Crystal Blake

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

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

“For the record, I, Alpha Dane of the stonewood pack, reject you, Crystal whatever-your-last-name-is as my mate!” Dane’s cruel words washed away the promises he whispered into my ears hours ago. Rejected and betrayed by her mate, Crystal, a lowly omega, finds herself on the bed of the cursed, dreaded Alpha King Xavier known for his ruthless deeds and his mates dying in mysterious ways. However, there’s a twist, Xavier is drawn to Crystal as it dawns on him that she is his mate, left with no other choice, Xavier takes Crystal back to his pack against Dane’s wishes. Torn between the choice of protecting her from himself and his love for her, Xavier is forced to subject Crystal into slavery in his pack keeping her at arm's length but Crystal fights through, training in secret as she discovers she might have the powers to undo his curse, but having it is not enough. Would Crystal be able to find happiness? Would Xavier be able to let go of his guilt and accept Crystal? Find out in this enthralling tale how Crystal and Xavier navigate their love story despite all odds and destiny itself.

Warning ! Cerita dewasa (21+) Harap bijak memilih bacaan ! Seuaikan usia kalian. ⚠️⚠️ Cerita dewasa!  Bukan bacaan anak kecil, sesuaikan usia kalian membaca ini! "Crys...." Crystal kembali menginterupsi ucapan Chiaki, ia menempatkan jadi telunjuknya di depan bibirnya dengan posisi vertikal. "Kau harus menurut, oke?" Apa-apaan? Menurut? Memakain es krim malam hari? Chiaki semakin terbengong-bengong saat menyaksikan Crystal meletakkan ember es krim di atas nakas, tetapi bukan itu yang membuat Chiaki terbengong-bengong. Yang paling menakjubkan adalah Crystal melucuti pakaiannya sendiri kemudian melucuti pakaian yang Chiaki kenakan dengan cara yang luar biasa berani seperti bukan Crystal yang selama ini ia kenal. "Crys, apa yang kau lakukan?" Crystal menyeringai. "Aku bilang tadi, 'kan?" Kerutan di kedua alis Chiaki bertambah dalam. "Tapi, untuk apa kau mengambil es krim?" Kulit pipi Crystal memerah dan demi Tuhan, Chiaki sangat menyukai setiap kulit pipi Crystal memerah, terlebih lagi mereka berdua telah polos. "A-aku hanya ingin menikmati es krim." Crystal meraih ember es krim. "Kau harus berbaring," ucap Crystal malu-malu. Meski pikirannya diselimuti dengan keheranan, Chiaki mengejawantahkan perintah Crystal juga, ia berbaring di atas tempat tidur. "Crys, jangan katakan...." "Itu benar," sahut Crystal, ia membuka penutup ember es krim lalu menyendok sedikit es krim, meletakkannya di atas dada Chiaki. Chiaki menggeram karena sensasi dingin yang melanda kulitnya. "Crys, akan kubalas kau." Crystal justru tertawa. "Kau ternyata rewel juga, ya?" Chiaki juga tertawa, tetapi dalam sekejap ia menggeram karena Crystal menjilati es krim yang ada di dadanya menggunakannya lidahnya membat  Chiai mencengkeram seprei dengan erat karena gairah menerpa dirinya setiap kali lidah Crystal yang menjelajahi kulitnya. Gadis itu meletakkan es krim di dadanya kemudian menjilatinya hingga es krim itu dengan cara yang sangat nakal, bahkan Crystal melumuri kejantanan Chiaki dengan es krim lalu menikmati es krim menggunakan lidahnya yang hangat.  

Crystal Martini is a soon to be 18 year old junior in high school. Crystal moves to a new city and is starting at a new school. Brooks Milner is a 21 year old ex marine who lives up the street from Crystal. He befriends Crystal with one thing on his mind.

