When Did The Lightning Thief Come Out Novels & Stories

Venice once rejected Lucien during their university days, believing he was someone far beneath the world she desired. Ambitious and drawn to wealthy and famous men, she never imagined that the quiet man she dismissed would one day become someone powerful. Years later, Lucien has everything—wealth, influence, and a marriage arranged under complicated circumstances. During a grand Bachelor’s Party he hosts, fate brings Venice back into his life. The moment he sees her again, Lucien hires her on the spot. Now Venice finds herself working for the very man she once ignored—Lucien, who is no longer the quiet student she remembered, but a cold and irresistible billionaire. Determined to keep her distance, Venice focuses on her job and reminds herself that Lucien is a married man. Yet the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the tension growing between them. What Venice doesn't know is that Lucien didn't hire her by coincidence… he had been searching for her for years. Caught between resisting the man who now holds power over her and confronting the feelings she never expected to feel, Venice must decide: will she walk away before it's too late… or will she find herself trapped in a desire she can no longer escape?

When my wife, also the president of a company, learned that I had voluntarily donated part of my brainstem tissue to awaken her long-cherished love, who had been lying in a coma, she finally left the abbey where she had been praying for his recovery for the first time in seven years. She came to the company and asked what compensation I wanted. Everyone assumed I would seize the chance to ask her for a child to secure our marriage. Instead, I handed her a divorce agreement. For a moment, the entire office thought I was simply playing hard to get. My wife’s expression turned icy. She stripped me of every position I held, then immediately promoted her beloved man and raised his salary, telling me to reflect on my mistakes. Little did she know… The surgery had cost me my memory. The man standing before her now was no longer the husband who had swallowed every grievance. He was now the spirited young man from seven years ago. And this time, he would never sacrifice himself again.

After having dinner on the holiday eve, I'm about to distribute the gift cards to the younger generation of the family when my daughter, Lisa Mercer, speaks up. "Mom, we're not going to celebrate the holidays at home. You should pack up and go back to your own home too." Shock flashes across my face. "It's nighttime, and yet you want me to leave right now?" Lisa replies calmly, "I'm doing this for your own good. If you stay in my house on your own, you won't be able to defend yourself if anything in this house goes missing." I no longer question Lisa. Instead, I pack my own belongings and go back to my childhood home. One week later, when Lisa and the rest of the family comes back from their vacation, they are stunned, to say the least. After all, the house that they've lived in for the past eight years now has a new owner.

"One Decision" follows eighteen -year-old Freya Myers, a brilliant but broken foster teen, as she teeters on the edge of a new beginning-and a hidden nightmare. With a perfect GPA and dreams of opening a bookstore, Freya is determined to escape a system that's failed her. When a wealthy Southern family unexpectedly adopts her and whisks her away to a private estate in Georgia, it feels too good to be true. Because it is. The mansion is beautiful. The people? Picture-perfect. But behind the polished smiles and choreographed greetings lies something Freya can't quite name-yet. Strange rules. Watchful eyes. Whispers behind closed doors. And her new "brothers," who know more about her than they should. As Freya digs deeper into the family's secrets, she's forced to confront her past and a chilling truth: she may not have been saved... she may have been chosen. Dark, gripping, and emotionally raw, One Decision is a psychological coming-of-age thriller that explores what happens when the price of belonging may be your freedom-or your soul.

Somewhere between staying silent and screaming for help… she existed. Seventeen-year-old Maren has mastered the art of disappearing in plain sight. Haunted by past trauma, locked in a toxic relationship she can't escape, and drowning under the pressure of school and a world that never cared to understand her, she begins to wonder if life is even worth staying for. No one sees her pain—until he does. The new boy, Kade, has his own shadows. He’s blunt, observant, and completely unafraid to call her out—making him an instant enemy. But when he overhears a moment no one was meant to witness, he realizes the truth: the girl everyone overlooks is barely holding on. As Kade steps deeper into her shattered world, their connection becomes a lifeline. But secrets run deeper than he imagined, and when Maren goes missing, no one believes she’s worth finding—except him. Fighting time, silence, and the lies that built her cage, Kade refuses to give up. Because sometimes, saving someone means proving they were never invisible at all. A heartbreaking, haunting, and ultimately hopeful story about survival, truth, and what it really means to be seen.

