
Introduction
Chapter 1
Sam's POV
The steering wheel slips in my sweaty hands as my car skids around the mountain turn. Rain pounds the glass so hard I can barely see the road. Lightning flashes, and for one scary second, I see a figure standing in the middle of the highway.
I slam on the brakes. My Honda screams to a stop just inches from hitting... nothing. The road is empty.
"What the hell?" I whisper, my heart beating like crazy.
My hands shake as I grip the wheel tighter. I need to get out of this storm. I need to get to Tidewaters before I lose my mind totally. The boxes in my car rattle as I start driving again. Everything I own is in this stupid car. My whole life fits in plastic boxes now.
Another flash of lightning, and I see the sign: "Welcome to Tidewaters, California - Population 3,000."
The rain stops like someone turned off a tap. Just like that. No more noise, no more wind. The sudden silence makes my ears ring. That's not normal. Storms don't just stop like that.
But I keep going because I have nowhere else to go.
Three months ago, I was Detective Samantha Rivera of the LAPD. I had a badge, a gun, and folks respected me. Now I'm just Sam, running away to a tiny town where nobody knows I failed to save a seven-year-old girl named Sofia Mendoza.
I can still see Sofia's face in my dreams. Big brown eyes and a gap-toothed smile. Her mom begged me to find her baby girl. I promised I would bring Sofia home.
I lied.
Sofia vanished from her school playground on a Tuesday. By Friday, I knew the police chief was hiding something. By Monday, I found half the department was taking money to look the other way while bad people did horrible things. By Wednesday, they fired me for asking too many questions.
Sofia is still lost. And it's my fault.
The town spreads out below me like a picture. Pretty houses with white picket walls. A port with fishing boats. Everything looks perfect and quiet. Too perfect.
My phone buzzes. Unknown number.
"Hello?" I answer.
Heavy breathing, then a child's voice: "You can't save me either."
The line goes dead.
My hands start shaking again. Prank call. Has to be. But the voice sounded just like Sofia.
I drive down Main Street, and people stop what they're doing to stare at me. An old woman waters her flowers. A guy walking his dog. Three teens hanging out by the ice cream shop. They all turn to watch my car pass. Their faces have no emotion. They just... stare.
A chill runs up my neck. Small places are supposed to be friendly, right? People are supposed to wave and smile at strangers. These people look at me like I'm carrying the plague.
I park in front of Murphy's Diner. The sign in the window says "Help Wanted - Private Office for Rent Upstairs." Perfect. A place to live and work while I figure out what to do with my messed-up life.
The bell above the door jingles as I walk in. Every talk stops. Twenty people eating lunch all turn to stare at me. The quiet is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"You must be the new girl," says a guy behind the counter. He's about fifty, with gray hair and kind eyes. "I'm Murphy. You're here about the office?"
Finally, someone normal. "Yes, sir. I called yesterday."
"Good time. We need someone around here who knows how to solve problems." Murphy pours me coffee without asking if I want any. "Used to be a cop, right?"
"How did you—"
"Small town. Word travels fast." He leans closer and says, "Be careful who you trust around here. This place has secrets."
Before I can ask what he means, the diner door opens. A tall woman walks in wearing an expensive black coat. She has silver hair pulled back tight and cold blue eyes. Everyone in the diner suddenly gets very interested in their food.
"Ms. Rivera," the woman says. "I'm Eleanor Blackwood. Welcome to Tidewaters."
I didn't tell anyone my name was Rivera. I only used my first name when I called about the job.
"How do you know my last name?"
Eleanor smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I make it my business to know everything about people who come to our town. Especially former police cops who had... trouble... with their previous job."
My stomach drops. She knows about Sofia. She knows about LA. She knows everything.
"I don't know what you've heard, but—"
"Oh, I've heard quite a lot." Eleanor's smile gets bigger and scarier. "I know about the Mendoza case. I know about the corruption you found. I know why you really left Los Angeles."
The coffee cup slips from my hands and crashes to the floor. Hot coffee splashes everywhere, but I barely notice. How could she possibly know all that? I never told anyone the real story.
