Five Forces Porter

My marriage to Tommaso Volpe, Don of the Volpe family, is part of a five-year contract. We each have someone we love, and we stay out of each other's way. He loves his adopted sister, Gelsomina Volpe, who needs his protection. My heart belongs only to my deceased fiancé, Marco Damiano. For five years, I play the perfect Signora Volpe, enduring Gelsomina's provocations and cruelty again and again. She forces caustic substances down my throat that nearly destroy my esophagus. He tells me to let it go for his sake. She stages her own kidnapping and forces Tommaso to choose between saving her and me. He doesn't hesitate, choosing to save her while I sink to the bottom of that freezing lake. On the last day of our contract, I calmly pack my things and leave the signed divorce papers behind. I need to find a young man who looks just like Marco. He's all I have left to hold onto. But after I leave, Tommaso loses his mind searching for me, saying he's fallen in love with me. He threatens me with the entire city's underworld just to stay by my side. He watches me grow close to my new "replacement" and goes mad with jealousy. He thinks he still has a chance, but he has already lost this game from the very beginning.

Two years ago, I was the Donna of the Costa family. When I was on my way to attend the family meeting, I was killed by my husband's childhood sweetheart, Isabella Rossi. She shattered my limbs and smashed my belly before throwing me into an abandoned mine pit. It was such a shame that I was pregnant with the heir Matteo Costa had been waiting for the past five years when I died. Not only did Isabella frame me for working with the enemy forces, but she also broke her own legs and claimed that she got hurt from stopping me. Matteo publicly announced that he decided to sever all ties with me. He also placed a bounty on my head. Just like that, I fell from my position as the Costa family's Donna to a traitor who was wanted by all. Two years later, the mine pit collapsed on itself. That was when the workers dug out my rotten corpse.

Anna Parker was once the proud daughter of the Alpha of the Nightcrawlers pack—until the brutal Blue Valley pack invaded, killed her parents, and enslaved her people. For five long years, she has been a captive, forced to serve those who destroyed her world. When she discovers her mate is none other than Damon, the ruthless new Alpha of the Blue Valley pack, she is relieved when he rejects her. But Damon’s failure to produce an heir with his wife forces Anna into a dangerous role: becoming a surrogate under threat of her people’s lives. Pregnant with the child of her enemy, Anna plots her escape with the help of an unlikely ally—Damon’s mother. Fleeing to the Crescent pack, Anna finds an unexpected sanctuary and another twist of fate: she’s mated to their powerful Alpha, Rohan. Torn between the past and the future, and carrying twins who are the spitting image of Damon, Anna’s new life is plunged into chaos when Damon reappears to claim what he believes is his. When war threatens, Anna must confront the devastating forces that bind her to two Alphas—one who destroyed her family and one who holds the key to her heart. As loyalties are tested and packs collide, Anna faces her ultimate battle: to protect her children, rescue her people, and reclaim the freedom stolen from her. The stakes are deadly, the passion fierce, and Anna will stop at nothing to bring down the pack that shattered her world. But will she survive the fight to become the Luna she was always destined to be?

Noah, a broke, exhausted twenty two year old just trying to survive another bad year, who accidentally binds himself to Kael, a five hundred year old demon with too much attitude and not enough patience for the modern world. What begins as a desperate act quickly turns into an uneasy partnership, forcing Noah to navigate a hidden supernatural underbelly while juggling family obligations, poverty, and a demon who treats chaos like a hobby. As Kael adjusts to buses, phones, and indoor plumbing, it becomes clear he isn’t the monster Noah expected. Bound by rules neither fully understands, their pact draws attention from forces far older and far more dangerous than either of them. With power that always comes at a cost and a past that refuses to stay buried, Noah must decide how much of himself he’s willing to lose to survive and whether some bargains were never meant to be broken.

"A web of lies, love, and betrayal—where secrets are born, and destinies collide.” In a world where ambition clashes with loyalty and love battles against betrayal, lives are forever entangled by secrets. Solo Delaney, a gifted designer, seeks a fresh start far from her turbulent past, only to find herself drawn into a web of deception that threatens her newfound peace. Dominic Hale, heir to a powerful empire, is haunted by the woman he threw away to reunite with his first love, unaware she carries the key to his future. Their paths cross again five years later, but schemers lurk in the shadows, fueled by greed and vengeance. Buried truths threaten to surface, Solo and Dominic’s lives spiral into chaos. With lives at stake, manipulations unraveling, and a love that refuses to die, can they overcome the forces determined to tear them apart? Or will the past claim their future forever? Love, betrayal, and secrets collide in this gripping saga, where every choice reshapes destiny.

