Sanctuary Cove Series by Baert Ochs

Julian. I come to Sanctuary Cove to disappear. A shattered knee, a career in ruins, a press corps hungry for tragedy. Perfect place to hide above a coffee shop and pretend I don’t miss the stage with every breath. Then I push open the door to The Minotaur’s Garden. Barns is… enormous. Gentle. Terrified of his own elbows. His plants glow after dark and hum like a choir, and his smile looks like a storm deciding to pass. I’m supposed to buy a plant and leave... moreJulian. I come to Sanctuary Cove to disappear. A shattered knee, a career in ruins, a press corps hungry for tragedy. Perfect place to hide above a coffee shop and pretend I don’t miss the stage with every breath. Then I push open the door to The Minotaur’s Garden. Barns is… enormous. Gentle. Terrified of his own elbows. His plants glow after dark and hum like a choir, and his smile looks like a storm deciding to pass. I’m supposed to buy a plant and leave. Instead I start rearranging his chaos into choreography and somehow rearrange myself too. The town whispers. The mayor carries hexes in her purse. A shark in a suit offers to “fix” my knee and erase the last six months like they’re a typo. Meanwhile Barns fights a dangerous Fever that turns his magic wild. He thinks his size makes him a hazard. I’ve spent my life surviving impossible physics. I’m not fragile. I’m choosing this. Sanctuary Cove doesn’t promise happily ever after. It promises honesty, heat, and the kind of care that grows roots. If I go back, I get the stage. If I stay, I get a life. And a Minotaur who makes the night bloom. Tropes & hurt/comfort; gentle giant x sharp, wounded artist; found family; grumpy/protective cinnamon roll; size kink; magical small town; disability/rehab; “monster is soft, human is feral”; rut/fever; choice between cure vs self. Heat high. less

Leo. I run The Kneading Cat, and my mornings are dough, quiet, and absolutely no werewolves blocking my loading zone. Fenrir Cross, smug owner of The Wolf’s Steakhouse, did not get that memo. He parks crooked. He flirts worse. He smells like woodsmoke and trouble. And when the Heat Wave rolls into Sanctuary Cove, turning everyone’s senses up to eleven, I can’t ignore the way his grin gets under my skin. A storm knocks out the power and traps us together... moreLeo. I run The Kneading Cat, and my mornings are dough, quiet, and absolutely no werewolves blocking my loading zone. Fenrir Cross, smug owner of The Wolf’s Steakhouse, did not get that memo. He parks crooked. He flirts worse. He smells like woodsmoke and trouble. And when the Heat Wave rolls into Sanctuary Cove, turning everyone’s senses up to eleven, I can’t ignore the way his grin gets under my skin. A storm knocks out the power and traps us together. He’s infuriatingly competent, he feeds me when I forget to eat, and he says things like “let me court you” with a straight face. My claws say run; my heart says… maybe stay. Then his past calls, pack politics slam into our private bubble, and I remember exactly why I don’t believe in destiny. But Fenrir keeps showing up. With coffee. With flowers. With the kind of honesty that feels a lot like safety. The Heat Wave fades. The want doesn’t. I don’t do fated bonds. I do choices. And I might be choosing him. Werewolf’s Restaurant is a cozy, high-heat M/M paranormal romance with enemies-to-lovers spice, small-town meddling, storm-soaked forced proximity, a very judgy cat, and an alpha who learns that “mine” doesn’t have to mean “yours disappears. ”. less

Simon. I come to Sanctuary Cove to fix a clock tower. I don’t expect the statue on the belfry to wake up and growl at me. Garrick is eight feet of winged, stone-skinned guardian who turns to granite at sunrise and patrols the town by night. I’m the restoration guy with a blacklist, a toolbox, and no quit. The tower is condemned, the clock is seized with bad magic, and the foundation is running a fever... moreSimon. I come to Sanctuary Cove to fix a clock tower. I don’t expect the statue on the belfry to wake up and growl at me. Garrick is eight feet of winged, stone-skinned guardian who turns to granite at sunrise and patrols the town by night. I’m the restoration guy with a blacklist, a toolbox, and no quit. The tower is condemned, the clock is seized with bad magic, and the foundation is running a fever. We make a I work days while he’s stone, he works nights while I sleep… and we absolutely do not touch. That lasts five minutes. When the tower’s rot starts fighting back, the town council wants a demolition order. The only way to save Garrick’s home is a risky cleansing ritual that ties our bond in blood and magic. I know how to rebuild broken things. I didn’t plan on rebuilding a life with a gargoyle who calls me his. Daylight steals him. Night gives him back. Between scaffolds and moonlight, we turn a ruin into a refuge—and I have to decide if forever looks like wings around my shoulders and a bite at my throat. Sanctuary Cove is strange. Garrick is terrifying. I’m staying. Grumpy/stoic monster x stubborn cinnamon-roll human. Fated mates bite mark, possessive but tender. “Don’t touch me” → “Touch me more”. Found home, artisan competence, fixing the clock. Small-town magic, meddling mayor, bakery auntie. Daylight curse; night flights; guardian vows. Content notesExplicit M/M, marking bite, mild public vandalism, blood-ritual cleansing; all consensual. less

