Showing results by narrator "Nikko Austen Smith" in All Categories

I was only four years old when I experienced the worst day of my life. When I watched my father take his last breath at the hands of someone else. Instead of letting the hate consume me, I found a safe haven in the arms of the only person who understood, our shared trauma bonding us in a way that taught my heart that I was incapable of ever loving anyone else. And over the years, our codependency transformed into something deeper. Something forbidden. Something no one would accept.

When most people hear the word "witch," they immediately think of crones conspiring over a cauldron, a force of dark and vindictive power. But to hundreds of thousands across the world, being a witch is a living, everyday reality, much more varied than the fairytale image. Witch Power follows Emma Quilty—herself a witch and an anthropologist—on an immersive journey into contemporary witchcraft, from Witchcamp retreats to "red tent" menstrual events, Voodoo priestesses running ghost tours from their vans to TikTokers casting hexes on a viral scale.

Genesis Valentine knows exactly what she wants out of life. As a decorated journalist, she is determined to tell stories that matter and to make a difference in the world. Unfortunately, as an unbonded omega, she's considered a liability in the field. If she wants to take her career to the next level, she has to show her editor that she can get her scent under control. And that means taking on a pack, at least temporarily.

Serenity Rose Johnson has only one hope, and that's to find a pack that will treat her kindly and maybe allow her to follow her dreams of being a fashion designer. She hasn't had it easy, but somehow, she's never given up that hope, not even after her dads sold her to omega traffickers to settle their debts. Her foolish hope helps her to escape her abusers, but she finds herself alone on the side of a deserted road in the middle of winter, in the dead of night. Headlights are the last thing she sees before unconsciousness and certain death.

Destiny Duvalle has it all: money, fame, millions of adoring fans, and loving parents who have managed her music career since she broke into the business at age sixteen. But at twenty-four, Destiny is tired of the hustle and bustle of celebrity life, of constantly being "on", of being international popstar Destiny Duvalle. It's why she's turned down proposals from so many packs—that and her sneaking suspicion that her omega instincts are broken. If she's being honest, Destiny is afraid that without her fame and fortune, her parents will see the real her and find her woefully inadequate.

In Trill Land—better known as Da Trill—legacy is everything, and Pressure Mensah was born to carry it. Son of billionaires Kojo and Abeni Mensah, Pressure is a hood royal with gold in his blood and too much pride to chase anything that doesn't worship him first. He smokes the loudest, walks like money, and don't answer to nobody—not even the king who raised him. But behind all the diamonds and discipline is a man still stuck on a woman he lost.

Billionaire Atticus Price wants my father's struggling empire. Even worse, he wants me. Immediately. Irrevocably. He isn't a man who accepts no for an answer. This is a hostile takeover, and somehow I've become the price. I'll protect the people in my father's company, even as my father sells it to the highest bidder—along with me. That doesn't mean I'll be the meek bride he expects.

When Audie wakes up after a devastating accident, her mind is a blank slate. The people around her—her devoted partner, her closest friends, even her own family—all claim to know who she is. But every version of her past is different. Contradictory. Suspicious. As Audie struggles to piece together the fragments of her life, a chilling realization sets in: the memory she lost may not be the worst part of her past. The real danger lies in what she is about to uncover.

Life's hardened me. A single mother to an autistic son, I learned early that love comes with lies and disappointments I can't afford. So I swore it off. Then a mistake at the doctor's office flipped my world upside down, and that's when Romari appeared. He's intense, reckless, and too sure of what he wants: me. I swore my walls were unbreakable, but somehow, he's kicking down every last one. I don't know if I should run from him or finally let myself feel again.

It was supposed to be cold-blooded corporate warfare, but somehow my heart got involved. My wife penetrated my shields until I could see nothing but her... and her safety. The game has only just begun. I'm going to claim her... along with my birthright. The stakes have never been higher. Manhattan is going to be mine.

My corporate kingdom is vulnerable right now. This is the perfect time for the enemy to strike. My gunshot wound doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is my wife. I'm haunted by the knowledge that she could be next. Gwen might have come to me through a twisted game of corporate revenge. It might have started as an arranged marriage, but it's become real. The only thing I can do to protect her is keep her near me. Except the danger lurks closer than I ever imagined.

