Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda? ***** Found as a young child washed up on the beach, 17-year-old Ari Callahan has never uttered a word out loud to anyone -- not even her adoptive family. Psychologists have diagnosed her with a condition called selective mutism, but Ari can't help identifying with her namesake character, Ariel, the little mermaid in the fairytale whose voice was stolen by a sea witch. Mermaid-obsession aside, Ari's silence makes socializing tough. She's never had a boyfriend or been asked out on a date. Not until Zac, the confident new arrival in town, asks for her number. But Zac has his own reasons for texting with Ari. He's part of a movement to sabotage the artificial music app called SirenSong, threatening to render human singing obsolete. Zac's collaborators have scoured the globe in search of a singing voice perfect enough to break the SirenSong spell, and their search has led them straight to Ari's beachside town. Will her relationship with Zac help Ari find her voice and unlock the secrets of her origins? Or will he use her and leave her high and dry? Title: Ari and Zac (formerly The Mermaid Hypothesis) Content Warning: This story contains references to selective mutism, suicidal thoughts, and early childhood trauma.

Family is everything and I plan to keep mine alive. In a world full of violence, it takes a certain type of person to survive. Pain, anguish, death, and fighting to be on top, this is the life Leila Withers is pulled into by Baden Johnson, who she met years ago. Can she push him away and ignore the old sparks trying to rekindle, or will he draw her into the dark side? Leila has spent four years hiding from everyone she knew and creating a new life for herself, one where no one knows what happened to her years ago. Turns out that the city is not as big as she had hoped it was as her past comes crashing back into her life and she struggles to shut it back out. It is now a kill or be killed world; can she survive it?

"Dance with me." I looked at Giovanni and his blue eyes stared at me with amazement and compassion. Something no other man ever did before. "I have not danced in a long time Isabel." He smirked as he laid back on the couch and stared at me. My favorite song was playing, and I could not help but to pull him up as I begged. "Please?" That soft plead made him weak. Nothing ever made him weak. He never danced before. This tall, buff, muscular man danced with me and held my tiny self against his strong frame as if I was everything in the world to him. He danced...... Or he tried to dance for me. I giggled as I ran my fingers through his hair as he looked nervous. "Isabel. I must tell you something." He whispered against my lips. Giovanni Fiorelli Mafia Lord. Cold. Ruthless. Deadly. Unwilling to care or love. When a meeting has gone bad, Giovanni thought that he would die in the freezing cold river. Isabel Cielo. Sweet. Kind. Selfless. Beautiful inside and out. Able to love No matter what condition. Never would he have thought that in a world full of demons and monsters, he would meet....... A Saint.