เรื่องสั้นแนว Tragic Love และนิยาย Luna Countdown

Adrian Blackwood’s dominant Alpha scent still clung to the room. My legs hadn’t stopped trembling, and the wolf inside me was letting out soft whimpers after the intimacy we’d just lost control of. The next second, Adrian caught my chin in his hand and pressed a white pill onto the back of my tongue. “Swallow.” I didn’t fight him. Once he was satisfied, he picked up his phone and called another she-wolf right in front of me. “Vivian, get ready.” “I’m taking you to the Moon Goddess Gala tonight.” When the door shut behind him, the mate mark over my heart felt as though it had been torn open. I was the fated mate chosen for Adrian by the Moon Goddess when he turned eighteen. I was also the Luna of the Silverpine Pack—at least in name. Yet my own Alpha had spent years making sure I would never bear his heir. All because, eight years ago, he discovered the agreement the former Luna had forced me to sign. If I gave birth to an heir within one year, I would receive a one-hundred-million-dollar family trust. If I gave birth within three years, the trust would be reduced to fifty million. If I still failed to produce an heir after seven years, I would no longer have the right to interfere with the Alpha’s public involvement with other she-wolves. With bloodshot eyes, Adrian had demanded, “Elena Vale, when you accepted my mate mark, was it because you loved me—or because you wanted the Blackwood fortune?” From that day on, he began parading different she-wolves in front of me. He forced me to feel jealous. Forced me to admit that I loved him. What he never knew was that the agreement had a second page. If we remained childless at the end of eight years, either party could terminate both the legal marriage and the Luna bond. Today marked exactly eight years.

Every time my Alpha mate Adrian returned from patrol, he went straight to spend time with the late Beta’s widow and her son. Our little girl couldn't understand why her daddy was never around, so she started making regular trips to the pack's lost and found. One day, an attendant sent me a message. “Luna, your daughter is here again. She says she's lost something.” When I arrived, I found her standing on tiptoe at the counter, speaking to the attendant with a completely serious face. “Can you help me find my daddy? I lost him.” “He's the strongest Alpha in our pack. He keeps promising he'll come pick me up, but I can never find him.” I stood behind her, unable to say a word. Then a video of our daughter reporting her missing daddy at the lost and found spread throughout the pack. The pack elders were furious with Adrian for neglecting his own child. Adrian rushed to the lost and found, only to find a canceled report with a note in our daughter's childish handwriting. “He's someone else's daddy now. I don't want to look for him anymore.” When Adrian found out I'd taken our daughter away for good, he completely fell apart.

At the Full Moon Festival, Edward asked me in front of everyone if he could have the opening dance with Sophia. I didn’t argue. I simply stepped aside and gave them the space. Edward froze for a moment, surprise flashing across his face as he looked at me. But in the end, he still took Sophia’s hand. Under the moon, the two of them danced gracefully . I turned and walked away. Not long after, my phone rang. “I told you Sophia gets shy easily. She just learned the dance, and she was too nervous to dance with another male werewolf.” “Can’t you stop getting jealous over nothing?” “Otherwise, I won’t dare tell anyone that you’re my future mate.” I smiled. He had no idea that just moments ago, I had accepted an invitation from the Northern Pack to become their herbalist Wolf. Later, we would never see each other again.

I have the same due date as Roxanne Coleman, the childhood sweetheart of my Alpha Mate, Sebastian Graham. However, her pup has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. That means it will never be as strong as a normal pup and may not even survive its first shift. Even the healers advise her not to give birth. Just as I begin to pity Roxanne, Sebastian makes a request that shatters me. He asks me to give our pup to her. "Roxanne's pack is harsh on her. They demand she bear a powerful heir," he explains patiently. "If they find out her pup is born with a heart defect, they'll kill her. "Please, I beg you. Save her. Let her take our pup." I stare at Sebastian in disbelief. "Are you saying we should trade our healthy pup for her defective one?" Seeing how resistant I am, he doesn't answer. In fact, he doesn't need to. … A month later, during a prenatal checkup, Sebastian secretly switches my medical report with Roxanne's. I can't believe he truly plans to steal my pup for her. At that moment, I broke down completely. So, I sever our mate bond and leave with our unborn pup. While Sebastian frantically searches for me, I accept the Temple of the Moon's invitation and become the only one who can speak to the Moon Goddess and deliver her oracles. And my pup will be the next Chosen One. From that day on, Sebastian is nothing to me.

Through the bond that tied my wolf to his, I sent ninety-nine screams for help. The hundredth time, he answered—distant, distracted. "Seraphine, I'm occupied. Stop whining like a needy pup." I lay in an ice crevice, our pup suffocating in my womb, while he hunted beneath the full moon with another. Five days later, I woke in a healing den. Through the wall, I heard my mate—my Alpha—speaking of me like livestock. "Keep her under until Lysandra whelps," Leon growled to the shaman. "If she learns I drained our pup for that she-wolf's marrow, I'll have your tongue. And if you fail me—I'll burn your den to ash." I touched the mating mark burning on my throat and reached for the crystal. My voice didn't tremble. "Harris. Prepare the severance scroll. I want his signature before the moon wanes." The she-wolf who loved her Alpha died in that ravine. The one who clawed out will make him howl.

My younger sister, Ivy, was engaged to Nathan, the heir to the Silver Moon Pack. After Nathan and I drank laurel wine laced with an aphrodisiac, we lost control and slept together. To preserve the alliance between our packs, Mother had me take Ivy's place. Nathan and I completed the mate bond, while Ivy was sent north to marry its elderly, gravely ill Alpha. On the day of her mating ceremony, however, Ivy's convoy was attacked by rogue wolves. She died at the border. Nathan hated me from that day forward. For more than twenty years, our bond brought me only neglect and humiliation. When I died after a long illness, he did not visit. He sent only one message. "Tessa, stay away from me in your next life." When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment the drugged wine was placed in my hand. Before I could react, Nathan snatched the glass away and smashed it against the floor. The moment I saw the way he looked at Ivy, I knew that he had been reborn too. Before the elders of both packs, he took Ivy's hand and announced, "Ivy and I will hold our mating ceremony this month." He led her away without looking at me. Once they were out of earshot, Mother drew me aside. "North Ridge has agreed to an alliance. You'll marry their Alpha." Memories of my final moments flashed through my mind. This time, I decided to give Nathan exactly what he wanted. "All right," I said. "I agree."

Five years ago, my Alpha mate, Bryan Ravensworth, returned from the war with the vampires on the brink of death. I spent the next five years nursing him back to strength, repeatedly soothing him whenever he lost control. He spends three months searching for the purest moonstone and makes me a necklace from it. He puts it on me himself and tells me I'm his one and only Luna. But as Alpha, he spends his days buried in pack affairs and can only spare Saturday nights to have dinner with me. I prepare ahead every single time, looking forward to the hours that belong to just us. Then one Saturday evening, I'm walking the pack border with another patrol team when I spot a figure I know all too well. Bryan is out with his female assistant, Hazel Linfield, who wants to pick moonflowers. When Rogues show up, he uses his Alpha power to overwhelm them and drive them back. One of the patrol wolves reminds him to mind his old injuries. He brushes it off. "I'm fine. Just keep Hazel safe!" That's when I realize he'd rather spend his time off taking Hazel to pick moonflowers than come home for even one more dinner with me. That same day, I request clearance to leave the pack and agree to become the Frostmoon pack's appointed healer. I decide to leave behind the moonstone necklace that has marked me as his Luna for five years.

Everyone envied me — an orphan who'd become the Luna of the most powerful Alpha in the Southern Territory: Cain. For three years of our mating, he treated me like I was the center of his world. Then Serena — his childhood sweetheart — severed her bond with her former mate and came back to our pack. Cain started patrolling the territory every night. Coming home later and later. He didn't even ask me before moving Serena into our pack house. "Her ex-mate has been stalking her. She and I grew up together — how could I just stand by and let someone threaten her?" Serena spent every day in lingerie, draped over Cain. The two of them flipping through old photos, reminiscing about the time Cain got into a brawl because some guy had been hitting on her. I didn't say a word. I quietly tucked away the pregnancy test and brought Cain a bowl of "calming tonic." He drank it without hesitation. What he didn't know was that it was a witch's potion — one that could forcibly sever a mate bond. It would take effect on the next full moon. When it was done, I made a phone call. "Alpha Ethan, I'm ready to come to the Northern Territory. Come get me."

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."

The day of our Mating Ceremony finally arrived. As the Elder stood before the pack, his voice booming as he announced the exchange of our soul-binding rings, Julian—the man standing across from me—suddenly spoke. "Actually," he said, his voice cutting through the sacred silence. "I’ve been fucking Chloe." I froze. He didn't even blink as he watched the color drain from my face. "While you were busy trying on your ceremonial gown, we were in the dressing room right next to yours," he continued, his tone chillingly conversational. "She couldn't help but scream when she climaxed. You actually thought she was falling ill; you spent ten minutes checking on her through the door, worried sick." "Later, while she stood by your side helping you pick out jewelry, her legs were shaking so hard she could barely stand." In that instant, I felt the blood turn to ice in my veins. Stiffly, I turned my head toward the woman standing in the front row, wearing a radiant smile. Chloe. She was waving her bouquet, cheering my name at the top of her lungs. Just an hour ago, she had been brushing tears from her eyes as she straightened the train of my dress, squeezing my hands and telling me I deserved all the happiness in the world. "Even just now, while you were preparing for the ritual, she was riding me," Julian added, his voice dropping to a low, rough growl. "She got so worked up her claws shredded the skin on my back." He looked down at the silver band in his hand—the ring he had yet to slide onto my finger—with total indifference. "I’m laying it all out there, Elara," he said. "Whether you still want the title of Luna is entirely up to you."

