Showing results by narrator "Michael Norman Johnson" in All Categories

Hotheaded succubus Willow Bellum doesn't take kindly to being given away to the alpha of shapeshifters like a hunk of unwanted old fruit cake. However, when the will from her deceased father puts Willow under the protection of a man as enticingly hard as he was disgustingly arrogant, she runs hard and fast.

Jeb, Bose and Bogie fell a bit short at getting through the warren that is the Skull and Bones Territory, an avalanche of Greenskins on their tails. Within a stone's throw to the safe haven that is the Emporium they are cornered. With very few choices they enter a Dungeon that just might be their end. They've grown strong in a short time but are still Bronze while the Dungeon is Iron. Jeb has been punching up his entire life, long before the System but this might test the boundaries of what he can do.

All Ambrose Drake wants is a quiet life. Too bad he’s the most notorious sorcerer in the Hallowed World—with a demon queen from the Seventh Hunger stuck in his head. Once a top operative for the Crown, the secret society policing magic and the horrors beneath our world, Ambrose took a wrong turn into the underworld and picked up an unwelcome hitchhiker. Now, the demon queen wants out, the Crown wants him leashed, and supernatural nightmares keep landing at his doorstep.

When you’ve maxed out your level, done every quest, and defeated every enemy, there’s not much left. So after seven centuries of immortality, Sean wants nothing more than to die. But when a woman from a past life informs him of a real, flesh-and-blood descendant that has hacked his way in, Sean finds a new purpose. The AI doesn’t take kindly to interlopers, and parks the intruder in the one realm so buggy that even the oldest, most powerful denizens of Afterall steer clear of it - the Bitrealm.

The Crucible of War -- A floating asteroid the size of a small planet carving its way through the universe. Eight Cities, a million participants, death, blood, carnage, control. The Crucible is televised across the cosmos and provides entertainment for the The Great Galactic Empire and its Citizens. Every once in a while though it needs it's Contestants replenished. This time around Earth has been chosen. 50,000 humans are to be given the honor. One of those is 52 year old retired Army Master Sergeant, Jebediah 'Jeb' Stone.

In December 2019, Gary Miracle’s life was forever changed by an infection that caused him to lose his arms and legs. One year later, the Christian band MercyMe shared his story with the world in their song “Say I Won’t,” which has garnered more than 5.7 million views on YouTube alone. Knowing that God works through all circumstances, Gary is committed to living life to the fullest and helping others do the same in spite of setbacks. In the light of eternity in Christ, there are no more bad days. Each day can be a new beginning.

Things are happening in my town and my county. We're split between two clubs. Rivals that share blood and a common enemy. Witches. I hate them. All of them. I have my reasons, but fate seems to have other plans. Plans I don’t care much for. The day she comes into my life, I want to throw the raven-haired, emerald-eyed beauty out, but she can help in ways we need. The question is, can I resist the bond between us when the heat grows hot?

Jeb has been chosen as a Contestant for the Crucible of War and he refuses to leave his two-year old Cane Corso, Bose, behind. Whatever they face, they will face together. They were supposed to go to a Tutorial where everything would be challenging but fair. Like everything else in his life, it went to shit and he got sucked into the Endless Dungeon with beasts far far stronger than what he was supposed to face but through the grit gained as a retired Master Sergeant and the courage of his pooch, Bose, they survived.

These stories and more are featured in the third short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, continuing the saga of survival in a world transformed by the arrival of the System. Humanity has adapted to a new reality filled with Classes, magic and monsters, but the struggle for life, love and purpose never ends. This anthology brings together gripping tales from returning authors and two new short stories by Tao Wong.

I was protected by the monsters under my bed when I was a kid in the foster system. I have a feeling I could use them again. My time in the foster system wasn’t great. Maybe they were imaginary, but when things got bad, the boogeyman and an imp always came to my aid. If I needed to run, a beautiful white stag would appear at my window to let me know to get out of there. I’ve touched the stag. I know he’s real.

