Mga Maiikling Kwento tungkol sa Tragic Love at mga Nobela ng Alpha na may Countdown

After I lost the baby, I gave up everything my mate, Alpha Rhydian, hated. I stopped using our bond to sense where he was. I could sleep soundly even when he didn't come back to our bedroom all night. I didn't even tell him when a rogue's silver blade sliced my arm during a border skirmish. The pack doctor told me to notify my family. I just answered calmly, "I don't have a family." The doctor recognized me. "You're the Luna. Alpha Rhydian is at headquarters. Should I inform him?" I shook my head gently. "No, don't." But half an hour later, Rhydian came anyway. His tall frame cast a shadow over me, his voice ice-cold. "You're hurt. Why didn't you call me through the mind link?" I lowered my eyes. "It's just a scratch. No need to bother the Alpha." A low growl rumbled in his chest. The air crackled with his fury. He was about to speak when a guard whispered outside the door, "The Alpha cares so much for Isla. She just pricked her finger on a rose thorn, and he gave her the pack's most precious moonlight herb." I saw his jaw clench. His gray-blue eyes shot to me, searching for the jealous rage I always used to show. I gave him nothing. Not even a blink. I just leaned back against the cheap hospital pillows and closed my eyes. But Rhydian's composure finally shattered.

3 years ago, the Southern witch sealed the mate bond between Dylan and me with her spell. She said that if we still truly loved each other after 3 years, the bond would remain. Otherwise, it would be broken. During these years, I helped him become the Alpha of our pack as his Luna. But in his heart, there was someone else, his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor. When Eleanor found out that we had started our mate bond, she chose to leave with another werewolf. Dylan was drunk and cried out her name in my arms. His wolf claws scratched me. At that moment, my arm was bleeding, so was my heart. But I believed that he would gradually fall in love with me as time went on. I thought 3 years would be quite enough for that. When the 3 years are almost up, Eleanor returned. Dylan dropped an important meeting to meet with her. We lost $2 billion because of that. Dylan started being by her side every day, just like before. I used to be so afraid that when the time came, we wouldn’t be in love, and that I might lose Dylan. 7 days later, our mate bond would be gone. This time, I didn’t care anymore. It was just a countdown for me to become the Alpha Queen of my own pack.

My Alpha and I bonded seven times, and seven times he rejected me for his childhood sweetheart, Tamsin. The first time, Tamsin fell ill and claimed only his scent could calm her wolf. The second, a panic attack left her begging him not to leave her side. After that, there was always another crisis whenever Tamsin returned to the pack—and always another excuse for him to reject me. No matter how much I cried or how many scenes I made, he always took me back on schedule, only to reject me all over again. But this time, when I learned Tamsin was returning to the pack, I was the one who brought up the rejection. As always, he told me when he would mark me again. What he didn’t know was that by then, I would have left the pack for good.

On the eve of my mating ceremony, I caught my parents and the entire pack holding a secret Luna ceremony for my Alpha fiance, Caden, and my adopted sister, Lydia. Lydia's biological parents had died saving mine. Now terminal wolfsbane poisoning had left her with three months to live, and her final wish was to be buried as the Luna of Blackridge Pack. Caden stood with his back to me, his voice soft and patient. "Lydia, don't worry. Before you leave this world, I'll give you everything a Luna deserves—the ceremony, the title, the place at my side. It's the least I can do for you." My father placed her hand in Caden's. My mother draped my Luna mantle over her shoulders, while my own brother struck my name from the Luna registry. Caden exchanged rings and vows with Lydia, then signed the record naming her Blackridge's first Luna. They all believed that because I was healthy, I had years ahead of me and should give this one chance to Lydia. I watched the ceremony to the end and deleted the message announcing my pregnancy. Later, I left with my unborn pup to become Frost River Pack's chief investigator, reclaiming the future I had surrendered for Caden. I left only my pregnancy report, mate-contract dissolution, and bloodline severance declaration. By the time Caden learned the truth, I had already crossed the northern border. His desperate call came too late.

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.

