Silent Sorrow

My company had arranged a wilderness survival retreat deep in the heart of Moonshadow Forest—a place where even seasoned wolves tread cautiously. That night, a sudden downpour ripped through the campsite, drenching the earth and filling the air with the thick scent of damp moss and shifting soil. I woke abruptly, the cold seeping into my bones. Instinctively, I reached out to the space beside me, seeking the warmth of my mate. Empty. A sharp pang of unease clawed at my chest. My wolf, dulled by the suppressant herbs I had taken to blend into human society, stirred restlessly. Fumbling in the darkness, I grabbed my phone and dialed Nigel. The line barely had time to connect before he emerged from the undergrowth—disheveled, breathless. His grip was iron-tight as he seized my wrist, pulling me downhill. His scent was sharp with adrenaline, but beneath it—something foreign, something wrong. We ran, my boots sinking into the mud. My keen vision caught glimpses of his rumpled clothing, the way his collar was misaligned—and the faint imprint of lips on his jaw. My pulse pounded in my ears. Betrayal. I wrenched my arm from his grasp, my claws itching to unsheathe despite the human form I forced myself to maintain. "Where were you?" My voice came out low, edged with the danger of a wolf barely leashed. The suppressants in my bloodstream faltered under the weight of my fury. The storm had driven everyone into their tents, leaving the clearing eerily silent as we reached the base of the mountain. But she was there. A woman stood beneath the flickering glow of the emergency lanterns, her hair tousled, her fingers gripping Nigel’s jacket as if it belonged to her. I knew her. The new intern. Her face held an unsettling resemblance to mine, as if the Moon Goddess herself had carved her from the shadows of my reflection. The realization struck like a silver dagger to my chest. Even the mate who had once sworn to fight the world for me had given in to betr

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

Prince Jamal of Zedora is cursed with an ice-cold heart, unable to feel anything—joy, sorrow, love, or hate. That changes when he meets Sarafina Belaird. Sarafina, a maiden burdened by her cruel stepfamily, ends up in the palace after a chance encounter with the prince. Her fear deepens when she learns she is the Sheba, the one destined to break his curse. To make things worse, she begins to fall in love with him.

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Chloe Yates, a tall and stunningly beautiful attorney, was known for her loyalty in relationships. She always believed that marrying her wealthy boyfriend, Trevor Skyler, would lead to the perfect happily-ever-after. But on their wedding night, her world shattered when she walked in on Trevor having a threesome with his childhood friend, Rachel Rain, and her best friend. Heartbroken, Chloe left without hesitation and sought solace in a club, drowning her sorrow in alcohol. Fate had other plans. That night, she shared a passionate encounter with a gentle yet enigmatic man, who turned out to be Trevor’s uncle, Roman Skyler! Drawn into an intoxicating and dangerous entanglement with Roman, Chloe found herself irresistibly captivated by this mysterious and wealthy man, who was far more alluring than she could have imagined. Amid their game of mutual seduction, Chloe discovered her growing desire—to tame the man before her and become the aunt to the very ex-boyfriend who betrayed her!

When I was six, I spilled hot water, slipped, and burned my face. My face was ruined. My parents learned their lesson and never let my younger sister do housework. To everyone they met, they praised her beauty, her charm. They turned to me with nothing but disdain. When I was ten, I had a high fever. They didn't think much of it and let it drag on until my brain was damaged, leaving me slow and dull. They learned their lesson again. From then on, if my sister so much as coughed, they would rush her to the hospital in the dead of night, showering her with care. I was like a failed experiment. Every mistake they made with me, they corrected for her. I was ugly, silent, dim-witted, unwanted. She was beautiful, sweet-talking, clever, adored by all. When I was diagnosed with depression, I gathered what little courage I had and told them. Mom lashed out, called me sick in the head, and accused me of being petty. If I was so capable, she said, I might as well die. It wasn't until my sister pushed me off a high-rise that they found out, by sheer accident, that she wasn't their child at all. I was their one and only biological child.

love heals, it gives. love, in its most profound form beathes forth life. love gives forth light. There is, more to all Aine O' connell ever knew, was ever sure of, especially with a past full of ghosts. The handsome Bryan Maher soon teaches her that. And perhaps, maybe, just maybe God has other plans for Bryan as well? for there is more to the pain than torment. there is more to the heartbreak than destruction, And there is more to the sorrow than weeping. shalom.

Can jealousy make a monster out of human? General Jiang never thought so until he become a victim of one of his green-eyed friend's plots. And Jiang Yin Yue ,was the precious daughter of the General Jiang. She led a happy life until one crucial night. She lost everything in that one night. The noble life she lived happily...,Her loving family which she treasured most in the world...,The honor of her family which maintained for many generations..., everything disappeared in front of her eyes, while she was watching helplessly. Despite losing everything, she determined to survive. No matter how lonely, how painful, how much sorrow she felt, she thoroughly determined to survive, gathering all the courage she could mange to find. With the sole intention of avenging her family. Now everyday, every hour, every minute, every second, even every breathe she takes solely dedicated to succeed her mission of revenge. Changing herself completely with a different appearance, different character, and different personality...she is reaching her goal step by step very patiently but still with a traumatized mind. On her journey he get to experience the loyalty of a human, importance and worth of a sincere friendship and the warmth of a tender love. Experiencing those qualities, will she get her lost gentleness back? will she recover from her trauma? will she be able to give up the hatred deeply rooted in her mind? Fighting with the people in power, avenging for her family's unjust deaths, restoring her family's lost honor, It is the story of a daughter who became the "PRIDE OF HER FAMILY" as her father always used to say.

[MATURE CONTENT] Warning: Skip of you are not a fan of mature romance. Faced with a choice between blaming my stepfather Jason or stepbrother Ethan for the life growing inside me, I felt the weight of Jason's ominous threats—stay silent or risk my mom's life. “Chelsea,who is responsible for this pregnancy?” my Mom asked. I stood there, tears welling in my eyes, torn between the truth and the suffocating weight of shame. "Mom, I'm really sorry," I whispered, my voice cracking, as tears streamed down my cheeks. Unable to endure the guilt, I ran away from home, leaving my mother to search for me, only to tragically meet with an accident in her pursuit. HAPPY READING

“I don't know how to be gentle.I get rough sometimes,”He whispered in my ear, nibbling on my earlobe and I gulped. “You're an angel.Angels are supposed to be handled with utmost care.Angels are supposed to be clean and pure.They’re not supposed to get involved with a sinner like me.”His warm breath fanned my already flushed cheeks, sending a shiver down my spine. “Maybe I'm a fallen angel.I don't mind being tainted.”The corner of my lips curved into a smirk,”What about you show me how rough you can get?I like it rough sometimes...” “Damn it!Don't forget you asked for it.”The corner of his lips curved into a wicked smile… _________________ When Angelina found out that her best friend and husband of four years had betrayed her.She was heartbroken and decided to drown her sorrow in alcohol. However,what she never expected was to wake up next to a golden masked man who she didn't know anything about. Angelina was even more surprised when she finds out the masked man is her husband's uncle who has been out of the country for ten years, XAVIER FORDS. Xavier wasn't only her husband's uncle.He used to be Angelina's Dad's best friend.He is the Mafia king too. When Angelina's Dad died ten years ago, Xavier swore to protect her with his own life. However,he already broke one of the promises… Angelina sought help from her husband's uncle to avenge everyone who wronged her. Xavier and Angelina try to fight the strong feelings but it gets stronger with each passing day. Will Angelina and Xavier give in to their desires?What if dark secrets arise that are threatening to tear them apart,will they stay strong together?