I might be a rookie Chicago firefighter, but I’m on top of the world. I’ve just earned my spot on Rescue Squad at legendary Engine 6, can get all the action I want both in and out of the bedroom, and am possessed of an enviable sneaker collection. Nothing can harsh my vibe except her—Cassandra Ferguson, my brother’s sister-in-law, or as I affectionately label her: the blister-in-law. Ever since I met her, she’s looked down her perky little nose at me, never mind that I’m a good foot taller.

All I've ever dreamed of is revenge. It’s how I survived the darkest parts of my childhood. The parts I’ve confessed to only one man. Then, I find out he’s the one who slayed my real-life bogeyman. Now all I dream of is him. My best friend’s father. Forbidden. Nefarious. A fact that fails to stifle my desire for him. But, when I attempt to breach his impenetrable heart, he unknowingly pushes me into the clutches of an evil I was unprepared for.

The angels came two hundred years ago with a mission to wipe out everything the pagan gods created. The humans came together to form the Coalition to hunt us for them. We disappear and end up in various places to be experimented on. I ended up in New Eden Asylum. The nuns and priests keep me in a padded room in the basement with all the deadlier supernaturals. They don't experiment on me and try to cure me like the others because I'm too dangerous to be in the same room with. I don't know how long I've been here, but I haven't seen or spoken to anyone in a very long time.

Caitlin O'Connell hides the scars of her past. Lost. Alone. Afraid. When she wakes up in the hospital, broken and bruised, Caitlin has no choice but to accept help from the Marchetti crime family...and the one guy she never thought she'd see again. Matteo Bellatoni wears his heart on his sleeve. Loyal. Determined. Devoted. Watching his best friends find love has left him wondering if he'll ever have that...especially since he's pretty sure he already let his soul mate slip through his fingers. When Matteo and Caitlin's paths cross unexpectedly, all those feelings come rushing back.

Meredith Gray had no choice but to meet with the last man on earth she ever wanted to see again. He ruined her once, and now he was threatening the livelihood of the thousands of people employed at her stepfather’s company. The last time she saw him, he’d lied to her face and broke her heart. Would she remain unscathed this time around? Meredith could only hope. Josef Aziz had a reputation for stealth and lethality. After he was dishonorably discharged from the military, he found himself in the employ of the Dark Wolf.

Meet Atlas Warner, Mischa Jennings, Sam Kavan, Zeke Miller, and Nico Mitchell. They're the employees of Eye Candy Ink. Come along as they find and fall in love with their soulmates and grow as a family, as artists, and as people.

I'm a vampire hunter, a legacy meant only to care about killing monsters. But all I've ever cared about is Sebastian. I'm enamored... obsessed. Stalking him and manipulating fate to keep us together. We were assigned to Visamar Academy, where a group of powerful vampires gorge on the rich. I failed him as a partner and he paid the ultimate pricethe worst thing that can happen to a hunter.

The only family the Painted Daisies singer and harpist Fiadh Kane has left in this world is her band. When their leader―her best friend who stood by her through the worst―is killed, she's determined to find who did it and make him pay. Fiadh is convinced the band's new label owner knows more about the murder than he's shared. She plans to reveal Asher's skeletons by any means possible, even if it means using the magnetic lure blooming between them in ways she never expected.

I’ve spent my life hunting the daemon who killed my parents. I swore long ago to do anything necessary, including summoning the deadly creatures to hunt for clues. When Azimuth, a sweet-talking daemon with ice-blue eyes and a voice like butter, shows up dangling the knowledge I seek in return for a high-risk job, I feel compelled to accept his offer. Sure, I’m wary of the helpful daemon, but the prize is too tempting to pass up. So what if my pulse races when he touches me or I can’t stop thinking about how his lips will feel on my skin?

Strong. Fierce. Unshakeable. Three things I've always strived to be. But life is unexpected. It's confusing. It's cruel. All it takes is one blink, one blip in time, and your life is changed irrevocably. I knew he would come for me. What I didn't anticipate was how much I would need him. He locked me up and told me I was his forever.