Awkward Silence

When a distant howl pierces the silence, Renna freezes in fear. Rogues? The Moonstone Pack hadn’t faced an attack in months, so why were they here now? “Stay hidden in the bushes, Renna,” her mother whispered urgently. After losing her parents and her boyfriend, Ethan, a burning desire for revenge consumes Renna, and she reclaims her home in the Moon Stone Pack. There’s just one problem: her grandmother desperately needs costly surgery. As the daughter of the fallen Alpha, Renna finds herself at a crossroads, unsure of whom to trust. Fate takes an unexpected turn when Xavier, a handsome stranger with a shadowy past, arrives with a proposition. Rumors of Xavier’s cruelty have spread among the packs, making trust risky. Can Renna rely on Xavier to fulfill his promise, or will his secrets from the past unravel their future? In her quest for vengeance, will she uncover the painful truth?

"You heard me, Damon Jones," I replied after a few seconds of silence that was honoured with his confused gaze. "I want us to be together. I want us to have sizzling moments that only you and I would know about. I want us to hold each other, and sweaty as our needs grow. Not once, not twice, but for as long as possible." I surprised myself with the tone of my voice. His hands on his waist, the man scoffed. It was a loud one. After a few seconds of making his feet dance in the very spot he stood, he faced me, the tip of histongue probing the flesh of his upper lip. That was a nice sight. It made my eyes linger on his lips longer than I intended. As my eyes quickly traveled to his wet shirt which exposed the nudity that I keep wondering about, he said, "You must be out of your mind, Selena." ~ In life, mistakes happen. A mistake like taking the wrong file instead of the file that contains your CV and other important documents a job seeker needs to have. But, there's no going back because you have a great job opportunity right in front of you. An opportunity that could vanish before anyone can complete the words, Jack Robinson. And, mistakes can lead to a lot of things. Things you could never imagine would happen in even five lifetimes to come. Like making a dangerous deal with a Mafia Queen... [Mature scenes inclusive]

Her name was Cathedra. Leave her last name blank, if you will. Where normal people would read, "And they lived happily ever after," at the end of every fairy tale story, she could see something else. Three different things. Three words: Lies, lies, lies. A picture that moves. And a plea: Please tell them the truth. All her life she dedicated herself to becoming a writer and telling the world what was being shown in that moving picture. To expose the lies in the fairy tales everyone in the world has come to know. No one believed her. No one ever did. She was branded as a liar, a freak with too much imagination, and an orphan who only told tall tales to get attention. She was shunned away by society. Loveless. Friendless. As she wrote "The End" to her novels that contained all she knew about the truth inside the fairy tale novels she wrote, she also decided to end her pathetic life and be free from all the burdens she had to bear alone. Instead of dying, she found herself blessed with a second life inside the fairy tale novels she wrote, and living the life she wished she had with the characters she considered as the only friends she had in the world she left behind. Cathedra was happy until she realized that an ominous presence lurks within her stories. One that wanted to kill her to silence the only one who knew the truth.

Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud. For twenty years, silence is all Ashlyn Holland has known. Haunted by the memories of her father, and the harrowing song of the ocean that stole him from her, Ashlyn maintains a safe distance from the rest of the world. Treading carefully the sea of fear and anguish that surrounds her, Ashlyn is determined to do all she can to protect her heart from such a tragic loss striking again. In silence, she grieves. In silence, she is safe. In silence, she finds the strength to breathe. But the silence can only last so long... Derek Moreno is charming and devoted, and quick to see through every wall Ashlyn erects. With his arrival in town, defences fold and walls begin to crumble, the songs of her heart reaching new heights. Together, they crest twin tides of fate, the silence she'd once sought engulfed by his gentle touch, and the whispers of a love thought impossible. For the summer, Ashlyn welcomes the noise. The disruption. But, the ghosts of Derek's past will no longer remain silent, and their deafening power has the potential to drag them both into a current strong enough to drown them amidst their heartache.

