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Home / Werewolf Short Story / I Was the Starter Mate / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of I Was the Starter Mate: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

14 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Zara, the silver poisoning in your body has already spread to your organs. If you don't do the purification, you've got less than a month. Are you sure you're refusing treatment?""I'm sure."I stepped out of the healing lodge. A sharp burn ripped through my chest.I'd thought it was an old battle wound flaring up. Didn't realize it was silver poison—crafted to wipe out wolves like us.I made it back to the house, barely steady on my feet.My eyes landed on the old photo frame on the table.In it, Eric was still a teenage wolf, staring at me like I was his whole damn world.Even now, I remember that day.Up in the frozen north, two rogue pups curled together just to survive the cold.He shoved the last piece of venison into my hands and grinned. "Zara, when I'm Alpha, you'll never go hungry again. I'll make sure you've always got meat."I teased him. "What if I get fat?"He ruffled my hair, smiling like it was obvious. "Even if you turn into a pig, I'd still want you. You'l

Chapter 2

I bolted from pack territory, not waiting to hear the rest.He didn't come after me.I hid out for a week in the cave we used to crash in as rogues. When the pain in my body got too brutal to ignore, I finally went to the healer.When I came back home, the vase we'd shattered during our fight was still all over the floor.He hadn't been back.I knelt to clean it up and sliced my palm on a shard.Black blood—poisoned—slid from the cut.I just stared at it.Should I tell him?If he knew I was dying... would he even care?My eyes burned. I let out a dry laugh.Forget it.He wasn't the Eric I grew up with. Now he'd just say I was faking it to get his attention.I drew a slow breath.The door opened.Eric stepped inside.A red mark stained the white collar of his shirt.The air shifted—heavy with a she-wolf in heat.Not mine.Velda's.I'd know that scent anywhere.He looked at me, eyebrow raised. "Done throwing your tantrum?"I said nothing. Slid my injured hand into m

Chapter 3

My time was running out. No reason to keep any of it.I called the weakest Omegas and handed over everything Eric ever gave me—rare furs, gemstones, all of it."Luna... you're really giving this to me? This is prime silver fox fur. If Alpha finds out..."The young Omega's voice shook. Her eyes didn't."Take it. You need it more."I smiled while they carried off the gifts that used to mean honor. Used to mean love."Alpha treats you so well. He always saves the best for you."I heard the envy. I didn't answer. Just glanced down at the pack feed on my phone.Velda had posted:[It's freezing out, but good thing I've got your warmth to keep me cozy.]In the photo, she was wrapped in a flawless white bear pelt.Eric hunted that bear up north last week.I'd begged for it. Winter bedding. The cold cut deeper now.What did he say?"I'm slammed every day. Who has time for that? And you're so fat—how could you even be cold?"So yeah. He wasn't busy.He just had someone else to ke

Chapter 4

A brutal cramp ripped through my stomach.Black blood filled my mouth.Daisy started yelling about the healer, but I grabbed her wrist."Take me home."I wasn't dying in a room that smelled like antiseptic. I wasn't letting the pack see me like this.I tried to stay awake so she wouldn't panic.The pain won.Everything went dark.Through the haze, I heard her screaming into the phone."Eric, you bastard! Wherever you are, get back here now!"She took me home.By the time Eric showed up, the healer had already pumped me full of painkillers and left. Daisy was gone too.I lay there alone, swallowed by a heavy black robe, curled into myself.The silver poison had sunk into my marrow. I was all bone, my face the only thing swollen from the toxins."What stunt are you pulling now? Daisy says you're dying? You look fine to me."The door swung open. Eric walked in, frowning, staring at me like I was trash.My throat was too dry to answer.Velda slipped in behind him, holding

Chapter 5

Before, I would've dodged a cheap move like that without thinking.Now the silver poison had slowed me down.I tried to pull back. Too late. The blade sliced across the back of my hand. Black blood welled up."Ah!" Velda screamed first. She grabbed her stomach and dropped to the floor. "Zara, why did you shove me? If you don't want fruit, fine—but you can't push my stomach!""Stop!"Eric walked in right then, fresh off the call with the Elder Council.He saw her on the ground. Thought I'd gone for her stomach.He rushed over and slapped me across the face. Hard.Velda threw herself into his arms, sobbing. "It hurts... Eric, is Zara trying to kill our pup?"He held her tight and looked at me like he wanted me dead. "Zara, you're hopeless! Velda peeled fruit for you out of kindness, and you attack the pup she's carrying?"You're just jealous! You can't carry a pup, so you go after someone who can!"My cheek burned.I looked up at the wolf who once swore he'd protect me.I wa