Crystal Martins was nothing but a Pawn in the game of her adoptive father. He wanted the power and fame that came with being related to the Conners, so he gave Crystal to Eric Conner in a loveless marriage. In Eric's house, Crystal was treated not better than a slave. Even maids in the Conners household were better treated than her. Then, she met her long-lost High School sweetheart, Midas, who was ready to take her out of her misery and show her what true love and true happiness really meant. Midas was richer than Eric. Crystal became torn between taking a bold step forward and staying put because of threats from every quarter.

Before my wedding, I was three months pregnant. My fiancé, Felix, told me we should hide the pregnancy to protect my "reputation". Then, the very next day, I saw him announce that he was the father of his "savior" Isabella's child. It was only then that I discovered Isabella was his first love. After I found out, Felix tearfully begged me to give him time, promising a huge wedding for us right after Isabella's baby was born. But I had already planned to leave with my baby. I just never expected that Felix's mother would be the one to ruin everything. I watched, helpless, as they treated my child like a bastard and forced me to have an abortion. I left, my heart turned to ash. Felix cut ties with his family over it, kneeling and begging me to come back. He promised me everything—wealth, status, company shares. But I no longer cared. I already had everything I truly wanted.

My mate, Nolan, is the Alpha heir. He promised to return before the Moon Goddess Festival. We were supposed to have our mating ceremony. I promised him the Heart of the Pack. My parents’ legacy. It's the key to controlling our elite warriors—the Dire Wolves. It was to be my mating gift to him. But he came back with a rogue bitch draped all over him. A she-wolf with wild, hungry eyes. I waited for him at the festival, ready for our prayer. Instead, I watched him with her. Skylar. They were by the bonfire, nipping and teasing each other like no one else existed. I told him his behavior was improper for an heir. He laughed in my face. “Old-blood nobles are so boring. Not raw and real like Skylar.” He thinks getting the Heart of the Pack gives him the Dire Wolves. He has no idea. The Dire Wolves answer to my bloodline. Without me, the Heart of the Pack is just a rock.

Des renégats m'ont enlevée alors que je protégeais mon compagnon, l'Alpha Arthur. Je suis revenue trois ans plus tard, pour trouver Arthur accouplé à ma sœur, Caroline. Mon fils, Léo, ne me reconnaissait pas. Pour lui, Caroline était sa vraie mère. Brisée, j'ai forcé Arthur à bannir Caroline avec le soutien des Anciens, en utilisant mes contributions passées comme levier. Mais elle a été tuée dans une meute isolée et faible, empoisonnée. Après sa mort, Léo me détestait pour cela. Arthur ne m'a jamais fait de reproches. Il m'a dit que tout irait bien. Mais quand notre meute a été attaquée à nouveau, il m'a jetée à nos ennemis sans hésiter, m'a laissée mourir. Alors que j'agonisais, je l'ai entendu grogner en serrant les dents. « Si tu n'étais pas revenue, Caroline aurait été ma compagne pour la vie ! » Mon cœur s'est transformé en cendres. Puis, j'ai ouvert les yeux. J'étais de retour, au jour de mon retour après trois ans d'absence. Cette fois, je regardais Arthur qui protégeait Caroline, et Léo qui s'accrochait à elle. « Je romps notre lien de compagnon. A partir de ce jour, j'en ai fini avec vous tous. »

A rogue attack shattered my wolf, costing me my birthright as the pack's heir. But my mate, Alpha Kael, seemed devoted to me. For three years, he injected me with a "Lunar Essence" he claimed would help me heal. I thought he was the only wolf who truly loved me. I never imagined he was poisoning me with Silver Dust, a suppressant designed to crush my wolf's spirit. All to ensure my wolf would never reawaken, securing my adopted sister Selene's claim as the pack's Alpha heir. My hands shook, my world turning to ash, as I opened his safe. Inside was the proof. From the rogue attack to the loss of my wolf, it was all a conspiracy orchestrated by Kael and Selene. That night, I pulled the burner phone from my drawer and dialed a number I'd sworn I'd never call. "Grandfather, I'm coming home. I'll be there in seven days. Please send someone for me."