Black Emperor Game

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

“You really think a chrome leash makes me yours?” Timothy’s voice was a jagged shard of glass, his pulse thrumming frantically against the cold metal of the Blackwell collar. Kan leaned in, the scent of expensive bourbon and gunpowder clinging to him. He captured Timothy’s chin, forcing those defiant lavender eyes to meet his own. “It doesn’t make you mine, little ghost. It just keeps you still long enough for me to show you why you’ll never want to leave.” Behind him, Gideon’s shadow fell over them both, heavy and suffocating. “Careful, Kan,” the enforcer rumbled, his knuckles still stained with the blood of the men who’d tried to stop them. “He’s a reaper. He doesn't want a home. He wants a body count.” One Ghost. Two Predators. No Escape. Timothy Gal is a shadow. A high-level operative for the Nash Rebellion, he’s spent his life as a nameless tool in the war-torn Sopttyi District. He doesn’t feel, he doesn’t miss, and he certainly doesn't belong to anyone. But when a routine surveillance mission in Saati Town goes south, he catches the eye of the two most dangerous men in the Blackwell Mafia. Gideon Blackwell is the muscle—a man of controlled violence and territorial hunger. Kan Nelblack is the mind—a predator with a silver tongue and a taste for absolute submission. They don’t just want Timothy’s secrets. They want his soul.

When Ava walked into that bar, she only wanted to forget. Forget the man who left her for money. Forget the wedding she was never meant to attend. But one drink, one stranger, and one reckless night changed everything. She woke up in a stranger’s bed only to find out he wasn’t a stranger at all. He was Adrian Blackwell, her CEO. Cold, powerful, and dangerously irresistible. Adrian swore he didn’t do love. He didn’t chase. He didn’t lose control. Until Ava. Now he wants her body, soul, and every breath she takes. But loving Adrian means walking a thin line between passion and danger… because the man who owns her heart might also be the one who ruins her.

She couldn't love him. His heart didn't belong to her. It belonged to another woman; one that had loved him for years. And in her heart, the heart that he was slowly stealing with each sweet word and every act of kindness, she knew he loved that woman still. Maybe she would have hated him longer if he had been anything like his mother. The woman who forced her into this marriage by threatening her sister's future. But he wasn't. Samuel Madden was everything she dreamed of ending up with but settling for him might mean settling for half. Half of his heart, half of a family, half of a husband. He had everything planned. The ring, the house, the way he'd ask the woman he loved to marry him. But with one word from his mother, threatening to ruin her life, he found himself at the altar, saying void vows to a woman he met only a month ago. He was ready to settle and wait until he was free again, but Kali Hastings wasn't an easy woman to dislike. Sure, she had flaws, but they were nothing compared to her tender heart and perky personality. Now, he was falling for a woman who was daily conquering more and more of his heart. But at what cost? There was more connecting them than even she knew. A truth that had been buried in his family since he was born. Would she still want him when she found out the truth?

It was a bad idea. She knew it but she had no choice. After finding herself penniless after the death of her parents who nevertheless had a good fortune, Rose had no other idea than to loot the trunk of her old house to pay for her little sister's treatment. Anyway, it wasn't a theft because nobody knows about this safe... The house was empty because it was for sale, she was going to sneak in and she would never set foot there again. It was a perfect idea... When she entered the house, she suspected that there was someone but she persisted and continued... -Who are you? What are you doing at my house? She was so relieved that no one had touched her money so she hadn't even heard the footsteps... She turned to see a man...a man with a mask covering half his face. .. Frightened, she did not expect that this night could change her life... -I'll let you take your trunk and I'll offer you double more so that you serve as my escort, for one night... Rose could not understand such a proposal. However, she had no choice...

‎ ‎I died on Christmas Eve. ‎Poisoned by my sister… betrayed by the man I loved. ‎ ‎Death should have been my end. ‎Instead, it became my beginning. ‎ ‎When I wake up in a blood-soaked alley, a cold voice welcomes me to the “Demon Games" — a brutal survival arena where one hundred humans fight monstrous trials for a chance at rebirth. ‎ ‎The reward? ‎Ten years of life… and one impossible wish. ‎ ‎I am weak. ‎Near-blind. ‎And the easiest prey. ‎Which is why it makes no sense when “he" starts protecting me. ‎ ‎Tall. Masked. Dangerous. ‎His presence alone silences monsters… and makes my heart race for all the wrong reasons. ‎ ‎"Stay close," he whispers, his breath brushing my ear. ‎"Or I'll enjoy watching you beg." ‎They call him a demon. ‎A king. ‎A monster. ‎ ‎But when his hand grips my waist in the dark… ‎When his fingers tilt my chin up… ‎When his voice drops to a husky murmur. ‎"You're safer in my arms… don't make me prove it." ‎ ‎—I realize something far more dangerous. ‎I'm not just surviving the games anymore. ‎I'm becoming addicted to the man who could kill me. ‎ ‎Because the truth is… ‎The masked protector is the “Lycan King” — an overlord bound by rules that demand my death. ‎Yet every time we get too close… ‎Every time his control slips… ‎Every time his gaze lingers on my lips… ‎ ‎It feels less like protection… ‎And more like possession. ‎In a world where survival demands sacrifice and desire is a weakness… ‎I must choose— ‎Escape hell alone… ‎Or fall into the arms of the monster who wants to claim me. ‎ ‎

BLURB: Elena Rivers only wanted to survive senior year quietly but one wrong seat next to Ryan Blackwood, the school’s most feared and untouchable boy, changed everything. He’s dangerous, untamed and hiding secrets darker than his tattoos. Elena is soon pulled into obsession, lies, and forbidden attraction that could destroy them both because loving Ryan Blackwood isn’t just risky… It's deadly!

*****Trigger Warning***** This book contains mature themes, physical, sexual and emotional abuse. My name is Lillian Blackwood. I thought my life was over. I had been beaten down and controlled by my ex both emotionally and physically for years. It was, do or die. Fortunately, I survived, and with therapy and time, I finally started some semblance of a life. The very last thing I was looking for was love. I hate dating, and quite frankly, I'm not a fan of men and who can blame me? I keep a very tight circle of friends, so I was surprised when love pushed and shoved its way into my life. But not all fairytales have happy endings, and my tale certainly gives happiness a run for its money.

When the bodies of his informats start turning up dead at every corner ; an assertive and confident journalist who is entangled with the mafia finds himself in a race against time - for his life.

Condemned as a witch. Thrown into a bloodsport. Hunted by beasts who want to claim, break, or kill her. Branwen Mosswood spent her life serving pints and saving every copper to escape the Walled City's cruelty. She dreamed of a quiet cottage. Freedom. Peace. Instead, she stabbed a nobleman who got too handsy... and was sentenced to the Wilder Games, a brutal forest arena where thirty "criminals" are forced to survive thirty days while being hunted by five savage shifter Warlords: 🦁 Hadrian Ironpaw - the prideful Lion King 🐺 Fenrick Bloodhowl - the feral Wolf beast 🐻 Torren Brokenbone - the berserker Bear 🐆 Zarrk Shadowprowl - the stalking Panther 🐅 Nythor Frostbite - the northern White Tiger prince If they catch her, they can claim her, body, blood, and soul. Branwen has no intention of becoming anyone's prey. She'll fight. She'll bleed. She'll unleash every forbidden spell in her bones. Because she won't just survive the Games... She'll bend the beasts to their knees Tap in! Updates multiple times weekly! This is the first in a series!