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Home / Werewolf Short Story / After Rebirth, I Refuse to Be Your Luna Again / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of After Rebirth, I Refuse to Be Your Luna Again: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

11 Chapters

Chapter 1

Our Alpha Brooks Sutton sat on the couch, his knuckles tapping a slow, steady beat against the armrest.When those golden eyes swept over me, my whole body tensed before I could stop it.“Where were you last night? I think I caught your scent too.”I dug my nails into my palm and forced myself to stay calm.“There was an emergency in the middle of the night. By the time I'd dealt with it, it was nearly morning, so I just slept in the downstairs guest room.”Thankfully the heat poison left a wolf half out of his mind, so Brooks couldn't have gotten a clear look at my face.Cassia tilted her head slightly, and the kiss marks on her neck were plain to see.It made for a simple story, and the old Luna nodded, satisfied, then turned to her son.Brooks's gaze rested on Cassia for a long moment before he finally spoke.“Since you're the one who broke the poison for me, you should stay at my side. The full moon celebration is coming, and I'll mark you in front of everyone.”Cassia flushed and

Chapter 2

To the pack, Brooks was a fierce and forbidding Alpha.But I was the only one who knew he had the temper of a small boy, all reckless play and no sense of responsibility.My parents had been the old Alpha and Luna's personal doctors.So I had trailed after them from a young age, and when I wasn't studying I had time to spare.And so the job of keeping our little wolf prince entertained fell to me.Only this time, I had no intention of coddling him again.Back in my room, I started to pack.The invitation from the Healers Without Borders would arrive in a few days.In this life I hadn't become Luna, and at last I could do what I had always wanted.I was folding the last white coat into my bag when the door pushed open from the outside.I didn't need to turn around, because the cloying smell of rose perfume already told me who it was.“Funny how two women can start out the same and end up worlds apart. So you're really leaving?”Cassia leaned against the doorframe, winding a strand of ha

Chapter 3

Brooks took Cassia to the hot-spring estate, the one built where the Moon Goddess was said to have once walked the earth.Her giggling drifted across the grounds without a pause.I found a quiet spot to sit in the sun, and a maid beside me muttered under her breath.“Luna Cassia has to be the Alpha's fated mate. He used to work until dawn every night, his whole mind on the pack, and now he spends every day at her side.”“Right? We've seen the Alpha's other girlfriends before, and he never doted on any of them like this.”In my last life, every one of those words had been about me.I was still sitting there in a daze when the steward called out to me.“Dr. Hart, the Alpha's asking for you.”The servants looked at me with something close to pity in their eyes.I used to be the one always at the Alpha's side.He had never once left me the time to sit out here in the sun alone.But now he had fallen for the woman who worked under me.I drew a few deep breaths, steeled myself, and walked to

Chapter 4

Brooks was a man who kept his word.It was past two in the morning before he and Cassia finished their reckless affair for the night.Most of the wolves at the estate had gone to bed, and only after I'd checked her over did I make my slow way toward my own building.Cassia had also told me to sort through the tonics Brooks had given her.I worked into the small hours, hauling box after box of tourniquets and antibiotics out of the estate storeroom.With the pup, bending over made my belly drag and ache.I was about to leave when I turned and bumped into a guard.He had fallen out of favor in the pack and been sent down here to do odd jobs.In the dark, he saw me moving things alone and came over to lend a hand.By the time we'd finished, it was nearly dawn.We sat side by side on the steps of the fire stairwell.His stomach growled.I dug a meat pie out of my coat and handed it to him.“I'm Lena. And you?”He wiped the sweat from his palm and took the pie.“Theo Marsh.”At the familiar

Chapter 5

My leave ended fast, and I was on my way to give Brooks his checkup.A maid spotted me and spoke up.“Dr. Hart? Weren't you assigned to look after Luna Cassia full-time? What are you doing back here?”“My time off left me foggy. I forgot.”I forced myself to perk up, smiling on the outside while I wept somewhere underneath.When I hurried to her room, Brooks was there having a meal with her. Cassia fed him by hand right in front of me, on purpose, and he pulled her into his lap and bit kisses along her neck. By the time they were done, my legs had gone numb from standing.Cassia put on a show of surprise. “Lena, how could you just stand there and watch the whole time?”Brooks mocked me without the slightest hesitation. “She's far too dull and boring. Train her up and she's still handy enough when you need her.”Was I only handy when he needed me?It suddenly took me back to being six, the year my parents and I came to the Meadow Pack.Back then his parents were out of the old Alpha's f

