Dabda Grief Stages

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.

Aria Lane lived her first life desperate for love that was never meant for her. Adopted into a noble family, she was cherished until their real daughter returned. From that moment on, Aria’s life became a nightmare. Forced into a mate bond with the man who believed she stole his sister’s rightful life, Aria endured years of abuse, humiliation, and slavery. Pregnant and broken, she and her unborn child paid with their lives for crimes they never committed. Death, however, is not the end. Aria awakens one day before her forced mating, reborn with all the memories of her past life intact. This time, she refuses to beg for affection or endure suffering in silence. Consumed by grief and rage over the loss of her child, Aria vows to destroy everyone who played a role in her downfall. Her first move is power. She approaches Draken Black, the feared Lycan King of Ironclaw, proposing a strategic marriage. In exchange for becoming his Luna Queen for two years, she offers information that will save his pack from future assassination attempts. Draken accepts—not for political gain, but because Aria is the girl he has loved since childhood and his fated mate, a truth she does not yet know. With Draken’s authority behind her, Aria systematically dismantles her adoptive family’s influence, stripping them of the status they cherished while remaining emotionally untouched by their downfall. Her vengeance brings her a quiet sense of closure, believing her unborn child can finally rest in peace. Yet fate complicates everything. Aria finds herself drawn to Darken, the King of Nycale.

"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?

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?

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.

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.

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

Danielle Reyes-Callahan had one great love — and his name was Dante. From the moment he crossed a crowded fire to bring her a drink she hadn't asked for, she knew he was irreplaceable. They built a life together in the forests of the Pacific Northwest — a house, a future, dreams of children — until a violent November storm stole him in twenty minutes. He went out to protect their home and never came back. Fourteen months of grief nearly destroyed her. So she did the unthinkable. At an ancient forbidden ritual pool deep in the forest, Danielle performed the forging — pouring his wedding necklace, a strand of his hair, and every broken piece of her longing into the dark water. Something answered. What rose wore Dante's face perfectly. His voice. His smile. His memories. But it was not him. What she had forged was obsession wearing love's face — possessive, isolating, and darkening dangerously by the day. It threatened her family. It harmed the people she loved. And when it put its hands around Elena's wrist and looked at Danielle like she was something it owned rather than someone it loved — she finally faced the truth. She had not brought Dante home. She had built a monster. Now she must destroy it — surviving its attempt to kill her with her husband's own hands around her throat — and find the courage to finally let go. She kills it. And in the silence after, she begins — for the first time — to truly heal. Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance Setting: Contemporary Pacific Northwest — shifter pack community Tone: Twilight-inspired urban shifter world meets dark psychological romance Heat level: High — intense, possessive, emotionally charged

*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.

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.