Small Steps Quotes

I slid under his arms, seeking a safe place to catch my breath. I noticed a playful smile on his lips, but I chose to ignore it. "Will the transformation hurt?" I lowered my gaze and whispered. "First, your bones start to break, sending you to the ground," his eyes were closed. "Then, thick fur will grow all over your body. The limb stretching, I think that's the most thrilling part of the pain." The Alpha teased with a flicker of his tongue before continuing. "Next comes the shortening of the snout and the development of sharp claws and fangs." "Will I become irrational?" I covered my mouth, trying to control the knot that had formed in my throat. "How do you control it?" Laughing, he had already reached me and pulled me close, digging his claws not too deeply into my hip, causing a painful moan. "It takes strength, training, and having the goddess on your side, human..." He withdrew his claws, leaving only a long scratch, and returned to my chin, scratching it and collecting a drop of blood. He licked it and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be here throughout your trial..." "To make sure I die?" With tears in my eyes, I took a few more steps towards his dangerous game, realizing that his breathing was slightly heavier. "You remind me a lot of her," he murmured, pressing his forehead against mine. "To ensure your transformation doesn't get out of control and to witness the deity's choice." With more pressure on my forehead, he forced me to take a few steps back in pain.

At Westbridge High, boys don’t fall in love gently. They collide. Jay Vale is everything untouchable—rich, ruthless, and the golden captain of the hockey team. He’s admired from a distance, feared up close, and completely uninterested in anyone who tries to get near him. Love has never been part of his game. Until Noah Carter a transfers student step in. Quiet, stubborn, and carrying the weight of a broken home, Noah isn’t impressed by Westbridge’s hierarchy or its spoiled athletes. He just wants to survive school, protect his best friend Joe, and keep his life from falling apart again. But trouble finds him fast. When Liam Knox Jay’s once-best friend turned bitter rival—targets Joe for sport, Noah steps in… and pays the price. Jay steps in too. A single act of protection turns into something darker. Jay offers Noah tutoring, claiming it’s just a favor. It isn’t. Jay doesn’t want Noah the way boys usually do. He wants him like obsession. And Liam notices. Still haunted by the confession that shattered their friendship, Liam refuses to watch Jay choose someone else. If Noah is what Jay wants, then Liam will do whatever it takes to ruin it—even if it means using Joe, the soft-hearted boy who keeps falling for the wrong person. Love becomes a battlefield. Friendship becomes betrayal. And on the ice, where boys are taught to play rough… No one plays fair. Because the most dangerous game isn’t hockey. It’s the one they’re playing with each other’s hearts.

Nate Donalds has survived high school by hiding behind books But when his private journal his darkest secrets, therapy struggles, and forbidden love for Cole Michaelson is exposed, the walls he built around himself shatter. Humiliation, betrayal, and bullying threaten to destroy him for good. Cole is the school’s golden boy with secrets of his own, steps in to protect Nate but at a cost. He’s bisexual, trapped in silence by his abusive father and terrified of losing everything if the truth comes out. Between stolen kisses, hidden meetings, and the relentless cruelty of high school, Nate and Cole are forced to ask: is their love strong enough to survive the lies, the fear, and the betrayal waiting to tear them apart?

Jackson steps in front of me, his strong hands cupping my face as he brings his forehead to mine. “I want to replace it. I want to take all your nightmares and turn them into something beautiful, the way you’ve done for me. I just need you to trust me. You think you can do that?” I was only looking at how he gently held me with his huge hands. Considering his bulk frame, I was like a fragile glass he was holding. I don't know why but my heart did skip a beat, but I had to swallow it up and pretend that I didn't feel it.

When her mate betrayed her with her own sister, Lyra felt her world shatter and her soul burn with the agony of a broken bond. Swearing never to be weak again, she returns with one goal revenge. To destroy the man who betrayed her, she sets her sights on the one man he fears the most: his father, the cold and ruthless Alpha. But as Lyra steps into the Alpha’s world of power, secrets, and forbidden desire, she discovers a terrifying truth while she was planning her revenge, he had been watching her long before her heart was broken. And when love and vengeance collide, only one will survive.

He approaches, stalking me, I take several cautionary steps back, in shock. "What are you? "I whisper, my throat threatening to close in panic. "I said I would answer your questions but I don’t think you’re ready to know what I would answer to that one." Yolie Bruzain was hit by a car three years ago. She has always suspected supernatural forces were involved in her miraculous recovery. When an enigmatic Greek billionaire kidnaps and forcibly keeps her in his Villa, she realizes her suspicions are totally justified. Cause nothing is what it seems... Not even she, is who she thinks.

In a small town where no one leaves, and no one comes in, a myth lives. In a town that is surrounded by a legend of cruel, murderous wolves that kill the innocent in command of an Alpha. An Alpha, centuries old, that is said to be the cruelest man to ever live. Thea doesn't believe the legends for a second, until a handsome stranger with violet eyes appears, and people from around town start going missing. But what Thea doesn't know, is that this man is someone she never thought existed...And the bond they share when touching, is one of a kind.

In the small town of Crestwood, a mysterious newcomer named Aqua arrives, seeking refuge from a haunting past. With each move, she hopes to outrun the sinister coven that relentlessly pursues her, their dark intentions threatening to consume her very existence.Aqua's life takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Damon, a charismatic and alluring figure who is drawn to her enigmatic aura. Despite her reservations, Aqua finds herself inexplicably drawn to Damon, his presence offering both comfort and danger.

In June of 1975, Ryan Baxter's mom moves him and his brother, Matt, to the small seaside town of Bayport, MA to escape their abusive father. For an eleven-year-old, spending lazy days hanging out at the beach and the arcades sounds like a dream.When he meets Leah and she agrees to be his girlfriend, Ryan is happier than he's been in his young life. Then the "Sea Monkeys" knock-off he bought from the back of a comic book starts to grow...and grow and grow.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

The day I received my medical report and found out I was pregnant, my husband—Alpha Scott Hansen—held a small wedding ceremony in the hospital garden with his first love and former mate, Gillian Boyd. He explained, “Her final wish in this life was to be my bride.” But what about me? What was I to him? A replacement? It finally hit me—ten years of unwavering devotion and sacrifice meant nothing compared to a single tear shed by his first love.