Tom Lake Discussion Questions Novels & Stories

If hurting me was her aim she surely succeeded. She laughed thrilling at my silent anger. She knows I can do nothing even if I want to. I don't have a wolf and she knows it as she showed me her vicious claws. "Stand up," she ordered. Abandoning my food I scrambled up to my feet. "Very unattractive, I wonder how Krist thinks you are suitable for this job." She eyed me with disdain. I watched her pull out a blood dagger and handed it to me. Bewildered I took it. My eyes shooting a million questions at her. "Participating in the Bride Selection is just a tip in the ice," Amanda laughs enjoying my distress. "What matters is that you must kill the Alpha King Damien as soon as he marks you as his bride." I let the blood dagger fall to the ground in shock. They are sending me to kill the Alpha King Damien. Her words and her laughter rang through my thoughts. "...Kill the Alpha King Damien."

I conscientiously perform my duties as the Luna of the Blackwood pack throughout our three years of bond. During every cycle of the full moon, my Alpha, Damon Slater, insists on personally preparing Wolf Essence Elixir for me. He claims it enables me to manage my duties as Luna with greater ease. I trust him implicitly, never doubting his words. It is only later that the shaman reveals that "the elixir" is actually Shadowmoon Drug—a forbidden drug that induces infertility. I haven't even had the chance to question him when Isabelle Turner, his lover, brazenly posts a sonogram confirming the Alpha's pup in the group chat. Damon, my Alpha, does nothing, letting Isabelle accept everyone's pledge of loyalty to her. Damon coldly reminds me that our bond serves a purely political purpose for the alliance and then aggressively questions me about what grievances I still hold. He thinks of me as merely a means to serve the alliance, a tool that can be replaced at any time. He is completely wrong about that, though.

Isabella Rossi has 48 hours to come up with €300,000 or her brother Luca disappears permanently. Luca gambled with the wrong man — Alessandro De Santis, Il Capo of Milan’s most feared crime family. When Isabella storms into his club to beg for mercy, Alessandro offers her a deal instead of a bullet. One year. Live at his Lake Como estate. Be his on paper when he demands it. Follow his rules. After 365 days, the debt is erased and her brother walks free. Break the contract early, and Luca pays with blood. To Alessandro, Isabella is just a new experiment. Politicians, cops, rival bosses — they all break within days of meeting him. He’s curious how long it takes a woman with nothing left to lose. To Isabella, Alessandro is a monster in a tailored suit. Cold, controlling, and lethal. Rule #1: Don’t fall in love with me. Easy, she thinks. She hates him. But the estate isn’t a prison of iron bars. It’s gilded cages, midnight conversations in the library, scars he doesn’t explain, and a man who watches her like she’s the only threat he can’t neutralize. The more rules he makes, the more he breaks them himself. Protection turns into possession. Glances turn into touches. And the contract’s fine print becomes a countdown neither of them can escape. Because Alessandro has enemies who want his empire, and now they want her too. When Luca’s betrayal runs deeper than debt and Isabella becomes a target, Alessandro has to choose: the empire he killed to build, or the woman he swore was just collateral. 365 days to survive him. 365 days for him to ruin her. 365 days to fall in love with the last man she should ever trust.

Alpha Prince Leopold Garibaldi hates his life. He hates being a prince, being a werewolf and most recently, being the Alpha. He wasn’t expecting the title or the responsibilities. Or the designated mate that comes with the title. So, what can he do except running away? By leaving werewolf territory, he’ll finally get to live freely and find himself a human mate to love and to hold. Someone not forced upon him. That’s what he wants the most, just a cute girl who loves him for him. Enter Jolene Duvarak. She doesn’t love him. She’s rude, snappy and she thinks he’s a homeless man. And yet, his wolf thinks she’s the one. Until money gets in the way. Jolene Duvarak hates EVERYTHING, but she hates werewolves the most. And being poor. So… when she realizes she’s housing a werewolf prince in her house who is worth 3 million dollars, she’s going to choose money over love, no questions asked.

Shaina’s past relationships were all terrible. The last man she loved and trusted was having an affair with her cousin. Even worse, she was framed as the betrayer. Shaina swore that she would never love again; she’d let hell loose for those who broke her heart. But a night of mistakes was all it took to change her mind. She gave birth to a pair of cute twins. She was overwhelmed with the fact that her children’s unknown father was not just handsome but also a genius. They definitely took after him. “Mommy, don’t worry, we can help you find our father,” said five-year-old, Adrian. Shaina felt like she’d have a heart attack due to her son’s response. Instead of being disappointed because she didn’t even know their father, the kids were excited to find this man. Too many questions needed to be answered when she came back with her children. Where should she start if she can’t remember even the face of the man who impregnated her?

