Hunting Wives

Rejected, hunted, and reborn in exile—an omega mother must return to the kingdom that broke her to protect a child destined to end a centuries-old war. Eira was nothing but a powerless omega raised in the shadows of the Ashbane Pack, until a single night in the royal palace changed her life forever. Betrayed by the one man fate chose for her, the cold and ruthless Alpha King Cassian Vael, Eira vanished... along with his unborn child. Five years later, war consumes the realm, and whispers of a prophecy resurface of a child born of moonblood, destined to shatter the Alpha throne. When Cassian crosses into rogue territory hunting rebellion, he finds more than he bargained for: Eira, alive… and a boy who carries his scent. Dragged back into the palace she once fled, Eira is thrust into a brutal game of power, lies, and survival. As enemies rise and kingdoms fall, a bond once severed will be tested by war, prophecy, and choice. Will they find redemption or repeat the same mistakes that doomed their world?

Behind velvet curtains and gilded balconies, the opera is more than a performance. It's a hunting ground, a court of monsters disguised as patrons and benefactors. When a masked nobleman claims her talent as his own, Lyria is drawn into a world where music is power, restraint is survival, and desire is the most dangerous temptation of all. The longer Lyria remains under his protection, the more she awakens. Her body responds to hungers she does not yet understand and her are dreams invaded by a silver-eyed predator who promises freedom instead of restraint. As the opera's beauty curdles into something predatory, Lyria must decide what she is willing to become to survive it. The stage is watching. The city is listening. And once the blood sings, it cannot be silenced. TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: This story contains mature themes and content intended for adult audiences (18+) Reader discretion is advised. It includes moments of violence, sexual content and dark erotic elements, manipulation, obsession, and emotional power dynamics.

It was supposed to be an ordinary hunting day—until Tricia lost control of her wolf and accidentally killed the Luna of their pack. Her parents intervened just in time, sparing her from Alpha William's wrath. Instead of execution, she was banished. Warned that if she ever showed her face again, the Alpha would not hesitate to kill her. Lost and utterly alone, Tricia began her journey as a rogue wolf, searching for a place where she might finally belong. She thought her wandering had come to an end when she met and fell in love with Aaron—a handsome stranger who seemed just as adrift as she was. However, Tricia didn't know that Aaron was the secret son of Alpha William, the sole heir of the throne, raised by a mortal woman. When the time finally comes, what will Tricia do once she discovers that the man she fell in love with is the son of the Luna she killed?

Lucas Blackwood was an alpha werewolf until his pack and mate were brutally killed by a secret notorious pack with questionable propaganda. Having suffered a fate worse than death by the feeling of losing the bond to both his mate and pack, he's sworn to track down and destroy the rogue pack no matter what it takes. He takes up a teaching job in a remote town where he believes their hideout to be and begins hunting them by night, but there's this human girl in his class whose scent drives him crazy with want. This shouldn't be possible since werewolves are known to mate for life and attraction to a human is impossible...right? Marcella Garcia is the classic bookworm who everyone hates for being a know-it-all but she swears she always feels a tug pulling her towards the new and cruel history professor that she can't explain. And if her secret observations of him are correct, there is something not quite right about the professor, something not quite...human.

Brent Kenilworth; a young and handsome man from the wealthiest family in Los Altos Hills, California is pushed to the edge by his parents to pick a bride before his thirty-fifth birthday or lose all he had hoped to inherit. Since losing the love of his life in cold-blooded murder, Brent has no time for love. Can he successfully pull strings that would end in a relationship? Amanda Brighton is searching for a man who has the financial wherewithal to clear her family's age-long debts and take care of her ailing mother. Beneath her, is a large world of her family's dark past, hunting her down. Can she be a perfect fit for Brent's wish? Can two people be together in a contractual union without falling in love? How long can they hold up the act of pretending to want to be married? And when the light is cast on her darkest secrets, would they still stand a chance to be together?

Two days before the full moon, my mate Derek, our pack Alpha, decided to take his Omega assistant Sarah hunting in the forest. I didn't argue or make a scene. I even lovingly packed his bags for him. He mocked me, saying my pregnancy had finally taught me to be gentle. After he left, I immediately went to terminate the pregnancy. All because in my previous life, when I prevented him from accompanying that Omega, his little assistant was brutally murdered by rogue wolves in the forest. Derek acted indifferent on the surface, but when I was about to give birth, he sliced open my belly with a silver dagger, removed our unborn pup, and cut it to pieces before my eyes. Only then did I understand he had resented me all along. With this second chance, I will leave him with nothing.

Alpha Cassian is infamous. Infamous for surviving even after his mate died. Infamous for ruthlessly hunting and killing his enemies. Infamous for his hatred towards the rogues. The predator. That's what we call him. We lived in fear because of him. He made my life hell even though I never met him once. No rogue has ever escaped after meeting him. My father taught me to stay away from his pack and I did. I never went closer to him. But fate had other plans. I met the infamous predator. I had no choice but to join his pack and on my eighteenth birthday, I learned something that flipped my life upside down. The truth that terrified me. The truth that kept Alpha Cassian alive even after his mate died. It was me. I was the ruthless alpha's second chance mate. Yes, I was a prey mated to the predator.

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

Sarian’s life has never been easy, but stripping to keep her sister safe and the bills down was a small price to pay — until Don Julio Rossini walked into the club where she dances. The ruthless mafia lord isn’t just there for a show; he’s hunting her father, who stole something precious from him. Betrayed by a childhood friend and with no escape, Sarian is into Don Julio’s dangerous world, where power is currency, fidelity is fragile, and desire is a must. When Sarian fails to deliver her father, Don Julio offers her a deal, her body in exchange for her family’s safety. But as she fights to reclaim her freedom, she discovers a darker side Don Julio has adversaries who want her just as important as he does but there is something different, Don Julio is in love with her. Trapped in a deadly game of control and temptation, Sarian must decide — submit to Don Julio ’s demands or outsmart him before he consumes her fully.

He killed my father. Then he married me. On our wedding night, Alessandro Romano handed me a gun. "Shoot me, or let me fuck you like you're mine.”I should have pulled the trigger. Instead, I let him tear my dress off. Let him back me against the door. Let him put his fingers inside me while he whispered every filthy thing he wanted to do to my body. I came so hard I saw stars. Then I found the police report. Proof he murdered my father when I was twelve. Proof he's been watching me ever since. I ran. Got pregnant with his baby. Hide in my stepbrother's house. Big mistake. Now the monster who gave me the best orgasm of my life is hunting me down. And my body won't stop remembering how good his hands felt on my throat.