In a world of monsters, is it possible to find the beauty in each other? Ice melts... Power ignites... Bonds forge... Just in time to clash with the impending storm on its way. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "I think you have lost your mind," Soren suddenly muttered. Then it happened: Annika grinned. A glowing warmth lit inside, heating her cold interior. There was something extraordinary about the simplicity put into a grin. The anguish lessoned, and suddenly anything was possible. Surely the sky could fall if Annika could smile? "What makes you say that?" She asked as she continued her movements. The grin acted as a soothing balm on her aching heart. Annika might've been crazy to become so easily uplifted by an everyday facial expression, but crazy seemed like a much better term to be than slave. "Only a lunatic would approach me in my slumber." His eyes remained shut, and he didn't object to her petting, so Annika didn't stop. "Well... you wouldn't know if you were asleep?" "Mmm," the sound vibrated like a guttural hum, "I awoke the second you entered." "Did you?" Annika asked as she turned her head to study his face, but this time, his eyes were open, revealing those beautiful pits of colorless depths. --------------------------------------------------------------- (WARNING: MATURE CONTENT OF ALL KINDS *EMPHASIS ON THE ALL PART*) Highest Rank: 48 (thanks to you beautiful creatures)

THIS IS NOT A FANFICTION🙂 Elliana Davidson has grown up in New York City with her mother ever since her parents separated when she was 6. It's the summer of her senior high graduation and she has been accepted to attend the University of California in the fall. Traveling across the country, Elliana goes to live with her father and older sister in Los Angeles prior to the start of term. Upon Elliana's arrival, she is welcomed by her older sister, Adriana, and her father. She finds it difficult to fit in and is homesick. In enters Demi Kingsley, a mysterious and gorgeous woman, who happens to be a very dominant vampire. Demi has taken an interest in Elliana in all possible ways. As they get closer, both of their pasts come back to haunt them, and Elliana can't seem to shake the feeling that she's being watched. Demons from their pasts threaten to haunt her and she comes to the realization that their fates have been intertwined from the start. Warning: (vampires, violence, gxg, mdlg, some bdsm elements) - if you wanna check it out!:) Author's Note: To those whom have read my other book, Princess and the Vampire, this series uses the same main characters, Demi and Elliana. However, this series is not a prequel or a sequel. It is simply another idea that I had for the same characters when I began writing the Everlasting Series. Other characters such as Markus will not be present.

"My dad sold me to a pack of werewolves to settle his gambling debt." ❀ "I'm going to count to three," Logan growls. He doesn't have to say the rest. If I haven't come to him by then, he'll come to me... and I'll regret it. I know this game, and I know there is only one way it can end: with broken bones. If I don't come to him, his wolf will take over and he'll make me pay. If I obey, his wolf will still take over, and I'll still be the one suffering the consequences. "One," Logan snaps. A tear slowly rolls down my cheek and I dig my nails into my palm until they draw blood. More tears join the first and my lower lip trembles. I want Logan to see how much he's hurting me. "Two," Logan counts, gesturing for me to come to him. I know that he's filled with anticipation. He's hoping for 'three,' craving it. ❀ Three Books in One: Sold to a Wolf Pack | ✔ Saved by a Wolf Pack | ✔ Loved by a Wolf Pack | Ongoing ❀ A fake Omega: Saffron is a rogue, but when her dad sells her to a pack of werewolves, she also has to pretend to be an Omega. Good thing she has a plan: to escape the first chance she gets. A not so mean Alpha: Logan just wants to find his mate and his happily ever after, but instead of the perfect Luna, he gets a weak, frightened Omega. Good thing his dad has a plan: make everyone in the pack mistreat Saffron so she'll finally stand up for herself. An epic romance: Saffron and Logan are meant to be, but will they realize it before it's too late? Not everything is as it seems, and with an enemy threatening to destroy the pack, time is running out. ❀ 167,102 words ❀ Has been ranked #1 in: Werewolf, Paranormal, Romance, Teen Fiction, Humor, Fantasy, General Fiction, Action and even Vampire!

Fifteen-year-old Kyle Clark just wants to be left alone. No one seems to have gotten the memo. Everyone just wants him to talk about his Mum: his friends, his teachers and definitely his long lost Auntie that he now has to live with. He tries to hide but manages to be pulled into a friendship with a new girl at school, Cassie. She is passionate about dancing and it reminds him of his love for Karate. But that was his old life: Karate has too many bad memories for him now. A friend he made in foster care, Diego, helps him forget the past, but he has his own secrets too. As Kyle battles with the past, and how he fits into the world now, will he learn to trust again?

