The Caged Bird Wow Novels & Stories

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

My husband, Geoffrey Terell, takes his childhood friend, Valerie Nash, and his best female friend, Jennifer Gorman, to a business gathering. But he suddenly texts me at 2:00 am, saying that he's suffering from a stomachache and that he wants me to pick him up at the clubhouse. Driven mad by anxiety, I quickly head toward the clubhouse with some chicken soup. But all I see is Geoffrey with his arms around both women and his eyes closed. He even starts kissing them under the guise of feeding them alcohol with his mouth. Valerie also has an arm around his shoulders as she shoots me a provocative look. "Wow, you're quick to come under Geoffrey's orders! You really are an obedient one! It so happens that Geoffrey isn't done with his dare yet. "How about you get down on your knees and serve us alcohol? Then I'll consider this round Geoffrey's win." I expect Geoffrey to turn that idea down. But he merely leans against the couch with his arm around Valerie's waist before pointing at the alcohol bottles on the table, as though he's ordering a maid around. "You hear that? Hurry up and pour us alcohol! Valerie and Jennifer are my queens tonight. I must obey them no matter what. "Also, you're not allowed to leave if you don't finish pouring the bottles." I've invested tens of billions of dollars just to make Geoffrey the most prominent CEO in Hallford. At the end of the day, he chooses to play the role of a lapdog for other women, huh? Since he likes demeaning himself that much, he can forget about keeping his position as the CEO.

"What!" Ethan says in his all too familiar deep rude voice. "You hit me, which caused my coffee to spill all over me," I say, pointing out the obvious. "So, what do you want me to do about it," He speaks like he has done nothing wrong "You are supposed to say sorry," I say in a duh tone "And why should I." "Because that is what people with manners do." "I know that, but you don't deserve sorry from me." "Wow, really, and why is that." "Because black bitches like you don't deserve it." "I have told you times without number to stop calling me that," I say getting angry with his insults "Make me," Ethan says, taking a dangerous step closer to me. I don't say anything, but hiss and walk past him. I don't know why I even expected him to say anything better. It is Ethan, after all. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a story about two people who knew how to express the word hate more than anything else to one another. Ethan hates Adina more than anything in the world and would give anything to see her perish into thin air. While on the other hand Adina could careless about Ethan other than the fact that she won't let him walk all over her with his arrogant character. What happens when a big incident changes all that. How do these two different people deal with a feeling that is supposed to be forbidden to feel for the each other. Read to find out how the person you hate the most is the one person you can love the most.

Turning she looked him straight in the face, her deep blue eyes piercing into his soul as she smiled sarcastically before speaking "Ohhh it's quite nice to meet an already made perfect father figure in front of me, it's true that only people with kids would know that when a six year old bumps into something or someone they can only cry and needs to be soothed but a person with none can't really tell but wait since you're already Soo perfect how could you not know that?? Wait let me guess it's because you don't have any right!!! Ohh wait I forgot to add that people like don't deserve to be fathers and should be put off the list, let's go baby before someone corrupts your soul" she finished before she turned and left, leaving him dumbfounded. Everyone including his bodyguards were shocked and some had even captured the moment as never in their lives had thought 'the devil' would be humilated like this ever. His bodyguards didn't even have the gusts to talk to him and yet a total stranger, a woman did... In less than a minute with no atom of fear whatsoever. Wow this needs to be shared everywhere. The worst part is she only said horrible things to him. Put off the father's list??? Why did they feel like she was deliberately cursing their boss "How dare she!!!!!!" he fumed as he turned to his assistant who was already shivering in fear "Yes boss??" "Find out everything about that woman and I'm giving you an hour to do so, cancel my flight I'm not in the mood to travel anymore" he finished before turning to leave the airport Undeserving to be a father??? Was she wishing him to become potent???!!! How dare she!!!

"Doesn't it bother you?" I blurted out right there and then, having been asking myself that question since the night we slept together. I was curious, but I'd been obviously avoiding him. "What? That you're the heir to the Siren-" "That I'm trans," I said. I could care less about what he think of me being a Sirenio by blood. "T-That I'm a trans...man," "Does it bother you that I'm bisexual?" he asked me. I hadn't expected that response. Not when I'm having mixed feelings about all of this. "Does it?" he probed, closing what's left of the space between. His scent and warmth envelopes me as I'm caged between him and the sink. I shook my head. "Use your words, Miles," he said running his finger over my bottom lip. I shuddered at the sensation it brought to my body. "You were so good with those, that night," I sucked in a sharp breath. I looked away, and his touch disappeared immediately. "It was a mistake," I whispered, my heart racing. "What...happened was a-" "I don't do mistakes, Miles," Mr Stark said guiding my eyes back to his. "You should know that by now," I let out a shaky breath when his thumb found my bottom lip again. "Does it bother you that I want to fuck you right now?"

One night at her party, Ava Luke allowed a man to have sex with her, it was an ecstatic encounter she mistook for Denzel, her crush and classmate. Little did she know, the true identity of her visitor was none other than Sebastian Gane, her captivating professor, who concealed a sinister secret: he is the Devil himself. On the run from the infernal realms after his elder brother Beezebulb seized power from him, Sebastian sought refuge in the human world, hiding in plain sight as a professor at the prestigious Varsity School of Talent. Ava's fiery spirit and untainted allure awoke a long-dormant obsession within him, a hunger that transcended mere mortal desire. As he watched her from the shadows, a twisted fixation took hold, weaving a web of destruction that would entwine their fates forever. With a mere thought, Sebastian annihilated anyone who dared to come between them, showering Ava with a surfeit of desires, some she didn't even dare to utter. Using his supernatural powers, he spoke to her in a psychic bond. Yet, the demons of his past refused to be silenced. As they closed in on his hiding place, Ava found herself trapped in a living nightmare, torn between the alluring abyss of Sebastian's love and the horrors that lurked in the shadows. Caged in an unhealthy relationship, would Ava's sanity snap? or would the fragile thread between love and obsession blur, forever trapping her in the Devil's deadly obsession? 

"Let's put her in the golden cage." He suggested. A smile formed on Jackson's face when he heard his twin brother's insistence. It doesn't seem like the solution to the problem, but it would give them enough time to figure out what to do with their new toy. "Then bring her out when we want her, or when she needs us." Married and touch-starved, Anna never expected that her deepest desires would be fulfilled beyond her wildest imagination — not until she accepted an invite from the charming Twins she met on Tumblr, only to find herself caged and captive inside their grand mansion after signing a legal consensual agreement. "Why did you accept our invite? Tell us again," Jacob asked Anna as he slapped her already red, swollen cheek. "Because I want you guys to treat me like your toy," Anna gulped. Anna Walson — 18 years old, completely inexperienced, and a high school dropout — had been maltreated by her father following her mother's death, before being sold off to his creditor. Fate then entangled her with the Michealson brothers, whom she had encountered on an online platform. Their intense, steamy encounters with her sparked something unexpected in the twins — a possessive obsession that made them want her, and only her, all to themselves.

On Emily's birthday, her father, Mr. Albert, didn't celebrate with her and her mother. Instead he went to celebrate his ex-girlfriend's son's birthday. He bought expensive gifts for them, but her daughter got nothing but heartbreak. Emily was suffering from the worst brain tumor. She has been on drugs since she turned two. When Albert's ex-girlfriend showed up with a boy, he felt happy and proud to have a living child. Because to him, Emily is just a waste of space. A disturbance to his life and finances. Deep down, he wanted her to die quickly so he would stop spending his money on drugs. He accused his wife, Jennifer, of cheating on him. That his sperm can never produce a problem child—a living dead child. One fateful morning, a day Jennifer went to deliver a cake to the CEO of a bankrupting company. There, right in his office, she made a prediction that turned the man into a multibillionaire. "Marry me, Jennifer, and I will make you the richest woman in the world." The man said with one knee on the ground while presenting a diamond ring before her. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm married with a child, and I love my husband," she said and got home only to receive a divorce paper. "Sign this paper and leave with your sick daughter if you don't want me to marry a second wife." "Wow, you just made it easy for me. I don't even need you anymore." She signed it and left with reckless abandon. Will Albert regret his actions? Was he actually the father of his ex-girlfriend's son? Most importantly, will Emily survive? Join me and find out for yourself.

“Hate was his mask. Love was his curse.” “She hated him for ruining her. He loved her enough to burn the world.” She was accused of murder. He forced her into marriage. And in his arms, love feels like punishment. Clara Carter thought she was nothing more than an unwanted omega—until Alpha Taehyung Blackwood dragged her into a nightmare. Blamed for her bestfriend Lisa’s death, Clara is forced into a bond she never wanted, bound to the ruthless Alpha who vows to make her life worse than hell. Once, she had secretly loved him. Now, she fears him. His cruelty, his punishments, his merciless dominance—Clara believes the man she adored has become her devil. But behind Taehyung’s fury lies a secret darker than blood. Lisa wasn’t Clara’s savior—she was her enemy. And Lisa’s father, the true murderer, still hunts Clara in the shadows. To protect her, Taehyung caged her, accused her, and destroyed anyone who dared to touch her. Even if it meant becoming the monster she hated. When the truth is revealed, Clara must face the hardest choice of all: to forgive the Alpha who ruined her, or to let vengeance consume them both. A dark tale of betrayal, obsession, and forbidden love, The Accused Luna will take you into a world where hate and desire blur, and where even the devil has a heart.

At the company team-building event, I got called out by my colleague Samantha Rowler for not removing my price tag—she accused me of being a "freebie chaser." "Oh wow, Carla, you drive a BMW 5 Series. Are you seriously planning to return your clothes within seven days too?" she sneered. I tucked the tag back in and ignored her snide remark. But after the event, as soon as I got home, my phone started blowing up. My chat apps were going insane. A friend had sent me a link: [Luxury-Car Executive Turns Out to Be a Return Addict!] Someone had filmed me leaving the price tag on and posted it to a short-video platform. I opened the comment section and was met with a barrage of insults. [Can't afford to live, huh? Tag warrior.] [Is this car a sugar-daddy gift? Those who know, know.] [OMG, does this woman have some kind of illness? Which brand is this so I can avoid it!] I immediately knew Samantha was behind it. I messaged her to delete the video. Instead, the next second, she blocked me—and pinned a comment to the top of the thread: [You can know a person's face but never their heart!] I was about to post a statement to clarify, my finger hovering over the send button, when I noticed the video's likes had already shot past ten thousand. I laughed. If they wanted a scene, fine—let's make it bigger. I quickly posted a new update: [The outfit is really nice. I'll wear it again next time.] The netizens erupted. The insults doubled, the heat skyrocketed, and the post shot straight to number one trending. I just put my phone down and went to sleep.