Cal Maven Novels & Stories

It was the day of my wedding. Wendy Halton huddled up to me and whispered, "I slept with Joe." She pointed at the big screen, a smile curling her lips. "Summer dumped you so she could have Joe. I swore I'd make her drink from the well of betrayal. So, I slept with the man she loves." My eyes went wide with disbelief. It was then that I realized the screen wasn't showing our wedding photos. Instead, they were showing something far raunchier, filthier. It was Wendy, and she was going at it with Joe Noelson. Three years ago, I caught my then-fiancée, Summer Shaw, cheating with Joe, who happened to be the underprivileged student that I sponsored. That single moment snuffed out all hope I had for the world, but Wendy barged in like a beam of angelic light. Now, she had gouged open my chest with the same weapon Wendy destroyed me with. Tears fell before I could stop them. A frown creased Wendy's forehead. "Stop crying. I got revenge for you. You should be happy."

It was the apocalypse. A zombie apocalypse. We should've been running for our lives, but my girlfriend, Yvonne Brown, refused to. She wanted to buy as much time as she could for her incompetent childhood friend, Yves Claude, to hop into the last helicopter that would take survivors away. But the retreat was our group's only way to survive in this apocalypse. Yves was not showing up anytime soon. I had no choice but to knock her out and drag her into the chopper. And Yves, the one she could never seem to forget, died in the swarm of undead. I, however, survived thanks to what I did. Yvonne and I lived happily in a safe zone. And then that fateful day came. I was going to take over the territory and lead humanity on an attack against the zombies. The night before that decisive strike, Yvonne spiked my water with anesthetics. When I was caught helpless, she tossed me into the horde of zombies. The swarm of undead tore my flesh open, and the pain killed me. Yvonne? She stood on the wall coldly, a sneer decorating her lips. "Yves could've lived, but you took that chance away from him! You selfish monster, you killed Yves! I will make you suffer what he suffered! You'll pay for it with your life!" Death took me, but it tossed me all the way back to the day of the retreat. The day Yvonne adamantly insisted on waiting for Yves. Well, if she was so happy to live through a world like this with her friend, who am I to say no? I would grant her that wish, even if she would end up as zombie food.

Our daughter, Luna Woods, developed a high fever. Her body was burning hot. I immediately dialed 911 for help. The dispatcher on the other end kept repeating his questions. He spoke slowly, as if deliberately stalling for time. By the time I finally heard the ambulance siren, Luna was already turning cold in my arms. In less than a year, my wife and I separated. We were consumed by endless grief and blamed for each other. Afterward, I merely existed for the sake of it. I was a hollow shell of a man. Then, one day, I received a wedding invitation from my ex-wife. The moment I played the audio invitation, a chill ran down my spine. The groom’s voice was identical to that of the slow, dawdling dispatcher from that year! I rushed out, utterly distraught, only to be hit by a roaring train. When I opened my eyes again, I heard Luna crying in the next room. Her forehead was burning hot. My wife hurriedly handed me the phone. “Quick, call 911! I’ll get a wet towel.” My hands trembled as I took the phone. When it was answered, I heard a familiar male voice through the receiver. “911, what’s your emergency?”

On the day the SAT results are revealed, the fake heiress, Layla Sanders, colluded with our homeroom teacher, Richard Hoffman, to report me for cheating during the exam. When I stared at both copies of the exam papers that showed the same steps and formulas, I couldn't defend myself at all. In order to preserve Layla's pride, my own parents actually forced me to admit to stealing the exam questions in advance. Then, they had me forcibly admitted into a mental asylum. The Sanders family claimed that I had gone crazy just so they could keep this particular skeleton sealed in the closet. They abandoned me, letting me be tormented endlessly in the asylum. When I finally escaped from the asylum, I died in a car crash that was meticulously staged by Layla. Only on the verge of my death did I finally realize that the so-called "blood is thicker than water" mentality was nothing compared to a tear shed by Layla. The moment I open my eyes again, I've gotten reborn in the exam hall. This time, I choose to submit my exam paper without anything scribbled on it. I'd like to see just how someone with a total of zero points can possibly copy off the so-called top scorer of SAT.

On my sixteenth birthday, everything changes. One moment I'm your below-average girl—the next moment, I’m a monster. A werewolf. As a danger to society, and with my parents' refusal to help me, I have no other choice but to go to the werewolf place. Nothing prepares me for what waits for me inside the Academy of the Moon. Not only do I learn that the horrid tales I’d been told about werewolves were not true—but that I am different from the others. This results in my being a scapegoat for condemnation. What’s even worse is that the boy who marked me might be a murderer. He’s on the loose. Will he come back for me? Am I turning into an evil beast, like him? And then, there’s Elijah Ledger. The future alpha—a gorgeous werewolf who appears to be bearing dark secrets from everyone. I’m drawn to him. But he’s a magnet for misfortune, and his secrets start to unveil themselves. While I’m dealing with an array of problems, including a jealous girl who can’t stand my newfound attention from Elijah—one by one, students are getting attacked at the academy. The big question is: who is it? And why are they doing it? Things get ugly—and I am caught in the middle of it.

