John Lloyd Cruz Lock Novels & Stories

In the elite, glass-walled towers of Upper Hill, Adrian Vale is a masterpiece of clinical perfection. A top-tier law student with a future mapped out by his tyrannical father, Adrian survives by the "Rule of Three": precision, discipline, and total emotional detachment. He believes that by controlling every second of his life, he can remain untouchable. Then comes Kai Reyes. A tattooed, underground muralist with silver in his lip and chaos in his veins, Kai is the living antithesis of everything Adrian stands for. When Kai publicly humiliates Adrian by smearing charcoal over his pristine silk tie, the "Ice King" snaps. Driven by a desperate need to re-establish dominance, Adrian offers a high-stakes wager: One week. Kai must move into Adrian’s minimalist apartment and obey his every command. As the doors lock, the psychological warfare begins. Adrian intends to use rigid discipline to crush Kai’s rebellion, but the forced proximity turns the apartment into a pressure cooker of forbidden desire. Kai isn’t just a subject; he is a mirror, reflecting the hollow ghost Adrian has become. When the rules finally shatter, Adrian is forced to confront the "Master" who truly pulls his strings—his father. To save himself, Adrian must trade his golden handcuffs for the raw, uncertain freedom of the streets. In a world of rigid statutes and vibrant paint, he discovers that power isn't about making someone stay—it's being the man they don't want to leave. "Be My Good Boy" is a gripping tale of control, surrender, and the courage to finally be a mess.

Brianna Hayes is an innocent, nineteen-year-old virgin who is desperately running out of time—and money—to save her dying brother. After being wrongfully fired from her job as a maid, she makes a reckless, desperate choice: she puts on a mask and takes the stage at The Obsidian Room, the most exclusive and forbidden underground club in the city. Alexander Thorne is a ruthless, thirty-three-year-old billionaire CEO. Cold, widowed, and consumed by darkness, his only escape is commanding the VIP lounge, bending women to his absolute will. The exact moment his eyes lock onto the fragile, trembling new dancer, a twisted obsession is born. He claims her innocent body in the shadows, completely blind to her true identity. But the real game begins when morning comes. In need of a new live-in maid, Alexander hires Brianna. By day, she cleans his luxury mansion on her knees, acting as his sweet, obedient servant. By night, she begs in his bed, serving as his perfect submissive plaything. Alexander demands total control. He vows to break her innocence, training her to crawl, obey, and become his private little pet. How long can a virgin hide her secret when her master is a billionaire obsessed with her complete submission? (A pitch-black, high-spice dark romance featuring age gap, billionaire dominance, BDSM, forced submission, and explicit erotica).

Amelia Montgomery is one of Rosewood High's cheerleaders along with her best friend Stella Hayes. Her and Stella have been friends ever since kindergarten when Amelia fell off the monkey bars and Stella helped her up afterwards. Stella has a brother named Easton Hayes and he has always teased Amelia since she was seven. They both agreed that they thought he was a heartless prick who treats girls like rubbish. One Friday night Amelia decided to go to a party. At the party Amelia ends up slipping and falling into her worst enemies lap, but what makes the situation worse is the fact that some drunk dude accidentally stumbles into her causing her to slide forward and lock lips with none other than Easton Hayes. Oh how Amelia's life couldn't be anymore ruined. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I lean in so that our noses are touching which causes us to close our eyes as our breaths become more harsher. "I can't stand being friends with you. Everytime I see you all I want to do is push you against a wall and kiss you" he whispers out which makes me smile a little "So, what are you going to do about it?" I ask him teasingly with a breathless voice "This" he says before he connects our lips which makes me reach up and place my hands on his cheeks.

TAEYANG SHIN I was never meant to come here. The Alpha Court Academy is a place for heirs, leaders – not broken things like me. I keep my head down, lock my wolf away, and pretend I don’t feel the pull of fate tightening around my throat. Then I meet Ronan Blackwood. The connection is instant, undeniable… and I know what it means. But instead of claiming me, Ronan hates me. Bullies me. And yet, even when his words cut, his eyes burn. I wasn’t looking for a mate. Especially not one destined to ruin me. RONAN BLACKWOOD I’ve spent my life training to inherit a title I never asked for. Son of a dying Alpha. Heir to a bloodline soaked in expectation and control. I don’t have time for distractions – especially not a delicate, sharp-tongued outsider like Tae Yang Shin. The moment I see him, something inside me twists. A dangerous, primal instinct I refuse to name. I push him away, torment him, but the bond coils tighter with every cruel word. I can’t want him. Can’t need him. But fate is cruel — and it’s about to take away our choice. In a world where bonds mean power, desire is weakness, and fate never asks for permission… two souls on opposite sides of pain and pride are bound to collide.

Luke Mason, an average teenager who just turned 18, who lived with her mother, Angela, in the suburbs of Cebu City. He acquired his scholarship to study in a prestigious school, the University of San Carlos. A school unaffordable for low-class families like him. The scholarship made it possible for Luke to study in that school for free. His father, Erik Mason, left them four years ago for matters that he did not yet understand. Before his leaving, his father promised Luke to give him a gift if he turned 18. Luke met Maria Cruz at school and fell in love in secret. Maria was mysteriously beautiful, rich, and popular. But Luke sensed something peculiar about Maria and in one incident, Luke found out that Maria is a witch. The secret stayed between them and they eventually became friends. Months after Luke's birthday, his father Erik, visits them back home. Erik explained to his ex-wife, Angela, the purpose of his visit, to give Luke the long-time promised gift. Erik handed him an attache case. In it was a Moonstone Pendant and a dagger, weapons in killing witches. Luke then knew that his father is a witch hunter that came from a long lineage of witch hunters, called the Keepers. The Founders of the Keepers held a tradition to pass down their legacy to their children when they reached 18 yrs of age. The events now twisted as Luke tried to weigh his options, to kill Maria and her family of witches or leave them be, imposing danger to society.

After two years of marriage, I believed I was living the dream—until the day I gave birth to our long-awaited heir. The house was filled with joy as my husband's family arrived, bearing gifts and ready to bestow a name upon our child, as tradition dictated. But the happiness of the day shattered in an instant when my husband walked in, hand in hand with his childhood sweetheart. In front of everyone, he announced not only our divorce but also his engagement to her, as if I had never mattered. *** "I’m divorcing Stacy," Jason announces, his voice unwavering, "to marry Nicole Cruz, my childhood sweetheart." He points to the woman standing before him who smiles and waves at everyone in the room. My world tilts on its axis. The words echo in my mind, louder and louder until they drown out everything else. What is going on?? "But why?" I whisper, my voice barely audible, even to myself. I'm unable to believe his betrayal. Jason doesn’t even glance at the child in my arms. "Because this has been a long time coming, Stacy. I’ve only stayed this long out of obligation and not love." Important Author’s Note: This is a rewritten version of my book The Alpha’s Betrayal: Reclaiming His Rejected Luna. From Chapter 12 onward, the story takes a new turn with fresh twists and drama. Thank you for reading—I hope you enjoy this new version!

Only One Crown One team. One legacy. One crown. Jaxon Reed built his name on control. As captain of the Frost Giants, he turned pressure into power and silence into strength. The league calls him the best to ever wear the jersey. He carries that title like armor. Then Adrian Cruz walks back into his locker room. Adrian was once more than his rival. More than his teammate. He was the one Jaxon loved in secret and the one he let go when fame, fear, and outside pressure closed in. Now a shocking trade forces Adrian onto Jaxon’s team, binding them together under a brutal contract clause neither of them fully understands. On the ice, they are unstoppable. Off the ice, they are unfinished. As the media fuels a ruthless GOAT debate and the billionaire owner pulls strings from the shadows, old wounds rip open. Accusations of betrayal resurface. Secrets about a hidden clause threaten to ruin more than their careers. And the question that has haunted them for three years demands an answer: Who really tore them apart? Forced to play on the same line, Jaxon and Adrian must decide what matters more—protecting their pride or fighting for the love they never truly lost. Because there’s only room for one crown in the league… …but there might be room for two hearts. Only One Crown is a dark, emotional second-chance sports romance filled with forced proximity, buried secrets, fierce rivalry, and a hard-won happily ever after.