When I'm four months pregnant, I come home from a checkup to find my mate, Ethan Hale, standing on a ladder in the nursery, pressing glow-in-the-dark constellations onto the ceiling. His childhood friend, Mia Vance, sits below with her chin in her hands, directing his every move. "Ethan, Orion's crooked. Shift it right a little. Yes, like that, so my goddaughter can see it from her crib." "You're worse than the actual mom, you know that?" He laughs. They joke back and forth, and neither of them notices me in the doorway. A pack member wrapping up a furniture delivery catches Ethan on his way out. "Alpha, the Luna really cares about the pup. That star map looks perfect." Ethan glances at Mia, who ducks her head with a blush, and says nothing to correct him. I don't move. Every detail in this nursery is Mia's doing. She picks the snow-white paint on the walls and the carousel mobile over the crib. Even the baby's nickname is Amber—named after a rabbit Mia had for eight years before it recently died. I tell Ethan over and over that I don't like any of it. He always says the same thing, that it's just a casual nickname and not worth getting upset over. I open my phone and submit a mate bond dissolution request to the Elder Council because this is my pup, and I'm going to be the one who names her.

I spent five years being Alpha Finn's hidden mate. He promised to announce me as his mate and Luna to the pack, but each time his 'best friend,' Adeline, showed up, I became an afterthought. Every time he betrayed me, he handed me an apology token with a promise never to fail again. And I forgave him every time. By the time Adeline finally returned to the pack, I was almost at a hundred tokens. And just as expected, Finn again chose her over me. This time, he expected that he would return, I'd forgive him, and we'd continue the cycle. Until he felt our bond disappear in the middle of the night and realized he had just signed away his mate. In terror, he ran after me, begging on his knees. But it was too late. Because just a few days before his final betrayal, I discovered something Finn had never known. I wasn't wolfless. I wasn't useless. And I wasn't going to be anyone's backup plan.

I was four months pregnant with the Alpha’s heir when my best friend, Ariana, slammed into me. She called it an “accident.” I lost the pup. My brother, Liam, tried to expose her to the pack elders. But he was framed for treason, stripped of his Beta title, and thrown in the pack dungeons. I ran to my mate, Alpha Byron, begging for help. He held me close and swore he'd save Liam. The next day, I found Liam in the dungeons, chained in silver, barely alive. Heartbroken, I went to Byron again, searching for a way to prove Liam's innocence. That's when I overheard him talking to his right-hand man. “Alpha, if the Luna finds out you let them frame Liam… she will hate you.” Byron’s voice was laced with exhaustion and suppressed pain. “I know what she’s like. This was the only way to make her forgive Ariana at the Blood Moon ceremony. Ariana saved my life. I won’t let this destroy her.” He paused, his voice completely cold. “As for Sandra… I’ll more than make it up to her. She will never know the truth. Ever. Right now, she just needs… to obey.” The mate I trusted with my life… He threw my family to the wolves. All to protect the woman who killed our child. My heart shattered. Shaking with a fury I’d never known, I called the one person I hadn't spoken to in seven years. My father, Alpha Caden. [Father, I'll accept the strategic alliance. The marriage you wanted. But I have one condition. I need your help… to burn the Blackwood Pack to the ground.]

On the day of our graduation trip, my Alpha boyfriend and his Beta best friend left me behind at an interstate rest stop. Sienna was traveling with us too. She was a wolf Cedar Ridge Pack had only found and brought home six months earlier. They had been gone for nearly half an hour before they realized I was no longer in the car. When Adrian Cross finally called, there was no panic in his voice. Only irritation. “Nora, why didn’t you get back in the car? Don’t turn this into a big deal. We have to arrive before sunset, and we can’t turn around now.” His childhood friend, Evan Brooks, was also the pack’s future Beta. His voice came through the phone next. “There are taxis at the rest stop, and you can call a rideshare. Get to the next exit. We’ll meet you there.” Then Sienna’s clear, bright voice cut in. “She isn’t a pup. Do you two really have to handle everything for her?” In the past, my eyes would already have been burning with tears. I would have apologized first, then dragged my suitcase behind me and done everything I could to catch up with them. But this time, I stood outside the rest stop and looked up at the blue-gray sky. A sense of relief unlike anything I had ever felt suddenly spread through me. I did not want to chase them anymore. I canceled every remaining hotel and photography reservation for the trip. Then I changed my flight and booked a ticket to the coastal town I had always wanted to visit. They had all said it was too quiet and too boring, the kind of place no young wolf would enjoy. But in that moment, I understood one thing with perfect clarity. I was tired of living by someone else’s map.

