Genjutsu Gone Right

When Sidney travels to the mountains to attend a horror film festival, she is flattered to find that one of her followers has come to meet her. But he might not be the only one who has gone out of his way to get up close and personal with her. When Sidney is attacked on the way back to her hotel late one night, she learns that real-life horror is not a game, and being stalked isn’t flattering—it’s terrifying, and it could get her killed.Believing the incident to be a fluke, Sidney decides to forget the attack and focus on her life again. Only this might not be so easy. Because Sidney—and her loved ones—are in serious danger. This stalker isn’t just your average stalker. He knows her every movement, and he knows each step of her routine. In fact, he’s right behind her…and when he gets close enough, he won’t take no for an answer.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

I was only eleven when my life changed. My parents were gone, and my innocence was taken away. I grew up in a world where danger wore a suit and love felt like power. I learned to guard myself. But nothing prepared me for him, Lorenzo Vitalio. He is my guardian’s stepbrother. He watched me grow up. He is the man I shouldn’t want. Yet he is the only one I do. He’s 32, and I’m 20. The age difference is wrong. The feelings? Right—so painfully right that it hurts. I’ve loved him for as long as I’ve known what love is. But to him, I was just the girl he had to protect, not the woman he could claim. So I did what any heartbroken girl would do—I pushed him away. I made him notice me. I broke rules, crossed boundaries, and opened up the cracks in both of us. Just when I thought I’d finally lost him, he came back. Now the question is, can love survive the burden of secrets, danger, and years of denial? Or am I doomed to suffer for a man who knows how to protect but not how to love? This is the story of Evelyn Rose and Lorenzo Vitalio. A love too forbidden to begin. Too deep to end. And far too reckless to ignore.

When Zack Davis went bankrupt, I used all my savings of 20 thousand dollars to buy him. “You’re willing to buy me even if I don’t love you?” he asked indifferently. My heart raced as I replied quietly, “Yes.” After that, we got married, paid back his debts, and founded another company. It only took Zack three years for his company to become a new star in the Asterfield. Everything seemed to have gone smoothly. He also only belonged to me. However, what I didn’t know was that he hated me. He hated me for destroying all his pride and for buying him with only 20 thousand dollars. When I decided to let go and divorce Zack, he went crazy. He knelt down in front of me with pleading eyes. “Anna, you still love me, right?”

Out of the blue, I get a call from the Department of Labor. The officer tells me they received a complaint, accusing me of gender discrimination. Apparently, my treatment of the male and female employees is extremely unequal. I'm left feeling utterly bewildered. Out of compassion for my employees, I give the female employees paid leave during their periods and pregnancy. I also give the male employees the benefit of a family support allowance. I've never discriminated against anyone because of their gender, and neither have I ever mistreated any of the employees. But then, I proceed to see the social media post that has gone viral. "A certain company gives male employees an additional allowance of a thousand dollars a month! Male and female employees are given different treatment!" Having caught on right away, I call a staff meeting and announce, "All of the company benefits have been canceled. You will only receive the basic benefits listed in your employment contract." Everyone goes up in arms.

There can be no victory to decide who is right or wrong. There can be no throne. The bonds that matter most will never cease being challenged. For newly-made Alpha Rayla and her Pack, struggling to find order in the wake of treachery and disaster, conflict looms ahead. Most of the males have gone, led by the power-hungry and vicious ex-Alpha. Even with the pack's loyalty behind her, strong Rayla struggles to pick up the pieces and ready herself for the vengeance she knows is coming. But the mightiest plans of both sides are thrown into confusion when a strange captive is found, a starved and seemingly helpless young man. Abandoned by the males as junk, Rayla sees something inside of him that no one else did. Something that speaks of power, of passion, of courage. A worthy Alpha. A worthy Mate. Fearful of the future and simply trying to live every day by their values, Rayla and her young new friend will set an example that transforms her pack, and all they meet, into something never before seen by Shifters or Humans alike. When tested, will their bonds be enough? There can be no victory...

