How Do Sad Puppy Stories Help Teach Empathy?

“You’re mine, little puppy,” Kylan growled against my neck. “Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.” — When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition. Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate. Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell. As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?

My best friend Ada felt sorry for my eight-year crush on Theo. So when our wolves recognize each other as mate, Ada simply gave me a pheromone-enhancing herb and sent me to Theo’s bed. Intoxicated by my scent, Theo claimed me like crazy. When I woke up, he coldly agreed to hold the marking ceremony. But shortly after the marking, Theo frequently visited European packs, and stayed away for five years. I raised our son Alex alone, waiting for him at the pack. But he never came come and just told me he didn’t like puppies. Until Alex's birthday party, I saw a video where someone asked him: "Theo, what's your happiest moment?" He replied carelessly: "Last week in Europe, after putting Marcus to sleep, I took Claire to the dining table in the living room." Amidst the whistles and cheers, my hands and feet turned ice cold. Claire was his ex-girlfriend, Marcus was his ex-girlfriend's son. They say he'd been living with them these five years in Europe, so it was all true. I was completely heartbroken, submitted the mate bond dissolution to the Alpha Council, and left North America with my son, erasing our pack registration.

I am Alpha Asher's fated mate. His Luna, blessed by the Moon Goddess. But when I started bleeding out, our pup's life hanging by a thread, Asher was at a party for her son—Seraphina's son—celebrating his first shift. I cried out to him through our mind-link, begging for help. He just sounded annoyed. "Bleeding? How long are you going to keep up this act? Last time it was a headache that turned out to be nothing. Now it's bleeding. Aurora, enough is enough. I'm at Leo's first shift party. This is a huge day for him. I can't just leave." Then I heard Seraphina's child call him "Daddy," and Asher's voice, so full of love, answer him. Before I could say anything else, he ruthlessly severed the link. Three hours later, the doctors declared my pup dead. I sent Asher the wolfstone that held our pup's shattered soul, then went to the pack elders alone. "Asher has betrayed me. I demand the severing of our mate bond."

Blood poured heavily between my thighs, the metallic scent sharp enough to make my wolf whimper in agony. But the pain that tore deeper into my soul was the sight of my Alpha mate running past me without hesitation, chasing the overturned vehicle that had crashed toward Marina’s white car instead. “Marina!” he roared, his Alpha command raw and furious. A voice he had never once used on me in the five years I had stood beside him as Luna. I lifted my trembling hand, my lips parting in desperation. I wanted to scream that his pup was the heir of the pack, the secret I had protected for years was growing inside me. But he never looked back. He gathered Marina into his arms, his grip fierce and possessive, and carried her away as if she were his true mate. I thought that was the worst betrayal a Luna could endure. I was wrong. When I woke in the infirmary, the bond between my wolf and my mate was eerily silent. No Alpha. No pup. Only the cold scent of blood and a set of rejected papers resting beside my bed. I smiled faintly, my voice no more than a whisper. “This time I will be the one who makes Alpha Declan Jordan kneel until he howls in regret and begs his discarded Luna to return.”

My Alpha mate thought I didn't know he had two half-breed Omega pups with his Omega mistress, but I had discovered his secret long ago. I threatened him to break up with his mistress, otherwise I would hide their child and make him regret it forever. But I had done absolutely nothing, their pups disappeared. He locked me in a silver cage and even made me watch my son being abused to interrogate me about the whereabouts of their pups. But when my son really died, I completely gave up and left. The powerful Alpha collapsed.

"I, Primitivo Alexander O' Cleirigh, accept you—where are you going, woman?!" "Enough, Fluffy. Or I'll get you back on a leash." --- Soraya takes the kid she babysits to an animal shelter to get her first puppy. Of all the dogs she could pick, the little girl chooses the aloof massive dog. It turns out that the dog is a werewolf who comes to the mortal world to find the mate he's been looking for hundreds of years, and it's the babysitter. Primitivo is frustrated to have to travel to another world for his mate and to find out she's a human, to say the least. Yet he cannot complain as the mating process becomes a life-and-death situation. She's crazy to think he's crazy. Primo's trying to be patient with her. He's a tyrant in his world, and he doesn't want to show that early on to his mate and risk scaring her. Soon, he will love his stay in her world, but time is ticking in his world and his pack without their Alpha. He must take her to Agartha to bear his heir before the second full moon — or risk going extinct.