Unsettling Crossword Clue Novels & Stories

The woman standing there was nobody that Scars had ever laid eyes on before, but holy God, he knew her. He knew her on a cellular level. In his blood. In his bones. In his heart and in his cock. He’d dreamed about her and he’d waited for her. He’d been looking for her forever, and now here she was. ** Six years ago, Zoe Parish fled Denver after a brutal encounter with a motorcycle club man, swearing never to trust one again. Now a mother and desperate to help her oldest friend, she returns when Wolf Connor promises his club is out of the life and she’ll be safe. Back in Denver, Zoe keeps her guard up, especially around Scars, whose effect on her is far more unsettling than she wants to admit. Vic “Scars” Innis has spent twenty-two years loyal to the Road Devils, earning his place as Vice-President. He thought he was content, until he meets Zoe. From the first look, he knows she’s the missing piece, even if she despises everything he represents. As danger closes in and an enemy threatens to destroy their fragile peace – and take Zoe’s child – Scars and Zoe are forced to confront their pasts and each other. The question is whether their bond will make them stronger… or finally tear them apart for good.

Crown Princess Isla's life takes a terrifying turn when a bizarre urge compels her to steal iron at the market, triggering unsettling dreams, a disturbing connection to metal, and a public scandal. Her family, horrified and confused, confines her to her room. There, a monstrous transformation begins: Isla's body twists into a wolf-like creature, driven by primal instincts and a chilling connection to iron. As Isla grapples with her horrifying new reality, her sister Anne, fueled by ambition and exploiting the public's fear, plots to seize the throne, even resorting to supernatural means to undermine Isla and marry Prince Caius. Escaping her confinement under the full moon's influence, Isla, now a terrifying werewolf, unleashes chaos upon the city. Amidst the terror, she encounters Kael, an ordinary man haunted by the same curse that afflicts her, a descendant of the woman who cursed the royal line generations ago. They find solace and love in their shared monstrous fate. The curse's origin is revealed: a vengeful act targeting the seventh princess, compelling her to worship the curser and bring her iron. United in their shared affliction, Isla and Kael terrorize the city together, their love story unfolding against a backdrop of fear and destruction. Their reign of terror is ultimately brought to an end when the terrified populace captures them, leaving the future of the cursed kingdom uncertain. The story explores themes of transformation, betrayal, the destructive nature of curses, and an unlikely love born in the heart of a nightmare.

Everyone was watching them when Augustine grabbed my hand and said, "Where do you think you're going, my mate?" I can't believe her mate is the new Alpha! I once thought that Augustine loved me, but contrary to what he said, he was engaged to wolfless me, simply for the elders and the pack. And I knew nothing about this. Worse still, there's always a Rhoda between us. When Rhoda lied about me pushing her. "Apologize to her." Augustine said to me with an expressionless face. He always had the utmost tolerance and patience with Rhoda even if she wanted to kill me. When I finally shifted miraculously, my wolf revealed the unsettling reality, "Didn't you know the earrings he gave you had a location tracker in them?" I shuddered as I heard this. I jumped off a cliff, letting everyone think I was dead. Augustine, I want you to regret it; I want you to remember this day you lost me forever. I never thought we'd see each other again. He stared at me when I stood with a younger Alpha by my side and pulled me into his arms, "Don't touch my mate." "Augustine, I am not your mate." I sneered. "Keira, I am sorry, but don't leave me." The condescending Alpha begged me.

She was a powerhouse—brilliant, driven, and unstoppable—until the day her world shattered in the delivery room. Told her baby had died at birth, she buried her grief beneath ambition and success, building an empire while silently mourning the child she never got to hold. What she never knew was the truth: her husband had betrayed her in the cruelest way imaginable, fleeing with his mistress and the newborn daughter he claimed was lost. Years later, a business expansion leads her to a quiet, close-knit town far from her high-rise life. There, among tree-lined streets and familiar faces, she meets a commanding, magnetic man whose strength matches her own—but whose integrity and warmth begin to crack the walls around her heart. As their connection deepens, unsettling coincidences surface, pulling her toward a past she was never meant to uncover. The revelation is devastating and undeniable: her daughter is alive, growing up in this very town, raised by the husband who abandoned her and the woman who stole her life. Forced to confront betrayal, buried grief, and a motherhood stolen from her, she must decide how far she’s willing to go for the truth—and for her child. In a town where secrets never stay hidden, she faces a choice between vengeance and forgiveness, between the life she built and the love she never knew she could still claim. This is a story of resilience, second chances, and discovering that sometimes, what was lost can still be found.

Jessica Jane is invisible by design. Quiet, soft spoken, and almost painfully unassuming, she spends her days hidden behind oversized glasses and paint stained hands in her elegant city art gallery. To the people around her, she is simply a gifted but awkward artist, a woman who keeps to herself and pours her emotions into hauntingly beautiful paintings that seem to possess an almost unsettling depth. Critics call her work raw. Emotional. Alive. They have no idea how right they are. Behind the gallery walls lies a secret darker than anyone could imagine. Jessica's masterpieces are not created with ordinary paint. Mixed into every canvas is the blood of the men she chooses as her subjects, men she believes escaped justice, men whose cruelty mirrors the monsters that stole her childhood. By night she becomes someone unrecognisable. Elegant, calculated and merciless, hunting predators who believe they are untouchable. As her artwork gains international attention and a determined investigator begins noticing disturbing patterns surrounding missing men, Jessica finds herself balancing two identities that are beginning to collide. Because the closer the world gets to discovering the truth, the more dangerous Jessica becomes. And buried beneath the blood, vengeance and carefully constructed masks is an even darker question: Is Jessica Jane delivering justice... or becoming the very thing she has spent her life trying to destroy?

Part One:When Jamie Dalton moved into the house her grandparents left her she was just looking to reconnect with her past and settle in familiar surroundings. Digging through the attic for treasures, she found a nearly life-sized statue of a wolf and a very old, very strange book, Legends of the Werewolf. She was shocked when her new neighbor, Mike Volka, introduced himself and the eyes watching her looked just like the wolf in the book. Using the hypnotic power of the shifter, he draws her into his web and they have sex so hot it nearly burns down the house.Part TwoShifter Lia Popescue is desperate to find the book, Legends of the Werewolf, her only clue as to what happened to her pack. Her attempts to recover it bring her into contact with Riley Morgan, a contact that explodes with sexual chemistry. When she loses her heart to the sexy detective, she wonders how he will handle knowing the truth about her.USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.Wolf Tales is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

My name is Eleanor Keating. In my past life, my older sister—Alice Keating—and I were entrusted to the McKellen family in Arborhill by our parents for arranged marriages. I married John McKellen, the eldest son. While he might not be conventionally handsome, his calm demeanor and unwavering reliability stood out. Alice married Xavier McKellen, the younger son. Handsome as he was, he was equally carefree and unpredictable in his actions. Eager for a grandchild, the family patriarch—Henry McKellen—made a promise. The first to bear a child would have their offspring named the next heir of the family. After our wedding, John and I conceived. Our child was naturally declared the next heir, and with that, John and I gained influence and power within the family. Tensions between Alice and Xavier escalated into frequent fights. Eventually, both had affairs, and their marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Believing they had dishonored the family, John banished them from the household. Blinded by jealousy, Alice poisoned me and my child, ending both our lives. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the first day I arrived at the McKellen residence. But this time, Alice makes the first move and sleeps with John. In that moment, I realize she, too, has been given a second chance at life. Unfortunately, she has no clue that John is a twisted man. Not only is he devoid of love, but he also sees women as mere stepping stones in his relentless pursuit of power.

In a world where ancient treaties keep monsters in check, Lyra Hale has spent her life hiding what she is. A human witch born of a forbidden bloodline, Lyra’s magic first awakened in childhood, wild, powerful, and dangerous enough to draw the attention of forces her mother spent years running from. When her mother vanishes without a trace, Lyra follows the only clue left behind to Transylvania, a land ruled by vampires and werewolves haunted by the aftermath of forbidden magic. Her arrival does not go unnoticed. Once human, once powerless, Caspian has built his reign on control and fear of vulnerability. Lyra’s magic, ancient, untamed, and resistant to domination, becomes both his greatest threat and his darkest obsession. As witches, vampires, and werewolves close in, Lyra is pulled into a hidden war between covens, courts, and prophecies long buried. Ancient elders awaken, feral creatures stalk the shadows, and whispers of a forbidden creation resurface, proof of what happens when love and power cross sacred lines. Bound to Caspian by dangerous magic neither fully understands, Lyra must choose whether to submit to the laws that seek to control her… or defy them and risk destroying the fragile balance holding the supernatural world together. Because in a realm built on blood and fear, purity is a provocation, love is rebellion, and some bonds were never meant to exist, yet refuse to be broken.

This was meant to be a secret. I was dressed in a red mini-gown, the sexiest gown in my wardrobe. Tonight is gonna be hot! I was feeling the sensations already, I'd never had sex with my mate for the five years we've been together which was one reason tonight was gonna be special. Close to his house, I masked my scent. I didn't want him getting a clue of what's happening. The hormones in my body were going crazy and my wolf was so excited. I tiptoed to the backyard of his apartment which I knew for sure was always open, talking of the door. His bedroom was right here and I was gonna throw myself on him on the bed. I banged in. The unexpected happened. My jaw dropped at the sudden sight before me. Right in front of me, on the same bed I'd planned to have Leo make love with me, was him with another girl. Seeing me, they sprang up, staring at me like they saw a ghost. Out of anger, I walked out, planning to get revenge. I got drunk in a night club and ended up in a one-night stand to cool off my anger. Next morning, I went for my first class in college hoping to put the past behind me. Just when I thought I had, I found out that the hot stranger last night is my college professor and my foster brother. Boom! I'm pregnant for him…….

At our daughter’s three-month milestone party, my husband Garrett’s so-called "best friend" publicly humiliated me. “Hey, Vivian. I heard you're a little loose down there after popping out the kid.” "If it's that bad, you better get some tightening surgery quick—don't wanna mess up your marriage vibes!" Garrett shot her a playful glare and snapped, "Knock it off, Scarlett! You can't just say whatever pops into your head." Then he turned to me with a breezy shrug. "She's just like that—total tomboy. We grew up together; she means no harm." Scarlett shook her half-exposed breast and pouted, "Oh, come on, don't take it personally, Vivian. Honestly, I'm kind of jealous of you." "See, my problem is the opposite. I'm way too tight—hurts like hell during my period. No clue who's gonna get lucky with this later." Then she cut her eyes toward Garrett with a playful wink. " Oh right, you've tried it before, haven't you?" The room went dead silent. Every pair of eyes drifted toward me, barely concealing their curiosity. I smiled, set down my wine glass, and looked at Scarlett with fake concern. "That's strange. I don't remember making it that tight when I did your surgery."