Bitter And Bones Novels & Stories

After I started working at the zoo, I was added to a group chat called “A Hundred Ways to Kill a Human.” Every member had an animal as their profile picture. At first, I thought it was some quirky staff group. I even found it kind of cute. That was, until I realized they were discussing how to eat me. Pedro the Parrot: [The new human has beautiful eyes. I can’t wait till Christmas. I want to peck them out right now!] George the Gorilla: [Relax. There’ll be many visitors during Christmas. We’ll have more eyeballs than we can eat! Also, I’m calling dibs on her thigh.] Thor the Tiger: [Nobody’s taking her head, right? That’s mine.] Tucker the Elephant: [I’m a vegetarian, but I can crush her bones to dust.]

My husband's first love, the woman he had once idolized, had left him for a powerful and influential school bully. Years later, she found herself in the midst of a bitter divorce and in need of a lawyer. And who else but my husband, now an accomplished attorney, ended up back in her orbit? As he moved toward her once more, I decided it was time to step aside. After all, there was no stopping someone determined to chase after a lost cause.

Deanna is a twenty-two-year-old woman who works as a French translator. She had to swallow a bitter pill when her virginity was taken by an unknown man before her wedding day. Meanwhile, Measuz is a thirty-five-year-old founder of New Calce Technology who was forced to marry because he lost a bidding battle or tender with his uncle. The thirty-five-year-old couldn't refuse the deal with his uncle, even though he was in a relationship with another woman. “The world really is small enough for the two of us.”

My wife, Rosalie Lockwood, locks me up in a villa located in the suburbs for three days because I've forgotten to feed her first love's dog once. Unfortunately, the villa somehow gets set on fire. I call Rosalie for help and beg her to tell me where she's hidden the key. But she merely replies lightly, "Today is Caleb's birthday. Don't think about ruining this big day for us! Once Caleb's mood lightens up after we're done celebrating his birthday, I'll let you out." I try to save myself, but the water supply in the villa is already cut off. Soon, the signal goes out, too. I can only watch as I get surrounded by the ruthless inferno. Eventually, everything in the villa is reduced to ashes. Even when I'm burned to nothing but bones, help still never comes for me…

Ashley Tudor was once a talented ballet dancer until an unforeseen injury took her dreams away. Years later, Ashley finds herself bitter, broken, and without a boyfriend. When her junior year begins, she finds herself in the middle of two love interests Zander Hogan, her best friend's twin, and Aiden Buckland, a childhood friend. When ballet enters her life again, Ashley will need to figure out if chasing her dreams is worth breaking her heart.

What was supposed to be a punishment for captain Ysabelle Gum soon turns into a romantic getaway when she catches the attention of a celeb musician on her team. Ysabelle has no interest in men, especially celebrities, she just wants to shoot and kill to her heart’s content. However, she is forced to reconsider when she is tasked with being his bodyguard. Ysabelle wants no part of it, not when the singer is hell-bent on making her love him. Actor and singer Jordan Bell was used to being fawned over, by fans and family. But he realizes he needs something else, something deeper. When he is cast in a military drama, Jordan and his team go to shooting stations, where he meets Ysabelle, who against all odds saved his life during a shooting mistake. Jordan is sure she is the one for him, and he vows to make her his bodyguard. But the thing is, Ysabelle has no interest in him, and no amount of broken bones will keep him away.

On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, Deviana was left at the altar. Her fiancé, Adrian, chose to walk away—for a woman from his past, Leviana, who had suddenly fallen ill and called for him. In front of the guests and countless flashing cameras, Deviana was forced to swallow the bitter truth: abandoned, humiliated, and ridiculed. But from the ruins of her pride and shattered heart, Deviana made a vow to rise again. She would not let Leviana steal everything—love, reputation, or power.

After three years of gathering herbs, I finally returned to Green-Pouch Valley. But my master, Mr. Gu, was not there. On the ground, only a dark red pool of blood remained, soaking his cloth robes. My senior brothers and sisters, usually so lively, were nowhere to be found. My master's wife, Auntie Qin, sat collapsed beside the pool of blood. Her once-black hair was now mostly white, her voice a hoarse whisper as she called to me. "Shuang'er, your master traded his life for the valley's ascension. You must go to the Nine Heavens and offer your thanks." It was only then I understood. The Celestial Lord, Jun Che, in his quest to forge an immortal body for his mortal wife, had coveted my master's rare Celestial Bones of Healing. He used the promise of ascension for everyone in Green-Pouch Valley as bait, then brutally tore the bones from my master's living body. I was born with a strange affliction, a void where joy and sorrow should be. The others in the valley secretly called me a cold-blooded monster. Now, as I stared at the blood-soaked robes of the man who had saved me and treated me like his own daughter, my expression remained blank. "Auntie Qin, did Master do this willingly?" Auntie Qin's eyes instantly reddened. "Jun Che is the Celestial Lord. His word is heavenly law. How could we ever defy it?" I gave a faint nod. "If it was not what Master wanted, then Jun Che deserves to die." Auntie Qin's face went pale with fright. She lunged forward and clutched my arm. "Shuang'er, your master's last words were for you all to protect yourselves, not throw your lives away fighting an unwinnable war against the heavens." I pried her fingers off one by one and looked up at the glittering, golden Celestial Realm beyond the clouds. A faint smile touched my lips. "Auntie Qin, Master taught me that a healer's heart must be compassionate." "But he never taught me that gods can't be killed."

In a world where fate is as unforgiving as it is unpredictable, Ruby finds herself caught in a whirlwind of betrayal and redemption. Adopted into a pack that becomes her family, she faces false accusations and heartache, only to discover unexpected love in the arms of the enigmatic Alpha King Clinton. But just as she dares to dream of happiness, Ruby is confronted with the bitter truth: she can never truly have Clinton. Once again, fate reveals its merciless grip. Will she find solace for her troubled heart, or be doomed to a lifetime of heartbreak?

Swooned by her art of seduction, Billionaire Arlan Reef meets and is instantly attracted to a young seductress, Saraya,who turns out to be the only daughter and heiress to Newman's empire. An infamous fashion brand owned by Alex Newman who is also Arlan's business partner and best friend. Will he tame his secret desires or will he go down the path of this fatal seduction? What will happen when Alex finds out about Arlan's bitter betrayal? Can Saraya keep her position as heiress?