Ellie Harris (they/he) has hit a patch of bad luck. Their dad died, they lost their job, their boyfriend cheated on them, and, to top things off, they literally trip over a black cat. What else could go wrong? Then Ellie learns their dad was a witch, the cat is not a cat, they're the heir to the 'Ivy Throne' (whatever the f -k that is), and certain people want to kill them for it. 'What else could go wrong?' is soon a question Ellie learns not to ask. - - - Open Novella Contest prompt # 91: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. - - - Copyright SG Gardner, 2022.

Everyone knows not to stray into the Grim Woods. If you do, the fair ones will take you. Artemis Redbrook, a lonely hunter, makes a deal with a fae to hunt those fearsome woods when his village is dying of hunger and the future looks bleak. He knew what monsters lurked within the woods and prepared himself for the battles to come, but never expected to stumble across a sleeping prince. Let alone fall for him. A love between a human and fae, could it spell the end or a new beginning? Cover art by Hodge

**BOOK THREE** Still grieving the loss of his mate, twenty-four-year-old Tatum Knowles isolated himself from the rest of his pack. With the strength of both his pack and himself being questioned by those around them, the last thing Tatum planned to do was get involved in someone else's drama. Until he finds Nixon Hart, the injured and half-dead alpha known for killing his brother's mate, passed out just outside his pack lands.

Ian Foley is not a good man. At least, that's what he thinks. He's on his way to Alaska, looking for something to save his soul. On the way, he runs into a boy in need of a savior-or at the very least, a friend. But appearances aren't everything they seem. The mysterious Sam has secrets of his own, and soon Ian realizes he's in well over his head, on a ride that's out of control. It might be just the opportunity Ian needs to prove he's changed, or it might the final thing that tips the scales towards his ultimate ruin. [This story is a spin-off of "Heart's Blood." It's a stand-alone, but if you want to understand the character back-ground, you should read Heart's Blood first.] --- Warnings/disclaimers: This story contains strong language and explicit sexual content. --- This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Haphephobia: the fear of being touched. Blake, a second-year Psychology student, hadn't ever heard of such a phobia, until the day he was hired as a guide for Dean, the heir of a rich family. Even though Dean had the appearance and behaviour of a gentleman, he harboured an extremely dark and painful past that left him traumatized. After a rainy night on an empty road, a string of coincidences brings the two together. Blake makes it his goal to help Dean free himself from his past and bring back the happiness he deserves while Dean can't help but be won over by the charismatic guy, who is the only one not to see him as damaged or pitiful. However, when memories are revealed, and the feeling of friendship starts turning into something else, things complicate. Is it possible to let go of your past, to fight for an unlikely future?

Matt Rose is nothing special. Though he's friends with witches and vampires, monsters and ghosts, Matt himself has always been painfully mundane. So, when an accident reveals he has a gift of his own, Matt is overjoyed. For his husband, Ben, on the other hand, it seems like one weird thing too many. With a growing rift between them, Matt can't understand why Ben doesn't love the magic in their lives the way he does, and why he seems able to make time for just about everyone and everything except for him. Finally, when things reach a breaking point just days before their first anniversary, Matt is devastated. With his heart in pieces, he decides to take matters into his own hands, get the truth, and win Ben back. As he quickly discovers, though, magic is fickle--a coin with two sides. A little bit of it can go a long way, and not always in the direction he might have hoped. --- About this story: This story features characters from the Ari & Soren books, 'Bound by Blood (formerly titled 'Breath of Osiris') and 'Hecate's Gift.' It is an interlude between the end of book 2 and the beginning of Book 3. -SGG, 2020/06/05) --- Rating: PG 13, some language and sexuality, non-explicit. --- Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

**Back by Popular Demand** If you read "The CEO Commands" you were introduced to Gavin, the little cutie that captured the heart of the one of the sexiest Dominants and Co-owner if the BDSM club, in The Dungeon. This is Gavin's story, it starts from the beginning long before Marcus ever met his Corey. Gavin Martin came from rough beginnings, he experienced things that no one should have to experience and a lot the treatment he received was from his own family, people that were supposed to love and accept you no matter what. Gavin's trials and tribulations send him on a journey from a small town in the middle of Potato Country to the bright lights and everyday chaos of The Big Apple, where he meets Damien, the drop dead gorgeous hunky business Tycoon that he fell irrevocably and immediately in love with. Damien Carter is a seasoned Dominant, his thing was Bondage and total Dominance, there wasn't a sub yet that he has encountered that has ever made him think to make them a permanent in his life and in his home, although many have tried and are still continuing to try. That is until a little blond, blue eyed angel was presented to him like a much wanted Christmas present by his friend and one of his business partners, Marcus Roche. Even though he was aware that Gavin was not a trained submissive the desire to make that little beauty his own was too great to for him to ignore, so Damien decided that he was going to make that sweet boy his no matter what.

*This is a spin off from Rescue Me.* Ahron and Ayden are Vampire twins. Just adorably little and cute. Their world is blown apart when their extremely protective parents are killed in a tragic accident. They are lost but not alone as they travel across the Atlantic Ocean from London, England from the only home they have ever known to the sunny shores of Miami, Florida. Even with the love and support from their Aunt Irina and Uncle Gustav, they still don't feel like they belong. Their only distraction was the blooming love affair of their Uncle Dimitri and his male mate, Caleb. They found this unconventional relationship interesting, but they were still feeling the loss of control from their deceased parents. It wasn't until they met Mr. Stavos, as he liked to be called by them for some reason. They both felt drawn to his Dominant aura, the safety, comfort and control they feel around him, and being twins, they shared every feeling. In a surprising turn events they find that Stavos is their mate. How is that possible? Will they be able to convince him that they want to willing submit to him in all things? ***Warning this is male and male encounter, extremely mature content, extreme language, graphic sexual encounters, just plain mature content. If. this is not your thing please do not read. This a stand alone story but you can get the background by reading Rescue Me.*****

There's something killing the alphas around Maviz, planet of the werewolves. Dallas Crane is the best and number one officer in the Peace Force and Investigation Team - he loathes that his omega status makes people want to walk all over him and so he takes it as a challenge to anyone on a higher status. Then he meets Markus Rowan and the younger alpha seems to bring out the omega just begging to be free from within him. Brendon McKelly wants every alpha on the planet to die in a hole. In fact, he would personally stab and gut every single alpha if he could and this fact doesn't really make him a good candidate for the recent happenings in Maviz seeing that he works as the right-hand of the Chief Medical examiner in the hospital. But Spencer Smith is adamant to prove to him that not all alphas are THAT bad. Tom Hanson is just your average omega, going through life day by day in a boring, monotonous routine until Chris ends up on the doorstep of his isolated home in the north while he's on the brunt of his heat. Chris doesn't remember anything but his name and flashes of a lab and other things that don't make sense but over time; Tom realizes that this strange alpha might just be the key to what exactly is out there killing alphas and perhaps also the key to his heart. - Copyright © 2014 Viano Oniomoh All rights reserved.