Warning: Mature Content 18+ as in: Blood, Gore, Abuse, rape, Upsetting topics of mental illness (suicide, paranoia, depression, bi-polar, MPD/DID, obsession), Stockholm syndrome etc.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this piece. This is strictly for creative and imaginative storytelling. I do not earn revenue, or any forms of compensation for this writing.
Summary: This isn't a complete "role reversal" when it comes to the main characters. Something that has in truth happened to me, just not this fucked up. When you are willing to put up with ANYTHING your abuser, (not lover, not spouse, not friend, ABUSER) puts you through, because you love them, or believe you're not good enough for anyone else...How long can you really withstand this? The correct answer should be ZERO. Unfortunately that's not the case with anyone being abused in any unforgiving form. That's the message I would like to convey using this series as an example. If you truly love the one you're with, you would be their protector, their sanctuary. Not the monster that they should run from.
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
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Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]