Afterlife Diner

My husband's first love, Daeleen Reed, is abducted and murdered by the Wood family, a mafia family. The final call she makes before her death is to my husband. "Samuel, Louise's green eyes are beautiful. If there is an afterlife, I hope I can have a pair of eyes like that so I can always gaze at you with them." My husband, Samuel Sterling, is the Capo of the Sterling family, a mafia family based on the West Coast. Instead of getting revenge on the Wood family, he comes home and forces me onto an operating table. "Daeleen says she loved your eyes. That was her dying wish, and I will make it come true." I clutch my stomach and grovel at his feet. I beg him to let me off the hook. I've yet to witness our child's birth—I can't lose my eyes! However, Samuel thinks I'm using my pregnancy as an excuse to not give up my eyes. "You can't be so selfish, Louise. You'll only be losing your eyes—you'll be fine." Daeleen is the only one who holds his heart. I am left with nothing but a world of darkness. Later, I drag my broken body into the sea. I forge ahead until I'm submerged. That's when Samuel goes insane.

Alpha Garreth of Forest Edge Pack patrolled the woods near his packlands when a rogue attacked. As quickly as he came, he was gone, leaving Garreth to die alone. Blackness enveloped him, and he said goodbye to his wolf. When he opened his eyes he expected to see the afterlife, instead he was healed and the most remarkable scent hung in the air. 'Mate' his wolf howled, but where had she gone? Why couldn't he find her no matter how long and far he searched? Her smell was all over this forest and yet, she was nowhere. Years pass and the scent of her never leaves, madness threatens to drag him under without her at his side. Hazel the wood nymph was used to being alone after the premature death of her parents. Even though she was a gifted healer the other nymphs rejected her. When she came upon a dying wolf in the forest she had to help him. She didn’t expect the electricity that sparked inside her when she touched him. She left him out of fear, even though she wanted to stay more than anything else. When a witch offers her a deal so she can visit the human town it almost seems too good to be true. She might even see the wolf again, all she wanted was a favor. When that favor proves to be Hazel’s own wings will their reunion come too late? Can Garreth and Hazel overcome the odds stacked against them or will they be torn apart once again?

After being publicly rejected by her mate, the Alpha's son, orphans Kit, and her little sister Cami, run away from their pack. Seven years later, who should walk into the diner that Kit works at and Cami studies in, but the new Beta of the pack they abandoned, who just so happens to be Cami’s very smitten mate. Kit is horrified when Cami begs her to come back to the pack where she still feels the humiliation from her rejection, but she can’t abandon her only family, so she reluctantly tags along. What she doesn’t expect, is that the once arrogant but popular son of the pack’s healer, Colin, has turned out to be not just a nice guy, but smoking hot too. And much to her surprise, he is interested in her. Which is great, because the mate who rejected her is now her Alpha and seems to take amusement in embarrassing her. Embarrassing her, and at the same time, wanting to use her for his pleasure, which even though she can’t stand him, she struggles to be able to physically resist him. And to make matters worse, he refuses to let her reject him back, threatening to kick her out and prevent her from seeing her loved ones anymore. Will she ever be able to finally reject him back and be happy with Colin, who wants her for more than just her body, or will she forever be trapped in an infatuation with someone who is emotionally uninterested?

Sienna Carter is a small-town girl just trying to survive in the big city. Working long shifts at a diner, she never imagined that one reckless night would change her life forever. When she wakes up after a one-night stand with a mysterious stranger, she assumes she’ll never see him again. But fate has other plans. Damien Lancaster is the rebellious heir to one of the most powerful families in high society. Tired of his father’s control, he’s been living under the radar, pretending to be just another regular guy. But when a heated argument with his father pushes him too far, he makes a rash decision—to marry Sienna, the woman who unknowingly captured his attention. What starts as a petty act of defiance soon spirals into something neither of them expected. Thrust into a world of wealth, deception, and ruthless power plays, Sienna struggles to find her place. Damien fights his growing feelings for the wife he never planned to keep. And his family? They’ll do anything to tear her down. But when tragedy strikes and Sienna proves her worth by saving Damien’s younger sister, the tides begin to turn. What started as a marriage of convenience slowly becomes something real. And as secrets unravel and betrayals surface, Damien must decide—will he fight for the woman who changed his life, or will he let his family’s twisted legacy destroy their chance at happiness? A story of love, defiance, and redemption, Married to the Heir is a gripping romance filled with passion, power struggles, and a heroine who refuses to back down

Maribell is a shy young woman who has spent her whole life seeing to the needs of her siblings after her father ran off. She spent her life being hated by her mother and treated like trash while her twin is given everything on a silver platter. Maribell is on her way home from working a double shift at a diner when she is attacked from behind. When she comes to she's in a cell facing a strange man she has never seen before. While in his cells she meets a mysterious woman who vows to set her free before she can be sold off. Margo and the Devil's Knights work together to free the people trapped in the cells while Dex works with a journalist to expose Bernard's and the Island's secrets. Dex and Maribell meet and she's instantly attracted to him but her own experiences before she met Bernard are enough to make her pause. She works at the club and learns more about Dex and his painful past when his mom and sister walk into the bar. Maribel learns that not all men are the same and the men of the Devil's Knights would fight to protect a woman or child in a horrible situation. Things are going well for them until her mother and sister barge into the club demanding that she come back home. Bernard is still on the loose and someone is pulling some strings in the background. Margo and Kane are intent on seeing justice served one way or another and the Island shut down no matter the cost.

