Winona State Library Novels & Stories

"What are you doing, Ms. Samantha?" Jack angrily said after seeing the employee chit-chatting with some random guys while the other girls are waiting for her service.  The surprised look was evident to the librarian when she sees her boss in front of them. She also stood up in her seat, and she gave a quick bow to her boss. But Jack ignored it. He walks in the direction of a librarian. "This is not an hour of flirting. I'm not paying you a lot of money only to flirt. But, if you like to seduce some guys. So, why don’t we make it intense for the men you’re flirting with? Hmm?" He smirks at his librarian, whose name is Samantha. "S-Sir…I-I'm sorry…I-I will never do…i-it…a-again…j-just please…s-spare my life." "Oh, sweetie, I'm not going to kill you. But, I'll help you to seduce a guy, you want?"The woman quickly shook her head many times because of fear. "N-no…no… si-sir please…no!" But she can't stop her boss from ripping her uniform. When Jack finished tearing off her upper and lower uniform, he even grinned demonically. "You're welcome, sweetie, don't cry. I'm just helping." Jack Krean Tomizara Miller is known as heartless and ruthless. He doesn't even care about people who beg him or asking him to forgive them for what they've done. He humiliated many employees.  So it isn't easy to get a new one on his property, even how significant the income is because they knew him as a demon. But a woman will give a try to apply as a new librarian. She's Linzi Mikaele Franzie.  What will be her fate after entering the famous library and meeting the Notorious Mafia King, Jack?

I took a shortcut through the alley and watched Dante Marchetti put a bullet in a man like it was nothing. He saw my face. That was the end of my normal life. Within an hour I was in the back of his car being driven to an estate I had never seen before with gates that locked from the outside and a wardrobe full of clothes in my exact size waiting like someone had known I was coming before I did. He told me I wasn't a prisoner but a guest. He said people who wanted to find me were considerably worse than him and that his walls were the only thing standing between me and a conversation I wouldn't survive. Maybe he was right. The problem is the longer I stayed the harder it became to remember which one was true. Because the man who caught me in that alley wasn't the only version of him. There was another one that nobody else seemed to get to see. The one who stood alone in his dead mother's library looking tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep. The one who had my cat brought to the estate because he heard me crying through a closed door and didn't know what else to do about it. The one who almost smiled when I threw a glass at his head. That version of him was the one I couldn't stop thinking about. I came here as a witness. I stayed as something else entirely. Somewhere between the locked doors, the candlelit dinners and the secrets we started sharing in the dark I stopped wanting to leave. The question was whether a woman like me could survive loving a man like him. I was about to find out.

16 year old Scarlet Paine struggles to understand what’s happening to her, as she wakes and realizes she’s becoming a vampire. Alienated from her parents and her friends, the only person she has left to turn to is Sage, the mysterious boy who has quickly become the love of her life. Yet Sage, whose house she finds boarded up, is nowhere to be found.

Scarlet, alone in the world, with nowhere left to turn, seeks out her friends and tries to reconcile with them. All seems to be patched up when they invite her to join them on a trip to an abandoned island in the Hudson—but as things get out of hand and Scarlet’s true powers are revealed, who her friends and enemies are becomes more confusing than ever.

Blake, still interested in her, tries to make amends. He seems sincere, and Scarlet is confused as she has to grapple with whether to be with Blake or to wait for Sage, who is nowhere to be found.

When Scarlet finally finds Sage, they have the most romantic time of her life; yet it is tinged with tragedy, as Sage is dying, with but a few days left to live.

Kyle, meanwhile, turned into the only other vampire left in the world, is on a murderous rampage, seeking Scarlet; Caitlin and Caleb consult with Aiden, and they each embark on different missions—Caleb to stop and kill Kyle, and Caitlin, to the famed Yale University library, to research the ancient relic rumored to both cure and kill vampires for all time.