I was born able to see the colors of the bonds between wolves. The deeper the love, the closer the link came to crimson. When a heart began to waver, it faded to pale pink. When only habit and responsibility remained, it turned gray-white. When I was seven, my father brought another woman home, saying she only needed our pack’s temporary protection. From that day on, the link between him and my mother grew dimmer. My mother’s wolf fell silent, and her health deteriorated. The day she died, the light connecting them vanished. Years later, my brother marked his longtime girlfriend and formed a mate bond with her. Yet the light on his side was only pale pink. I warned him not to promise her forever if he did not love her. He insisted he would honor their bond and care for his mate. Less than six months later, he found another woman. After seeing so many links fade, I knew my gift never lied. I wanted someone who would keep choosing me, no matter how many years passed. Then I met Rhys Calder. He was the youngest head of security in the Greybridge Pack and a former border operative. Everyone said he was cold and exacting, a man who never allowed anyone close. Yet the first time we met, the link extending from him to me burned a brilliant red. After that, he picked me up from work every day, waited two hours for me in a storm, and once drove across half of Greybridge just to bring me flowers. Eventually, I accepted him. For seven years after we formed our mate bond, that link remained deep red. Rhys remembered that I loved the almond croissants from the bakery on the corner. He decorated the terrace himself on my birthdays. Every time he left Greybridge on an assignment, he brought gifts home for Jamie and me. I thought I had finally found the love I wanted. Then Rhys returned from a mission two weeks ago. When I helped him out of his coat, an unfamiliar rose scent clung to the fabric. At that moment, the link extending from him to me seemed to dim.

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.

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.

My mate, Charles, commander of the fire brigade, left me alone in the den with our unborn pup after I refused his request to bring his first love, Lisa, and her pup into our home so he could take care of them. Five days later, Charles reached out—claiming he wanted to ease the tension between us. He asked me to deliver the herbs that help with his insomnia to the fire brigade. On the way there, I was in an accident. I mind-linked him, begging for help, but to my shock, he refused. I believed he was training the new werewolf firemen—but the truth? He was in the infirmary, not for duty, but with Lisa and her pup. After losing my pup, I walked away—shattered, betrayed, and done.

My six-year-old son fed me the cake that triggered my allergy and killed his unborn sister. He was smiling when he confessed, as if he had done something wonderful. “Aunt Vivienne said the baby would go back to the Moon Goddess. Then you and Daddy could break your mate bond, and she could stay with us instead. That way, Aunt Vivienne would have more time to play with me!” My heart clenched. I couldn't hold back anymore. “But Mommy and your sister can play with you, too. Can't we?” “Yeah, but…” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “But it's boring when I'm with you, Mommy. Daddy and I have more fun with Aunt Vivienne.” The words hit me like a blow. For a long moment, I couldn't say a word. My mate, Adrian, stripped Finn of his heir badge, suspended his Alpha training, and sent him to a pack therapist. But when I asked him to investigate the adult who had given our son the cake and taught him how to deceive me, Adrian stepped between us. “Vivienne chose her words poorly. She couldn't have known Finn would actually do it.” Our six-year-old son was old enough to be punished. My sister was too innocent to be questioned. That was when I finally saw the favoritism Adrian himself didn't even realize he was showing. So I stopped asking him to choose me. I removed my Luna signet, left behind divorce and mate-rejection papers, surrendered custody of Finn, and accepted an assignment outside Blackwood Territory. By the time Adrian and Finn understood what it truly meant to lose me, they were already begging me to come back. Only this time, I was the one who no longer wanted to return.

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.

When I was three months pregnant, a pack of Rogues ambushed me. In the last moments before my consciousness began to fade, I begged for rescue through my mind-link to my Alpha mate, Adrian. But he never answered. I was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, only to be informed that the Saint-Tier Healer had been forcefully taken South by Adrian to treat Evelyn, his first love, after she lost her mate. When I woke to the pain of losing my pup, my fingers shook as I checked social media, then I saw Evelyn's post: [I knew that no matter how far away I am or how much time has passed, Adrian would always come for me. He even brought a Saint-Tier Healer to ease the pain in my heart.] In the photo, Adrian's dark eyes, which were usually cold and distant, were focused on the woman beside him with tenderness. While I was fighting for my life and losing our cub, my Alpha was protecting another pregnant wolf. I chuckled at myself bitterly. It felt as if the bond mark on my chest was withering away. I then dialed a number without hesitation. "Dr. Clark, I accept the position at the Northern Ancient Wolf Research Institute. Yes, the sooner the better. I won't be holding a farewell ceremony."

