When Brie lands a spot on Cheese Whiz, a cheese-themed cooking competition, the last thing she expects is to run into Colby Jackson, the man who left her heart with more holes than Swiss cheese. ~~~ It was supposed to be simple. Enter the contest, win the prize money, open her own restaurant. Easy peasy, extra cheesy. So of course Colby freaking Jackson and his smug, entirely too sexy face just had to come back into Brie's life like an extra stinky wheel of limburger cheese. Surrounded by fierce competitors and legendary amounts of dairy, Brie and Colby exchange barbs sharper than any cheddar. Yet, as the competition heats up, Brie quickly discovers the mozzarella isn't the only thing melting. Against her better judgment, Colby is once again worming his way into her heart. Will Brie find a whey to make things work between them, or will he leave her feeling bleu? 🧀 Rivals to lovers 🧀 Second chance romance 🧀 All puns are fully intended Using prompts 29 and 89 for ONC 2026! Cover by @-DeeIsDead-

She wakes with missing hours, a burning imprint carved into her shoulder, and no memory of who put it there. Nyxara Blackvein is an assassin who survives by control. Control over her body. Her blades. Her choices. But the mark beneath her skin has a will of its own, pulling her toward Stillreach-a city protected by an impossible shield and a power no one dares to name. Torin Cross was never part of the plan. A half-elf bard with a charming smile and secrets of his own, he's headed in the same direction for reasons that don't quite add up. When violence forces them to fight side by side, trust forms before either of them is ready for it. Whatever waits in Stillreach is already watching. ONC 2026 Prompts used. 32. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same secret mission, only to realize the assignment holds a much bigger truth. 86. A wasteland hides pockets of thriving communities protected by mysterious shields. 99. You wake up with a strange mark on your skin after a late-night encounter you can barely remember, and its meaning grows more unsettling by the hour. If this is posted on any other site, please let me know. I have not given anyone the right to use it.

Three hundred years in the future, life on Earth isn't what you would expect it to be. The world has been ravaged by war. Many technological and medical advances have perished. Caste systems are put into place, and many are enslaved. Food is scarce except for those of the ruling party. Nico, a young princess of the Unified World Order, deals with a stepmother and stepsister who hate her, grief for her recently passed mother, and her best friend's slave status. When Nico finds that a scary-looking visitor has come not just to court her but to marry her, she does what is forbidden and goes into the woods. While she is saying goodbye to her late mother, another odd, but beautiful, stranger appears to rescue her and leads her on a journey greater than anything she ever would have imagined. Perhaps a path beyond your wildest imagination. I utilized prompts: 66. A strange message arrives, written in your own handwriting, but it's dated years in the future. As you read, you realize it warns you about something only you can change. 104. While wandering in the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more than the wind through the trees until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all.

. ⟡ Longlist ⟡ . Welcome to Fort GODSLAYER, where girls rule and monsters drool. This trio is fearless (except when they're not) and have always got each other's backs (except when they don't.) ...Well, that's sisters for you! Now off to save Dad from being replaced with the shapeshifting creature from the woods. Open Novella Contest 2026 🌱 47. Your Dad builds you and your friends a fort in the back yard close to the edge of the woods. But when you and your friends play, something stirs among the trees, and playtime becomes more than mere imagination. [Changed 'friends' to 'siblings.'] Wordcount 20k ⚠️CW: Though there is no explicit content, sensitive themes include abandonment and body horror. 🎵 Lyrical playlist 🎶 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yeiur7qF80kaNcfP6jPcq?si=c7c2fad004bd43cd 🎶Ambient playlist 🎵 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1kcCL6QTj8S6NwQvbZNncI?si=66eea0d8a0274b0d *If you are reading this story on any platform other than Wattpad, you are very likely to be at risk of a malware attack and reading a plagiarized copy of my work. If you wish to read this story in its original, safe form, please go to https://www.wattpad.com/user/QuinceArchFortes

[[ONC 2026 LongList]] 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.

A race against the clock. A truth that must be uncovered. Fast. Nosha Yeats, a CCPD field operative, inserts herself into the takedown of a high-profile terrorist without authorization. But the op goes sideways and she comes face to face with a lie buried nearly twenty years ago. A lie that hits far closer to home than she ever imagined. The objective changes. The stakes escalate. Will she uncover the truth before time runs out... or disappear like the rest in a tightening web of lies and conspiracy?

I can finally say that I've had my first kiss! Not that I expected him to kiss me or anything. He's still a little annoying. Just a little bit. ❝Don't dwell on it. I can do it again, if you really liked it that much!❞ he chuckled darkly, then pulled me closer, again. His mouth was on mine, but this time it felt different. It's as if he were trying to say more through the kiss. I savoured the feel of his lips gently gliding over mine. My skin tingled, especially the piercing on my bottom lip which pressed against his lips as he kissed me. ❝See,❞he pulled away and smirked, watching me intently. ❝That was- ❞ ❝Shhh... ❞ || Completed || ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── A university romance || An ONC 2026 Round 2 qualifier || This story is now over the 40k mark! ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 © February 2026 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 book 1 ✨ A BTS TaeKook fanfiction ✨ Disclaimer: This story DOES NOT resemble the real Kim Taehyung or Jeon Jungkook in any way except for their beautiful aesthetics used for the story! Highest Ranking: #1 TopTaeBottomKook - 14 June 2026 #1 adult-romance - 18 April 2026 #2 First Kiss! - 4 March 2026 #3 TopTaeBottomKook - 4 March 2026 © Alexa Grove ...

'He had spent his life chasing a reflection, never noticing the life waiting for him behind his own back.' A mirror. A lighthouse. A curse whispered across generations. Silas Hale dreams of a lighthouse that calls him, and a mirror that whispers his name. Every time he follows it, misfortune follows too. The wind never quiets. The mist never lifts. And the sea ... waits for him to return. Prompt-34. "You have to sail the seven seas to find the lost treasure, but treasure means different things to different people, what treasures will you find at worlds' edge ."

~ 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.

The lord of the Under Realm decides to bet with the Overlord of the Celestial Realm about a mere mortal who has committed crimes that must face consequences. The bet? Who can turn the mortal to their side first. In the guise of aiding Halen Avder, Lucilius―lord of the Under Realm, tasks the mortal to do his biddings to pay for Halen's previous sins. On the other hand, Velanten, one of the Overlord's Angels, challenges Halen to repent from his sins, showing him ways to do good. As the challenges blend together, Halen soon battles between good and evil―right and wrong, stuck with a Devil and Angel on his shoulder. Which side will he turn to? Or will he be consumed by his own human instincts? #ONC2026 > - Cover by @nadzzsam