Mate Regret Short Stories & Novels

Everyone says I'm lucky to be Frosthowl pack's Luna because my Alpha mate, Matthew White, loves me dearly. I love roses and fireworks, so he buys all that are available on my birthday. When it's almost midnight, he kisses me tenderly and says, "I'll turn you into a Luna that everyone envies, Amber." The fireworks light up the sky above the castle of roses he's built for me, and they go on for the rest of the night. They make it seem brighter than day. He and I do it underneath the fireworks and flowers throughout the night, and I accidentally catch a cold. Matthew is so guilty that he summons the pack's best healer to treat my inconsequential cold. All the werewolves treat our mate bond as a symbol of true love. However, just moments ago, I found a torn pair of black stockings in his suit jacket's pocket. I never wear those. However, his secretary, Beth Seymour, who helps him deal with the pack's matters, wears them every day.

At 32 weeks pregnant, I was cornered in a baby store by Clara Ward, my mate's childhood sweetheart. She ripped the patch off the side of my neck, pinned me against a shelf, and demanded to know how much longer I planned to hide the mark I'd stolen. When security showed up, I didn't argue. I just asked them to pull the camera footage. When my Alpha mate Leon Blake arrived, someone at the front desk asked which of us was his mate. Leon saw my bleeding hand, but he put his coat around the other woman's shoulders first. "Clara's upset. My mate's identity stays private for now." After two years of waiting for him to acknowledge me, all I got was a cold note in my file that read, "Status pending verification." That day, I started the 28-day treatment to remove his mark. On the last day, I would take my bags and get on a train out of Blackpine pack territory. When Leon signed the papers, he said, "You said you weren't coming back the last two times, too." What he didn't know was that this time, I wouldn't even leave him our child's urn.

After ten years of being mated, I discovered my aloof Alpha mate had been keeping a sunshine-like Omega lover. That Omega could bring warmth and light to everyone she meets. My Alpha mate, Dominic, who had spent his childhood in the doldrums, was easily attracted by that kind of pure warmth. That very night, I presented him with a mate bond severance agreement. Dominic sneered coldly as he tore up the agreement, throwing a psychiatric evaluation at me instead. "Sign this. Admit you have delusional disorder, and I'll send you to the best mental hospital to live out your days. I know all about your dirty little tricks. I won't give you any chance to hurt her." So, all these years… every little thing I’d done to protect him? To him, it was just despicable scheming. I refused to sign. Dominic had me bound and tortured with silver powder, watching coldly as I convulsed in agony. He even had our two five-year-old pups hung from the bow of massive ships about to collide. "Either sign, or watch them get crushed to pulp. Your call." I dropped to my knees on the deck, banging my head against the wood like a madwoman, begging him to let me sign. But it was too late—I watched helplessly as my pups' small bodies got torn apart by metal shrapnel. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I discovered he was keeping that girl. I decided never to love him again. But after I left him, Dominic suddenly went mad searching for me everywhere.

The night I have my bonding ceremony with the Alpha, Walter Zimmer, he gets drunk even though he usually never touches any alcohol. Just as I'm at a loss for what to do, my best friend, Rose Larson, sends me a message detailing how to take care of a drunken werewolf. Despite feeling doubtful, I do as she suggests, and Walter truly does fall asleep peacefully. Just as I'm about to thank Rose, Walter suddenly hugs me from behind. His hot breath brushes against my neck as he murmurs a sentence that utterly breaks my heart. "Rose, you're the one I wanted to mark…" My world crumbles around me, but that's not all. His shirt slips down his shoulder when he moves, revealing the rose tattooed right over his heart. My mind goes blank, and all I can do is stare at the tattoo. I refuse to believe what I'm seeing. I've known Rose for 20 years, and she's my closest friend. As it turns out, Walter didn't get drunk because he was overjoyed about becoming my mate. He simply used the alcohol to drown his sorrows over not being able to take the she-wolf he wanted as his Luna. In that moment, our newly formed mate bond seems like nothing but a joke. Since that's the case, I decide to give up my position as the Luna and let them be together. However, after I leave, Walter loses control and shifts into his wolf. He then claws the rose tattoo to shreds. "Lily, I was mistaken. You're the Luna I truly love. Please, give me another chance to love you again…"

