After Death Short Stories & Luna Countdown Novels

Three days before my mating ceremony, my brothers called my adopted sister and me into the Moon Hall to draw lots for our future mates. The silver token meant Noah Hale, my childhood sweetheart. The black token meant Alpha Kieran Blackwood, a dying man from a northern pack. As the younger sister, Ivy drew first. She got Noah. My brothers looked relieved. “You’re the daughter of a former Alpha and Luna,” Adrian said. “Blackridge will respect your bloodline. If Kieran dies, they’ll send you home safely.” Then he looked at Ivy, the orphaned daughter of the man who had once saved our parents. “Ivy has no family left. Blackridge might look down on her. We can’t send her there alone.” Even Noah agreed. “When you come back, Ivy and I will take care of you.” I nodded without arguing. They didn’t know I already knew the draw had never been fair. Neither did they know the healer had given me three days to live. Kieran was dying, and so was I. Under Blackridge tradition, bonded partners who died within the same moon cycle were laid to rest side by side. Neither Kieran nor I would be alone by the end of the week. Three days later, my brothers waited at the Silvercrest gates for me to come home. The snow reached their knees, but no car ever appeared. By then, Blackridge had already crossed the northern border with two coffins.

I was the one who broke Kane Blackwood's heart. He was the Alpha heir, my boyfriend since we were kids, and I pushed him so hard that I drove him all the way to the Northern Stronghold. He stayed there for seven years. Now he was back. He had a new woman with him, and they were going to hold their bonding ceremony here, in our pack. That same week, the pack witch told me I had three months left to live. When my mother wheeled me outside to see him, Kane's mouth curled into that cruel, mocking smile I remembered too well. His dark eyes swept over me from head to toe, taking in the wheelchair, the thinness of my arms, the paleness of my face. "Well, well," he said, his voice low and sharp. "Seven years and you look like hell. Can't even walk anymore?" I tugged my sleeve down, hiding the scars—the silver tracings left by years of failed treatments. I kept my voice steady. "I fell. Broke something. It's nothing." He let out a short, cold laugh. "Right. Anyway, my bonding ceremony's coming up. You should be Vivra's maid of honor." I smiled back at him. I had gotten good at smiling through pain over the years. "Sorry, but I'm leaving soon. Somewhere far away." Then I patted my mother's hand. She didn't say a word, just gripped the handles of the chair and pushed me back toward the house. I didn't look behind me.

After my sister Rose died, my Luna Mom remained consumed by the immense grief of losing her daughter. So, from the moment I was old enough to understand, I was forced to play the role of my sister. Mom forbade me from wearing white, because my sister's favorite color was red. She forbade me from cutting my hair short, because my sister wore hers long. If I disobeyed, a slap would come across my face, and she would question whether I was truly her daughter. Alpha Dad told me again and again that Mom was overwhelmed by grief, and that I should indulge her and play along. I obediently followed suit, imitating my sister in everything. Until the day I was accepted into the Werewolf Academy, and Mom tore my admission letter to shreds. "Your sister died before she ever got to attend the Werewolf Academy, so you are not allowed to go either!" I nodded. Back then, my sister died of spirit decay. Now the healer has told me I'm in the final stages too. This time, I will be her perfectly.

In order to save Alpha Varkon Stormclaw, who was poisoned with wolfsbane, I've used my life force to trade for the antidote with the witch. After the transaction, I become unusually weak. My wolf sinks into a deep slumber as well. Because of that, the elders have cast me out of the Moon Goddess Church. Nyla Ironcrest, the newly-appointed Luna, locks me up in a silver cage that's filled with wolfsbane. "How could a lowly and filthy defective she-wolf like you be a good match for the prestigious Alpha?" Varkon, who has once loved me with all his heart, gets tricked by Nyla into thinking that she's his savior. Not only does he sever our mate bond from me, but he also turns a deaf ear on my pleas for help. Defeated and devastated, I breathe my last breath in the silver cage. However, Varkon kneels before my corpse later on. He's struck with so much pain in the chest that he goes crazy. At the same time, he keeps spitting out blood. But I can never hear his confession of atonement ever again.

My wolf was cursed. I had three days left. But my parents and my mate, Alpha Edwin, forced me to surrender my Luna title to Meggie. All because she claimed a curse was killing her, too. In my despair, I agreed. The moment our mate bond shattered, the backlash nearly broke me. With tears in my eyes, I asked them, "If I died, would you even miss me?" They told me to stop faking it, their expressions ice-cold. But they didn't know. Meggie's curse was a lie. And mine was all her doing. It wasn't until my wolf faded to nothing that Meggie's true colors were revealed. Only then did they scream at her, blaming her for my death. But Meggie just snarled back, "I wasn't the only one who killed Hazel. You all did, too, didn't you?"