Novels by Cherry

A good day came months after. The people of the village finally got their freedom. When that happened, week-long celebrations were held at the village, and all of them were invited, especially, Faith, Mateo, and Kai. It was a joyous occasion. Even when everyone was dreading back where they all spend the worst days of their lives, of course, they went anyway. Hesitant at first, everyone had a great time. Faith had never seen the people of the village have such a festive spirit. It was truly a beautiful week. Faith spends most of her time with her grandmother, Kami, and his family. Benji didn’t want to go with them, but when Kami asked – he couldn’t say no. Lora (Kami’s sister) was there to welcome everyone. Everyone could see how excited Benji got when he saw her. Piper and Kai exchanged a knowing glance. Benji has a crush on Lora. He had it since he came here for the first time. After he returned to the city, he kept in contact with her in one way or another. Faith was happy to see

(One Year Later)Even today when Faith closes her eyes and thinks about her recent past, she can’t truly process it. She can’t believe that so much changed in the past couple of years. From losing her entire family to almost getting killed to find a new family – a new purpose – everything in her life was nothing less than a lesson – a brutal and painful lesson. Currently, she was sitting in a meeting along with Kai and Mateo – but they weren’t the only ones there. The three of them were hosts, while the other distant members of the Ricci and Bianchi clan, a few mafia leaders, and a couple of correspondents from the village were in the room. The debate was on – whether the village/island should be given its independence or not.Faith was sitting in between Kai and Mateo. She averted her gaze to the other side of the room where Kami sat along with a few young faces representing the village. Faith could tell that the young boy was nervous. She shoots him an assuring smile. Kami smiled ba

Kai didn’t say anything in return. He just impassively stared at Mateo before they were interrupted by Faith and Piper’s loud laughter. Both looked at the girls to find that Ethan had managed to pull Levi into the pool. He grabbed Levi’s ankle and pulled him in, making the water splash around and the girls laugh. Mateo heaved a sigh and shook his head as he watched his friend emerge from under the water, not looking much impressed. Noel was standing behind Levi when Ethan pulled him in, he was now watching them two. Ethan laughed and splashed some water towards him with his hand, “What are you doing up there loser? Get in!” Noel shook his head, “No, and you need to come out too.” He looks at all of them, “You all do. It is chilly and the water is cold,” he added. “It is not that cold,” Piper replied. It was because Kai switch on the heater to warm up the water, but that’s mean it was okay to be in a pool on a chilly night under the sky. Just at that moment, Piper sneezed. That was i

Faith and Piper were wasted. If having one drink after another wasn’t enough, they were now drinking straight out of the bottle. “We should go swimming,” Faith slurred a suggestion to which Piper enthusiastically nodded her head, agreeing to it. Before anyone could stop them, an equally drunk Ethan got on his feet and threw his fist in the air, “Hell yeah! Let’s go!!” he yelled out and hooted. Everyone else was so concerned about Faith and Piper that they didn’t even notice just how much Ethan was drinking. These three were completely wasted. Noel was slightly tipsy. Where else, Levi, Mateo, and Kai only had a single drink so they weren’t drunk at all. They decided to stay sober to keep an eye on girls, and well – now Ethan as well. “Excellent,” Levi muttered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He moved to Ethan, who was swinging from one side to another with a bottle of one of the most expensive whiskeys in his hand. Kai glanced at the bottle in his hand. He didn’t

Faith was in her room, changing with there was a knock on her door. Her room was now filled with done and undone boxes. She will be moving out tomorrow and there is so much left to do. But currently, she wasn’t focused on it. She is certain that she will be able to pack before the movers arrive. She was concerned about the dinner party they were having tonight. Faith had already invited everyone and now she was changing for the night. By the knock on the door, she was certain that Mateo has arrived. She quickly picked up the clothes she threw on the floor and put them on the bed before she spoke, “Yes?” The door opened and indeed it was Mateo. He looked good. Fresh and well-rested. It took everyone over a month to get over what happened on the island. The exhaustion and trauma (for some) didn’t leave for days. Mateo was looking like he did when Faith first met him. The difference between then and now is that then he had a hard scowl on his face, and now he was smiling. Then he threw

“Are you all packed up?” Piper asked Faith who came to her room to visit. Faith looked at Piper and smiled. “Yes, almost. Just a few things are remaining to be packed,” she replied. In two days, Faith is moving in with Mateo. For the past week, she has been very busy. She didn’t realize how comfortable she has gotten at Kai’s place, that now that she was winding everything up here, she feels sad to be leaving. When she started packing, she was excited. For her, moving in with Mateo is like a new chapter of her life, but as she proceeded, she realized how uncomfortable yet relieving it is to end this brief, daunting, and challenging chapter of her life. Piper was sitting on the bed, reading, when Faith knocked on her door. She exhaled and smiled broadly at her, “So, are you excited?” She asked. Faith chuckled and sat on the bed beside her, “I am.” She nodded her head, “But I am also nervous. There are so many ifs and buts in my head that I can hardly sleep at night,” she replied hon