The world had gone to hell long ago, taken over by the vampire race. In order to keep some sort of peace in our land, the Vampire Lords made a consecutive agreement. The rich and powerful humans could survive just as they had been, untouched by the vampires save for the occasional blood collections, or so they thought In reality, we were all under their control. Castles spread out throughout our land, one landing in each city. Each castle varied in the number of vampires residing there, but all of them carried a Lord. The Lords were the ones in charge in every city, whether we liked it or not. The vampires often roam through the city, making sure that everyone was in order and no one stepped out of line. If you stepped out of line, you died, end of story. Even if the rich were still under their control, their lives were still better than the poor. The poorest lives held a much worse fate. The men were to be put to work as slaves, whether that meant serving a specific vampire, or just building their castles, they were slaves. The women were to be pets. Pets were the lowest rank you could have. They were forced into cages that were too small to stand in with collars around their necks. They spent their lives in pet shops, just waiting for the dreadful day that they'll be bought. They were treated like animals, trained into what their master wanted, and punished if they misbehaved. Those who were lucky enough to live through that, we're to be slaughtered for their blood at age twenty-five in an act to make sure that our population would stay steady. I was born into this world. Born into this world full of blood-sucking monsters. Except, I was one of the lucky ones. Was. It all ended for me when I was 12, when I was taken away from the last bit of hope and family that I had left. Ever since then, I've lived in a cage, just rotting away, waiting, dreading for the day that some monster would make me his. This is my life. I am a pet. ~~~ Cover by: @mshacake

"Who will we send after the little witch?" The room went silent as one of them stood up from her throne, pacing forward. Her skirts flowed over the marble floors as silently as a whisper. Every eye was drawn to her. "I will go after her and make her my slave." She revealed flawless white teeth in a playful smile. "It will be fun. Like a game." The other Gods relaxed, confident that Alice Cunningham didn't stand a chance. After all, no one could resist Aphrodite.

As the only daughter to one of the most powerful Mafia families, Shay has sought to figure out her own path despite the overbearing pressures from her Family. After a family dispute leads to Shay and her mother to go into hiding, Shay attends Elite academy--her own perfect Hell. With an incredibly awful (or ingenious) disguise, Shay's new identity is going well until Jacob Smith shows out of nowhere. Not only does he seem to know every right button to push, but he also seems to know everything about her. Shay's seemingly normal school life explodes with a new set of problems. Old and new enemies are coming for her and she needs to choose whether she will carry the Ricca name. Goodbye Nerd Disguise, hello old identity, old life, old friends, and new enemies. It's the Family business, where plotting someone's assassination is just part of the daily duty. (Unedited first draft) FYI title may be misleading at first.

A young boy, Adam, discovers a gold medallion in a lump of coal. He keeps it as a curious good luck piece for the next twenty years, until as a scientist, he discovers it contains a message and is clearly alien. Join Adam and his colleague, Linda, as they embark upon an adventure of revelation, ultimately giving up all they hold dear to discover who we are and who put us here.

Lincoln, a recent graduate of the Orbital Space Command Academy, volunteers for a high-stakes mission on which the future of his orbital society, as well as his future career, depends. Failure is not an option. After his mission is compromised and he barely makes it back alive, he finds himself on the run with the woman that not only stole his heart but also derailed his mission. As they race across a forbidden, dystopian landscape in search of answers, Lincoln faces the disturbing reality that his life is based on a lie and that the world as he knows it is doomed. The only way he can ensure the survival of the human race is by ensuring the survival of the woman who betrayed him and betraying the society that shaped him. Will he save them both or sacrifice the survival of one for the other? #1 in Science Fiction #1 in Thriller Note: this story is marked Mature only to bypass sites that tend to steal stories with a non-mature rating.

************************************************************************************** An outcast rogue must break a curse put on his fate, or die on his nineteenth birthday. To survive, he'll need the sword of a maiden, the aid of an immortal, and the power of forbidden magic that could cost him the only girl he ever loved. ************************************************************************************ *** THE JACK OF SOULS won a Silver IPPY this year! *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the PNWA Competition in Fantasy! * *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the Southwest Writers competition! * *** A "Featured Book" on Wattpad! * *** Now a "Staff Pick" on Kickstarter! * *** Available on Amazon in paper, hardback, and ebook ! * *** My contract with Kindle Select won't allow me to post more than 3 chapters here, but... *** Sign up for my newsletter on stephenmerlino.com for alerts when it's free on Amazon! * MY INSPIRATION I wrote this out of pure love of trickster rogues; I love the wit over brawn motif -- Odysseus over Achilles, Raven over Eagle -- so I like to play with it in my stories. In JOS I set the rogue and con-artist Harric against a foil of warriors in a land threatened by magic and civil war. Whenever possible I turn familiar tropes on their heads: instead of a handsome young Lancelot, I cast a broken-down ex-champion addicted to pain-killing herbs; instead of a dashing Squire Brian, the old knight reluctantly takes an ambitious young woman as squire. Similarly, I re-imagine the standard medieval milieu by infusing aspects of two of my favorite historical periods, Elizabethan England, and The American Frontier. Both eras boast a kind of nationalistic arrogance that borders on hubris, and a magnificent spirit of resourcefulness and re-invention that is fun to play with. SERIES The Jack of Souls is first in a series. I am posting parts of the sequel here now (The Knave of Souls), to help me refine the story.