​The Price of Peace is the final showdown and book three for the No Regrets crew, where the masks come off and the bills finally come due. Shane O’Brien is done playing house. He’s been living his life like a "glorified roommate" with his wife, Isla, ever since she broke their vows with her best friend's husband, but now the cold war is turning hot. While Shane finds a temporary sanctuary with Maya Cruz, Isla is weaponizing their children trying to save a marriage that might already be lost, but will she realize this too late, or burn the whole house down. Speaking of Maya, she has a few secrets of her own, one that involves Mayor Rogers and a scandal that could level the city. ​In the courtroom, Crandon Morgan is fighting to keep his name clean after a very public mental meltdown. He’s looking for a comeback, but he finds a distraction in Tempest Summers, a new law junior associate with a haunted past and a hunger for a kind of justice the law books don’t cover. ​Meanwhile, Kole Michaels is trapped in a different kind of nightmare. A past mistake named Akeisha is using a legal loophole to pin a child named Urmagisty on him. With his relationship with a different Keisha on the line and his daughter Mabel watching, Kole has to prove he’s being set up before the lie becomes his life. ​In this game, peace isn't free, you have to pay for it in blood, truth, or with everything you own.

“Elion,” Brielle’s voice was soft but charged with intent as she stepped closer, her eyes locking onto his. “You keep telling me to stay away, but I see the way you look at me when you think no one’s watching.” She brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, her fingers lingering just a moment longer than necessary. “Maybe it’s time we stop pretending. Maybe it’s time we risk everything—for us.” Elion’s breath hitched, torn between duty and desire. “Brielle, you’re so young… and I’m your Alpha, your guardian. Crossing this line could destroy everything.” She smiled, a mixture of challenge and invitation. “Sometimes the greatest risks lead to the most unforgettable rewards. Don’t you want to see where this could go?” ======= In the shadowed city of Silvercrest, eighteen-year-old Brielle Crest’s rare healing blood marks her as both a miracle and a target. Orphaned by a brutal attack that shattered her family, she is taken in by Elion Zaphiel, the formidable thirty-five-year-old Alpha of the powerful Zaphiel Pack—a man whose protection blurs the line between guardian and something dangerously more. As political alliances tighten and rival packs close in, Brielle and Elion must navigate a forbidden love complicated by their seventeen-year age gap, defying tradition and igniting fierce jealousy within their ranks. With dark magic, deadly enemies, and their own haunted pasts threatening to tear them apart, can their bond survive and change their fate?

In the fifth year of my marriage, I died in my sleep. However, I was born with a strange ability. Every time I died, I would come back to life at the exact moment before my last death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at 11:11 p.m. on the night I died. Unable to find the killer, I became trapped in an endless loop. The second time, I stayed up all night trying to catch whoever was behind it, but found nothing. The moment I let my guard down during the day and closed my eyes, I died instantly. The third time, I refused to believe it and had my husband, Emmett Berkeley, lock the bedroom and seal the windows. I still died the next day. The fourth time, I stayed alone in the bedroom, forcing myself to stay awake for three days straight to find the killer. By the third day, I couldn’t hold on any longer. My vision went black, and I died again. By the fifth time, I had gone insane. Right in front of Emmett, I grinned and hacked something to death. Blood splattered across the entire wall. Looking at Emmett trembling in the corner, I licked the blood from my lips and smiled faintly. "Honey, don’t you love me? Help me take the fall, okay?" The man who used to love me deeply pointed at me in horror, screaming, "Y-you found out… You knew, didn’t you…?"