The sky turned red, and meteors fell. Screams and explosions everywhere. For an unknown reason, people started having magic abilities.. Most were happy, but it didn't last long. Soon came the undead. To survive, kill, or be killed. Her mom disappeared. She was betrayed by her ex-fiance' and killed by her step-sister. Now she's back a year before the apocalypse, equip with magical space, this time will it be the same? Warning: mature scenes, gore & violence. Hi readers, I'm an amateur author. Please be lenient with me. This is my first novel, so please allow me to grow. Suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks!!! This story, characters, and places are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people, places, and events is purely coincidental. Would you like to buy me a cup of coffee? https://ko-fi.com/oppo_red pictures source: https://pixabay.com/ https://www.canva.com/

{TW: DARK ROMANCE, ABUSE, DADDY KINK, PSYCHOTIC, VIOLENCE. This is not your typical dark romance novel, it gets darker with each chapters so if you can't handle it, kindly exit, not all Male leads are heroes some can be your worst nightmare, if you are looking for love you won't find it here} *********************************** "Won't you like to open your gift, Bambi?" It wasn't a question. César Navarro never asked. He commanded. When Anya Esmeralda Torres untied the silk ribbon and lifted the lid of the velvet box, her world shattered. Inside, staring back at her with dead, lifeless pupils, were the green eyes of Giovanni De Luca.....the man whose gaze had made her uncomfortable all evening. Her scream ripped through the silence. "Now his eyes will never trouble you again." He said it like he'd given her a necklace. Like dismemberment was romance. Like murder was love. César Navarro, known in the underworld as Calavera, wasn't just the founder of a billion-dollar tech empire. He was the Skull—mafia heir, executioner, and obsession wrapped in a tailored suit. And Anya? She was his cage bird. His possession. His favorite game. But Anya wasn't born to be caged. She was fire—wild, defiant, desperate for freedom. And no matter how many diamonds he draped her in, she vowed to escape. The question is: can you ever run from a monster who always finds you? Or will love become the cruelest prison of all?

The newly-appointed leader, Eileen Shaffer, fantasizes herself as a queen. Because of that, she treats me like her personal maid. On her first day at work, Eileen sends me a list consisting of 16 workplace rules. Not only does she request that I prepare warm water that must be proven to be 113 degrees Fahrenheit by a thermometer every day, but she also wants me to prepare three meals per day for her. I'm not allowed to order takeout. Those meals must be cooked and prepared by me so that the food is safe and clean to eat. Finally, shit hits the fan at the Thanksgiving holidays. Eileen has the nerve to call me 18 times at 2:00 am just so I can leave a like on her son's video. Unable to tolerate her antics anymore, I slap her on the spot. "I'm the daughter of this company's CEO, and yet I have to slave away at work every day! Do you seriously think you're an actual queen now?"

Upon my returning from the special ops mission I took on three years ago, I open the door to see my fiancee, Erica Lewis, pregnant and holding a child. "This is your son," she declares as she passes the kid to me. I freeze in shock. My parents chuckle and explain, "You were gone for so long. Erica had to carry on the family name without you, so your older brother decided to help you with it. Isn't that great?" Just like that, I'm forced to be the officiant at the wedding ceremony I spent the last three years eagerly anticipating. I'm expected to stand beside Erica and my brother, Alex Sherman, to watch them exchange wedding rings and to see them kiss each other passionately. They have lied to all our friends and family, claiming that I couldn't have children. They humiliate me in public. They've also spent all of my savings and moved into the villa I bought using the monetary reward I got from the army after completing a deadly mission. Erica and Alex even lie on the bed I'd picked out myself and take intimate photos of themselves to send to me. "Don't be so sensitive. We're just helping you carry on the family name. Our kids are going to call you dad anyway." I give up. "Don't bother. It's over between us, Erica." After that, I call the army on the phone.

Drevan Valkor is the Darkmoon pack's Invincible Alpha. This makes him grow arrogant and believe himself to be untouchable. Even when he drags a knife across his own hand, the wound closes almost instantly. He laughs at me and says, "Kyra, you gasp for breath after walking just a few steps. What a pathetic, sickly burden." What he doesn't know is that a curse forces me to suffer every bit of pain he should be feeling. The only cure is for him to acknowledge me and complete the mate bond willingly. I endure three years of his pain, his cold shoulder treatment, and his constant entanglement with my "healthy and lively" stepsister. I tell myself that if I can survive until the mate bonding ceremony, I will finally be free. But that hope dies on the night of the ceremony. Before the entire pack, he pulls my stepsister, Belle Wynter, into his arms and kicks me off the altar. "I reject Kyra Wynter as my mate," he declares. "My pack doesn't need a weakling like her." That is the moment my conscience dies. If that's how it is, then he can't blame me for choosing the worst possible cure.