The Silent Waters

He wanted a blonde. He got a wildfire. I married him in her place. Wore her dress. Lightened my hair. Played the silent, obedient bride. Because when your stepmother sells your sister to a billionaire obsessed with legacy and looks—and your sister runs—someone has to take the deal. So I did. Cassian Drevane doesn’t want a wife. He wants a symbol. A blonde. A mannequin. Not a woman with secrets, a spine, and a mind that won’t stay quiet. But I wasn’t just playing the part. I was studying him. And the more he tried to control me, the more I saw the truth beneath his ice. He never wanted me. Neither did I love him. Now we can’t live without each other. Not because of love, but because of something deadlier. In a world where secrets are currency and love is a luxury no one can afford, one lie can destroy everything. What began as a marriage built on deceit slowly turns into something dangerously real — a slow-burning war between duty and desire. In a house filled with whispers, shadows, and betrayals, love becomes the most dangerous secret of all.

He saved her from the fire. Now, she's the only one who can save him from his throne. Eltonia has spent eleven years as the Alpha's Omega, loving him in silence. She's his attendant, his confidante, and the only one who can ease the pain from the scars that haunt them both. But Alpha Oreon is running out of time. The council has given him an ultimatum: find a mate by his thirtieth birthday, which is two months away, or be dethroned. As his wicked uncle, Abram, schemes to steal the pack, he unleashes a "selection" of potential mates, each one more disastrous than the last. First comes a loud-mouthed shrew. Then comes a silent, deadly assassin. While Eltonia is forced to serve the very women vying for her Alpha's heart, she's trapped in a slow-burn battle of her own. She must protect Oreon from his enemies, his potential Lunas, and his own inner demons... all without revealing that she is the true mate who's been by his side all along. Can her secret love save him? Or will the vipers in his court destroy him—and her—first?

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

Just because I point out a mistake in the intern, Lester Hale's proposal that can cost the company millions of dollars, he feels embarrassed and goes straight to Sandra Wendell, the CEO, threatening to quit. The next second, she storms into my office and starts grilling me. "Couldn't you have spoken to him privately? Lester's young, and his ego's fragile. Why did you have to humiliate him in front of everyone? Don't forget, his dad's a major shareholder. I'm giving you two options now. "One, I'll promote Lester, give him a raise, and you'll become his assistant. That way, I'll agree to officially announce our relationship. Two, keep acting like this, and we break up." When I remain silent, she smirks triumphantly. "I knew you'd never pass up a chance to go public with our relationship. Now, you can clear your office for Lester. Later—" But I calmly cut her off, "Sorry, but I choose the second option, and I'm resigning. I wish you and Lester a happily ever after."

As the daughter of the Silvermane Pack's strongest Alpha, I was born with two enviable protectors. My brother, Adrian, couldn't bear to see me get a single scratch, and my mate, Liam, couldn't stand to see me shed a single tear. But at my transformation ceremony, Iris, an exile's daughter, stole the Moon Goddess Potion that was meant for me. She shifted first, becoming a rare, pure white wolf and capturing the awe of the entire pack. I only confronted her about it, yet my brother handed me over to enemy rogues as a bargaining chip for a truce. And my mate used wolfsbane to block my transformation, stealing my last chance to fight back. With their silent consent, I was tortured by my enemies until death was a mercy. Before I died, one of the rogues gloated, "So what if your father exiled me? My daughter, Iris, will soon be their Luna. The entire Silvermane Pack will be mine!" I died, consumed by hatred. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn on the day of my transformation ceremony. Eyeing the preening white wolf before me, I sneered. "Guards! Shave all her fur!"

A quick and easy trip. That's all the peace treaty mission was supposed to be. Sebastian knew better than to think it would go easily, not with his best friend at the helm of the mission. And for the first time in Sebastian's life, he is finding himself at odds with the man he is there to protect. And the main reason? The insanely pretty little thief who he is struggling to keep his eyes off of. Even if he has convinced himself it's because he doesn't trust her. Wren has spent her life searching for a way to free her mother from Alpha Alden's slavery and she finally has the answer— War. When a neighboring pack comes looking for peace Wren finds the opportunity to finally start the war she has been searching for. What she didn't expect to find was an attractive Alpha's son and his silent brooding muscle man who won't take his eyes off of her. And she isn't all that sure she wants him to… Plans go awry and mistakes are made but can love really conquer all, or is it merely a weapon to be used against them?

She became his wife by obligation. He married her with resentment in his heart. When ruthless businessman Ethan Blackwood is forced into a marriage he never wanted, he makes one thing painfully clear—his wife will never have his love. Trapped in a cold mansion and a colder marriage, Lydia Blackwood endures life as a woman bound by vows but denied affection, respect, and warmth. To the world, she is Mrs. Blackwood. Behind closed doors, she is invisible. Lydia enters the marriage hoping time might soften Ethan’s heart, but instead she faces rejection, loneliness, and the shadow of another woman who still holds his love. Every cruel word and silent night chips away at her spirit, yet beneath her quiet obedience lies a strength Ethan never expected. As secrets unravel and truths surface, Ethan begins to see the woman he cast aside—the sacrifices she made, the loyalty she showed, and the love she gave without being asked. But regret comes late, and wounds cut deep. When Lydia finally chooses herself over a loveless marriage, Ethan must confront the terrifying possibility of losing the one woman who truly belonged to him.

Cesare Xandri, the rising gangster of the Nalitan mafia, unexpectedly lost a bet at an elite private casino in Ithel, the kind that smells like cigar smoke and blood money. The penalty was simple, he had to call his hard-to-tame pet. The phone was on speaker. The men circled him, whistling and hooting, waiting to be entertained. He asked what I was up to in a relaxed and amused tone. I replied softly, insinuating he was sinful, hiding my defiance behind innocence and fake devotion. When I finished my insult, the room fell silent, then burst into loud and uncontrollable laughter. The call ended. Less than thirty minutes later, the mansion gates were smashed open. He stormed in smelling of gunpowder, a Beretta still in his hand. He pushed me against the wall furiously beneath the Virgin Mary statue. I leaned into him without hesitation, fingers brushing the heated gun, and I met his gaze without fear. I chose virtue and rejected him in my past life, in return I was thrown into the open sea to die. I intended to be his temptation when I got a second chance at life, I wanted to be a beautiful sin that ends his story under the Cecilian sun.

How much for this temptress?” Beta Daniels asked causing me to flinch at the name. “ 100 jewels.” Came a voice from someone sitting up front. “200.” Came another voice. “500” Hollered another. The room was silent for a moment. “500 going once, 500 going twice, Sold to Lord Issacson,” Beta Daniels announced. I felt my heart skip a beat. I had been sold. “ I want her.” Came a loud snarl. Everyone in the crowd grew silent. “Your…Your highness.” Stumbled Beta Daniels, bowing down onto his knee. “We weren’t expecting you tonight.” “ I want her,” the Vampire King said again. “She is mine.” “But your highness. She’s already been sold.” Beta Daniels spoke timidly. “ I don’t care. I want her.” He responded. “ What the king claims, the king gets.” There’s talk around the supernatural community that Nikolai, is growing weak without a Queen by his side. As the king of vampires, the ruler of the supernatural world, who has been on the throne for a millennium, he would never fall in love with a blood slave he brought from a slave auction. Wouldn't he?

Katherine Miller is always intrigued by her best friend's boyfriend. But despite the fact that he despises her, tortures her, and insults her, she still loves him. "Get out of here, don't let me see your face. Otherwise, the consequences will be bad. " He roared. Kathy took a step back as her feet trembled. She fled away from the scene. After five years, fate brings them back together. She saved his life, but in exchange, he imprisoned her and forced her to marry him. But he isn't the same silent Aaron any longer. He has turned into a murderer and a gunman for his father. He lives in a world that is devoid of light. He just had one wish in his life: to confess his love, spoil the person he adored, and build a small universe with her, free from all risk. Kathy made every effort not to fall for him again and tried to stay strong with her hatred. She did, however, fall in love with him once more. Will he be able to provide his sweetheart a beautiful life? Is she capable of being a beacon of light in his dark world?