Pilgrim Church

Luke finally agreed to bind with me, urged by his mother Monica on her deathbed. Moonlight spilled through the window, casting a glow on his golden-brown fur. He stood by the bed, his amber wolf eyes deep and seemingly nervous. As soon as he stepped out of the room, his expression returned to its usual calm, and he said to me coldly, "Emma, let's wait a little longer." "I need to bond with Alina first," he continued, his wolf eyes distant, his tone neutral. "Her mother is seriously ill, and I promised her." "What about your mother? She wants to witness our bonding too!" "I have to bond with Alina first. You don't need to worry about my mother’s health," he said, as he effortlessly removed the vow ring Monica had given me from my finger, then turned and walked away. His little wolf followed, its tail wagging happily, showing no sign of reluctance. But as soon as he left, his mother suddenly took a turn for the worse. By the time Monica passed away, I was the only one by her side. Weakly, she squeezed my hand and whispered, "Emma, don’t wait for him anymore. Find someone who truly loves you." Her hand fell limp, and in the quiet darkness, I made two calls. The first was to the church, changing our marking ceremony to a funeral for his mother. The second call was to my best friend. Her brother was the Alpha of another pack, with dark fur and sharp green eyes. "He once said that if I was willing, he would bond with me... Is that promise still valid?" There was a pause on the other end before a deep voice, full of natural authority, came through: "Emma, have you finally figured it out?"

Everything was going downhill. Caterina Mari Santelli is having trouble. At first she struggled to remember who the man in her hospital room was. Now, she doesn't exactly know if she loves him or hates him even more (the thought of planning a wedding to a man you hate isn't exactly inviting). She's also in distress knowing that her plans aren't going the way she planned. To add to her list of dilemmas, she's having PTSD and is afraid to even hold a gun, much more shoot one. Lucas De Marchi is just a dazed man walking. Something warm towards Caterina was building inside of him. He knows exactly what that feeling is and knows exactly how dangerous it is. But despite his efforts to stop his feelings, he always finds himself doing dirty business with her or for her. He's confused about Mari, and he's worried about his family and his sanity. To finally put that luscious cherry on top, Matteo Santelli, Caterina's uncle, has heard of her and Lucas' soon-to- be-wedding and is mad for being uninvited. Now the church doors are open. Only problem is, no one knows exactly if it's for a wedding or a funeral.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Forces were conspiring around Finn and Lili just as their relationship was blooming... Finn heard a few jeers and cheers, "Kick him out! Kick him out!" Before he could react, Lili stood up and pushed Billy's hand away and growled really loudly, "Get out of our house NOW! Get the 'f' out! All of you! This is between Finn and myself and the investigation team. Get out!" Her face was bright red and her little fists were clenched so tightly. She was ready to punch someone but she kept her composure. Billy yelled back, "You're gonna regret this, just you wait!" Turning to leave, Billy saw Finn standing in the doorway. He was as quiet as a church mouse and as still as a statue. He wasn't giving in to the anger festering inside. Billy walked by and threw the first punch and within seconds the crowd dragged Finn outside and started to beat the crap out of him. Lili was powerless but managed to have enough sense to call 911 immediately and then she grabbed a bat and started banging it on the porch. When the crowd heard the sirens, they all jumped in their cars and took off. Even Billy! Especially Billy! By the time she got to Finn, he was a bloody mess and was barely breathing.... How could everyone in the town turn on Finn? Hadn't he proven over the last three years that he turned his life around but one small accusation and Lili was standing outside of their home in the freezing cold, staring at the blood stained snow. An image that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Would Finn survive the beating and come back to her arms as the same man? Or would outside forces continue to push them apart?

FORMERLY TITLED THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT "Do you, William Hugh White take Jennifer Benjamin King to be your lawfully wedded wife? To cherish and to adore, to respect and to love for the rest of your life?" Mr. William Hugh nodded. "I do." "Do You, Jennifer Benjamin King take William Hugh White to be your lawfully wedded husband, to cherish and to adore, to respect and to love for the rest of your life?" Jennifer turned to her mother, then to her father who had a huge scowl on his face. He looked like he could do anything to her and her mother if she tried to do anything other than she was told. "I do." she answered. "Does anyone sitting in the church right now, have a tangible reason as to why this marriage should not be held? If you do, then speak up now, or forever hold your peace." "I do." Jennifer finds herself suspended from school on her father's wish, and he tells she will get married to some man. In a bid to escape, she falls in the hands of Elijah who instead asks to marry her. She needs to run, and he is offering her a way out. With no other way out, she accepts.

In a country where people view being single as a sin. Some would even conclude that you have been married to the devil by your parents, others would say you have a spirit husband a d that was the reason no one was coming for you. To worsen it, you chose a profession that perpetually puts you on the limelight, people call for you, they have seen your work and they want to have you as their photographer. Such was the case for Rebecca, she was young beautiful but she feels so alone since all her mates were married, she was still single and to worsen it no one was seeing her, it felt more like she was invisible, people would always tell her she was beautiful but they never went further even when she would be the one to quickly show her interest. She wanted so much to be loved and feel loved, she wanted to know what it felt like to be inlove. She looked pretty young but she wasn't really that young which was why her mother would want her to go to church with her every now and then, she wished she was not in the same state with her mother because even if she runs away from her mother, she always finds a way to get her back. But the story changed for Rebel when she was contracted to handle Charles' wedding, her job was going just as perfect, she was doing exactly what she used to do, she was giving her best to the work. She showed them a sample of how the work would look like, but she couldn't concentrate, whenever Charles was close to her, even if he was with Sandra, she just couldn't concentrate, she was inlove with her client.

If the warning label could be written in red letters, it would. I'm not a soft erotic writer, so you shouldn't be a soft reader. This is a house of 50 shades darker steamy romance compilation. ALL your taboos and kinks will be fulfilled in this 1k short stories. First five stories. 1 Marry Your Daddy & Be Your Stepmom: When the thoughts, words, and touch of her boyfriend's dad gives her real orgasm, sinning is just as sweet. 2 My Gangster Masters: Though married, she is sent to the BDSM club to hunt down the notorious triplet criminals. When the operation is over, her body still aches to submit to them one more time. 3 Mated To The Beast: Blessed with a beast is scary until he has something much bigger that would break you. 4 Prison Break: You've always eyed this sexy innocent looking prisoner, thinks he's falsely accused until he breaks the prison security code and makes all prisoners escape. But no, he doesn't leave immediately, he makes you take the fall for the others and makes you his prisoner and slave for the longest 6 hours, worshipping him and the other hot cell Dons. 5 The Church Boy Is Gay: He's more innocent than a nerd. Haven't impregnated any girl. So you make him your role model until you're trapped in a room with him and the lights go off. Buckle your belts for a rough ride.

After our eighty-eighth canceled wedding, I called my business partner. "I'm taking the Haviana market project." There was a beat of stunned silence. "Seriously? That's ten years overseas. You just got married—well, weren't you? Does your husband even know? What about your parents? You always said staying close to them was everything." I glanced around the empty church and let out a sharp laugh. "There was no wedding. No husband. And my parents? They've got Cindy. That's all they need." Another pause. "Alright. Pack your bags. You leave tomorrow." After the call, I ran a hand down my wedding dress. One last tear slipped out, quiet and pointless. Cindy had another "episode" today. Claimed she'd off herself. Andrew canceled—again. I'd looked at him, drained. "It's the eighty-eighth time." He dropped his head, guilt all over him. "Just a little more time, Viv. She's been off since the accident. I'm scared she'll actually do it. I swear, I'll talk to her. For real this time. Then we'll get married. Promise." My parents didn't hesitate. "Vivian, let Andrew go. If Cindy hadn't gotten kidnapped trying to save you, she wouldn't have these breakdowns. Are you really putting a wedding over your sister's life?" "How could you be so selfish?" I'd heard it all before. Used to fight it. Not this time. If neither my fiancé nor my parents wanted me around, then fine. I'd leave.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

It’s all she can do to get the voices in her head to keep quiet, they seem to be more these days, asking her to go back home, but where is home, Kira isn’t really sure after her mom left her at the church gates at the age of 12. Home before that was the forest but which one it is, she wasn’t sure after all these years now. But her voices that have been with her since she left want her to set them free and God help her, she will stop at nothing to set those tormented voices free.