Lake Territory Warriors Cats

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

There are a lot more truths in the books we read, than we’d like to admit. What if a book delves into the lives of the very town you live in? Reveals to you some personal stories of people you know? Or thought you knew. Bookstore owner Kevin Ellison faces this truth when a mysterious book shows up in Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia. Through a Mirror, Darkly is a Supernatural Thriller collection masked as a novel. With elements of mystery, suspense, and otherworldly horror, Through a Mirror, Darkly successfully delves into the worlds of Lovecraft, Grant, and the mysterious Carcosa. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing Arcane Delights. Clifton Heights' premier rare and used bookstore. In it, new owner Kevin Ellison has inherited far more than a family legacy, for inside are tales that will amaze, astound, thrill...and terrify: An ancient evil thirsty for lost souls. A very different kind of taxi service with destinations not on any known map. Three coins that grant the bearer's fondest wish, and a father whose crippling grief gives birth to something dark and hungry.

In an East London lock up, two film makers, Jimmy and Sam, are duct taped to chairs and forced to watch a snuff film by Ashkan, a loan shark to whom they owe a lot of money. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be starring in the next one. Before the film reaches its end, Ashkan and all his men are slaughtered by unknown assailants. Only Jimmy and Sam survive the massacre, leaving them with the sole copy of the snuff film. The film makers decide to build their next movie around the brutal film. While auditioning actors, they stumble upon Melissa, an enigmatic actress who seems perfect for the leading role, not least because she’s the spitting image of the snuff film’s main victim. Neither the film, nor Melissa, are entirely what they seem however. Jimmy and Sam find themselves pulled into a paranormal mystery that leads them through the shadowy streets of the city beneath the city and sees them re-enacting an ancient Mesopotamian myth cycle. As they play out the roles of long forgotten gods and goddesses, they’re drawn into the subtle web of a deadly heresy that stretches from the beginnings of civilization to the end of the world as we know it. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"I will personally take her life—after she births my successor!” I heard the Alpha's words clearly, and at that moment I ran as fast as I could. I knew I was nothing but a vessel, a slave he bought to gave birth to his heir. What was I even expecting from him? Why do I even expect love from him? Was I really going to just let him end me? With a heavy and broken heart, I hugged onto my growing belly, the alpha's baby that I was carrying. No. There had to be a way out of this castle. I would make an escape from this pack, and ditch this pack for my baby and my freedom!

The old Clara you knew was long gone. This Clara you were hating was made up from pain and your hatred.

“Others may see her as nothing, but to me, she’s more precious than the moon itself.” Ignoring the stunned glances of everyone around, he fixed his gaze on me across the room and strode over with unwavering intent. I felt my heart pound, the same way flowers seem to burst into bloom. Omega Olivia never imagined that a one-night stand would link her to the enigmatic and powerful Alpha, Ryan. Given the stark difference in their social status, she braced herself for the worst—perhaps even the demand for a quiet miscarriage. But instead, Ryan took her home, pulling her into a love story beyond anything she could have dreamed. Yet, as she walks this path of romance, lined with both roses and thorns, will they be able to bridge their worlds, uncover the hidden conspiracies, and find their way to happiness hand-in-hand?

Five years ago, one night changed everything for Macy. A college student working at a luxury hotel, she and a stranger were unknowingly drugged, swept into an encounter shrouded in haze and fragments. She left with only a blurred memory—and the life growing inside her. Since then, her heart has belonged to her son, the one bright light born from the confusion. Now, desperate for a fresh start, Macy becomes the assistant to Graeme Lancaster, the captivating CEO of a powerful company. She doesn’t recognize him at first—but fate has a quiet way of pulling threads. Graeme is everything she shouldn’t want, yet everything about him feels achingly familiar. He doesn’t know she’s the woman from that night. He doesn’t know he has a child. But as attraction blooms into something deeper, their connection threatens to unravel long-buried secrets. Can love grow between two souls unknowingly bound by the past?

“The old Clara you knew was long gone. This Clara you were hating was made up from pain and your hatred.” Growing up despised and belittled by not having her wolf, Clara awaits to meet her mate. She thought he would be her escape into her terrible existence, but it turned out worse than she could ever have expected. She had wished not to meet him at all. As Clara was questioning why would her own fated mate do all of those, Samuel’s desires weren’t complicated: make sure Clara won’t flee from his grip and make her suffer in every possible way he can. Will Alpha Samuel choose to do his long planned revenge or keep his exceptionally powerful healer Luna on his side? A looked down daughter of a Beta was transformed into a fierce healer that Samuel never knew he needed.

My mom treated me like the dirt beneath her shoes but worshiped my cousin like a queen. Since I could walk, I had scrubbed clothes and cooked meals, but I would still be yelled at or smacked if I messed up. On the contrary, my cousin twirled in princess dresses and played the piano. She was cherished by my aunt and uncle like she was the center of their world. Then came the day everything changed. At my cousin's birthday party, my mom got drunk and spilled the secret—she switched me and my cousin at birth. It turned out that I wasn't her daughter; I was my aunt's daughter. I was over the moon. Finally, I thought I'd found my real family, people who might actually care about me. But when I told my aunt, she just smirked. "You think I didn't know? I don't want you. You'll never be my daughter." Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water. I couldn't understand. Why didn't anyone want me? But that day, I made a vow—I'd never beg for anyone's love again. Years later, when I got into Mayward University—the best educational institution in the country—I threw two DNA test reports on the table in front of them. For the first time, they both looked terrified.

After I turn five years of age and have my very own phone, I start receiving strange messages every single day. For some reason, the sender keeps referring to me as their mom. At 3:00 am, they send me another message. "Mom, I saw you in my dreams again. The rain is seeping into the attic. My stepmom told me to use a rag to soak up all the water, but the rag is too small. Even though I tried to wipe it up all night, it still wouldn't dry. Mom, I'm so cold and hungry. I miss you so much…" I tilt my head, looking at the rain pouring outside the window. I then earnestly reply, "Don't be scared, sweetheart. Where are you right now? I will bring you something yummy!"