Doing The Same Thing And Expecting Different Results

The day that I divorced my third husband, the system told me that I had completely failed my mission. I had married three times in this world and they were all targets that were supposed to fall for me. But every single one of them chose to divorce me because of Wendy Somerfield. The system pitied me for doing my best for the past 30 years, so it asked me to target my son. It said that if my son could confidently choose me, between me and Wendy, then I could live. However, it was no exception that the son I gave birth to after 40 weeks of pregnancy chose Wendy, just like my three ex-husbands. They all even pinned the cause of Wendy's illness on me. My first husband, who was my childhood sweetheart, pretended to be softhearted, but he was actually ruthless. He actually tried to convince me to donate one of my kidneys to Wendy. My second husband, who I met on a blind date, used a scalpel to personally cut open my body. My third husband, who I fell in love with at first sight, even threatened me with my son. While spitting out blood from my mouth, I agreed to their requests with a smile. However, when they saw me being pushed out of the operating room, those people who turned their backs on me went crazy.

To the world, I’m just Macey Carter. Mason’s little sister. Samantha’s best friend. The girl who somehow landed her dream job as lead designer at Seams & Touch. But inside? I’m someone else entirely. Someone who aches to be broken down and put back together by a man who knows exactly how to use me. Someone who craves submission so badly, it’s like a sickness. My ex never understood. David was too soft, too careful. He wanted to hold hands and make promises, while I wanted to kneel and beg. When he left me, I didn’t fight it. Two years later, I’m twenty-four, single, untouched, and suffocating under the weight of everything I can’t admit out loud. And then there’s Damien Blackwell. My boss’s older brother. Ten years older, sharper, and rougher, with a reputation that makes people whisper when he walks by. I shouldn’t want him. But I do. God, I do. He’s the finest thing I’ve ever seen. I know because I’ve seen all of him—one reckless afternoon when I walked into his office and caught him taking a woman apart on his desk. She looked like she wanted to disappear, like she hated every second of it. And I hated her. Because I would have begged for more. Damien promised his sister he’d stay away from me. He told himself I was too young, too close, and too dangerous. For a while, he believed it. But that ended the night he caught me touching myself in my office, late after hours, knowing he was watching. That’s when everything changed.

𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲. Charlotte Richards, was a 19-years-old shy girl, who in her eyes could do nothing wrong that is until she starts a forbidden relationship with one of her mother's employer.

I thought dating again was my biggest mistake. Then I fell for the one man I should have stayed miles away from. My OB-GYN. He’s twice my age. My boyfriend’s father. And the only man who’s ever made me feel seen. Now I’m pretending to need checkups just to hear his voice, Just to feel his hands where they shouldn’t be But when my perfect boyfriend’s charm turns violent, The man I shouldn’t love becomes my only safe place. One wants to owe me. The other wants to save me. But the closer I get to both, The closer I come to losing myself. When desire becomes our only language, how long before it destroys us both?

“Don’t flatter yourself. In my bed, there’ll be no pleasure for you—only pain. Mate bond or not, I’ll ruin you before I ever love you.” That was the promise I got on my wedding night. Being forced to marry the Alpha who hates me? That wasn’t part of the plan. I’ve spent years plotting the downfall of the pack that took everything from me. But when heat came unexpectedly, fate bound me to Lord Lucan—cold, ruthless, and devastatingly powerful. I didn’t choose him. The bond did. To him, I’m nothing but the daughter of traitors. A stain on the pack and a reminder of everything he lost. To me, he’s the son of the enemy who wrongly condemned my family. When he dragged me to the altar, it wasn’t love—it was revenge. When he touched me, it wasn’t passion—it was punishment. He didn’t mark me out of love. He did it to cage me. Now I’m trapped in his bed, his territory, his rules… while he swears to make my life a living hell. But hate is a dangerous line to walk— Especially when his touch burns hotter than fire, and his kisses steal the breath from my lungs. I was determined to destroy his pack. He was determined to destroy me. Only one of us will win this game—and it won’t be the one who falls first.

When Nate Carter is attacked at Blackridge University, he wakes up changed stronger, faster. But control isn’t easy especially after he is seized by the cold, possessive leader of the silver Kieran Drew. Caught between terror of the monster inside him and the risk of not being in a pack, Nate has no choice but to rely on the one person he should presumably fear most: Kieran, the pack’s brutal future Alpha. Kieran should consider Nate as a liability. Instead, he can’t let him go. Protective to the point of obsession, Kieran is drawn to Nate in ways he can’t explain or control. But as Lycans, feral abominations born of twisted power, rise to wage war, Nate becomes both the pack’s greatest risk and its only hope. As secrets unravel and blood is spilled, Nate must learn to wield the power he never wanted while trying to grasp the perilous link building between him and Kieran. Because in a world where wolves are governed by instinct and obsession, love could be the most dangerous power of all.

He was meant to be a sacrifice. Instead, he became an obsession. When Elias is cast out of his master’s home, accused of seducing a nobleman’s son, he flees into the forbidden lands of Lucian D’Arcy—the cruel, beautiful vampire lord feared by all. But instead of killing him, Lucian claims him, drawn to Elias in ways neither of them understand. Elias resists the dark temptation Lucian offers, but his body betrays him, his pulse quickening under the vampire’s touch. The longer he stays, the harder it becomes to deny the hunger in Lucian’s gaze—or the sinful desire curling in his own belly.. Lucian swore he wouldn’t break Elias. Wouldn’t ruin him. But as desire turns to obsession, and obsession to possession, one thing becomes terrifyingly clear. He will burn the world to keep him.

The Dark Monarch has returned to the city. He took on the role of an ordinary clerk, only to inadvertently discover the secret of his beautiful female boss…

All because of Leo Cullen’s words, I gave up a place at a top-tier university in Ceres and stayed behind to retake the entrance exams with him—three times. By the fourth year, a girl arrived at our cram school, and Leo forgot the promise we made. He started skipping class, picking fights, smoking—doing everything but studying. One day, I stood at the school gate, blocking his path with a textbook in hand as he tried to ditch class. He smirked, unimpressed, and blew a bubble with his gum, letting it stick to the ends of my hair. “Naomi…,” he began, “who still cares about studying these days?” So I stopped caring and avoided him entirely. When he fooled around in the classroom, I went to the library. When he played basketball, I sat in a quiet corner with my books. Even when I craved noodles from my favorite shop, I’d scan the room first to make sure he wasn’t there. “Are you avoiding me, Naomi?” he asked later, his face in a frown. I shook my head. “Why would you think that?”

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