss doesn't know I'm his little wh*re sunshine. ••• Elissa can't remember the last time she got laid by a man. She is too caught up in meeting ends meet, and healing from the trauma caused by her stepmother. But her life changes when she goes to a masquerade ball and her eyes land on the gorgeous mysterious stranger, succumbing to his charm. They have a wild night together, their heated, lustful encounter leaving her breathless and wanting more. However, when dawn breaks, she flees the hotel room, and he is left with only her lingerie and an unrelenting obsession to find her. But when Elissa returns to her normal life, fate brings them together again in a shocking twist: Elissa’s new billionaire boss, Thane, is the mysterious man who has rocked her world. Now, he’s determined to claim her as his own, one sensual seduction at a time. But there’s a catch— he’s unaware that his secretary is the same woman he’s been p*unding at midnight, and Elissa must hide her arousal during work hours, waiting for the clock to strike 3 a.m. when she can transform into masked Cinderella once more. But for how long will it take for her identity to be revealed?

Winter thought she was finally safe. She was wrong. After escaping a violently obsessive ex who controlled, isolated, and hunted her for two years, Winter moves into the fortified Moretti estate with her mother, hoping a new city and a powerful stepfamily will keep her hidden. But safety is an illusion—and predators always recognize their own. From the moment she steps through the iron gates, Winter becomes the focus of three dangerous men: Dante, the cold, controlling eldest who rules through dominance and precision. Kai, the volatile enforcer whose violence is as effortless as his desire. Luca, the gentle-faced strategist whose protection feels disturbingly intimate. When Marcus—Winter’s abusive ex—reappears within hours of her arrival, stalking the mansion and threatening bloodshed, the brothers respond with brutal certainty: Winter is theirs now, and no one touches what belongs to them. As Marcus escalates from messages to violence, Winter finds herself caught between two nightmares—one man who wants to reclaim her through fear, and three men who protect her with possession, control, and force. The Moretti brothers promise safety, but their protection comes at a cost: her freedom, her choices, and possibly her heart. With danger closing in and the line between rescue and captivity blurring, Winter must decide whether the wolves guarding her are saving her life—or simply replacing one cage with another.

My fiancé was sleeping with my maid of honor. I caught them the night before our wedding. I didn't make a sound. I closed the door, walked back to my bridal suite, and sat at the vanity until my hands stopped shaking. Then I grabbed my keys. At two in the morning I drove forty blocks across Manhattan and knocked on Atlas Marchetti's door. Two years ago I'd told my family I wouldn't marry him. He hadn't said a word about it since. He opened the door in pajama pants. "Marry me tomorrow," I said. He didn't say yes. He poured himself a drink first, listened to everything, and then handed me a piece of paper with terms I should have read more carefully. I signed at dawn. Six hours later I walked down the aisle Carter and I had planned. The Plaza ballroom. The dress I'd chosen in spring. Three hundred guests who came to watch me marry the wrong man. I married someone else instead. Carter watched it happen. He didn't understand yet what he'd lost, and he wouldn't understand for months. Not until he found out who owned the company he ran, and how long Atlas had been bleeding it. I went to Atlas for revenge. He'd been writing this for two years.