Luna Familial Bond Short Stories & Novels

When Julia and I were born, the Moon Goddess made a prophecy that one of us would die on our sixteenth birthday. Because Julia suffered from Wolf Wasting Syndrome, everyone believed she would be the one to die. From that day on, all the love and attention went to Julia. Every year, she was the center of our birthday celebration. Every new dress was made for her. When we were both kidnapped by rogues, she was the one Mom and Dad rushed to save first. It hurt me to watch her life slowly slipping away, but at the same time, I envied her for having all of our parents' love. Then came our sixteenth birthday. Afraid that I would ruin Julia's final birthday celebration, Mom and Dad locked me in the dungeon. No one knew that wolfsbane fumes still lingered in the dungeon. The poison tore through my body with unbearable pain. I dragged myself to the dungeon door and begged through the agony, "Mom, it hurts so much. Please let me out. I promise I won't ruin Julia's birthday..." Mom ignored my plea and snapped angrily, "Julia only has today left, and you're still lying just to steal our attention? If you're going to behave like such a horrible child, I wish you were the one destined to die in the prophecy instead!" My face went pale as I slowly lowered my hand and stopped calling for help. Outside the dungeon, Mom and Dad thought I had finally realized I was wrong. They quickly coaxed Julia away from the cold, damp place. Inside, my consciousness slowly faded until I stopped breathing altogether.

I was the lowest-ranked Omega in the Moen pack. However, my fiancé Silas Moen was the Alpha who stood above us all. I thought the bond the Moon Goddess had made between us could never be shaken. That certainty lasted until his long-lost childhood sweetheart returned. Brynn, the flawless, highborn werewolf with an ancient bloodline. In front of my parents and brothers, before more than a thousand members of our pack, he made his announcement. "I, Silas Moen, as Alpha, reject you. "Brynn and I were promised to each other long ago. She's back now, and you should step aside for her." The instant he finished, something inside my chest ripped apart. I collapsed onto my knees on the altar's frozen stone and tried to scramble toward him to demand an explanation. Nobody in that silent crowd stepped forward. My father looked away and said coldly, "Brynn has already suffered for years out there. You shouldn't fight her over this." My eldest brother, Rian Valentine, blocked my way. "Talia, it's time you saw yourself clearly. You're no match for Brynn. "If you insist on opposing this mating, I'll sever our family ties." The System detected that Silas's affection level for me had fallen to zero and activated automatically. [Talia, this assignment has failed. Your heart is predicted to stop in ten days, after which a new body will be created for you. Do you confirm that you wish to abandon this assignment?] Even as I lay facedown in the frozen mud, I couldn't help laughing. Failed? No. I could finally leave. I had no strength left to love, but death would set me free.

For as long as I could remember, whenever my sister Bella made a mistake, I was always the one who got punished. My mother used the pain of my punishments to teach her a lesson. When Bella was caught stealing from a store in the territory, my mother made me apologize in front of everyone. She wanted to teach her that she should never touch anything that did not belong to her. When Bella lost the territory's tribal amulet, my mother made me take the whip in her place. She wanted to teach her to be more careful and stop being so careless. Later, Bella became obsessed with drinking cough syrup. My mother was afraid that drinking too much would hurt her health, so she mixed lethal wolfsbane into a bottle of medicine and left it in the most obvious place in my room. I drank it by mistake and writhed on the floor in agony. My father drove me to the royal infirmary that same night. On the way, we ran into a group of guards checking travel permits. My father's permit had clearly passed inspection, but my mother insisted that it was fake. "You wolves these days are absolutely useless. You can't even tell that it's a fake travel permit?" I was in the back seat, too weak to even shift into my wolf form anymore. Yet my mother was still sternly lecturing Bella. "Look carefully. This is what happens when you drink things you're not supposed to." She kept talking, completely unaware that she had blocked the mind link between us. Due to that, she could not feel my wolf spirit weakening little by little. I had given my life for this final lesson. Was she satisfied now?

