Nouvelles Mate Face Slapping & Romans

At the pack's corporate meeting, the new finance intern flashed a financial report onto the projector screen. "Alpha, I'm reporting Aurora for embezzlement! She used her position to wire massive amounts of company funds into her private account. I demand she be banished immediately!" That girl, Lily, tipped her chin up and slammed a stack of files onto the conference table. Alpha Jasper and the elders locked their eyes on me. Their glares felt like claws. I almost laughed out loud. Jasper’s company had been on the verge of bankruptcy. To save it, I secretly dumped millions of my own dollars to fill the hole. The "embezzled funds" she was barking about? That was my own money. And now? I need this pack of ungrateful mutts to approve me moving my own money?

As a healer, I keep taking in emergency patients around the clock just so I can save up enough money for a luxurious family trip. But after transferring the money into the family account, my mate, Leonard Cross, announces that he will be taking the entire family on the trip, whereas I'm required to stay at home. Everyone supports his decision. "Don't you always take overtime shifts on your day off? That's why I never considered the fact that you can go on this trip with us." I'm pissed, to say the least. "So, the four of you will be going, eh?" My sister-in-law, Rita Cross, pipes up, "Cassandra and Hannah will be joining us too." Cassandra Davis is Leonard's childhood sweetheart, whereas Hannah is the family's pet dog. It seems that everyone has received an invitation but me. After staying quiet for another beat, I nod. "Fine." Soon, I accept the three-year dispatch request to another place that's offered to me by my workplace. I also take the liberty to put the house—which I own the deed to—on sale. Since my family supports my career this much, I'm sure they will do the same when I decide to buy myself a new place to live for the sake of my business trip, right?

I am Aurora, Princess of the Crimson Moon, the North's most powerful pack. But I gave my heart to a worthless rogue named Blake. In my past life, I defied tradition to make him my personal guard. We were inseparable. I fought my own pack to make him my mate. But on the night of our mating ceremony, under the Blood Moon... He plunged a silver dagger straight into my heart. I was three months pregnant with his child. As I bled out, he whispered in my ear, his voice dripping with venom, "If it weren't for you, I'd already be with Clara. You deserve this!" That's when I understood. He never loved me. He only craved power. He had always wanted my sister, Clara—the pack's chosen heir. Then, I opened my eyes. I was back. Back at the guard selection ceremony. He rejected me in front of everyone. He declared his love for Clara and refused to be my guard. The entire pack stared at me with pity. This time, I just smiled. And I chose my silent childhood friend, Ronan. Blake thinks siding with Clara will lead to ultimate power. He's a fool. The pack's true Alpha isn't chosen by birthright. He is chosen by me.

After hearing that my brother, Ronan, had bought his mate, Iris, a 200-grand designer bag, my coworker Lilith insisted on coming back to my hometown to attend the marking ceremony. In my previous life, I didn't think much of it and agreed to take her with me. The day after the ceremony, Lilith was found completely naked in Ronan's bed. She screamed that Ronan had assaulted her. Iris, who was pregnant, was so devastated that she miscarried and dissolved their mate bond. Unable to clear his name, Ronan fell into despair and eventually died. My nephew lost his family before he was able to be born. Yet Lilith used that so-called accident to force my parents into accepting her as part of the family. She moved into the home Iris had lovingly decorated for her future life. Even in old age, she would smugly tell me, "Mirabel, the smartest thing I ever did was follow you back home for Ronan's marking ceremony." When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day Lilith asked to attend Ronan's marking ceremony. Leaning over from the neighboring cubicle, she looked at me expectantly. "Mirabel, I've never seen an Alpha's marking ceremony before. Could you take me with you?" I swallowed hard and pushed my chair several feet backward. I then replied, "I'm really sorry, but I just got word that Ronan isn't holding the marking ceremony anymore."

I am a white wolf. From the day I was born, the witch foretold that whoever I mated with would sire the most powerful Alpha the world had ever seen. So the Alpha King made a pact with my family. When I came of age, I would choose between his two sons. Whichever I picked would inherit his throne. In my last life, I fell hard for Damian at first sight. Gave him my whole heart. Even took a blade meant for his chest. So at the Choosing Ceremony, I named him my mate. But after we were bonded, I found out he'd been tangled up with Allison—an Omega—the whole time. The Luna Queen found out and had Allison exiled. Allison died on the road to another pack. And Damian? He blamed me for all of it. He stopped coming home. Spent his nights tangled up with other she-wolves. He still needed my bloodline to claim the throne, so he forced me to carry his pup. The day I gave birth, he locked me in a silver cage. I rotted there until I drew my last breath. Maybe the Moon Goddess took pity on me—and when I opened my eyes again, I was back on that day. This time? I'm giving them what they always wanted.

I was the greatest healer in the pack. There wasn't a single poisoning in the world I couldn't cure. My mate, Liam, was an Alpha suffering from wolfsbane poisoning, and his life hung by a thread. To rid himself of the toxin, he chose me as his mate. On the very night of our marking ceremony, the shewolf he truly loved, Camilla, who was also the witch who claimed her potions could save him, threw herself off a cliff. The moment I finished purging the toxin from his body, Liam turned around and plunged a dagger coated in wolfsbane straight through my heart. "You killed Camilla. You can be buried with her." His gaze was cold and devoid of even a trace of tenderness. The fur blanket we had lain on moments before became my shroud. After I died, my body was dumped in the wasteland and left for vultures to devour completely. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day the old Alpha of Silver Moon Pack personally came to my cabin to ask for my hand on Liam's behalf. Looking at Liam, who sat rigidly with clear reluctance on his face, I smiled. "I may not be able to purge the toxin in Liam's body, and I have no desire to become his mate." The moment I said that, the eyes of a concerned-looking shewolf nearby lit up. "Evelyn, if you don't wish to become Liam's mate, will you consider my son instead?"

In my previous life, Damian Valen, future Alpha to the Silver Moon Pack, plunged a dagger coated in silver salts and wolfsbane through his heart on the night of our mating ceremony. All he left behind was a bloodstained note. "I owe her grandfather my life; bonding with her was the only way I could repay that debt. "If I get another life, I would mark Selena, the woman I truly love." After that night, I became the scheming bitch who used a life-saving debt to drive off Selena Winter, the noble white wolf, and tear apart a pair of fated mates. On a night that had plunged to four below zero, the Valens threw me out of their stronghold wearing nothing but my thin ceremonial gown. By morning, every social media feed in the city was dragging my grandfather's name and mine through the mud. They said the Blackmoon witches were low-lives, forever reeking of herbs and old parchment. Someone like me could never be worthy of the future Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. How ironic. The truth was, Grandpa had almost died saving Damian during the blood moon. He'd used forbidden magic to drag Damian back after his wolf lost control. Afterward, the Valens had practically begged me to marry into the family, swearing they'd take care of me for the rest of my life to repay the debt. Shattered, I wandered onto the highway at the foot of the mountain. The next thing I knew, a car slammed into me and sent me flying. Blackmoon witches weren't werewolves. We couldn't regenerate the way they could. As darkness closed in, I caught sight of a man and woman tangled together inside a black SUV parked in the distance. It was Damian and Selena. Now I had been given a second life. Mrs. Valen slapped a contract sealed with black wax across my grandfather's weathered face and let out a scornful laugh. "This is more than enough to buy the life of one old wizard. "Your death will buy your granddaughter a life of luxury as the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. What are you waiting for? Go die already."

For five years, I was the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. And for five years, every time I carried my Alpha’s pup, I miscarried before full term. After losing three babies, the Elders heavily pressured my mate, Arthur. So, he brought home an Omega. Mia. He claimed Mia wanted to be our surrogate to repay me for saving her years ago. Even though I felt guilty, the Elders backed me into a corner. And when Arthur begged me with so much love and heartbreak in his eyes, I agreed. To compensate Mia, and to pay the massive medical and IVF bills, I worked myself to the bone. I took on all the pack’s grueling duties. I gave her the ultimate luxuries and the best prenatal care. I even risked my life on the front lines, fighting like a beast to secure more territory for our pack. Finally, after three painful rounds of IVF, she got pregnant. I still remember the day the pup was born. Arthur held me in his arms, crying tears of joy as he kissed me. "We finally have an heir, Serena. You never have to suffer again." Mia stayed in the guest room of our packhouse. I swore to myself that I would treat her like my own sister. And I loved our pup, Leo, as if he were my own flesh and blood. But the day after Leo’s first birthday, he spiked a massive fever and nearly passed out. Arthur and Mia were out. Panicking, I rushed him to the pack hospital for emergency surgery. When the blood test came back, I froze. Leo was Blood Type B. He wasn't my child.

Elara was Cassian's only Luna, and they had loved each other for ten years. But at this year's remembrance ceremony, Elara's name on the stone tablet suddenly split open. The Moon Goddess no longer blessed her, no longer claimed her. Another woman, Seraphina, was about to become the next Luna. And Elara had only five days left to live. What made it worse was that Cassian had known all along. Three years ago, he had led Elara up to the crown himself, and he had signed that contract himself. He knew perfectly well that being Luna had never been an honor, but an offering to the Moon Goddess. Yet Cassian kept it from her for three years. All he said was, "I want to save you." Only later did she discover what his so-called salvation really meant: putting Seraphina in her place as the new offering. Elara finally understood. Cassian loved her, but he had never once thought of letting her choose how to live. But Seraphina told her, "I never wanted to take your place." "I want to destroy the contract." In that moment, the two of them decided to work together. Five days later, Elara would tear down the centuries-old Luna system with her own hands. Even if the cost was— The Alpha stripped of his power, and every rule holding Mooncrown together brought down with it. This time, Elara would never let anyone else decide her fate again.

At our werewolf academy's graduation party, someone asked the most popular girl in our class what the best decision she'd made in the past few years was. She stole a shy, coy glance at the man on the sofa, then pointed at me with open contempt. "Obviously, turning away some pathetic wretch when she came kneeling at our pack's gates, begging for help. "If that hadn't made her disappear without a word, how else would the Alpha have promised to make me his future Luna?" Everyone burst into laughter, their eyes full of scorn as they looked at me. "A lowborn Omega had the nerve to set her sights on becoming Luna? Her pack deserved to be wiped out!" Only the man whose very presence commanded authority went still, his pupils contracting. The wine glass in his hand shattered against the floor. I crouched down instinctively to pick up the shards, not even noticing when they sliced my fingers. His eyes blazed crimson, his gaze fixed on me as though he wanted to devour me whole. I cleaned up the mess and gave a faint bow. "Alpha, I'll take my leave." Some things, once missed, aren't worth going back for.

I was eighteen when I left my pack. I ran away with Stanley, my fated mate. He never gave me a proper mating ceremony. But I loved him. I would have done anything. I watched him build his pack. Become an Alpha. Take over half the territories in the North. The first time we made love, he marked my neck and promised me a grand ceremony. One day. I kept waiting. For over twenty years, I tried to be the perfect Luna for him. Then came my forty-fifth birthday. I thought it was time. Time for that ceremony he promised, in the sacred springs of Starfall Valley. But he had another surprise for me. I found him in our pack’s private hot spring, pinning his dead brother’s mate beneath him. That’s when I knew. To everyone, I was just a live-in servant. One who never got paid. One who would never leave. I was tired. I’d hidden my bloodline for so long. Too long. He was sure I had nowhere else to go. That he could crush me whenever he wanted. He didn't know. The blood of the oldest pack on the continent runs through my veins. When this wolf’s patience runs out… I won’t beg. I’ll rip out their throats myself. And then, I’m going home.