It is a race against time, and it may be too late. Scarlet is changing rapidly, barely able to control what she’s becoming, and Sage is dying with each passing moment. As the book culminates in an action-packed, shocking twist, Scarlet will be left with a monumental choice—one that will change the world forever. Will Scarlet make the ultimate sacrifice to save Sage’s life? Will she risk everything she has for love?

The day before the final round of Beta selection, I was poisoned with wolfsbane and locked inside my burning house. The fire spread too fast, and my weakened state prevented me from shifting. My wolf, Emma, screamed in my mind, but I couldn't escape. I clawed at the door as the flames seared my skin. When I was rescued, my body was covered in burns, my skin raw and torn. Outside the operating room, I heard my mother sobbing, repeating, “It’s my fault... I locked the door by accident... I never meant to...” Alpha David, my mate, called for every healer to restore me, but his cold words to my mother were chilling: “If Serina wasn’t so vain and selfish, I wouldn’t have had to do this. Becky was fragile, struggling with depression, yet Serina flaunted her success in front of her. This is what Serina owes her.” David’s actions were meant to pave the way for Becky to become Beta, but I was the one who suffered. He claimed to be treating me well, but destroying my health and future didn’t feel like care. I pressed my hand to my bandaged chest, the numbness spreading. Emma growled inside me, weakened by the wolfsbane. I no longer wanted the love of the mother who betrayed me or the mate who was supposed to protect me. I wanted nothing from them anymore.

On their first anniversary, Demi finds her boyfriend fucking her best friend after standing her up on their dinner date. Feeling betrayed, she decides to drink her sorrows where she meets a stranger who will change her life for good. Gavin Morgan, a public figure, and one of the youngest billionaires in New York, is caught by her beauty at first sight. He sees her in a vulnerable state but doesn't take advantage, despite his attraction towards her. When he learns that she's set for an interview with his company, Demi is guaranteed the job. Working together, they grow fond of each other and fall deeply in love. Gavin gives Demi a luxurious life more than she has ever dreamed of. Demi experiences a love she has never seen before from Gavin who treasures her more than anything. However, there are outside forces trying to break them apart. So many girls are obsessed with Gavin and jealous of what Demi has, including her former best friend. Seeing her glowing, her ex also wants her back. To add on that Gavin's family doesn't accept Demi since she doesn't come from a rich family. But Gavin is determined to protect his woman no matter what. Will the opposing forces win or will love conquer all?

Their kiss left them craving more, their bodies aflame with desire. Brynn willingly granted Killian entry to her mouth, his yearning evident in a throaty moan. His scorching lips ignited a passionate fire within her, and his hand gently traced along her curves, coaxing seductive sounds from Brynn's lips. While they hadn't ventured beyond their previous encounter in the study, Brynn's readiness was palpable. She longed for him so ardently that the mere thought of having him made her quiver. Killian was enraptured by her taste, his desire overwhelming. He broke the kiss momentarily to gaze into Brynn's eyes, which smoldered with a hunger that mirrored his own. They both ached for each other. As his fingers deftly undid the buttons of her attire, a shiver of anticipation coursed through Brynn's skin. When Killian beheld her exposed breast, he couldn't resist a hiss of desire, sending her into blissful sighs as her garments fell away. Her gown pooled at her feet, leaving Brynn in a sensuous black two-piece lingerie set that left Killian spellbound. The way her voluptuous curves accentuated her body left him in a state of eager anticipation, his excitement evident. "Damn," he muttered, reminiscing about their previous passionate encounters. "You're incredibly seductive," he declared, his voice husky with desire, as he guided her gently to the bed. "And you're all mine."

