Winona State Library Novels & Stories

Daphne’s life was ruined by them; her best friend and boyfriend. Awaiting her boyfriend’s arrival back from the states, they agreed to meet at a bar below the most expensive hotel. Her drink was spiked by her best friend and she entered the wrong room by mistake where she had a nightstand with a stranger. The next morning, she realized what and ran after doing embarrassing things to him. She called him inexperienced, shoved a necklace to his face and even hit him with her heels. She arrived home to find out she was set up by her best friend and her boyfriend who had been having an affair right before he traveled out of the country. Daphne worked extra time to sponsor her boyfriend's career and now he’s come to dump her with the excuse of infidelity. She felt betrayed and heartbroken. One day, she fainted and found out she was pregnant with four babies. Her nightstand resulted in pregnancy with Quadruplet but she’s got no idea who the father of her babies is. Black William a top billionaire in the entire state, having women by his side or sleeping with them was never his desire. He detests them with passion. That same night when his guard was down due to a trick played on him with his drinks, a woman took advantage of his situation. The next morning, he orders a search for the enemy who took away his seed. He has just one thing on her; a pearl necklace!

Brielle, a young woman in her late twenty's who was preparing for a new phase in her life was tangled up in an affair that ended in one night. She had been on a one night stand with a different man and they both couldn't deny the fact that they enjoyed that phase of the night. Later on, she got to realize the man she had a one night stand with was her new boss at work and she was his secretary. She now stand in between focusing on her new job as his secretary or leave her work just to save her face. Xavier who was her boss at work didn't treat her any different because they had a night affair some months ago but, he wouldn't let her go have fun with some other man depriving her with more work loads to keep her busy and stay with him. At times, he would be a different man she wanted to stay away from at all cost and sometimes, he had his sweet coat on which every other woman would fall for. Slowly, he began to fall in love with her and she tried to set boundaries not wanting to end up with the same man she had a one night stand with. She never thought he would convey any feelings for her because whatever they had shared that night was supposed to end that night as well. Brielle was thrown in a conflicting state of choices when she found out she was pregnant for him. Would she choose to love her boss whom she had made out with?

An old feud is challenged and forbidden feelings stir in the name of a woman lost in decades of slumber. * After treacherous attacks from the scarlet dragons, the golden dragons are almost eliminated from the face of the Earth, with only a few surviving and having to face decades of war against their persistent enemies. In the middle of the conflict, the golden clan finds a new hope in the form of Cleo, one more surviving member of their breed. Their hope morphed into desperation as they realise nothing they can do to take her from her current state of unconsciousness. Under the sun of her new home in Puerto Banus, Cleo’s future is unclear, as the only reality she knows is a long-lasting dream. * On the other side of the world, in Arctic Alaska, Henry is certain about his future. He is a werewolf who is supposed to take the Beta’s daughter as his chosen mate and succeed his father as the Alpha of the Boreal Blood Pack, one of the most ruthless packs on the continent. His Pack only knows power, how to crush their enemies, greed and tradition. However, there is something they and their Alpha hate more than weakness: they hate dragons with passion. Henry changes his ways when he hears a call to his soul, a call from his long-sleeping mate. He doesn’t know who she is or where she lives; he only knows he has to find her. He never expected his mate to be Cleo, a dragon. Finding himself at a crossroad, Henry must choose to leave his pack and destiny to help bring his dragon mate back from her coma, or will he follow his pack’s ways and deep-rooted hatred.

