短編Werewolf のストーリーと小説

Lawson and I had arranged to take photos for our upcoming marking ceremony. Dressed in my ceremonial gown, I waited for him in the forest all afternoon until my legs went numb and exhaustion seeped into every part of me. The werewolves accompanying me asked whether we should reschedule. I forced a smile and made an excuse for Lawson. "He's on his way. He'll be here soon." I had no idea where he was. I kept calling him over and over until my phone nearly ran out of battery. Only then did he finally arrive, but he wasn't alone. A shewolf followed behind him. She was draped in Lawson's suit jacket. When they descended the steps, Lawson turned back and offered her his hand. I recognized her immediately. It was Judy, Lawson's childhood friend. The moment she saw me, she looked startled and held onto Lawson's arm. "I'm so sorry. Lawson went to pick me up, so we ended up delaying your photo shoot." Lawson fastened his suit jacket around her shoulders before turning to me. "Let's get this over with. There are still matters in the pack that need my attention." Without a word, I walked toward the shooting location. Then Lawson frowned. "Your makeup's smudged. Let Judy test the moonlight first." Judy walked past me and stood beneath the ancient tree where Lawson and I had first met. I remained silent. Then I overheard two nearby werewolves whisper. "Honestly, Judy looks like a much better match for Alpha Lawson." Lawson didn't deny it. Instead, he glanced at me and reached over to smooth my hair. "If you keep making that face, you'll ruin everyone's mood. We're all exhausted today." I bit my lip as a lump formed in my throat. I couldn't help recalling the day we'd met beneath that tree. He had promised to take me around the world back then. Only seven years had passed, but those promises had already been long forgotten. Suddenly, I realized the person he wanted to make those promises to had never been me.

There was a legend in Mist Pack that whoever possessed the Moonstone Pendant, which was passed down through generations of the pack, would spend a lifetime with their fated mate. When my mate, Lucas, fastened the Moonstone Pendant around my neck, he promised he would never betray me. Later, on the day he publicly ordered me to take it off so he could place it around Layla's neck himself, every werewolf in the pack waited to see how I would react. After all, everyone knew how deeply I loved Lucas. Every time he led a hunting party, I would wait for him atop the pack's highest watchtower. It didn't matter how fiercely the snowstorm raged or if I had to stand there until dawn. Every werewolf wondered how I would tear Layla apart. But when Layla appeared before me while elegantly linking her arm through Lucas's, I simply removed the pendant and fastened it around her neck myself. While holding Layla in his arms, Lucas looked at me with contempt. "Diana, if you can stay as obedient as you are today, I might just let you remain by my side." I touched my bare neck with a blank expression on my face. What Lucas didn't know was that just before the ceremony, all of my memories had returned. I was the daughter of the Alpha King. I was also his only heiress. In three days, my dad would arrive at Mist Pack with his elite guards to bring me home.

The first time I find a hair tie in Ryder Jones' jacket pocket, his mother, Nara Winter, comes to me to explain. "Thea, you've misunderstood Ryder. I accidentally left that hair tie in his pocket." The second time, I find a moonstone earring in our den. His buddy comes over with a grin to claim it. "So, that's where the other one went. Ryder's hopeless. I asked him to buy me a pair of earrings, and he somehow lost one. Don't overthink it, Thea." Then, there's the third time, and the fourth time… Every time after that, one of his family members or friends would step in to defend him. The ninth time, I pull a pair of female panties from beneath his pillow. Holding them up in front of him, I ask softly, "Whose are these?" Ryder's fingers pause almost imperceptibly on the newspaper he's holding before he nonchalantly reaches for his phone. "Which one of you left your panties at my place?" On the other end of the line are my younger brother, Zane Thornton, and my best friend, Talia Stone. "Ryder? Talia must've left her panties over there. Sorry. You know what we're like during mating season. We can't control ourselves. Is Thea being paranoid again?" Talia's voice also sounds reproachful. "Thea, I really can't stand this anymore. How can someone like you be worthy of being the Luna?" When the call ends, Ryder flashes me an innocent look. "See? Can you stop doubting me now? How many times has this happened? If you keep making a scene, I think—" I cut him off with a smile. "Let's dissolve our mate bond." What he doesn't know is that the panties belong neither to his lover nor to Talia. I bought them myself and deliberately hid them under his pillow.

On the day the trial results come out, I find out I rank first in the entire pack and am selected to become the Alpha King's chief advisor. I grab my phone excitedly with my results displayed on the screen and head over to share the good news with my parents. But as I reach the study, I overhear their conversation from outside the door. Mom gushes, "Jada is chosen to be the Alpha King's chief advisor this time. Once she starts working, we can't skimp on her living expenses." Dad agrees, "Exactly. Jada is beautiful and loves dressing up. Clothes, shoes, and makeup alone cost a fortune. If ten thousand dollars a month isn't enough, we'll give her more." My brother, Jerome Spencer, quickly chimes in, "Janice isn't as smart as Jada, so she definitely failed the werewolf trial this time. Just let her work some menial job wherever Jada works. That way, she can help us take care of Jada." Everyone in the room murmurs their agreement. Standing outside the study and hearing every word, I grip my phone tightly as tears stream uncontrollably down my face. Just then, I receive a personal invitation message from the Alpha King. "Janice Spencer, congratulations on ranking first in the werewolf trial. I sincerely invite you to join the Werewolf Administration as my chief advisor. In three days, I will send a private helicopter to pick you up." I tighten my grip on my phone with determination filling my eyes. What my family doesn't know is that Jada's supposed results are nothing but a lie. When the truth finally comes out, I can't wait to see how she explains herself.

On the night of my anniversary with Lawson, I found transfers on his phone that I did not recognize. The recipient of the money was his old flame. For a decade, he had sent her more than a hundred thousand dollars on the fifteenth of every month. I showed him the records and demanded an explanation. He was signing documents and nonchalantly said, "She was once pregnant with my pup, but she lost it because of a pack conflict. I owe her that much. Don't worry. Other than this, I won't give her any resources from the pack as compensation." I cried, argued, and went to my friends to vent. They tried to talk me down. "It's only a few hundred thousand dollars. Lawson is the Alpha of the largest pack. Even if he gave you that amount, you would think it was too little." "You'll be his Luna. The most important thing is to protect your status. Are you really going to lose your composure over an ex?" I thought about the bonding ceremony we were supposed to hold at the Full Moon Festival next month, and about the decade Lawson and I had spent together. So, I gave in. Then I discovered that every noon, the housekeeper would prepare a pup's meal and send it to Lawson's office. I stopped her with a frown and asked what was going on. The housekeeper was stunned. "Miss Monica, wasn't this prepared for your pup? That pup is already six. Every time he sees the Alpha, he calls him Dad."

I dated Logan, the Alpha of the most powerful pack in the North, for three years. For his sake, I left my own pack and moved into Black Moon territory. The day a rival pack attacked us, I sat alone in the emergency room getting twelve stitches. Logan never came. He sent a trainee guard to watch me and left a message: "I'm busy. Take a cab back to the estate." At that same moment, his secretary Maggie's livestream was going viral. All because she'd gotten a minor scrape, Logan deployed ten private helicopters and locked down the entire street. He said, "Anyone who makes her bleed a single drop is making an enemy of me." I looked at my sutured wound. I didn't cry. I was his mate. But in his eyes, I didn't deserve even a word of concern. I dissolved the mate bond and left Black Moon territory for good. Later, he tried to hand me the entire Black Moon territory just to bring me back. I didn't even look at it. Not out of spite. The version of me who would have waited for him simply didn't exist anymore.

Someone tags me in the werewolf community group chat. She writes, "Why does your daughter need such a huge playground all to herself? Starting tomorrow, open it up for everyone to use! My son is the future heir of the Darkshadow pack. Your daughter should consider it an honor to play with him." I stare at the message, finding the whole thing utterly ridiculous. I am Selena Waldorf, the Luna Queen to Kaiser Sterling, the Alpha King. I only bring my daughter, Mia Sterling, to this community so she can rest and recover because she suffers from asthma. I have three elders carefully select the location for this playground before having it built. It is also the only place where Mia can run freely and practice her hunting skills. Who is this she-wolf to think that she can take Mia's playground away from her? I frown and immediately fire back, "Don't even think about it." To my surprise, two security guards knock on my door the next day. They tell me that someone has reported me for occupying community property and that, for the sake of harmony within the community, I need to hand over the keys to the playground. Someone even looks at me with pity and says, "Grace Redwood's mate has already joined the Werewolf Council. Now that she's offended Grace, she'll probably be kicked out of the community soon." But my mate is the head of the Werewolf Council. Since they want to use their power to bully others, I'll show them what real power looks like.

