A Grief Observed

Addy Walker once believed love was supposed to be loud—felt in bedtime stories, laughter in the kitchen, and the warmth of arms that made the world feel safe. That’s how it was before her mother died. Before her father changed. Grief hollowed him out. The man who once teased and protected became a shell—quiet, cold, unreachable. Then came the bottles. The slammed doors. The bruises. Addy, now eighteen, has learned to survive in silence—walking lightly, speaking carefully, hiding her pain beneath long sleeves and polite smiles. She works long hours to keep food on the table while her father sinks deeper into debt and addiction. One night, she comes home to a dark, freezing house—again. The electricity is off. Again. And she knows why. She confronts him, her voice sharper than it’s ever been. He denies it at first, but the truth is already spread across the kitchen counter in final notice bills and losing betting slips. He’d gambled away the electric bill money on a horse. The argument erupts. He screams, she stands her ground. When he slaps her, she doesn’t flinch. Something inside her shifts. She’s done waiting for the man he used to be. Addy packs a bag. She’s leaving—for real this time. No plan. No destination. Just freedom. But as she storms out into the rain, a long, black car pulls up to the curb. A man steps out—tall, broad-shouldered, older. His face is hard, almost frightening in the shadows, but he’s striking. Dangerous. And calm.

Rhiannon never believed the Moon Goddess hated her—until the night her first mate shattered her world. Public humiliation. Cruel rejection. Banishment. Left for dead in the forest, she stopped fighting for her life. Then an Alpha she barely knew tore through the darkness and changed her fate forever. Kael wasn’t supposed to be her second chance, but the bond struck between them with staggering force. He didn’t look at her with disgust. He didn’t hesitate. He claimed her as his mate and Luna in front of his entire pack, promising her a home she never thought she’d deserve. With Crescent Moon behind her and Kael at her side, Rhiannon began to rebuild herself—slowly, painfully, beautifully. But shadows don’t stay buried. Kael’s enemies rose again, fueled by old lies and deeper betrayals. A jealous she-wolf. A vengeful witch. A fallen Alpha with blood ties to Kael’s past. Their schemes twisted together until everything Rhiannon loved was threatened all over again. When the attacks escalated, when trust began to crack, when fear pulled her and Kael apart, Rhiannon had to decide whether she would run again—or stand and fight for the life she’d built. Everything came down to the Bloodshade ruins, a cursed fortress where every secret finally surfaced. A stolen child. A broken marriage. A bond tested by grief, obsession, and war. Rhiannon and Kael would either walk out stronger than fate intended…or not at all.

17-year old Star Sullivan was no stranger to loss, having recently endured the heartbreaking passing of her parents. Struggled to come to terms with her grief, she found herself uprooted from her familiar surroundings and thrust into a new town under the care of her godparents. The weight of her sorrow hung heavy on her shoulders casting a shadow over her once bright spirit. Star navigates the unfamiliar street and faces of her new home, a glimmer of intrigue caught her eye - a student with eyes as silver as moonlight, a captivating mystery etched in every glance. Drawn to this enigmatic figure, she found herself unable to resist the pull of curiosity that tugged at her heart. His mysterious past whispered secrets that beckoned to be unraveled, a puzzle waiting to be pieced together. With each passing day, Star found herself entangled in a web of intrigue and emotion, her heart torn between the allure of the unknown and the safety of familiarity. As the threads of secrets began to unravel, revealing truths that shook the foundation of her newfound life, Star stood at a crossroads, her heart torn asunder. Would she choose to stand by her new friends and family, embracing the complexities of their intertwined destinies, or would she heed the call of uncertainty, fleeing to the safety of the hills, away from the tumultuous storm that threatened to consume her? Only time held the answers to the questions that plagued her restless mind. The clock ticked away, each passing moment a reminder of the choices that lay ahead, the paths diverging into the unknown. In the quiet of the night, as the stars whispered tales of destiny and fate, Star found herself standing on the precipice of a decision that would shape the course of her future.

"Goodbyes, Richard," he whispers, his voice dripping with pride. "No! No! What have you done?!" I scream, consumed by grief as helpless, indescribable pain crashes over me like a roaring wave. "You're Richard's niece, aren't you?" he asks, his voice low and rough. I remain silent, unable to form words. "And my mate, it seems," He grasps my chin tightly, his fingers digging into my skin, and leans in close. His scent hits me like a tidal wave, and I'm shocked by how intoxicating it is. I try to look away, but my gaze is trapped by his. 'Mate!' my wolf growls in excitement. It’s the worst thing that could ever happen to Jessica as the same man that wiped out her family is given to her by the moon goddess, as her mate. She wants revenge, wants to hurt him in all the hurtful ways she could think of but she’s no match for her mate. She’s dragged to his pack and forced to be his personal maid. It’s pure torture as she has to fight off the mate bond no matter what. But her alpha mate had other ideas as he wants to own every inch of her not minding the fact he could destroy her along the way. It’s a fight from pleasure, a plea for revenge, a world full of misunderstanding. Only the truth could sincerely set them free. Would she stick to her plans of revenge or give in to his pleasure, even if it’s by force?

Ivy Cruz is broke, desperate, and out of options. With debt collectors closing in and her brother fighting for his life in a hospital bed, she has no choice but to accept a dangerous deal from the gangster she owes everything to. His demand? Pretend to be the wife of Damon Williams—a cold, ruthless billionaire who was believed to have died in a fire. The offer is impossible to resist. If she plays the part, Ivy can take whatever she wants from Damon, enough to pay off her debts and save her brother. Refusing means certain death at the gangster’s hands. But what Ivy never expected… is that Damon would believe her. Two years ago, Damon lost his wife, Selena, in the fire. Her body was never found. Now Ivy stands before him—identical in every way, down to the secret birthmark only he ever knew. Dragged into a dangerous lie, Ivy becomes the shadow of a woman she never met. Damon, consumed by grief and obsession, is convinced fate has returned his wife to him—and he will never let her go. As Ivy steps deeper into his dark, possessive world, she can’t shake the guilt of living another woman’s life. But with secrets about the fire beginning to unravel, one question burns hotter than the rest: What really happened the night Selena died? And when Damon discovers the truth, will Ivy survive his wrath… or his love? Because when love rises from ashes—it can either heal or burn everything to the ground.

ALL HAIL THE ALPHA QUEEN — SYNOPSIS (300 WORDS) Alina Bloodburn spends her twenty-second birthday in chains. No family. No pack. No mercy. Condemned for a crime she did not commit, she waits in a cold cell believing she is nothing more than an unwanted orphan in a ruthless werewolf world ruled by bloodlines and beasts. Then a woman called Lady Dame Thunder appears in her cell with eyes like famine and storms—and whispers a truth that shatters Alina’s life forever: She is not weak. She is not unwanted. She is royalty. Dragged from prison into a world of ancient magic, Alina learns she is the lost daughter of **Cercie Bloodburn**, High Witch and Alpha Matriarch of one of the most feared bloodlines in existence. Her awakening is brutal. Bone and flame twist her into something beyond wolf—silver-furred, fire-eyed, crowned by thunder. A **Mega Alpha Queen** is born. But power is never given without price. The Thornbrooks—ruthless killers who destroyed her childhood and slaughtered her family—still rule in shadows. They believe the Bloodburn line was erased. They are wrong. Banished to Europe to train under storm clans and witches who speak dead languages, Alina becomes more than a queen—she becomes a weapon forged in grief and ritual. When she returns two years later, she does not come for mercy. She comes for genocide. Yet beneath the fangs and fire still beats the heart of a girl betrayed by fate, yearning for truth, loyalty, and love in a world that only respects dominance. Power threatens to consume her. And the Alpha Queen must decide… Will she rule the beast within— Or become it?

The Rowan estate has stood for centuries, its walls bearing witness to generations of triumph, tragedy, and a quiet, inescapable weight. Known for influence and misfortune, the Rowans guard a secret: the house is a memory vessel, absorbing the emotions and events of its inhabitants. Only one child per generation—“the one who carries it”—feels its imprint. For Jace Rowan, that child is him. Haunted by flashes of his brother Elias’s mysterious death in the sealed west wing, Jace lives with hallucination-like memories, déjà vu, and a physical sensitivity to the house’s presence. When Ava arrives at the estate, the house takes notice. Her father’s disappearance connects her unknowingly to the Rowans, and her grief fuels an emotional resonance the house cannot ignore. Objects from her past—her father’s watch, sketches of the west wing, and a brass key—materialize mysteriously before her, drawing Ava deeper into the estate’s labyrinth of memory. Jace knows the danger: the west wing reacts to emotion, and Ava’s connection could awaken truths meant to remain buried. As tension mounts, Ava and Jace confront both the house’s power and their own growing fears. The west wing does not seek to harm but to claim understanding—feeding on memory, fear, and revelation. In the shadows, a presence lingers, one that Jace fears is connected to Ava’s father. Bound by fear, curiosity, and an unspoken attraction, Ava and Jace must navigate a house that remembers, reacts, and judges, uncovering secrets about Elias’s death, Ava’s father, and the legacy of the Rowan family itself. In a world where emotion is power and the past is never truly gone, the house holds its breath—and waits to see who will survive its memory.

