Jake spent years building a life he enjoyed with a fulfilling tech career, close supportive friends, and the one biological family member who had ever cared for him. But a year after his best friend, Austin, has a baby and his brother moves out, Jake is the primary one maintaining those connections and feeling left behind. When his friend Austin connects him with Vi, an aro-ace woman with similar frustrations, who wants to start a family free of the obligations of romance and sex, they connect as friends, and it shapes how he envisions his future.

When a killer feral hog invades Verity State Park, Officer Rylee Harding quarantines the entire area until the threat can be eliminated. She soon discovers doing the right thing isn't easy, because summer has just begun, and the livelihood of Verity's residents depends on the seasonal flood of tourist dollars. Facing opposition from town officials, her neighbors, and even members of her own family, Rylee stands firm in her decision and risks her life and the life of her unborn child to face down the remorseless monster. This story is written for ONC2026 using prompt number 78: You begin to realize that nothing is quite what it seems. Updates every Thursday. Jowls, Copyright ©2026 by Dennis Royer, @dennisroyer All Rights Reserved. Cover art by Deviant Art / ArtVixen0520. Used by permission.

Nine brothers. One monastery. Power that should never have existed. When Aurelion Driven and the nine young men he calls brothers arrive at the isolated monastery of Vireholt, they are not welcomed as students-but as threats. Each carries a fracture in the world: an unnatural gift capable of reshaping reality or tearing it apart. Vireholt promises control. What it delivers is judgment. As brutal training, ancient forces, and buried truths begin to surface, the bonds between the brothers are tested by fear, ambition, and the cost of restraint. Some will learn to master what lives inside them. Others will be consumed by it. And Aurelion-marked as the most dangerous of them all-must decide whether he is their shield... or the spark that finally breaks the world. Power demands a price. Vireholt always collects. Prompt: The daughter(Son) of the most powerful witch is nothing like her(his) mother. #ONC 2026

For seven years, a cruel curse has plagued the people of Hesperonias: Every evening, they're transformed into agrions, terrifying creatures that thirst after the blood of those born under the sun. But during these dark hours, they aren't merely sniffing out Helioran prey-they're seeking an ancient fruit that could purge them of their blight. ♬𓍢ִ໋♫⋆♪₊˚♬✭❂☽❊☾❂✭♫𓍢ִ໋♪⋆˚♬ ﾟ Being only weeks away from turning eighteen, the Princess of Heliora fully expects to join in on the Hunt against the merciless agrions that murdered her mom-until her father forbids it. Furious and vengeful, Castelle sneaks out of the castle, only to end up in the midst of the pack of monsters she'd planned to kill. Before she's ripped to shreds, however, the enemy prince rescues her with the sole purpose of preventing her from hindering his people's search for the magical plant. But when he realizes that she might know more about the cure he's been trying to find than anyone else in his kingdom, he convinces her to help him. With a bargain forged under the Tree of Truce, the two young rulers must race against time, embarking on a journey laden with secrets, lies, love and danger, all in the hopes of healing a nation and preventing a war from breaking out between both realms. #ONC2026

Sometimes self-love is not about becoming the best version of yourself but about choosing to be kinder to yourself. Roza Sinclair lost her husband in a gruesome accident. Everyone mourned at his funeral, but her eyes were fixed on the rose garden her husband had nurtured with the love she had always yearned to have. In the quiet months that followed, the twenty-six-year-old widow didn't tend to his roses. Instead, she dedicated herself to a single seed: the one plant her husband had forbidden in his lifetime. To the neighbors, she was a woman wasting her youth in the dirt. But for Roza, that plant was not just a plant. It was a choice. It was a voice. It was healing. Everyone had their own definition of self-love. And this was hers. *** For ONC 2026 Prompt 28 "Self-love often starts small, like planting a single seed. With time, patience, and a bit of light, it will blossom."

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).

25-year old Lee still hasn't figured out why they could not form any long-lasting relationships, even friendships for that matter. Aside from family members, which they are obligated to talk to, there is no one else Lee had even come close to calling a friend. Well, maybe except for one. -------- Submitted for ONC 2026 @OpenNovellaContest Using the following prompts : 29. You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints in your heart. 104. While wandering in the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more than wind through the trees until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all. 106. After waking at 3AM to a freezing room and a door you're certain you closed, you find wet footprints and melting snow leading from your bedroom into the hall. Realizing someone or something is inside your home, you follow the trail to uncover the truth. ------------- © 2026 J. Lee Kennedy. All rights reserved. Cover design © 2026 J. Lee Kennedy. Images used in this work belong to their respective copyright holders and are used under license or in accordance with applicable Creative Commons terms. Edited or altered images are copyrighted by the author in their final form.

She repairs broken memories - but who will repair the truth? ***** Nova Aurion understands how fragile memory can be - she mends it for a living. In a world where memory is currency and abilities define worth, society is divided into Endowments: cognitive classes established to preserve stability. Every three years, the nation hosts 'Project Elite' - a prestigious competition honoring the finest minds from each Endowment. Within the high-stakes arena, they contend not only for victory, but for the recognition to lead their future. When Nova, a Memory Diver renowned for restoring fractured minds, is selected to compete - she enters the Project, determined to win. However, survival demands more than mere intellect; it requires strategy, perception and sacrifice. As alliances shift and sparks ignite, a forbidden dive into a stranger's memory leaves Nova deeply unsettled, leading to a chilling realisation: what if Project Elite isn't designed to measure brilliance at all - but to harvest something far more dangerous? Caught between a charming rival, a skeptical ally, and a system that predicts every move, she must confront a choice that could reshape humanity itself - Is an unpredictable future worth the risk of chaos... or is controlled stability the safest path to preservation? ************************** ONC prompt (main): 111: With a single touch, you can slip into someone else's memories. But when a stranger shows you a future crime involving you, you must uncover the truth before it comes to pass.

Rory Hayes was born a gang princess - raised to be protected, promised to a future that was never really hers. After her best friend's death, danger begins circling closer, and the last thing she wants is protection. Especially not from Alexander Cross, the man who appears out of nowhere with a dangerous smile and an interest in her she can't quite resist. He makes her feel safe. Seen. Wanted. Until she discovers everything between them was built on a lie. Now someone is hunting her, the truth about the past refuses to stay buried, and the only man she can't trust might be the only one who can keep her alive. But in a world built on loyalty and blood, betrayal always comes at a price. And this time, it might cost her everything. __________________________ My submission for ONC 2026 using the Prompt #78 - You begin to realise everything is not what it seems. This will be uploaded irregularly but as its a submission for ONC it will be completed by the end of April for judging.

A 1970s family camping trip in the west turns deadly when Zombies appear. Rowan's dreams have always been vivid. This latest dream about Zombies attacking for example. Never in her wildest dreams does she expect a real black cat with an ear missing to show up at her tent. The exact same cat she has dreamed about since young. Seeing him now brings a terror in her soul. Without thinking twice, Rowan rouses her family, shoving clothes and supplies into the station wagon. Then they are racing down the roads driving until the gas gives out. Up to today, her Dad's tone deaf singing is the worse thing she has ever experienced. The best thing turns out to be most surprising. Rowan is immune to Zombie bites which saves her family. But can she do it on a global scale? * Prompts: 43, 98 and 108