Everyone Else Burns

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

The dream was always the same. Transported to a dark, dank room with no means of escape. The growls and glowing eyes of the creature that lurked within it's shadowy walls coming ever closer, fear gripping her insides until she woke up, drenched in her own sweat and tears. They were the same, never changing or at least they were. Having caught the attention of the future alpha of the Bloodrose pack, Brodie Bennett, Talia Christie's nightmares began to change, to evolve. She had always been a loner, never wanting or needing to seek out friendships from those in the pack that had adopted her at a young age. Talia loved her parents, the ones that took her in but she longed for the day she would finally be able to leave and find her rightful place in the world. With her 18th birthday approaching, Talia is discovering where she came from and that she is not like ordinary wolves. Can Brodie's love give her the strength to fight her nightmare, come to life? Or will she perish with everyone else around her?

Skye has spent her whole life being looked down on as the weakest omega in the Silverclaw Pack. Poor, quiet, and always covered in bruises. She’s used to being bullied, ignored, and treated like she doesn’t belong. Especially by Alpha Damian Wolfe—the powerful, cold, and filthy rich Alpha who rules the pack with an iron fist. To everyone else, Damian is untouchable. To Skye, he’s the last wolf she ever wanted to notice her. But on her eighteenth birthday, everything changes. She discovers that the same Alpha who let her suffer in silence is her fated mate. Damian is shocked to learn the fragile omega he never cared about is the one destined to stand beside him. To him, she’s Heaven. But to her, he’s hell. Now Damian will do anything to win her heart, but after years of pain, Skye isn’t so easily swayed. Can he prove that fate made no mistake, or will she run before he ever gets the chance?

Escaping reality would be a good choice but not a better decision. Why would you even try to, if the Alpha's blood is linked to you? She's Azmariah Denise Cole. A woman trying to find exits that'll lead her to her freedom, but, is it really freedom that she's chasing or another catastrophe that is soon to happen? Sometimes, what you're running to is not always a safe place, that's what Aze need to know from the first place. She think that she's unlucky enough to be mated to an alpha which is every woman's dream. But you know what the truth is? Do you know who she really is? No one knows what or who she is, she's an unknown creature in their village, an extraña, that's kinda weird because people didn't expect for their alpha to be mated in a stranger. There are many secrets, secrets that should not be unveiled or else, everyone will be affected by it. Wanna know what that secret is? Well, that's what you need to find out.

The King of all, feared from everyone, he was Xavier, Alpha of Blue Moon pack. No one ever dared to cross him. One stare from him and the work he wants to be done is done without any question. She had seen many things that others believe don’t exist, so it wasn’t a surprise when she found out what her mate was, but the hatred couldn’t be controlled. Stella hates him to the core. People say hate and love bring problems and troubles, like spices in food. Stella and Xavier’s life together was just starting. A lot was waiting for them. He howled louder and this time I looked into his eyes just to show that I’m not afraid of him but looks like Moon Godness have planned something else because the moment our eyes met my wolf said a word that was supposed to be good but now it sounded like a curse 'Mate' It was the most unexpected and worst thing ever.

I was sold to pay off my father’s debt. But instead of freedom, I found myself owned by a monster in a suit. Emilia never expected her life to be torn apart overnight. Quiet, soft-spoken, and painfully naïve, she was handed over like a transaction, to the most feared Mafia Lord in the city. Lucien Moretti is powerful, ruthless, and cold as ice. He doesn’t need her love, just her obedience. But Emilia isn’t prepared for the way his eyes burn when someone else touches her. Or the way her heart races when he lowers his walls, if only for a second. Everyone says Lucien has no soul. But monsters don’t protect girls like her. And they definitely don’t bleed. As secrets unravel and blood debts resurface, Emilia must decide: is Lucien her captor… or her only chance at survival? In a world of betrayal and danger, she was sold to the devil. But the devil might just be falling for her.

Veronica is an eighteen-year-old omega who falls into an emotional breakdown when her Mate, who was soon to be the Alpha of the Sun crest pack, turns against her, hurls hurtful words at her, and rejects her on the night of the full moon festival because he and everyone in the pack, including her, thinks she is an omega. As if the pain of rejection, helplessness, and worthlessness wasn't enough, she lost her best and only friend to the cold hands of death when rogue wolves attacked their pack. Right in the presence of her mate, she was tagged as someone who always attracted problems and calamities anywhere she went and he turned a blind eye and watched as she was banished from the pack. With hatred for her life, she runs deep into the woods that were off-limits and jumps off to end her life, but in a turn of events, something else happens. What would her mate do when he finds out that Veronica is not who he thinks she is? Will she be able to forgive him? What fate lies ahead for them?

Three years ago, she was a poor judge of character. She was willing to donate her kidney and become disfigured for an a**hole. However, not only did that man cheat on her, he had even nearly caused her to lose her life!Three years later, she regained her beauty. Upon her glorious return, she swore to make all a**holes pay for what they did.It was widely known that Stanley Batton, the wealthiest tycoon in Atlantis, was a cruel man feared by many. Although he had the facial features of a passionate man, he was known for his heart of ice.People constantly speculated on the kind of woman who would be able to open his heart.However, to everyone’s surprise, he kneeled on one knee under the spotlight, and in front of every known media company, to tie a butterfly knot on her shoe.“Stanley Batton, what do you really want?” She seemed panicked and flustered.He laughed at himself. “Xyla Quest, no one else but you can take my life away!”

Ava St. James has walked down the aisle four times—and buried every “forever” along the way. At seventy, she’s traded vows for vintage champagne and decided love looks best from a distance. Then along comes Marcus du Prée—handsome, grounded, and far too young to be interested. A gardener, he says. Except the roses he tends belong to his estate, and the dirt under his nails hides a fortune he’d rather forget. When Ava’s flamboyant New Orleans clan crashes into Marcus’s refined Pasadena world, sparks fly, secrets bloom, and one improbable romance dares to take root. For the Fifth Vow is a sparkling romantic comedy about late love, Southern pride, and the kind of courage it takes to say “I do” when everyone else says you shouldn’t. Witty, wise, and full of heart, it reminds us that some vows aren’t meant to end—they’re just waiting for the right season to begin.

In a world where werewolf hierarchy determines everything, Daisy was born with the worst hand possible: Class S. The bottom rung barely worth acknowledging. Yet she's somehow found herself walking the hallowed halls of Lunar Crest Academy, where the elite supernatural heirs learn to rule. She doesn't belong here. Everyone knows it. But something pulled her to this place like a magnet. It was like a scent she couldn't resist. Then she discovered why. "If you tell anyone you're my mate, there will be consequences." The threat came from none other than the Academy's golden boy. The future Alpha of Alphas, and apparently, her destined mate. The same guy whose kiss still burns on her lips, whose touch ignites something primal inside her. It should be a dream come true for Daisy. In another life, she'd be celebrating. But in this reality? Their bond is forbidden and dangerous. It is something to be hidden away like a shameful secret while she watches other girls openly vie for his attention. Unnatural events that were never supposed to happen to her begin to surface, and hidden enemies follow her through the grand halls. Daisy is starting to realize this mate bond might be more than just inconvenient. It was deadly. And she's left wondering if finding her fated mate was the beginning of her story or the beginning of her end. How long can she live in the shadows of her own destiny before the truth drags her into the light?