I was dismembered and thrown into an abandoned warehouse. Before my consciousness faded away, I used the last bit of my strength to send a message via mind link to Timothy Russell, the Alpha heir that I had loved for six years. "Timothy, I'm in so much pain..." The next second, a cold mental barrier crashed down between us, cutting off all communication. That was his response to me. I knew I had been too presumptuous. I had disturbed him while he was at an auction helping his foster sister, Rochell Lucas. The moment my heart stopped beating, Timothy, who was helping Rochell put on a bracelet, felt his chest cave in. While everyone watched, the future Alpha knelt on the ground as countless bone-deep wounds appeared across his body out of nowhere. He convulsed in agony, screaming my name. Only then did everyone notice a glowing blood pact mark appearing on his tongue. I remembered. Once upon a time, he swore an oath to the moon. "If I ever betray Leah, every bit of suffering she has endured will return to me tenfold."

After four miscarriages, I was finally pregnant again. To surprise my mate, Wyatt, I hid behind the curtains in his office. I never expected to see him tangled in a passionate embrace with my younger sister, Stella. They were kissing frantically, and Wyatt showed a fiery passion for her that he had never once shown me. What shattered my heart completely were Wyatt’s next words: "Since you're pregnant now, Harper is useless to me. I'll figure out a way to sever the mate bond with her." "She’s so incredibly clueless. She never even suspected that I caused those four miscarriages just to cure your infertility..." Hiding behind the curtain, I clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle my devastated sobs. My fated mate murdered my babies with his own hands, all for my sister. In that moment, a fire of pure vengeance ignited in my heart. I called Wyatt’s mortal enemy, Dominic, Alpha of the Sterling Pack: "Want to make Wyatt's life a living hell? Let's make a deal."

I, Mona Goldheart, decide to tell my mate, Edmund Ryker, about my pregnancy on my birthday. But Edmund, who never misses my birthday, misses it this time. The reason he cited was that he had to attend a very important meeting. I don't believe it. When I rush over to his company, I see him holding a birthday party for Amy Drumm, the Omega he brought back to our pack not long ago. Watching as the two of them act so intimately, I contacted Edmund through our mind-link. I ask, "Is the meeting going well?" Edmund holds Amy in his arms, laughing happily. But when he replies to me, his tone is flat, as if he really is attending a meeting. He says, "It's going well. When I finish, I'll come back and celebrate your birthday." I sneer and reply, "Turn around and take a look."

As my body was pulled from the desolate marsh, Kian, the Alpha I had been mated to for ten years, was in the middle of his Mating Ceremony with his Beta, Sienna. My rotting corpse was mangled beyond recognition by layers of different wolfsbane poisons, my very bones stained black by the toxin's deep penetration. Even the pack's eldest healer retched at the sight of it. But, Kian, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome discovery, exchanged vows with Sienna before the Moon Altar. They received the blessings of the entire pack, while no one remembered me, even though I had only been missing for three months. It wasn't until my brother Ronan, the pack's Head Enforcer, began his investigation and found a shattered moonstone deep within my skeletal remains. "Ronan... if anyone can hear this... the Rogue Alpha has infiltrated..." The fragmented, static-laced voice that emanated from it made my brother freeze. When the truth was finally revealed, I was proven to be not the traitor who eloped with a Rogue Alpha, but the hero who died protecting the pack. And as for that Alpha who always looked down on me? He completely lost his mind.

Seven years. My fated mate, Alpha Julian, and I only have one topic: Yes or No. "Yes" means he comes home. "No" means he goes to Chloe—his childhood friend. Ninety-eight times. Every time I needed him, he chose her. Tonight is our mating ceremony. One bite on my neck, and the bond seals forever. The banquet hall glows. Elders and elites raise glasses, congratulating me on finally taming the Supreme Alpha. But his phone keeps buzzing. I know it's Chloe. Her "broken wolf spirit" is "losing control" again. He tenses. Ready to bolt. I press my fingers against his hand. "It's our mating ceremony. Do you have to go?" He grips my hand, thumb rubbing my knuckles. "Chloe's wolf is severely broken. She can't survive without me. I'll be right back. Trust me." He buries his face in my neck, inhaling. "You are my fated mate. My one and only Luna." Then he pulls away and walks out the door. No hesitation. Just like every other time. But he doesn't know. The second he walks out, he's not just leaving the party. He's leaving my life. Forever.

