Morning Sweetheart

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

Celine is an assistant scientist to the genius but coldhearted Dr. Drake Cole. The doctor happened to specialize in quantum physics and time travel. He invented time travel gadgets that will allow humans to travel back and forth through time. It's a portable device compared to a bulky time machine. She's the only assistant who's willing to test these time travel gadgets. Her reason is that she would like to go back to the past where she wants to save the love of her life. He was murdered but the suspect was not convicted. She wants to bring him back to life so that she can be with her college sweetheart once again. Little did she know that Dr. Cole is keeping a secret that is related to her past. That's why he is against the idea of her going back to the past to test the gadget. She's very persistent and willing to do anything just to change the past of her lover. But it's against the rule of time travel and they will both have to face the consequences of their actions. Will Celine be successful in changing her lover's past? Or will she end up falling for the genius scientist in the present? She will be confused but don't care even if time can affect what will happen to her future. All she knows is that she has to go back to the past so that she can move on and live in her present.

My mate Derek, Alpha of the SilverCrest Pack, secretly marked me two years ago. But he still hasn't held our mating ceremony to publicly announce my position. I've been working as his "assistant," helping him manage pack affairs all this time. Every time Derek cheats with his childhood sweetheart, Vivian, he promises to finally hold our mating ceremony. Two years. Ten promised ceremonies. Ten broken promises. The first time, he said Vivian's dog had died. "I can't hold a celebration while she's grieving," he told me, his eyes not quite meeting mine. "It wouldn't be right." The second time, Vivian had a stomach ache. He left the ceremony venue minutes before it was supposed to start, rushing off to cook soup for his precious childhood friend. After that, each scheduled mating ceremony fell through because his childhood sweetheart always had some kind of emergency. I've cried. I've screamed. I've begged. Derek always gives me the same answer: "Viv and I are just friends. You're my true mate. Taking care of pack members is your responsibility too. Don't be so jealous." After the tenth canceled ceremony, I finally gave up. I slid the mate bond dissolution papers across his desk. "The Alpha Council has approved our request to break the mate bond," I said, my voice steadier than I expected. "You and I are no longer connected." That’s when the powerful Alpha went crazy...

Isabella, a twenty-one-year-old orphan has been Adams fiance for three years and had loved him endlessly. But one morning, she wakes up in the arms of his uncle. Disappointed by her Adam's betrayal, when she found out he had sold her off and used the money to boost his business project, Bella becomes indebted to his uncle, a ruthless and mysterious man. But what Bella didn't expect was for him to spoil her beyond her imagination. Billionaire Alexander Hunt gets the offer from his nephew to have his fiancee for a night, he wanted to resist… But how could he be able to resist a drugged temptress who clearly needs his help?.

Lena, a freshman in college looking to get over a crushing break up that her high school sweetheart has dealt her. She spends too much time in the abyss of her depression until she wakes up one day and decides enough is enough! On this day she meets a guy that makes her feel like no other, could he be the ONE? In comes Mekhi, like a white knight in shining armor. Making and keeping promises but shrouded in an air of mystery. Lena being a simple girl who enjoys the small things in life is faced with the dilemma of confronting the troublesome high school sweetheart while trying to balance herself on the precipice of being in Mekhi's life but trying not fall into his world.

Six years after losing my memory and being taken in by the Lawson family, my husband, Jack Lawson, brought his childhood sweetheart home. She was beautiful and understanding, and everyone liked her. Not only did Jack favor her, but our two children also called her "Mom" behind my back. Due to the extreme sadness, I actually got my memories back. Since the Lawson family felt that my presence was unnecessary, then I might as well go home and be the heiress of the powerful Miller family again.

My husband, Xylo Green, fell in love with the locust tree in our yard. At night, he would wrap his arms around it and kiss it. One day, my dad decided to plant vegetables in the yard, so he cut the tree down. The tree died in the morning, and by midnight, our whole family was gone. Suddenly, I was reincarnated to the day when Xylo was passionately chasing after me. He looked at me lovingly and said, “Olivia, can I be yours?” I smiled flatly. I did not want him anymore, but I would definitely take his life!

The vampires in Greenville have been living in plain sight among humans. But everything changes when young Evan Desmond is found dead one morning, his body drained of blood, and two puncture wounds on his neck. The news say it's an animal attack, but Evan's father, Jeremiah Desmond knows it isn't. And he plans to avenge his sons death. ----------- Vampire bachelor Samson can’t get a mate, and he's convinced that maybe he's cursed to be alone forever. That changes when the lovely Isabella tumbles into his arms after a seemingly random attack. Suddenly there’s this connection to her, and Samson is excited about reacting to anyone this way in a long time. Thinking all he needs is one night with her, Samson indulges in a night of pleasure and passion. However, another dead body later, and Samson has his hands full: not only with trying to hide the fact he’s a vampire, but also with protecting the people he cares about.

“Just as pathetic as I remember you to be, sweetheart.” “I sleep with you because I’m unfortunate to be married to you so don’t bother reading between the lines.” Slapping his treacherous lips away from my own, I huff frantically. “I detest the sight of you, bastard.” He smirks throwing me against the filthy wall of the cave before whispering against my lips, “I know, sweetheart.” Fisting his shirt, I pull him in, “I’ll kill you someday for all your bullshit. The best part is I’ll be hailed as a hero for it.” I dig my nails into his side while digging my heels in his toes. Chuckling, he kissed me with a novel fervour. Too consumed with his taste on my tongue I don’t realize he had taken me off the floor. In times like these he made his hate achingly obvious by his rough groping. When after several seconds he is still ravaging my mouth, I slap his arm to gasp for air but he takes his sweet time devouring life out of me. He let me go only when my life flashes before my eyes. Caressing my hair as I huffed out puffs of air, he smirked. “Good Morning, Nafasm.” I'll remember to add getting away with murder on my bucket list. .... I had everything in life figured out and about half a year to get out of college and finally experience life (Breathy tone) but that's when Sienna, my bitch of a friend, asked me for a favor. Why the hell am I kidnapped? And what is with these people growling like rabid dogs? And please, can anyone tell me why the f*ck, AM I GETTING MARRIED TO THEIR HUNK OF A GANG LEADER WITH UNNATURAL GLOWING EYES?

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing