Histoires Courtes Werewolf & Romans

On the eve of our bonding ceremony, my mate, Blake Sterling, the future Alpha of the Sterling pack, secretly tampers with the public declaration going out to the North Aforian Werewolf Alliance. He swaps out his own name for his uncle's—Harrison Sterling. A friend from the pack questions in a low voice, "Are you out of your mind? Every pack leader in North Aforia is going to think Stella is marrying Harrison! "What if she decides to go through with it? You've already kept her waiting for seven years. Do you honestly think her wolf is going to put up with this?" Blake lets out a dismissive laugh. The scent of his pine-scented pheromones fills the air, his arrogance evident as he says, "I lost a bet to Sophia and promised her I'd do something crazy. Besides, it's just a declaration letter. It's not like I canceled the ceremony. "Knowing Stella, she'll blow a fuse the second she sees that letter. Then when she comes storming over to make a scene, I'll just pretend to be the bigger person and say, 'Fine. I'll send out a new one.' Easy." His friend looks like he wants to say something, but decides against it. He only shakes his head and looks away. He's probably thinking, "This arrogant idiot has no idea what he's destroying." The completely oblivious Blake casually twirls a pen in his hand, remarking, "Uncle Harrison's wolf died from a silver bullet years ago. He'd never acknowledge the arrangement. "When Stella eventually comes to me in tears, I'll use that chance to make her completely devoted to me." His flippant remark draws a chorus of laughter from the young werewolves around him. As I stand outside the study, listening to their conversation for what feels like forever, my heart grows colder with every passing moment. I then walk away, dumping the hangover cure and the cup of black coffee meant to help him through his rut straight into the sink without a second thought. Later, when the letter arrives, my mom comes rushing over in panic, looking absolutely horrified. I simply smile, take the letter with the name "Harrison Sterling" on it, and stare at it for a long while. I say softly, "It's fine, Mom. Send this declaration out to the entire North Aforian Werewolf Alliance exactly as it is."

I hid my identity as a princess of the royal court and lived a quiet life with my fated mate, Kael Voss. The day I found out I was carrying his pup, he dropped a bombshell. "I'm actually the Alpha of the Thunderpeak pack. "In a week, I'm taking Freya Edris as my mate. She's the daughter of the Frostmoon pack's Alpha." I froze. He went on. "I'll set you up with an estate and a lifetime crystal ore stipend. It'll be more than enough for you and the pup." "So?" My throat tightened. "You want me to be your mistress? You want our pup growing up nameless, shunned by every wolf in the kingdom?" Kael looked away. "You're just a packless Rogue. Only Freya is worthy of standing beside me. She's the one who can help me grow the Thunderpeak pack. "As long as you behave, I can give you and the pup everything. Everything except the title of Luna." My eyes stung. So that was all I meant to him. Our pup, our mate bond, none of it was worth a thing. I lifted my gaze and looked him dead in the eye. "What if I told you I have a greater right to stand beside you than Freya ever will? "I wouldn't just help you grow the Thunderpeak pack. I could make it the most powerful pack in the entire kingdom."

My pack, an ancient tribe led by female Alphas, has an ironclad rule. All Alpha heirs must hide their identities and survive in the outside world alone. Only when we are carrying a pup and awaken the powerful healing Moon Goddess bloodline within us—a sacred power that can purge sickness and restore life itself—can we return to the pack and become the next Alpha. When I felt the life of the pup inside me and my bloodline awakening, I was so excited. I couldn't wait to tell my Alpha, Caleb. I could finally end this three-year disguise. I didn't have to play a homeless Omega anymore. His newly established small pack wouldn't have to worry about the mining rights for the crystal veins in the new territory. I could openly help him. But when I returned to the master bedroom of our Pack House, I saw another she-wolf sitting on his lap, intimately sharing a glass of moon-wine with him. Caleb didn't even bother to look up. His voice was cold. "Jasmine is my first love. The Southern Pack Alliance behind her can give me the power and status I want. Be smart and leave on your own. I never marked you anyway." I clenched my fists, suppressing my restless white wolf. Caleb, you will never know that the mate you see as a burden has the Crimson Moon pack behind her—a pack even the Lycan King respects. Fine. We're done. I'll take my pup and you'll never see us again.

While on a trip, I caught my Alpha fiancé cheating on me with my adoptive sister, Selena. Once they realized I saw them, they ruthlessly abandoned me in that forbidden forest and let Selena return to take my place. For ten days, I was missing. No search party came, and my communication crystal remained silent. Then, while trying to escape a savage bear, I fell down a rocky slope and was left broken, bleeding, and alone. Just as I was on the brink of death and unable to heal, Ryker appeared and saved me. He was wild and imposing, yet lethally gentle. During our days and nights together in the wilderness, it took only a few hoarse whispers to tear down my defenses. I grew absurdly attached to him, believing he was my only salvation in this desolate place. Until one night, I found him contacting the outside world on a high-grade crystal. On the other end was Selena. "Why haven't you finished her off yet? As long as she never comes back, Alaric will be all mine." And my devoted savior replied in that same doting tone, "As long as it makes you happy, I'd spend a lifetime keeping up this charade with her in the wilderness." It was then I understood. What I believed to be a gift from the Goddess was nothing more than another death trap, meticulously woven to ensure Selena got her way. When my heat arrived, on the night of our supposed marking, I threw myself into the roaring river of death that marked the border. I would rather be torn to shreds by the current than look at that despicable "mate" for another second.

I'm New York's top fashion designer. Everyone says the industry is a swamp, but nobody ever dared lay a hand on me. Nobody knew my secret bed partner was the most dangerous, ruthless Alpha in the city. He used his power to pave my path, and asked for nothing. As his fragile human mate, he hid me away in his downtown penthouse. Every night after we were intimate, he would kiss my palm over and over. He'd bury his face in my shoulder, whispering that hiding me was the only way to keep me safe. He claimed his pack was torn by civil war and he needed time. He told me to wait until he could make me his true Luna in broad daylight. For seven years, it never missed a beat. Every single night, he only left after I fell asleep. I honestly thought he was obsessed with me. Until I overheard his right-hand man trembling as he asked: "The Council approved the vote. When are you bringing our real Luna home?" The Alpha sneered, his voice dripping with disgust: "Those old bastards trying to run my life again? Ava is just a toy. Make a human food my mate? I'm not out of my mind." And now? When my heart turned to ash and I finally walked away to let him have her... why is he losing his mind?

At the Crestwood Academy gala, a voice cut through the noise. We stood before a wall of portraits, our past selves staring back at us. "To our time at the academy. Three words." Victoria, the academy's fallen golden girl, raised her glass. She'd been silent for years. "Strength. Passion." She paused. Her gaze, hot as an ember, locked onto the one wolf every eye was already on—my mate. "And... Caspen." A hush fell over the room. They were the academy's most tragic couple. Caspen, the reckless Alpha. Victoria, the radiant pureblood. Their love had been a wildfire, wild and consuming. But they had broken apart on the night of the Blood Moon, just before graduation. Every wolf here had witnessed their legend. Including me. I glanced at Caspen. His power was a physical weight in the air. That untamed wolf had sheathed his claws. He was my mate now. The Alpha of Alphas. Powerful. Composed. But his heart was not mine.

The human world has been overtaken by the vampires and the werewolves. In order to appease them, my aristocrat parents have ordered me and the fake heir, Delroy Andrews, to marry someone out of each clan. In my previous life, Delroy had chosen Vivian Wolfe, a she-wolf who was known for being strong and loyal to her mate. Meanwhile, I chose a graceful and noble-looking vampire named Leila Sangalia. But on the night of the full moon, Vivian went into heat, resulting in her devouring Delroy on the spot. As for me, I was given the gift of immortality after receiving the First Embrace from Leila. My parents drugged me and had me delivered to Vivian's bed just to get revenge for Delroy. She tore me into pieces, resulting in my death. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day I'm supposed to draw lots for my future bride. This time, Delroy knocks over the lot box and begins whining to our parents that he wants to marry Leila instead. "This time, it's my turn to become an immortal, Titus!" I accept the cruel Vivian as my bride without any objections. Despite being given a second chance at life, Delroy is still stupid enough to think that he will be given a life of happiness just by relying on vampires. But what I actually want is to liberate mankind from vampires and werewolves.

To stop the Moonshadow Pack and the Black Pack from slaughtering each other, I volunteered to form a mate bond with Kael. He was the heir of the Black Pack and the boy who had grown up beside me. I had loved him for ten years. I believed that once we completed our mating bond, the hatred between our packs would finally end. After the ceremony, he held me for three days and three nights, refusing to let me go. Years later, Kael personally led the Black Pack warriors into my territory and destroyed my home. My father, mother, and brother had all died in the war. Then Kael leaned close to my ear and asked coldly, “Eileen, did you really think becoming my mate would make me forget that the Moonshadow Pack murdered my parents?” That was when I finally understood. Kael believed my parents had ordered his parents’ deaths. What he did not know was that the woman who truly killed them and started the war later became his Luna. After the war, Kael became the Alpha of both packs. He made Selena his Luna and locked me inside an abandoned dungeon, forcing me to repay a blood debt that had never belonged to my family. Whenever I tried to end my life, he ordered his men to dig up one of my relatives’ graves. “You do not get to die without my permission.” So I stopped fighting. I stopped explaining. It no longer mattered. Ten years ago, I swallowed a nest of blood worms to save his life. Now they had reached my heart. I would be dead in three days.

Mom was Dad's dirty little secret. Every year, he would hold her and promise, Wait for me. We'll have our mating ceremony next year. Five years passed, but he mated with another woman instead, making her his Luna. Mom grew bitter and unhinged. She even resorted to abusing me just to get Dad's attention. Go call your father! Tell him you're sick and he needs to see you! But after she pulled that trick so many times, Dad grew disgusted with me. Learning to lie like your mother already. Sickening. Later, Dad's Luna had a daughter. Rumors of their perfect, loving family spread through the pack. Mom lost her mind completely. On my seventh birthday, she fed me a micro-dose of wolfsbane and ordered me to call Dad over. I begged her to take me to the pack hospital. She snapped impatiently, It's just a little wolfsbane. Take the antidote in a minute and you'll be fine. Stop being such a baby! Dad rushed over, only to shove Mom to the floor in annoyance. If you use this little liar to trick me again, you won't get another dime from me! Screams and sobs tangled in the air. I lay on the freezing floor, slowly losing consciousness. Before I died, I thought, "Without me here, they won't have to fight anymore." But after I actually died, Mom and Dad both said they regretted it.

On the night of my eighteenth birthday, the Lycan King came to me in a dream. He proclaimed me his fated mate and vowed to make me his queen when I turned twenty-two. Terrified, my father tried to help me escape this fate. Before he died, he entrusted me to his closest allies, a family with three powerful, wealthy sons who became my adoptive brothers. They once fought for my attention, each vying to be the one who would marry me. But that all stopped when they brought home Daisy, an orphan girl they found on the streets. They never spoke of marrying me again. Before I knew it, my twenty-second birthday arrived. A blood moon hung in the sky, and I trembled with fear, crying as I begged my eldest brother, Liam, to marry me. He had once had a million-dollar couture wedding gown designed just for me, swearing he would protect me for the rest of his life. But just before the wedding, he heard Daisy had a migraine. He abandoned me without a second thought, rushing her to a private doctor. Tears blurring my vision, I dragged the long train of my gown to find my second brother, Noah. The hot-headed brother who used to fight anyone who upset me now did not even spare me a glance. "Don't bother me," he snapped impatiently. "I'm busy preparing Daisy's medication." As the night deepened, my panic grew, and I ran to find my third brother, Caleb. He was holding Daisy, soothing her gently. "Evie, sweetie, stop playing the victim," he said with a gentle smile that didn't reach his eyes. "There was no Lycan King in your dream." "Your father was just afraid you were so spoiled that no one would ever want you, so he made up that ridiculous lie." "Once Daisy has fully recovered, we'll draw straws or something to decide which of us will marry you." My fingertips went cold as tears streamed down my face. So this is how they saw it. Marrying me was a burden. I stopped pleading. I turned, walked back to my room, and quietly waited for the Lycan King to claim me.

In the fifth year of my becoming Damian Veylor's fated mate, he returns from a hunting mission with an injury. They say his memory has been destroyed by the toxins, and so he forgets everything about me, yet he still manages to remember Clara Whitmore—the she-wolf he grew up with and the one everyone always believed he would mark—perfectly. For her sake, he throws me out of the Alpha's quarters. Then, with his own two hands, he forces poison down my throat. The poison consists of silver powder and wolfsbane, two of the oldest, most brutal substances known to werewolves. It burns straight through my internal organs and sears its way into my bones. I can feel a certain part of myself burning alive. That's when I know I'll never be able to get pregnant. I'll never be able to carry Damian's pup, or anyone else's for that matter. "Only Clara is worthy of carrying the next Alpha. As for you? You're nothing but a Rogue who wandered into my territory and refused to leave."