Ten years ago, my daughter died in Healing Grove after the poison spread through her body. I held her cold, lifeless body in my arms, and the grief seeped so deep it settled into my bones. Her Alpha father had personally taken the only vial of antidote in the entire Healing Grove. He did it to save the daughter of his childhood sweetheart. But the girl had only scraped her knee after a fall. That day, I severed my mate bond without looking back and threw myself into the Herbalist Guild. Ten years later, I became the only witch on the entire continent capable of curing the rare wolfsbane poison. One day, the Elder Council summoned me for an emergency. A little girl had been poisoned, and they offered a reward of a million gold coins if I could save her. I accepted. But the instant I saw the patient's portrait, everything inside me went cold. I ripped the healer's badge from my chest and tore the medical file into pieces. "I refuse to treat her."

While on a trip, I caught my Alpha fiancé cheating on me with my adoptive sister, Selena. Once they realized I saw them, they ruthlessly abandoned me in that forbidden forest and let Selena return to take my place. For ten days, I was missing. No search party came, and my communication crystal remained silent. Then, while trying to escape a savage bear, I fell down a rocky slope and was left broken, bleeding, and alone. Just as I was on the brink of death and unable to heal, Ryker appeared and saved me. He was wild and imposing, yet lethally gentle. During our days and nights together in the wilderness, it took only a few hoarse whispers to tear down my defenses. I grew absurdly attached to him, believing he was my only salvation in this desolate place. Until one night, I found him contacting the outside world on a high-grade crystal. On the other end was Selena. "Why haven't you finished her off yet? As long as she never comes back, Alaric will be all mine." And my devoted savior replied in that same doting tone, "As long as it makes you happy, I'd spend a lifetime keeping up this charade with her in the wilderness." It was then I understood. What I believed to be a gift from the Goddess was nothing more than another death trap, meticulously woven to ensure Selena got her way. When my heat arrived, on the night of our supposed marking, I threw myself into the roaring river of death that marked the border. I would rather be torn to shreds by the current than look at that despicable "mate" for another second.

Declan, the Alpha heir of the Nighthowl Pack and my arranged mate, proposed to me right after donating his Alpha marrow to his childhood sweetheart. In my past life, I said yes out of love and for the sake of our pack alliance. But after we mated, the weight of two territories fell entirely on my shoulders. Losing that marrow broke Declan’s inner wolf. He couldn’t fight. He couldn’t shift. He couldn’t even give me a strong heir. I had to run the crystal mines while fighting off rogues for him. Before I even turned forty, I dropped dead. Utterly drained. Worked to death. And Declan? He comfortably took all the territory resources I had bled for and marked his little sweetheart. They lived happily ever after in my manor. So, reborn and facing his deep, affectionate proposal once again, I just looked at him calmly and said no. "You gave away your Alpha marrow. Your wolf is broken. What makes you think a defective piece of trash like you deserves me?"

Centuries ago, an arrogant Alpha of Moonlight pack slaughtered a sacred pack of silver wolves and scoffed, "Weaklings belong in the dirt." The dying Luna cursed his bloodline: Every male heir, upon reaching their 25th year, would lose their inner wolf entirely and transform into an ugly dog. Their human form would grow dog ears and tails. The only cure? Mating with a sacred silver wolf, the same kind their ancestors once mocked. My sister and I happened to be blessed with the sacred silver wolves. In my past life, Alpha Klaid was desperate to claim my sister, Mia. But knowing Mia’s soul would actually rot his wolf further, I intervened. As a result, he was forced to mate with me instead. After the day we were mated, Mia staged a dramatic suicide by running into rogue territory. My parents branded me a jealous monster. Klaid hated me to the core. On the night of the Blood Moon, he dragged me to the pack borders and threw me to the feral rogues as punishment. As I was torn apart, I screamed that Mia would have drained his soul. He just snarled, "Mia was my true mate! She would have saved me anyway. You stole her from me. Just go to hell!” When I woke back up, it was the day of the Alpha’s Selection Ceremony, where Klaid was choosing his mate. This time I planned to stay quiet. Let's see how Mia is going to save him without the silver wolf’s true power.