Caretaker Before Filch

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

A small-town mayor. A stranger with a sketchy past.Two weeks before Christmas, Katie is kicked out of her apartment. Again. Rather than wander the streets and continue to work for a dirty cop, she escapes, determined to disappear for good. Until her car breaks down in a small New Mexican town, and everything is threatened when she falls for the charming mayor.Sam Freedman is the first bachelor mayor of Amor. After convincing the locals that having a mayor without family responsibilities means he can dedicate all of his time to the community, they watch his every move. Then Katie Andersen shows up. Against Sam’s better judgement, he hires her to replace his former event coordinator. Now he can barely think straight, let alone run a town. In the midst of half-truths and outright lies, Katie and Sam desperately search for the place where honesty and trust lead to love. But they have to find it before the past catches up with them.

“What if I reject you right here, right now, and end this before it even begins?” His eyes darkened considerably at my words as he stepped forward. "Do you for a second think a flimsy thing such as your rejection will stop me from having what was deemed mine by the goddess herself? I will never accept your rejection, Adelaide Silverstone. I’m not above chaining you to my bed if need be. And if you still plan on going ahead with your rejection, then your cousin's head will roll before you utter the words." *** Adelaide Silverstone is a woman on a mission: kill the man who destroyed her life. When her mate turns out to be that very man, rejection is no escape, but revenge has never been straightforward, especially when secrets and half-truths threaten to shatter everything she thought she knew. Will she choose revenge… or the desire that burns hotter than her hatred?

Avery's always harbored a crush on Jake Ortega, the charming boy next door who once stole her first kiss. Life pulled them apart when she had to move away with her mom. But now, fate reunites them, and sparks fly anew. With Jake now at the helm of his father's billion-dollar company, their rekindled connection breaches all boundaries, fueled by an irresistible attraction. ********* "Do you like that princess?" Jake thirstily questioned between our kiss once again. "Y..yes." I managed to moan out before he cruelly removed himself. Jake stood above me while staring down at me with a pleasing smirk on his handsome face. "Your lips taste of strawberries just as they were before princess. Now I want you to be a good little girl and maybe, just maybe I'll give you what your body has been craving for and more."

Warning: contains mature content Elena has long harbored a secret crush on her enigmatic billionaire boss, Andrew Blake. One night in San Francisco turns a routine business trip into a forbidden, passionate affair.Back home, Andrew faces pressure from his family: if he doesn’t marry before his stepbrother Matthew, he could lose the company. Determined to secure his inheritance, he offers Elena a contract marriage and she accepts.But life gets complicated. Matthew is her ex, his fiancée is her best friend, and a betrayal orchestrated with a scandalous video shatters Elena’s world. Humiliated, she disappears, determined to build a new life away from Andrew and Matthew.Yet escaping a billionaire isn’t easy. Torn between revenge and forgiveness, past and future, Elena must decide: can her heart truly heal before it’s too late? especially when the truth about the betrayal surfaces?

Anais had run years before away from a date. The words screamed at her within her mind. She finds herself facing the same man she ran from. craving him, unable to notice it was the same man she once ran from. A warning comes from Lucifer himself, telling her never to agree with him, but Anais stupidly agrees to give him her life. Unknowingly to her his name is not merely a stage name Anais however isn't worried, it is Lucifer who finds himself saving her, unable to understand why. Why he has to keep her alive, when many before her had died? Belial, his brother, tells him about a curse that was put upon him and that Anais will be his downfall, or should we say up fall? She is the one to make him feel real love, and the consequences are not ones Lucifer favours.

From the beginning, it was clear what Avara Latimer's fate would be. Since her birth, every aspect of her life has been planned with precision. Avara's life was one of pure indulgence, with the villagers showering her with the best of everything to ensure the god's favor. However, there was an ulterior motive behind the gifts, and it wasn't given out of kindness. Her island home thrived with life, and to ensure its continuous abundance, she was chosen as a bridal sacrifice for the malevolent dragon god, Kagran, who lived up the mountains. But with rations running low and some of the villagers growing more resentful of her privileges, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to leave the village. And just as she had feared, her worst nightmare became a reality. On a cold winter's night they come and take her from her home, leaving her to brave the unforgiving mountains alone - a whole year before the sacrifice was planned.

“Can you feel that?” “Paula, this is not right,” He tries to deny the spark between us. “But it feels right, right?” “Damn, Paula,” “Please, Sergio. Don’t deny us this,” He growled, and before I know it, he grabs me on my wrists and smashes his lips on mine, me hard. I place my hands on his face, participating in the . Our tongues bump against each other, fighting for dominance. He moves his lips down to my neck and sucks on it, sending chills down my spine, and my panties are already soaking . I let out soft , grasping into his arms. He runs his tongue on my face and stops on my ear, nibbling it, and whispers: “We can’t do this, baby girl.” Argh, so disappointing! He sits back in his seat and starts the car. It is only a matter of time before he gives in – he just needs a little more time.

Betrayed by her husband and left to die, Elena Dawson wakes up ten years earlier before her doomed marriage. This time, she won’t fall for the lies that destroyed her. Instead, she turns to Alexander Knight, the cold billionaire who always loved her in silence. In this life, Elena isn’t just fighting for love. She’s fighting for revenge, redemption, and a future that’s finally hers. -- "You’re late, Richard," Elena said coolly, her smile sharp enough to cut. In her first life, she would have melted at his charm. In this one, she saw only poison. Later that night, she stood before Alexander Knight. His dark gaze pinned her in place, unreadable, powerful. "Why are you here, Miss Dawson?" he asked, voice like steel. Elena lifted her chin. "To change my fate. Marry me, Mr. Knight."

The day before the wedding, my fiancé James's childhood sweetheart had a severe depressive episode. Threatening to take her own life, she demanded the destruction of the wedding gown my grandmother had painstakingly made for me before her passing. To calm her down, James locked me in a room and stayed by her side, helping her cut the gown into shreds. Amid the mess, he spoke indifferently. "Be reasonable. It's just a wedding gown. Do you want to see her die?" Later, James's hot uncle approached me, asking me to carry on the family lineage. I nodded in agreement. But James, with reddened eyes, confronted me. "Are you really going to have his child? Have you completely given up on me?" Covering my slightly rounded belly, I replied, "Be reasonable. It's just a child. He’s your uncle. Do you want to see him with no heir to carry on the family name?”