Chapter 6

Before I knew it, the night of the first-quarter moon had arrived.The day I was leaving was close now.Brooks threw a warm-up banquet for the full moon marking ceremony.He didn't announce Cassia's status outright, but she stayed at his side the entire night.Plenty of the women there burned with envy.An Alpha like Brooks, this tender with a woman, was a sight in itself.He even took off his own jacket and draped it over her shoulders.Nothing in me stirred at it anymore, and I was already half lost in daydreams of life as a healer.As I went to grab a few small cakes, a passing bartender slipped a note into my hand.I found a quiet corner and opened it.It read, “Come to the pool right away. Something important to discuss.”It was Theo's handwriting.Maybe something serious had really happened, the way he was rushing.I made sure no one was watching me and hurried off.What I didn't notice was the heat of a stare following me out.I reached the poolside and spotted Theo from a dista

Chapter 7

As her words landed, Theo's face fell, but he didn't argue.Brooks looked at the jacket someone held out to him.He walked straight up to me and settled it over my shoulders.Then his face went cold, he turned, and the full weight of an Alpha's power rolled off him.He drove a kick into Theo's chest.Even that wasn't enough to satisfy him.He hauled Theo up by the collar and put a brutal punch into him.“Alpha.”Theo's voice shook, and blood spilled from his lips.I threw myself in to stop it, afraid Brooks would beat him to death in front of everyone.But Brooks's eyes were locked on my neck.He dragged me in front of him, his grip vicious.He stared at my throat as if he could see straight through it.“He marked you, didn't he?”His voice was raw, consumed by obsession.I avoided his gaze, confused as to why he wore such an affectionate expression now.“What is it? Does it hurt? It hurts me far more than it ever could you.”He seized my wrist, hard.“Days ago there was nothing there.

Chapter 8

I surfaced out of the terror of drowning.Pale as paper, I pressed a hand to my belly.I felt the child there, and finally let out a breath.“Relax. Your child is fine.”The voice beside me was calm and even.I threw back the blanket and scrambled out of bed.“Old Luna, why are you here?”She didn't look at me, only tended quietly to the plants in my room.I was still working out what to say to her.The old Luna let out a cold laugh. “I was reborn too. I brought you to my side to ask you one thing. Why won't you be Luna this time? That scene at the pool, the one that washed the potion off you, I'm the one who had Theo arrange it. Years ago I was carrying a child, and I drank the broth my mate sent me and lost it. He was a monster, the most selfish creature alive. That is why I mean to destroy him.”Watching the pain twist across her face, something came back to me.In my last life, after I knew I'd lost the baby, Brooks still came around often.Then, seeing how I grieved, he frowned an

Chapter 9

On the day of the full moon rite, Brooks had no heart for the ceremony, his mind circling back to Lena.With the rite about to begin, he scanned the faces around him and couldn't stop himself from asking,“Where's Lena?”The Beta standing nearby found it odd too.“She was around just now. I saw her myself. I'll send someone to find her right away.”A moment later, word came back.“Alpha. Beta. Dr. Hart is resting at the clinic out back. Shall I bring her over?”Brooks thought it over and decided to let her rest.She was probably worn out. She'd suffered alongside him for years, and her body tired easily.And with everything today, she was likely upset as well.Once it was over he would tuck her away in his own quarters and find some way to lift her spirits.But the ceremony was half over and still there was no sign of her.Brooks could no longer keep his temper in check.His face had gone completely dark.“Bring her here!”But right up until the marking ceremony ended, I never appeared

Chapter 10

Three years later, I had opened a small clinic on the edge of the Borderlands, living a quiet life with my daughter, Harper Hart.Then the man in the tiger-head mask showed up, and I knew him at a single glance. It was Brooks.For days on end he trailed us in secret.A few days in, he went so far as to fake being drunk and collapse right at the clinic door.That day my daughter had been playing nicely in the yard when she suddenly ran in and shouted at me.“Mommy. The tiger man outside, I think he's hurt.”I had no interest in dealing with him. “It's nothing. Go back to your room.”Hearing my voice turn cold, Harper nodded timidly and didn't linger.Just then Brooks slowly opened his eyes, knowing his act had been exposed.He braced a hand on the ground and got slowly to his feet.He looked at me with a pitiful expression, something almost meek creeping into his voice.“Lena, I was wrong. None of what happened was your fault. I was too proud. I've loved you since we were children, and

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