Regardless of learning about Kenzie's hectic life, Malakai refuses to give up. He sees something in Kenzie that he loves and refuses to take no for an answer, no matter how long it takes. When any other man would have run for the hills, Malakai buckles up to take the ride with Kenzie as she figures out where to turn. Whether in Miami or Chicago, Malakai is willing to wait for Kenzie. However, will unforeseen circumstances send Kenzie back into Chase's arms? Find out in the first installment of Movin' Different where the lies, betrayal, and deceit are ahead.

Publicly humiliated, Marisa Banks is blindsided by the news that the man she's been dating for months is married. Being called names she wouldn't wish on anyone in front of a room full of people by her boyfriend's wife is enough to shake her identity to its foundations. In an attempt to rebuild, she makes a few questionable decisions. Asher Blaine is one of them. He's intelligent and sexy, but the pedestal he's got himself up on is unshakeable. Or so he thinks. Marisa asks for the one thing he can't deny her, even if it's the craziest thing he's ever done.

At 36, I'm Brooklyn's Black fire chief—respected in the streets, feared in the shadows, and reckless enough to live up to my name. But Mianna? She's different. Sweet. Pure. Untouched. The kind of woman a man like me shouldn't even look at twice—but I can't stay away. The second I saw her, something in me shifted. My soul claimed her before my mind could catch up. Now I'll burn this whole city to the ground to keep her safe, even if it means hiding a secret that could rip us apart.

Azra A.Z. Matthews is a business major at Blake University and part of Phi Rho fraternity. A.Z. was raised in the suburbs by a successful father and doting mother. His sister also attends Blake University and is premed. Once A.Z. ventures off to college, he discovers a world vastly different from the one he was raised in. A.Z. discovers a sense of freedom and the ability to do him without being under the scrutinizing eye of his parents. Even though he enjoys his freedom, A.Z. doesn't do too much with the partying and living his best life because he still has his eyes on the prize.

McKenzie is doing all she can to move on from Malakai and what they shared. She is focusing on motherhood and enjoying the fruits of her labor while trying to make her family work with Chase. Although skeptical at first, McKenzie decides to officially give Chase a chance to prove he can be a faithful family man. With McKenzie giving him another chance, Chase finally lets Diane go and dedicates himself to being the man he knows Kenzie wants.

McKenzie is enjoying her pregnancy and working on getting her life back together in Chicago before her babies are born. A near-tragic car accident quickly makes McKenzie realize that life is too short, and she doesn't want to waste another moment not being with the man she truly loves. Giving birth to two healthy babies and beginning her relationship with Malakai, McKenzie feels better than she has in a long time. However, it's short-lived when Malakai is notified that his life and the operations he has left behind are in jeopardy, and he must tend to them immediately.

It took five years for Aphrodite "Pretty Pretty" to experience her version of happiness, but one slip-up threatened everything she'd silently yearned for. What Pretty Pretty thought was her happy ending turned into the total opposite. Not all heroes wear capes but they do face demons. In this final installment of Exhilarated, the characters that we've grown to either love or hate all have one thing in common: their worst nightmares have come true.

Aphrodite Greer is finally starting to see better days. She's slowly accepting that she can have a beautiful life despite her daughter being dead without feeling guilty. That beautiful life has a name and it's Goal Navarro—the persistent head of the Navarro Cartel. Goal Navarro sees what he wants and goes after it. Being a man who's always on the move, he's finally found the lady that keeps him grounded. Running the Cartel that was snatched from his father and handed to him by his Abuelo, nothing can stop the sexy Colombian.

Everyone in the Rinaldi Mob has a job to do—a role to play—and newly appointed Mafian, Jisei Harper, is no exception. Jisei is used to slumming it out on her own. From birth, she was dealt a bad hand, but instead of dwelling on it, she smiled, rolled her shoulders back, and played her cards. After years of struggling, she meets Mocha, a rich daddy's girl, and Scarlett, a naïve hoodlum who had it worse off than Jisei. Little did she know, these two new friendships would lead her to the only blood relative she never knew existed.