Three days. It has been three days since my life completely changed. It went from good to worse. It is not just my life that changed, but something snapped in me as well. My wolf could not be controlled anymore. My calm and cool demeanor wore off. I was angry – no, I was furious. I feel fire burning in my chest every day – all the time. It has gotten harder to pretend that everything was okay. Even Kendrick and my other employees noted the beast uprising within me. The old me would have been worried, but the new me didn’t care. All I could feel was rage. All I could think was revenge. I am not the most revengeful person, but in a matter of a night, I have come to the point where I am ready to destroy the world to find out the killers of not just my family, but my Pack. The wolf had already taken charge. Everything I was against, I was now going to do deliberately. How time changes with a snap of a finger… The three days were painful, tearful, and dreadful. Arla confirmed my worst ni

I looked down at my hands. Steady as a rock. They don’t seem like they just brutally killed dozens of innocent men and women, except for a hint of blood around my nails. It’s funny how empty I feel knowing we just won. We won against the brutes of werewolves. We won against my mother’s murderers. It just doesn’t feel the way I thought it would feel, probably because we crossed a line. We involved innocents in this. We slayed the one that didn’t have anything to do with my mother’s murder. There was a wave of celebration around me. We were far from the borders of the Sage Pack, somewhere in the woods. Some of our people were getting medical attention, while the others lit a bonfire and were now drinking, singing, and dancing around it. They called for the celebrations to go on all of the remaining nights. I didn’t feel like it. I was drained from using my powers tonight. Also, this heavy feeling dangling from my chest was not letting me feel happy about our victory. I felt a pat on m

My wolf was gone as soon as it came. Since I never converted before, it was hard for my wolf to be out for long. It was also weak and inexperienced, but still, it was fighting to stay. As I was lying on the floor, completely naked, drenched in sweat, huffing and puffing, and with excruciating pain all over my body from converting into my wolf, I realized that I had just lost a battle to my wolf. But that’s what I am not worried about at the moment. I am concerned about the vision I got. I don’t know what it was. Whether it was even true or not. I never had such visions before. It could mean that either I am going crazy or my wolf just restored its connection with my Pack, and that could only happen if the Alpha of the Pack, my father, sent a signal to me. I don’t know how I am supposed to believe it when my father is the one who broke my connection with the Pack when I left. He promised me that I would never see him alive. He promised that he would never reach out to me, and now this

“Aaron?” That voice. That same soft voice was calling my name. I couldn’t see her. It was pitch black where I was. Her voice was echoing. It was coming from somewhere far away. My stomach twitched when it went farther away. “Aaron, help me.” The voice didn’t beg. She didn’t cry or scream. It was a soft plea. The vulnerability in her voice made me want to reach out to her. My palms started to itch to reach out to hold her – to make sure she was okay. I never felt like this before. How can I feel like this to a faceless entity that I am not even sure is real?“Aaron?” The voice started to get deeper.“Aaron?” And deeper…“Aaron??” Until it changed into Kendrick’s voice. “Aaron, can you hear me? Hey, what happened? Aaron?”I gasped as I felt like I was gushing out of the pitch-dark hollow hole, and back into the world. I opened my eyes and widened them. Kendrick was kneeling beside me, with other acquainted faces standing around, looking down at me with deep concern on their faces. For a

It was happening again. I was aware that I was in a dream, but yet it felt so real. Am I even dreaming? Of course, I am. What else could it be? This can’t be real. I can’t have happiness, also, I can’t be so submissive. I don’t know where I am. The place looks luxurious, nothing like the cabin I live in with my father and brother. Unlike my house (I can’t call it home. It is not a home), the place doesn’t have broken windows, a stale wooden floor, mold in the corners of the room, a noisy ceiling fan, or a mattress with springs bouncing out. No. This place smells like roses and berries. The marble floor shines. The white walls stand tall. A big clean window shows a view of the distant mountains of the north and a forest in front of it. Even when the windows are closed, I know how refreshing it must smell outside. The room had warmth in it, unlike mine in the cabin, which is always cold. A small smile curled on my lips. At least I get to feel this luxury in my dreams. All my life, I ha

Brielle “You can’t run away from me. Even if you want to, you can’t. There is no way out for you.” I heard the same faceless voice again. It has been months since I have been dreaming about this voice. I don’t know who it belongs to. I am unable to put a face to the gravitating and deep voice. Each time I dream of this voice, it does something to me. I feel helpless with this voice. My body automatically surrenders to it. I wonder if the Goddess sent it from the beyond to punish me. To stop me. It is not only the voice that makes my head foggy but the touch as well. Yes, this dream man of mine didn’t only speak to me, he touched me too, and the things that mere touch did to me. I can’t see him touching me, but I feel it. I feel it to my very core. I feel his feathery touch on my sink. It burns and soothes it at the same time. When he touches me, everything stands still for me. I feel like I am floating. I feel okay. I feel like nothing is wrong with me or nothing wrong could happen