“I trusted you!” Zachary yelled angrily his hands curled into fists at the revelation that he just got. "Is this is how you repay me?!” “I never told you to trust me." “Do you honestly think that I will let you get away with this?" Zach looked at the woman furiously. “Well, you’ll be disappointed." He took long steps towards her threateningly and held both hands, pushing her towards the wall hardly. “Do you think I'll let you get away from this?” Alex looked at him hardly, their faces close to each other, mouths almost touching. “Because I won’t.” Zach then pressed his mouth on hers in a hard and hungry kiss, giving in to the demands of his body that's been eating him for a while. Zachary Montgomery, 36, is a hard-working FBI agent, who works in counterterrorism, instead with the big law firm that his family had for generations. He is a man with goals and conviction. Alexandra Walters is a 27-year-old diner co-owner with her aunt and her wheelchair-bound younger sister. She turned her back on the thrilling and fast-paced life she once had. When Alexandra met Zachary over an incident that she believes has something to do with the case she abandoned, she forced her way in, despite his resistance and persistence in pushing her away and keeping her away from the case. Covering up their attraction towards each other, Zachary will do anything to keep her away for her safety while Alexandra made a vow to herself that she will get the information she needs to finally close the case that has been haunting her. Even if it means, seducing Zachary Montgomery to her bed.

There is no wrath like a woman betrayed in the most gruesome way. Queen Luna Aakifahlynn Mathiasen was a fierce Ace wolf, gifted and highly favored by the Divine Moon Goddess. She was also a devoted mate, wife, and Queen of the Tamman Kingdom in the Anatola Continent. Aakifahlynn was betrayed most horrendously by her husband and mate, Alpha King Jairus Mathiasen. In the moment before her death, she resigned herself to her faith and welcomed the unknown of the afterlife if there was such a thing. However, she was stunned at what happened next. Queen Luna Aakifahlynn found herself alive three years earlier, with memories of her past life still very much untouched. Wrought by sour detestation, with a second chance, Queen Luna Aakifahlynn vowed the destruction of her enemies. However, what would happen when her sworn Ayacquean enemy offers to help her? The disgraced, dark, and mysterious Emperor Demarion Dracul. Can she trust her enemy? What secrets is the Emperor hiding? The Ayacques were considered enemies of the Kingdom of Tamman because they never surrendered to the throne and their constant incitement of war. They were conniving, calculative, deceitful, yet desirable. What would happen if this unlikely combo started noticing each other somewhere along the lines of their thirst for revenge? Dive in and find out, and in the end – Would you call her the Victim or the Villain? --------------------------------------- "You can never be her." He all but moaned in her ear, tilting his head towards Taisiya, standing off to the side and looking like the ever-so-graceful Queen, ready to take HER place. "Every time I gaze upon you, I WILLED myself to see HER." He growled erotically. Jairus then kissed Aakifahlynn's nose once more, showing the people he was so ....

Danice left the divorce papers on the bedside table. Ten years. She endured and stayed silent—all for the sake of love. Despite the opposition from those around her, she clung tightly to her position as Julian’s wife, believing that he cared for her. But it was all just her delusion. It had been ten years of a loveless marriage. Danice touched the burn scar on her face. This disfigured face had become both her shame… and her proof of love for him. But what she didn’t realize was that it had also become the chain that bound him to this lifeless marriage. He had married her… out of pity. That realization hurt more than any insult others hurled at her because of her appearance. She had held him back for ten years. And she had suffered enough. It was time to let go. Danice finally realized that her ten-year marriage had been a shackle—for both of them. Just as she found the strength to let go of the love that had never been returned… death came for her. When she thought she had stepped into the afterlife, she opened her eyes— Eleven years in the past. Unmarried. She hadn’t even met Julian yet. Danice believed that a merciful God had taken pity on her and granted her a second chance— A chance to live for herself, to love herself. And so, that’s exactly what she did. She avoided meeting Julian at all costs, and even found a way to escape the accident that had once disfigured her face. Everything seemed to be going smoothly— But... Why was the man who had never once looked her way… suddenly appearing everywhere she went? This… this wasn’t like the past at all!

My name is Mara Park, and I am a twenty-three-year-old fresh graduate taking up business administration from a public school in my province.  I don't know that when you graduate from a public school, especially when your school is unknown to anyone in a big city, even though you have a diploma, it is hard to find a job, most of all when you don't have any work experience. I am an orphan and living alone. No one will provide for my needs if I don't find a job. I know no one in this place. No, I have one. I smiled, Jared. He has been my boyfriend for almost four years now. I didn't tell him I followed him after my graduation. I wanted to surprise him after I found a decent job. The last time I talked to him, he told me he was working at a big company as a finance manager, and I'm so proud of him. So here I am, struggling to find a job. I disregarded my diploma and applied as a waitress in a diner near the Fernandez Corporation building, hoping one day I could snatch a job in that company, even if it was just as a receptionist. It would be a huge achievement for me. I'd been working in the restaurant for a month when I saw an older man pass out near my workplace. He begged me to bring him home because he had forgotten where he lived and his name. I couldn't bear to leave him alone in the middle of the night, so I brought him home, and my life turned upside down after that when I found that he was the grandfather of the owner of Fernandez Corporation. That led me to find out my real identity.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing