Novels by Bena Yang

I needed air and space to think about everything the elders had dumped on me so I headed for the gardens behind the main house. The same gardens where I used to hide from everyone when things got overwhelming in my old life, except now they were supposedly mine and not just a place where the unwanted omega went to cry.Lily caught up with me as I was pushing through the heavy wooden doors that led outside and she looked concerned in that big sister way that made my chest hurt."Iris, you look like you've seen a ghost," she said while falling into step beside me on the stone pathway. "What did the elders want?"I almost laughed because technically I had seen a ghost earlier, just not the kind she was thinking about. Instead I just shrugged and kept walking toward the section with the white roses that had always been my favorite spot."They want to give me another Lykora," I said and tried to make it sound casual instead of like the world was ending. "For my protection apparently."Lily

The council chamber doors looked exactly like they did in my old life except somehow bigger and more intimidating. I knew those wolf carvings by heart, the way the stone curved at the edges, even the small chip near the bottom left corner where some clumsy elder had dropped his walking stick years ago.Everything here felt like home but wrong at the same time, like wearing clothes that almost fit but pinch in weird places."Luna, you don't have to do this if you're not ready," Zayen said softly and his hand found mine. His fingers were warm and steady and I realized he'd been holding my hand for the past few minutes while I just stood there staring at doors like they might explode.Great. Now he probably thinks I'm losing it completely."I'm fine," I lied and squeezed his hand back. His smile was so genuine it made my chest hurt in a good way.The doors opened before we reached them and I had to resist the urge to laugh because apparently even in this universe the elders loved their d

“It has been eight hours now…” “I shouldn’t have left her alone…” “When do you think she will...” Their voices floated around me, blurry and distant, like echoes bouncing inside a cave.My mouth wouldn’t move, my eyes felt glued shut, but I could hear every word. “You should go rest, Ren. You’ve already used up all your energy on her.” “No, I’m fine. Besides, I need to make sure she’s okay.” “She will be…” “Am…” The word slipped out before I realized, my voice barely a whisper. It felt heavy in my throat, like I had been silent for years. My eyes flickered open, vision adjusting slowly. I still couldn’t say much, but I needed Ren to know I was alive. “I…” This time my voice came louder, shaky but audible. “Luna!” Hands rushed to me, warm on my forehead, gentle at my back as they helped me sit up. The sudden closeness startled me. “Am I… still here?” By “here,” I didn’t mean the bed, or this house. I meant this absurd world the goddess dropped me into. Faces blurred into

I turned, ready to see the Moon Goddess herself. But it was worse. My mother was smiling at me a gesture I hadn’t seen on her face for all the nineteen years I had lived. You’d think, okay, it couldn’t get weirder than this. But then Beta Alaric walked in, his suit polished, his hair combed, and some kind of gleam in his eyes. Eyes that looked just like mine. Behind him stood his favorite son. Thorn towered at an imposing six foot eight, making everyone in the hall look small. But he was also… different. Thorn was normally lean, not because he was born that way but because he was too lazy to build up any muscle at all. But now? He was muscular I could see his muscle through the coat. Conclusion? This wasn’t my family. “Iris, you’re finally up!” my mother squealed, practically skipping toward me and Lily. “I… I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. This was the same woman who once slapped me just for standing in front of her in the morning. Apparently, seeing me first thing in the mor

“Iris? Iris! Wake up!” The voice that called me was familiar, even though I was certain I had never heard it before. Yet it tugged at something deep inside me, as if I should know it. I must be dead. That was the only explanation for the weightlessness I felt in my body. There was no pain anymore. In fact, I felt amazing like I was floating on a puff of clouds. If this was the afterlife, then maybe dying wasn’t so bad after all. “She must still be sleepy.” “But I saw her eyes moving, she’s definitely awake.” “Then she must be tired. Ren, you were with her yesterday. You must have worn her out again.” “Me? I didn’t! I’m not as rough as you.” “How dare....” “Shhh… she moved.” I heard footsteps approach the bed. My eyelids fluttered, still heavy. What was happening? Where was I? “Luna? Are you awake?” I forced my eyes open, and the sudden flood of light nearly blinded me. I squinted, waiting for my vision to adjust, and finally focused on the voice. “You’re awake!” A lean,

“I, Alpha Elias Stormbane, reject you, Iris Devenwood, as my mate and Luna.” The words echoed like a death bell, sharp enough to slice through bone. My chest tightened, air refusing to enter my lungs as the elders leaned forward, murmurs rippling like wildfire. I blinked at him, searching for the boy who used to climb into my window with stolen moonflowers, the man who swore he would choose me against the world. But his golden eyes once warm were cold as steel. “No…” The whisper tore from me, fragile and broken. “Elias, you don’t mean this. You can’t mean this.” He didn’t even flinch. A cruel smirk touched the corner of his lips, the kind that made the elders nod in approval while my heart bled out. “I can, and I do. You were mistaken, Iris. You took my kindness for love. You’re too weak to stand beside me. Too fragile to be my Luna. This pack needs someone who can lead them, not one more thing to protect.” My legs trembled beneath me, but somehow, I forced myself to stand tall.