Wondering Minds Novels & Stories

A contemporary mash-up retelling of Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet.Ella Sinders is content to toil away as a graphic designer for the company owned by her absent father. She spends all her time in the attic of his large home, taking orders from her stepmother, fear of what lies outside of her own front door keeping her from wondering afar—until an accidental phone call opens her eyes to the lies she’s been told. Now, she’s desperate to reach the man on the other end of the line to see if they can build a life together. However, the discovery that the one she’s falling for is the son of her father’s sworn enemy complicates the situation even more so than her stepmother’s deception.Rome Verona wants nothing more than to make a name for himself amidst the glitter and gold of LA’s elite. His father might be a big name movie producer, but Rome wants to build his own legacy. When an accidental phone call leads him to the daughter of his father’s nemesis, Rome will do whatever it takes to find Ella and set her free, even if it means giving up everything he’s worked so hard for.Can these star-crossed lovers overcome the obstacles and find the happily-ever-after they deserve?If you like high-drama romances with lots of twists and turns and plenty of opportunities to suspend reality, then you’ll love Ashes and Rose Petals.

Elara hasn't had much of a relationship with her mother since she was eleven. But when her mum returns to the pack, she introduces her second-chance mate: Alpha Silas, leader of the infamous Crescent Warriors. Her mother wants Elara to stay with them for a month. Once there, however, she meets her new stepbrother, Kaelen, who makes it clear he doesn't want her around. She is left wondering what to do—until her twenty-first birthday arrives during her very first weekend there. She is shocked to discover that her true mate is none other than Kaelen. Kaelen, the soon-to-be Alpha, has been searching for his mate for over a year, but he is stunned to find her in his new stepsister. He tries his hardest to stay away from her, but the pull is too strong. Will he resist Elara, or will the mate bond be too much to bear, forcing them both to give in to temptation? Kaelen will have to decide soon, or someone else will take Elara's place as his Luna. His father is demanding he choose a mate before handing over the pack—whether it’s his true mate or a chosen one. Torn and conflicted, Kaelen is running out of time. Meanwhile, as Elara uncovers dark family secrets and deals with her mother's sudden presence, she is left with a choice of her own: will she be able to bear whatever Kaelen decides, or will she leave when it all gets to be too much?

To help my wife, Mia Lowell, through labor, I blew a fortune on the latest paternity-linked pain transfer device. Right before she went into the delivery room, Mia grabbed my hand. Tears streamed down her face. "Honey, if it gets too painful, turn it off. I can't stand watching you suffer." A nurse gave me one last reminder. "Sir, the device automatically transfers the pain to the baby's biological father through DNA matching. Please be prepared." The device switched on. I felt nothing. Not a twinge. Just as I started wondering if I'd gotten scammed, a scream ripped through the hallway. Ryan Duffy. My best friend dropped to the floor, clutching his stomach. "Aaaagh!" A second later, my boss Andy Drake, who'd stopped by with a fruit basket, staggered out of the elevator with both hands between his legs. Then came Luke Foley, a yoga coach seeing a doctor across the hall. He was flat-out rolling on the floor, howling. Inside the delivery room, Mia's weak voice drifted out. "Honey, thank you for taking all this pain for me!" I looked at the three guys writhing in agony. Then I quietly turned the device all the way up. Max load. Holding my breath, I shouted toward the delivery room. "I-I'm fine. I can still... take it."

Lily: I'm a nanny for the sexiest man alive. For years I've kept my crush a secret, even through our surrogate pregnancy, but now it’s reached a fever. I've seen how Wyatt looks at me. Undeniable tension. Spent restless nights in bed, dreaming about that hard body of his. Wondering if he ever wonders what I’d do to him. For him. Every day I see a strong, loving father to a young girl who needs a mother. I see a gorgeous, damaged man who needs me. And I'm so ready. Ready to be his wife. Ready to be a stepmom. Most of all, ready for a baby of my own. ***** Wyatt: All I ever wanted was to be a father. But raising a baby alone wasn't part of the plan. So when the woman who carried my little girl into this world comes back into my life, of course I take the help. But the longer I'm around her, the more I notice how much she has changed. She's all woman now. A body begging for my touch. Those curves are driving me wild, and I find that I need her as much as my daughter does. Falling in love with my nanny means risking losing everything all over again, but I'm willing to do it if she can give me what I've always desired. A family.

In my third year of running a flower shop to support my boyfriend, he went bankrupt again. The first time he went bankrupt, I sold the house my grandmother left me and paid off $700,000 for him. The second time, I dug out the savings account my mother had left me as my wedding fund and paid off another $1.6 million. The third time, I looked at the lost, empty look in his eyes and held the number of my billionaire father, the man I had long since considered dead to me, wondering whether I should call him. But that night, I accidentally saw the messages in a small group chat on his tablet. "Mr. Hart, how much should we put on the repayment contract for this bankruptcy?" "Make it $10 million. Otherwise that flower-shop girl will pay it all off in one go again, and where's the fun in that?" "Mr. Hart really knows how to play. I heard that flower-shop girl tends flowers by day and tends to you by night. No wonder you never get tired of her." I put down his tablet and called my billionaire father. "Isn't this what you wanted? To force me to inherit the family business and marry your protege? Fine. I'll marry him. "Have somebody come pick me up in three days."

