Skylark

My boyfriend, Jules Gray, was the most ruthless young Don of his family, while I was the best mercenary who had once struck fear into the hearts of the underworld. He said he liked gentle women, so I laid down my weapons for love. We were at war. To settle it, he broke my hand and sent me to the Grays' rival family as a 'sacrifice'. "Skylar Shaw, it's your honor to die for the Gray family." Three years later, I returned as the Donna, took over his territory, and blew up his arms ships. When he knelt before me, begging for mercy out of our past ties, I grabbed his neck with my mechanical right hand and fired the gun without hesitation. "Survival rule number one—the loser dies!"

Fedora Smith was done with love. Finished. Buried. Betrayal had ripped out her heart and torched it—her boyfriend of four years and her best friend of twenty-five caught pants down on the very anniversary sheets she gifted him. And their excuses? “You’re not attractive anymore.” “You took too long to marry him.” Fine. If love was a game, she was rewriting the rules. Now, she runs The Bridal Fix, an elite agency providing fake marriages for a steep price—rent-a-bride services for men needing to fool their families, secure an inheritance, or stage the perfect breakup. Fifteen weddings, fifteen divorces—no strings, no mess. Just business. Until Judah Carlstone. He hires her like the rest—one contract, one wedding, one payday. But Judah asks too many questions. Looks at her too long. And when he smirks and says— "Tell me, Fedora… how does it feel to say ‘I do’ and not mean it?" For the first time in years, she has no answer. Because this was never supposed to feel real.

 Ivy Sinclair was born to be forgotten.  Ivy, a wolfless runt of the Bloodfang Pack, had little choice but to disappear into the shadows after being turned away by Alpha Killian Wolfe. However, a long inactive power awakens within her when Killian's brutal rejection leaves her broken and alone. She lives as something darker, strong, created by sadness and wrath, rather than the weak girl she was before. Centuries old, a prophecy was said out loud: "Born of light, born of shadow, a queen without a crown, a wolf without a pack... The forsaken will cry out, and the broken will rise. With the rogue king, Ronan Devereaux, by her side, Ivy sets out to tear down the empire Killian built. But the path to vengeance is not without its cost, and Ivy soon discovers that the darkness within her runs deeper than she ever imagined. Her soul is bound to something ancient, and when Killian returns, desperate to reclaim her, Ivy must face a choice that will shatter everything she’s fought for. The storm is rising, and Ivy is no longer the one who will be broken. She is the one who will break everything.

When a child mysteriously disappears from a small town and even his mother seems indifferent, it’s time for the new sheriff to step in. Meet Chris Baker, the new sheriff of the quiet Adirondack town of Clifton Heights. As one inexplicable case after another forces him to confront the townsfolk in The Skylark Diner, it’s the furtive Gavin Patchett that hands Chris a collection of not-so-fictional short stories that tumbles him into a world of monsters, ageless demons, and vengeful citizens. As Chris reads through the stories the veil starts to lift, and he soon questions what is real and what’s not, and whether he really wants to know. Nothing will ever be the same again. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

“Spread your leg, I want to give you my mark.” Skylark Bluedawn thought she had it all, a look, money, and a loving family by her grandparents. but everything changed when she reached twenty years old, all Alphas wanted her and tried to mark her, only with the help of three Alphas, with their intention to make her a plaything, in exchange for their protection. Will she be able to escape her destiny or be consumed by the wicked and twisted minds of the Alphas? Or did it get destroyed in the hand of the evil Alpha? Read her story, when Sky learns more about her family history, her struggle to manage three obsessive Alphas as mates, and of course the way to become more than just a werewolf mate...

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing