The Grieving Brain Novels & Stories

Happiness is the only emotion a broken soul can't seem to experience. They can only dream of it and hopefully find serenity to fill the void, with the hopes of one day being able to feel it in their being. Akaiia Bleau Stepanova, is she destined to feel this brokenness forever or does her initial definition even begin to cover what true brokenness feels like? Let the flames of life and death drain my essence. An evil thought that grinds in my brain since I heard of my sentence. A bitterness that made himself at home inside of me. Sometimes I just wish I could change my fate, but yes it is just wishful talk. My story is one full of emotion. Treason, hate, love and pretend. A wild combination, you might say. .... "I do." She says with the most beautiful smile, one that even reaches her eyes. One so rare and truly beautiful to witness. "Aiden River King, what is your answer? Do you take Akaiia Bleau Stepanova as your lawful wedded wife?" The priest questions. As soon as I'm about to answer a voice I remember to clearly ego's through the church walls. ... The tears staining her eyes are like daggers in my chest.

When I was six, I spilled hot water, slipped, and burned my face. My face was ruined. My parents learned their lesson and never let my younger sister do housework. To everyone they met, they praised her beauty, her charm. They turned to me with nothing but disdain. When I was ten, I had a high fever. They didn't think much of it and let it drag on until my brain was damaged, leaving me slow and dull. They learned their lesson again. From then on, if my sister so much as coughed, they would rush her to the hospital in the dead of night, showering her with care. I was like a failed experiment. Every mistake they made with me, they corrected for her. I was ugly, silent, dim-witted, unwanted. She was beautiful, sweet-talking, clever, adored by all. When I was diagnosed with depression, I gathered what little courage I had and told them. Mom lashed out, called me sick in the head, and accused me of being petty. If I was so capable, she said, I might as well die. It wasn't until my sister pushed me off a high-rise that they found out, by sheer accident, that she wasn't their child at all. I was their one and only biological child.

Ashton Wolf is a renowned CEO who initially married Miranda Stone. At one point, his wife's condition weakened due to her long-standing battle with stage four brain gland cancer, with a prognosis that she wouldn't survive much longer. Realizing that her time was limited, Miranda insisted that Ashton marry again. The choice fell upon Alice Ashborne, Miranda's step-sister. Ashton vehemently rejected this request. Apart from the significant age difference, he had no intention of marrying a girl he clearly did not love. However, under Miranda's pressure, even to the point of threats and demands for an immediate divorce, Ashton found himself unable to refuse and eventually accepted the request to marry Alice as soon as possible. Throughout their marriage, Ashton made a conscious effort to maintain distance. He deliberately kept the news of his remarriage from people outside, trying to conceal the fact that he had married again. Despite Alice's evident effort to graciously embrace married life and be a devoted wife, Ashton remained displeased and continued to keep his heart closed. To add to the complexities of their marriage, someone from the past resurfaced, throwing Ashton and Alice's lives into further turmoil. This situation left them grappling with a dilemma—whether to continue fighting for their marriage or to bring it to an end.

Lydia McKenzie used to be just like any other normal, seventeen year high school girl, fretting over what to wear for school, struggling to get good grades and dealing with boy trouble, until one day, a dangerous incident at school and a severe brain injury, made her turn off her emotions completely. Three years later, she’s a complete robot who works with utmost efficiency without showing any emotions. But things start to change when she arrives at Rosewater University for higher studies. David Lyric Donovan is the quintessential bad boy of Rosewater. Be it getting into useless fights, getting arrested for beating someone to an inch of their life or any other crimes around campus, and not to mention going through girls like a person goes through their clothes, he’s done it all. He’s also a professional street fighter. Girls want to ‘fix’ him and guys want to be him. But nothing bothers him as much as the presence of the new girl, Lydia. She’s upfront and outspoken and she does not have the patience to deal with his , and moreover, she gets under his skin without even a slight change in her expression. Who is she and what’s in her past? He’s just as fascinated with her as he is annoyed. Can romance bloom between such a mismatched pair? And will Lydia ever let herself feel again, after what she’d endured?

Isabella Dean was uprooted from her life north of Atlanta at the beginning of her senior year of high school after a tragic accident that killed her father. Her mother took her to live with her aunt, Linda, in Asheville, NC where she was welcomed immediately by the school bully. This encounter got Isabella immediately recognized by a group of girls who befriended her and took her in as one of their friends. As she adjusted to her new life, she continued to have to protect herself from the bully, Lucy Upshaw, and recover from a hidden brain injury sustained in the accident. While in the hospital, she died and returned changed and with gifts she had to learn to live with. She discovered along with her new friend, Amber Collins, that her house was haunted by a mysterious girl. She and Amber also rescued a group of girls from sex traffickers and helped the victims flee. She and her friends helped get them adopted by local families, but they also had to deal with the bigotry of some people who didn’t like that some of the girls were transgender and genetically modified by their assailants. Isabella, meanwhile, had to deal with her own problems with her mother and recover from her surgery while still being attacked by Lucy. This is just the beginning for these girls who learn how to fight ghosts and demons with the help of their Native American friend, Winona. They learn to use their talents to help others deal with things that go bump in night.

