Where Shadows Lie Novels & Stories

I came back to life. The first thing I did was sever the Mate Bond with Alpha Asher. At his coronation. In front of thousands. Last lifetime, he publicly accused me of impersonating his mate in front of everyone, saying I didn't carry a Mate's sweetness but reeked of Wolfsbane that made him sick. For Elena, his first love, he sent me to the black market where they stripped away my wolf. Without my wolf, I died in a rogue attack shortly after. This lifetime, when he furrows his brow and tells me to get out of his sight, I don't shed a single tear. I just turn and leave. He says my existence makes Elena unhappy, so I move to the border cottage. He says he doesn't want to live in the same Pack with me, so I submit my transfer application. I thrive in the neighboring Pack and meet a powerful wolf with a hidden identity. When we appear hand-in-hand at the Northern Alliance Summit, Alpha Asher loses control. He catches my scent,another male's mark on my skin,and his sanity shatters. He blocks my path, a low growl rumbling from his chest. "Wash that male's scent off you, Rhea." "Weren't you disgusted by me?" I smile and step back. "Now I belong to someone else, and suddenly I smell good to you?"

My Vampire fiancé, Vincent, was the powerful prince of New York's most influential coven. He had lived for centuries and was notoriously ruthless, yet he bestowed upon me, and only me, every honor imaginable. But one month before our Union Ceremony, he suddenly insisted on postponing it. The reason was his childhood friend, Camilla, was dying from a rare condition known as Bloodline Degeneration. To repay a life debt from long ago, he wanted to hold a mock wedding with her to fulfill her last wish to wear a wedding gown. I refused outright. It was a flagrant violation of coven dignity. But he pressured me relentlessly, using a supposed ancient code of honor as emotional blackmail. Then, two weeks before the ceremony, I received an anonymous email containing an advanced blood analysis report. Only then did I learn that he hadn't just been preparing a wedding; he had already secretly formed a Mutual Blood Bond with her, a pact that would bind their lives together for eternity. In that moment, I finally understood. My two centuries of devotion to him had been nothing more than a joke. And so, I called off our union and set fire to everything he had ever given me. On the day of the ceremony, I traveled to Europe's Supreme Institute for Vampiric Research in Italy and took charge of the Institute's most secret and critical project. From that day forward, I would have nothing more to do with the noble prince. We were finished.

During the car accident, Ethan Jones used his body as a shield, protecting me so that I could walk away unscathed. However, when he finally woke up, his memory was frozen at eighteen years old, back when Millie Brown was his girlfriend. Ethan’s friends advised me to let go and fulfill their love story instead. They said that only by Millie’s side would Ethan—the model student everyone admired—step down from his pedestal and live a life. Apparently, I, the obedient, well-behaved girl, made his life dull and lifeless. What no one knew was that, amid the buzzing cicadas of summer, that well-behaved girl had fallen for him—year after year, never once wavering. So, I waited foolishly for Ethan to remember me until three years later, when I was diagnosed with cancer. On that very day, I finally saw the surprise he had mentioned preparing for me before the accident. Only then did I truly let go, and when he handed me the divorce papers once again, I signed my name.

As the price of gold soars, my late mother, Eleanor Hutchinson, appears to me in my dream. She tells me she has left a gold bangle on my nightstand. If I wear them, they'll bring me wealth and bless the child I'm carrying. But after I find the bangle, I give it to the rabid dog the neighbors keep locked up. In my previous life, my younger sister, Irene Owens, and I marry two brothers and become pregnant at the same time. During a prenatal checkup, the doctor says Irene's baby appears to have severe birth defects and recommends terminating the pregnancy. She doesn't take it seriously at all. That very day, Mom comes to me in my dream, and I find the gold bangle on my bedside table. After I tell Irene about it, she slips the bangle onto my wrists. She says, "You always say Mom favors me. But after she dies, you're the first person she thinks of and approaches. Just wear them." I do exactly as she says and never take the bangle off. But on the day we give birth, Irene delivers a healthy baby boy with rosy cheeks and a loud, vigorous cry. My baby, however, is born with two sets of reproductive organs. The child isn't breathing the moment it's delivered. Before this, every prenatal exam has shown that my baby is healthy. I realize Irene and the bangle must have something to do with it. The sight of my horribly deformed baby drives me insane. In a fit of rage, I dig up Mom's grave and confront Irene. "Why does Mom keep paving the way for you even after she's dead?" She has me committed to a psychiatric hospital. I waste away in despair until I die. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day Mom first appears in my dream.

At the supermarket, a child slams into my pregnant belly. The pain is so intense that I collapse to the floor and cannot get back up. I groan, "My phone... Call my husband..." Only after giving the child a slap does the woman pick up my phone. Apologizing repeatedly, she searches my contacts for "Husband". She calls several times, but no one answers. "Don't panic. I'll have my husband come handle this," she says, taking out her own phone and calling her husband. He answers after the very first ring. "Honey, our son got into trouble again! Adjourn your meeting and get over here. He knocked into a pregnant woman!" Ten minutes later, Shawn Leake, who is supposed to be working in another city, arrives at the scene. The first thing he notices is the child's swollen cheek. A look of concern crosses his face as he frowns and searches the area. He grumbles, "Was it really necessary to hit him? Who exactly did he run into—" The moment our eyes meet, his voice cuts off abruptly.

