"Life for cowboy Mack Rosenberry was nothing but peaceful in the small town of Texas. But an encounter with mysterious guests threatens the tranquility as they seem to have secrets that endanger the town. As Mack aims to discover the purpose of their visit, he finds there is more to the father-daughter duo than they lead on. Join Mack as he discovers the new world with flying machines and clockwork men. This is my first Steampunk themed story. It takes place post the Mexican-American War, I hope you guys enjoy it!"
October
What started as a routine buffalo hunt, turned out to be a dangerous path to destruction. Of course, in the brand-new state of Texas, such things didn't come as a shock, between fighting the Indians and fighting the Mexicans back in 1846, they had seen their fair share of destruction.
As Mack Rosenberry walked behind his hunting partner on the trail of a mature buffalo, they heard a loud bang, the sound was not from any kind of gun, it was a loud, booming shot from an industrial killing machine. It was at the break of dawn and he could not understand what sort of people carried such heavy machinery to a hunting party. Isaac Garrison paused, with his rifle against his shoulder and Mack could see him shaking his head, his cowboy hat turning one way and the other.
"Those sons of bitches spooked my meat, " he grumbled. They had been stalking that Buffalo for two days and they were going to have to return to their homes empty-handed.
"What do you reckon that is?" Mack asked as he stood beside him.
"Don't know, " Isaac replied. "But it sounds mighty dangerous."
Mack agreed. The sound of machinery was never heard in the lonesome desert. He knew exactly where that sound was coming, he had heard plenty of them during the war.
"Wanna investigate?" asked Mack as he saw smoke in the distance curling up into the air and disappearing. Their hunting trip was cut short and they had nothing to show for, and Mack needed someone to blame it on.
Isaac spat the last piece of tobacco he was chewing on and smiled. "You read my mind."
They took their time getting there, it was three hundred yards from where they stood and the sounds of battle didn't seem to be wanting to stop. They took slow, measured steps, as if stalking an oblivious animal, except that these animals were armed. They climbed the small hill that stood between them and the smoke, the sun was now high up and unforgiving as if the cold morning never happened. Isaac seemed to be unaware of it once they stood at the top of the hill. "What the hell?" he wondered under his breath.
Mack followed his gaze. The sounds came from a heavy piece of brass, almost the size of a small house, except this house, had a barrel that was six meters long and it was meant to shoot cannon balls. They had seen canons before, but none like that. The barrel aimed at the hill far off into the distance. Up close, they could hear the rattling sound from its engine, it was monstrous and it seemed to be growling with hunger.
Beside it, stood a man in a white coat and goggles. He was facing an open panel which Mack assumed was the machine's heart. He yelled something and the long neck of the canon turned red with life, there was a flash and it shot a cannonball out into the air, it went high up into the sky, but it didn't go very far, it landed heavily a few meters away with a loud thump.
"Come on, " said Isaac. Mack nodded and walked down the hill beside him.
Once they reached the bottom of the hill, the tank seemed bigger and ten times noisier. Mack found his strength as he watched Isaac approach the man beside the tank, with the rifle in hand ready to shoot. He was at the prime age of thirty-two like himself, but he sure carried the confidence of a man of fifty.
"Excuse me, " Isaac yelled over the cacophony coming from the machine. "Excuse me, " he yelled again at no response.
The man turned his head, he heard something but he couldn't quite make out where it had come from. Isaac raised his gun and poked the man on the back. The man turned raising his goggles to his forehead, his eyes squinting as they got used to the sunlight.
"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but this here ain't a testing zone, " Isaac said, his voice deep and firm.
The man wiped his black stained hands on his jacket and extended his hand. "Morning, gentlemen, " he said as if he hadn't heard a word that was said to him. "I'm doctor Jericho Sommersagan and this here is Athena the Great, " he said pointing at the machine proudly. "Oh, give me one second." He turned back towards Athena's open panel and seemed to be speaking to it. Isaiah studied the man carefully. The man was probably in his sixties, but his gray beard made him look a hundred. He wore typical clothes, brown wool pants, black shirt and a brown vest under his white coat. His boots were immaculate and seemed expensive. The man turned to them and didn't speak a word until the machine died down leaving their ears ringing.
"Now, " Dr. Sommersagan started as he grabbed a dirty rag from his back pocket and used it to wipe his face. "What can I do for you, boys?"
"This ain't a weapon testing zone, " Isaac replied.
"Oh, we didn't see any signs prohibiting it."
Isaac turned to Mack fighting a smirk that threatened to escape his lips. There was no way that he spoke of Athena as if it was a living thing. "Well, sir, it ain't so you better get on out of here."