My boss, Walton Frazier, loves tricking me into wearing tight shirts and having the top three buttons undone before forcing me to entertain the female clients. Then, he drops hints to said that I'm young and have a great physique, only to wait with bated breath for the clients to start touching me. His excuse is that he wants to test the clients' characters to see if they really are worthy to work with. As soon as the clients fall for the trap hook, line, and sinker, Walton will rush out toward them in a righteous manner and slam his wine glass onto the table. After that, he'll start lecturing me as though I've done something awfully wrong. "Is there not a prideful bone in your body? Do you want to hit your sales target that badly that you're willing to forsake your pride as a man?" Walton chooses to trample all over me just so he can build his manly and righteous persona. This time, he specifically prepares a suit with a deep V-line that's made of light material. Then, he forces me to toast to a client with an extremely rich and powerful background in that suit. He even threatens to dock off three months' worth of perfect attendance pay if I don't do this. When I notice the familiar cold-looking yet striking face at the main seat, I can't help but smile. If my older sister, Mable Cobb, were to see me toasting to her in this kind of outfit, I have a feeling she'll clean out the trash for me and make me the boss of this company by tomorrow.

My husband was praised by my friends as the perfect husband in the world. Everyone said he loved me to death and practically put me on a pedestal. Then came my prenatal checkup. My older cousin, Catherina Bow, called him with a farewell message before attempting suicide. Without hesitation, he abandoned me and rushed off in panic. I was six months pregnant at that time. My mother expected me to be the bigger person and “lend” my husband to Catherina, who was depressed. My brother snapped at me, "The only reason you’re still in this house is because Catherina spoke up for you. Whatever she wants, you should give it to her!" I found it absurd. I was supposed to be their family. She was nothing but a cuckoo in my nest. When I finally decided to walk away from all of them, they regretted their actions.

It had been ten years, and Ethan—my mate—and I still didn’t have a pup. One day, he suggested we adopt one from the Werewolf Orphan Charity Agency. “My mate,” he said gently, “pregnancy is too hard for you. You’d have to go through so many checkups and herbs. Your wolf shouldn’t have to suffer like that.” When others heard this, they all said Ethan loved me deeply—that he couldn’t bear to see me in pain. But I saw the truth with my own eyes. He took an infant pup from another she-wolf. “Luckily, Mia isn’t pregnant,” he said. “That way, the excuse of adopting an infant works—and the pup can have a legitimate status in my clan.” I knew that she-wolf well. The same one Ethan used to call a “stupid omega.” Swallowing the bitterness in my heart, I called my mentor at the Werewolf Research Academy. “I want to devote myself to herb research,” I said calmly. Three days from now, during the pup’s first New Moon blessing, I’ll fake my death in a fire. No one will be able to stop me.

Shelby Rolland suffers from multiple personality disorder. One personality goes by Shelby and is a bartender, and the other Lightning is a cold hearted ruthless assassin who works for an organization called Dacorp. For each assassination job the organization holds a hunt and the winner carries out the kill. For years their works has gone unnoticed by the public because the head, Percy has some powerful people in his pockets. One day a female detective, Carolyn Black came snooping close to home and Percy tasked Lightning with the job of keeping the cop contained. She was to monitor her every activities to make sure she doesn't discover any of the Corps secrets. What Shelby and her alter ego didn't count on was falling for their mark. A day came when Carolyn stumbled on something she wasn't supposed to and Lightning was asked to kill her. Will she be able to or has the cold heart of a killer been melted?

My husband, Gavin Chapman, is giving his secretary, Natasha Gardner, exactly what she wants. He's making her his wife. To pull it off, he fakes a lab accident, pretends to have amnesia, and brings her home. In his office, Gavin wraps his arms around Natasha and murmurs indulgently, "Not just Mrs. Chapman. Even if you want to pretend to be the vice president for a week, I'll let you." My eyes dim, but I let the lie go on. The next day, at a press conference, Gavin holds Natasha's hand and tells the world she's his real wife. He even threatens to kick me out of the company and take over all my research data. Dozens of cameras swivel toward me, waiting for my outburst. But I stay silent and simply sign the termination papers. Gavin doesn't know that the pharmaceutical project he believes will be done in seven days isn't quite finished. There's still one final step, and I'm the only one who knows how to do it.