Essence Scarlett

"I am yours, Scarlett," he cut me off and my words got caught in my throat. "I belong to you. My body is yours. My soul is yours. . ." I blinked slowly as I stared up at him with wide eyes. What was this man talking about? I wanted to refuse it, to push it aside as just mere talk but his golden eyes were blazing into mine. There was so much determination in his voice that I just had to believe him. "You can see me naked whenever you want. You can touch me whenever you want," he whispered. —------------------- Right from the day my mother brought me into the world, she hated me as if I was the devil’s spawn itself. She abused me every chance she got and made me hate myself. Things only got worse when she forced me to take my sister’s place– her precious daughter– and marry a total pervert– Marco Bianchi, as it was my family’s way of upholding our allegiance with the Bianchi Family. It was either I married him or she cut off my medical bills and leave me for dead. I had no choice but to accept and was going to marry Marco until I met him– Viktor Marcelli– the most feared ruthless Mafia Leader who had a heart as dark as his past. He waltzed into my wedding, shattered my world and offered me a choice: Go ahead and Marry Marco, the pervert and monster I knew, or take my chance with him– a total stranger who could either become my savior or destroy what was left of my soul…

***** “Just get it over with. Reject her. Your parents are waiting” My knees buckled, my legs threatening to give way, Tears blurred my vision but I kept shaking my head at him. I’m willing to forget this ever happened and move on, if he won’t reject me. “A-Alex -A-Alex, you won’t do that to me, right?!” I stuttered whispering the last part, he chuckled, Low and cruel, he closed the distance between us in two long strides, towering over me. His eyes sharp and cold. “Why?!” He snorted staring down at me intimidatingly. “You actually thought you’ll be my Luna?!” “You don’t even have a wolf!” he added his eyes depicting clear irritation. I couldn't stop the tears now-they flowed freely, hot streaks running down my cheeks. Alex's smirk deepened as he leaned down, so close I could feel his breath on my face. "I was bored," he said softly, his words dripping with mockery. "And you? You were easy." “And you know what?” He grinned, his breath warm against my skin. “I’ve always wondered what you'd taste like.” His lips brushed my ear. “What do mere humans taste like?” ****** After being painfully rejected by her mate in public. Scarlett thinks it’s best to leave her pack and start all over else where. What becomes her fate when she ventures into WILLOW BROOKE the forbidden pack?!

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

Book Three of The Luminary Quartet The bears were currently considered enemy number one, right alongside the elders of my species. The problem was, I didn't know them as that. To me, they were simply friends, family even. My mother's mate had been a bear shifter, and I had ultimately found my own other half within the Ursidae family, as well. Everything had been perfect for a single moment in time, and then I was fleeing my home, right after rejecting the bastard who thought he could put his hands on me. I vowed two things then: to never return and to never give a male that much power over me again. Yet, Luna apparently had some twisted plan laid out for my life because circumstances seemed to keep arising, bringing me ever closer to Reese in spite of my best intentions. The wolves' rapidly declining numbers sent us careening across the county in a race to prevent the destruction of our species by the bears, though I struggled with picking sides. New and old faces appear along the way as rogues and other heretofore unknown foes emerge to stop us, making it difficult to know who to trust during these tumultuous times. Will Scarlett hold fast to her deep-rooted beliefs during the journey, or will her perceptions shift as much as the reality she returns home to? *Note: While the main characters in each book will receive their HEA, I wouldn't recommend reading them out of order due to the overarching storyline that continues throughout them all. ***Warning*** This book is intended for adults 18+. It contains mature themes and adult language. Please read at your own discretion.

