All she wanted was a cup of coffee. What she ended up with was getting knocked out and interrogated by the military. They knew she owned an imports store. They also knew she was a member of the powerful Calabrese family, one of the families that made up the Guild. Elena was once a pilot, capable of taking a sailing vessel from the oceans of earth and into ancient channels that reach across space and into other worlds. After being gone for five years she is suddenly thrust back into the world of Guild politics she had left behind, walking a thin line between mafia like laws and the militaries desire to control Guild technology. Pilot is a contemporary Sci-fi story that merges elements of military conspiracy, technology and an ancient Guild of Families who can secretly navigate channels in the oceans to cross space. They have built a secret merchant society stretching through a multitude of universes, but the world is changing and soon their secrecy will be at an end.
Chapter 1
Elena woke curled in a ball beneath her covers. Only her nose was sticking out into the cool morning air. Bad dreams chased her through the night and left her with only vague shadows and a raging headache. Deep in her comforter cocoon she groaned.
'At least it is Sunday, ' she thought. The store was closed on Sundays. Today was the one-day out of the week where the clamoring of customers was silent. Briefly she toyed with the idea of rolling over and trying for a few more hours of sleep but let the thought drift away as insubstantial as smoke. The pounding in her head would never allow it.
She sighed dramatically for her own benefit and sat up in bed. Her covers thumped around her waist exposing her t-shirt clad form to the morning chill. Fall was fading fast and soon Elena would have to break down and turn on the heat, watching her electric bill soar higher as the temperatures crept lower. She rubbed her goose bumps, slid out of bed and began gathering her supplies. A clean pair of jeans, a warm sweatshirt, and thick woolen socks formed a bundle in her arms. She topped it off with clean underwear and trudged into the bathroom.
Elena glanced at herself in the bureau mirror as she passed. She could almost see the headache pounding behind her black eyes and making her cap of chin length black hair bounce in time to the beat. She absently ran a hand through her hair, still surprised by how short it was. For most of her life she had worn it long in a braid reaching nearly to her waist. She shook her head, dismissing the thought before it could fully form and continued on to the bathroom.
Her headache pounded drum beat echoes of her footsteps. 'It just isn't fair', she grumbled to herself as she turned on the water in the shower. 'If I'm going to suffer in the morning I should have at least had the benefit of a wild time the night before to go with it.' Somehow she didn't think a night balancing her business receipts counted. As Elena stepped into the spray, flashes of her nightmares danced in her head. There weren't enough images to make a complete picture of what had haunted her night so she let the water wash them down the drain with the suds.
The old pipes began to rattle and whine. Elena glared at the tiled wall, knowing the sound signaled the death of her hot water supply. She decided to save washing her hair for later and reached down to turn the water off. The hot water failed as her hand reached the tap and she yelped as icy droplets rained down on her back. She quickly shut the water off as her headache mocked her.
Once dry and dressed she headed to the kitchen knowing from experience that caffeine would dull the pounding. She opened the freezer only to find that all but three lonely little coffee beans had already given their lives for her morning cup.
"Damn, " she said to the open freezer. She had forgotten to go shopping again. The freezer didn't answer and she slammed it shut. Elena glanced at the kitchen wall clock. 9:12. The coffee shop around the corner opened at 9 am on Sundays. Visions of vats of freshly brewed coffee swam through her aching head. She could also buy a new bag so Monday morning would not see a replay of this scene. She smiled, shoved her feet into a pair of leather clogs and grabbed her purse. She checked to make sure her keys and wallet were inside and headed out the door.
The street had that peculiar Sunday morning quiet to it. Everyone going to the early service at church had already left and everyone else was either still asleep or dawdling over his or her first cup of coffee. She took a deep breath of the cool air. Fall winds were definitely getting some bite to them. Bare black trees stretched cold fingers to the sky and sighed for their lost colors as the wind skritched through them and sighed over the parked vehicles lining the street. Elena hurried her steps without sparing them a glance.
