Wilmington North Carolina Library Novels & Stories

Synopsis - Isabelle Ellwood, a plain, fuller-figured 19-year-old, hides her poetic soul and dreams of teaching behind dry wit, overshadowed by her beautiful sister who is counted as a family jewel for her grace and beauty and an ambitious father dreaming of snagging a royal title. When Prince Sebastian Nathaniel Winthorne, a bold, dark, and formidable warrior-king at 30, announces a bride-selection season at Cresthaven Palace, Isabelle dares to hope—not for love, but to glimpse the scarred-handed savior of her childhood. Unbeknownst to her, and him, he’s Sebastian, whose commanding presence and passionate heart blind him to her worth, fixated instead on the angelic Amelia Everhart, Isabelle's dearest friend. A secret library meeting shatters Isabelle’s illusions: Sebastian seeks her help to woo Amelia, praising her mind yet oblivious to her love. Their friendship deepens—his admiration grows, her longing festers—culminating in a rain-soaked confrontation where the lavender and breeze ignites his primal desire, clashing with her insecurities. Public scorn and familial cruelty drive Isabelle to flee, forcing Sebastian to confront the void she leaves. As time apart unravels his obsession with Amelia, he pursues Isabelle, his awakening raw and relentless. Their reunion at a glittering ball sparks a dance of resentment and longing, leading to a climactic confession where love triumphs over doubt. Isabelle’s journey from invisible dreamer to empowered princess, and Sebastian’s shift from idealized obsession to soul-deep love, crafts a tale of unseen hearts finding their place—a fiercely unique love story for readers craving wit, angst, and romance. In the opulent yet unforgiving world of Regency-inspired Eldoria, The Crown's Wrong Kiss weaves a slow-burn romance of unrequited love, repressed desire, and transformative self-worth.

I never wanted a man. I wanted a baby. After years of failed treatments, a cheating fiancé, and a body that kept betraying me, I made a decision. I would do this alone. No man, no heartbreak, no complications. Just me, a clinic, and a dream I refused to let die. Except the clinic made a mistake. One catastrophic, life-altering mistake. The sample I was inseminated with didn't belong to the anonymous donor I selected. It belonged to Dominic Sinclair, billionaire, ruthless businessman, and the most terrifyingly beautiful man I have ever seen in my life. And now I'm carrying his child. He finds out before I've even processed the shock myself. I expect lawyers. Paperwork. A cold corporate transaction. What I don't expect is him standing in my apartment doorway, silver eyes burning with something that looks nothing like indifference telling me that no child of his will be born outside his pack's territory. Pack. That's when I realized Dominic Sinclair isn't just any billionaire. He's a werewolf. Campaigning to be Alpha King of the entire North American packs. And I, a human, broke, still-heartbroken, carrying his heir, have just become the most dangerous variable in his entire political rise. He says he wants to protect me. His wolf says something else entirely. And the way he looks at me, like I'm something he wants to consume slowly, makes me terrified of one thing above all else. That I might let him.

One girl. Three monsters. A debt signed in blood. I thought the worst thing about returning to the Blackwood estate was facing the step-brothers who hated me. I was wrong. After my father's mysterious death, I've been summoned back to the ancestral manor in the heart of the Bavarian Alps, and this time it’s not as an heir, but as a prisoner. Killian, Malachi, and Rodger are no longer the boys I grew up with. They're Lycan royalty now: cold, lethal, and devastatingly beautiful. Now, they blame my bloodline for the curse that's killing their pack. Killian, the tattooed Alpha with an ice-cold soul, wants me broken, while Malachi, the silent enforcer, wants me silenced, and Rodger, the golden-eyed devil, wants me ruined. They've claimed me as their "Caged Bride"—their plaything, their captive, and their only hope for an heir. Their bloodline is dying, and they need a catalyst. A human girl who can carry an Alpha's mark without burning out. When Killian dragged me to the North Tower and pressed me against the cold stone, I begged. I promised everything. "Anything?" he whispered, his thumb tracing my lip. I told him I'd kill myself before I let them touch me. He kissed me like he'd been waiting a decade for permission to ruin me. Now, as the moon rises and the heat takes hold, the line between revenge and obsession blurs. In this house of wolves and secrets, the brother I hate most might be the only one who can keep me alive. The hunt has begun, and I'm the prize.