*Excerpt* My gaze met Sergio's. He didn't look away. I couldn't look away either. It felt like there was an invisible magnet pulling us towards each other. He looked away, breaking us from the trance. "Are you sure you're okay, Nicole?" "Come inside." He shook his head. "I was worried, and—" "Come inside, let's talk." He shook his head again, unyieldingly. "We're already talking." "Are you scared?" I asked in a challenging voice, my gazed fixed on him. "What are you so scared of?" "Nicole..." "To answer your question, no, Sergio, I'm not okay." "What's bothering you?" The vulnerability in his eyes towards me was palpable. It was my chance to act. I couldn't afford to waste it. "You," I replied, my gaze still boring into his. "And your fiancee. I couldn't bear watching you together." Sergio swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I was jealous, Sergio." • *Blurb* In a turn of events, Juliana bears witness to the brutal murder of her father—a sight she never thought she'd witness. Amidst the turmoil, she finds out she's their next target, but somehow, she manages to evade them. Determined to seek closure and justice for what happened to her father, Juliana takes on a new identity as Nicole and embarks on a quest for vengeance against the masterminds. With a heart hardened by grief, she takes on the journey. A journey that would test her limits and push her to do unthinkable things. Will she succeed? Follow her on this journey as she confronts the demon of her past.

Samantha is tall black wolf with white paws next in line to be Alpha of her pack. Thomas is a vampire with brown hair who's next in line to be heir to the coven. What happens when these two misguides souls meet. Sam was sitting on the fountain, tired of her mom bossing her around like she had to set the right example for the pack as the next heir. She found a rock and threw it hard without paying attention to where she threw it. Thomas was walking away from the coven he grew up in; he didn't want anything to do with this life anymore and live on his own. Kim was the only vampire he wanted and now she's dead and he was being forced to marry the daughter of the coven leader his family was at war with to create a peace treaty. He still remembered that day when the coven came back from the recent battle and she wasn't there and he waited for days, refusing to eat. Then by sunset on the fifth day since the battle, he was told that she died bravely in battle defending the coven. Thomas started crying at the memory as fresh grief racked him when he was hit with a rock. He looked around and saw that he came farther than he intended, almost into the werewolf territory like his feet were leading him. He cried out in pain and looked in the direction the rock came from. That's when he first saw her someone so beautiful, he couldn’t believe he was falling in love again. Before he realized it, his feet were moving on their own towards this stranger. Sam looked up when she heard someone cry out in pain after she threw the rock, she saw

Ayda has been living alone as a rogue since she lost her son during his delivery. She was immediately rejected by her mate, the Alpha, who blamed her for the loss of their son and left her to die. Dimitri is an Alpha in the middle of a pack war. His mate died in childbirth, leaving him a single father, alone, heart-broken, and with an infant son to care for. Now, nine years later, he refuses to allow his son, his only family, to be murdered by an attacking pack. When Dimitri hides his son, Cathal, during an attack, the opposing pack finds him and begins to surround the young Alpha, ready to kill him. Ayda sees what’s happening and jumps in, unwilling to stand by while a child is murdered in front of her. She puts herself between the pup and attacking pack, nearly dying while protecting the young pup. When he returns, Dimitri finds the woman barely alive after protecting his son. Cathal tells him how the woman saved him, and he quickly orders her and Cathal to be taken to the pack hospital while he goes after the pack who attacked his son. The pack members, not knowing what Ayda did, scoff at her, thinking that she is a rogue that their Alpha took pity on. She leaves, sneaking away during the battle to go back to her home in the woods. When Dimitri returns and finds her gone, he is furious and now must hunt for the woman who not only saved his son but has rekindled feelings that he hasn’t had since his mate died. Can these two people, brought together by fate, work through the grief of their loss to find a way to happiness, a second chance for both of them.