|| Featured FREE story with exclusive paid chapters - previously a paid story || When Haley discovers the truth behind Xavier, whose silence holds a deeper meaning, she sets her mind on making his life better one small step at a time. ***** Haley Rosamond is happy with her simple life, content under the wing of her father. Well-protected, she has no idea of the darkness surrounding Xavier Hunt, with his all-black attire and infrequent presence in school-accompanied by his bruises and scars. That is, until Haley catches a glimpse of Xavier's reality and is made to question everything she knows about family and life in general. The truth, she realizes, couldn't be more different from everything she has heard. Supported by her father, Haley sets her mind on helping Xavier any way she can, and what begins with tutoring sessions, free food, and random acts of kindness blooms into friendship and something a little more. But when Haley's admission into her dream college and another tragedy in Xavier's life threaten to undo everything she has worked for, Haley needs to decide if she'll stick by Xavier or simply be another person in his life that disappears. [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]] Cover designed by Holly Thurston

When Aine is sent into the woods for her crimes, she accepts she'll be met with death. The beasts are known to kill any human that wanders into their territory, their razor-sharp teeth ripping through flesh and bone with practiced ease. Aine knows she'll be no different from all the others who have been executed before her, and when she's forced into the woods by her own people, it doesn't take long for the beasts to attack. What she doesn't expect is for them to take the shape of humans and spare her, and even more, for one to claim her as his own.