Eleanor steps closer. "Here's some free advice, Detective Rivera. Find somewhere else to start over. Tidewaters isn't the right place for someone with your... particular skills."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm trying to help you." Eleanor turns to leave, then stops. "Oh, and Ms. Rivera? We've had some recent crashes involving young people. It would be terrible if history repeated itself. Wouldn't you agree?"
She walks out, and slowly the diner comes back to life. People start talking again, but they keep glancing at me like I'm a bomb about to burst.
Murphy refills my coffee cup. "I told you to be careful," he whispers. "Eleanor Blackwood runs this town. Cross her, and bad things happen."
"What kind of bad things?"
"The kind that make people disappear."
That night, I'm unpacking boxes in my new office when my phone rings. Unknown number again.
"Hello?"
The same child's voice: "I'm here. In Tidewaters. Come find me."
"Sofia? Sofia, is that you?"
But the voice that answers isn't Sofia's. It's deeper, older, and it makes my blood turn to ice: "Sofia was just the beginning, Detective. We have so many more."
Last Chapters
#21 The New Hunt
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#20 The Ultimate Sacrifice
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#19 The Last Guardian
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#18 The Ancient Deal
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#17 The Hunt Begins
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#16 The New Beginning
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#15 The Final Battle
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#14 The Chase
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#13 The Final Stand
Last Updated: 1/27/2026#12 The Final Truth
Last Updated: 1/27/2026
You Might Like 😍
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
Surrendering to Destiny
Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.
From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.
Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
Invisible To Her Bully
Shattered Girl
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.
“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.
Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother
who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.
When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully
My back hit the desk. Pain exploded through my skull.
"Girls like you don't get to dream about guys like Kai." Bella's breath was hot on my face. "You don't get to write pathetic love letters."
She shoved me again. Harder.
"Maybe if you weren't such a desperate little—"
I fell. My head cracked against the corner.
Warmth trickled down my neck. Blood.
Their laughter turned to gasps.
The door slammed.
I tried to stand. Couldn't. The room was spinning, fading to black.
Someone... please...
Angelina, the most powerful Alpha who conquered forty-nine packs, dies in a yacht explosion—only to wake up as Aria Sterling, a fifteen-year-old Omega's daughter who just died from bullying.
The original Aria's life was a nightmare. Humiliated when golden boy Kai Matthews posted her love letter online, then shoved to death by his girlfriend Bella Morrison. But that's not all her family faces:
"You got until Monday," the tattooed gangster sneered at Aria's mother. "Ten grand cash. Or I'm taking collateral—your kids' organs fetch top dollar. That pretty daughter of yours? She could make us money another way too."
Now Angelina's lethal combat skills awaken in this fragile body. No more hiding. No more fear.
Armed with an Alpha's ruthlessness and a mysterious blood-red pendant, she'll dismantle everyone who hurt this family—one calculated move at a time.
The Biker's Fate
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate
"You're like a sister to me."
Those were the actual words that broke the camel's back.
Not after what just happened. Not after the hot, breathless, soul-shaking night we spent tangled in each other's arms.
I knew from the beginning that Tristan Hayes was a line I shouldn't cross.
He wasn't just anyone, he was my brother's best friend. The man I spent years secretly wanting.
But that night... we were broken. We had just buried our parents. And the grief was too heavy, too real...so I begged him to touch me.
To make me forget. To fill the silence that death left behind.
And he did. He held me like I was something fragile.
Kissed me like I was the only thing he needed to breathe.
Then left me bleeding with six words that burned deeper than rejection ever could.
So, I ran. Away from everything that cost me pain.
Now, five years later, I'm back.
Fresh from rejecting the mate who abused me. Still carrying the scars of a pup I never got to hold.
And the man waiting for me at the airport isn't my brother.
It's Tristan.
And he's not the guy I left behind.
He's a biker.
An Alpha.
And when he looked at me, I knew there was no where else to run to.
Balance of Light and Shadow
Little did she know how much both worlds need her to bring peace and true freedom.
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."












