Receiving Gifts

After receiving the news that her husband had died during a mission, my sister-in-law collapsed from the shock. When she woke up, she'd lost her memory. She clung to my husband and refused to let go. Our husbands were twin brothers. The doctor said she couldn't be triggered, so my husband and mother-in-law sat me down and begged me to play along until she got over this. Every time I brought it up again, they shut me down. "This is only until she gets her memory back!" So I watched as my husband and his widowed sister-in-law eat, sleep, and live under the same roof. Even our daughter could only stand by and watch her cousin call him "Daddy". One day, my daughter spiked a high fever and wouldn't wake up. I begged my husband to take us to the hospital. Unexpectedly, his sister-in-law went berserk over it and threatened to kill herself. In the chaos, I was stabbed in the heart by the scissors she swung around. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day my husband agreed to play the role of a substitute husband.

Away from humans, in a forest like no other, werewolves live. A powerful race with magical gifts and the ability to shapeshift into full-blooded wolves. Wyatt is an Alpha and the leader of the most powerful pack in the world, and his life goal has always been to be fair to the members of his pack and live a peaceful life with his mate, his life partner, and the person who will give him a reason to fight for what he wants. However, Olivia took several centuries to come into his life and when the moon goddess finally wanted to unite their souls, the task was complicated for the Alpha since Olivia is not a woman yet and at the moment they meet, she is a girl, but she will grow up and as this happens, Wyatt will be taking care of her, protecting her and waiting for her coming of age when they can finally be together. Disclaimer: This story has no sexual content until the characters are of legal age.

Agathe Clementine Capucine will sacrifice anything for her mother. She was forced to make a deal with Gunther Percival Silvestri, the wealthy son of the evil Silvestri clan that had dominated Stonewood City for centuries, because her mother's life and ultimately her own were in jeopardy. Other than her mother receiving treatment and her life being spared, she considered what else might go wrong. She didn't anticipate, however, that later that evening, she would be married to Gunther and would pose as his devoted wife while signing a contract to formalize their union. Agathe was torn as the months went by. Is she still playing along, or did Gunther already find a way to win her shattered heart?

Charlene Samarah Adams is the only daughter of the current Alpha of the Red Moon Pack. She is a sweet and gentle girl who everyone recognizes, but once she turns her back, her shadows are judged. The “unlucky wolf” they call her. The Alpha, her father, agreed to make her marry the son of the Beta, though things turned upside down from that moment. Someone leaked information about her birth, and everyone looked at her with dismay and disgust. After receiving an embarrassing rejection from her supposed partner that their parents arranged for Charlene, she escaped the pack. Not wanting to ever return, she crossed the borders— the sole line her parents told her to never cross— the Lycans’ territory. Contrary to what she expected, the Lycans were not what tales told her. What will happen if the enemy’s pack suddenly welcomes her because of the prophecy? What will she do if the Moon Goddess, Selene, tells her that she’s the destined Luna of the current King of the Lycans? Will Charlene fight for her rights, or will she let the Lycan King decide who his Luna should be? Every choice has consequences. Alpha Adhler Ace Frost already has the Luna he wanted to mark. Will his choice differ in the presence of Charlene… will his decisions change once he unravels the truth about her?

Calista Maximoff was the daughter of the Alpha of Ridgewood pack, and she mistakenly killed her Father, the Alpha. Realising the consequence of her unintentional action, with the help of her best friend: a dark witch, she fled for dear life, and she unfortunately ran into a group of slavers; she was captured and reduced to a slave. While under the protection, of her new owners, tragedy struck again, and Calista was on the receiving end of this one. She was viciously attacked, and a blind werewolf, Malik Brooks tries his best to save Calista, but unfortunately, Calista eventually died. Calista had no idea, that she would live to see another day, after being brutally murdered. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers herself back in a teenage body. Calista tries to make sense of what is taking place, and she discovers that she has been given a second chance at life. Calista must face the mistakes of the past as she navigates the perilous world of the supernatural, but she finds herself torn between a love triangle, that threatens to tear her apart. Who will she choose in the end, and will it be the right decision? Will Calista even be able to survive long enough with foes hiding around every corner? In conjunction with her new allies, will she be able to fend off a greater force that poses a great risk to the werewolf community? Well, only time will tell in this dramatic tale of betrayal, heartbreak, love, redemption, and of course romance!

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

Mary Ann “Maan” Perez resigned from her work as an office secretary in their province to apply as a Customer Service Representative (call center agent) in Manila. After receiving a message from her prospective employer for a scheduled interview, she decided to contact her cousin to tell her to fetch her at the bus terminal in Manila for she will be staying with them for a week. Unfortunately while on her way to Manila, her cousin Joan, had an emergency to attend to and would not be able to fetch her. Instead Joan’s cousin from her mother's side of the family came to fetch Maan. Virgil ‘Gil” Velasco (Joan’s cousin) who lives in his own apartment brought Maan to his house with an agreement that Joan will be fetching Maan that day. Later that day, Joan called to inform them that she could not fetch Maan because her mother is suspected to have contracted COVID-19 and needs to be under observation for at least 14 days and if it wasn’t bad news enough, an announcement was made that night that the government decided to put National Capital Region (NCR) and the entire Luzon under lock down. Going in and out of the area is prohibited for 1 month!Locked in together for a month, will they catch the virus called love and start a romance or will it end when the lock down ends?

Berlin, 1020 BC. After their family is massacred, twins Erik and Adam Von Hagen swore revenge for every single drop of bloodshed. Having no time to lose Erik decides to trick and manipulate a young girl with special gifts to their advantage. And there was Jessica, a human with mystic powers who barely understands what is happening to her. With her ability to control and read minds, seeing the future, and master the fire she must never fall in love or she will destroy everything she touches. But as the heart never listens to reason things might get really bad. There is no room for love only revenge and manipulations. Will all this suffering bring them closer? Will Erik put his plans aside and give love a chance? And if he does will this be the end or the beginning?

Everyone in Sparrowville said that Margaret Chapman was the happiest woman in town. Gavin Hartley showered her with gifts—a sapphire ring, an asteroid after her name—treating her like she was the center of his universe. Margaret had always believed it, too. Until the day she accidentally discovered the woman he had been hiding in his villa. For ten years, he had kept her there—his childhood sweetheart. After she lost herself to schizophrenia, she had said, "Margaret is me." And so, for nearly seven years, Gavin had courted Margaret and cherished her, playing out a love story that had never truly been hers. Margaret's heart crumbled to ash after she found out the truth. She left without looking back, moving to a country thousands of miles away. But she never imagined that Gavin would lose himself to rage, his eyes burning red as he nearly tore Sparrowville apart. "Where the hell is Margaret?!"

As legend goes there were four godly beings who created the world named as Order, Chaos, Light and Darkness each of these gods also created humanity together and gave each gave humanity two gifts. Order gave the gifts of Justice and Diplomacy, Chaos gave the gifts of Luck and Karma, Light gave the