The Legend Continued... The rejection was supposed to be her end. Instead, it was her awakening. After the devastating fallout at the Scarlett Vale engagement, the Silver Ridge Territory is a powder keg waiting for a spark. Avery Monroe is no longer the mute trophy or the discarded wife. She is a woman reborn from the ashes of betrayal, carrying the ultimate secret: the true heirs to the Montgomery throne. But freedom comes with a price that smells of blood and cedar. Hudson Montgomery has finally realized that the "dormant" wolf he cast aside was the only soul capable of anchoring his primal rage. Driven to the brink of madness by the severing of their bond, he has turned from a protector into a relentless predator. He doesn't just want Avery back—he wants to cage the fire he was too blind to see. But the man who once ignored her silence now finds himself deafened by her defiance. Standing between the hunter and his prey is Blake Donovan. The rival Alpha didn't just find Avery’s wreckage; he found his match. As Blake offers Avery the sanctuary of the Donovan lands, a feverish, erotic war of dominance begins. He wants to heal her, to claim her, and to raise her pups as his own—an act of ultimate defiance that would strip Hudson of his legacy forever. The Hunt is On. The Pack is Divided. The Mother is Lethal. Inside the Pages of Book 2: "You think a Mate-Contract is what tied me to you?" Hudson’s growl is a low, vibrating threat against the shell of her ear as he corners her in the shadows of the neutral grove. His scent—pine and storm-clouds—is an intoxicating suffocant. "I am your Alpha, Avery. Your skin remembers my touch, and your wolf... your wolf

Caitlin and Caleb awake in ancient Israel, in the year 33 A.D., and are amazed to find themselves in the time of Christ.

Ancient Israel is a place of holy sites, of ancient synagogues, of lost relics. It is the most spiritually charged place in the universe—and in 33 A.D., the year of Christ’s crucifixion, it is the most spiritually charged time. In the heart of its capitol, Jerusalem, lies the Holy Temple of Solomon, inside of which sits the Holy of Holies and the Ark of God. And in these streets, Christ will take his final steps to be crucified.

Jerusalem teems with people of all religious backgrounds and faiths, under the watchful eye of Roman soldiers, and their Prefect, Pontius Pilate. The city also has a dark side, with its labyrinthian streets and maze of alleyways leading to hidden secrets and Pagan temples.

Caitlin now, finally, has all four keys, but still, she must find her father. Her search takes her to Nazareth, to Capernaum, to Jerusalem, following a mystical trail of secrets and clues in the footsteps of Christ. It also takes her to the ancient Mount of Olives, to Aiden and his coven, and to more powerful secrets and relics than she’s ever known. At every turn, her father is just a step away.

But time is of the essence: Sam, turned to the dark side, has landed back in this time, too, and as he unites with Rexius, leader of the evil coven, they race to beat Caitlin to the Shield. Rexius will stop at nothing to destroy Caitlin and Caleb, and with Sam on his side, and a new army behind him, the odds are in his favor.

Making matters worse, Scarlet arrives back in time alone, separated from her parents. She roams the streets of Jerusalem on her own, with Ruth, and as she begins to discover her own powers, she also finds herself in graver danger than she’s ever been. Especially when she discovers that she is holding a great secret, too.

“Tell me, Scarlett. What do you want?” His voice is a growl — low, filthy — fingers teasing beneath the lace of my panties, just enough to make me squirm. “Say it. I want to hear you beg for it.” He murmurs the words, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “We shouldn’t be doing this…” I whisper, breathless, my body already arching into his touch, betraying every word I just said. Then his fingers slide into my soaked folds, and a sharp moan escapes my lips. He chuckles. Dark. Wicked. “Then why are you so wet for me?” — All Scarlett Bennett wants after a messy divorce that nearly destroyed her reputation and forced her out of the career she loved is a fresh start with absolutely no complications. Even when she wakes up dazed after a reckless, mind-blowing one-night stand, she tells herself it was just sex. A mistake. A moment of weakness that would never happen again. Until she walks into her new office… and sees him. The man who had her spread across his bed, begging for more. The man she now works for. Lucien Whitmore. Lucien is all sharp edges and sin. He's a Billionaire. Brilliant. Mysterious and every bit as dangerous as he is irresistible. He is everything she should avoid — powerful, untouchable, and entirely too used to getting what he wants. And what he wants… is her. She swore it would never happen again. But when he’s got her bent over his desk, whispering praise in a voice that makes her knees weak, she forgets every reason she ever had to resist him. She’s not just a part of his empire now. She’s his favorite sin. And if the world finds out? They’ll both burn for it.

