Next Reads Novels & Stories

When I find out that Joe Herring—the man I've loved for ten years—is planning a grand proposal, I'm so thrilled I can't sleep a wink that night. But the next day, everyone in the pack is buzzing about how Alpha Joe just proposed to my stepsister, Nora Safford. He comes to me afterward, trying to explain. "It's not even real, Anna. Nora doesn't have anyone in the pack. I'm just doing her a favor. "Don't worry. I'll break it off before the mate-bonding ceremony next week. Then we'll have our ceremony, just like we planned." But over and over, he keeps asking me to compromise for Nora. And when the mate-bonding ceremony finally arrives, he's still with her. So in the end, I let her have him and walk away without a word.

I've just received a text from my CEO wife, Cara Lavigne. Apparently, she's gone on another last-minute business trip again, so she can't accompany me to the funeral home. But soon, I see Cara's silhouette being captured in a photo, where she celebrates her assistant, Warren Stone's birthday with him in a work-related post he has just uploaded. The caption reads, "Thank you for the amazing cake, boss! I feel so happy to be able to celebrate my birthday!" I just smile calmly before leaving a like and a comment. "Happy birthday." My colleagues, on the other hand, start betting pools like mad to see what kind of tricks I'm going to pull this time in order to kick up a ruckus. Cara calls me immediately just to scold me. "Warren is just celebrating his birthday, so what's with the comment? He's a very sensitive person, you know! How is he going to survive in this company now that you've passive-aggressively humiliated him in that public post? "It's been barely two years since Warren joined this company, not to mention he doesn't have any friends! What's wrong with me celebrating his birthday with him, huh? People like you, who are born with silver spoons in their mouths, will never understand Warren's plight! "I want you to delete your comment right now! We'll talk more about this once I'm home! Your dad is already dead anyway, so you can just wait for a few more days before claiming his body!" I can only clench my fists tightly as I listen to Cara's heartless and nonchalant words. "No need for that." Once she is back, the divorce procedures will be done.

My fiance, Victor Blackwood, is a mafia boss who rules the country's underworld with an iron fist. To the rest of the world, he is the epitome of power. Yet to me, he is the embodiment of love. But I do not realize the cost of loving a man like him. On Valentine's Day, I cook his favorite dishes and wait for him to come home. However, time passes, and his chair stays empty. Uneasy, I go to Queenie Stone's social media page. She is Victor's foster sister. She posts, "All I said was that I felt lonely, and he came right away. "Even when I accidentally spilled wine on him, he didn't mind. Victor is still someone who puts family first, even if it means neglecting his lover. "He never lets me down. I hope things stay that way." In the photo, Victor's shirt is soaked at the waist. Queenie's handkerchief lingers near his most private parts, but he doesn't pull away. He merely looks at her affectionately. I do not make a fuss and give Queenie's post a like. Then, I send Victor a message that reads, "Let's break up." Victor ignores it as always. Later, I discover that when my breakup message popped up, he had said offhandedly, "Vivienne can't live without me. She's just acting out. "If I ignore her for a few days, she'll come crawling back by herself. She's easy to please." What he doesn't know is that I was easy to handle only because I once loved him. But now that I have decided to leave, he cannot make me turn back, no matter how he tries to win me over.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Runa, an eighteen year old girl, finds herself running for her life after finding out she is a hybrid. Something to eradicate. Ciaran, a ruthless alpha, softens for this female because he has a secret too. Wanted to be killed by all, will they survive what happens next?

The night my mate died saving me, his last words were: "If there is a next life, let me be with Odette." So when I woke up, back on the day I begged my father to let me marry him, I chose someone else.

Killian’s life is a masterclass in controlled perfection. He’s the star football player, the heir to a business empire, and the dutiful son in an arranged relationship with Serena, the key to his family’s next fortune. He believes he's content,until a wild, anonymous one-night stand shatters his carefully built world. That perfect life explodes the next day, when his lover walks into his classroom as his new professor, Igor. A man of wealth and power, Igor thought he had buried his desires long ago, but the sight of Killian sends a shockwave through him. Trapped in a high-stakes game of forbidden love, they are forced to navigate a secret so dangerous it could ruin them both. With a public engagement looming and a watchful, abusive father, their stolen moments are a ticking clock..Will the truth be exposed, and when it is, will it tear Killian's world apart?

I was done. Done with men. Women say it all the time; they get fed up, throw their hands in the air, and vow a life of celibacy—until the next chiseled chest comes into view and then they’re foaming at the mouth and wiping the drool from their chins. But this was different, I really meant it. I’d been manhandled by the last pig that would ever bring his sausage near me. After one of the nastiest divorces in history, followed by some of the crudest and raunchiest dates, I’d decided to bat for the other team. …At least I tried. But creating the next Brat Pack hadn’t been on the agenda. Neither had my date’s brother, Collier West. And I wasn’t prepared for finding true love at the end of my gal-pal tryst. Girl Crush is created by Stephie Walls, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

Xiaza was given a second chance to live in another world. Another world, another mission Xia will be heading to the path where her fated partner is supposed to be as described by a fortune teller she passed by. She wants her next life in the other world to be meaningful, full of light. She doesn’t want to repeat the tragedy like in her past life. And yes, her wish will be fulfilled sooner or later by the person who continuously watches over her and the person that was closer to her. A dark and dull eyes gazes at the petite body sleeping beside him without any precautions and care that there was a zombie next to her and might any time soon, devour the little girl whole but, this was the reason he loved this little girl dearly, as he uses his rough and stiff fingers to caress the smooth skin presented to his eyes, his eyes flashed a coveted and obsession look as time pass by.

On a rainy night at Cascadia General Hospital in Portland, two women share the same ward without ever knowing how deeply their lives are about to become entangled. One leaves with everything she ever wanted. The other loses something she will spend the next eighteen years trying to find.