Novels by M Zana Kheiron

Maria’s fingers tightened around her purse. She would approach him, soon enough, but not tonight. It wasn’t betrayal—Lisa had no claim on Alistair, and the man himself seemed pretty much aloof when it came to his wife. If she played this right, the Johnstons might finally stop treating her like a failed investment. Years of friendship with Lisa, and what did they have to show for it? No contracts, no favors—just the brittle applause of society women at charity luncheons. Not that Maria cared, but her family kept score like accountants. Across the room, Alistair’s phone lit up. Adam Anderson’s name flashed on the screen. His jaw twitched. ‘What now?’ After the old man’s lack of faith, he owed them nothing. Didn’t he get married to Lisa just to be mocked and ridiculed? Wasn’t that enough? Ungrateful, that’s what they were! "Alistair Woods speaking." Ice laced his tone. "Ally, get to the house. Now." Adam’s voice frayed at the edges. A pause. ‘Let him sweat.’ "On my way." He

"Let’s leave these matters for later, shall we?" Samuel said, smiling as he looked at Alistair. "The hero of the night has been called for dinner, but I didn’t even offer him a snack!"Everyone around laughed and made their way to the large table. Alistair sat between Samuel and Daniel."Your daughter didn’t come today, Mr. Mayor?" one of the men asked, wiping his forehead. He was a man of at least forty years, with a protruding belly and a suit that didn’t do him any favors. Alistair looked at the man and shook his head lightly."No, Mr. Garner. My daughter stayed home," Samuel replied, and Alistair noticed a not-so-happy smile on the mayor's face.‘If she were my daughter, I wouldn’t like it either!’ Alistair thought to himself.The rest of the dinner passed without many issues, just some bad jokes, until Mark, one of the guests, decided to speak up after drinking more than he should."Mr. Woods, correct?" he asked, and Alistair nodded. A bad omen rose in his throat. "I heard you're

“Alistair, you’ve arrived!” Mr. Heartwell said, smiling as he walked toward the blonde man. Alistair gave a slight nod and offered a simple smile, not wanting to be rude. “Come, I want to introduce you to some people!”It didn’t take long for Alistair to spot the first familiar face there: Daniel Smith. As soon as Daniel laid eyes on him, he broke into a wide smile, excused himself from the group he was talking to, and hurried toward the blonde man.“Alistair!”Upon hearing this, the mayor frowned in surprise.“You two know each other?” he asked, looking from Alistair to Daniel.“Of course we do! Remember when I told you my life was saved?” Daniel placed a hand on Alistair’s shoulder. He motioned for them to move into a private room. Samuel nodded, and as they entered and the door closed, Daniel continued. “This miraculous young man is the one who saved me!”Samuel’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. It was proof that what Alistair did to save him wasn’t just pure luck, as his daughter E

Alistair managed to jump to the side just in time, avoiding what could have been a horrible accident. Even though he was powerful, he was not immortal, and a crash like that against a car could cause irreparable damage.The car only stopped because it crashed into a pole. Alistair narrowed his eyes, trying to see beyond the smoke rising from the car’s hood, and saw that the person appeared to be unconscious. He rushed over and saw a woman, her face pressed against the steering wheel with cuts on her forehead, even though she had her seatbelt on. She was regaining consciousness.A groan made him look toward the back seat, where an elderly man lay, injured and almost unconscious. Hearing him, the woman woke up fully, still disoriented, and started fumbling for her purse.“My father…” she said, realizing the presence of a man touching her shoulder. She lifted her head and saw Alistair. “My father needs… help…”Without a second thought, Alistair opened the back door of the vehicle and car

Edward appeared, panting, his hair disheveled from the effort of running, and stopped in front of Alistair, who was still holding Lisa in his arms."Lisa, I... I came as soon as I found out!" he began, looking at her and completely ignoring Alistair's presence. "You came here to settle the debts on your own?!"Alistair shot him a look of annoyance. Was he invisible or something?Feeling uncomfortable in Alistair’s arms while speaking to Edward, Lisa made a move to get down, and this time, the blond man didn’t stop her, allowing her to return to the ground gently.Lisa looked at Edward and suddenly realized that he was probably the one who had contacted Lorenzo to save her! Of course!‘How could I think it was Alistair?’, she scolded herself, almost as if arguing with her own conscience. ‘Edward saved me the last time; of course, it was him who saved me again!’However, standing just behind Edward was Maria, who was intensely watching Alistair. She observed his every move and the expre

“Where is she?”, Alistair asked one of the men, who was almost knocked out by him. Lorenzo’s subordinate just raised his arm, his hand shaking, and pointed with his index finger in the right direction.“Last door…”, the man said, before fainting completely. Alistair let go of him and went after Lisa.With a kick, the door opened with a bang. The first thing Alistair saw was Paul Greeny’s bare butt. Hearing the noise, Lisa raised her head, the only part she could actually move: her arms and legs were tied to the bed, while her eyes were covered with a blindfold.Pulling his pants back up, awkwardly, Paul looked at Alistair.“How is it you again?”, he asked, remembering when the blond had left him in a deplorable state after interrupting his fun with Lisa!Without saying anything, Alistair simply kicked him hard, sending the man flying. Paul’s back hit the wall and he let out a mournful squeak.Alistair walked over to the bed.“Edward?” Lisa asked as she felt a warm hand touch her leg as

