Simmering Heat

"You can't walk away," he whispered, his breath hot against my ear. "Not now." I never should've followed him. I knew it the second I saw his dark, predatory eyes lock onto mine across the bar. But I couldn't stop myself. I was drawn to him, to the danger simmering beneath his cool, controlled exterior. "One night," I told myself, "just one night." But it wasn't just a night. It was a raw, thrilling ride into darkness, where he took control in ways l'd never imagined. "Do you like it when I make you beg?" he growled, and I did. God, I did. By morning, I was tangled in his sheets, marked by his touch, my body still aching from the things he'd done to me. But when I opened my eyes and saw his face in the cold light of day, reality hit like a punch to the gut. The man l'd spent the night with, the one who made me surrender in every way possible, wasn't just a sexy stranger. He was a mafia kingpin-one of the most feared men in the city. And me? I'm the future district attorney, the one assigned to take him down. "You belong to me now," he said, his voice a deadly promise. And as much as I wanted to deny it, I knew he was right. But what happens when the lines between law and lust blur beyond recognition?

‘It’s not that there aren’t good people in the world. It’s that the bad ones are so much easier to find.’ A teen mother raises her daughter on a looping road trip, living hand-to-mouth in motel rest stops and backwater towns, stepping occasionally into the heat and chaos of the surrounding cities. A life without permanence, filled with terrors and joys, their stability is dependent on the strangers—and strange men—they meet along the way. But what is the difference between the love of a mother, and the love of a friend? And in a world with such blurred lines, where money is tight and there’s little outside influence, when does the need to survive slide into something more sinister? ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Three Powerful Alphas. One Outcast. And a deadly virus. Iris is caught in the middle of the three. Confused between an ex who’d betrayed her once, Alpha Ryker, her dead bestfriend’s mate, Alpha Kade and Alpha Ash, the quiet fury. With an unknown virus that kills every other werewolf just by contact but triggers her heat, Iris is confused, scared, torn between loyalty and the truth. Trying to figure out why she’s different while fighting her basic instincts to mate with the Alpha she sets her eyes on. The Alphas are ruthless with their claim. But who would she choose?

"Keep them open!" he growled, his fingers trailing up her thigh. "You know you’re my ruin, don’t you?" She whimpered, feeling the heat of his breath against her skin as he leaned closer. "Let me see you. I want you spread wide for me. Now!" he demanded. ** Tainting a good girl’s innocence has always been my super power, but with her, I crave something more. Bending my wickedness until it’s twisted enough to be worthy of her purity. I’m Hiram Howler. This is the story of a depraved alpha prince.

At my lowest point that year, I took a job at a pet shop, where I was assigned to take care of a "gentle-tempered" silver-white Alaskan Malamute. Every time I went near him, he would lift his head and bury his nose against my chest, breathing in low, rough sounds that felt disturbingly like a grown man holding himself back. Especially when my hand brushed through his beautiful fur, his body would heat up, and his eyes would darken and burn with unmistakable possessiveness. Thinking he was sick, I rushed to find the shop owner. The owner gave me a long, meaningful glance. "He's not sick. But he only acts like this with you. "You need to bathe him, give him a full-body massage, and try giving him a little kiss. Otherwise, he might lose control." I had my doubts about the whole thing, but I didn't really have a choice. I went along with it anyway. Eventually, I told the friend who had gotten me this job everything that had been happening. After she heard me out, she went quiet for a second. Then, she looked at me strangely and said, "Have you ever thought that maybe you're not looking after a dog at all? What if he's actually a werewolf who can take human form, and he's in heat, using pheromones to mess with you because he wants to… You know, sleep with you?"

In the quiet depths of her gaze, simmering beneath a facade of submission, lies a beta daughter, Abbey, harboring a burning desire for retribution. Once entwined in the Alpha male's embrace, she now feels the sting of betrayal and oppression. Her movements are measured, her demeanor demure, yet her mind churns with schemes of vengeance. She observes with calculating eyes, biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike back at the one who killed her parent in cold blood, destroyed her pack, and left her friend Charity homeless and visionless. With each passing day, Abbey's resolve strengthens, fueled by memories of his cruelty and disdain. She knows that to reclaim her dignity, she must outwit the very one who is her mate, the love of her life. Though a wolf's crystal is not in conformity with this idea, her thirst for vengeance overshadows her love. Behind closed doors, Abbey plots in secrecy, weaving a web of deception and manipulation. She understands the intricacies of power dynamics, using her wit and cunning to undermine his authority while maintaining the illusion of subservience. As tension between them simmers, she bides her time, waiting for the opportune moment to unleash her vengeance upon Alpha Jemery. The question remains: will Abbey forgive Jemery for what he did to her pack members, parent, and Charity's pack, and become his mate? Or will she let vengeance consume her?

