The Truth Beneath 소설 & 이야기

When Maya Hart married Alpha Marcus, she believed love would be enough to survive the brutal werewolf world. Eight years later, she realizes she was wrong. To the pack, Maya is nothing more than a weak human Luna who never belonged. Her husband looks at her with cold disappointment, the wolves openly mock her existence, and even her own son wishes for a stronger mother. Then everything falls apart in a single day. Diagnosed with terminal heart failure and shattered by public humiliation, Maya flees deep into forbidden territory—only to accidentally crash into a dying woman beneath the cover of night. She doesn't discover the truth until it's too late. The woman she tried desperately to save was the Queen of the Lycans. Now imprisoned by the terrifying Lycan King, Valen Alaric, Maya is accused of murdering his wife and sentenced to a brutal public execution. But moments before her death, an unexpected voice stops the punishment. The King’s young daughter. The lonely little princess refuses to let Maya die after the human doctor saved her life in the darkness of the castle dungeon. Suddenly, Maya’s death sentence turns into something far more dangerous. She is ordered to remain inside the royal castle as the princess’s personal medical nanny, trapped under the watchful eyes of a grieving king who still believes she destroyed his world. But as secrets unravel and the cold walls of the palace slowly begin to feel like home, Maya discovers something she never thought she would find again: A child who needs her. A place where she belongs. And a king whose hatred may be hiding something far more devastating than grief.

Betrayal, fear, and confusion clouded her thoughts as she faced the harsh reality of her existence. The daughter of the Shadow Weaver's ruthless leader, she had been molded into a weapon, a puppet dancing on her father's strings. Yet, beneath the facade of loyalty, her soul yearned for something more, something real. Trapped in enemy territory, she found an unexpected solace in the arms of Christian Darwin, the Royal Beta of the Red Moon pack. His eyes, like twin galaxies, held a promise of protection and understanding. "You need to trust me," he whispered, his voice a soothing balm to her wounded spirit. "I will take away your pain. I will make them pay for what they've done to you. They'll regret every moment of it." His words hung in the air, laden with a fierce determination that resonated with Mia's shattered soul. As he opened his arms, a silent plea for her to find refuge in his embrace, she hesitated for a moment, her teary eyes searching his face for sincerity. In that fragile moment, she made a choice – to let go of the chains that bound her and to embrace the warmth of his presence. With a rush of raw, unfiltered emotion, she threw herself into his arms, seeking solace in the midst of chaos. What happens when secrets are revealed and she finds out that her life has been nothing but a series of lies? What happens when the truth unfolds and she finds out that the only person she was ever devoted to, was the one who betrayed her? She is yet to discover her true identity so join Mia on this rollercoaster journey where her mate will bring her wildest fantasies to life, where she has only one mission: Make The Culprit Pay.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

He gazed into her eyes and bluntly declared, "Our marriage is nothing more than a deal." Meeting his gaze with fierce determination, she retorted, "As long as it protects my family and guarantees their safety, I will reluctantly put my signature on that document." Trapped in an unwanted marriage, Diego and Gabriella found themselves entangled in an arranged marriage they never wanted. Would their love flourish amidst the vows they exchanged? Or would they coexist as enemies beneath one shared roof?

Banished. Broken. Betrayed. Selene Virellian was cast out of her pack carrying the child of an enemy—left to freeze beneath the stars with nothing but her shame. But the wildlands didn’t claim her. The Ashfang did. Now, among rogues and outcasts, Selene is forged into something stronger. Something dangerous. And when the enemy Alpha comes for her, he won’t find the frightened girl he once touched—he’ll face the Queen of the Forsaken.

To think that he was the one for her, her soul mate, brought her so much pain the moment she found out he actually wasn't. The truth came slapping right across her face and she was there, embarrassed, broken and deadly hurted, under the dusty grounds and before everybody's eyes. 'For a man I once loved, I couldn't believe what was unfolding before my eyes. But I knew i had to move on and I did, busying myself with my last days at college for the peace of my heart'. Elva was left with no choice but to move to another pack when the Luna of her former pack sent rogues to finish her. Just because she was the Alpha's ex and way too intelligent compared to her, the Luna of the pack. "Get your lousy hands off her!" He roared out loudly, enough to make all of us shake along with the ground beneath us. Then like a joke they were all ripped off and left into nothingness. "They sent people to kill you, which means they gave up on you! Emerald pack is now your home" he spoke and scooped me in his arms. For a moment I felt like the world has come to a stop, no words came out of my slightly parted lips. 'The masked senior from the college! he saved me!' Were the only words repeating in my head over and over again like a broken tape until I lost consciousness. Living in a new pack wasn't the safe heaven she thought it would be, one reason not being accepted by one of the most respected person of the pack. What happens when something that occurred in a wrong way but turns out to be the best thing to ever happen to your life?

