Showing results by author "AJ Merlin" in All Categories

Fifteen years ago, Cassian Byers murdered his older sister. And I witnessed the whole thing. For years, I’ve fought to bury the memories of my troubled childhood, which includes the haunting image of my babysitter’s murder. Life in Hayden Fields has been eerily calm—no big crimes or chaos—until now.

I'm careful not to show my face, so why do I feel like I'm being watched when the camera turns off? No one should know who I am or be able to find me, but they do—and things quickly spiral out of control. The two unhinged men who fill my cam chat with all the deplorable things they want to do to me are closer than I think. To them, I'm just a pretty little tease. Their obsession turns into something so much more than I bargained for. I should have run away when they found me because now it's too late for me to be anything except theirs.

When I'm confronted in the woods by a man with a chainsaw and a gorgeous face, I should’ve known it would end poorly. But when I end up in the killer’s house instead of chopped into little pieces, I don’t know what to think. Not when he promises me that he won’t hurt me, and especially when he tells me that I can’t leave. Not unless he can trust me. He can’t, of course. I’ll tell anyone that will listen that this monster cut up some man in the moonlight, even if he promises that it had been deserved. He’s lying, because there’s no way anyone deserves what he did.

When the stranger who got me out of a mess in Springwood turns the town into a slaughterhouse in my name, I do the only thing I can do. I run. Not far enough, though, because I can feel him in Akron, looking for me. But he wants to take me home, and I can’t go back. Not after what he did. Especially when I know that more than anything, he wants me home with him. But when his words betray how he really feels, instead of violence from the monster of Springwood I get something completely different. Will I be tricked into going home after all?

When I return to Winter Grove early and end up relying on the pack to help me out, I’m sure it’s a new form of torture. Instead, I find myself growing closer to August and Foster. I can’t help but think they’re dragging me deeper underwater, with no intention of letting me up for air anytime soon. To add to the confusion, a new arrival at the university has a grudge against the pack, and she knows that getting to them is easier when she’s targeting anyone who’s more vulnerable than the boys.

I should force myself to forget both of them exist, not crave for them to find me again. Yet as soon as my plane touches down in St. Augustine three days before the start of the spring semester, my sweetest nightmares are waiting for me, reminding me of all of the reasons I can't stop thinking about why I let myself fall prey to their affections in the first place..

Every town has a history. Ours is just a little darker than most. For years, I've celebrated Halloween and Hollow Bridge's history with everyone else who lives here. Parades, festivals, and insane Halloween parties have always been a staple for us. Some bad behavior is expected, given what we're celebrating. But murder has never been on the table before. Someone in Hollow Bridge wants to bring the stories to life, and they're not firing any warning shots. When rumors of someone wearing a Halloween mask surface, it isn't long before the first person is killed.

When I'm back at school for my last few weeks of college, I find normalcy for the first time in months. Despite getting comfortable, I can't give Rook and Oliver the answer they so clearly want, even if it's not the one they want to hear. They have to understand it's not that easy. Don't they? Following them across the country brings more than just new house problems and adjusting to their lifestyle. Issues from not so long ago come to light, and I realize I'm not as normal as I'd hoped to be, after killing my professor for what he did to me.

Cyril, Isaac, Ashe, Ezra, and Arlo call themselves the Lost Boys, and they’re just one branch of a "family" that rules everything in the city I grew up in. They’re the bad guys, in every sense of the word, and they don’t care who knows it. Worse? They want to show me all of their sharp, bloody edges. After a vacation gone wrong, the Lost Boys tell me that they’re the only reason I made it out alive.

Nothing bad happens at summer camp. That’s what my fellow camp counselors have convinced me of when the nights around the lake get a little eerie. But when the kids all go home and the counselors throw a party on our last night at Camp Clearwater, things change. None of us could have suspected that there was a stranger watching us, or that our machete-wielding visitor doesn’t seem to like that we’re here. But when I'm attacked in the woods, he unexpectedly comes to my rescue in the most ruthless way.

It’s almost impossible to get into Winter Grove University, so when I’m accepted on scholarship, I know my life will change for the better. Or will it? When an alpha starts harassing me to join his pack, I’m left with no choice but to tell him I belong to another. The thing is, I name drop the richest, most notorious pack on campus.

Having been a camp counselor for the last three summers, I can handle most situations that come my way courtesy of rowdy children. This year shouldn't be any different, even with a new counselor who's everyone's type and too good to be true. But even so, Kayde Lane is nothing I can't deal with. Until I stumble upon him at night with an ax and sinister intentions towards the campers we're meant to protect.

When a snowstorm hits days before Christmas and I'm the only one at the house, I'm quickly informed that I'll be spending Christmas alone, with only my dog for company. That's before things take a turn for the worse. I never would have come if I'd known they'd be here. Fletcher and Boone, my stepbrothers, were never the family I'd hoped for. They're the reason I ran away, the ghosts that haunt my sleep. I was promised they'd be too busy to come to the cabin this year, but someone broke that promise.

Being kidnapped at 12 years old by my stepfather means even the campground where I work and live is never truly safe from my anxiety. If it wasn’t for my dogs, I’d fall apart completely. But then Virgil comes into my life. The masked stalker slides into my room at night and takes what he pleases, making sure I enjoy every second of it. What starts as a fantasy soon becomes something inescapable for us both.

Nothing exciting ever happens here, unless you count us getting our very own movie-rental shop right next to the sheriff’s station. Which, for the record, I don’t. That is, nothing exciting happens until my roommate is murdered and her body washes up on the riverbank for the police to find.

Maned wolf shifter Alek Sawyer is a pro at landing on her feet. From being dropped into foster care as a child to tripping over her hopeless romantic tendencies as a teenager, she’s an omega with no need of an alpha or a pack. With a curvy figure and a mean right hook, she’s not the omega that most alphas expect her to be. But Hades, Roman, and Wilder aren’t "most alphas". When Alek is unexpectedly and irrevocably drawn to the exhibitionist panther, the quiet coyote, and the secretive dire wolf, she can’t help but be reminded of the fairy tale romance she’s always wanted.

Four hundred years ago, my ancestor led an uprising against the Witch’s Council. And failed miserably. Now her descendants and those of her supporters must serve as Wardens to help protect witch-kind, though we’re relegated to being second best and the first ones thrown into danger. The Disgraced, as we’re called, are meant to suck it up and be grateful.

Being an artist has its ups and downs, dealing with rejection, frustration, being visible and finding your voice.Join AJ Merlin, a Creative Mindset Coach and writer, as she shares practical mindset tips and visualisations so you can feel empowered in your creative career and live a life that feels right to you. This podcast is twice a month (on Tuesdays), and is for artists at any stage of their career who want to work on their mindset, wellbeing and self-development.