The Northern Citadel was supposed to be my sanctuary. Instead, it became my cage. After surviving the crushing collapse of the Hit, I thought the worst was behind us. I was wrong. My mate, Logan Pierce, nearly gave his life to shield me from the falling stone, proving his devotion in blood. But as he heals within the walls of the Lawson Estate, a new shadow looms over our fated bond. My parents, the powerful Alphas of the North, no longer see Logan as a lowly Southern wolf—they see him as a threat to their control over me. While Logan recovers, a legendary opportunity arises: an apprenticeship with the world-renowned shifter designer, Draco Wesley. It is the break my career needs, but it comes with a deadly price. Draco’s interest in me isn't just professional, and his scent stirs a dormant power in my blood that threatens to upend the Great Houses. As Madison Lawson weaves a web of sharp cruelty to reclaim her status as the pack’s golden child, and old enemies like Roman Volkov move in the underworld shadows, I am caught in a lethal tug-of-war. Logan is burning with possessive rage, his wolf snarling at the distance between us. Draco is offering me a throne in the fashion world. And my family is preparing to trade my freedom for a border treaty I never agreed to. In a world where Alpha Blood is the only currency, I must decide: Do I play the role of the dutiful daughter, or do I sharpen my claws and claim my own territory? The hunt has just begun.

"Your wolf is a feral monster, Vickon," I whisper against his neck, my fingers tracing the jagged silver scars marking his chest. "But his teeth belong to me now." "Then finish the bond, Zafira," he rumbles, a dangerous, low growl vibrating against my bare collarbone as his heavy hands grip my hips, pulling me flush against his solid frame. "Sink your fangs into my throat and claim your sovereignty. Let the whole dominion watch you take what is yours." In my first life, I was a blind, naive omega who believed the venomous lies of my pack-sister. I fled the sacred marriage alliance, rejected my true-mate signs, and watched the sovereign of the Blackwynd Moon Dominion bleed out in the snow to save my worthless life. Stranded in the wastes, I was brutally scarred and slaughtered by the very rogues I trusted. But the ancestors weren't finished with me. Reborn into the past, I wake up on the exact day of my binding transport with my memories completely intact and my inner wolf roaring for vengeance. I will not flee this time. I will crawl straight into the sovereign's den, wrap myself in his scent, and protect the terrifying, silver-poisoned True Alpha that the rest of the world fears. Let the corrupt elders plot, let the rogues test our borders, and let my traitorous family beg for mercy. They think I am a weak piece of currency to be traded, but I am here to claim my position as Lady Blackwynd. Vickon Blackwynd is the apex predator of the North—and this time, I am staying by his side until the pack burns.

The North Lotus pack is thrown into complete jeopardy when under mysterious circumstances, their Alpha - Luna Dakota Dolphus - is declared missing, few weeks before the dreaded blood moon eclipse. To them, this can only mean bad news. Catori Dolphus, only child of Luna Dakota, has had all her life preparing to be Alpha one day, but what she never prepared for was the division and chaos rising amongst her pack. With the blood moon eclipse drawing closer with each day, the counsel gives Catori an ultimatum of either finding her Mum before the eclipse or having the Alpha position taken away from their lineage. When disaster keeps setting in at Catori’s every corner, her last option is getting help from the rumored Ghost reapers - a 4-man rogue gang of both urban myth and intrigue. However, Catori’s 4 unlikely heroes soon turn to be more trouble than she bargained for when she discovers that Fenris Covel, wickedly handsome as he was, was her betrothed - her mate. Only problem? Fenris Covel doesn’t ‘do’ mate. Raised in the wild, Fenris Covel was anything but controllable. He was wild, untamed and infuriatingly sexy. But most of all, he has no time for a mate - especially one like Catori Dolphus. His only concern was his job and at the moment, it was finding Catori’s mum. However, the matters of the heart can never be predicted and as their chemistry and intense desire for each other blossoms, danger lurks closer than they could imagine.

Asha and Penelope, two opposing worlds. Born to rule, Penelope is the heir of the Silvermoon pack, as the only child of her father, the Alpha, she has prepared her entire life for the day she would take over and rule the most wealthy and dominating pack in all of the west. But fate had other plans and on the day before her coronation she falls in love with a the sworn enemy to her father, Alpha Asha and the ruler of the Nightshade pack. As a daughter of the Alpha she knew her father would never permit their love and she was devastated when he forbade her from ever seeing her mate again, telling her if she ever wants to rule she must find another Alpha mate or forfeit the throne for good. Things can only get worst when her father arranges a betrothal for her with the pompous Alpha of the north in an attempt to stop the minor feud between both lands on the ties of her forced betrothal. What happens if Penelope decides to go against her father and choose to get married to Alpha Asha? Will her love for Asha ruin her life and the future of her pack? And would both their packs accept their mating as a blessing or a cause for war? What if the Alpha Asha betrays her love and uses her to destroy her pack as a settlement to their bloody adversaries. Would her pompous betrothal mate allow her escape his clutches? And will she be able to resist the charm of the ruthless Alpha Asha who now obsessively controls her every move and become his Luna?

