Books C J Box Novels & Stories

Seven years into our marriage, my husband Theo ordered me an Americano, the way he always did. Except I'd just told him, again, that caffeine made me sick. The moment I opened my mouth to say something, his phone rang. He stood up and walked out without a word of explanation. Half an hour later, Lydia posted to her socials. "Thanks to a certain someone for taking time out of his insane schedule to fix my plumbing. Also, the fresh hot cocoa was incredible." The comments filled up with people gushing over her. Steam curled off the mug in the photo. It made the drink in my hand feel even colder. Lydia and Theo had grown up together. Seven years ago, within months of each other, they'd both rushed into marriage. The difference was that Lydia had married a man who hit her. Night after night, Theo would peel himself away from me and run off to defend her. Sometimes he'd fought with her husband and end up at the police station. It happened more than once. I used to think it was just his sense of justice, so I always cleaned up after him and smoothed things over. Now I could see it for what it was. He'd given so much of his attention to someone else that all I got were the leftovers, neglect and a cold shoulder. Fine. This love had already gone cold. I didn't want it anymore.

My son was kidnapped by rogue wolves during training. Ethan used all his connections as Beta to finally locate him in an abandoned hunting lodge. When I burst through the door, Tyler was already lying on the ground. His chest was a bloody mess, his heart ripped out completely. I chased after the rogue wolves like a mad she-wolf, desperate to retrieve his heart, but I was too late. Unable to bear the devastation, I collapsed and fell from the cliff edge. Ethan carried me to the pack healer's den, his face deathly pale. Before the healing ritual began, he gripped my hand tightly, his voice trembling: "Serena, you can't give up. Our son is already gone. I can't lose you too..." But when I regained consciousness, I found an anonymous text message on my phone. I opened it and heard a recording. "Beta Gray, you have already found another heart donors. Why specifically choose young Tyler? He's so young, and he's your son..." "He was just a tool to save Lucas. I raised him all these years—taking one heart isn't too much to ask, is it?" "Besides, the pack healer said a blood relative's heart has the smallest chance of rejection. Lucas is mine and Vivian's life. I can't bear to see him suffer even a little." My entire body shook violently. I could barely hold the phone. The man who repeatedly claimed to love me was the murderer who killed my son for his illegitimate child with his mistress. The marriage I thought was happy was nothing but an elaborate deception.

Before our fifth mating anniversary, I was just about to tell my mate that I was about to inherit the pack my Alpha father left behind, when I saw him embracing and kissing the she-wolf who once bullied me. "This game has been going on for five years. It's time to end it." "Watching her come and go like a dog whenever called is really boring. What a fool. A fake mating certificate was enough to fool her completely. Did she really think an orphan like her could marry into the Shadowmoon Pack and become Luna? If she hadn't looked decent back then, I wouldn't have bothered with this charade." I felt like I'd fallen into an ice cave, sobbing uncontrollably. So the salvation that pulled me out of the bullying abyss was nothing but his amusing joke from beginning to end. If that's the case, I don't want this false love anymore.

After my parents died, I was unexpectedly adopted by the Alpha and Luna, becoming the only human in werewolf territory. For twenty years, their twin Alpha heirs showered me with affection. Their pursuit and favoritism made everyone madly envious. But when I wanted to choose a mate, both rejected me. Kane said, "I want to focus on expanding our wolf territory first. I don't want to find a mate so early." Liam said, "Humans cannot bear Alpha bloodline." The next day, at my birthday banquet, both simultaneously proposed to the Omega servant's daughter. To make her happy, they forced me to drink "Blood Flame" liquor that humans couldn't possibly handle. I was completely heartbroken. On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I called my adoptive mother. "I'm willing to marry the Vampire King."

HELLFIRE HORSEMEN: BOOK 1 Ruin is not only a Beta to Alpha Ryker; he's the reincarnation of something much darker. When Alpha Ryker sends him on a mission to be the bodyguard to a prominent Alpha's daughter, he expected it to be a straightforward thing. But when he first lays his eyes on Chloe Jane, and inhales her scent, he feels the pull of the mate bond, but since she is blind, the bond seems to be one-sided. Oh, fate can be cruel... Chloe Jane wasn't born blind. But she has always known darkness, and it is not only from being sightless. When she first meets Ruin, there is an immediate attraction even though she cannot see him. His scent seemed familiar and felt like home. But how can the Goddess mate these two, who already share a dark history? *** I narrow my eyes because I know this man. He's older, but…The last time I saw him was fifteen years ago after a botched rescue mission to save his wife and daughter… I try not to show my surprise at what I've just realized, because there's no bloody way it can be true. There's no way this is the same man from back then, and there's just no f*cking way that this woman in front of me is— “I see you've met my daughter already; this is Chloe Jane, your charge for the next few months, he says, shutting up my doubts. Now I understand Ryker's words better; and as that realization sets in, I can finally hear the word my wolf is saying. Ryker is cruel, but the Fates even more so. How could they mate me to a woman I nearly killed, a woman whose life I ruined by my careless actions?