Cassy is a fierce female Alpha born into a well-known New Orleans family of dominant male alphas. She shifted early to mark her mate Teddy and save his life. Now forced to wait to complete the bond until her birthday, they battle the intense pull and desires. As the months passed, resisting the fierce craving to claim her mate grew nearly impossible for Cassy. Teddy, the Beta of the neighboring Bayou pack, remains steadfast. Partly because he wishes to honor her in every way possible, and partly because he doesn't want her five Alpha brothers to kill him. If that wasn't reason enough, the Moon Goddess rewards those she forces into such trials. They just have to wait. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This is the second book in the "Midnight on the Bayou" series. While it can be read as a standalone, starting with book one provides more context. I love you all. Thank you for pushing me to continue this story!

Five years ago, Sera Blackwood walked away from the only man she ever loved—and the pack that wanted her dead. Now she's back in Crimson Hollow, and Dante Silverclaw, the alpha who let her go, isn't the same broken wolf she left behind. He's harder. Colder. And he has exactly thirty days to find a mate before the pack council forces him to marry someone else. Someone who isn't his true mate. When a series of brutal murders rocks the supernatural community, Sera finds herself working alongside the man who still owns her heart. But the killer isn't just targeting random victims—they're hunting wolves who know the truth about why Sera really ran. As the blood moon rises, Sera must choose between protecting the secret that could destroy Dante's pack or claiming the second chance at love that might cost them both their lives.

Cinq ans plus tôt, Éléna Morel vivait un amour parfait avec Gabriel Ardent, un jeune architecte au sourire doux et aux rêves plein les yeux. Jusqu’au jour où un accident tragique a tout détruit : la mort du père d’Éléna — et des preuves accablantes pointant Gabriel comme responsable. Sans explication, il a disparu. Aujourd’hui, Éléna est devenue journaliste. Elle a tout reconstruit, sauf son cœur. Quand le destin les remet face à face, elle découvre une vérité qu’elle n’était pas prête à entendre : Gabriel n’était pas coupable… mais il a choisi de porter le fardeau pour protéger quelqu’un qu’elle aimait. Et si la véritable trahison venait du silence ?

Dix jours. J'ai dû passer dix jours avec M. Jones, le patron de mon père, pour que mon père pourrait garder son emploi. Mon père a été surpris en train de voler son entreprise et M. Jones l'a viré sur-le-champ. Mais cela signifiait la ruine financière de ma famille. Nous n'aurions pas d'endroit où vivre, rien à manger et je devrais abandonner l'école. Mais ensuite, M. Jones a proposé une solution. Je passerais dix jours avec lui dans son manoir et tout serait pardonné. Sauf que le mâle alpha avait des règles. Je devais porter ses vêtements. Mangez sa nourriture. Et le pire de tout, mendier quand il a demandé. Et j'ai honte de le dire… mais je le voulais désespérément !

An Epic Fantasy tale of action, adventure, heroism, horror and sorcery… Beyond Night is a Dark Fantasy Horror novel that pulls back the veil of nearly two thousand years of jaded history. Come tread in the bloody footprints left by monsters, soldiers and wizards and behold what lies hidden Beyond Night itself. It’s Bigfoot War mixed with Lovecraftian horror on the edge of the Roman Empire. How could Rome lose a Legion? What could’ve happened to blot out the existence of over five thousand men not only from history but the Earth itself? As the Legion moves north to engage the forces of Pictdom, a dark horror emerges from the bowels of the Earth. Thought to be random attacks by hulking monsters, Decurion August soon learns a dire truth, that these bloody events are directed by opposing the wizards of the Picts. While one side assembles all tribes in a confederated army to battle the Legion, the other pulls these Greyman beasts from the depths of the Earth. August fights not only these creatures and workers of magicks, but internal passions in the Legion itself. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing