Sinners Consumed

Wyatt Lane stands at the precipice of his own making. Behind the façade of a successful CEO lies a secret life of underground fight clubs, where Wyatt, known as Hawk, battles his inner demons. As he grapples with a love he dares not confess for his childhood friend, Penelope, his nights are consumed by brutal violence, a desperate attempt to control a life that feels increasingly chaotic. Penelope, ever-present yet painfully unaware of the depth of Wyatt's restlessness, struggles to penetrate the armor he's built around himself. As their bond deepens, so does the danger, leading Wyatt to a crossroads: confront his hidden fears and desires or succumb to the darkness that threatens to consume him.

"I don't want to marry him!" I shouted. She slapped me across the face, sharply and mercilessly. "I didn't raise you to be ungrateful. Do I need to remind you why this is necessary?" ___ His father destroyed her family, leaving her homeless and hollow. Consumed by vengeance, she vowed to make him suffer, to see his world crumble just as hers had. But as she got closer, everything began to change. Her resolve wavered, her heart softened. Yet, revenge remained her only path. ___ Dive into the story of a woman driven by revenge and the powerful Don who could be her salvation—or her downfall. Read the gripping tale of shattered lives, burning desire, and a love that battles against the darkest of motives.

Jessica Johnson happily accepts to enter into an arranged marriage with Ethan Mitchell, her first love, even when she knows that he feels nothing for her romantically. She dedicates her time and effort for the first few years of their marriage in hopes of getting Ethan to change his mind and finally fall in love with her. Her whole world comes crashing down when he reveals to her that another woman is carrying his child and requests that she leaves their matrimonial home immediately. “I love you, Ethan” Jessica says watching as her words fall on deaf ears. Unknown to him was the positive result of the pregnancy test that Jessica had gotten from the hospital earlier on in the day. Years later, their paths cross again at his mother’s birthday party, where Ethan is surprised to see Jessica with a baby boy that looked like him. “Is he my child,Jess?” Ethan asks, backing Jessica into a corner. “No child of mine will ever have you as a father.” Jessica replied furiously, watching as guilt consumed Ethan.    

Talented Chef Renee' has been consumed with running her new catering business with her sisters, Jennifer and Suzanne. It isn't until John walks through their door that she realizes something may be missing in the recipe of her life. For the past year, John has been dealing with the fallout of his wife's abandonment. He's had to learn to be a single dad to their 8 year old daughter and will do anything to fill the void her mother left. It isn't until he commissions Renee' for his daughters birthday party that he realizes he's forgotten that he's not only a father, but a man. They both think they're content in their lives, but sometimes the right amount of spice can turn an okay dish into a magnificent one.

My mafia husband, Vincent Santoro, was born a monster, incapable of loving anyone. But one day, I discovered he was hiding a ‘forbidden fruit’. A girl from the slums, Claire Murphy. Scarred by life, yet as beautiful as a wildflower growing through concrete. For a man who'd waded through blood his whole life, she was a fatal attraction he never saw coming. He thought he'd covered his tracks. He was wrong. At the Santoro family's annual dinner, I confronted him about Claire, tears streaking down my face. He just lightly frowned, then had his consigliere slide the divorce papers across the table to me. "Isabella. Sign it. The three North Side docks and the shipping lines are yours." I tore the papers to shreds. He just kept raising the offer. He had me thrown into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan. He blew up my family's distillery—the Romano family's legacy. Finally, he took my parents. Tied them in an abandoned warehouse and made one watch as he set the other on fire. "Sign, or watch them burn. Your choice." I begged him on my knees, but a roar of flames consumed the world— The heat seared my skin, the ash of my parents clinging to my face. "No... NO!" When I opened my eyes, I was back. Back on the day I first learned about Claire. This time, no tears, no drama. That night, I called my family in Sicily and set my escape in motion. But the moment I vanished from his world… Vincent Santoro went insane.

Just one week before my marking ceremony with Lucien, I discovered his heart already belonged to someone else. His secretary, Anika, walked out of his office with a smirk that was a little too knowing. Her blouse was askew, her usually neat hair a tangled mess, and only the faintest trace of her crimson lipstick remained. My heart seized in my chest, and my fingers went cold on the doorknob. Two years ago, she had been a timid girl fresh from the countryside. All that pretense of innocence had vanished, replaced by a brazen ambition written across her face. Her relentless eagerness around Lucien had always grated on my nerves, and I had asked him more than once. "Lucien, can't you replace her?" His smile would always fade. "Anika saved my life," he'd say. "I can't be so heartless." Now, that single triumphant smirk was all it took for me to understand. What others once envied in me had already been trampled beneath her heels. My phone vibrated. It was a new proposal from the event planner. [The marking ceremony plan is nearly perfect. Can we finalize it?] I refused to be consumed by sorrow. I wiped a tear from my cheek and made one last adjustment to the document.——Replaced the bride's name withAnika I didn't want a false love, or a fake Alpha Lucien. Let them have the marking ceremony. Let Anika stand at his side as his Luna, his chosen mate. In seven days, I would be gone with my pup.

“Spread your leg, I want to give you my mark.” Skylark Bluedawn thought she had it all, a look, money, and a loving family by her grandparents. but everything changed when she reached twenty years old, all Alphas wanted her and tried to mark her, only with the help of three Alphas, with their intention to make her a plaything, in exchange for their protection. Will she be able to escape her destiny or be consumed by the wicked and twisted minds of the Alphas? Or did it get destroyed in the hand of the evil Alpha? Read her story, when Sky learns more about her family history, her struggle to manage three obsessive Alphas as mates, and of course the way to become more than just a werewolf mate...

Dimitri was Ayesha's greatest temptation, and she was more than ready to take a bite. Ayesha finds herself struck with an undeniable and growing attraction to one of the most famous men in her town, Dimitri Adams. Falling for a man like him spelled disaster for them both, but how long could she deny how her heart raced at the sound of his voice, and how she grew breathless whenever he was near her. She knew all the problems. She was young and he was older. He was wealthy and she was a nobody in the town. But even with the threat of her own secrets coming undone, she can't she resist going for the man that consumed her thoughts. Even if it meant setting both their worlds on fire.

Have you ever felt a pain that consumed your entire being? A pain that latched onto your heart and felt as if it shattered it into a million pieces? A pain that you try to shove down deep, but in the end, you weep until your eyes run dry and there should be nothing left inside of you? And yet, you somehow come out unscathed. You're still alive to see another day, to sleep, to eat and to live. And then comes a boy. One that shatters my soul, and makes me feel again. Trapped in the walls of Windamere Academy, I know there's something wrong with this place, and yet here I am. One thing is for sure, everyone seems to bond over how much they all hate me.

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