The Curse of Seasons is a Trilogy 1. Cursed for as long as she can remember to spend most of each year asleep, Lana is doomed to never lead a normal life or experience the normal issues teenagers usually have to endure. That is until Rhett, the neighbour's delinquent son comes into the picture. *** 2. Cole has spent the last six years hunting down the girl whom he fell in love with but has never met, their curse binding them to each other as much as the pages of the diary they shared as youths. Harley has no memory of a time before she was saved from death, but when her way of life is threatened, she must join in the fight or become a casualty. *** 3. Nathan can feel the winds of change, knowing that the inevitable war between his kind and the organization who created them is on the horizon. There is only one barrier to his involvement - the General's daughter.
LANA
Summer seriously is the best time of the year, in my opinion at least. I mean, what is there not to love? Sitting in the sun on a deck-chair, soaking up the sun with a cola in one hand and a book in the other... sheer bliss.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
I shrieked and launched myself at my oldest brother who had just ruined my perfect morning of tanning, the jerk!
"Daniel! You're such a freak!" I growled in frustration, wiping away the water he had dripped all over me before sitting back down.
He grinned evilly at me for a split second before he pulled on his "innocent" face and looked down at me with those big blue eyes which so many girls have fallen hopelessly in love with.
Daniel is probably the perfect combination of our parents with our mother's blue eyes and flawless skin and our father's dark hair and broad shoulders. He could have been classed as tall, dark and handsome if he were just a few inches taller. Instead he has to settle for medium height, dark and handsome – not that the female species mind all that much.
"What did I do?" the innocence oozed from his voice.
"Oh you know what you did!"
He shook his head so that pool water sprayed all over me on purpose, his personal form of sister-torture.
"Daniel!" I shrieked again, trying to kick him away from me.
He chuckled and hovered over me, blocking out the sunlight. I glared at him from behind my sunglasses, in the hope that he'd just back off and leave me alone.
It didn't work.
"Why on earth do you dress like that, just to sit by the pool and not even touch the water? It's pointless." he moaned.
I slipped off the shades and looked down at my bikini clad body, pale from not seeing the sun all through the winter. I can't really tan all that well, being naturally pale, but I don't have to look like a ghost.
"I'll get in the water later. It's too cold now." I managed to whine, sounding like a toddler.
Daniel's eyebrows shot upward and he grinned at me before reciting the phrase I heard so often as a child.
"Would you like some cheese with that whine?"
I slipped my shades back on and close my eyes, determined to ignore him.
"Bugger off, you big bully."
I heard him chuckle again before I felt his arms wrapping around me, one slipping under my legs as he lifted me up, determination in his eyes. I knew exactly where this was leading to – the pool. I screamed, trying to fight him with all of my might, but the bully is bigger than me and I stand no chance. My arms and legs flailed in helpless fury as Daniel tossed me into the pool, following closely behind and splashing water all over the place. The big brute merely grinned at me in triumph and waited for my retaliation.
"Lana, are you alright dear?" my mom called from the deck where she sat, worry clear in her voice.
"She's fine mom." Daniel answered before I even get a chance.
The jerk was always doing silly stuff like this - tossing me in the air, eating my "secret" stash of chocolate, playing dot-to-dot with the few freckles on my shoulders... But I have to love him.
He's my brother after all.
"I'll get you back later." I mouthed to him, climbing out the freezing cold water.
He didn't seem to believe me. Instead he sent a wave of water hurtling toward me, laughing as I jump away. For someone as intelligent as he is, the guy can act like the stupidest person on earth. I'd say that he acts blonde, but blondes may get offended.
"You're such a girly-girl." he complained, floating on his back.
"It's surprising I've managed to keep some level of femininity living with you guys - even if I'm only around for a few months each year." I retorted.
He pulled a face at me but didn't push the subject any further, knowing where it would ultimately lead, and we fell into comfortable silence.
Our relationship has always been different - more jokey and less serious. He would have actually made a brilliant stand-up comedian but he chose to study to be a liar... I mean lawyer... instead.
Yep, we have a Harvard boy in the family.
"When are the twins coming home?" I asked, lying down on the paving around the pool.
Daniel ducked under the water and emerged up beside me, leaning his crossed arms on the edge of the pool.
"Who knows, brat. Sometime today I should think." he mused, drawing pictures with a wet finger on the paving.
I sighed and got up, fetching a towel from the pool chair I had been lounging on and wrapped it around me as a slight breeze attacked my skin with frozen fingers and caused goosebumps to sprout all over my skin. For some reason, this year's summer was cooler than usual – a clear sign that it was going to be a short summer season. That was a bad sign for me.
