Where Are We Now

On the day Zachary Lake stands at the pinnacle of global technology, accepting his award, I'm lying in a hospital bed, abandoned by doctors because I can't afford treatment for kidney failure. On TV, the host asks him to call the person he's most grateful for. Without hesitation, he dials my number. "Shannon, do you regret leaving me?" he asks. I clutch the astronomical medical bill in my hand, the paper crumpling beneath my fingers. Forcing a light tone, I reply, "Can you take me on as your kept woman now that you're a big deal?" On screen, his face remains expressionless as he hangs up without a word. Then, his cold voice pierces through the broadcast. "Now, I have nothing to feel grateful for." But what he doesn't know is that when he was on the brink of death years ago, I was the one who gave him my kidney.

I was born the Beta’s only child—raised like a son, trained like a soldier, and expected to protect my family’s legacy. I never asked to be anyone’s mate. Especially not his. Alpha Ethan Alaric is powerful, ruthless, and used to obedience. When his pack threatens to strip my father of his rank, Ethan offers a solution: me, as his Luna. A political match. A bond of duty. But I’m not a prize to be claimed. He remembers me as the girl who once beat him in a childhood spar. I remember him as the boy who never forgave me for it. Now, he wants me by his side—whether I want it or not. We clash like fire and ice. He wants control. I crave freedom. But the mate bond doesn’t care what we want. As I fight to keep my heart guarded, I uncover secrets buried in the shadows—whispers of a hidden heir, a crippled child cast aside, and an alliance built on more than just blood and power. To protect my father, I must step into the fire. To survive, I may have to let the Alpha burn.

My husband was an air traffic controller. In our past lives, my daughter had a heart attack when the flight we were in faced a thunderstorm. I contacted my husband at the control tower to arrange for priority landing. At the same time, the other flight that my husband's soul mate was in crashed after being struck by lightning. My husband acted normal after that incident. However, later on my daughter's birthday, he locked my daughter and I in the house, and we were burned to death. "If you hadn't asked for priority landing, Kelly's flight would not have crashed! I don't think there is anything wrong with your daughter. You only did that out of your jealousy for Kelly, you caused the death of a few hundred innocent lives." My daughter and I did not manage to escape, we died horribly. The next time I opened my eyes, I returned to the day when my daughter was having a heart attack again. This time, my husband disconnected my call to the control tower completely. However, when he learnt that our daughter had died from a heart attack, he went crazy.

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

What happens when we are stuck in our past, unable to move forward with our lives. Veronica was kidnapped and raped when she was eighteen, the culprit was not caught. She moved out of town, and never came back because of it, leaving her family behind. Ten years after the incident, she's still being plagued with nightmares and fears intimacy to the point of hyperventilating. They prevent her from having a normal life. Her best friends decide to engage the help of a psychologist to help her move on. In comes Dr Hunter Fisher, a man with a past of his own, who challenges her and brings out a side in her she never thought she'd experience. In the bliss of having found love together, they try to move on from their past together. But the enemy is out there and peace can never be found unless he is caught; only then can they be happy.

Because Nicole wants to escape reality, she often uses her ability to Lucid dream every time she wanted. Lucid dream. Nicole's ability. A Lucid dreamer can control his dream. She can do whatever she wanted in her dream. She can be a mermaid, she can be rich, she can control the character's feelings and emotions in her dream, she can build an Eifel tower, and anything she wanted. She even wakes up anytime she wants to stop dreaming. Nicole was working as a secretary in a company where her ex-boyfriend was her boss. Complicated? Well, her boss was her best friend's boyfriend. Kate was her best friend and steal her ex-boyfriend, Jacob. But it was five years ago. She said she moved on but she was a good liar. Nathan Lee. He was comatose for ten years after a car accident and he became a dream traveller. One time, Nathan travelled in someone's dream and saw his best friend Jacob. Jacob was with a girl. It's not an ordinary girl. A beautiful, gorgeous, and stunning woman. Her name is Nicole. After Nathan meets Nicole, he wants to come back to reality. How will Nathan come back to reality when the dream goddess told him that there's no way? If there's an only way, would they sacrifice their lives, dreams, and love for each other? Reality, hope, love, and sacrifice. That's what they can give to each other.

"Let's divorce. Bumalik na ang ex-girlfriend ko at kailangan na nating tapusin kung ano man ang nakasaad sa kontrata. Bibigyan kita ng pera para sa panibagong buhay mo.” “Wala bang halaga sa ‘yo ang tatlong taon nating pagsasama para itapon mo iyon ng ganun-ganun lang?” Si Manson, ang asawa ni Claire na gustong makipaghiwalay sa kanya dahil sa pagbabalik ng ex nito. Pero hindi pa man naproseso ang hiwalayan nila ay gusto na agad siyang balikan ng asawa? Gayunman ay tinanggap ni Claire ang asawa pero saka naman niya nalaman na ang kanyang kababata na first love at mahal pa rin niya hanggang ngayon ay bumalik at buhay pa pala? Huli na ba ang lahat para pagsisisihan niya ang naging desisyon niya? Si Lucas, ang lalaking handang magpakamatay para lang iligtas siya. Bago sila ikasal ni Manson ay nagmamahalan silang dalawa. At ngayong bumalik ito ay naging kumplikado ang puso ni Claire. Hihiwalayan niya ba si Manson para kay Lucas?

"I married you out of pity! Yet you dared to betray me right under my nose and, worse, murdered my sister. Today, I sever every tie I have with you. You'll pay for this with your life in prison, you witch!"-words dripping with venom, are the last that Maxon utters to the woman he once loved. Maxon Adams, the heir to the vast Adams empire, had it all-power, wealth, and a marriage to the woman he cherished. But in one moment, his world comes crashing down when he discovers an unimaginable betrayal: his loved wife in the arms of another man. But that is not enough; devastating news follows that his only sister has been murdered and all evidence points at his wife as the culprit. Could this nightmare be real? How could the woman he loves do this?

I built my wife’s family business from the ground up, sacrificing everything so that her world could thrive. The night I collapsed from stomach bleeding after too many business drinks, she was out laughing with her childhood sweetheart. She even had the nerve to call me dull and uptight. I smiled when I finally handed her the divorce papers. “I wish you both a happy life together.” But instead of signing it, she tore it to pieces, tears in her eyes. “I’m not letting you go,” she said.

In the strict halls of Briarcliff School for boys, 18-year old Hosea finds himself drawn to his charismatic Gym teacher, Ms. Simeon. As their connection deepens, Hosea realizes he’s developed feelings for his teacher that go beyond admiration. But their love is forbidden, and the consequences of discovery could be devastating. Will Hosea and Simeon find a way to be together, or will the weight of tradition and dogma tear them apart?