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?
Michael Lewis Morrison was drunk; really, really, drunk. He leaned himself back gently, head resting on the wall behind him and legs stretched out across the bed. He was in that stage of drunkenness where holding on to a thought for more than a second was next to impossible. The thoughts his mind tried to send him drifted away only half formed as his attention skimmed the vast universe behind his eyelids. It was a tenuous state at best and he knew from experience that it wouldn't last long.
It was a fine line, drinking enough so that the world's edges became soft and blurry, but not enough to send him into unconsciousness where dreams lurked, waiting with sharp talons to tear him to shreds.
Recently he had become an expert in finding that very fine line and walking it with precision.
A sound off to his left made him frown and open his eyes. For a minute the world didn't want to hold still and he feared he would be sick. Being sick would throw him too close to reality; he clamped his jaw shut and swallowed convulsively. To his relief, the world slowed from a rapid spin to a wobbly, but less vomit inducing, image. He frowned when he realized he was looking at a row of buttons. The buttons were blue and sewn onto a darker blue shirt in what he thought might be a straight line. At the moment it was difficult to tell.
Against his better judgment, he lifted his gaze, following the trail of buttons up to a shirt collar topped with a face. The face looked familiar. He was sure he knew it, but he was just as sure that he didn't want to remember why he knew it. The face was scowling down at him, age lines helping to make the scowl deep and darkly forbidding, the short white hair bristling as though in a temper of its own. Deciding that looking up had been a bad idea, Michael let his gaze fall back down the shirt buttons, his head moving in sync with his eyes until his chin was resting on his own chest. He closed his eyes, smiling to himself when the scowling man disappeared.
Michael heard a heavy sigh. "If I don't see you, then you don't exist." Michael said, or thought he said.
He wasn't sure if he opened his mouth or merely thought the words. The thought drifted around his brain, lasting longer than it would have a few moments ago and he knew he would have to take another slug from the bottle soon to maintain the balance and not tip over into either true consciousness or complete unconsciousness. He tried to remember where he had set the bottle down and if he could find it again without opening his eyes. Despite his firmly held belief about the unreality of his visitor, he didn't want to test the disappearance by opening his eyes again. He figured if he was still there, than Michael would have to work that much harder to erase him a second time.
He had just about decided to risk a blind grab when he heard the man's shuffling footsteps. Michael relaxed, figuring that the man decided Michael's version of reality was better and made himself vanish in compliance. He cracked an eye open as a wave crashed into him. Michael sputtered and wheeled his arms about as though trying to swim to shore.
Suddenly, he realized there was no more water. He stopped flailing and opened his eyes again, realizing as he did that he pinched them shut as the water hit. As his eyes opened, he saw the scowling man standing in front of him, holding an empty bucket.
"What was that for?" Michael sputtered. This time he was nearly certain the words came out of his mouth.
"You stink," the older man said.
Michael wondered if that was a general statement or an answer to his question. Before he could decide, the man turned the bucket upside down and sat on it as though it were a stool. This put the man slightly lower than Michael, who straightened up in reaction to his dousing.
"Do you know why I'm here, Michael?" the man asked.
It sounded more like a statement and less like a question. Michael stared into the icy blue of the older man's eyes and couldn't formulate a response.
"Im here," the man continued granting Michaels overheated brain the relief from finding an answer on his own. "Because everyone else has run out of options. In fact about an hour ago, I was sent for because they thought you might have actually managed to kill yourself. I can see why the mistake was made. God knows you certainly smell like something three days dead."
"I'd be better off dead," Michael said softly. He was drifting from the line of oblivion and coming dangerously close to reality, he could feel it, lurking, waiting.
"Allie wouldn't have wanted that," the older man said.
The name hit like a punch to his gut and Michael felt the air whoosh out of him, felt the pain so deep it left him a hollow, brittle shell. He gasped for air, felt it scorch his insides like damnation. Why was he still breathing? Why was he still moving when life had already left him?
A flash of light blazed behind the older man, and for a moment Michael thought it was the end, the bright white tunnel all near death survivors spoke about and he almost wept for the joy of relief, only to have the hope torn away as he realized it was merely the door opening, letting in the morning light. It was morning, he hadn't known.
Another day without Allie.
Would his torment never end?
The man who opened the door stepped inside. With the light behind him, Michael could only make out the general outline of the newcomer. "Commander
McLaughlin," the shadow man said. "You asked for assistance?"
The older man nodded and stood. "Yes. Help him to the bath house. The cold water might help sober him up a bit, but get him clean regardless. Have a couple of the others clear this place out while you do. The bedding goes along with any drink you find. See if you can get him to eat anything and then let him come back and sleep the rest of it off. I need him sober."
"Yes, Commander," the shadow man said. He stepped forward a little and Michael could see the contempt in the man's eyes. McLaughlin caught the look too and placed a hand on the man's arm.
"His wife was the pilot of The Defender," McLaughlin told him.
Michael watched the man's eyes soften with pity and he slumped. At least with the contempt he could hope that the man would let him drown in one of the large communal baths that were the standard in Haven before he could actually manage to get sober. Michael hadn't been sober since the day of the memorial. It was not an experience he wished to endure.
The commander left the circular, one room cottage and Michael watched the pity in his new caretaker's eyes harden into determination. Michael sighed, realizing that he would be helped no matter how much he didn't want it. Apparently for now, it had been decided that he would live.
"This is going to hurt," he decided. The thought stayed stamped in his brain, solid as stone and Michael realized he had lost his grasp on that thin line of oblivion.
Sober," he said resignedly. "If that doesn't kill me nothing will."
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.
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?
Brownie Oxford is on the run. After the death of both Matheson and Dave in the Mayenfield Cemetery, she takes Matheson's rental car and sneaks out of town, eluding those watching her. Unable to resist the lure of finding out more about her own past, Brownie finds herself making a brief stop at the Matheson Estate before finding a place to hide out. Unfortunately, the brief visit leaves her with more questions than it answered. Away from the estate, Brownie starts a new life under an assumed name and alters her appearance. As Brownie attempts normality a serial killer starts stashing the bodies of his victims in cemeteries bringing the attention of Swift and threatening Brownie's attempt at a normal life. Is Brownie's disguise enough to fool her old handler into believing she is someone else? And just who is killing all those people?
Life was a bed of roses for Debra, the daughter of Alpha. That was until she had a one-night stand with Caleb. She was sure he was her mate as determined by Moon Goddess. But this hateful man refused to accept her. Weeks passed before Debra discovered that she was pregnant. Her pregnancy brought shame to her and everyone she loved. Not only was she driven out, but her father was also hunted down by usurpers. Fortunately, she survived with the help of the mysterious Thorn Edge Pack. Five years passed and Debra didn't hear anything from Caleb. One day, their paths crossed again. They were both on the same mission—carrying out secret investigations in the dangerous Roz Town for the safety and posterity of their respective packs. Caleb was still cold toward her. But as time went on, he fell head over heels in love with her. He tried to make up for abandoning her, but Debra wasn't having any of it. She was hell-bent on hiding her daughter from him and also making a clean break. What did the future hold for the two as they journeyed in Roz Town? What kind of secrets would they find? Would Caleb win Debra's heart and get to know his lovely daughter? Find out!
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Jennifer Bennett, the rightful heiress to the Bennett legacy, fought hard for her family's recognition, only to be eclipsed by an impostor. Faced with false accusations, bullying, and public humiliation, Jennifer eventually gave up trying to win their approval. Vowing to rise above the injustice, she became the bane of those who wronged her. The Bennett family's efforts to break her only fueled her success, leading her to heights her rivals could only dream of. Someone asked, "Do you feel let down by your parents?" With a calm smile, Jennifer said, "It doesn't matter. In the end, power prevails."
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
For the sake of their company, Atasha Rae was forced to marry the known heartless billionaire, Lorcan Amadeus. But it only took her a week as his wife because later on, he suddenly wants a divorce immediately. So as he wished, she signed the divorce paper even after admitting to herself that she was somehow starting to fall inlove with him. Heart badly wounded, she ran away from his life. Until she discovers that she's pregnant with his child and as a result, she ends up with no choice but to keep it a secret. Out of Lorcan's awareness, she's keeping a secret that would lead him to an overflowing regret. Because for a week of their fallen marriage beyond repair, she's carrying the billionaire's heir.
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?