Nadia Reeves has one rule: If someone is dying, you help them. She should have broken it. Because the man she dragged back from death was Kane Volkov — a name powerful enough to make dangerous people disappear overnight. Now Nadia is trapped inside a world that watches too closely, asks too many questions, and doesn't believe in coincidences. Especially not Kane. He says keeping her close is for her protection. But the longer Nadia stays around him, the more she realizes something far worse than his enemies is hiding beneath Kane's attention: Suspicion. And when old secrets about her father begin surfacing, Nadia starts to wonder if saving Kane Volkov was ever an accident at all. Because in Kane's world, people don't get close without a reason. And the most dangerous thing about Kane Volkov isn't what he might do to her. It's how badly she wants him to stop looking at her like she's the enemy.

They call it Area Alpha 101. It doesn’t appear on the world map or the satellites, but it’s rumoured to be there. It’s unofficially the largest continent on Earth, but the humans aren’t educated on it. Only the top shots in the governments and monarchies know about it, but have kept it a secret from everyone else. No-one answers questions regarding it. People have been quoted saying that they tried to get in, but they only hit a barrier. This barrier is said to be invisible, yet you can’t see what’s on the other side. For centuries, no-one has been able to get past the barrier, and those who try, come away ‘bewitched’, or so it has been reported. You know what the funny part about this is? There are literally signs that say “NO HUMANS ALLOWED” just a distance away from the ‘barrier’. You can imagine the insane theories that the human civilization has come up with in regards to what they imagine could be behind the barrier. The biggest guess as you yourself would probably guess is aliens; but that’s just it – NO-ONE knows what’s behind the barrier. Except me that is. Or so I thought.

Kat is weeks away from her eighteenth birthday, but unlike other werewolves her age, her wolf has yet to awaken — leaving her feeling weak, outcast, and broken. When her mother abruptly tear her away from their pack, Kat is left with more questions than answers. Their desperate escape is cut short by a brutal attack, forcing Kat to flee into the depths of the forest, alone. She stumbles upon the River Moon Pack and its enigmatic Alpha Liam — a man whose piercing gaze unsettles her, even as he offers her sanctuary. What Kat doesn’t know is that Liam is keeping a secret: they are fated mates. Just as Kat begins to hope for a fresh start, sinister messages appear, warning her to leave the pack—or face deadly consequences. Determined not to be a victim, Kat joins the pack’s warrior training, unaware that something far more dangerous than her enemies is stirring within her. A hidden power. A deadly prophecy. And a bond that could either save her—or shatter her completely.

Charlotte is a traveling historian with a specific interest in old towns, which is what brings her to the forgotten Willow Creek. Her research takes a drastic turn when she discovers that the place is harboring a mysterious castle that belongs to an even more mysterious vampire Lord. She will do anything to unlock the secrets of the little town, even offering up her blood. However, Charlotte soon finds out that she may have bitten off more than she could chew. *** “So, what is it that you think you’re offering me that isn’t what you’ve already agreed to?” “If you can answer the simplest difficult questions for me, then I’ll offer you a living taste,” Charlotte said. Silently, he closed the distance between them. Charlotte’s eyes closed while he neared her neck, his lips just above her skin. “Drinking so savagely from anyone is just not the way I do things.” In The October Wind is created by Rachelle Keener, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

“Rule #1: Don’t fall for the roommate. Rule #2: Seriously, don’t fall for the roommate.” *** After an incident that shattered her confidence, Phoenix wants nothing more than to disappear. So, when her twin brother makes her a crazy, bizarre but deliciously sinful offer, she slips on a uniform and takes her place as his twin ‘brother’ at Harrison Park Academy — a chance to restart and feel in control, just until she feels okay again. But HPA has its own rules—and none of them account for bathroom phobias, shared dorms, or accidentally locking eyes with your ridiculously attractive new roommate. Justice is intense, loyal, and way too perceptive for her comfort. Worst of all? He’s the one person she can’t seem to avoid… or stop thinking about. He’s just irritating enough to make her blood boil. But he’s also kind in the quietest ways, and she’s falling, fast. Now Phoenix is navigating locker room close calls, midnight showers, secret crushes, late-night parties with their sister all-girls’ school across the lake and an escalating rivalry between the athletes and the academic elite. Her lies are stacking higher than her jump shots, and with each game, the stakes get heavier. Everyone thinks she’s just another boy chasing a spot on the team. But she’s playing for more than victory. She’s playing to feel like herself again. She’s playing to forget what happened last year. And if anyone finds out who she really is, it won’t just be her cover that’s blown— it’ll be her entire world. Phoenix is one step away from getting exposed. And when you’re living a lie? One wrong move is all it takes to lose the game. How long can she keep playing it straight?