My husband, Landon Hart, lost a truth-or-dare round, so he carries out the punishment by making out passionately with his secretary, Amelia Colton, in my car. They've gone so far as to leave stains of their coupling on my son's booster seat. After Amelia sends me the video clip of them making out, I forward it to Landon right away. "Are you about to file for bankruptcy, Mr. Hart? What, are you only capable of cheating on me in my car?" Landon sends me an audio message. His tone carries a hint of satisfaction—clearly, he's done having his fun. "This is just a business alliance between us. Do you seriously think I'm your actual husband? It's just a dare! What, are you too prim and proper for games now?" I just chortle coldly in return. Well then, I'll make Landon understand that he should pay the price for doing something he's not supposed to do.

Margaret Faolan was fifteen years old when she was banished from the royal pack. Over the course of a few days, her entire world went from that of prim and proper prestige to life as the banished princess. Maise - just Maise - was twenty-three when she decided it was time to right that wrong and seek retribution. A new heir had been named, and she wasn’t the only one who was concerned her replacement was a bad choice. It caught the attention of the Lycans, a race that most thought had gone extinct. Isaac Ambrose hasn’t been a Lycan for long, and isn’t quite happy with his fate. The opportunity to explore what has really been going on with the Royal Pack is welcome, but a little runt rogue keeps worming her way into places she doesn’t need to be, including his heart. Lycans are blessed to never find a mate, and runts share that curse. Of course, fate would draw a newly turned Lycan and a banished runt princess together. Because fate doesn’t follow any rules.

“This is what you wanted, right?” His voice was dark, teasing. “Parading around my house in these bikinis?” “I think you like it,” He continued, his breath hot against my ear. “Knowing I’m watching. Knowing exactly what you do to me.” * * * * * Riane has had a crush on her stepfather for as long as she could remember. But even with her mother gone, Cyril won’t look her way. She can’t tell if it’s her lack of appeal or his need to maintain his image as a Hollywood A-lister, but she knows that every night when she dreams or when she touches herself, it’s Cyril that’s in her head, and that’s who she wants in her bed. It’s always a game for her. To break down the walls that Cyril had around him. Raine has broken every rule that Daddy made. All that’s left is to break him… Only that, she didn’t know that she was always his.

I push through my Gamma warrior training ahead of schedule just to get back to the pack sooner. All I want is to stand beside my Alpha, Kyle Faucher, and finally complete our mate-bonding ceremony. But when I step into our house, scarred and feeling hopeful, I see 100 old boarding passes to the Darkmoon pack littering the floor. That pack is only a mile from my training grounds. Kyle's been that close for two years, and still, he never came. I sprint to the place where we were supposed to have our mate-bonding ceremony, clinging to the desperate hope that there's an explanation. But the moment I burst through the doors, I stopped cold. Kyle is down on one knee, dressed in a tailored suit, his eyes locked on someone with a softness I've never seen in him before. Standing across from him, smiling through her tears, is my stepsister, Vivian Blackwell. "Vivian, I haven't completed the mate-bonding ceremony with Serene. Say the word, and I'll reject her and mark you right now." At that moment, the world goes still, and I even forgot how to breathe. So this is what he's been doing while I was gone, chasing the woman he never let go of. Meanwhile, I spent those two years giving everything I had, trying to become someone worthy of standing by his side. I don't ask why or shed a tear. I just turn around and walk away. If she's what he wants, then so be it. The mate-bonding ceremony I dreamed of will be theirs instead. But the second I'm gone, he loses it and sends every warrior looking for me.

When I'm on my break, I decide to help my neighbor, Yvonne Cook, fix the gas valve, which has been leaking gas. But she instantly lodges a report, saying that I've gone against the rules. She demands compensation for the shock that she's suffered as well. I don't bother defending myself. Instead, I just write a reflection report. After that, my squad leader sentences me to disciplinary confinement. Yvonne wastes no time gloating in the tenants' group chat. "It's time to teach these power-abusers a good lesson, anyway!" Three days later, a fire breaks out in Yvonne's apartment. Thick plumes of dark smoke keep rising from the burning apartment. Yvonne wails as she bangs on my door and pleads with me. "Please crack open the door and put out the fire!" I can only sigh from behind my front door. "I'm under disciplinary suspension right now, so I can't break protocol. You should wait for the fire truck instead."