Mga Maiikling Kuwento at Nobelang Luna Familial Bond

When I became the blood bank for my mate Alpha Kane’s sweetheart, my wolf died from the endless loss of blood—and so did I, alone, in the cold den he rented to keep me out of sight. Today marks the third day since my death, and finally, my six-year-old pup noticed something was wrong. His finger bled when a toy hurt him, but I didn’t come to comfort him. When he tried to feed me his favorite food, I didn’t stop him either. He lay on my chest, gripping my clothes and whispering my name—but I didn’t respond. Desperate and helpless, my pup picked up my cellphone and called his alpha dad. “Dad, why is Mom still sleeping?” Kane didn’t answer. Instead, he sent him a photo of himself and Serena—his sweetheart—celebrating Full Moon Day, smirking. “Don’t worry. Your mom is just sleeping, not dead. You know I’m quite busy on Full Moon Day. Tell your arrogant and stubborn mom not to come find me until she admits her fault.” The call ended, leaving my pup frozen in silence. However, three days later, Kane received news of my death. He let out a gut-wrenching growl, refusing to believe it was true. Clutching my cold, lifeless body in his arms, he wept bitterly. “Kate… you are my only Luna,” he cried. “Come back. Stay with me… please.”

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.

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?

In my fifth year of serving the Moon Goddess on behalf of the pack, the mother-and-child necklace around my neck suddenly shattered. It had been passed down from one Luna to the next, carrying the bond between mother and child. When the mother's half breaks, it means the child is dead. Something had happened to my daughter. I gathered the broken pieces in my hands and saw a vision of her final moments. She lay facedown on the ground, her body covered in wounds, repeating the same words over and over: "Mom, it hurts so much." I could hear the werewolves around her laughing. "Poor thing. The Luna's been gone for years, and things have only gotten worse for her daughter. Now she's been poisoned with wolfsbane, and she can't even get the antidote." "That's what she gets for not being able to have pups. She can't give the Alpha an heir, and she can't even keep her mate, Mark, interested in her." "The Alpha's bloodline can't be allowed to die out. If she can't give him an heir, then naturally, that responsibility falls to Faye. She has Alpha blood too, after all." "Honestly, the wolfsbane is a blessing. Mark is the son-in-law the Alpha chose himself. Once she's gone, he can take Faye as his mate and give the pack an heir with Alpha blood." The voices cut off, and a chill ran through me. Five years ago, for the sake of the pack, I'd agreed to my mate Lucas's request and secluded myself on Moon Goddess Mountain to serve the Moon Goddess. He'd promised to take care of our only daughter. By the time I came home, I'd be a grandmother. Instead, he used her inability to have pups as an excuse and turned a blind eye while Mark slept with Faye, Lucas's niece and the daughter of his widowed sister-in-law, Mina. When my daughter was poisoned with wolfsbane, he stood by and watched her die. I felt her wolf fading, along with the pup inside her. Tears slipped down my cheeks. I raised my hand and shattered the crystal pillar. It had taken five years of offerings and was almost ready

The day Alpha Kyle Locke came to deliver the marking token, he brought two, just like always, and let my sister Serafina Voss choose first. One was a custom-made moonstone collar, a specialty piece from Frost. The other was a wolf fang pendant, the kind sold in every shop in town. Neither of us said anything. Everyone just waited for Serafina to reach out first. Never mind that this token had been chosen for my marking ceremony with Kyle, not hers. But this time, I moved first. My fingers landed on the moonstone. I spoke before anyone else could. "Can I be the one to choose, this time?" Kyle frowned. "Ella, Serafina's health is delicate. The moonstone will help settle her wolf. Yours is already steady. The pendant is more than enough for you." I didn't pull my hand back. I looked at the two tokens in front of me, and it finally hit me. Every choice in my life had been made exactly like this. Serafina's blood ran nobler, so she always got to choose first. I was the one who gave ground, every single time, right up until Kyle came along. Everyone had expected Kyle to pick Serafina as his Luna. In the end, he chose me instead. I thought, for once, I was the one who'd been chosen, not the one left with the scraps. It took me a long time to understand that the position of Luna was mine, but the priority behind it always belonged to Serafina. Not this time. I wasn't going to be the one who came second, not anymore.

When my sister, Vesper Rowe, begged us for help, my mate, Alpha Sterling Blackwood, and I traveled for three days and nights to reach the neighboring Cloudwolf Pack. Vesper's in-laws made her life as hard as they could. I out-argued every wolf in the room, and Sterling backed me up with brute strength. Once her mate bond was finally severed, a smile finally appeared on Vesper's haggard face. "Moon Goddess bless you both. Don't ever split up, okay? Otherwise, I won't know whose house to go to anymore." Sterling ruffled her hair, then looked at me with open affection. "Don't worry about us. The Moon Goddess chose Livia and me as the most compatible mates in the entire werewolf world. Everyone else could split up, but we'd still be together. "What matters now is figuring out what kind of life you want for yourself." After we brought Vesper home with us, I took even better care of her than before and made sure she got out and met new people. Whenever Sterling saw me preparing a plate of fruit for Vesper, he'd pull me into his arms, acting jealous. "Livia, your sister is a grown woman. I'm your mate, and I'm the one who needs more of your attention right now." I laughed and popped a slice of apple into his mouth, my heart brimming with happiness. When I returned from a month-long training retreat, they were both there to pick me up. Sterling opened his arms to hug me as usual, but I spotted a lipstick stain on his collar. When I confronted him about it, Sterling, who'd always answered every question I asked, remained silent. My heart sank, and I decided I'd break the bond the very next day. But when I reached for Vesper to take her with me, my hand closed on empty air. She gave me one reluctant look, then turned and walked to Sterling.

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?"

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.