No Longer Participating in Alpha’s Game のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

Shiny moonstones scattered on the ground, beautiful as stars, but it all felt so ridiculous to me.A few days ago, for my mother, I might have scrambled to pick them up.But now, they looked dirtier than the dust on the floor.I ignored the stinging pain on my face and didn't even look at Ryker's disgusted expression.I bent down, picked up enough crystals to pay for two months' rent, and handed them to the Captain of the Guard.Then, I pushed open the door to my hut and went inside.This small, dark room was supposedly mine after Ryker and I "mated."A few of his old things were still tossed in a corner; his overbearing scent still clung to the air.I'd been so naive, thinking this would be our new beginning, a nest for our love and future.My eyes fell on the table. On the day the Moon Goddess Stone showed our mate mark, he'd carved a vow of love for me there.I couldn't forget how he first came to Willow Creek as an Alpha – powerful, cold, but with a hint of something… searching in

"Selena! You better explain this to me! These… these are all props you prepared beforehand, right?"Ryker's voice was sharp and shrill from extreme shock and panic. He stalked towards me, his eyes filled with fear. "You're still lying to me! You deliberately set all this up to scare me, to make me feel sorry for you, to make me feel guilty. It's… it's all fake, isn't it? Answer me!"I had no energy, no desire to deal with his near-hysterical questions.My whole world had collapsed the moment I saw my mother's "Soul Stone" so carelessly crushed.I sank to the cold stone floor, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I carefully gathered the broken pieces of the "Soul Stone" and my mother's scattered belongings.Every shard felt like it was tearing my soul apart.Every item was like a knife twisting in my already ravaged heart.I ignored the moonstone Ryker had carved for me; let it lie forgotten in the corner.Ryker was still yelling hysterically in my ear:"Answer me! Selena! Stop acting in

My father died young. My mother worked her fingers to the bone, raising me all by herself, teaching me to gather herbs, to heal, to survive in the harsh werewolf world.I thought, becoming the Howling Moon Pack Alpha’s destined mate, I could finally stop her from worrying about survival, let her live out her old age in peace.Later, I brought Ryker back to the Creek Pack. He told me his parents died when he was young, that he’d fought his way to the Alpha position through brutal power struggles, surrounded by backstabbing and lies.When my mother heard, she felt for him. She told me, again and again:"Selena, Alpha Ryker has had a hard life, starved for love. You must love him well, use your gentleness to soothe him. Absolutely don’t let him suffer anymore, don’t let him feel alone again."So, when Ryker said he needed the Creek Pack’s "Moonstone" to solidify his position, to nourish the Howling Moon Pack’s "Blood Moon Altar," my mother, though heartbroken, agreed even faster, more res

"Selena!" he panted, flustered. "Mom… Aunt Elara… she didn’t get to see me at the end. I should go to her grave and atone. Selena, you don’t have to forgive me, you can even kill me. But I just want… I just want to apologize to Aunt Elara one last time… Please…"Hearing him call her "Mom" so suddenly, so unnaturally, I couldn’t help but scoff.Just a moment ago, it was "your lowly mother." He changed his tune fast."Don’t call her that," I snapped. "She’s not your mom. And you don’t deserve to."Ryker choked up, like a child who’d done wrong, pleading helplessly again, "Selena, give me another chance. Just one, please? I know, it’s all my fault, I was a bastard. Mom… Aunt Elara’s funeral. I’ll make sure… I’ll make sure it’s the grandest send-off. I’ll see her off to the heavens in style, please, just give me one more chance."I didn’t speak, didn’t stop walking. I just clutched my mother’s ashes and headed towards the valley.Seeing I was ignoring him, Ryker got anxious. He rushed a fe

I clutched Liam, running for my life through the dark forest.Behind me, Ryker's heart-wrenching howl echoed like thunder through the valley, lingering for a long time.I didn't look back. I didn't dare.Hatred spread through me like a poisonous vine, but I knew what was most important now: protecting Liam, the last bloodline of Willow Creek.I used my knowledge of these woods to barely evade the Shadow-fang hunters, but my energy was draining fast. Liam trembled in my arms from fear and exhaustion.Just as we were about to be cornered by a group of pursuers, a black shadow shot out from the side like lightning. It was Ryker!He was covered in blood, no longer the high-and-mighty Alpha, but a completely feral beast, tearing apart every Shadow-fang wolf that came near him in the most primal, brutal way. He carved a bloody path for us but drew even more enemies to himself."Go!" he roared, his voice desperate, but his eyes were locked on me, holding a plea I'd never seen before. "Take hi