After Peter was dropped off at a house with Ashford security, Gideon went to the hospital to visit Wanda. Her father was there and when Matteo saw his future son-in-law, he decided to talk to him."Ah, Friedrich, can we have a word before you go into Wanda's room?"“Yes, of course, Mr Grayson.” He answered and the two sat on some benches farther away, where there were no people around.“I'll be direct, okay? Wanda and you… Are you really going to get married? I mean, are you a real couple?”Matteo Grayson's question made Gideon frown. He didn't understand why that man decided to ask him something like that.“Yes, we’re going to get married. And yes, we are a real couple. Wanda is the woman of my life, Mr Grayson.”“It's just… She came up with these questions about me forcing her to marry another man if she didn't marry you. I know you've been through the odds and ends, but did anything else happen? Something I don't know about?""No. Wanda is the love of my life, the woman I want to s

Peter was very competent at what he did and Gideon was thoughtful as he watched the boy working on what he had been asked to do.'If he had had more opportunities, maybe today he would be much better off in life', he thought and looked at Brandon, who didn't take his eyes off Peter.Brandon was worried. He knew that if he didn't hear from the Clan, he would be forced to travel, but without being sure about Krasner’s death, he couldn't afford that luxury. He would be risky and falling again from the mad doctor's hands would be certain death.It wasn't that Brandon feared dying. No, he was not afraid of death. Not when it came to himself. But if he was captured and killed, Gideon and Lucy would be after him for sure and they would most likely suffer the same fate. And that Brandon could never risk."I got it!" Peter announced and started rummaging around. “Their initial system is rudimentary, but despite that, it's all well done and protected. Afterwards, the bastards managed to put up

“So, boy. Here's the thing: we need you to hack a system for us. We are without our agent at the moment and I heard that you are a formidable hacker.” Gideon said as he popped a piece of gum into his mouth. He didn't smoke, never had, but when he got too nervous, he liked to chew gum.The boy adjusted his glasses again and looked at Gideon, still amazed.“Yeah… Is this some kind of test?” he asked and Gideon rolled his eyes."I'm not a cop trying to catch you with your hand in the cruse." Gideon sighed. “I need you to get into that system. I need to know if a person is still alive.”“Look, then I think you should go to the police. I am not…"“Enough with the small talk, boy!” Gideon said and approached the boy, who took a few steps back until he bumped into a trash can in the street and almost fell with it. But Gideon caught him by the collar of his shirt. "I need it now. I will pay you well for this.”Peter remembered the wad of cash his father was given and didn't doubt that the man

Gideon was in the hospital room with Wanda, reading one of her favorite books for her, Jane Eyre, when his cell phone rang.“Just a moment, my love.” Gideon asked, raising one finger and Wanda, who was more than pale in the face and smiled slightly, in agreement.Outside Wanda's ward, Gideon answered the phone.“Hi, Bro. What is going on?""Rindley still hasn't been found, but we have a plan." Brandon said on the other end of the line and Gideon listened intently.Upon entering back the room, Wanda was more than awake, looking at Gideon.“I'm going to have to leave for a few moments, honey.” He told her softly.“Gideon… You don't have to go through with this.” She said and sighed. “Our marriage is a sham. You don't have to keep coming here.”He frowned at her and walked over to the bed, sitting in the chair and taking her hand in his.“Do you think I would risk dying for you if I didn't like you?” he asked with an offended tone. “Fuck, I dare say I love you, Wanda!”He notices when he

“It means we have no way of contacting the Clan?” Brandon asked Lucy. He was sitting in a hospital bed, his torso getting wrapped in gauze, while he talked to Lucy on the phone. “I’ll try to find another way. I’ll call Rindley again.” “Ok, love.” Brandon answered and smiled. “I love you, Lucy. And I’m sorry for dragging you into all those problems.”“It is not your fault, baby. Actually, if not for me, you’d have never gone into that trouble.” Lucy said, since Brandon decided to start training because of her, then, he got ‘murdered’ because of her as well. “We were made in heaven.” Brandon laughed, feeling a sting on his flank. The adrenaline was not high anymore running through his veins. The doctor wanted to give him morphine, since he had a great wound on his side, but he denied it, with fear it might make him vulnerable.“Keep still, Brandon! I can hear you’re in pain!” Lucy nagged. “I’ll call my brother.” She finished the call with Brandon, but her heart was clenching, as if

"My children!" Gareth smiled and spread his arms wide, as if genuinely happy to see the twins and their mates."Father!" Gideon said and broke into a huge smile. “We have something new and we wanted to come and tell you in person.”Gareth looked from one to the other, and then, the four raised their hands and the rings gleamed in the ambient light. Gareth widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows.“Did you get married?” he asked, surprised."Yes! We couldn't take it anymore. After everything that happened, we decided it was necessary. I had no reason to keep putting it off.” Brandon spoke and sounded very calm.“Then… Then we need to celebrate!”For Brandon, it was very strange to have to look at that man who was in his biological father's body, but in reality, he was nothing more than a crazy doctor, capable of anything to put the crazy creations of his mind into action.A party was arranged and the four had to pretend that everything was fine, that they were a happy family.“So, any