Jasper. I run to Sanctuary Cove to disappear. I’m supposed to be an artist, but one brutal review burns the color out of me. Three days later I’m in a clock-tower studio above a monster landlord and a mayor who speaks in spells, facing a perfect, empty canvas that stares back like an accusation. Then the shadow speaks. Nyx lives in the places light won’t go. A voice in the dark. A whisper of cool silk on my skin... moreJasper. I run to Sanctuary Cove to disappear. I’m supposed to be an artist, but one brutal review burns the color out of me. Three days later I’m in a clock-tower studio above a monster landlord and a mayor who speaks in spells, facing a perfect, empty canvas that stares back like an accusation. Then the shadow speaks. Nyx lives in the places light won’t go. A voice in the dark. A whisper of cool silk on my skin. When a single Prussian-blue brushstroke appears on my blank canvas, the block cracks. Stroke by stroke, Nyx pulls me out of perfection and into feeling. I paint. Nyx watches. We learn each other in the spaces between. The town wants a Solstice mural that shows what Sanctuary Cove lighthouse, wards, found family… and the things that protect us when the Veil thins. I can paint truth, but truth has a price. The old magic is waking, critics are circling, and loving a shadow means daring to be seen. I came here to hide. Now I’m ready to risk my career, my heart, and a kiss that tastes like stormlight. Shadow and artist. Light and dark. If I can finish the mural in time, maybe we don’t just survive. Maybe we become the masterpiece. THE SHADOW’S CANVAS is a high-heat, cozy-paranormal M/M romance set in Sanctuary monsters, magic, found family, and a love story painted in blues and indigo. HEA/HFN within series. Content high heat; consensual paranormal intimacy; anxiety/creative block; found family; protective gargoyle; witch mayor; zero cheating; no tragic endings. less

Hecate. I thought the Winter Solstice would be quiet. Candles. Evergreen. My dragon sulking over enchanted flames that refuse to obey dragon logic. After centuries of guarding Sanctuary Cove, I was finally ready for a peaceful holiday with the creature I love. Then Santa crashed into my lighthouse. Apparently, hiding a magical town from the Winter Court for three thousand years comes with… paperwork. And consequences... moreHecate. I thought the Winter Solstice would be quiet. Candles. Evergreen. My dragon sulking over enchanted flames that refuse to obey dragon logic. After centuries of guarding Sanctuary Cove, I was finally ready for a peaceful holiday with the creature I love. Then Santa crashed into my lighthouse. Apparently, hiding a magical town from the Winter Court for three thousand years comes with… paperwork. And consequences. And a sleigh full of overdue gifts that all arrive at once, leaking joy magic all over my very breakable town. Now the streets are glowing, the residents are drunk on Christmas cheer, and my dragon is threatening reindeer over roof tile damages. To make matters worse, the Winter Court is auditing us. If we don’t deliver every last gift and clear the backlog before the moon cycles, Sanctuary Cove loses its protection. The Veil falls. Monsters become visible. Everything I’ve spent centuries protecting is at risk. So this solstice, instead of rest, I’m delivering miracles. With a dragon at my side. A town full of monsters finding love. And a holiday that might finally teach me how to stop carrying everything alone. Santa’s Backlog is a cozy, heart-forward queer monster Christmas romance about found family, ancient magic, soft domestic dragons, and the kind of holiday miracles that don’t come in boxes. Come for the festive chaos. Stay for the love. You belong here. less

Ross has spent three thousand years making other people fall in love. He’s very good at it. He just can’t feel it himself. Now hiding in Sanctuary Cove under a borrowed name, Ross sells brutally honest Valentine’s cards, avoids emotional entanglements, and insists he is medically exempt from joy. It’s working just fine—until a soaking-wet wedding planner crashes into his shop after fleeing his own ceremony. Theo Martinez knows how to create perfect weddings... moreRoss has spent three thousand years making other people fall in love. He’s very good at it. He just can’t feel it himself. Now hiding in Sanctuary Cove under a borrowed name, Ross sells brutally honest Valentine’s cards, avoids emotional entanglements, and insists he is medically exempt from joy. It’s working just fine—until a soaking-wet wedding planner crashes into his shop after fleeing his own ceremony. Theo Martinez knows how to create perfect weddings. He just doesn’t know how to feel real love. When Theo becomes trapped in Sanctuary Cove, he’s roped into planning a vow renewal for a Kraken and his human husband—alongside Ross, the most infuriatingly insightful cynic he’s ever met. Together, they’re forced to confront everything they’ve spent their lives staging, avoiding, or denying. But Ross is hiding more than bitterness. Because Ross isn’t just good at love. He’s Eros. And the arrow he hasn’t touched in centuries is waking up. As Valentine’s Day approaches, magic stirs, vows are rewritten, and a love god faces the one thing he’s never been allowed to have—love for himself. Cupid’s Arrow is a cozy, emotionally rich MM paranormal romance about found family, second chances, and what happens when the god of love finally gets hit by his own magic. less