Catalina De Luca’s world turns into trouble when a single bullet, unleashed in a moment of heartache by her shattered father, almost claims the life of young Luca Moretti—the 10-year-old son of Matteo Moretti, a formidable billionaire with deep connections to a dangerous underworld. Matteo is driven by a fierce, unwavering belief: “An eye for an eye. And a tooth for a tooth"As danger looms over his son’s life, a fierce determination ignites within him, driving him toward a singular path of retribution. That night, Catalina’s father, consumed by grief over his wife’s passing, unleashed his anguish into the darkness, each shot echoing his heartache. But in a fleeting moment of happiness, a stray bullet found its mark, hitting young Luca and shattering the bliss. Now, Matteo’s fury is limitless. He captures Catalina’s father, dragging her into his lavish estate, a gilded cage where she must tend to Luca until he is strong enough for the crucial surgery that could save his life. But time stretches painfully as Luca’s condition halts the operation, and Catalina is pulled into Matteo’s mysterious realm, where peril lurks beneath every gleaming facade, and the notion of safety is nothing but a mirage. As she delves into the depths of Matteo’s existence, Catalina finds herself captivated by his intricacies—a man who embodies both fierce determination and gentle vulnerability, shattered yet resolute. Catalina uncovers the truth behind Matteo's past, uncovering a heart yearning for redemption and love. As stakes rise, she faces a heart-wrenching choice: navigate the dangerous journey or heal Matteo's broken spirit, seeking salvation for both. In a realm dominated by retribution, is love possible as the only solution to set aside the dangerous world?

⚠️ Content Warning ⚠️ This book includes themes of homophobia, including discriminatory language and behavior. These elements are included to reflect certain real-world attitudes and experiences, but they do not reflect the views of the author. Reader discretion is advised. If you find such content distressing, please take care as you proceed. — Gunner took the job thinking it would be easy: keep an eye on the Floros’ only son while his parents were out of the country for a business trip. Follow and carry out the rules the Floros' had given him—watch the kid, keep him out of trouble, and collect a generous paycheck. But Layland Floros is anything but a kid. Beautiful, bold, and entirely too provocative for his own good, Layland isn’t interested in being watched. With a bratty attitude that dares Gunner to break every boundary he’s set for himself when he's on the job, Layland turns a simple assignment into something far more dangerous. Gunner's never been with a man. Never even thought about it—until Layland. Now, every moment in that house is thick with tension, with heat that hums just beneath the surface. The more Gunner tries to keep things professional, the harder it becomes to ignore what he was really feeling towards the young man. Soon, duty gives way to desire, and Gunner finds himself crossing lines he swore he wouldn’t. But when the chemistry between them explodes into something real and raw, he’ll have to face the truth: babysitting Layland and carrying out the young man's parents' rules was never the hard part. Staying away from him is. And if Layland's parents find out what really happened behind the closed doors of their home, Gunner could lose more than just the job.

She married him to save her family. He married her to destroy it. When Aria Whitmore agrees to a contract marriage, she knows exactly what she’s giving up her freedom, her dreams, and any hope for love. Her father’s debts have grown into a shadow too large to escape, and this union is the only way to keep her family from ruin. She steps into the arrangement with quiet courage, prepared for a cold, distant life. Lucien Ashford, on the other hand, has been waiting for this moment. Feared, powerful, and untouchable, Lucien built his empire on control and calculated decisions. But beneath his success lies a past marked by betrayal. To him, Aria isn’t innocent she is the daughter of the man who destroyed everything he once loved. Marrying her is not a coincidence. It’s revenge, carefully planned and long overdue. From the very beginning, Aria can feel the hostility behind his composed exterior. Every interaction is laced with tension, every silence filled with unspoken intent. Yet, she refuses to be broken by him. Her quiet strength, her resilience, and the unexpected warmth she carries begin to disrupt the walls Lucien has spent years building. Because hatred was supposed to be easy. But it isn’t. As time passes, stolen glances turn into lingering moments, and resentment slowly gives way to something far more dangerous. Lucien begins to see Aria not as his enemy’s daughter, but as a woman who challenges him, understands him, and awakens something he thought was long gone. Now, he faces an impossible truth: The woman he intended to use… may be the only one who can heal him.

Of course I own you,” Dominic growled as he stepped closer, his presence heavy, his breath brushing her neck. “I belong to nobody,” Aria snapped, though her fists trembled as she backed away. A slow smirk curved his lips. In one sharp movement, he pulled her against him, her fragile body trapped by his solid frame. “You don’t get to decide that, princess,” he said coldly. “I’ll pay my father’s debt,” Aria lifted her chin, fear crawling through her chest. “And when I do, I’ll be free…from you.” “Aria,” he murmured, tightening his grip. “You’re mine. And no one else will touch what’s mine.” Aria has always been quiet, timid, soft-spoken, and worn down by life. Raised by an alcoholic“ father”who never protected her, she learned early that survival meant silence. She endured bruises, hunger, and loneliness, clinging to the hope that one day the pain would fade. That hope shatters when her father disappears, leaving behind a deadly debt owed to the most powerful mafia in the country. The price isn’t money. It’s her. Aria is taken not to be killed, but to be claimed. The man who claims her is Dominic, the ruthless mafia lord feared by all. Cold. Merciless. Untouchable. But beneath the cruelty lies a truth that shakes her to her core. Dominic is the boy she once loved. The boy who promised to protect her—and vanished without a goodbye. Now he is both her nightmare and her past, and Aria must survive a world where love is dangerous, loyalty is deadly, and some promises refuse to stay buried.