On our wedding night, Alpha Victor Markham's eyes glistened with tears as he made a solemn vow. "Moon Goddess, be my witness. Tia Carey, you will be my one and only mate for as long as I live. From this day forward, my wolf will answer to no one but you." When he returned from a business trip to Australia, he brought home another she-wolf. Victor avoided my eyes. "Tia, this is Louise Mercer. S-she's my fated mate." His fated mate? But I was already his mate. I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Victor hurried over and took my hand. "I only brought her back so the witch could find a way to sever the fated-mate bond between Louise and me. I promise, Tia. You're the only one I love." His fingers brushed the mating mark on my neck, as though he were trying to convince himself as much as me. I believed him. But when Louise accidentally hurt her little finger, Victor shifted and appeared at her side in an instant. His eyes were gentler than I'd seen them in a long time. "You hurt yourself again? Are you okay?" Meanwhile, I was left struggling to my feet, clutching my bruised knee, with everyone watching. The humiliation burned. That was when I understood: instinct could outrun any vow.

I loved the pup my parents adopted so deeply that I cared for him as if he were my own son. At his slightest request, I willingly braved the storm to search the cliff edges for the plant he needed for tomorrow's assignment. Just as I stumbled toward them, battered and disheveled, I heard him secretly call my sister "mama, and call my mate "Dad”. It turned out my beloved Alpha mate had been cheating all along. He said it was too early for us to have pups, then turned around and started a family with my own sister. And my parents had known all along. They even wanted to force me to step down from my Luna position. The pup I cherished like my own heart cursed me with the most vicious words. Looking at them, I laughed through my tears. They didn't know I was already dead. The Moon Goddess had shown mercy—if I could receive one genuine declaration of love within these seven extra days, I could return to life. But they all wished for my death. I granted their wish. So why did they all regret it when the pack enforcers asked them to identify my body?

When Damian missed our family day again, I didn't call to confront him. On the calendar on the living room wall, every day he'd promised to spend with us was marked with a red line. Every time he left, it was for Chloe. His dead brother James's widow, and the former Luna. Half a year ago, he inherited the Alpha position, and with it, the responsibility of caring for Chloe. He held my hand and promised me. "The pack needs a pureblood heir." "Once Chloe gets pregnant and has the child, they'll never stand in our way again." "When that happens, I'll hold the Mark ceremony with you in broad daylight. I'll bring you and Leo home." But when I finally got the news that Chloe was pregnant, the pack also announced they would hold a Mark ceremony for the two of them. Our son Leo was still clutching the wolf-tooth pendant Damian had given him before bed. "Mom, is Dad coming home to be with us?" "No." I put the pendant in a drawer and zipped the suitcase I'd already packed. Damian always thought I was just a woman with nowhere to go. He didn't know. I was the Alpha King's only daughter. In three days, my father would personally come to welcome Leo and me back to the capital.

My alpha mate Damien had no idea that I'd been secretly in love with him for seven years. The day his first love Sofia ran away from their mating ceremony, I put on the wedding dress and took Luna's place without hesitation. Despite everyone's dissuasion, I insisted on mating to the devastated man. After mating, he was incredibly caring and thoughtful, remembering every anniversary. I thought he'd finally fallen in love with me. Until the day his first love returned, all my illusions were shattered. When the rogue wolves attacked, he left me behind without hesitation to save Sofia: "She's not as strong as you. She needs me." This time, I didn't stop him. I simply severed our mate bond and leave our Pack. But why was this Alpha, who deeply loved Sofia, frantically searching the world for me?