Snowie Walton, the belle of the class, claimed she could hear my thoughts. When a classmate gained weight from hormone medications, she pointed at me and shouted, "Why did you call Eva a disgusting fat pig? Do you think you'll never be ill in your life?" The others believed her right away. They surrounded me, relentlessly demanding that I apologize publicly. From that day onward, I was isolated by the entire class. Later, during a lesson, the teacher mentioned her family. Snowie suddenly turned on me again. "What do you mean that our teacher only got this job through connections and that she has no capabilities at all? Show some respect!" I desperately explained that I had never thought such things, but the teacher didn't believe me. Not only was I written up for disciplinary action, but my scholarship was also revoked. Then, confidential documents from the school labs were stolen. Once again, Snowie blamed me. "How could you sell those files to foreigners and say that they were only worth a hundred thousand?" I was arrested by the police and convicted of leaking state secrets. I was sentenced to life imprisonment. In the end, I died in prison, consumed by depression. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the very day Snowie accused me of insulting Eva. By this time, she didn't know that I had uncovered her secret behind her so-called ability to hear my thoughts.

My mom died giving birth to me. They couldn't save her. My dad? He dumped me outside a prison and ran. Didn't even look back. It was five degrees. I was basically frozen. Barely breathing. Later, a guard said the whole max block lost it that night. One hundred eight inmates—death row, life sentences—went crazy. Slamming doors. Smashing windows. Yelling they wanted to keep me. In the end, they filed a letter. Not a breakout plan. A custody request. Somehow... it got approved. From that day on, I had 108 dads. But growing up, I found out the truth. They weren't criminals. On paper, they were dead—killed in the line of duty. In reality, they were still out there, serving. Eighteen years later, I got into one of the top high schools—with the highest score in the State of Ashford. On the fifth day, I beat the rich girl, Vivian Cobbley, by one point on a mock exam. Next thing I knew, my name was all over the bulletin board: [Riley Ray, daughter of murderers!] Vivian cornered me in the bathroom and shoved my head into a toilet. "Your dads are killers. That filth's in you too." She beat me so hard I dragged her down when we went over the second-floor railing. When I woke up, the Dean of Students was right in my face, finger in my face. "No surprise you're violent. It's in your blood. Call your criminal dads. Now." I shook. "Mr. Todd... you sure you want me to call them?"

Katherine De’Cheney had a life she felt was perfect. She had a job she loved working at the New York Museum as a Conservator. She was engaged to the love of her life. One day she comes home early to find him tangled in their bed sheets with his paralegal. Shattered and broken, she crumbles in hopelessness. In her grieving state she passes out. Opening her eyes she feels transported into another realm. Standing in front of her is her grandmother’s house which stands in front of a looming property that she dare not go near. The “LeFleur” mansion. A place that haunts her dreams. Something continues to call her spirit like a piece of her is locked inside waiting to reclaim her. Suddenly from behind, a Shadow of a man, shrouded in night. He reaches for her hand beckoning her to come. She jerks back and tries to run. “You cannot continue resisting me my dove” he says in silky voice with an old German accent. “Come home to me”. She feels her body relishing in his voice, his touch, and a hidden desire about him she does not know. The more she tries to pull away, the more she feels a pull towards him. Something kept nagging her. ‘What was drawing her back there?’ ‘Who was the sinister looking man she saw in the window as a child before the wolves came from nowhere to attack her. She shuddered, trying not to remember. What darkness was connected to that decaying old house? Why did she feel like something is calling her to return?

The love that has a huge gap and like heaven and earth. That's how Hershey Mae Mendoza describes her second love, Frich Yuan Lim Guerrero, the cousin of her ex-boyfriend-Alex. Hershey's family is just an ordinary family lives in the Province of Cavite. Yuan's family comes from a well known family of Billionaire's in China, so his family strongly objected to the love between the two. For Yuan's parent, he should also stay with a rich woman which is contrary to Hershey's state of life, so it became a big obstacles for them. The story of Hershey and Yuan began when Hershey had the opportunity to study in De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, one of the most famous school in the Philippines that only the rich can afford to study. Hershey thought that Alex was his true love but she felt very sad and disappointed when she suffered a heart attack and chose to leave her and leave the country for his treatment. They separated and there She met Yuan, Alex's cousin who was disappointed with her former love, Hani. Hershey's and Yuan's path crossed unexpectedly. They leaned on each other and  their love healed her broken hearts. But the relationship that gradually developed only caused so many obstacles. Time and time again, fate made the two face the gap in their life status. When the time passed, people and tragedy test the love they hold onto. What if the love from the past suddenly return and ready to fight the present? Will they fight for their love? Will they continue to cling to a kind of love that is forbidden? Or they will just let each other have fun in the company of others?

