The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

Even when one travels the path of slaughter, they cannot help but reminisce of the days when they were still young and naive. They long for the days when they can put the killing behind them and just rest in a town far away, where no one knows them and where they no longer have to deal in bloodshed. These thoughts always come as a form of longing for all whose hands are stained with untold amounts of blood.Wang Xu was just your average security guard working for a security firm. He was assigned to the group currently tasked with guarding a gaming company. Feeling curious about the allure of these games, he one day buys the gear for the newest game on the market, Immortal Era, in order to try it out. Sadly, this curiosity of his would go unsolved as he died that same evening rescuing some women from robbers. A few days later he awakens, but it wasn't Wang Xu that woke up. Instead, it was a mysterious individual from another world know as Kirou. Realizing that he didn't know where he was plus being assaulted by memories he knows aren't his, Kirou eventually comes to terms that he has now taken over the body of this youth and will now have to live as him.Feeling that this is the start of a new life for him, Kirou resolved to live this life as peacefully as possible as Wang Xu. He also decided to solve Wang Xu's curiosity by trying out the new game he bought in his stead.Follow Kirou in his journey to live a relaxing life and see how many people keep trying to get in the way of that.

Ketika sedang membantu suami membersihkan laptopnya, aku tak sengaja membuka sebuah folder. Ada ribuan video vulgar di dalamnya. Pemeran utamanya adalah suami dan sahabat baikku. Setelah melahirkan, suamiku bilang ada masalah kesehatan pada tubuhnya, sehingga tidak bisa berhubungan intim. Jadi, dia tak pernah menyentuhku dan kami hanya menjalani cinta platonis selama empat puluh tahun. Aku menghabiskan sepanjang hidup dengan kerja keras, melahirkan dan membesarkan anak-anak. Pada akhirnya, semua ini ternyata adalah sebuah kebohongan besar.

She vowed to destroy their lives, after finding out about the things she missed. "Who gave them the permission to arrange my life the way they want?" She had only thing to do, love or kill? "I, Amelia, daughter of the Silvermoon pack. I would bring them all to their knees and they would beg for mercy." But life gave her a different course, she fell in love. Would that cloud her judgement...?

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

David is a lawyer with a passion for videogames, even if his job doesn't let him play to his heart's content he is happy with playing every Saturday or Sunday in his VR capsule and, like everyone else, waits impatiently for the release of Steel Soul Online, the first VR Mecha game that combined magic and technology and the largest ever made for said system, But his life changed completely one fateful night while riding his Motorbike. Now in the world of SSO, he'll try to improve and overcome his peers, make new friends and conquer the world!... but he has to do it in the most unconventional way possible in a world where death is lurking at every step!

“Get undressed and wait for me in bed. Keep your legs open until I finish my shower,” he commanded with the power of his Alpha status and as her mate. She wanted to resist. “Do you think I'm the same Luna you forced in the past? I refuse to submit to you. I won't let you touch me.” He growled softly, feeling a hot desire for her. She was no longer the unattractive Luna he remembered. She was gorgeous. He wanted to devour her with his tongue. He pulled her close and pushed her onto the bed, licking the back of her ear, making her moan in pleasure. He whispered, “I won't touch your body. Just your pussy until you beg for more.” He used to be next in line for Alpha and was under the control of his grandfather, the Alpha king. He had to accept mating with the woman he disliked the most - the daughter of one of the most powerful Alphas in the werewolf kingdom. If he didn't, he might lose his chance at being Alpha king after his grandfather's death. He thought he was mateless at the time. He didn't choose to mate with the unattractive woman, so he cheated on her day and night. But, one drunken night, he lost control and slept with her. Later, he forced her to break their mating bond. But, he discovered she was carrying his triplets. He forced her to be his mate again, or she wouldn’t see her children again. Six years later, he was no longer weak. He was the Alpha king of werewolves.

She was meant to inherit an empire. Instead, she became a prisoner in her own home. Grace Wellington, a gifted piano prodigy and heiress to the Wellington fortune, has been missing from the public eye for nearly a decade. People say she’s living abroad in peace. But the truth was that she’s been locked away, hidden by her own stepfamily, slowly fading into silence as the world forgets her face. Her inheritance depends on one rule: marry by 26 and get 50% of her father’s estate. Have a child, and she gets 85%. But as her birthday nears, her stepmother and stepbrother conspire to steal her identity and fortune, using a beautiful stranger to play her role. But Grace isn’t the fragile girl they once controlled, not anymore. Now, she’s ready to reclaim her name, her life, and her voice. But the deeper she digs, the more dangerous everything becomes, especially when the man she loves is being seduced by an impostor.

“You breathe when I say you breathe. You look at me when I command it. You belong to me, Little Bird… body, soul, and every filthy thought in between.” Aria was born to be forgotten—an Omega with no name, no family, and no future. Beaten, broken, and sold by her pack to a slave auction, she swore she’d never submit again. Until he walked in. Damien Voss, the infamous Mafia Alpha whose name makes even kings tremble, bought her at a ridiculously high price—without blinking. To the world, he’s the devil in a designer suit. To Aria, he’s the monster who caged her, marked her… and awakened something inside her she can’t control. She hates him. She craves him. And the worst part? Her wolf wants him too. But when another Mafia boss whispers promises of freedom in her ear, Aria finds herself standing between two devils — one who wants to own her, and one who wants to use her. Her heart beats for the man she swore to destroy, and her body betrays her every time he whispers her name. “You can run, Little Bird,” Damien murmured, his hand closing around her throat, possessive and tender all at once. “But I’ll find you. And when I do, you’ll beg me to chain you again.” In a world ruled by blood, power, and secrets, love is the most dangerous sin. And Aria is about to find out that the devil doesn’t just want her submission— He wants her soul.

Maya Lancroff blames the Lycan king for the death of her beloved parents, leaving her and her siblings to fend for themselves. The festival of seasons occurs once every four years, under the full moon, to celebrate the end of a fruitful season and the beginning of a new one. Maya uses this chance to exact her revenge but things don't go as expected. She ends up with a pregnancy and a heart that beats for the King. Scared and confused, she takes to the wind, taking refuge in the hands of the enemy. Four years later, there are no full moons and the Lycan kingdom isn't doing well. A seer prophecies about the King's missing child and it must be found before the end of that year, else the festival of seasons will not take place and chaos shall befall them. Determined, the King goes out in search of his child and finds more than he ever bargained for.

Samantha Rae works multiple jobs and even sells her blood to support her boyfriend, Tad Franklin, through law school—only to discover he has been deceiving her all along. She catches him in bed with her cousin, Alexis, who is pregnant with his child. To make matters worse, Tad reveals he has been married to Alexis for a long time and dropped out of law school long ago, leaving Samantha heartbroken and betrayed. Meanwhile, Calladan Vandalay, the city's wealthiest billionaire CEO, is secretly searching for a wife while concealing his true identity. When he crosses paths with Samantha, she mistakes him for an ordinary construction worker. Unaware of his vast fortune, she agrees to marry him. Determined to protect and care for her, Calladan promises her a life she never imagined—one filled with love, security, and a truth that will change everything.