Three days before my marking ceremony, someone set fire to the bridal shop while I was inside trying on my ceremonial dress. Alpha Marcus threw the arsonist into the pack prison, sentencing them to the harshest punishment our laws allowed. I lay in the hospital bed, my body covered in third-degree burns, refusing to wake fully as the reality of my disfigurement sank in. In my semi-conscious state, I heard Marcus speaking with the pack's healing witch. "Alpha, we can still heal her completely with the ancient magic. If we wait any longer, Sarah will bear these scars for life! You just want Miss Rachel to be your Luna at the marking ceremony. This is cruel beyond measure!" "Let her keep the scars. I'll provide for her for the rest of her life, but if she's healed, she'll definitely cause trouble at the marking ceremony." "I promised Rachel that her pup would be welcomed into the pack with full honors. Only when Sarah is completely disfigured will she be grateful enough to raise Rachel's child as her own. The scars are necessary - at least this way, she won't dare mistreat the pup." In the corner of the room, where no one was watching, a tear slid down my burned cheek. So this was the truth. The marking ceremony I'd dreamed of was nothing but a lie. The mate bond I longed for would be my death sentence. If that's how it had to be, I would give him what he wanted.

“The contract was only for a year, Mr Gray. I marry you for one year and you stay the fuck away from my properties,” her tone was high-pitched annoyance and anger. “You got it all wrong, sugar. The contract was to quench my thirst for you but all you did was fuel that desire. Now, I want to own you. Your body, heart and fucking soul,” that honeylike baritone was void of its usual teasing now. He meant every word of it. There was no escape for her. ********** As she lay on the operating table, bleeding to death from an abortion her husband, Regal had arranged, Claire saw her life flash before her eyes. Even in her dying state, he refused her a transfusion because donating blood would ‘hurt’ his unborn child. The words pierced through her heart. The man she'd given her world to chose her sister over her without blinking. But then life smiled at her and she was given a second chance to correct her mistakes. What happens when she gambles this chance by stealing from the famous trillionaire, Asher Gray? What will be her fate when he barges into her life and overturns her world with his wicked seduction? When life throws Regal at her feet, begging for a second chance, when old flames ignite, will she let go of the past and forgive or pursue the prospect of a beautiful new love?

“Either you make me forget, Lucas. Or I'll find someone who will." For a moment, he doesn't move, and I think he's going to push me away. But then, something shifts in his eyes and he closes the distance between us, his lips capturing mine in a heated kiss. Amelia's life takes a drastic turn when her boyfriend of two years, Ethan, who she discovers is also her mate, rejects her just days before his coronation—a coronation she meticulously helped organize. In an attempt to escape her painful reality, Amelia's best friend takes her out to celebrate her birthday. But fate intervenes when Amelia sees Ethan with another girl. Heartbroken and frustrated, she turns to liquor to numb her pain. In her intoxicated state, Amelia encounters Lucas, Ethan's cousin and the heir to the throne. They share a passionate night, and Lucas, both mysterious and cunning, proposes a contract marriage to make Ethan jealous and secure his position as Crown Prince. Amelia finds herself torn between two powerful men: her ex-boyfriend, whom she thought was her soulmate, and the Crown Prince, who challenges her in ways she never expected. As the contract marriage begins to feel more real, the tension escalates. Both Lucas and Amelia struggle with their deepening feelings, navigating a complex web of love, power, and betrayal.

“Dad, I agree to move to Haven State for the arranged marriage. Let’s do it quickly before I change my mind.” Her father, Joe Stone, replied instantly. “Good girl, I’ll have it sorted within a month at most!” Just an hour ago, Tara Stone had been in the backseat of a luxury car, her soft sighs slipping out as Leo Carter kissed her. His phone rang, and he answered in Genovian, his tone impatient. “Calling at a time like this?” The voice on the other end chuckled. “What’s up? Busy with something important? How much does she resemble Nina Lucas?” Leo absentmindedly stroked Tara’s delicate face. “About seventy percent similar. If you don’t get to the point, I’m hanging up.” “Wait, don’t! Nina’s flight lands tomorrow. She’s returning to revive her career back home. I thought I’d give you a heads-up. Nice of me, right? Your first love, your ‘one true love,’ is back. Think you’ll finally ditch the stand-in? What if she won't leave you?” Leo replied coldly, “There’s no problem money can’t solve.” Tara, her head lowered against the seat, felt her tears streaming uncontrollably. Leo had no idea she understood Genovian. Three years of heartfelt devotion, and to him, she was nothing more than a dog.