'Calm down Tamara, I can explain. ' My extra alert ears collected the sound waves, sending them to the brain for interpretation. I couldn't believe it! He was asking me to calm down after saying such words. 'My mind can only picture you between her legs right now, and you want me to calm down? ' The flames continued growing just as the invisible force wrenched me near him. His wide eyes met with mine as I leaned in closer to him, tiptoeing on my feet to reach just below his ear. 'The remedy for fire is fire.' My arms were convulsively grasped yet again by the inexplicable force. I failed miserably to counter the forced actions as my hands tore my blouse in an instant. 'No!' His shout was a second late because the flames died out as my hands embedded into the cloth, pulling it apart in ferocious strength. ********* Orphaned and living as the only witch in a pack of werewolves, Tamara is hated and ridiculed despite her kindness. When the Alpha of the pack, Alpha Ryker turns out to be her mate, everything changes. Their bond is fated and sealed, and so is Tamara's role in saving the pack. Their victory depends on a prophecy and one life must be lost for others to be saved. As the pack's antagonist rises to power, she must team up with her mate despite the storms, betrayal and secrets surrounding them. Will they withstand or with the storm destroy everything they have ever known?

A secret society of widows. A cold billionaire with a deadly past. One woman sent to seduce him... and destroy him. When Genevieve Holloway buries her husband, she thinks the worst is behind her. But the black-veiled woman at the funeral of her husband says otherwise. “You’ve been chosen.” Drawn into a shadowy society of grieving wives turned silent assassins, Genevieve is given one final task before she can walk free: infiltrate the life of Dominic Rourke—the enigmatic tech billionaire tied to her husband’s mysterious death—and expose the truth. Her mission is clear: seduce him. Infiltrate him. Ruin him. But Dominic Rourke is nothing like she expected. Cold. Calculating. Unreachable. And he’s never let any woman get close—until her. Worse still, his five-year-old daughter clings to Genevieve like a lost soul, whispering secrets she shouldn’t know. Secrets about her dead mother… and the club Genevieve now serves. The deeper Genevieve sinks into Dominic’s world, the more dangerous her own becomes. The women she trusted have blood on their hands. The man she was sent to destroy might be innocent. And the lies that bind them all go deeper than any grave. Genevieve begins to develop feelings for the man she’s sent to ruin, and he sees himself letting go of his cold nature to make her happy and find her husband’s killer. In a game of power, seduction, and betrayal, only one can survive. And Genevieve must decide: Is she the hunter or the hunted? Will she be Dominic’s ruin, or will she become his everything?

The day my parents divorced, the rain wouldn’t stop. Two agreements sat on the table. One meant staying in the old Eastwood District with my gambling-addicted father, Alexander Clark, drowning in debt. The other meant leaving for Silverstrand Coast with my mother, Charlotte Hayes, who was remarrying into wealth. In my last life, my younger brother, Mathias Clark, cried and clung to Mom while I quietly packed my things and chose to stay with Dad. Later, he quit gambling and struck it rich during a redevelopment boom. He poured everything into raising me right. Meanwhile, Mathias was trapped in his stepfather’s house—isolated, controlled, never allowed outside—until depression took his life. But this time, everything changed. Mathias snatched the cigarette from Dad’s hand and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. "Tyler, I feel bad for Dad. You go enjoy the good life over there. I’ll stay and take care of him for you." Dad froze for a moment, then smiled with relief and patted his shoulder. I said nothing. I simply picked up the train ticket to the coast. What he didn’t know was that… In my last life, the reason Dad was able to quit gambling was because I had a brain tumor. I worked myself to the brink of coughing up blood just to repay his debts. I traded my life… for his redemption.

THIS IS A DARK ROMANCE FEATURING DARK CONTENT AND MORALLY AMBIGUOUS CHARACTERS. Peyton has been in her marriage, enduring the pain of watching Odin, her husband, flirt and cheat in the guise of an open marriage—a decision he made without her agreement. She hit a dead end when Odin broke the number one rule: bringing one of his flings to their home, their bed. That's when she made an impulsive decision—cheat and not feel guilty. He wants her to get a boyfriend? No, she'd do him one better. One night, that's all it took, and the next day she finds herself tangled with her husband's brother. Axel—He's a live wire, pure mischief and untamed. He doesn't just give Peyton what she's been starved of; he ignites a fire she didn't know she had, making her crave the wild freedom only he offers. With Axel, it's not just a fling; it's an explosion of everything forbidden. Raphael—A little unhinged? More like a master of controlled chaos. He's the kind of man who sears himself into your soul, leaving an unforgettable mark deep in your memories. Raphael doesn't just flip a switch in your brain; he rewires it entirely, making you question every sane choice you've ever made. Ready to dive deeper into Peyton's dangerous game?

My mate Derek, Alpha of the SilverCrest Pack, secretly marked me two years ago. But he still hasn't held our mating ceremony to publicly announce my position. I've been working as his "assistant," helping him manage pack affairs all this time. Every time Derek cheats with his childhood sweetheart, Vivian, he promises to finally hold our mating ceremony. Two years. Ten promised ceremonies. Ten broken promises. The first time, he said Vivian's dog had died. "I can't hold a celebration while she's grieving," he told me, his eyes not quite meeting mine. "It wouldn't be right." The second time, Vivian had a stomach ache. He left the ceremony venue minutes before it was supposed to start, rushing off to cook soup for his precious childhood friend. After that, each scheduled mating ceremony fell through because his childhood sweetheart always had some kind of emergency. I've cried. I've screamed. I've begged. Derek always gives me the same answer: "Viv and I are just friends. You're my true mate. Taking care of pack members is your responsibility too. Don't be so jealous." After the tenth canceled ceremony, I finally gave up. I slid the mate bond dissolution papers across his desk. "The Alpha Council has approved our request to break the mate bond," I said, my voice steadier than I expected. "You and I are no longer connected." That’s when the powerful Alpha went crazy...