Three days before my blood oath ceremony, someone planted a silver crucifix in the bridal shop and set it ablaze while I was inside trying on my ceremonial gown. My fiancé — Vampire Lord Damien — had the arsonist thrown into the silver prison, sentencing them to the harshest punishment our laws allowed. I lay in the healing chamber, my body covered in severe burns, refusing to wake fully as the reality of my disfigurement sank in. In my semi-conscious state, I heard Damien speaking with the coven's apothecary. "My Lord, we can still heal her completely with the ancient blood rites. If we wait any longer, Serena will bear these scars for life! You just want Miss Vivienne to be your Consort at the blood oath 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 ceremony." "I promised Vivienne that her child would be welcomed into the coven with full honors. Only when Serena is completely disfigured will she be grateful enough to raise Vivienne's child as her own. The scars are necessary - at least this way, she won't dare mistreat the boy." In the corner of the room, where no one was watching, a tear slid down my burned cheek. So this was the truth. The blood oath ceremony I'd dreamed of was nothing but a lie. The blood bond I longed for would be my death sentence. If that's how it had to be, I would give him what he wanted.

Rule number one of surviving Valor State University: Stay invisible. For twenty-two-year-old Skylar Thompson, the rules are simple. Keep your 4.0 GPA, work your grueling double shifts, and never, ever date an athlete. Except, Skylar broke her own rule for Shawn Crawford–the star running back who made her feel seen, even if he kept their relationship a secret. But secrets have an expiration date. At a campus bonfire, Shawn is dared to kiss his hidden girlfriend. With her hopes up high, Skylar’s ready for her fairy-tale reveal. Instead? Shawn bypasses her entirely and presses his lips against her toxic stepsister. Humiliated, broken, and pushed to the edge, Skylar gets even. Looking for the ultimate weapon, she throws herself at the nearest distraction: Trey “Goliath” Parker. At 6’8”, the brooding, legendary quarterback is the most feared man on campus, and Shawn’s biggest rival. It was supposed to be a single, spiteful kiss to save face. But someone films it, the video goes viral, and by morning, the whole school thinks they are dating. But Skylar has no idea what she just started. That one impulsive kiss breaks a years-long curse of numbness, and brings a certain other anatomy wildly back to life. Suddenly, the monster has a muse. Trey doesn’t just want to be her fake boyfriend; he needs her. And he will do whatever it takes to keep her. Skylar’s quiet, boring senior year is officially dead. The monster has awakened, he’s utterly addicted, and he’s about to teach her exactly how good it feels to be bad.

Three years after I died, my mother sent me twenty dollars for living expenses. Three years before that—the first time I ever asked my family for money—she said to me, offhand, "Sometimes I think you're just putting on an act. What's so unsanitary about a thirty-cent boxed meal? And why can't you wear a five-dollar down jacket? Face it, you're just more high-maintenance than your little brother." Later, when I needed twenty dollars to buy some cheap medicine for my stomachache, she blocked me immediately and cut off all contact—along with every relative we had. "Don't contact me anymore. I'm clearly not a good mother. I can't afford to give my son a life of luxury." But for my younger brother, who had just started high school, she spared no expense—renting him a three-bedroom apartment. Even the family dog got its own room. In the end, on the day my brother became the top scorer in the state, she finally remembered me. She took me off her block list and transferred twenty dollars. "It's only twenty dollars. Was it really worth giving your family the silent treatment for three whole years?" What she never knew was this— On the night my stomach ruptured, three years ago, I had already died. I couldn't afford to go to the hospital. I froze to death in the snow.