After Seraphina Vale stole three men fate had once chosen for me, I swore I would never let another wolf claim me. Until Dorian Blackthorn, the Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, claimed me in front of everyone. He swore his loyalty under the moon oath, turning away every approach from Seraphina. He even called out her behavior publicly in the council hall. For the first time, I thought I had found a wolf worth entrusting my soul to. Three years into marriage, I saw Seraphina again. Someone asked her, “What’s the most reckless thing you’ve ever done?” She licked her lips, eyes unfocused. “Of course, having Dorian Blackthorn mark me. His mate still foolishly thinks he truly hates me.” “In truth, I’ve borne his pup, lived in his territory, driven his car, spent his money.” Everyone’s eyes turned to me. After all, I was Dorian’s Lunna. I did not react. I simply sent the letter I had drafted for three days to the Black Moon Medical Team. The reply came swiftly to my mind: [Your appointment has been confirmed.] [The Black Moon Medical Team welcomes you as its new chief healer. Your office and residence have been prepared.] My wolf growled low in my chest. In two days, I would leave this pack and take up my new post.

After tricking Alpha Caleb into signing the agreement to dissolve our mate bond, I finally became the kind of understanding wife he had always wanted. When Caleb spent the entire night looking after his childhood friend, Vivian, I stopped calling to ask when he would come home. When the Pack held banquets, I stopped waiting for him to accompany me and attended alone. Even when I suffered a miscarriage and underwent surgery at the hospital, I didn't tell him. I handled every procedure by myself. He knew nothing about it. At first, he was extremely pleased with how understanding and independent I'd become. "Elena, I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. You've realized you don't need to depend on me for everything." But everything changed at his birthday celebration. His childhood friend, Vivian, took a liking to the moonstone necklace around my neck. The entire room fell silent. It was the necklace that symbolized the Luna's position, personally crafted by Caleb himself. I'd never taken it off in six years. Everyone in the Pack knew how much it meant to me. Caleb assumed I was about to make a scene, so he instinctively stepped in front of Vivian. "She's just a little spoiled. Don't take it personally." I didn't argue. I simply unclasped the necklace and handed it to Vivian. "You can have it." But Caleb's expression darkened instantly.

I did three things when I had made a decision to leave Alpha James. The first thing I did was throw all the precious gifts he had given to me. The second thing I did was secretly donate the wooden house he had built for our future and tear up the ceremonial dress that was custom-made for me on our marking day. The third thing I did was go to the Northern Territory to guard our pack, so I cast all ties with the entire pack and disappeared into the tribe. What he didn’t know was that I had quietly planned my departure while he was out hunting and spending countless nights at the Moon River with Doris, his childhood sweetheart. I became the ideal Luna he was hoping for, considerate and tolerant. Later, he lost control and asked me: “Why aren’t you angry? Don’t you love me anymore?” I lowered my head in silence and announced my decision to leave after seeing the ambiguous messages Doris, James's sweetheart, had sent to me.

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.

My fiancé, Alpha Rowan, hated waiting. If a pack council ran late, he walked out. If a priest kept him waiting ten minutes, he canceled the blessing. For six years, I made sure he never waited for me. I waited for him instead. At the Full Moon Celebration, his assistant Celine wanted moon-laurel wine that was served only when the moon reached its highest point. Rowan stood in line with her for twenty minutes without checking the time once. While I watched from across the hall, he texted me. [The celebration is over. Go home. Do not wait for me.] I typed, “Okay,” then deleted it. In the end, I sent only one sentence. [I'm not waiting anymore.] That night, I submitted my application to leave the Blood Moon Pack. This time, I meant it.

Before our fifth mating anniversary, I was just about to tell my mate that I was about to inherit the pack my Alpha father left behind, when I saw him embracing and kissing the she-wolf who once bullied me. "This game has been going on for five years. It's time to end it." "Watching her come and go like a dog whenever called is really boring. What a fool. A fake mating certificate was enough to fool her completely. Did she really think an orphan like her could marry into the Shadowmoon Pack and become Luna? If she hadn't looked decent back then, I wouldn't have bothered with this charade." I felt like I'd fallen into an ice cave, sobbing uncontrollably. So the salvation that pulled me out of the bullying abyss was nothing but his amusing joke from beginning to end. If that's the case, I don't want this false love anymore.

