Showing results by narrator "Zachary Johnson" in All Categories

I've spent the better part of a decade trying to save the world. Twice a century, Mount Slate threatens to erupt, and for my entire life, the four families in charge haven't seemed to care about their impending doom. So it fell to me to try to fix things. To make peace. Me, a man whose greatest skill is pissing people off so much that they challenge me to a duel, and then killing them in that duel. Now the moment is here, and my clever stone is telling me that one man—a sweet, innocent, infuriating judgmental bastard—is the only one who's capable of saving the world.

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 may be struggling as an artist in New York, but I'm a great doorman. Is it the easiest job in the city? Probably. And it gives my mind all the time it needs to wander. Sometimes to my current project or muse, but more often to the one who got away. I was the one he used to reach for in the middle of the night when the nightmares came. My adopted brother, once not much more than a stranger, became my closest friend during one of the most difficult times of his life.

When an earthquake shakes up Sage's night, his instinct is to forget about it. They live in California—quakes happen. But this one sends the consciousness that lives in the ley lines running to him in fear, so he and his gunslinger boyfriend set out to investigate. What they uncover is a century-old plot to destroy not only the ley lines, but the city of Junction itself. Now, they're in a race against an unknown adversary who wants to annihilate everything they love, and the only man with the answers is Sage's long-dead Uncle Jonathon.

It’s been a long year for Sage and his friends, and all of Junction, California, and it’s not over yet. Freddy's school of magic is still a mystery, and figuring it out would be enough work, but the investigation leads them to the mysterious coded notes of Junction’s long-dead first magical artist, and then to the last place any of them ever expected to end up: the 19th century. Worse yet, when they get there, Fluke is missing, and Sage isn’t sure he can get back home without his best friend. If Sage has to leave him behind, is it worth returning to his own time at all?

Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are happier than ever. The guild of artificers grows stronger thanks to the black market’s masters. The second AI is awakening, closer to divulging its forgotten secrets. And most shocking of all, Jackson has finally invented something worth selling. But war is brewing in the arcane underground. Madame Catherine Grayhaven does not forgive easily. The grand dame of the elite academy has rallied her students for a vengeful attack on the Verdance, the realm of the fae.

One wild night and failed birth control gifted me with an accidental pregnancy. I’m not telling the father. Luca’s mesmerizing and charming, but he isn't just a lot older than me. After our hot night, I found out he's my family's enemy. It leaves me no no choice but to keep him in the dark. If his family found out my baby’s freedom would be at risk. My family would disown me.

In the dazzling world of Hollywood where fame and glamour reign supreme, award-winning megastar Zachary Butler longs for something more than red-carpet events and paparazzi flashes. As he navigates fame and tries to extricate himself from his celebrity ex-fiancée, he discovers an unexpected spark with Rowan Walsh, a production assistant on his latest project.

I have a hot British bodyguard in my guest room. Could be worse, I guess. Like…bats in the attic? Though bats don’t rip your panties and ruin you for all other men. How did this happen? My sister married the prince he protects, so I now have an extra room and insisted my friend stay with me when she left her husband. Her husband is being a real a-hole about that. Which made the bodyguard all growly and he moved in to protect us. That sounds nice, I know. But he’s my ex.

A malignant blight ravages Tearmann, wreaking havoc on the lives of the Danú. If Tadhg and Keelynn cannot find a way to stop it before it reaches the castle, there won’t be anything left for them to save. While the blight rages on, Aveen and Rían face troubles of their own. Between confronting ghosts from the past and fending off the Phantom Queen’s thirst for vengeance, peace and happiness seem too far out of reach. It isn’t a matter of if the Princes of Tearmann will fall, but when.

Xarik Tek-ra is one of few of his kind who do not want to take over the Stryxian empire by force. He is a Vanyi—one of the rare, silver-scaled Stryxians possessing devastating mind powers. When he finds an unconscious human female, Andi, in the middle of nowhere and returns with her to his settlement, his mala is awakened. She may be his true mate, but she is terrified of him. It was other Vanyi who had abducted her, making winning her trust the greatest challenge of his life.

So falling in love with three hot guys all at the same time is a lot of fun. Obviously. Moving in together with all of them? That’s even better. Hot sex every night, with three men who worship the ground you walk on. Trust me, that’s amazing. I’d-probably-give-up-cookies-for-this amazing. And best of all…my men would never make me give up cookies. But that’s also a lot of personality under one roof. A cocky hockey star, a bossy billionaire, and a doctor who gives off big daddy energy do not all want the same things at the same time.

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When an irresistible profile leads to a tantalizing proposal, Chastity's long-kept innocence is finally unraveled. But when the irresistible force of her purity crashes against the immovable object of not one but three hard-bodied roommates? Deciding who gets to end up with her seems an impossible decision.

Single dad of Seattle Dr. Mark Herron can't believe anyone would celebrate their divorce. The dissolution of his marriage left him and his son with a huge hole to fill in their home - and their hearts. So when he overhears a lovely stranger and her friends celebrating the end of her marriage, he's mystified - and then intrigued - by her determination to put the past behind her. But when he learns that Tori Jones needs a job, he knows this can't be a coincidence.

Piper dreams of the days when unemployment was her biggest problem. Working for a jerk boss she could handle but working for six sexy vampires? Not so much. This little maid is going to wish that was all she had to worry about now that her master's master has called them home. And daddy dearest wants to meet her.

Angels are on the brink of extinction. Smothered in black clouds, the Earth that we once knew is gone, replaced by a land plagued with nightmares and pain. It is a world ruled by the cruel claws and fangs of Demons, one where light is most unwelcome.

The entire human population is attacked by a very suspicious virus. SIMPOC's programmer doesn't come in to work, that day, the next, or ever. The commander of the space station Oasis, Joan Herl, is forced to abandon the station because of dwindling resources. When they land on earth, they are attacked by another thinking computer who would do anything to protect itself and to continue thinking.

Year 2286. Alex Bell has put in 20 years of work in the VR game Eternal Dominion, a full dive fantasy VRMMO game that accounts for around 20 percent of the world's economy. He had risen to the top as a vice guild leader, and thanks to his work, his guild was steps away from truly standing with the other top guilds. Only fate decided to rip it all away at the last moment. After his fall, Alex awakens to see his 18-year-old self looking back at him in the mirror. It's 2266, and Eternal Dominion is set to launch in a matter of hours; this time, things will be different.

Madison gave her heart to a boy at the age of 16, but all she got in return was a broken heart and a swollen belly. Alone with a baby and desperate for the love she hadn’t found, she turned to a man who sealed his claim of devotion with a diamond ring. He promised her a family. A life. A future. But his lies had only been a cover for the personal hell he introduced her to daily.