Grimgar Of Ashes And Illusions

Cole Patrick is merely a doorstep spawn who is reluctantly adopted by the Wyatt dynasty. He endures the mistreatment from the family but cannot speak up because the Wyatt's are powerful and influential. Zye Wyatt is an exception. She shows him kindness but is careful not to do it in front of the other members of the family. An innocent touch, a shared laugh, and suddenly, their bond blossoms into a forbidden love, ignited under the stars one lazy evening. However, their ruse comes to an end on prom night when Zane, Zye's brother finds them kissing behind the school library. He reports to their father who ships Zye abroad and kicks Cole out. At 18, homeless and determined to rise above his status, Cole forges a path of his own. Ten years later, Zye, broken and fresh from her divorce, finds herself looking for work in a small town. She is attracted to a bike gang from the town and is interested in joining as a step to her freedom. She realises that the bike gang leader is none other than Cole. Hardened by life but still her first love. However, their reunion does not last longer. A private investigator sent to find Zye's whereabouts reports them to her dad. The fragile peace they've curated shatters as shocking truths emerge: Cole wasn't abandoned; he was stolen from his mother after Mr. Wyatt brutally murdered his father. And his mother? Alive, a prisoner of the Wyatts' dark secrets all these years. Now, Cole stands at a crossroads: choose the woman who once offered him solace, or embrace the roaring vengeance for his shattered past and reclaim his stolen birthright. Can their love, forged in the fires of deception and longing, survive the ashes of Wyatt family lies?

Six years ago, Elena Romano was the cherished daughter of one of the most powerful business families in New York. She had wealth, status, and the love of Killian Graves, the man who promised to stand by her forever. But everything changed the night her family was framed for embezzlement and murder, their empire burned to the ground. Betrayed, hunted, and left with nothing, Elena disappeared—presumed dead. Now, she’s back. Not as the naive heiress she once was, but as Raven Black, the mysterious self-made billionaire who built an empire from the ashes of her past. Ruthless, untouchable, and dangerous, she has only one goal: revenge. Her first target? Killian Graves—the man she once loved, and the man she believes destroyed her family. But Killian is not the same man she left behind. Cold, powerful, and feared by all, he rules the corporate world with an iron fist. When Elena crosses his path again, he sees right through her disguise. But instead of exposing her, he makes a shocking offer Forced into a high-stakes game of seduction and power, Elena plays along, waiting for the perfect moment to destroy him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes—everything she believed was a lie. ⚠️ Killian didn’t betray her—someone else did. ⚠️ The real enemy has been hiding in the shadows all along. ⚠️ And the man she swore to ruin… never stopped loving her. As hidden secrets unravel and deadly enemies close in, Elena finds herself caught between vengeance and passion, lies and truth, love and hate. But when the past comes back to finish what it started, she must decide: Will she destroy Killian once and for all? Or will she risk everything… and let him own her completely?

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Life can be cruel. One moment you’re on the verge of reaching the peak of your career, your sweetheart of five years finally down on one knee, promising forever. The next, your world burns to ashes—literally. Now, I’m not just a prisoner; I’m the plaything of the most feared man in the country. I told myself I hated him, that I’d never break. But what kind of woman starts to crave the way he owns her body, the way his touch sets her on fire? How do you survive when the man who owns you is as ruthless as he is captivating? How do you escape a man who makes you question everything, even your sanity? ~~ When her father’s PTSD causes a catastrophic accident, Lucia Castellano finds herself at the mercy of Dante Romano, a man whose name strikes fear into the heart of Chicago’s criminal underworld. Taken as a slave to pay for her father’s alleged crime, Lucia is thrown into a world of power, control and dangerous seduction. Dante’s control is absolute, his touch both punishing and addictive. What starts as a fight for survival turns into a dangerous game of submission and trust. But as the lines blur between captor and captive, Lucia begins to unravel a dark truth: Dante is haunted by a past that binds them more deeply than she ever expected. Together, they must uncover a web of lies to uncover the truth behind the fire that changed both their lives forever. Author’s Note: This book contains explicit content, strong language, violence, and other adult themes that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