The Doctor watched them attentively with an amused look on his face. "Where do you boys come from? We didn't see any towns nearby when we arrived."
"Salt Water."
"Salt Water?"
Isaac and Mack turned at each other unsure if they heard a woman's voice coming from the sleeping machine. Did the thing speak to them?
"I saw it on the map, you are a long way from home, aren't you?" the female voice asked from somewhere they could not pinpoint. A thud from the top of the machine made them look up and that's when a woman slid down the side as if it was a kids' game and landed on her feet. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, Mack did his best to not stare but her unruly, curly black hair that framed her pretty face made it impossible not to.
"Well, Ma'am, it's hunting season and we are preparing for the winter."
The woman nodded, her light brown eyes studied them carefully, Mack feared she would know what he was thinking by just looking at him.
"Gentlemen, my daughter, Joanne Summersagan, " the doctor introduced her proudly. The woman gave them a dashing smile as she wiped her hands on her brown pants, that was when Isaiah noticed she too was filthy with coal, she was so beautiful it hardly even mattered.
"I'm Isaac Garrison. My friend, Mack Rosenberry and you're ruining our hunt with your little toy here, " Isaac replied completely indifferent to Joanne's beauty.
"Toy?" Miss Summersagan enquired angrily. "I will have you know that Athena is one of the few weapons that carry this kind of technology."
"I don't care what it is. What I care about is my hunt. Winter is a month away and my town is in need of fur. And your little invention is gonna be the cause of a miserable winter, " Isaac replied firmly.
Mack studied the cannon and realized that Isaac was failing to ask the big question. "You working for the government?"
"No, " the doctor replied baffled by the accusation. "We are not."
"Is this some kind of a military practice?"
The man shook his head. "No."
"Then why are you shooting this thing in the middle of the desert? Are you bored?"
Father and daughter turned to each other. "I'm not at liberty to say, " the doctor replied. "It's classified."
Mack nodded turning to the machine and walked beside it, his hand grazed the hot metal. It was unlike any weapon he had seen in the war. Mexicans didn't have that kind of technology, and it was hard to tell who actually did. "You made it, doc?"
"We made it, " Doctor Sommersagan replied.
Mack nodded. That explained Joanne's manly clothes. Her mother was most likely not around anymore. "For what purpose?"
"For security."
"Security?" Isaac scoffed. "From what?"
"You never know, " the doctor replied.
Isaac wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to his friend. Mack shrugged. At the lack of real answers from the strange family, they decided to let them be. The day was still young and they were going to find a new place to hunt.
"Alright, " Isaac said after a moment of silence. "We will leave you now, I suppose there's enough land for the four of us. Doctor, Ma'am, " he tipped his hat and signaled towards his friend. Mack tipped his hat and took one last look at Miss Joanne before walking away.
"August, 1865 The War is over and as America is trying to recover, Nicholas Gregson is trying to get used to his civilian life. But the deep scar on the side of his face will always remind him of the most violent war in America. One windy day, Nicholas gets a visit from his former General with a rare proposition: He wants him to marry one of his daughters. Although Mary is beautiful and well brought up, he hesitates. He doesn't know if he can love her and he is certain she won't ever be able to surpass his war scar. Olivia Clark is happy for her twin sister, marrying a man their father respected dearly was bound to be a good marriage. But she worries. Scars of her own remind her that men can not be trusted. Will Olivia let her guard down and allow love to enter her life? Will Nicholas give himself a chance to be happy with a woman that won't even look at his face?"
"When Adam and Ana Marie meet is love at first sight. But what Ana Marie knows is that Adam is a private investigator from London, what she doesn't know is that Adam is on the hunt of a criminal that turned out to be her distant father. The plans to capture this man goes awry and it forces him to fake his own death leaving Ana Marie devastated. After five years, the criminal reappears and Adam wants to finish what he started. Will Ana Marie find out about the lie and of his father's affairs? Will Ana Marie and Adam get a second chance at happiness?"
"Hi my name is David, and you might've already figured this out but I have a crush. Crush, you say, what's a crush when you are seventeen going on eighteen boy, invisible but sadly, over achiever in high school, who has only two friends and a twin sister that is a snobby bitch? I will tell you in this, my tale of what ifs, could haves and should haves. So sit back and enjoy the ride. "
In the small town of Lakewood in the nineteenth century, the future of Adam Lancaster and Sophia Willis has been set through an arrange marriage, but Sophia is in love with the son of the richest man in town and Adam has never considered marriage as part of his life. Will they give each other a chance or are they destined to live unhappily ever after?