Would you fall in love with someone whose face you've never seen? Why does she captivate him so completely, even though all he has glimpsed are her eyes, peering through the veil’s delicate fabric? What secrets lie beneath? What past does she hide? Every detail about this woman is wrapped in mystery—unspoken truths, carefully guarded omissions, and a silence that speaks louder than words. A veil. A past. Secrets. A love that defies the odds. Are you ready to unravel the mystery behind the veil?

A deal sealed in desperation. A marriage bound by secrets. A heart caught between danger and desire. When Isla Monroe agrees to marry a man whose name strikes fear and fascination in equal measure, she steps into a world where power rules, silence conceals, and love is the most dangerous game of all. He’s cold, unreadable, and devastatingly magnetic. She’s fragile, desperate, and holding onto her last thread of hope. What begins as a contract quickly unravels into something far more complicated…. where tension simmers, pasts collide, and every touch feels like a trap. But in a house full of shadows, the greatest mystery isn’t him… It’s why he chose her. And when secrets start to surface, Isla must ask herself the question no one dares to answer. What’s the real price of wearing his ring?

When Vera Sinclair’s longtime boyfriend dumps her for the heiress she unknowingly replaced, she’s devastated but not broken. For years, she played the role of the perfect girlfriend, filling in the gaps while he pined for another woman. But now? She’s done being second best. Just when she thinks she’s free, a powerful billionaire, Asher Donovan enters the picture with an intriguing proposition. He needs a fiancée to silence his family’s constant matchmaking, and Vera, with her newfound indifference to love, is the perfect candidate. But Asher isn’t just any billionaire, he’s her ex’s former business rival, the one man who can make her ex regret ever letting her go. As Vera steps into the world of high society on her own terms, she realizes that being a “substitute” was never her destiny. She was meant to be someone’s first choice. And this time, love might just come with the sweetest revenge.

Blurb Location: America Damon walked unlawfully into the meeting of the Fearless Wolves pack and there was an immediate silence around the cave as even the sound of the ticking of the clock could be heard. The Alpha was shocked as to what could have brought Damon here, knowing he despised them. "How dare you come to my abode?'' Damon said angrily to Bryan as his voice sounded loudly all over the cave shaken vigorously. His voice sent shivers down the bone marrows of all the werewolves present at the meeting as they shook in fear. The eyes of Damon turned Cold bloody Red as he flamed in anger. "I.am.m.m. very sor.sorry" Bryan begged in fear as he knew that Damon could kill him this very minute and no single one including the Alpha will do anything. Damon charged toward him and roughly took him up in his hand. He raised him above his feet and squeezed life out of him. Bryan struggled hard to breath but he could not survive it as he suddenly gave up the ghost. Damon threw him to the floor dead as the werewolves in the cave looked at Damon in fear. "No one of you should dare come near my abode" He warned, walking out fearlessly and wickedly... Mara stood by the window staring at the sky in the cold night, making a wish to the moon. She said some words inaudibly that even the moon could see that she is desperately in need of her wish to be fulfilled. What is her wish? And who is Damon, that even the Alpha can't hurt his hair? What would happen if Mara found herself falling helplessly in love with Damon, the devil? Let's watch out for the first thrilling episode.

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

An awkward and unattractive girl Maria Priscilla Bantoc came across an old woman named Helia Baal who owned a mysterious garden at the crag to the north and west of the craggy hill. She also had encountered a strange black riding apparition which first appeared once fateful stormy night when Maria was born. Things had been turning out difficult for the awkward and unattractive Maria, especially after the marriage of Celeste and the betrothal of Petunia, Maria's two sisters. The old witch named Helia Baal had trapped a powerful storm spirit named Elohim Hefasto, the mysterious black riding apparition. Maria had to save Elohim from Helia's entrapment and also save the people living at the craggy hill. However, at the end, Elohim had to choose to become a mortal or return to his home, the spirit world called Mundu.