Obsessive Short Stories & Alpha Countdown Novels

On the day of the war between the werewolf packs, Blake took me away while I was gravely injured. He had fallen in love with me at first sight, while I had been devoted to my work as a healer and had never paid him much attention. He found a witch to erase my memories with magic, then marked me as his. With all the tenderness in the world, he told me, “Erica, I’ll be faithful to you for the rest of my life.” So I cut myself off from the outside world and stayed in a remote southern pack, devoting myself to being his Luna. For six years, we stood by each other through everything, and nearly everyone knew how deeply he loved me. Until one day, another she-wolf appeared at his side. He forgot his promise, took her side at every turn, and even had a pup with her. At the Full Moon Gathering, the she-wolf showed off the wolf-fang pendant around her neck in open challenge. “Luna, I gave birth to the Alpha’s firstborn son before you did, and Blake even gave me his token. I won.” Blake was angry that she had acted on her own, but he still protected her. “Erica…” I cut him off. “Is that so? If you want him that badly, you can have him.” Blake’s expression changed instantly. What he didn’t know was that I had already recovered all my memories and gotten in touch with my brother, the Alpha King, who had been searching for me for years. Soon, I would leave this place. And I would never come back.

Seven years ago, I turned my back on my powerless fated mate, Soren, and chose a powerful Alpha instead. Now, I’m dying alone in this shitty apartment with seven days to live. The Moon's Glow is fading inside me. Without the Final Rite, my soul will be chained to this earth, a ghost doomed to an eternity of torment. And no Alpha will perform it for me. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, I dialed the one number I swore I’d never touch again. Soren. The mate I rejected. Now, the most powerful Alpha in the North. I begged him for the Final Rite. Moments later, his engine screamed down my street. But the boy I once knew was gone. The man staring back at me now held nothing but pure, undiluted hatred in his eyes. "Well, well. Look what we have here," he sneered, his voice dripping with venom. "The fallen princess. When are you going to finally drop dead? The second your heart stops, I’m dumping your corpse in the Feral Lands for the scavengers."

My Alpha fiancé, Evan Hillard, wants me to get a crescent moon tattooed on the side of my neck. "At the marking ceremony seven days from now, I'll leave my bite right here," he says. I lower my head without answering. For three years, our marking ceremony has been postponed again and again as I try to become the perfect mate he wants. He likes golden-brown fur, so every two weeks, I endure the burning pain of dyeing mine. He says a red beauty mark near the corner of the eye looks stunning, so I let a witch doctor tattoo one there with a fine needle. Then I accidentally see a message on his phone from his first love, Vera Dawson. "Can you have her get the same crescent moon tattoo as mine?" she asks. "That way, you can pretend I'm the one you mark." My hands turn ice-cold. Trembling, I tap her profile picture. She has golden-brown fur, a red beauty mark near the corner of the eye, and a crescent moon on her neck. Everything becomes clear. All the pain I've endured over the past three years has been for nothing. I'm just a cheap imitation, molded in the image of the woman he truly loves. I don't cry. I calmly exit the chat and reply to the Healers' Association. "I accept the job offer. I'll report for duty in seven days."