"What's on your mind, brat?" Daniel shook the water from his hair like a dog would, whipping up a towel and drying his torso before he turned back to me expecting an answer.
I shrugged, trying not to fall prey to his ninja-lawyer skills - I swear the guy could make a mute talk! Instead, I skillfully turned the tables on him.
"Was just thinking that you haven't told me about your year." I smiled at him.
I think he knew that I was lying, but he answered without skipping a beat, unwilling or unable to broach a topic which he hates so much. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward the porch where my mother stood with a tray of lemonade and brownies.
"Well for starters, I got dumped. Turned out I was too good looking for Angela and she was tired of looking like death when she stood next to me." Dan grinned stupidly, swiping a glass of lemonade from the tray and kissing our mother on the cheek.
"I'm sure it was like that." she laughed, winking at me, her voice laden with sarcasm.
I couldn't help but laugh, thinking of my brother's supermodel now-ex-girlfriend dumping him because she was intimidated by his looks. It's just ludicrous!
My mother put down the tray and wandered over to the large table which she had placed strategically so that she could watch her children play in the pool while she did her various arts and crafts. Today, hundreds of photographs littered the tabletop.
"Scrap booking?"
She nodded her head, picking up the oldest photo which exists of me and placing it in my hands. I stared down at the face of the scared young girl, freckles sprinkled across her nose and curly ginger hair making me resemble Annie the orphan. Although, I guess the red hair and freckles weren't the only things which made me resemble the fictional character. In the photo I was sitting on my mother's lap on the stairs of the orphange, clutching the most disgustingly tattered doll I have ever laid eyes on. My mother looked gorgeous, as usual, and I just seemed out of place in her arms.
"Mom, why did you choose me?" I asked, a question which I think I've asked over a thousand times.
Mom smiled, as she always does before she replied as she always does, "It was just love at first sight."
The answer has never varied, not since the moment I had driven home with the strangers which became my parents. I bend down and kiss my mother's forehead before handing her the picture. I had grown up knowing that I was adopted, but I never held it against them nor did I have the urge to hunt down my real parents. I had been chosen by the most amazing parents on the planet, and my real parents were clearly not worth my time and effort. I didn't have many memories of my life before becoming the daughter of Julia and John Summers, and those I did have are more glimpses into a past which didn't seem to fit in with my current life. A woman who dressed in black from head to toe waving a ruler at me, a curly blonde lady with a sunny face putting a plaster on my grazed knee... I knew that neither of them were my birth mother. No – that woman didn't feature in my life at all.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
The voice broke through my thoughts and a smile flashed unrestrained across my face.
"On the porch Bill, come on out." Mom called out, not bothering to get up and guide my father's best friend and our neighbour through the house he knows as well as his own.
"Good morning everyone." Bill beamed, shaking Dan's hand and squeezing my mother's before he came over and gave me a big bear hug. "I'm so glad that you arrived safely Lana. Your parents always miss you kids whenever you're gone."
Bill had been fed the same story we had fed everyone to disguise my disappearance for three quarters of the year. To the rest of the world, I went to school at Darlton Academy – a prestigious all-girls boarding school on the opposite side of the country. Only my family and my best friend knew the truth - that I was only awake for a few months each year.
The first time I slipped into the comatose state in which I spent most of the year, my father went into a medical panic and had me rushed into the emergency unit at the hospital he works at. Luckily for me, he insisted in treating me himself and soon realized that my body was shutting down, refusing to digest anything that the nurses pumped into my stomach or fed me through drips and other medical paraphernalia. Heartbroken at my poor prognosis, he decided to let me die at home in peace.
Only, I didn't die.
"Thanks Mr Douglas." I smiled at him, returning his hug.
My mother offered him a glass of lemonade and he took one, sitting next to her as he took a sip. I watch as he picked up the picture I had just been holding, smiling at it.
"I remember this day, Julia." he said, holding the picture up to show my mom.
She chuckled and grabbed his hand, a sad look in her eyes. I could tell that she wasn't thinking of the day that she and Dad had brought me home.
Danny had once told me that Bill's wife had run away with another man, leaving with their only child only a week after Mom and Dad had brought me home from the orphanage. Dan had said that Bill had seemed to disappear into hiding for weeks, barely eating unless Mom went and forced him to eat what she had cooked for him. I don't remember any of this, but it was pretty clear by the look on Mom's face that she did.
Bill clearly saw the look too because he looked away, toward my mother's rose bushes.
"Rhett's coming to stay with me for his final year in school." he said quietly, as if he's not really expecting anyone to pay him much attention.
