Chip Skylark

One day, shortly after I had experienced a miscarriage, Alan brought me a bowl of chicken soup—and a divorce agreement. "Sophia's pregnant," he had said. "So let's just leave each other like mature adults do." Chicken soup had never tasted so bitter in my life. I knew Sophia Mason—he had sponsored her education before. She was also the one who caused my miscarriage. I did not cry. I did not throw a fit. I just asked why. He looked relieved. Then, he looked at me blankly. "The truth is I can't stand you over these seven years. Every time we lie together on our bed, I just can't help but be disgusted by what your body has gone through. "I know you suffered that because of me. But I can't do it. I can't stop remembering how defiled it is. "Our kid is gone. We owe each other nothing now—so let's end it here, right now." So that was it, huh? Hilarious. He had no idea who the "defiled" one was—him. Seven years ago, I inserted a memory chip into his brain to save him. And now, in three days' time, the chip will cease to function. He will remember everything… and he will wish he were long dead.

Luna Masterton sees demons. She has been dealing with the demonic all her life, so when her brother gets tangled up with a demon named Sparkles, ‘Luna the Lunatic’ rolls in on her motorcycle to save the day. Armed with the ability to harm demons, her scathing sarcasm, and a hefty chip on her shoulder, Luna gathers the most unusual of allies, teaming up with a green-eyed heroin addict and a snarky demon ‘of some import.’ After all, outcasts of a feather should stick together...even until the end. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Broken souls don't heal; they just learn to hide their scars better.Anna Moreni has always been collateral damage. At the age of 4, she witnessed her parents’ deaths and was taken hostage by a warring mafia house. At the age of 12, the house was attacked, and yet another family won her as the trophy, and now she’s a bargaining chip at twenty-two.Kane Russell clawed his way to the top of the Outfit, only to have it all ripped away by a woman’s betrayal. Now he's offered a chance at redemption—and revenge—through an arranged marriage with a rival family's daughter.

Amirah Mistake Laurel Chavez is an unfavored illegitimate daughter of a well-known family. She migrated to other country due to unfortunate circumstances that lead her to experience traumatic events that will be etched in her soul forever. However, she finds her life completely changing before her eyes when she found out that she accidentally got a vitro insemination in California and responsibility forced her to marry the person who she only met twice as a compensation of damaging his reputation. The man she will marry happens to be Castiel Rain Engraver a CEO and Mafia boss who is sharp as a knife and doesn't miss anything. He turned into vengeful person after his wife was killed when he still in a coma, and he pledges to do everything in his power to take the justice his wife deserve. To make it happen, he needs to secure his position as the supreme boss of their Mafia Organization and find the chip that contains all evidences that can bring them down. But, will he be able to give up what he planned for so long if he found out that his only daughter is suffering from her illness, where she needs to undergo bone marrow transplot? Thus, they did a surrogacy, but things didn't go as planned when Amirah accidentally got the embryo. Will he be able to give up and forget his position if he found out the whereabouts of the chip he searched for so long? Or He will sacrifice important lives just to get the justice he desired? Could romance be in the cards of these two different people who vows to protect each other even if it means throwing themselves in the path of danger? Can they find their own version of happily ever after?

“The daughter of Alaric Blackstone. How dare you deceive me?” Rejected for my bloodline, I faced a harsh truth: the man who once held me tenderly now looked at me with hatred. Marked as the shameful Omega daughter of an Alpha, I thought the mate bond was my salvation—only to find it was my curse. Forced into marriage by my father as a bargaining chip, I made a decision to escape the torment and leave behind those who betrayed me. Years later, when I finally found peace, my mate returned, begging for forgiveness. However, after enduring all the pain he caused me, can I truly forgive him?

As Don Julian Vitale's woman, I've accompanied him every step of the way, from the streets all the way to the peak. It all starts because I don't like the way Julian's god-sister, Milena Santoro, uses so much force in dressing my wounds that I've dismissed her in favor of other people. The next day, my explicit photos are plastered all over the underground casino's chips. I clutch my abdomen, which still sports the stab wound I've blocked for Julian. As I search for him, I end up overhearing his subordinates' lewd laughter outside a private room. "Winona sure is hot, Don Vitale! Now that her body's printed all over the chips, our luck has tremendously increased as well!" "That's not it! Previously, Don Vitale rewarded me by letting me grope Winona's chest! Because of that, I was able to seal a business deal that's worth tens of millions of dollars!" "Then again, Don Vitale, won't Winona get into a fight with you for spreading her explicit photos like this?" Julian puffs out some smoke while toying with a casino chip with my crotch printed on it. "She's just a plaything whom Lady Luck favors. Without my protection, she's even lower than a mutt. Besides, she's nothing compared to Milena, and yet she has the gall to complain about how much force Milena uses in dressing her wounds?" As the crotch-imprinted chip is flung onto the table carelessly, I feel my heart dying once and for all.

Natalia was born to obey, raised as a bargaining chip to secure peace between packs. It was the way girls were raised in her family. And within powerful families, being an only child, her father was sure to make her know her place since her fate was sealed when he had arranged her marriage to the brutal Alpha of the Crimson Howl pack. But Natalia refuses to be anyone's pawn. She refused to obey, and most importantly, she refused to be controlled. On the day of her wedding, dressed in white and suffocating in expectations, she runs. By the edge of a forgotten river, she finds a stranger. A man with cold eyes and a darker soul, Alpha Nolan. He mocks her at first, calls her dramatic, tells her she’d drown ugly if she jumps. But beneath his sharp tongue lies a haunted alpha with no love, no mercy, and no reason to care… until now.

Elise was cruelly pushed down the staircase after a fiery confrontation with her husband and his mistress. She thought her life was over, but when she opened her eyes, she discovered she had gone back a year in time—back to when she still had a chance to rewrite her story. The first step in her new life was to cut ties with the man who betrayed her. He had saved her in her darkest moment, only to deceive and destroy her in the end. This time, Elise vowed to steer clear of her past mistakes, rebuild her family's legacy, and make everyone who wronged her pay for their sins. However, as she climbed the ladder of success, an enigmatic and captivating man entered her life, challenging her resolve. Elise wanted nothing to do with love again, convinced it would only hinder her, but his persistence began to chip away at the walls she had built around her heart.

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

Priest is one of the Confradia's top assassins until he suffers a grievous accident that leaves him blind. Seeing his value, the Confradia grants him an experimental surgery that gives him new hope. After years of being blind, Priest can see again. But true vision only comes when he sees her. To his consternation, he finds a woman he can’t forget but must live without. When his past comes to haunt him can he let the woman he desires to suffer for his mistakes? Sage is a strong-willed, independent woman who loves life. Unfortunately, a stalker sets his sights on her and will chip away at her life until he leaves her vulnerable. There is only one man who can help save her life. A man whom she has fantasized about since the moment she first laid eyes on him. Will her life be spared at the cost of her heart?