Chapter 6

In the days after, everything I ate came back up.My stomach emptied until there was nothing left. Not even bile. So I stopped eating.With what little money I had left, I contacted the Witch and booked the Moonreturn Rite for after my death.I called Daisy too. Told her when I died, she was to take my body back to Stormcrown Pack.Even dead, I wasn't staying on Eric's land. I didn't want him anywhere near where I'd rest.While I could still stand, I went into the human town and took a portrait at a photography studio.Proof I'd existed.The day I picked it up, I ran into Eric and Velda outside the mall.Velda had designer bags hooked over her arm, pressed into his side.Eric looked at me and frowned, eyes cold. "Zara, hauling that fat body around just to follow me—don't you get tired?"I pulled my coat tighter.No fight left in me. I turned to walk away."Who said you could go?"He grabbed me.We struggled. The kraft envelope slipped from my hands.The photo slid out.

Chapter 7

I kept my voice steady when I met her. "I want the cleanest break. Even if he stands right in front of me, he won't feel anything through the mate bond. And make sure he never knows you did it."The witch stared at me. "Zara, forcefully breaking a soul contract will cut your life short. In your condition... if you do this, the half month you have left could turn into three days.""Three days is enough."As long as I was free from him, even one day would be worth it.She shook her head but honored my choice.The ritual began.The agony of my wolf tearing apart was a hundred times worse than the silver poison.I clenched my teeth and watched the silver totem on my wrist—our bond mark—fade, piece by piece... until nothing.I wanted to tell him the bond was gone.I gave him his freedom.The mind link was blocked.So I called.Again.Again.Finally, it connected."Oh, Eric... you're amazing..."Velda's syrupy moan spilled through the speaker, tangled with a male wolf's rough

Chapter 8

"Dead?" He let out a sharp, ugly laugh. "What, you're acting with her now? Haven't you two put on enough of a show? Tell Zara the dagger's already burned. Get her back here. Now. Or I'll strip her of her Luna title myself.""Eric!!!"Daisy's scream ripped through the phone."You bastard! How can you be this cruel? She's dead! Zara is dead! While you were off vacationing with Velda, the healer already confirmed it! We're holding the farewell rite right now! Do you not get it? She's dead!!!"His hand locked around the phone.His heart seemed to stall.Dead?Zara—the she-wolf who ran like she had endless moonlight in her veins, who fought beside him in the snowfields for three days and nights without shifting or slowing—dead?"Impossible." The word came out flat. "Three days ago she was still fighting with me. Still throwing a tantrum over some stupid cave. How does she die today? It's not April Fool's. Quit joking."He said he didn't believe it.His fingers shook like a wolf ca

Chapter 9

Eric staggered back, his voice coming out warped."Zara clearly—"He tripped again and hit the ground.Then something clicked.He shot back to his feet."Oh, I get it! Zara, this is just another one of your tricks, right? If you could find a witch to secretly sever the mate bond, you can fake looking like this too!"The more he talked, the more he believed it.His arrogance crept back in.Eric stared down at the body on the stone platform."Zara, last chance. I'll count to three. Get up."Daisy shook her head."Three... Two..."Nothing.His jaw tightened. "One!"She didn't move.He swallowed. His voice dropped. "0.9... 0.8... 0.7..."0.1..."Still nothing.His hands hovered, lost. He looked like a clueless pup."Alright, Zara. Quit messing around. Let's go home..."He reached to pull her up—His hand froze.Under the loose black robe—the one he used to sneer made her look like a pig—there was nothing left but bone and skin. A hollow shell.Every word he'd thrown

Chapter 10

The second the healer finished, pain detonated in Eric's skull."Ahhh!!!"He clutched his head and hit the ground.All the pain he should've felt these past years—the pain Zara took for him—came roaring back, vicious and wild.He'd barely tasted it, and he already wanted to die.But Zara endured this for five years. And while she did, she endured his mockery. His insults."I threw the medicine away... I actually threw out her painkillers..." Eric slammed into the wall, wailing. "When she was hurting the most, I dumped her medicine in the trash... I'm not even worthy of being a wolf. I'm worse than a rogue!"And compared to what Zara suffered, what was this?He staggered up, forcing the agony down, and reached for her."Come home with me... Zara, my Luna. Let's go home..."Smack.Daisy knocked his hand away. "Take your filthy hands off her!"She pulled out a parchment. "This is the will Zara left behind."A cold snort. "She made it clear she wants to be buried in my pack's

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