She moaned low and breathy, like something just beneath a prayer. The sound didn't seem coy. It felt possessed. Jacob stumbled back behind a tree, his pulse hammering in his throat. His lips ajar. He didn't even remember breathing. The crucifix beneath his shirt felt like ice against his chest. He gripped it anyway. The metal biting into his palm. He told himself he hadn't seen what he saw. ************* In Little Harmonie, purity is worshiped, sin is hunted, and witches burn. Father Jacob should condemn Delilah. Instead, he craves her. Her beauty tempts him, her power unsettles him, and her darkness feels too much like his own. But the deeper he falls, the uglier the truth bleeds out: the town is rotten, the sermons are lies, and the real monsters don't just lurk in the woods... they wear holy robes. In a place that calls itself pure, obsession is holy, and love is the most dangerous curse of all.

"You're playing with fire Safania." "Good thing I don't burn." The last words he spoke before throwing me onto my bed sounded like a threat, but felt more like a promise. "You will." *** Don't get caught. Those are the three words Safania has lived by for the past five years. As a marked woman - easily identified by intricate bronze marks on her back and unpredictable special abilities - she has spent the past five years running from anyone who might exploit those abilities...especially the royal families who tortured marked women to build their empires. Starving, exhausted, and frozen, she collapses by the bank of a river just to wake up in her worst nightmare: the chambers of a prince. Prince Cassius is his father's first choice of his three brothers to ascend to the throne. He's smart, strategic, and stoic, unlike his corrupt and depraved brothers. There's just one problem: he has no interest in any of his proposed marital matches, and the King will only pick someone as his successor who he knows will carry on the family line. But once he meets Safania, he finds himself unable to imagine ruling the kingdom without her by his side. Can he convince her to trust him? *** Warning: this story contains mature and potentially triggering themes including domestic violence and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

After a night of extravagant partying with an elite group on a luxurious yacht, headstrong Callie awakens to an eerie silence. The once bustling vessel is now deserted, with no trace of the guests or crew. Alone and disoriented, Callie must rely on her wits and piece together the hazy memories of the night before. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she uncovers secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew. Will Callie unravel the truth before it's too late? Dive into this gripping tale of suspense and intrigue. Based on ONC 2025 prompt 97: You board a cruise for a party, but when you wake up the next day, you're the only person left on the ship. Everyone else has vanished, and no one knows where they've gone.

When a mission to stop a deadly virus goes sideways, Tabitha ends up shipwrecked, and stranded with a stranger who might be her only way out. But the deeper they dig, the more the truth unravels. The virus wasn't an accident. Her team is hiding something. And the one person she's starting to trust... might be the one who exposes it all.