I was surprised by his sudden change in demeanour, his happiness turned to brooding within a few moments. Rhett? Who was Rhett? The name rang a bell at the back of my mind but all I could think of was Rhett Butler from Gone with the wind – a film I'd forced my brothers to watch with me about a hundred times.
Mom glanced over to us with a look we all know, and Dan and I quickly but quietly made our way to the back door, slipping inside the house and leaving Bill to the psychological bandage which is Mom.
"Who's Rhett?" I asked Dan as we made our way to the kitchen to hunt down something to snack on.
"Why can't I stay away from you? You're like a drug," he whispered into my ear, his breath warm against my skin. "I only have one option, my princess - I'm going to ruin you the way you have ruined me." *** Four years ago, Kat lost her memory and was taken in by a "family" working for the mafia - turning Kat into a thief. Enzo, scarred from a mission for the King, distrusts everything and everyone. However, when he runs into Kat, he finds himself drawn to her like no one he'd ever met before. He couldn't possibly be mated to a human, could he? Or maybe Kat was just the right person to steal the jaded Enzo's heart.
I could hear his heart race as he spoke, my head pressed against his chest. "And were you pleased with what you found?" I asked, giving in to the urge to find out exactly what he thought of me. "I found you to be exactly what I had hoped for, after all these years. You're smart, funny and generally adorable. You drive me insane with your stubbornness. You have a gorgeously alluring figure and a pure, sweet face. Most importantly, you're someone who I could live with for the rest of eternity." He squeezed me gently, running his fingers through my tangled hair. *** Seventeen year old Callista is just your average teenage girl, however when she starts to have strange dreams after coming into contact with a mysterious guy in a coma things become complicated: especially when she begins to suspect that he is trying to speak to her through her dreams. Launched into an alternate realm with Greek gods, succubi and all things mythological, Callista struggles to balance her new-found destiny and her life in the human realm.
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
Elodie took a deep breath and knocked, the sound echoing in the quiet corridor. A moment of silence passed, broken only by the pounding of her heart. Finally, the door snicked open, revealing a surprised Dashiell. 'Can't you see the Do Not Disturb sign? We don't want-' His initial frown quickly morphed into confusion at the sight of his wife. 'What are you doing here?' he demanded. 'Your girlfriend invited me,' Elodie replied, her voice laced with icy calm. She tried to peer past him, but his broad frame blocked the view. A saccharine voice chimed in from within the room. 'Elodie? Oh dear, we didn't mean for you to find out this way. It's just that-' Elodie cut her short. 'Oh please, Selene. Spare me the fake apologies. You wouldn't have sent me all those texts if you didn't want me to know.' Dashiell shifted uncomfortably, his face a mask of annoyance. 'What texts?' Elodie stepped past him, taking in the luxurious suite with a sardonic smile. The king-sized bed, the scattered rose petals, the lingering scent of sex – it all painted a vivid picture of their betrayal. She looked up at Dashiell, her gaze unwavering. 'I want a divorce.' ****** Dashiell lived a life of luxury, surrounded by the best things money could buy. But when a car accident left him vulnerable, he met Elodie, a seemingly ordinary woman who nursed him back to health. Mistaking her for just another employee, Dashiell entered into a loveless marriage with her solely for convenience. However, fate had a different script in store. Elodie, the 'ordinary nurse,' held a secret more precious than any diamond: she was the sole heiress to Northstar, a vast and powerful enterprise. Unaware of her true identity, Dashiell cast her aside when his ex-girlfriend returned, leaving Elodie humiliated. But Elodie was not one to be easily broken. She shed the facade of the meek nurse, reclaiming her rightful inheritance and stepping into the role of Northstar's CEO. Now, the woman Dashiell discarded was the one holding the reins of power. As Elodie thrives in her new role, Dashiell is consumed by regret. He finally sees Elodie for the extraordinary woman she truly is, realising the depth of his mistake. But will his remorse be enough to win back the heart he so carelessly discarded?
Anabel found out she was pregnant and dialed her husband's number to share the good news to him. They have been married for two years without a child. Desmond's mother had been accusing her of being barren and unproductive. When the call was picked, she was flabbergasted and broken. She was hearing a loud moan of feminine voice. "Ohh! Yeah! Don't stop fucking me! Fuck me harder baby!" accompanied with sound of skins slapping against the other. She went home to confront her husband and end up receiving a divorce paper. Desmond divorced him for a lady his mother was rooting. Few months later when he found out that his ex-wife is a billionaire heiress and she is pregnant with twins, he went crazy!
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"