Dad and my brother, Jonah Atwood, have always favored my sister, Lisa Atwood, while resenting me. At my coming-of-age ceremony, when several werewolves in the Blackwolf pack corners and harasses me, it's Rex Vaughn, the Alpha's heir, who steps in to protect me. He throws the most extravagant mate-bonding ceremony for me, right before the Moon Goddess. Overnight, I become someone every other female wolf wishes they could be! I'm seven months pregnant when I show up at Lisa's birthday party. Somehow, we're ambushed by dark magic. As always, Dad and Jonah put Lisa first. They throw everything they have into shielding and dragging her out of the enemies' barrier, leaving me trapped in the center of the spell circle, nearly consumed. In the end, it's Rex who pulls me out. Later, I wake up in Stone Cabin, only to walk right into a scene that makes my blood run cold. "You paid off an old witch from the Darkmoon pack to set up that spell circle?" Rex's eyes blaze red with fury. "She's only seven months along, and you were already trying to rip the pup out of her? "What? Were you hoping Lily and her pup would blow up and die together?" Jonah and Dad shrink back, trying to explain themselves. "Lisa's wolf is fading fast. The old witch said the only way to save her and her wolf is to sacrifice someone with the same blood immediately…" Rex snaps, "I care about Lisa more than either of you do! Why else do you think I claimed Lily as my mate? Sure, I want to save Lisa, but not by sacrificing Lily and her pup!" That is how I learn the truth. Rex didn't bond with me because he cared. He did it to save Lisa. As it turns out, he's no different from Dad and Jonah. All they ever see is Lisa, the weak-born wolf. I was never part of the picture to begin with. Since no one's ever truly cared about me, I'll walk away with my pup.

My grandma and I were on a perfect beach in Golden Bay. The sun warmed my skin, the sand was soft beneath my feet, and she was resting peacefully nearby. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my mind. A mind link. It was Brenda. Assistant to my mate, Gideon, the Alpha Heir. The image she sent was horrifying. An old woman in simple clothes, lying in a pool of her own blood. Deep gashes, down to the bone, from a silver-laced weapon. Brenda's voice echoed in my head, dripping with arrogance. “Cora, do you Omegas do anything but freeload?” “Gideon just bought this estate, and you’re already letting your pack-leeching relatives squat here? As the Alpha’s assistant, it's my duty to protect his land from trespassers.” “This is what happens when you trespass on an Alpha’s private property!” I froze. I looked over at the sun umbrella. My grandma, Maria, was napping peacefully. I replayed the image from the link. My blood ran cold. That face… bloody and broken, but I knew it. I would never mistake it. It wasn't my grandmother. It was Eleonora. Gideon’s grandmother. A rival pack had attacked her months ago. Her wolf was weakened. She was in a pack clinic. Her mind-link was damaged. She could only receive, not send. Today… she was supposed to come home. I pushed back against the link with all my strength. “Brenda, are you insane? Look who you hit! That's Eleonora! Gideon's grandmother!” Brenda cut the link. Her last words were cold and stupid. “Gideon made it clear. Your family is your problem. His family is his. He doesn’t claim trash like them.”

My mating ceremony with Chris kept getting interrupted, one reason after another. The first time, his adopted sister Lucy threw him a bachelor party. He drank too much and missed our slot. The second time, right before we set out, Lucy twisted her ankle. Chris took her to the hospital and missed it again. The third time, we were already standing at the vow platform when Lucy cried until she fainted below. Once again, Chris left me standing there. The fourth time, the fifth time... Lucy, every single time. "Hurry up, Sheila! This is the eighth time! There are only fifteen minutes left to receive the Moon Goddess's blessing. If you miss it again, the Moon Goddess will take it as proof the two of you were never meant to be mates!" My best friend Vivian shouted frantically. I took Chris's hand, and I had just started up the steps when Lucy's cry rang out behind us. "Chris, wait, my moonstone bracelet just snapped. It was your coming-of-age gift to me." Chris jerked his foot back mid-step. "Don't rush. I'll wait for you." The buzzing crowd went dead silent. Everyone exchanged looks. I looked at Chris, swallowing my anger. "Chris, there are only fifteen minutes left for the Moon Goddess's blessing." Chris glanced at Lucy, his tone indulgent. "We're already at the door. A few more minutes won't hurt." Watching Chris crouch down beside Lucy to gather her moonstone beads, I suddenly smiled. Then I opened my phone and pulled up a number I'd blocked three years ago. [Didn't you tell me three years ago to give you a chance?] [You have fifteen minutes. Come to Grayfang Pack's Moon Goddess Altar.]

