Mark Hansen Black Dahlia

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

They were best friends and even more— or so she thought. Winnie and Jason had a love that felt unbreakable, destined… until he chose power and wealth over her. His betrayal shattered her heart and left her drowning in pain. Now working as a private caregiver for the same Alpha who turned out to be Jason’s brother-in-law, Winnie only wants peace and a quiet life. But fate has other plans. Because the man she’s meant to serve, the Alpha himself, is the same man she once had a passionate moment with. And somewhere between guilt, loyalty, and unspoken desire, Winnie finds herself falling for him all over again. She’s falling for her ex-mate’s powerful brother-in-law. Will she be strong enough to resist the bond pulling her closer to him, or will fate trap her once more in its cruel game of love, betrayal, and secrets?

WARNING: Not suitable for young readers or sensitive minds. Some parts contain graphic sex scenes, adult language and situation intended for mature readers only. TESSIMOND COUSINS SERIES #2 Bilang isang nag-iisang anak ng pamilya Fortezo, si Myca ay nakatakdang ipakasal sa mapipili niyang lalaki sa magaganap na isang salu-salo kasama ang kanyang buong angkan at malalayong kamag-anak. Hindi siya kailanman naniniwala na magkakaroon siya ng magandang buhay kapag naikasal siya sa lalaking pinsan niya sa malayong kamag-anak tulad ng paniniwala ng kanyang pamilya. Kaya tumakas siya at itinago ang sarili sa isang pribadong isla. Akala niya ay hindi na muling paglalaruan ng tadhana ang kanyang kapalaran. Tiwala pa naman ito na makakaya niyang baguhin ang desisyon ng kanyang mga magulang kung mananatili siya sa islang iyon nang ilang araw. Pero isang matipunong lalaki ang nahanap niyang nakahiga at walang malay sa tabi ng dalampasigan ng kanyang isla na pinaniniwalaan niyang nalunod. Paano kung paglaruan ng tadhana ang buhay nilang dalawa? Paano kung ang simpleng paghanga lang ni Myca sa lalaki ay mauwi sa ibang bagay? Paano kung mamarkahan siya ng lalaking ito?

“Aria,” He called my name so sweetly as my legs wobbled. No, no, no..I can’t fall for his charms again. “Don’t touch me!” My voice betrayed me. A moan came out as Lucas drew closer to me. “What do you think, that I will ever let you go? Never ever…” His breath fanned my face, and one more trick from him, then I’m doomed. I’m here for revenge, but he wants to ruin me. *** Aria, the girl everyone knows as the one marked under the blood moon. She was chosen by the moon goddess years ago to bear the mark, but little did she know what her destiny was. She was faced with so much torture from the people because they think that whoever bears that mark would cause nothing but destruction. Aria became a threat to the kingdom. Enemies wanting to take the one who bears the mark. And the one person she trusts betrays her. Lucas, his quest for more power made him sacrifice Aria to access the throne. Years later, war started in the kingdom, and Aria, the forbidden Luna, came back with a completely different personality, not that once sweet Aria they all knew but instead a strong and powerful Aria that no one could challenge. Lucas regretted everything he did to Aria, but Aria no longer wanted love but revenge. But with their mate bond activated and with nothing but revenge in her heart leading the kingdom to doom, Lucas must choose either to surrender to the mate he once betrayed or lose his world to the wrath of the Luna he forgot.

Vampires and Werewolves? Yeah, they don’t mix. Vampires think they’re superior. Werewolves can’t stand their arrogance. But when Hunters come for both clans, there's only one choice—team up or die trying. As the Alpha’s sister, Aritzea is stuck working with her enemies—the same people who killed her father. And to make things worse? She’s paired with Lucian, the irritatingly lazy, frustratingly charming Vampire Prince who just can’t seem to keep his fangs off her. Oh, and apparently… he’s her mate.

Not wanting to accept her Fate, Annabelle tried fleeing but was caught. Being abducted by werewolves wasn't what she had expected when going into the woods. While making efforts to escape, she found out that she wasn't just kidnapped by a mere human but the leader of the blue sea Pack, Alpha of werewolves. Rejecting and being Marked by an animal was what she never believed would happen. Wondering how she could be marked by her already rejected mate, she tried all she could in order to make him detest her and send her away, but instead of sending her back home he sent her to the Pack house where she started a new life with Emily the Beta's mate. But staying away from her mate after being marked has its problems, and was she ready to bear it? What happens when she tries getting away but ended up getting abducted again by another pack of werewolves who were the rivals of the blue sea pack.

