Alone We Fight

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

Everyone who lives will die, and nothing they do can stop it. That's the way things are. The circle of life. And a single undeniable truth. The minute we are born we start our journey of that cycle and we will continue down that path until we take our very last breath. However, not all life spans are the same. Some people live to an old age. Others die young. Some die of natural causes, and others die of accidents, murder, or disease. It's the sad truth of being human and death doesn’t discriminate. But what if someone could see their death coming? Would they do everything in their power to stop it from happening, or would they live their lives to the fullest since they knew it was coming to an end? Would they fight tooth and nail to be able to stay earthside for even a minute longer or would they succumb to the inevitable? This is the universal question and the only ones who can answer it are the people who saw their deaths, people like me. My name is Remi Woods. I'm eighteen years old, and for as long as I can remember, I've been able to see how a person will die with a single touch. At first, I wasn't quite sure what was happening and I was terrified that maybe I was going crazy, but after my visions kept coming to fruition no matter what I did, I knew I was different, and not in a good way.

"No stop. We should not be doing this. You are Noah's brother and my boss" Esme murmured and tried to push Leo away. But he didn't budge. He pinned her to the glass wall in his office and started kissing her. Her protests drowned with his kiss. ....... Esme stood on the Altar alone, waiting for the groom who dissappeared. Standing alone on the Altar on her big day should have been devastating. That too when the groom was her best friend of fifteen years and fiance of four years. She should have seen this coming. And she should be a crying mess. But she is not. Strangely, she is feeling relieved. Her gaze fixed on Leo Ashford, her Fiance's elder brother. The wrong brother she fell for. The brother she shouldn't be thinking about. The brother who is off limits. The last man to whom she shouldn't have lost her virginity to. 'I promise Esme, I will cherish you this time' she remembered Noah's promise from just a few hours ago. She felt bitter, because he couldn't even hold his promise for even a day.

"Tell me you are mine" the cold, sharp, merciless blade tried to force me into submission. Into HIS submission. I am not a property that anyone can own. "I-I am yours". Green is supposed to be my favorite color but as I look into his green merciless eyes I feel nothing but fear. "Good girl. Now, we don't want your dear ones hurt do we?" ****Where do you see yourself in three years? Two? One?What gives you the certainty that there will be one at all?In a world where most people dream and everything is normal, how would it feel to not know what normal is? Life is never easy and it won't ever be. It's harder when you have demons of your past and devils in your present to fight against. No one wants to lose but how long can you keep yourself stable? Only the strong and brave survives in the race. Is she strong and brave?Triggers are present.

I was eighteen when I got together with Sam Bennett. We were in love for two years—at least, that was what I thought—until I found out I was nothing more than a stand-in for someone else. After a huge fight, we broke up. Not long after, Paxton Gibson, the warm and caring senior who had always looked out for me, began pursuing me passionately. He was persistent, unwavering, and so sincere that I finally let down my guard and accepted him. Just when I thought I had finally found true happiness, I overheard a phone call between Paxton and Sam. “Don’t worry, Leah trusts me completely. Take good care of Georgina. The surgery will happen soon.” In the end, when I really did disappear, they changed their minds. “Leah, come home with me, please?” I smiled, at peace with myself. “But I haven’t had a home for a long time.”

We're sorry ma'am!, we called to inform you that we have some problem with the Insemination process"  "What! " " Please we plead for this Information to be kept in confidentiality.                   Amelia Wright was tired of being taken for a ride in all her previous relationship. She needed someone to fill in the empty void her dead parents left in her heart. Since she was not getting the love she deserved. She made plan to  have child of her own. An Insemination  would give her just what she wants with the right sperm that matches her's. She wanted a child , to share her joy, make her worry when he cries and pamper with her care and love. When her selected sperm got swapped, it arose a new problem.  Could she survive her new charming breathtaking baby daddy and the conditions of being his wife.       Prince Louis was already struggling with a million problems of  his own.  He suffered major loss when his fiancee was found dead, a week before their wedding after her bridal shower party.  His father threatened to make a decree that could ruin his chances of becoming the crowned Prince. With his stepbrother eager to rake over his position, Louis must fight to claim his place. When he hired a woman to become his surrogate,it got swapped he ended up with not only a child but a beautiful bride. A package deal, he can't resist!!.

I never imagined that my scholarship to Nocturne Academy would lead me straight to my mate. At eighteen, I was supposed to focus on my studies, carve out a future beyond the limits of my modest upbringing, and leave behind the life I once knew. But then I met Elias Grey—my enigmatic professor, the man fate has tethered me to in ways I can’t begin to fight. He's everything I shouldn’t want: older, untouchable, born into privilege, and bound by expectations that would crush a weaker man. As the heir to the Grey legacy and the son of Nocturne’s powerful dean, Elias knows what’s at stake. But how do you turn your back on something that feels inevitable? The pull between us is undeniable. But desire alone isn’t enough—not when Elias faces relentless pressure to marry Claudia Castille, the woman chosen to secure his family’s influence. Caught between obligation, longing, and fate, Elias and I must decide: How far are we willing to go to hold onto something everyone tells us we can't have?

Emma Blanton twists her ankle, and my fiance, Matthew Harrison, insists on becoming her personal chauffeur. When I voice my disapproval, he makes an even more outrageous decision. He moves Emma into my apartment at Bellemont District—the apartment I bought with my own money. He argues like he's the victim, "You're being selfish. She's injured, and living alone is too dangerous for her right now. I'm just being a decent human being. "And that place is sitting empty anyway. Having someone there helps with security." On the morning we were supposed to get our marriage certificate, he doesn't show up. I call, expecting apologies. Instead, I hear, "Emma had a fever this morning—101 Fahrenheit. I had to take her to urgent care. We can postpone getting the marriage certificate. Her health can't wait." To hell with postponing! I grab my phone and call David Rockefeller. "Do you want to marry me? Then get to City Hall. I'm serious—right now."

Erin Hill, a great man, was involved in an accident that changed his life. Now he had to battle with his wolf and fight for the love of his life. But the obstacles around were something he had to deal with. "I do not know who you are, please stay away from me!" Her confused eyes pierced his heart, he reached out to touch her but she flinched. "Amelia, don't you recognize me?" He said heartbrokenly. "Please leave me alone," She said, running away. With power comes great sacrifice! All that happened to him was not something he ever wanted. How dare toys with people. How will you feel when the world turns against you? What will happen to Erin and Amelia? Will they reunite or accept each other for who they are?

Isabella, a young woman who yearns for a life of luxury, gets her wish when she catches the eye of a powerful hotel tycoon, Adrian Dickens. But his extravagant lifestyle comes with a price: Dickens charm gives way to a dangerous possessiveness, trapping Isabella in a gilded cage. Just as she feels most alone, a chance encounter with a kind-hearted governor's son offers a glimpse of a different future—one built on genuine love, not control. But Adrian is a man who never loses, and when Isabella's secret relationship is discovered, her life becomes a thrilling and terrifying battle for freedom. As a vicious betrayal from someone she loves comes to light, Isabella finds herself at the center of a deadly game, forced to fight against powerful forces who will stop at nothing to tear her and her new love apart.