The Kraken Wakes

Patrick and Clare wake up trapped in a basement, a thin wall separating their cells. Their captor is mysteriously absent, which at first seems like a blessing. As more time passes with no food or water, they begin to realize a clock is ticking for their survival.They know their captor is still out there, and it is only a matter of time before he returns.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Four days after my death, my four-year-old daughter finally sensed that something was terribly wrong. The fridge door slammed into her forehead when she tried to get a snack. Normally, I would've been there in a heartbeat—arms open, kisses ready, whispering, "You're okay, sweetheart, Mommy's here." But this time, I just lay on the bed, cold and still.​ She didn't understand. She thought the sweet treat would make me respond. So she held the final piece of chocolate up to my mouth. "Here, Mommy. Have some chocolate..." But I didn't even blink. She climbed into my arms, clutching my clothes tightly. "Mommy... Mommy, wake up..." She waited for me to stroke her hair, to tell her that everything was going to be fine. There was only silence.​ Completely lost and scared, she found my phone. "Daddy, why is Mommy still sleeping?" she asked, her voice filled with desperation.​ In response, Oliver sent a photo of himself having Christmas Eve dinner with his childhood sweetheart. His voice was icy cold when he replied, "She's just sleeping, not dead. It's Christmas Eve, and I'm busy. Tell her to stop playing games and come apologize when she's done sulking." Then he hung up.​ But when the truth finally hit Oliver—when the coroner's report came, when the police knocked on his door right in the middle of his laughter, when he realized I'd been lying dead for four days while he toasted—he broke.

On the eve of my wedding, the drug effects of the sleeping pills have faded away. That's how I find myself waking up amid the rambunctious laughter in the master suite of the estate. As soon as I open my eyes, I see my luxurious custom-fitted wedding gown being shredded into pieces by Trevor Gibson's female best friend, Sophia Lynch. She toys with the scissors as she jokes around in front of her phone, where a livestream is ongoing. "Helena is no lady of the house! At the end of the day, I can still manipulate her as though she were a maggot!" Trevor's friends agree with her loudly. "Trevor was the one who laced her milk with sleeping pills, to begin with. Anyone else would've slept like a log!" The comment section is filled with mocking comments directed at me. Meanwhile, Trevor just pats Sophia on the head dotingly. "You must be done venting your anger by now, right? Be a good girl and turn off the livestream. If Helena wakes up and kicks up a fuss, it'll be difficult for tomorrow's wedding to proceed." Once everyone leaves the master suite, Trevor sits by the bed and tucks me in. "Sophia mustn't get triggered at all due to her depression. I'll only deal with you later. Anyway, I've already arranged for a plane to fly in a new wedding gown for you as we speak. Honestly speaking, that gown fits you even more." I can only grip the covers quietly. Then, I fire a text at Jordan Scott. "I'm not going to get married now. Are you still sticking to that promise you gave me back then?"

They say that the deepest cuts come from the ones you hold closest to your heart. But I never expected my husband to be the one holding the knife while another woman twisted it in deeper.... My name is Ariana Carter. I am deeply in love with my husband Misha, and we have the perfect marriage. Scratch that, HAD the perfect marriage, or so I thought until he changed. His lies and betrayal broke me. Until I woke up. Now it's time for me to retake everything I lost--my life, my career, my family, and my dignity. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

My bride went missing on the night of our big day but woke up in my brother's room the next day. My parents persuaded me to ignore it for the sake of fame but scolded my wife as an easy girl. Angrily, I moved out of the villa with my wife. Soon after, my wife had a miscarriage and suffered from depression due to gossip. She jumped off from the top floor in front of me. Desperately, I followed her. Opening my eyes again, I found myself back to the time when the wedding ended.

He drove there to annihilate the whole pack which had the audacity to combat against Him, The Dark Lord, but those innocent emerald eyes drugged his sanity and He ended up snatching her from the pack. Lyceon Villin Whitlock is known to be the lethal Dark walker, the Last Lycan from the royal bloodline and is considered to be mateless. Rumours have been circling around for years that He killed his own fated mate. The mate which every Lycan king is supposed to have only one in their life. Then what was his purpose to drag Allison into his destructive world? Are the rumours just rumours or is there something more? Allison Griffin was the only healer in the Midnight crescent pack which detested her existence for being human. Her aim was only to search her brother's whereabouts but then her life turned upside down after getting the news of her family being killed by the same monster who claimed her to be his and dragged her to his kingdom “The dark walkers”. To prevent another war from occurring, she had to give in to him. Her journey of witnessing the ominous, terrifying and destructive rollercoaster of their world started. What happens when she finds herself being the part of a famous prophecy along with Lyceon where the chaotic mysteries and secrets unravel about their families, origins and her true essence? Her real identity emerges and her hybrid powers start awakening, attracting the attention of the bloodthirsty enemies who want her now. Would Lyceon be able to protect her by all means when she becomes the solace of his dark life and the sole purpose of his identity? Not to forget, the ultimate key to make the prophecy happen. Was it her Mate or Fate?