"Nothing is what it seems in dreams." In the depths of a dark and twisted forest, Aris, crown prince of Lancaster, is tormented by recurring nightmares of the Tainted--monstrous creations of the black fae, a corrupting force that seeps into all who live within its woods. Relentlessly hunted in the dreams, he finds unexpected aid from a mysterious girl named Elara, and with her help he is able to elude the creatures each time, breaking free from the nightmare's clutches. But when Aris is wounded by one of the Tainted, the line between dream and reality begins to blur. When a weapon deadly to the black fae appears in his grasp from the dream, Aris and his sisters--Tamryn, Maeve, Maeril, and Aine--must race against time and Aris' failing health to uncover the ancient truth behind the forest's curse--or face the imminent threat of the black fae and its vengeful master, the guardian of the dark forest, Erebus Nocturne. ✧☽ ✧ ☼ ✧ ☽ ✧ Submitted for the Open Novella Contest 2026. Main Prompt: 75. A cursed forest hides an ancient creature longing for freedom. When it senses someone carrying the bloodline of the witch who once bound it, the creature summons monsters to a mansion where the forest and human worlds collide. The doors are open to anyone brave enough to enter. Side Prompts: 18. At eighteen, you begin dreaming of a stranger who feels like your other half. When they finally appear in real life, everything you thought you knew about love and reality begins to shift. 78. You begin to realize that nothing is quite what it seems.

[Book One] All that once glittered was gold, until it turned to bitter ash and ruin. Juliette Laurant has always dreamed of a simple life, painting to her heart's content while being unbothered by men and women alike. She gains her wish, to paint in a way that is envied by all who see it, but at the cost of her life's work, and the sudden arrival of a stranger whose only desire is to be seen once more. Now, trapped by the hands of fate, she must find a way to put an end to the stranger's cycle of despair or discover what awaits her at the end of life's final portrait ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~ a Vikings meets Pride & Prejudice fanfiction ~ He is crippled. He is unlovable. He is ruthless. Together with his brothers and the Great Heathen Army, Viking warrior Ivar the Boneless has been wreaking havoc on England for the past two years. Some of his brothers think it has been enough, but Ivar is just getting started. While quarreling about their next move, Ivar makes one mistake too many and accidentally kills his brother Sigurd. Heartbroken, he retreats to the forest to indulge in one vulnerable moment, convinced nobody can see him. Elizabeth Bennett is intelligent, free-spirited, and sharp-tongued. Together with her mother and sisters, she manages the Bennett estate while her father takes up his seat in King Aethelwulf's council. She did not plan on stumbling over a weeping Viking in the woods and much less on getting scolded for it, but here she is, wrestled to the ground by a son of Ragnar, the most broken, yet most beautiful man she has ever met. He'd better polish up his manners if he knows what's good for him. The problem is that perhaps he doesn't. 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 An ONC2026 entry Prompt 46: We love broken people, beautiful people. And it doesn't get more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than you. 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 Content Warnings Violence, swearing, perhaps some smut, perhaps not, I'll update smut warnings as I go along and tag upcoming smut in the beginning of a chapter if it should come to this 😬 I can also say that if there will be smut, it will be consensual.

On the eve of a board meeting that will make or break the company, a snowstorm forces the CEO of Keystone Systems, Richard Thompson, and his new personal assistant, Claire Reynolds, to spend an evening at the office together. A perfect man and a perfect woman, all alone... only that they aren't, and neither of them is quite what they seem. As the night falls, the office romance turns into something much more sinister, and Richard is about to learn that "perfect" is just another word for "replacable". ----- Another of my genre benders -- a sci-fi thriller, a heist, some (say it with me) social commentary, and a billionaire romance (without the romance part, but with a HEA, sort of). With some off-kilter erotica because I swear it looks like I'm contracted to have it always. How about a 50 Shades of Grey speedrun as seen by a bored, disgusted AI? ----- ONC 2026 story, main prompt 88 (not quoting for spoiler reasons). Also prompts 48, 38 (sort of).