That day we moved into the apartment next to the university, the three boys I’d grown up with started discussing room assignments. There were four bedrooms in total. The second-largest bedroom went to Xavier, the future Alpha heir. The two identical ones went to Lucas, the future Beta, and Victor, the future Gamma. As for the largest bedroom, the one with the best sunlight? They gave it to Lydia. Lydia was the girl the pack had only recently found and brought home. And I was the childhood sweetheart who had grown up with them. I stood at the doorway dragging my suitcase and asked: “Then where do I sleep?” The three of them froze for a moment, as if they’d only just remembered I existed. Lucas said, “You’re always going out of town for academic conferences anyway. The storage room will do.” Xavier, the one who had a marriage contract with me, was still making the last bed for Lydia. He didn’t even look up: “She’s been wandering outside for so long. She finally has a home.” “Cecilia, you don’t mind, right?” They had always believed I wouldn’t mind. Because I had been independent since childhood. I could walk alone through blizzards, and I could always clean up the messes they made. So they could give my room to Lydia and even forget that Xavier and I still had a marriage contract. Since there was no place for me here anymore, there was no reason for me to stay. I lowered my head, opened my phone, and signed the transfer application to Frostwood Academy. In three days I would leave Blackthorn Pack and join the confidential research project that had already invited me long ago. They had already excluded me from their future. This time, I would completely withdraw from their world.

There is a legend among the wolves that any vow made before the Moon Goddess will never come true if it isn't fulfilled within three years. Cedric Vaughn has broken his promise for three years, and I've become a traitor in the eyes of the entire pack for supposedly betraying my vow to the Moon Goddess. In the first year, when I confront him about breaking his promise, he's busy helping my best friend, Rowena Gilmore, prepare her inauguration speech for Blood Oath Day. He says, "There's no rush, Thea. We still have two years, don't we? Becoming my Beta has always been Rowena's dream." He touches my face gently, his voice soft and remorseful. "I promise I'll fulfill our vow once this is over and complete the mating ceremony with you." I believe him and continue to wait. But over the next two years, Cedric and Rowena are inseparable. She becomes his constant companion and appears by his side at all kinds of events. Meanwhile, after countless instances of endless waiting and disappointment, I become a laughingstock to every wolf in the pack. It is clear I am nothing more than Cedric's pathetic backup choice. My mom is furious with me for being so weak. "Cedric is the Alpha of the pack, and Rowena is his Beta. You're an Omega nobody respects. They're making a fool out of you." Cedric messages me, saying, "I can't let Rowena attend the celebratory party alone. I promise this will be the last time. Rowena is your best friend. She'll be the one planning our mating ceremony. I'm sure you'll love it." I don't wait for him like I used to. Instead, I buy a plane ticket to leave six days from now. A vow that will never come true isn't worth keeping.

On our seventh anniversary, my Alpha, Alex Doyle, abandons me once again to care for Lily Hayes and her pup. "She lost her mate. Do you have any idea how hard it is to raise a pup alone? As the Luna of our pack, you should be more compassionate," he says, his brows drawing together. Certain I'll never leave him, he speaks with the confidence of someone who takes my devotion for granted. This time, I don't beg him to stay like I always do. Instead, I choose to be the bigger person and show Lily compassion. I'm even willing to give up my position as Luna and allow him to fulfill his so-called noble duties and promises to her. I sever our mate bond on my own and leave the pack's territory without looking back. But when I finally disappear into the depths of the forest, Alex, the Alpha who's always carried himself as if he's untouchable, completely loses his mind. With bloodshot eyes, he follows the faint traces of my scent and desperately begs me not to leave.

My wolf was diagnosed with severe decay, and the healer said that without aggressive treatment, I had only three days left to live. I called my parents, clinging to a sliver of hope, wanting to beg them to give me some money for treatment. On the sixty-sixth attempt, the call finally went through. My father, the Beta of the BloodMoon Pack, roared with fury over the receiver. "Enough, Amelia! Do you have any idea that today is your little sister's Awakening Rite?! We're all very busy and have no time to listen to your lies!" My mother, the most skilled healer in the pack, snatched the phone. "Amelia, if you're really feeling unwell, go pick some herbs and eat them. It can't be anything serious anyway." The call was ruthlessly hung up, and I stood frozen in place. In the face of my adoptive sister's Awakening Rite, even the fact that I was about to die meant nothing to them. I wiped my tears, held the diagnosis written by the healer, and walked into the office of the Elder of Records. "Hello," I said softly. "I would like to apply for a death certificate for myself."