The rest of the week flew by in a blur—work, spending time with Jess, and the constant flood of calls and messages from Atlas. I didn’t pick up a single one. His texts, all variations of the same theme, piled up on my phone, each one a hollow echo of regret. If Atlas had proven anything over the past few days, it was that he was sorry. But that word, sorry, had lost all meaning to me.I used to be the girl who’d drop everything for him, who’d bend to his will with a single word. But not anymore. I was too hurt, too broken, to let his apologies soften me. Even if he meant them—truly meant them—I didn’t want them. They couldn’t fix what he’d shattered.Saturday arrived faster than I was ready for, leaving me standing in front of my cupboard, staring at the meager selection of clothes. I blew my cheeks out in frustration before turning to Jess, who was casually perched on my bed, lost in her book. “I really need to get the rest of my stuff back from Atlas,” I muttered.Jess looked up, he

“Are you going to tell me what happened? Is this about Amanda? Did she say something to you?” Jess's voice trembled slightly as she stood outside the bathroom door where I had locked myself. I had tried to pull myself together before coming home, but the effort had been futile. The moment I stepped into the apartment, Jess took one look at me and knew something was wrong. When she asked what happened, the dam broke. Tears streamed down my face, and when she wrapped her arms around me, I collapsed into sobs. She didn’t press me for answers, just held me, her silent presence a comfort.After what felt like hours of ugly crying, I finally excused myself and retreated to the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face, trying to erase the evidence of my breakdown. As I wiped my face with a towel, I noticed streaks of makeup staining the fabric. It was a small thing, but it felt like a mark of my defeat. I tried not to catch my reflection in the mirror, but when I did, the sight of myself o

He didn’t need to guide me. I knew exactly what to do. While he remained standing, steady and composed, I could feel my legs trembling with the overwhelming pull of desire. The weight of it was too much, and I made my way to the bed, the cool sheets beneath me a stark contrast to the heat building inside.I waited, expecting him to join me, to close the distance between us, but he didn’t move. He stood there for a few long, torturous seconds, his eyes narrowing as he watched me. I could see the thoughts swirling in his mind, hidden behind a carefully controlled expression. He was a master at masking his emotions, but there was one thing he couldn’t hide—lust. It blazed in his eyes, a raw, primal hunger that made my heart race.I was certain he would climb into bed with me, that he would let go of the restraint I could see him struggling to maintain. But instead, he surprised me. He dragged the armchair from the corner of the room, pulling it closer to the bed. He sat down, his gaze ne

Walking back to the living room, I felt a heavy weight inside me. I was nervous and ashamed. Every glance in my direction made me feel like they knew what I had done and what I was doing. As I stepped out, Aunt Rosa's concerned voice met me.“Oh sweetie, I hope you’re okay. You were gone for a while and you look flushed,” she said.Her words heightened my anxiety. I hadn’t even thought to check myself in the mirror before reentering. Pressing my lips together, I decided to lie.“Uh, yes. I’m fine. The food just didn’t agree with me,” I said softly.She gave me a sympathetic smile, her hand gently stroking my arm. Over her shoulder, I saw Atlas reenter the living room from outside. He must have taken the back door earlier and now returned through the main entrance, maintaining the illusion that he had been outside all this time. His calculated move made me feel slightly less nervous. He offered me a quick glance as he passed us and walked over to Philippe.My stomach knotted at the sig

For the next five minutes, I remained frozen. I couldn't bring myself to speak or excuse myself. When I glanced at Atlas, his calm gaze met my panicked eyes. I gulped, feeling both anxious and thrilled. This was something I'd never done before—something so controversial. Fear and intrigue mingled within me. I wanted to know what would happen if I excused myself to the washroom, so I finally gathered the courage.Clearing my throat, I gained everyone's attention. Offering a small smile to Aunt Rosa, I stated, "Please excuse me. I’ll be back in a minute. You all carry on." As I stood, the chair scraped against the floor, making me wince. I straightened my dress and, with a quick glance at Atlas, aimed for the washroom. Unsure of which washroom to go to, I decided to head to my old room.Each step felt like a journey as I made my way down the hall, my heart pounding in anticipation. What would Atlas do next? The thrill of the unknown sent shivers down my spine, making my steps both hesit

When Philippe learned that I already knew Dr. Lawson, he echoed my thoughts with a chuckle, "What a small world." Dr. Seth was then introduced to Amanda and Aunt Rosa as Philippe's nephew and my professor/boss. The moment felt awkward, perhaps because I now realized Dr. Lawson was connected to a distant family member who might uncover aspects of my life I preferred to keep private.Amanda's reaction added to my unease. She arched an eyebrow upon learning that Dr. Lawson was my professor, a glint of mischief in her eyes before she smirked softly. It sent a chill down my spine. While I hadn't done anything that could tarnish my reputation—at least, nothing Amanda knew about—I couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension. Being around Amanda always made me wary, and this situation was no exception.But I wasn’t the only one feeling awkward. Dr. Lawson seemed equally uncomfortable. After his initial greeting, he avoided making eye contact with me. Instead, he engaged in a polite conversatio