Ravenna had always been the black sheep of her pack—an omega with no wolf, no power, and no protection except for the promise of a mate bond with Lucas, the Alpha’s heir. But that promise shatters the night of the mating ceremony, when Lucas publicly rejects her and secretly sells her to a group of rogues. Drugged, betrayed, and left for the rogues literally—Ravenna is saved by a stranger whose face she barely remembers but whose touch awakens something wild and forbidden inside her. What begins as a desperate, heat-fueled encounter leaves her broken, ashamed… and haunted by the memory of a man whose name she doesn’t know. Until she meets her new college professor. Professor Greens is cold, feared, and untouchable. But one look into his eyes tells Ravenna he’s the man from that night. He knows who she is. He knows what happened. And he’s hiding a truth that could get them both killed—he’s a Lycan, and he’s her true mate. As Ravenna struggles with the humiliation of rejection, the danger of her pack's laws, and the brutal truth about her own identity, she must decide whether to walk away from the one person who might make her stronger to protect him or risk everything to claim the power buried deep within her blood.

“You can play Priest for as long as you like,” he spat, ignoring my protests, “but you will never find salvation.” His words struck like a curse, but that wasn’t the reason my chest heaved, goosebumps littered my skin, and definitely not the reason I felt hot despite the chilling dip from the lake. Ezreal’s eyes widened momentarily, noticing. I winced as his hand shifted, pressing against the stiff betrayal straining against my soaked robes. He stilled for only a second, then a wicked grin overtook his features. “Well, well,” Ezreal drawled, his voice taunting “Look who’s getting excited,” “Stop,” I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut as the humiliation dug deep. “Please….” He leaned forward, his breath hot as his lips ghosted over the shell of my ear. “I will taint you so bad,” he whispered, his hand tightening against my crotch. “So bad you won’t have the courage to stand on the altar you abandoned me for.” ****** At sixteen, Ezreal Vossell took the fall for a murder to protect the only boy he ever loved—Baron Lander, the timid son of the town’s high priest. A known delinquent, the bastard child of the mayor, but the only one who saw him for his true self was Baron. Ezreal made the ultimate sacrifice, and all he wanted in return was Baron’s support. But alas, on the day of the trial, Baron betrayed him, casting him aside to please his father. Ezreal was sentenced to life in prison, his heart shattered beyond repair. Fifteen years later, he was released, but gone was the naive sixteen-year-old. He’s returned as the ruthless leader of a mafia syndicate, and with all the power and wealth at his fingertips, he yearned for one thing alone. Revenge.

When Ava walked into that bar, she only wanted to forget. Forget the man who left her for money. Forget the wedding she was never meant to attend. But one drink, one stranger, and one reckless night changed everything. She woke up in a stranger’s bed only to find out he wasn’t a stranger at all. He was Adrian Blackwell, her CEO. Cold, powerful, and dangerously irresistible. Adrian swore he didn’t do love. He didn’t chase. He didn’t lose control. Until Ava. Now he wants her body, soul, and every breath she takes. But loving Adrian means walking a thin line between passion and danger… because the man who owns her heart might also be the one who ruins her.

Layla is a human slave who is mocked for being useless, ugly, overweight, and completely insignificant. She should never have been anywhere near the wolves’ sacred mating ritual, but one wrong turn drops her right in the middle of it. And, of course, she unknowingly sits in the one place no wolf dares to go: beside the infamous Cursed Alpha Prince. Scarred. Cold. Silent. Lucian Stark is the Alpha King’s undefeated warrior. A wolf so feared that even the King watches his steps around him. The moment their eyes meet, the mate bond snaps to life. The kingdom freezes in horror. A human slave? Mated to him? To the monster whose last nineteen mates died before the next full moon? Unluckily, Layla becomes the twentieth. So now the only question that matters is…Will she survive what none of the others could, or is she already living on borrowed time?