Mature 18+ Lucien isn't looking for love, but through a chance encounter, he meets his fated, Jocelyn―or so he thinks. Jocelyn turns out not to be what Lucien believes, and she sets into motion events that threaten his peaceful, secure world, a world where humans and vampires reside together mostly without conflict. Vampires need human blood to survive, and humans supply it willingly in trade. Then Lucien begins to see the seedier side of things. Not all humans are willing to give blood. Sometimes money is not enough as payment. Then, there is human slavery to contend with. Lucien is introduced to beings that he thought only existed in folklore. Then there are the beings that he had never even fathomed. Some of these beings wish him harm, even through no fault of his own. Then the "Seekers" arrive. Is there really a possible cure for vampirism? What is the cost? What are the repercussions? Follow Lucien as he navigates a world that is no longer what he thought. Beings are not what they seem, including those closest to him, and betrayals run deep. Perhaps Lucien is no longer what he seems, either.

The crew of the Iron Bell soars through the universe, helping those in need while making a good living from those who can afford their services. This mismatched band of former military men pushes the envelope while rescuing others. When Isobel begs her brother's old team to help her friend Lily - a witch on the run from the boss of the Andromeda galaxy - do they have what it takes? And what happens when an all-powerful boss doesn't like interference with his business? ________ This story is only on W A T T P A D. If you are reading it anywhere else, it was stolen and you may be at risk for malware. This story started as my entry into the Spec-Fic Smack Down for 2024. (which made it through to the end of round four!) It is also based on the Pink Floyd album, Dark Side of the Moon. I do not own the music or lyrics, which belong to the songwriters, respectively. @SeraDrake created the cover and did all the editing. Trigger Warnings: Foul language, death. Please read safely!

So Queen Marigold had her husband beheaded. What of it? The adultering loser had broken her heart. What she didn't expect though was that her trusted council would turn against her and that her sister Elsbeth, second to the throne, would use this momentum to overthrow her reign and banish her to Baile na Grod, which - let's be honest - is nothing more than an inhospitable rock in the ocean. As surprising as that chain of events might be, nothing could've prepared her for the shock of her creepy-ass jester volunteering to keep his queen company in exile. What the fuckety fuck fuck! She might as well throw herself off a cliff right now. 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 ONC2025 entry Prompt 52. Let's play the game of colors: you paint me red because you love me and I paint you black because I want you gone. ONC ROUND ONE WINNER 🥳 ONC ROUND TWO WINNER 🥳 ONC AMBASSADOR'S PICK 🥳 ONC SHORT LISTER 🥳 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 ‼️CW‼️ swearing and consensual smut 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 Inspired by The Joker and the Queen (Ed Sheeran & Taylor Swift), the Tudors, Reign, The Great, The Dare and Losers by Harley Laroux, and also a bit by Måneskin. A crazy mixed bag of wonderful things actually 🔥🔥🔥

The conservative early 1990's in northeast Ohio's rust belt sets the stage for slow-burning, forbidden love. She had it all - riches, a college honors program scholarship, a girlfriend - until her conservative, hyper-religious parents discovered the sapphistry and forced her to choose between conversion therapy and disownment. That choice marked the end of her academic career and everything she thought she knew. Now, three years later, she is starting her life over when she meets a shy public librarian in a bookstore. He has been waiting his whole life for her. What unfolds between the two lovers feels almost like magic. Given that he is about to become her tutor in the magickal and erotic arts, perhaps that should come as no surprise. But at what cost? The mysterious older man may be everything she has ever longed for, yet she may be forced to choose between her developing identity and the most profound love she has ever known. Ancilla is a study of hunger. It is a dark, philosophical tale exploring forbidden passion, power, devotion, trauma, sacrifice, and the complicated path toward becoming oneself. Surrender... ════════════════════════════════════ "Magic and philosophy sandwiched in between some of the hottest scenes I've read in recent years... Loved it!" - Hannah Gonzalez, Reedsy Discovery "Love is brutal, bloody, and ecstatic in this passionate romance... BDSM aficionados will love it... A richly imagined, lurid love story that's not for the faint of heart. (Our verdict: Get it!)" - Kirkus Reviews 🏆 Since its launch in January 2024, Ancilla has won 100+ awards on Wattpad and multiple indie literary awards. It has been featured in multiple Ambassador profile booklists.