One mistake from Scarlett leads her to be abandoned and loathed by her family. She starts her new life in a new pack as a warrior trainer. The least she expected was to meet her mate there who didn't give a damn about her existence when he found her. Klaus Nelson is the future Alpha of the Black Moonstone pack and is betrothed to the daughter of the Alpha King. He had accepted his fate and lost the hope to find his mate and get eternal love from his mate but when Scarlett enters his life, his heart starts simmering with extrinsic feelings and questions. The saying goes, "It takes one passionate kiss to fall in love with your mate." That's what they felt when their lips lingered on each other's and their tongues danced in a melodic rhythm as he pulled her closer to deepen the kiss and she circled her arms around his neck. "I'm a lantern, I can't shift, I can't feel any voice in my head," she revealed between the kiss, closing her eyes and preparing herself for bearing the pain of rejection. “You’re the only light of my somber world and I’d never let you go,” he promised before claiming her lips in a dominating kiss. Little did he know that this promise would turn his world upside down and cost him his life.

Alexander Hawthorne doesn’t date. He doesn’t have time. At thirty-five, his life revolves around HawStone Global Engineering and his ten-year-old son, Jack. Work is demanding, parenting is exhausting, and now that Jack’s mother is moving to New Jersey with her new husband, Alex is left to manage it all alone. Exhausted, overworked, and barely keeping it together, he’s desperate for help. Celine Stone, his partner’s niece, a brilliant graduate student taking a break from her thesis in cybersecurity. Ten years younger, stunning, compassionate, and completely off-limits. Celine becomes Jack’s new nanny. From the very first moment, Alex is captivated. She's Gorgeous. She’s patient with Jack, smart, funny, and utterly irresistible. And the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to deny the attraction that’s simmering between them. He knows he shouldn’t. She’s his partner’s niece. She’s just 25 years old, ten years younger than him. And he’s a father who must put his son first. But some desires don’t wait for perfect timing… and some connections refuse to be ignored. As their forbidden attraction grows, Alex and Celine must navigate their feelings, their responsibilities, and the world that insists they stay apart. Because falling for the nanny isn’t just risky it could change everything.

Ten years ago, Elara’s only refuge from Kaelan Vanderbilt’s cruel torment was her sketchbook. Now, she wears his brother’s engagement ring, poised to claim the loving family and safe life she’s always craved. Her past is a locked box, and gentle Liam Vanderbilt is the key to her future. But for Kaelan, the past is a weapon. The moment his brother introduces his fiancée, the quiet, artistic girl he once broke becomes an all-consuming obsession. He sees the fear in her eyes and replaces it with a dangerous, simmering desire. He will sabotage his brother, risk the family empire, and tear her perfect world apart to make her his. Elara is trapped between the man who represents everything she needs and the man who embodies the darkness she’s always feared… and secretly craves. As Kaelan’s campaign of seduction and psychological warfare escalates, he forces her to confront a terrifying truth: was she ever truly hiding from him, or was she waiting for him to find her again? The gala is the pinnacle of her new life, a celebration of her future with Liam. But as Kaelan’s hand settles on the small of her back, his lips brush her ear, and he whispers the same taunt that haunted her high school halls, the line between hatred and obsession shatters. “Run along, little mouse,” he murmurs, his voice a dark promise. “I’ve always loved the chase.”

Cleo Moonvale has always been called broken, an omega who could not even go into heat, and a freak among her own kind. But when her pack is slaughtered and she is taken into the Alpha King’s territory, her first heat finally comes… and with it is the revelation that she is fated to the one man she can never have. She is mated to the Alpha King himself, Solan Hazebrand. She found herself bound by a mate bond and trapped in a cruel arrangement to bear Solan’s heir. Cleo endures jealousy and the vicious hatred of his wife, Luna Vera. But when she faced betrayal from Solan, Cleo made the hardest choice of all. She runs away without looking back, determined to protect the child growing inside her. In the human world, she was once again hunted and alone until she was saved by Calix Fetherax, a lycan who offered her sanctuary among his kind. With his help, she begins to uncover the truth of her identity. She wasn’t an omega but the purest blood of her kind. Her discovery draws enemies, and she soon was forced to return to the world she fled in search of a cure for her son. She learned that the Alpha King had been finding her for years, and now, she was torn between two powerful men. Her fated mate, who once chose to believe lies over her, but is now seeking redemption, and the Lycan who stood by her when no one else would. Both are unwilling to back down for Cleo’s heart, while Cleo races against time to save her son.