Kratos Before Ashes

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

"Push your cock in!" Ayra spoke, gawking at Alpha with the burning fire. Sweat of fright crawled within his skin, in the freezing cold night. Alpha Athen stared back blankly with an obvious hesitation flashing in front of his eyes. He hasn't yet forgotten how his ex turned to ashes as soon as his cock slipped into her. Acknowledging the limitations of his touches, he began to develop feelings for her. The carnal urge to pin her to the wall or take her down, left him restless and agitated. Will the Cursed Alpha ever be able to F**k the love of his life?

Fourteen months in another country is not enough for him to move on, so he decided to stick to another plan—to date another woman. Unable to move on and forget his first heartbreak, Blaze Villacorta accepted his engagement with Dream Cortes, a 26 years old nurse, who fell in love with him at first sight. Dream only wants a simple marriage life but loving an ex-playboy who's still in love with his first love is not easy. Can Dream take the risk and fight for her place in Blaze's heart? Or the blazing love and affection she has towards him will burn her to ashes?

Katherine Willow gave up everything for love — her dreams, her family, even her freedom. But when betrayal cuts deeper than any wound, she realizes the man she sacrificed it all for only ever saw her as a convenience. Cast aside for another woman carrying the child she couldn’t give him, Katherine finds herself alone, humiliated, and broken. Yet from the ashes of heartbreak, she rises stronger, determined to reclaim her life. A fierce divorce, a fiery encounter with a stranger, and the first step back into a world she thought she had lost — Katherine’s journey is only just beginning. In a world that tried to silence her, Katherine is about to roar.

Phoenix’s life takes a disastrous turn when she wakes up in a grimy hotel room just two days before her mating ceremony. Her life is ruined, and she didn’t need a soothsayer to tell her because not only is their a lingering smell on the sheet, which indicates that she has been unfaithful, Dylan is in the hotel room yelling profanities at her. By her unexplained actions, she has become disgraced, banished, and may have sparked a war between her pack and Dylan’s. Werewolves mate for a life, and a broken mating arrangement is an unforgivable sin. At 16, Phoenix was promised to Dylan as a way to unify their packs after years of rivalry. An alliance now broken by her infidelity. Although she would have preferred to wait for her chosen mate, she has long accepted that being Dylan’s chosen mate and Luna of his pack is a fate she can endure. Now branded as a disgrace and banished, Phoenix has been replaced by her half sister as Dylan’s mate. Exiled from the home she has always known, Phoenix is left to wander the forests as a rogue. Her central thought is to survive and navigate life alone whilst looking for a pack that will take her in, but she must face all her fears one at a time. Her life in exile takes an unexpected twist when she finds her true mate in the most unexpected way. How does she keep the secret of being the fated golden wolf? How does she stay away from her chosen mate to keep her secret? Will she learn to harness her powers and save her kind from a looming war with the hunters? Like her name, will she rise from the ashes?

She was abandoned before she could walk. Raised in a cold, forgotten orphanage and later tormented by the family who adopted her, she learned to survive with silence and scars. Love was a fairytale she stopped believing in long ago—until he looked her way. Rex Radford. Reckless, magnetic, and dangerously untouchable. The notorious heartbreaker and scandal-ridden heir of multi-billionaire Alfred Radford. His life was one endless party of fast cars, wild nights, and nameless girls—until her haunted eyes brought everything to a halt. He wanted her. But she disappeared. No one knew she vanished carrying his twins. Far away from the glittering chaos of the Radfords’ empire, she gave birth in silence—alone, terrified, and determined never to look back. Her world became about survival, her children, and burying the past so deep it could never find her. But fate had other plans. Six years later, she returns. Not as the broken girl they once ignored—but as a woman reborn. Fierce. Untouchable. Powerful. And with two children whose faces mirror a man who never knew they existed. Now the world whispers. The tabloids burn. And Rex Radford—cold-hearted, beautiful Rex—wants answers. But she’s not the same girl he once tried to break. And when jealous rivals, buried secrets, and twisted betrayals rise from the shadows, she’ll have to decide: Will she risk everything to let him into her life again—or protect her children from the man who once shattered her world? This is not just a love story. It’s a war between the past and the future, between pain and forgiveness, between a woman who rebuilt herself from ashes—and the man who unknowingly gave her the fire.

18+ Warning!!! Listen, this book does not play nice. Expect explicit sexual content, bursts of violence, and enough emotional chaos to make your head spin. The characters? Oh, they'll frustrate you, make reckless choices, and probably leave you yelling at the page. Reader discretion is advised… but let's be real, you're still going to read it just to see what these beautiful messes do next. ★★★ He left her in the flames… never knowing she carried his child. Elowen Thorne was once a forgotten maid in Morvain Pack, until Alpha Alaric Veylor of Dravenmere Pack made her his mate-- but love turned to ashes when betrayal struck. Accused of a crime she didn't commit and replaced by her envious stepsister, Tazira, Elowen vanished... burned, broken, and pregnant. Five years later, she returns as the long-lost daughter of the noble Velmira Pack Queen, known for their healing ability. Her power was feared, and her heart locked away. Her only focus is to retrieve the Drezova Moon Relic to stop the Vampires and Witches before war consumes them all. But fate is cruel! To find the relic, she must work with three powerful Alphas. One is her ex-husband, Alpha Alaric, who betrayed her… another is Sylion, the mysterious guardian of the relic who once saved her life and wants her now… And the last is Alpha Drazien Veythar, the calculating political leader whose alliance she must secure, even if it costs her freedom. Claimed by the three Alphas, bound by duty, and fated only to the Alpha King-- her greatest battle will be choosing which heart survives the war.

"Watch and learn. On how the person you called a pathetic commoner would be the one to bring you to your knees." - Augustus Fordman. *** In a world that shunned him, August Fordman was the perpetual outcast. From being labeled as the "pathetic commoner" to the heartbreak of Samantha betraying him, followed by a reputation-shattering scheme, he reached rock bottom. But this was the last time everyone could cast stones at him. Rising from the ashes, he reclaims his true heritage as the heir to the highest-ranking family. Now armed with immense power and wealth, he vowed a promise to himself: They'll soon taste the torment he once endured. He will return the same pain everyone made him feel!

Zina thought Tyson was gone forever. Left with a shattered heart and their unborn child, she struggled under her family's oppressive rule while searching for him in secret. But Tyson wasn't the man he once was. Rising from the ashes of betrayal, he has become the most feared Mafia boss in the underground world. When Tyson discovers Zina’s role in his disappearance, his hate for her burns fiercely—until he learns of the truth. Now, they must reunite to protect their daughter and face Zina’s powerful family, who will stop at nothing to destroy Tyson. Did you think Tyson and Zina’s bond would survive?

From the moment he had a sweet taste of Angel, the pure light to his unending darkness, he knew that he had to have her for himself. Rules be damned. *** Hell bowed to him and even devils cowered at his name. He was born in blood and crime, raised to lead Las Vegas' most ruthless mafia and with an iron-fist, he ruled. Yet, all it took to draw a consuming obsession from Christian De Novo was a delicious one night stand with a mysterious woman. Delicate and sweet, Angel Winchester was clueless to the world of crime and danger. However, all that is burned to ashes when a one night affair leads to a forced marriage between herself and a devilishly handsome monster.