I was his one weakness. Don Alex, the king of New York. And I was his queen. But days before our child was due, I was thrown into the Dockside Deathmatch—a cruel game broadcast for the underground world’s entertainment. The bullets flew, hidden traps lay in wait, and my every terrified, pathetic attempt to survive was broadcast live on giant screens. Then, I heard his second-in-command on the loudspeaker. "Boss, your wife's about to pop. You sure you wanna be here?" I froze. Alex was here? A moment later, a woman’s sugary voice dripped through the speakers. "Forget that bitch. Alex told me the only thing that mattered today was being here with me. Right, honey?" It was Scarlett. The Chicago Outfit's princess. Alex's childhood sweetheart from Chicago, a woman he had always pampered and shown a distinct bias towards. He had turned down her advances for years, but he never refused her whims. Today, she was in a bad mood and insisted on watching the deathmatch, so he was here to keep her company. I screamed for Alex, begged him for help, but he was convinced I was an assassin in disguise. Because Scarlett laughed and said the game needed to be more exciting. So he pressed the button. Vicious patrol dogs hunted me. My water broke, mixing with blood on the ground. I was in agony. The game hit its climax as more dogs and gunmen closed in from all sides. Everyone was betting on who would be the next to die. Alex smiled, his voice a low, careless drawl, "I’ll bet on that filthy pregnant woman to die." He didn't know the truth until I bled out on an operating table, our child dead with me. They say the ruthless Godfather shattered. Broke completely.

Rule number one: Do not kiss strange men in clubs. Rule number two: Never kiss the owner of the club. Rule number three: If he’s a secret billionaire with a dark past and a disturbing obsession with your heartbeat? Run. My name is Scarlett Whitmore. And I broke all three. I was born with a heart condition called Mitral Valve Prolapse. My mother hates me for ruining her life. My brother cannot stand me. And my boyfriend, Drake Bittencourt, the man I thought was the love of my life, proposed to my twin sister in front of 19,000 hockey fans. And she accepted him without hesitation. When my sister walks into the club I work at, flaunting Drake’s ring without remorse, I make a rash decision: I grab the first man that catches my fancy and kiss him like my life depends on it. He turns out to be Harlan Rousseau. Team captain of the formidable Vancouver Icefangs. Hockey god. And according to the tabloids, dead broke and drowning in debt. But the tabloids are wrong. Not only is Harlan Rousseau NOT broke, he’s the secret heir to a ninety- billion-dollar oil empire. He offers me a deal: wear his ring. play the devoted wife. And sleep in his bed for a year. In exchange, he’ll pay off my medical debt and save my best friend from homelessness. The most important of all: he offers a chance to get my revenge. I should’ve said no. But I was desperate. And desperate women make deals with the devil. The longer I stay, the more I realize Harlan Rousseau is not just hiding wealth. He’s hiding a monster. And I’m starting to think I don’t want to run from it…

His eyes locked on mine wide and wild, he moved towards me and put his hand on my shoulder, lessening the distance between us. I could feel the tension in my own body, the effort of not giving in at that moment, of not letting him pull me against him. Not letting myself take that one chance, however formidable and absurd and unwise, and kissing him the way I had thought, I would never in my life. I had never wanted like this before. I understood him, smiled a little when he smiled. I saw through the defenses he put up to what was underneath. There was no Eric James Winslet more real than the one I saw in his eyes when I looked up at him. "You can close your eyes," He whispered in my ear. My eyes fluttered shut, his mouth came down on mine. And that was it. All the self-control I had exerted over the weeks went by. My arms came up around his neck and he pulled me against him. His hands flattened against my back. I was up on the tips of my toes, kissing him as fiercely as I could. I didn't know what I should have done or said next if it would have been something I could never have pretended away or taken back, but I heard a soft hiss of laughter. ************* Eric James Winslet a ruthless businessman who has already completed 27 yrs of his life being the king of his territory. Scarlett Miller, a business administration student; with the spice of fashion designing. Want to know how their lives get entangled with hatred, possession, & love. A heartbreaking story that will keep you at the edge. Are you ready to be on this journey? Purva Narang (Your author)