Candace was outside the room 647, unable to mutter a word. Her eyes were focussed on the white wall in front of her. A little red stain was there. Almost invisible. ‘Is it blood?’, Candace asked herself. Mildred was taking care of all the arrangements, including having to talk to Joseph's family and, of course, dealing with the police. "Darling, take it." The smoke from the hot coffee made Candace look at the small Styrofoam cup, filled with the steaming liquid, and then at the woman holding it. The blue eyes behind the glasses expressed both empathy and concern. Candace didn't say anything, just held the cup, while Mildred smiled at her and walked away. She had a lot to do. When Mildred returned, the cup was still in Candace's hand, and the coffee was very cold. Mildred took a deep breath. She had been working at the hospital for some time and was used to the occasional patient passing away, especially since most of them were elderly. Many of them with some illness, not only ment

Darkness engulfed Joseph, who felt his feet leave the ground. The scene of Harry falling continued to play through his mind, like an infinite loop. Winona's laughter rang in his ears. He just wanted this nightmare to end soon and be nothing more than this: a nightmare.'I must be very tired and I'm just hallucinating. That's it. None of this is real!' he repeated to himself, eyes closed and covering his ears to try to stifle that hideous laugh.As soon as his feet touched the ground again, Joseph opened his eyes. He looked around and, once again, he was in that cursed cabin. He got up, staggering, and headed for the door. Incredibly, it opened without objection, allowing him to leave.Joseph ran back to the road, where the car was parked on the side of the road. The snow wasn't as fluffy as before and he didn't get stuck like he thought he would.He took the key out of his pocket, and his trembling fingers had a hard time getting the small metal object and inserting it into the lock o

Joseph was dizzy after realizing that this woman, the Indian, was his great aunt. She was hardly mentioned, but he knew her name was Winona. He heard about how mad she was and that they cut contact with her because of this. Now he knew she cast a curse on his parents, as well as on his uncles, and maybe that's why so many wrong things happened in their lives. Joseph's mother freaked out one fine day, while cooking and tried to kill his father. His father wanted to put his wife into a nursing home, but at the time they didn't have resources for that, so the solution was to take care of her in their own home. Unfortunately, it ended in tragedy. She set the whole house on fire one night, with everyone asleep. Fortunately, his father managed to get him out of there, but not her, who burned to death. Outside the house, while waiting for the firefighters ,they could hear her insane laughter. Before the outbreak, she couldn't stop talking about curses and talismans and poisoned blood, and i

The walk to the cabin, though less tortuous than the previous night, was longer. Joseph noticed some things hanging from trees, and when he looked closer, for it was day and he could see, he realized that they were small skulls. He was startled, because that was very macabre! There were many, like bunches of grapes. He kept walking, because the worst that could happen to him was to be stuck out in the open, in the blizzard.He saw some totem poles half buried in the snow around the house. When he finally looked at the building, he realized that it looked a lot like last night's cabin. He swallowed, slowly approaching the door. He raised his hand to knock, but it froze for a few seconds. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and before he knocked, he looked down and sees the same potted plant."It's not possible..." His lips were trembling, not from the cold, but from fear. He gatherd courage and knocked on the d

Joseph bent down and picked up the small box, about the size of a hand and about three fingers wide. He went to the old chair and sat down, listening to the poor furniture creak. Before opening it, Joseph noticed how it had some symbols carved into the lid as well as on the sides. Joseph's grandmother was a native, from the Pine Ridge Reservation, and though she avoided talking about it much, he could make out some of those carvings. He lifted the lid and saw a few items inside, and one of them caught his eyes. The braided leather key ring his father showed him a few years ago. They were very similar, but Joseph knew they couldn't be the same, after all, how could that be possible? There was also a necklace with a pendant similar to an animal's tooth, as well as a red ribbon. Suddenly, tiredness sets in and Joseph feels heavy eyes again, as when he was driving. He looked at the dusty bed and thought there was no other way. He dusted it off and, before going to 'bed', he observed throu

Candace went to the patient's room and found him lying down, peacefully sleeping. She met with Scott before entering and asked him to allow her in, to which he very reluctantly agreed. She watched the old man sleep for a few minutes. What happened to her to have such a hallucination? Could it be that she had a problem at her house, with fungi? But, she started having strange sensations inside work that night, so the fungus wouldn't be in her house, exactly. With these thoughts, she didn't notice when Joseph woke up, until he called out her name. "Miss Adams?" He was lying still, just looking at her. "Huh?" She looked around, waking up from her reverie. She stared at him. He motioned with his finger for her to approach him. She did so. "I need your help." He said softly, looking around, still lying down. "With what, Mr Staton? Want me to call Scott?" Joseph made a frump. He didn't like that nurse guy because he was too rough. And he knew the guy had bad intentions towards Candace. H