Zara Chen, a brilliant MIT graduate and AI prodigy, believed her algorithms predicted human behavior with 99.7% accuracy. Little did she know, her groundbreaking tech was being weaponized against the supernatural world she never knew existed, flagging werewolves for extermination. Her former mentor, Dr. Kyle Harrison, a man she trusted completely, was secretly selling her prototypes to hunters, manipulating her research, and turning her life’s work into a tool of genocide. Haunted by "errors" in her AI, Zara accepts a mysterious offer from Blackwood Industries, hoping for a fresh start. But the CEO, Adrian Blackwood, isn't just a tech billionaire—he’s North America’s most powerful werewolf Alpha, who has been watching over her, protecting her from the very hunters her tech empowered. Adrian holds a secret that will shatter Zara’s perception of reality: she’s a half-werewolf, her heritage suppressed, and they are destined mates. Devastated by the truth and the horrifying consequences of her research, Zara must confront her fears and betrayals. Can she reconcile her human upbringing with her burgeoning supernatural identity? Can she trust Adrian, the possessive Alpha who saved her, or will her loyalty to a warped past lead her back into the hands of those who seek to destroy her kind? As a deadly supernatural war escalates, Zara's evolved AI holds the key to salvation or ultimate destruction. Dive into a world where cutting-edge tech collides with ancient instincts, and a powerful Alpha fights for his mate amidst a battle for survival.

Death was smiling in my face while I sank deeper into the darkness that surrounded me. The face that stared back at me was definitely not FAMILIAR. He had promised me heaven and earth with the promise of the position as his LUNA. I could almost feel my baby fighting for it's life too. I shut my eyes tightly with a heart full of regret and vengeance before uttering my last prayer to the moon goddess, "a chance to strike back". ******** Aria Jonas spends the best nights of her life, all full of pleasure and promises under the arms of the future Alpha of Blue Moon pack. He promises her the world as he claims her as his Luna in secret. Upon his inauguration as Alpha, Scott threw her away like trash as he picks his Luna. Pregnant and betrayed, she promises to reveal their affair only to pay the price with her life. Aria wakes up with a child in her arms ten years later and full of vengeance. She dicovers that she was saved by the Alpha of the most ruthless pack in the north, the Mysterious Alpha of Mystic Shadow pack. He trains and mold her into a perfect definition of herself and makes a comeback but in exchange for a contracted marriage and Scott's pack. Aria isn't the only one filled with hate for Blue moon pack as Alpha Tristan also shares a similar hatred. Aria gets locked in between her plan for vengeance and what her heart longed for. Would she continue in her quest for revenge or would she give love a chance again?

On the first day of every month, my mom will give me my allowance based on the number of times I had checked in with her last month. "You'll receive 20 dollars for greeting your parents once in the morning and once in the evening. But last month, you only hit ten days' worth of quota, so you can only receive 200 dollars. This also means your 300-dollar punctuality fee will be deducted as well. "After adding on 150 dollars for your basic necessities, you shall receive only 350 dollars for this month's allowance. Remember to write a reflection report on your lack of punctuality later. I'll only transfer you the money if your report is acceptable." I become so overwhelmed by anxiety that my voice starts trembling. "I was busy with my finals last month, Mom! I had to line up outside the library at 5:00 am every day just so I could secure myself a seat! That's why I couldn't call you in time!" In a choked-up tone, I plead to my mom, "I need 600 dollars for the train ticket all the way home during the holidays! 350 dollars really isn't enough for me! Mom, can you please—" But my mom cuts me off firmly, "The allowance system is something that I've specifically designed for you so that I can help you get rid of the bad habit of wanting to receive everything without putting in hard work! Why can't you just understand that I'm doing this for your own good?" After that, she ends the call mercilessly. Just as I'm filled with despair and helplessness, a blond appears before my eyes. He's willing to buy my train ticket for me, but in return, I need to leave with him.