"I wanted to give this to you in person," Anubis said, taking a step closer to the girl who was evidently petrified. He handed her a crisp white envelope that had his name written in a cursive scrawl. With shaky hands, Zaina took the envelope. Not knowing what to do, she performed an awkward curtsy which was met with a hearty laugh from the god. He lifted her chin with a finger and grinned that heart-stopping grin once more. Anubis trailed the finger up her jaw and laid it beneath her ear. "I'll see you around," he whispered, ghosting his lips over the shell of her ear. He stood up and walked away as though he had not made a long lasting impact on the young girl before him. After taking a few breaths to calm herself, Zaina opened the envelope. ONC 2019 entry ➴ round one qualifier round two qualifier longlisted wattpad featured story

Trapped in the woodlands, Ivy's only hope of going home is to escape the faerie who enchants her into loving him, blinding her to what he is--monstrous. *** A dark fortress of trees twisted and crippled by time, the Clearwater, Connecticut, woods is no place for two teenage girls. The legends claim it's haunted. Fed up with being kept inside after dark, fearing the monster will take them, sixteen-year-old Ivy Farewell and her best friend Margaret set out to prove everyone wrong--that the ghost of Clearwater isn't a ghost. And the voice that has been calling to Ivy after dark is simply a trick of the wind. But the woods are deeper than Ivy imagined, each turn bringing them farther from home. When they end up lost their only hope is in each other. All seems undone when Ivy falls ill with a fever, until a stranger persuades them back to his cabin. Under his spell, Ivy falls into a deep and complicated love, a love so treacherous it blinds her to what he truly is--a monster. Copyright © 2023 T.A. Joseph All rights reserved cover by @xenomorphius

❝Your secret is a painting?❞ I took a few cautious steps; the hairs on my arms stood on end. ❝Not just any painting.❞ Dorian approached the easel, shadows on his face as he touched the cloth protecting it. ❝It's a dark object, the manifestation of my curse. The reason I shall always live and never die.❞ I swallowed. ❝Show me.❞ * * * When Dorian Gray dies, and returns to life, Amelia Thorne is introduced to the world of the supernatural. Here, monsters exist and paintings become portals to other worlds. Amelia learns Dorian's most precious secret - an evil painting that holds the key to his immortality, and his dark side. When the painting is destroyed, his inner monster is unleashed. Soon, Amelia finds it hard to separate her feelings for Dorian and the demon he created. Especially when destroying his evil twin means destroying Dorian as well...

Hadley Jamison doesn't know what to think when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, committed suicide. She didn't exactly know him, but that doesn't stop her from feeling like there was something she could have done to help him. So to Hadley's surprise, on the very night of Archer's funeral, she has a run in with Death himself and is offered the chance to go back in time to stop Archer from ending his life. The catch? She only has twenty-seven days to do it. And if Hadley doesn't succeed? Well, she doesn't want to think about that.

The pack on the verge of collapse, Fie Wright watches as her Alpha falls into a downward spiral due to his dying mate. After searching high and low for a cure, Fie's Alpha gives up on not only himself but his pack as well, leaving the rest of them to their own turmoil. That is until whispers of a miracle cure strikes the very heart of the problem. Fie, along with a small group, is sent on a mission to far away lands to ask for the King's help to bring their Pack back to life. The King agrees but for a price of course. ********* The concealed King perched on his throne speaks up with a heavy yet smooth voice, the mere baritone sending delightful shivers up my spine as the royal directs his attention to me. "I will help you but I want something in return." Comes his clear daunting voice as the rest of the court remains silent, no one daring to speak up until they are spoken to. Steeling my spine, my eyes focus on what I assume to be his chest as my kneeled figure speaks up, "What would that be my King?" Silence reigns for a few seconds before the alluring voice speaks up, ripping me of my composure in mere seconds. "You."