I am the elder daughter of the Dawnlight pack Alpha. On the day I came of age, my father told my sister and me to choose our future mates from the two sons of the Brightvale pack Alpha. The older brother, Damian, was steady and self-possessed. The younger one, Kieran, counted for nothing in his own pack, and it showed in the sullen, beaten-down way he carried himself. In my last life I chose the younger brother without a moment of hesitation, because I wanted him to know what it felt like to be someone's favorite. But on the very day he became Alpha, he threw me out to the rogues. I was carrying his pup. They tortured me until I died. Right before the end, Kieran stood over me and looked down. "If it weren't for you, I'd have been with your sister Adeline a long time ago. You deserve this!" Only then did I learn that he had wanted my sister for years, and that he had never once meant for me to be the Luna of Brightvale. Then I opened my eyes again. Kieran and I had both come back to the day of the choosing. He knelt before my father, solemn as a vow. "Honored Alpha, the one I love has always been your younger daughter, Adeline. I want nothing to do with your elder daughter, Cassia." Every wolf from Brightvale watched me and enjoyed it. But I only smiled, faintly. Then I turned and chose the brother standing at Kieran's side. Damian. Kieran was still living inside the illusion of his last life, certain he had taken the Alpha title on his own strength. He had no idea that from the beginning to the end, only the mate I chose was ever fit to become Alpha.

Three years after faking my death, my Alpha mate Caius appeared before me with our pup. My seven-year-old pup, Marcus, held a silver sword dangerously close to my mom's chest. Caius stood in front of me and looked at me affectionately. "Come back, Natasha. Marcus can't live without you, and neither can I. Do you really want to stand by and watch your mom die right in front of you?" I looked at my mom's weary expression and finally agreed to Caius's demand. From that day on, I became known as the Luna of the pack. When Caius went out late at night, I no longer stopped him from going to his lover, Elena. When Marcus threw a tantrum and refused to eat the food I cooked, I would call Elena and tell her to cook for him at her place instead. At one of Elena's parties, she glanced at the moonstone around my neck. Without hesitation, I gave it to her. Caius grabbed my wrist. His eyes were red with anger. "Natasha, that symbolizes our love! How could you give it to someone else?"

Being locked away by my parents as a child left me with severe claustrophobia. Every time it flared up, I not only lost my voice but also lost my ability to use the mind-link with anyone in the pack. In my parents' eyes, a strong werewolf should have gotten over something that happened so long ago. Each time I lost my voice, only Alpha Caius Thorne stayed by my side. He kept notepads and pens throughout the estate and kept our conversation pinned to the top of his messages. He even learned sign language just for me. When another episode struck, I signed to him with trembling hands. "Does this ever make you tired of me?" My mate's scent enveloped me, calming my restless wolf. "Never. If anything, I'm glad we have a language that's just ours." Then Sage Mercer returned. She was a human healer and one of my closest friends. She tricked me into entering an underground stone chamber and locked me inside. The sealed space triggered another episode. I couldn't call for Caius, even though he was standing right outside the door. All I could do was sign frantically. But he acted like he didn't understand and stood there as Sage sealed the heavy stone door. Panic took over. I shifted into my wolf form and threw myself against the door with everything I had. Again and again, I slammed into it until my body was drenched in blood, yet not a single cry for help escaped my throat. Then I heard Sage speaking to Caius on the other side of the door. "Elara has to face her trauma head-on. Protecting her every time this happens won't help her get better. "A Luna represents her pack. With a condition like hers, she'll only hold you back. "Once she can call out for help on her own, we'll let her out." Caius said nothing. I understood his silence for what it was: agreement. So that was how Caius really saw me. A burden. But they had forgotten this underground chamber was designed to hold untamable beasts. Once the heavy door was sealed, almost no fresh air could get inside. No matter

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.

I am the Luna of the Red Moon Pack. Yet, when my daughter died, she didn't even get a proper burial shroud. She was thrown at my feet—skin and bones, covered in wounds. As a werewolf of the rare Astolpho bloodline, I faked my death ten years ago. To keep the pack safe, I entered the Moon Goddess Sanctuary, using my bloodline to protect their future. Ten years later, with only two months left until I could leave the Sanctuary, I dreamed of reuniting with my mate and my pups. But my daughter, Anna, was dead. Only then did I learn the truth. Shortly after I left, my mate, Alaric, brought home a girl named Stella, claiming she was his adopted daughter. To keep Stella happy, Alaric smashed the keepsakes I left for Anna and let Stella steal Anna's mate. My son, Jace, even sent all the healers away while Anna was dying in labor—just to treat Stella's migraine. My heart bled. I willingly protected this pack for ten years, and this is how they treated my daughter? I walked out of the Sanctuary. They didn't know—I could protect the pack, but I could also destroy it.