For three years, I waited to become the perfect Luna for my pack, to give the Alpha an heir. Three years of lies, of being the outsider in someone else's love story. Three years of grieving the loss of my baby and plotting revenge against the man who disfigured my face and ruined my womb. I had two choices: die at the hands of my own pack or escape and survive. I chose to hide and live. The Lycan King, Fenrir Lycros-the most bloodthirsty, ruthless ruler to ever lead the werewolves with an iron fist-made me his personal maid. It was the most dangerous role I could have, where even the slightest mistake could cost me my life. But no one from my past would think to look for me here. "Always be submissive, don't speak unless spoken to, don't listen, don't see anything, don't disturb the Lycan or you will die," were the simple rules I followed. I thought I was doing well-until one day, the King made me an offer I couldn't refuse. "Do you want me to save those people? Then give yourself to me tonight. Be my woman. I desire you, and I know you feel the same. Just once, Raven, only once..." But it wasn't just once. Passion turned into something deeper, something neither of us could deny. That cold, untamable man had somehow conquered my heart as well. However, when the past returned to haunt me and the truth about my birth came to light, I faced another choice: run from the Lycan King or wait for his mercy. "I'm sorry, but this time, I won't lose my pups again-not even for you, Fenrir Lycros."
Due to the plight of her family, Phoebe had no choice but to embark on the path of selling herself. In an accident, she had a tangled night with Alexander. Everything began to derail, and even if she fled to the ends of the earth, she would still be found by him and entangled... *** Phoebe screamed in frustration, "What do you want from me?" What was this supposed to be? He raised an eyebrow wickedly. "What do I want? You'll find out soon enough." With that, he hoisted her up and carried her back into the office. The door slammed shut with a kick, and he cleared the desk with a sweep of his arm before laying her down on it, his body pinning hers in place, completely trapping her in his grasp. Every cell in his body was telling him he wanted her. He wanted to claim her again. This time, there would be no escape for her-he wouldn't let her slip away. Never again. If he had suffered for five years, then this woman wouldn't get off easily either!
“Gabriel Bryce, how can you stand being so shameless?” Leonica asked, staring daggers at her atrocious husband and his mistress. “This is the house gifted to my by grandmother, yet you dare bring another woman into it? Aren’t you afraid that grandmother would be disappointed with you actions…?” Leonica’s words remained unfinished as an enraged Gabriel swung his hand through the air, smacking his palm clean on her left cheek. Leonica held her throbbing cheek, eyes wide and teary as she stared at her husband who glared down at her ferociously. “The nerves of you to mention my grandmother. You have no right to do so!” He spat, taking a step forward and jabbing his index finger painfully into her shoulder, making her take several steps back. “Bare this in mind, Leonica Romero, if not for the wishes of my late grandmother, I’d much rather be dead than associate myself with somebody like you.” *~*~* *~*~* Leonica Romero has always had a long time crush on Gabriel Bryce, CEO of Bryce Empire and Norway’s Business tyrant. Fortunately, at the request of his Ill grandmother, her family’s long time friend, Leonica gets the chance to marry her beloved. Feeling elated, she abandoned her position and dream job in the Romero household and becomes a humble housewife for Gabriel. However, Three years later, on the day of Gabriel’s grandmother’s funeral, Leonica is stunned speechless when he demands for a divorce, as his ex girlfriend Angelina Fernandez had suddenly returned, proclaiming her undying love for him. But that wasn’t the only shock Leonica received that day. Hours after Gabriel’s declaration for a divorce, Leonica wakes up in the hospital to a shocking news. She was two months pregnant. And Gabriel knew nothing about this!
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
Catherine swallowed with her eyes closed and her lips slightly open, a moan escaped her lips when Lucas slid two fingers under her panties, "Lucas..." She moaned, lost in the sinful desire as her ex-boyfriend's dad moved his fingers against her rosy flesh... *************** Catherine, a young mother of two who came to the city with the hope of finding her twin's father only to be denied and deserted by him, found herself entangled in a forbidden web of craving. As the flame of passion ignites between her and the CEO, Lucas Leonard—her ex-boyfriend's father—their affair takes them on a journey of temptation and sinful desires.Struggling with society's judgment and their own inner desire, Catherine and Lucas must steer the treacherous judgemental waters of the society and either fight for their love or let it crumble especially when her ex-lover came back to claim her and the twins. Will their love withstand the dishonorable whispers, or will it crumble under the weight of societal expectations and her ex-lover's conspiracies to win her back?
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”