Molly's life was perfect. She was married to her high school sweetheart, surrounded by her friends and family and she was looking forward to the future. But that all ends one tragic night when her whole world is turned upside down. That fateful night leads to Molly and her best friend Tom holding a secret close to their hearts but keeping this secret could also mean destroying any chance of a new future for Molly When Tom's oldest brother Christian meets Molly his dislike for her is instant and he puts little effort into hiding it. The problem is he's attracted to her just as much as he dislikes her and staying away from her starts to become a battle, a battle that he's not sure he can win. When Molly's secret is revealed and she's forced to face the pain from her past can she find the strength to stay and work through the pain or will she run away from everything she knows including the one man who gives her hope for a happy future? Hope that she never thought she would feel again.

To save his childhood sweetheart suffering from a congenital heart condition, my mate Ethan—the storm pack’s Alpha—forced me to remove my heart to be given to his beloved. "Don't worry, you are the rarest white wolf with the strongest healing ability. I have prepared an artificial heart for you, and you will be fine." Ethan said. I tried to explain to my mate Ethan that my healing ability has become very poor in the past year, so that transplanting my heart would kill me. My mate snarled at me with disgust, "Selene is so gravely ill, and here you are, jealous and fighting for attention! She saved my life when I was suffering from silver poisoning a year ago! You won't die anyway, so why can't you help her?" Under the mandatory order of my mate, I was sent to the pack healer for the heart transplant. He didn’t know that I was the one who had exchanged my rare white wolf's healing ability with a witch to save him from silver poisoning. In the end, with my healing abilities gone, I died miserably in a forgotten corner of the empty healer's cabin.

Just one mistake separated her from her family, taking her into the deepest part of hell but Valerie has no choice but to endure. She knew what she was getting herself into when she said unto the man with a dark aura which breathed fear but only just highlighted his sinful beauty; "Spare my family and take me instead!!!" Martin Llyord is a famous name in the dark organization, ruthless in nature and doesn't joke with his money but what will happen when Valerie's elder brother is the reason for money loss in Martin's organization? How will life be for Valerie after submitting herself to Martin and getting mixed up with his right hand man? Can Valerie handle all the treatment from Martin? Will she give up or endure for the sake of her family? Martin also has a dark secret behind his current behavior and also plans to change it, will he succeed?

Christmas is the most magical time of the year, right? That may be true for most people but not Julia. Julia has never had an easy life, she has been homeless for as long as she can remember and now she is raising a three-year-old the same way. She wants more for them both but she has no way of changing things, besides she's soon going to have to leave the only place that she's ever called home to keep them both safe. If anyone finds out her secret her world will be blown apart and that's something that she can't allow to happen. Riley has had the best life imaginable. He has loving parents, grandparents and his best friend Joshua has been by his side since he was a young child. He also runs several successful businesses and has everything he wants in life except for one thing... love. He wants someone to love, to cherish but his past still has a tight grip on him and holds a secret that not even he knows about. What will happen when both worlds collide? Can Julia get the Christmas that she has always dreamed of for her and her little girl? Can Riley learn to forget his past so that he can move forward and when Juila's secret is revealed and blows both of their worlds apart, will it bring them together or tear them even further apart and destroy Julia's world, just like she has always feared it would?

Five years and a divorce paper in my hand before I realized that I invested my time, effort and devotion to the wrong man. Trapped in a corner with nothing left to my name, I was willing to bargain with my ex-husband for my daughter’s sake. But then, a savior, my husband’s new boss came to rescue me from the financial quagmire I was in. He helped me recover what I lost: my dignity, pride and most importantly, he gave me hope. I thought he was the perfect man. But the illusion shattered when his motives came to bite me in the face. He was in this for revenge, and his target was me.