Seven days before our bonding ceremony, my fiancé, Alpha Cassian Vale, died. The patrol said he had fallen into Deadfall Gorge, where hunters had set silver traps. All they brought back was a bloodstained badge. The elders blamed me for everything. "If he hadn't gone to gather moonflowers for your bonding ceremony, the Alpha would still be alive!" "You're the jinx who brought death to your entire pack, and now you've killed our Alpha too!" Cassian's childhood friend, Vera Holt, sobbed as she crushed an echo stone, releasing a recording of his final words. "Eileen, don't come looking for me. Live a good life." I clutched the badge and went into Deadfall Gorge alone. I searched for three days and nights before a silver spike pierced my abdomen, forcing me to crawl back. On the fourth day, I dragged myself up the cliff, bleeding heavily. The moment I climbed over the stone railing at the cliff's edge, cheers erupted from the woods. Vera ran up to me, clapping and laughing until she cried. "I win! Cassian, she was actually stupid enough to go down there looking for your body!" The crowd parted, and Cassian walked out without a scratch on him. He turned to Vera first, his voice warm and indulgent. "Happy now? No more games after this." Vera hooked a finger under the wolf-fang necklace around her neck and smiled. "Don't I deserve some credit for proving how much she loves you?" "You do." Cassian smiled and nodded. "I was saving it for our bonding night. But if you like it, wear it for now." Only then did he hold out his hand to me. "Surprised? "Vera was upset that you'd stolen me from her. That's why I went along with it this once. "Now that you've passed the test, we'll bond in three days, as planned." I looked at the two of them and finally understood. The fall was fake. The last words were fake. The only real things were my dying she-wolf and the wound in my stomach. I knocked his hand away and hurled the bloodstained badge at his face. "Cassian, I went down into that gorge to repay you for saving my life all those years ago. "Now we're even. The bonding is off."

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 end up suffering from a miscarriage after getting attacked by a Rogue on the highway. At that moment, my mate, Jerry Shaw, happens to drive by me with his Omega assistant, Monica Reed. As soon as Jerry sees my white dress that's completely stained red, he covers Monica's eyes instantly, blocking her curious gaze. "Don't look. It's bad luck," he says coldly. The next second, the car speeds off. Jerry doesn't even glance in my direction. I collapse onto the ground and try to reach Jerry through our mind-link. Once, twice, ten times... By the 99th attempt, there's still no response. That's when it hits me—to him, neither I nor our pup matters. That evening, I find something under the bed. It's a pair of black lace panties studded with rhinestones. It's sexy, expensive, and clearly not mine. Expressionless, I toss it into a drawer like a useless scrap of trash. Then, I call Jimmy Norwood. My voice is calm and steady as I say, "I've made up my mind. Next week, I'm leaving the pack. I'll come to your territory and start the new job."

On our way home, a truck carrying silver ore loses control. It overturns as it passes my car, trapping my adopted sister, Lina Muhl, and me inside the crushed vehicle. If the enforcement squad rescues Lina first, I'll be in greater danger, and it'll be harder to get me out too. The enforcement squad members set their tools against the metal panel of my car when Kevin Green, my older brother and the captain of the squad, raises his hand to stop them. "Get Lina out first. She scares easily." Wayne Aston, my mate and the enforcement squad's deputy captain, blocks our mind-link. "Your brother's right. You're my mate too. If I save you first, others will say we're playing favorites." My chest is crushed, and I can't even move. "But… something's pinning my abdomen. I find it hard to breathe too. We can't drag this out any longer." Wayne immediately looks up at me before sighing in relief. "Stop exaggerating. You're still conscious. It's just a little blood. That means you're fine." Kevin keeps his stern gaze fixed on the car without even sparing me a glance. "Leia, you're our family. You should know the rules. "If you ever ask me to make an exception for you again, I'll no longer consider you my sister. You've always been the healthy one. Can you stop being selfish for once and let Lina get the help she needs?" But Wayne and Kevin don't know that I have silver dust all over my wounds. My blood can't even clot properly. The bent steering wheel is digging into my abdomen, and several of my ribs are broken. I'm hanging on by a thread.