Everyone in Silvercrest Pack knew Kael Thorne loved me. He loved me so much that even after betraying me, he always came back on his knees and begged me not to leave. The first betrayal was a mistake, he said. He had been drugged by a rival Alpha and spent one night with a rogue female. The second betrayal was responsibility, he said. That same rogue female was pregnant, and the Council forced him to keep the child. He held me in his arms and promised, “Once the baby is born, she’s gone. You’re still the only woman I love.” Then came the third betrayal. By then, I knew Kael would never let me leave. To him, I was not just his Luna. I was his life. I disguised the mating dissolution agreement as a simple household checklist and placed it among the daily papers he signed without reading. Kael signed it with one hand while holding Lila’s prenatal report in the other. He did not even look at the page. Seven days later, the agreement took effect. The mating bond tore apart inside his chest. And the Luna Kael Thorne had sworn he would never release had disappeared from his world forever.

Three days ago, Damon Ashford marked me. The night he became Alpha, he sank his fangs into my neck under the moonlight. When his wolf blood mixed with mine, my wolf soul trembled violently. I thought the bond was taking root. I was too excited, too happy to tell the difference between real blood transfer and the simple sting of broken skin. This morning I went to City Hall without telling him. I wanted to pick up our certificate and frame it for our bedroom wall. I wanted to surprise him. The clerk checked the system, then looked up at me. "Whitmore, the mark on your neck is fake. There is no trace of wolf blood exchange." "Also, Ashford completed a formal registration with a woman named Clara Wellick two weeks ago." Under wolf law, a mark must be registered within seven days or it becomes invalid. I came to register, only to find I was never registered at all. I took off the scarf covering my neck and dropped it into the trash can outside City Hall. Standing on the steps, I sent my brother a message. Marcus, I’ll go with you for the closed medical research.

After the events of the night of the full moon, my mate, Lucian Perell, realizes that I have stopped getting jealous over Freya Barton, his dead older brother's mate. When he gives the room that belongs to the Luna to Freya, I accept his decision calmly, no longer protesting loudly. When he orders me to take care of the frail Freya, I don't argue with him or tell him that she's just putting on an act. Instead, I considerately see to everything for her. In fact, even when he berates me in front of the whole pack because of Freya, I don't feel even the slightest stirring of emotions. Pleased, Lucian praises me, "You're finally acting like a Luna should. Seems like Freya was right. I had to take a firmer stance with you before you finally grew up." He's so smug over Freya's supposed wit that he completely fails to notice that our mate bond is growing fainter. Even now, he's still unaware that when he protected Freya and led her away on that night of the full moon, I was attacked by the Gamma warriors who went berserk. Because of that, I lose the pup we have been looking forward to for a very long time. That is also when I thoroughly give up on my love for him. Seven days later, our mate bond will break completely, and that will also be the time I leave.

On the night of my twenty-first birthday, Silvercrest Pack held my coming-of-age mate selection ceremony. When the full moon rose above the forest, none of the four candidates had appeared. They were the four men who had grown up beside me—and the heirs to the four highest-ranking positions in the pack. I waited alone on the ceremonial dais until the ritual ended. Following a livestream, I found them at a private estate across the forest. The camera was pointed at the birthday cake in front of Mira. She was a she-wolf Silvercrest had recovered only three months ago. Missing since childhood, she had grown up among humans. When the patrol found her, wolfsbane still lingered in her blood. She was so weak she could barely shift. I had brought in the pack’s best healer and arranged for her to live on pack grounds. Yet now Everett, the future Alpha, was taking a glass of wine from her hand so she would not have to drink it. Nolan, the Beta heir, draped his coat around her shoulders. Julian, the Gamma heir, crouched to straighten the hem of her dress. And Rhys, the Delta heir, placed the Moon Crown I had personally chosen on her head. My phone rang a moment later. Everett’s low, controlled voice came through the speaker. “Elara, don’t come in here and make a scene in front of Mira. She almost cried a minute ago. We’re only trying to give her a proper birthday.” Nolan took the phone. “The mate selection can be rescheduled. Mira has only just returned to the pack. Emotional distress could interfere with her recovery.” Julian laughed softly in the background. “She never even had a real birthday before. You grew up with the entire Silvercrest Pack doting on you. Is it really so terrible to let her have this one night?” Outside the estate, two servers lowered their voices. “Not one of the future Luna’s candidates showed up for her coming-of-age ceremony.” “They’re all here celebrating with that newly recovered she-wolf. After tonight, Miss Elara will be a joke in every pack in the region.” Once, I would have pushed open the door. I would have demanded to know why it was always Mira—what, exactly, I lacked that made all four of them choose her over me. This time, I simply unpinned the silver moon crest that marked me as the Luna-in-waiting and dropped it into the sink. Then I sent a message to my grandmother, Silvercrest’s High Elder. [Grandmother, I won’t choose any of them.] [Contact Blackridge Pack.] [I accept Callum Thorne’s alliance proposal.]