As she rounded the corner, the scent of fresh coffee beckoned her forward and into the shop. With the exception of the sleepy eyed clerk, the shop was empty. Elena grabbed a bag of coffee beans as she crossed to the counter.
"May I help you, " he asked.
"I'd like this, " she said indicating the bag. "And a large coffee please."
"Regular or decaf?"
"Regular"
"Columbian or French roast?"
Elena dimly wondered if it mattered.
"Columbian."
"Any flavors in that?"
"No thank you just the coffee."
"How about a shot of espresso?"
Elena ground her teeth.
"No thank you."
He poured the coffee and rang up her charges. She paid and walked out of the store, her newly acquired bag held under her left arm like a football while the cold fingers of her right hand gripped the steaming cup. At the door she paused to pry the lid off her cup and drop it into the trashcan. The clerk's belated, have a nice day drifted towards her as the door swung shut behind her.
As much as she wanted to gulp her hard won cup of coffee, the liquid's temperature was too high for her to do more than take delicate sips. She walked slowly, trying not to spill and hoping the cool air would steal some warmth from her drink. She felt tiny bites of heat as she sipped, the heat, rather than the taste, registering on her tongue.
She looked up from her cup and saw two men walking towards her, no doubt heading to the coffee shop, as it was the only business open on this street at the moment. They had a similarity of appearance that marked them as coming from the nearby military base. After seeing so many of the military personnel around, the sight no longer surprised her as it had when she first moved to town.
She dismissed them as they passed, her mind beginning to run through her household chores for the day. She heard a shuffling behind her and thinking one of the men had tripped she started to turn towards the sound. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and before she could raise a hand to the sting, Elena felt her knees crumble. Strong hands caught her as she fell but they missed her cup of coffee as it slid from fingers that refused to work. She watched it spill on the white concrete sidewalk as darkness took her.
Unbeknownst to most people, the world is divided into three realms, the normal human world, the world of the Fae and the Borderlands between where both species mix with each other and a third group, humans with magic. Detective Danny Faraway born into a powerful magic family, left and became a homicide detective in the human realm, content to forget the Borderlands existed. As bodies start piling up, it turns out a homicide detective is exactly what the Borderlands needs. With six dead, Danny is on the hunt for a killer. All is not as straightforward as it seems and soon Danny realizes that the fate of the Borderlands themselves is at stake.
When his wife died aboard The Defender in the Matrovean attack, all Michael wanted to do was join her in death. He sought oblivion but the Guild needed his skills as a cartographer as they sent teams inland to survey the planet outside of the town limits of Haven. Pulled back from the edge of oblivion for one last job, Mateo promises Michael that there are plenty of things on the alien world that could kill him if he looks hard enough. Hoping for a quick death, Michael agrees, but soon finds out there is more to the survey than he expected. Will Michael find the death he craves and doom the rest of his team into the bargain?
Brownie Oxford, now going by the name Bonnie Brown, is trying her best to avoid notice. She found someone to teach her the skills she needs to control her abilities and people have stopped leaving dead bodies on the lawn in front of her apartment building. Unfortunately, she is surrounded on all sides by Federal Agents trying to confirm she is Brownie Oxford so she once again be an asset. Maintaining her guise as a mild mannered seamstress and student of fashion isn’t easy, especially when the beast supposedly trapped by the Searchers starts visiting and ghosts start making demands. Can Brownie manage to keep this new life she built when even one false step could betray her?
After the dawn ritual on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie is welcomed by those of Abraham's pantheon. While she knows she isn't a Walker no one is quite willing to tell her exactly what she is other than 'family'. They are excited about the skills she might develop as her training begins and she realizes that she is the latest entertainment to break up the long monotony of their eternity. As she struggles to maintain her place in the regular world and complete her midterms, the mystical world and her newly developing abilities threaten to intrude. The line between her separate worlds is thin and beginning to blur. How long can Cassie remain a part of both?