My sister Mia and I both had a crush on Alpha Felix. But Mia was sweet and knew exactly how to act cute. Felix only had eyes for her—just like our parents. Even when Mia and I competed for the position of Chief Beta, Felix chose her without a second thought. So, I left the pack in a fit of anger, determined to make a name for myself. Six years later, I became the strongest female Alpha in North America, leading the Crimson Pack. But my family and Felix knew none of this. That is, until I heard that Felix’s Crescent Pack was facing a severe financial crisis and desperately needed a powerful ally to survive. I looked at my schedule and let out a soft smirk. The name written next to the 10:00 AM slot—"Meeting with small pack seeking asylum"—was none other than Felix.

"The Wolf Queen wants another child." Kael said it while unfastening my nightdress. "You bear easily. Carry one more for her." Ten months later, I gave birth to a silver-eyed daughter. The midwife cut the cord, wrapped her in black cloth steeped in scent-severing herb, and carried her from the room before I could look twice. She was the second. Everyone at court knew that Seraphine had destroyed her moon-vein saving Kael and could never bear an heir. Otherwise, no daughter of Silvercrest would have been welcomed into the Wolf Keep. To Kael, I was never a partner. I was the Moon-Bound woman chosen to give the Wolf Queen children and the royal line its blood. No one asked whether I consented when they took my daughter. No one noticed that I memorized the tread of every pair of boots beyond the door.

Two years. That's how long I was gone. I volunteered for the Northern territory. And at my welcome home party, the “Truth or Dare” challenge was about him. Jaxon. My mate. The pack was howling with laughter, teasing smirks all around. “Alora, spill a secret! How’d Alpha Jaxon get that nick in his left ear? What’s his favorite food? And how long does he last during his Rut?” I answered each one. “A rock shard from an avalanche. Venison with moonpetal. And in bed… exactly one hundred and eight minutes.” Fifty questions about him. I nailed every single one. Clara, the pureblood she-wolf always at his side, propped her chin on her hand. “You sound just like his mate, don’t you?” Someone else jumped in. “She wishes! She only ran off to that wasteland because Clara got the exchange spot at the Council’s Advanced Warrior Academy.” “And don’t forget who cast the deciding vote for Clara—Alpha Jaxon himself!” “Five years of chasing him and still no public mating ceremony. Pathetic.” Jaxon lounged on the sofa. His voice was ice. “The Moon Goddess binds souls, but she doesn’t command my heart. She is not my mate.” I raised my glass and took a small sip. “And now, I never will be.” Jaxon actually laughed, his voice dripping with arrogance. “What, finally giving up?” I looked at him. There was no sting. No pain. I realized I hadn't lost to anyone. I just… didn't love him anymore. This bond between us? I’d be the one to sever it.

My mate, David, was hailed as the most generous wolf in our pack. He donated his entire ten-thousand-dollar monthly salary to the wolf orphanage. He didn't keep a single cent for himself. The heavy mortgage, his parents' expensive herbal medicines, and the pack academy tuition all fell squarely on my shoulders. I had to pay for everything using my salary as an emergency room doctor. I worked several forty-eight-hour night shifts in a row at the pack hospital. My inner wolf was utterly exhausted, but my salary was never enough to cover our expenses. Having no other choice, I tried to talk to David. "When you get paid next time, could you leave just a little bit of money for us?" To my surprise, his face instantly darkened. "That's my money. I can donate it however I want. Why is it any of your business?" His parents immediately jumped in to defend him. "Everyone in the pack praises David. Instead of being proud, you're being petty. You're trying to ruin his reputation. What's wrong with you?" Even our five-year-old son, Leo, accused me in his childish voice. "You're stopping Daddy from being a hero. You're a bad mommy!" I looked at my fingers. They were trembling uncontrollably from pure exhaustion. I felt my inner wolf growing weak and decided not to argue anymore. I turned around and sent a confirmation email to the Lycan Medical Center. I officially accepted their six-month isolated medical residency. I couldn't wait to see how this family of saints would survive without the money I worked myself to the bone to earn.