"You heard me, Damon Jones," I replied after a few seconds of silence that was honoured with his confused gaze. "I want us to be together. I want us to have sizzling moments that only you and I would know about. I want us to hold each other, and sweaty as our needs grow. Not once, not twice, but for as long as possible." I surprised myself with the tone of my voice. His hands on his waist, the man scoffed. It was a loud one. After a few seconds of making his feet dance in the very spot he stood, he faced me, the tip of histongue probing the flesh of his upper lip. That was a nice sight. It made my eyes linger on his lips longer than I intended. As my eyes quickly traveled to his wet shirt which exposed the nudity that I keep wondering about, he said, "You must be out of your mind, Selena." ~ In life, mistakes happen. A mistake like taking the wrong file instead of the file that contains your CV and other important documents a job seeker needs to have. But, there's no going back because you have a great job opportunity right in front of you. An opportunity that could vanish before anyone can complete the words, Jack Robinson. And, mistakes can lead to a lot of things. Things you could never imagine would happen in even five lifetimes to come. Like making a dangerous deal with a Mafia Queen... [Mature scenes inclusive]

They say life begins after 40, but Cassie ain't feelin' it. Divorced and feeling trapped by her job, she wants to let loose for her friend's tropical beach wedding. She decides to let her hair down and get a little unpredictable. That's when she meets a handsome bartender, Wyatt. Despite a few grey hairs, Wyatt's the liveliest man that Cassie has ever met. She knows that there's got to be more to his life story than just being a bartender, but this is just supposed to be a vacation fling. And after sunny days spent breaking all the rules on the beach together, Cassie realizes that nobody has ever listened to her the way that Wyatt does. His carefree life is enviable, his kisses are intoxicating, and she can almost imagine a life with him. But all vacations come to an end. And when Cassie invites him to visit her hometown, Wyatt reveals that he can never go back. Not to her town. Not to America. Not to civilization. Cassie leaves, confused and heartbroken, wondering just who she got herself involved with. Suddenly, her predictable life gets turned upside down when she sees her picture splashed across the Internet. And when the tabloids come looking for the mature woman who found the lost billionaire, she has no idea what to do... ...until he comes back.

Amber Reegan: The night I rejected my manipulative mate and stood up to my abusive father was the last night I spent in our pack. As the weak, Omega child of my father, I'm seen as a total waste of sperm and he has wanted nothing more than to get rid of me. And that night, my father found the perfect time to banish me. I wandered off into the wild forest, cradling my bleeding heart. Somehow, I winded up on the territory of Nightwalker pack and had to face their ruthless Alpha, Raze Von Miller. A one-time meeting stretched out into something intimate and I'm left wondering if he's the home I've been in search of all my life. Alpha Raze: When my patrol men found an intruder on the borders, it felt like the same old shit. Not until I saw who the intruder was. I was awestruck by her puffy, amber eyes and I knew I wanted more with her. Having her as my surrogate mate was not enough. I needed her to stay with me forever and trust me with the secrets that keep her crying at night. I needed her to feel safe with me. But one day, I woke up to the reality that she was more than just some random stray. It was thrilling and devastating to know there was more to the frail werewolf who stole my heart at a glance…

My son is dying. That is the only truth that matters. Not that I am a half-blood with no pack standing. Not that my Crosser's Permit expired six months ago, and every night I fall asleep wondering if tonight is the night they come for us. Not that I mop floors and scrub blood off marble tiles in a hotel that belongs to the most dangerous wolf family in Silver Hollow, a city that does not officially exist, hidden inside Las Vegas like a knife inside a smile. My name is Tara De Leon. I was once a healer good enough to have been recruited by three different pack academies. Now I am invisible. A cleaning woman. A ghost in a uniform. I became invisible on purpose. Because invisible women survive. And survival is all I have left to give my son. Kai is seven years old. He has his father's jaw and my mother's eyes and a laugh that sounds like something the moon herself invented. He also has Fade Sickness, a supernatural disease that is slowly, quietly, methodically dissolving his wolf-soul from the inside out. Without the Blood Resonance Treatment, available only in Silver Hollow, available only to those with pack connections and pack money, he has maybe eight months. Maybe less. I would burn down every pack in this city to buy him one more day. I just never thought I would have to.

Aurel Laurentis is a scentless Omega hiding his identity to play hockey. Becoming captain of the Ice Reapers was his dream—but one rare heat could ruin everything. Neylan Astor, the arrogant Alpha captain of the Polar Titans, has never met a rival like Aurel. When their teams clash for the first time, a wild night changes everything. Aurel saves a female Omega from Neylan’s uncontrollable pheromones—but ends up caught in the Alpha’s own heat, knotted and marked. With finals just a week away, Aurel discovers he is pregnant with his rival's child… but he can’t afford to miss a single game. ****** PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN OMEGAVERSE MM STORY. What Is Omegaverse? If you're new here and wondering how a man can get pregnant, welcome to Omegaverse! Omegaverse is a fictional romance universe where people are born as one of three secondary genders: Alpha, Beta, or Omega. It exists only in fiction and has its own biology and rules. In this world: • Alphas are dominant and protective. • Betas are the most common and live much like ordinary humans. • Omegas, whether male or female, can become pregnant. So no, the male characters in this story are not hermaphrodites or intersex. Their ability to conceive is simply part of the fictional Omegaverse setting, just like vampires, werewolves, or magic exist in other fantasy stories. If you're reading Omegaverse for the first time, don't worry. Everything you need to understand will be explained naturally as the story unfolds. Happy reading! ❤️