BLURB ‘’Wanna see dominance?’’ I taunted, giving into the provocation. I gripped his chin and pulled his face to me, close enough for his ocean blue eyes to stay locked to my amber eyes. Then I shamelessly breathed out. ‘’Fuck me.’’ ——— Anastasia Reed is the undisputed, ice-cold head of Reed & Associates. But only by day. By night, She is ‘Lyra’ a wild, uninhibited sensation of Monaco’s most exclusive clubs who answers to no one. But when a masked stranger in a darkened booth dares to challenge her dominance, Anastasia does what she does best—she wins. She commands him to take her, losing herself in the most consuming night of her life, before fleeing into the sunrise. To her, it was barely a one night stand that needed forgetting. Until Nikolai Stavros barges into her boardroom. Ruthless, powerful, and harboring a dangerous intent, Nikolai gives her an ultimatum: sign a six-month marriage contract, or he destroys her and all that she had worked hard for. His evidence? Security footage of ‘Anastasia’ walking out of his estate with a stolen briefcase. The problem? It wasn’t her. It was her twin sister. Trapped by a crime she didn’t commit and forced into the bed of the man she can’t forget, Anastasia signs the contract to protect her family's secrets. Moreover, she is an expert at surviving arrangements rigged against her. Except…Anastasia isn't prepared for Nikolai’s relentless control, his unexpected patience, or the positive pregnancy test that would change everything.

"You take me for a fool?” He yelled, gripping my arms tightly, his fingers making sure to leave marks. “I would never lie about something of utmost importance, Diego”, I tried to convince him while earnestly trying to save myself from his strong grip. “No one dares to look me in the face and lie.” He said while gripping my arms more strongly than ever. “Yet, you stand here, lying to my face. You want to use me against my father as your revenge, isn't that right Adriana?” With that, he let go of my arms, shoving me aside angrily—whilst I hit my head against a door frame. _______________ A strong-willed yet vulnerable young lady from a mafia family finds herself stuck in a marriage with a rival heir arranged by both families as a means to stop bloodshed among them. Her husband, being the mafia heir, is a stern person who is feared by members of the syndicate. He hates negotiating and solves his problems on his own. But, when he falls in love with the daughter of the rival family, will it complicate his plans? What will happen when circumstances force them to choose between love and loyalty to their families? How will it affect their lives? A tale where love and vengeance intertwine and the hearts of two individuals are tested against the ultimate betrayal.

Our eyes met and I know he is the one, Fleur taught as he gazed at Zeeb's eyes, it's as if time has stopped and she is under his spell. She knows what it means for her, an Immortal will fall in love and nothing can stop her. However, she can't be with him, when she is already betrothed to Ezra a descendant of the most powerful Immortal that ever walked on earth. Zeeb on the other hand knew that the first time Fleur walked inside the halls of Willow Creek High that she is the one. He was gravitationally pulled to her and the glowing heat his elders told him about suddenly filled him. He has imprinted on her. Can their love survive the secrets that they keep and the war brewing between two powerful clans of immortals and lycans? Or will their love end in tragedy like the powerful saying "Ubi amor, ibi dolor" - "Where there's love, there's pain?

"Shadows of the Past" is a story about *Natasha Fernandez* (26),the daughter of a billionaire who never enjoyed her childhood due to the loss of her mother and her father's busy schedule. She struggles with health issues and finding true love until she meets *Jamal smith* (29) who rescues her from a robber and becomes her friend, and eventually her husband. Years later, Natasha hires her childhood friend *Imade Martins*(25) a home tutor for her adopted daughter *Tessa* (3). However, Natasha is heartbroken when she discovers Jamal's affair with Imade, and she uses her power to frustrate Imade's business life. Unbeknownst to them all, Jamal is the biological father of Imade's daughter, whom she lost in the hands of a matron to an orphanage some years back. Imade leaves for another city where she falls in love with her boss, Mr. *George Henry,*(34) an influential business tycoon and a single father. Twenty years later, *Roy Henry,* George's son, falls in love with Tessa, Natasha's daughter. However, their love is jeopardized after a family introduction takes place, and complicated truths unravel, putting Tessa's life at stake. The story explores the drama and chaos that ensue as the characters confront their past and navigate their present relationships.

I made one promise to my mother. No baby without a ring. Then I got drunk, slept with a stranger who left cash on the nightstand like I was nothing, and woke up pregnant with no name, no number and no way to find him. Pregnant. Jobless. And my only option is marrying a man I already hate on sight. Ivan West is everything I cannot stand. Arrogant, cold, and used to getting exactly what he wants. But he needs a wife and I need a husband and somewhere in between desperation and bad decisions we sign a contract that is supposed to fix everything. One year. Shared penthouse. Fake marriage. Real baby that he agrees to claim as his. Simple. Except nobody stays enemies when they are forced to share a bed every night. Nobody keeps their walls up when life keeps finding new ways to tear them down. And nobody, nobody, walks into a contract marriage with a man like Ivan West and comes out the other side feeling nothing. I came into this with one rule. Do not fall for him. I should have read the fine print.