Every half century in a small little town hidden in the woods, a beast comes out from the forest to claim his bride on the night of an eclipse. The people of call this phenomenon "the taking". This beast is said to be very dangerous. It roams door to door searching for the woman whose being calls to his animal instincts. He will kill, mutilate and destroy everything in his path until he finds his bride. In the past, the townsmen have tried to hunt the creature and kill him before they can steal one of their marriageable daughters, but the beast does not hunt alone. He has followers among the shadows to make sure his goal is accomplished. Once he finds his bride, he carries her back to the forest where she is never seen or heard from again. Celeste believes this so-called "legend" is just some scary fairytale her grandmother made up to scare her. But was she ever wrong when a pair of moonlit eyes stared straight at her through her bedroom window and entered her room. Next thing she knew, she was being carried out the house and into the woods by a half-naked man who called her his. Who would have thought? Grandma wasn't crazy after all. Young Adult novel. Paranormal/Comedy-Romance @2014

In the kingdom of Vanderdash, there is no more feared warriors than that of the Scarlet Guard. Protectors of the royal family, skilled assassins trained since childhood, They follow the crown, they enforce the crown. To many, the group cloaked in red is a greater symbol of the royal family's power than the kings crown itself. Citizens respect and fear the scarlet guard, the power they hold. But within the guard there is only one who installed that very same feeling into the rest. Head of the prince's royal guard, ruthless and cunning, rarely seen by the citizens themselves. They call her Red. An expert in poisons and deception, the small girl has brought armies to their knees without once lifting a blade. A vermillion haired monster hidden behind the face of a doll. ~~ I smiled up at the men, "Would you like a cookie?" They peered into the basket I held out, spotting the heart shaped treats. "They're cinnamon with apple Jam. I do promise they are to die for." The taller mans eyes narrowed, "did you give the poor fool dead on the road a cookie?" My lips parted, "a dead man? Oh my..do you think it is safe?" "..depends on who you are miss, why did you say you were in the woods again?" I smiled gently, "I didn't." He rose a brow. "I'm delivering these," I shook the basket a bit, "to my dearest grandmama." He hesitated for only a slight second, "oh. well. be careful then. These woods can be dangerous." I nodded once still holding out the basket, "so would you?" "Would we what?" I giggle a bit, "like a cookie silly." "Ah.." he scratched the back of his head, "sorry, I'm not too fond of apples." Damn it. I sighed softly, "strawberry next time then." "Right..." As I turned to go I looked up at the two tall men, "you be careful now too gentleman. There are wolves in these woods." They nodded rigidly as I spun and began to skip off, giggling to myself. He asked the wrong question. I didn't give the dead fool a cookie. I gave him two.