Novels by Alia Mandi

Gingerlocks and Her Three Bears It was supposed to be one day; a one-time thing but- I no longer know what am doing anymore. I was just going to shoot some content with my friends, then go about my day, I swear! That was the original plan. But then, shit happened. The rain, the wolves, losing my friends... and now, I’m surrounded by three hulky men, who are all hot and primal and determined to never let me go. I call them bears because they are humongous! I mean, just look at them. I am nervous, I don’t think that all three of them can fit yet, my heart flutters like a caged bird, so fast and rhythmically to the beats of anticipation and excitement. I am thrilled... and am so going to get ripped. Yes, I am going to get ripped! I know it is wrong. What will people say? My supporters! My career is on the line and there are already nasty rumours floating around about me, and now this! But surprisingly, that doesn’t bother me. To be seen with all these alpha males; my three bears, who

“Adrian! Hayden?” I called out frantically to my four-year-old and husband. I continued searching the vast expanse of the sprawling mansion that was our Italian holiday home, my eyes dotting arounds in the hopes of finding them. ‘Where were they?’ I asked myself. One minute, they were with me in the bedroom, patiently waiting for me to get our three-year-old girl ready and the next minute they had completely vanished. The ginormous mansion did not make it easy for me either. “Chiara, hang on to mommy okay. Let’s go find your dadda!” I cooed softly at my little bundle of joy. Her mesmerizing grey eyes shone brightly as she gave me an ear to ear grin happily throwing her arms in the air. Shifting my body to accommodate her small frame in my arms, I kissed her cheeks before resuming my search for my other child and husband. “Dadda! Dadda!” Chiara continued chanting softly, her eyes on the lookout for her favourite human, her dad! She was such a daddy’s girl, even I sometimes got a litt

“You are leaving?” Lillie asked sadly as she watched me finish packing my bags. Her look was so disheartening, I felt guilty knowing that I was leaving her alone even though she was going through a lot; with her pregnancy and the break up. She hadn’t told me the full story yet, but I suspected that there was another woman involved from the little glimpses of her history she had given me. However, I was still glad, with the help of the therapist we had gotten, she was starting to be herself once more. Hayden was at first adamant when I suggested the idea but after a slight push he agreed. “Yes,” I looked at her with pity. “Listen, if you want I could-” “No, no, noo!” She cut me off, grabbing my hands. “You have already been through a lot, you need a break.” She lovingly hugged me, her hands making sure I never moved a spot. “It is okay, don’t cry. I will always facetime you everyday.” “I know! I know! I am just going to miss having you physically, but you promise you would be back, r

“You sent her here, pregnant! Are you nuts!” I yelled at the metallic phone, the end speaker sighing in regret. “I know, I know- but she insisted and you know how she is.” I breathed to calm myself down. If he wasn’t my dear friend, I would have murdered him by now. “You know brother you do not need to worry, I know how to take care of my woman. I am always right behind her.” He said with sadness in his voice which made me question, what the hell was up with them. I had definitely noticed the tension and longing in his voice, even though he thought he had carefully hidden. “What is going on between you two? Hang on!” I said, cutting off the line as I had noise approaching the mini office I had at this house. “Yes!” My heart rate calmed down a bit when I noticed that it was just my Bella. “Bambi! My love, what are you doing here?” I asked as I stood up to go and embrace her, she just gave me a tired smile before coming to sit on my lap. It had been a week ever since that incident, a

The air hung heavy with palpable discomfort. Each passing second, felt like it had stretched to an eternity. I pulled my dress further down as if it wasn’t low enough already. I refused to stare back at Lillie's eyes. I did not want to see the betrayal in them. The ground was interesting enough for me. “Hey, how did you know I would be here?” Hayden broke the silence as he went ahead to embrace his daughter. “Collins told me,” Lillie answered, distractedly as I felt her blue orbs pierce through me. “He shouldn’t have done that. That was a dangerous mistake after he knew what this night was abou-” “I know,” Lillie cut him off, “I was the one who insisted. I wanted to come and comfort you!” Her blue eyes were back to me, questioning me. “How long had this been going on?” Lillie asked, the question directed at me. I pulled my eyes away from the ground as I returned back her stare. Oh my God! I had hurt her. Her eyes were teary, as she looked at me in betrayal. “Lillie, I swear-”

In the hazy realm between wakefulness and sleep, I could hear loud creaks from a distance. I found myself drifting like a passenger in a moving vehicle, the sensation of motion pulling me further away from consciousness as if journeying to some distant destination. To where, I do not know. I slowly woke up, feeling groggy, only to find myself sitting on a man's lap. Startled, I let out a loud scream and fell backward onto the floor. My heart raced with confusion and fear. "Shh... Calm down my love, you are safe now" I heard a voice say softly, pulling me out of the so-called fog of thought. Cold but hard hands patted me softly on my head pulling me back up, in turn I could feel my nerves unwinding. “Hayden?” I softly called out meeting his beautiful green eyes. They were lowered, watching me attentively and concerned. His eyelashes formed a curtain over them, partially hiding the mesmerizing shade of green. If only he could fall back lower. I thought to myself, then I would get a