“I need a bride,” Drayce said, eyes burning into hers. “And the moment I saw you, I knew—I’d burn the world just to make you mine.” Noong mamatay ang mga magulang ni Zseya ay naiwan siya sa pangangalaga ng kaniyang Auntie Isadora. They treated her like a maid, at tinanggap niya ’yon ng walang angal. Ngunit nang dahil sa isang pangyayari ay pinalayas siya ng kaniyang Auntie Isadora, at itinakwil siya ng kaniyang Lolo Delfin sa pamilyang Arguelles. Sa labis na hirap at sakit, mas pinili na lamang niyang umalis — she didn’t expect to meet the man who’s gonna change her life. Drayce Zamora is a multi-billionaire. A man sculpted by power, precision, and pain. Born into wealth but shaped by loss. His father died under scandal. His mother abandoned the limelight. Drayce rebuilt the Zamora legacy from ashes, swearing he would never be weak again. He owns half the city, but no one owns him. Love? That’s a distraction. Until he met her — Zseya Arguelles. Inalok niya si Zseya na tumira sa mansion niya, pag-aaralin, at handa niya itong protektahan mula sa pamilyang umabandona, kapalit ng pagpapakasal nito sa kaniya. Tatanggapin kaya ni Zseya ang alok ng binata o mas pipiliin niyang tumayo sa sarili niyang mga paa kahit alam niyang mahihirapan siya? Eh, paano kung no choice na siya dahil Boss niya rin ito? Naku, mukhang wala na talaga siyang kawala!

My twin sister, wanting to be with her thug boyfriend, secretly planned to apply for a junior college. When I could not talk her out of it, I told our parents and managed to stop her. However, just a month into the new semester, her thug boyfriend cheated on her. She left a suicide note, blaming it all on the long distance between them. She wrote that if she had gone to that junior college, her boyfriend would never have cheated. Grief‑stricken, my parents turned all their rage on me. "You wretched girl, this is all your fault for meddling! What business was it of yours which school your sister went to? Even if she didn't go to college, we could still support her. We didn't need your big mouth!" "If it weren't for your spiteful tongue, your sister wouldn't be dead!" "We were cursed to have a vicious, unfilial daughter like you!" They locked me in her room, ordering me to repent. Then they took her ashes on a trip, saying they wanted her to see the beautiful mountains and rivers she never got to visit in life. A month later, they returned from their travels to find me long dead, starved to a withered husk in front of my sister's photo. Their eyes held no grief, no guilt, only a faint, scornful curl of the lips. In their eyes, my death was nothing more than justice served. My broken soul saw their icy expressions, and despairing tears burned my eyes. Then my sister's familiar voice rang out again: "What business is it of yours which school I go to? You're just jealous that I have a boyfriend, aren't you?"

“Why should I just accept the past? Why I have to endure the consequences caused by others? The phoenix will rise from the ashes It's time to return to my rightful place!” In the previous life, because of her weakness, Alice was slandered and killed by the lover and the other daughter of her father. Unexpectedly, Alice met a miracle that had the opportunity to be resurrected again when she was 17 years old. This time, Alice determined to become the holder of her own destiny. And with her determination to avenge, she swore that she will definitely make those who harmed and pushed her to death suffer a hundred and a thousand times more pain than what she had to go through before. Since he was a child, Arthur, the lost Great Prince, has been raised by the Wolf. He was always seen as a monster. They took advantage of the ruthlessness, cold blood, and extraordinary strength of the wolves that had taught him to send him to the battlefield, using him as a murder weapon. On the run, fate brought the two of them together. Before Arthur met Alice, he was completely immersed in darkness, lost control and easily revealing the wolf's instincts in him. Since meeting Alice, Arthur suddenly realized that, in fact, he is also an honest person and has a desire to be loved. Thanks to Alice, Arthur knew and realized that he needed to fight for what he deserved. But Alice was engulfed in anger, wanting revenge and would never give up on that idea. She even wanted to use Arthur to carry out her plan. Will Arthur be able to touch the heart that has suffered a lot of damage from that poor girl? Can the two together take back what belongs to them?

