Black-key Bolts Elden Ring Novels & Stories

I never thought he’d leave me on our ten year anniversary. I gave him everything, my youth, my dreams, my heart and he tossed it all away like I was nothing. Months of heartbreak, solitude, and tequila later, I’m barely holding it together. Then comes the invite: his wedding. The one where he’s marrying her. And me? I’m supposed to smile and clap? That’s when an idea lands in my lap a chance to fakedate the city’s hottest hockey star, the man every paparazzi swoon over. It’s supposed to be simple: protect his image, help him play the perfect boyfriend… maybe get over my ex in the process. But what I didn’t expect was the heat, the lust, the danger of wanting him… or him wanting me. Between stolen kisses in empty arenas, the paparazzi hunting our every move, and the ex who thinks he still has a chance, I’m discovering the dangerous thrill of power, passion, and revenge. But as my fake love story becomes dangerously real, I realize one thing: the game isn’t over, and I might just win… or lose everything I’ve dared to desire.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Imani whispered, her voice trembling more from want than from fear of her brother barging in and catching her leaning in to kiss his ex-best-friend now turned enemy. “Then stop me,” he murmured back, his fingers brushing her jaw, his breath hot against her skin. But neither of them moved. The distance between them had already disappeared, along with every rule she’d promised not to break. *** When Imani Grayson, a quiet psychology major, is assigned to mentor the university’s star hockey captain, Nicolas Jameson, she expects arrogance not the kind of chemistry that keeps her up at night. What begins as a simple assignment spirals into late-night tutoring sessions, stolen glances, and kisses that blur every boundary she’s ever set. But with jealous teammates watching, old wounds resurfacing, and a love too intense to hide, the game they started might be the one that shatters them both. Imani will soon learn that some games can’t be won without losing everything, and Nicolas, that even in the game of hearts, the strongest player can fall to his knees.

Selena Matthews is used to being a quiet student, She studies hard, stays out of trouble, and keeps her heart guarded. After losing her parents as a child, she learned not to expect much from people. Then she meets Jake Gordon, the popular hockey star. What starts as study sessions turns into kisses and secret moments. Jake says it’s better to keep their relationship private for now, and Selena foolishly believes him. But weeks pass, and he still won’t tell anyone about their supposed relationship. Selena starts to wonder if she’s really someone special to him or she's just being played by him. And when Cullen, the captain of the hockey team, begins asking questions, the secrets start leaking out. Selena must decide, will she keep hiding for a love that doesn't really exist, or finally choose to be seen?

“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.

I'm the Whitefang Pack Alpha's daughter. Thanks to Samzor—Alpha of Nightfang and my so-called betrothed—I got shoved into a mate bond with a limp rogue. He sold out three generations of Nightfang war honors just to make it happen. Dad lost it. He went straight to Nightfang territory, demanding answers. Samzor? He laughed. "Alpha Connor, come on. Nyara's your heir. You'd never let her actually mate a cripple. "I've loved her for seven years. I'd never mistreat her. I just need her to compromise—let Catherine stay with me. "Don't stress. Catherine's obedient. Polite. She'll make a good servant for Nyara." Catherine. A fox-wolf halfblood he dragged in from a border patrol. Scared I'd kick her out the second our bond was sealed, he cooked up this garbage plan to trap me. Only problem? The Alpha King's decree doesn't do take-backs. Mom handled the dowry. I'd go through with the ceremony. Bond to that rogue. After that? Samzor was dead to me.

At the Mafia Alliance Academy, reputation is the only currency—and mine was bankrupt in a single morning. One planted file, one flawless performance, and a few crocodile tears from Elena Rossi, the “fragile” scholarship student, were all it took. Overnight, I fell from the heights of the elite to a pariah branded a cruel bully. The ultimate betrayal? My fiancé, Luca Valenti—the future Don who once swore to be my blade—stood by her side, looking at me with nothing but cold contempt. They called me cruel. Entitled. A rich girl bullying someone who had nothing. What they didn’t know was that I could hear the venom dripping from Elena’s mind. While she played the victim, her thoughts laughed—mocking the Academy’s stupidity, sneering at how easily she had Luca wrapped around her finger. I stayed silent… until the Truth System awakened. Now I can broadcast her twisted thoughts to anyone I choose. And without hesitation, I linked her mind to Luca’s. So while Elena clings to his arm, crying about her “shattered dreams,” Luca hears everything— her plans to destroy his family, her contempt for his protection, and her disgust at being touched by him. The girl he chose is already tearing his world apart.

She is the contract wife of his nephew, who got into his bed after drinking. He is the most powerful billionaire in the city who had no thoughts about any relationship except the strange woman he met that night. One night sex made her lose her virginity and made him addicted to the sweet and soft strange woman. A family reunion drove her to meet her first man again. She tried to hide the ONS memory and avoid his eye contact. But he turned out to be her contracted husband's uncle! When she hides in the upstairs lounge to escape the lively crowd, he was already in the room. The sweet smell and soft skin brought him back to the night. Holding the little woman in his arms, he said, "Divorce my nephew, marry me!"

Solene only ever wanted two things in life, to be free of her mother's cruelty and to get into a prestigious college. Her dreams fell short when her mother announced her marriage to billionaire Alfred Campbell, the father of the one guy that made her life a living hell in school. Noah Campbell is not only a spoiled rich brat, he's made it his life mission to torment Solene. Now she's to live under the same roof as her hot tormentor. Solene thought it would be her worst nightmare, but something else came to life inside her. Their relationship skyrocketed from enemies, to lovers sharing passionate kisses in the room. Will Solene's relationship with Noah shield her, or will it destroy the very life she's spent a long time building?. Find out in this irresistible, forbidden, steamy, step sibling romance.

When you, a nerd, get stood up by your ex and wait all night in a bar on New Year's EveThat's when you meet the hottest hockey team captain who asked you to pretend to be his date so he could dump his latest girlfriend.When you're being pestered by your ex to get back together, he shows up and tells your ex to fuck off.Your ex says, I know this is just a deal and you can't possibly like her.He (kisses you in front of everyone): Deal, Like this?

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