After surviving an attack by the Brotherhood, Ivy tries to get back to normal life preparing for the launch of Wildwood's retail venture. Unfortunately others have different expectations. The head of the Seers shows up demanding Irina and Nick be turned over to him and Hamilton demands she figure out who else the Brotherhood paid off. Can Ivy figure things out before more attacks occur?
After being shot, Ivy Chambers settles in to her home in Wildwood to recover and read through her purloined files. Her recovery time is interrupted when the Head of the Mage Clan calls reporting that the golems running the Shadow Council Headquarters are malfunctioning. While she knows very little about golems, Hamilton can't risk anyone knowing he's lost control and since Ivy's ancestor created the golems, she's the one who needs to fix them. With a crash course in golems under her belt, Ivy returns to the archives, but it isn't only her family's actions causing problems. It seems more than the golems are malfunctioning. Can Ivy settle things without taking more damage or is the world destined to spin even further out of control?
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
After a brief appearance at a birthday celebration, Ayra Carter's life took a drastic turn when the famous billionaire's heir chooses her to be his new mum.. "I like you a lot so you have to come home with me and be my new mummy" Arya's heart warmed as she stared at the cute little boy in front of her.. "Cutie.. Why don't you pick again?... I'm about to get married" "My son chose you and that's final! become his mum!" A loud authoritave voice broke into the room.. Now what??? ... Not him! Mr Kyle Anderson! The man who doesn't take no for an answer..
My family was on the poverty line and had no way to support me in college. I had to work part-time every day just to make ends meet and afford to get into the university. That was when I met her—the pretty girl in my class that every boy dreamt of asking out. I was well aware she was out of my league. Nevertheless, I mustered all my courage and bravely told her that I had fallen for her. To my surprise, she agreed to be my girlfriend. With the sweetest smile I had ever seen, she told me that she wanted my first gift for her to be the latest and top-of-the-line iPhone. I worked like a dog and even did my classmates’ laundry to save up. My hard work eventually paid off after a month. I finally got to buy what she wanted. But as I was wrapping my gift, I saw her in the dressing room, making out with the captain of the basketball team. She then heartlessly made fun of my inadequacy and made a fool out of me. To make things worse, the guy whom she cheated on me with even punched me in the face. Desperation washed over me, but there was nothing I could do but lie on the floor as they trampled on my feelings. But then, my father called me out of the blue, and my life turned upside down. It turned out that I was a billionaire's son.
Five years ago, he upped and left his wife without informing her. He had always felt unworthy. As a result, he decided to go and become a better man. It took him five whole years of daily hard work. When he was satisfied, he returned as a powerful and honorable man. He intended to start a family with his wife. But he got back to meet the greatest shocker of his life. He actually had a daughter!
Warning: This book has high sexual assault displays, but does not support any form of rape. I, Alpha Edward Parker, swear that I will keep you tied to me until I make you pay for what you did to my mate," he swore, gripping my chin in a bruising hold. "Not only will you wish for death, but you will beg for it, and it will be too far from you." I could feel the eyes of the whole pack on us. They probably came to experience a normal wedding, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I was being married off to a groom because he wanted revenge. Tears welled, and I wanted to scream, "I am your mate; I'm the one who saved you, not her." But I knew no one would believe me. I was his mate, how could he not recognize me? Four years ago, Amanda happened to save a total stranger, but due to a string of misunderstandings, her sister took her place. The stranger then promised a vow of betrothal to his savior. Not seeing any use in correcting the error, Amanda allowed it. That was her biggest mistake because the stranger ended up being her own mate. Caught in a web of lies and confusion, she decides to set herself free by speaking the truth. But her plans are thwarted when her sister turns up dead, and she is pinned as the main suspect. A mate out to seek revenge for another, a forced marriage, an underlying plot, a web of lies, and many dark secrets. How can Amanda navigate all these without losing sight of herself? How will she speak the truth when she has already lost her voice and has been destroyed by her own mate?