In the neon-lit shadows of Novela, Isabella Hart, a red-haired outcast, is drowning in betrayal. Bullied at school and abused by her family, her world shatters when her boyfriend spreads fake nude photos, driving her into the arms of a mysterious stranger for a reckless one-night stand. The next day, she’s stunned to find him—Sebastian Wolfe, a smouldering history professor and Lycan—standing at her lecture podium, his green eyes taunting her with their shared secret. But her life is about to get even worse as Caleb Reed, a charismatic senior with a demonic edge, who hides a deadly mission behind his seductive smile walks into her life. Both men are mated to Bella by the Moon Goddess, their rivalry igniting a lustful, dangerous love triangle. As Bella navigates forbidden passion and relentless torment, she uncovers a shocking truth: she’s a half-werewolf Moonborn, her red hair a mark of a rare lineage destined to destroy the BloodMoon pack’s evil Alpha, Marcus, and his Beta, Veron—Sebastian’s father. With Caleb’s obsession turning violent and Sebastian’s secrets threatening their love, Bella must embrace her powers to survive kidnappings, near-death ambushes, and betrayals that tear her heart apart. When her long-lost father resurfaces, Bella’s fight for her throne becomes a battle for survival, love, and redemption. In a city where werewolves lurk beneath skyscrapers, Bella’s destiny will burn bright—or consume them all. The Professor’s Mate is a dark, sensual werewolf romance, weaving lust, betrayal, and supernatural intrigue in a novel saga of a common human girl rising from ashes to claim her power as an Alpha in the werewolf realm.

In a world where love and betrayal walk hand in hand, Shattered Promises unravels the haunting story of a woman whose heart became both a weapon and a wound. Alina Carter thought she had everything — a passionate love, a promising future, and a man who swore the stars would always belong to her. But when his lies shattered her world, all that remained were broken promises and the echoes of a love she no longer recognized. The night she discovered his betrayal was the night her innocence died — and something darker was born within her. Years later, Alina has rebuilt her life, or so it seems. Behind her composed smile hides a storm of pain, guilt, and vengeance. When fate brings her face-to-face with the ghosts of her past — and a stranger whose presence feels dangerously familiar — she’s forced to confront not only the man who ruined her, but the woman she has become. Every secret has a cost. Every lie leaves a scar. And every shattered promise demands a reckoning. As Alina’s world spirals into a web of deceit, obsession, and passion, she finds herself torn between the darkness that seeks revenge and the light that offers redemption. But can love be reborn from the ashes of betrayal — or is she destined to destroy the very thing she’s trying to save? Shattered Promises is a gripping suspense thriller laced with forbidden desire, twisted secrets, and emotional intensity. It explores how love can heal or haunt, and how sometimes, the heart’s most dangerous enemy is the truth we refuse to face. In a story where trust is fragile and loyalty comes at a price, Alina must decide: will she be the victim of her past

The night before the bond ceremony, the moonlight was like silver, sprinkling over the altar of the werewolf tribe. The Moon Goddess chose Jonah's white moonlight, Emma, and assigned her to William, the tyrannical alpha of the werewolf tribe.His blood flows with the power of the ancient wolf king, but also with untamed wildness. Rumor has it that every woman who spends the night with William will be covered in bruises the next day. William’s desire is intertwined with his wolf nature, and the silver bed is his unique symbol. Silver is poison and a test for werewolves. William would let those women lie on the cold silver bed, watching their pain of being eroded by silver and the joy of desire intertwined, making painful moans and confused gasps. This contradictory torture is the catalyst for his wild desire. Jonah knows William's cruelty well, and he can't bear Emma to be the next victim. So, under the protection of the moonlight, he kidnapped Emma one step ahead and completed the marking ceremony with her under the witness of the Moon Goddess. And I, the woman abandoned by Jonah. The vows I made turned to ashes under the moonlight, and my name became a laughingstock in the tribe. In the evening, the setting sun was like blood, and William's figure appeared in front of my tent. His golden pupils flickered in the twilight with the aggression of a beast. His voice was low and threatening: "Since Jonah has robbed my partner, you can be my Luna: how about it?" Luna, the partner of the alpha in the werewolf tribe, symbolizes power and glory, but also means endless bondage and danger. I raised my head, looked directly into his eyes, and a sneer appeared at the corner of my mouth: "Okay."