เรื่องสั้นแนว Feel-Good Story และนิยาย Vampire Regret

The year I was reborn was the year the vampire war began. The first thing I did was get rid of the pup. My mate's pup. Alpha Lucas's. In my last life, he covered for his childhood friend, Sarah, when she mated a vampire. He took my pure-blood pup and swapped him with her half-breed bastard. They branded me a traitor. Tortured me to death in a silver dungeon. And my own son, brainwashed by Sarah, stood over my corpse and told me to rot in hell. When I opened my eyes again, I was three months pregnant. I didn't hesitate. I walked straight to the witch's hut and drank the poison she gave me. But as the life drained away, I uncorked another bottle: an expensive Mimic Potion. It fakes a pup's heartbeat. It gives off the scent of an expecting mother. Lucas wants a child to take the fall for Sarah's crime. Fine. I'll give him a show. This time, I have no weakness.

Moments before my Mating Ceremony, the guards shoved me from the altar. I watched, paralyzed, as another she-wolf in a pristine white gown took my place. My mate, Beta Seth, didn't even flinch. He took her hand—the hand of his childhood sweetheart, Brielle. And in that silence, his voice echoed in my head through the mind link. "Brielle is pregnant with a rogue's pup. She's mateless. I have to claim her, give her a home in the pack. It's to protect the child. I won't actually mark her. When this is all over, you'll still be my only one." I almost believed his bullshit. Until I saw Seth's hand stroking Brielle's waist after the ceremony. And Brielle, pulling him in for a kiss. In that moment, my eyes burned, and I was rooted to the spot. Seth thought I'd wait. Everyone who watched me pine for him thought I'd come crawling back, begging him to complete our bond. After all, we were fated mates. I'd been waiting for this ceremony for five years. But they had no idea. I turned my back on the pack and left. The moment that failed ceremony ended, I bonded with Lucian. The most powerful Vampire Prince. Three years later, I came back. Lucian called for a truce with the werewolves—all for me. As his mate, I returned to my former pack lands to witness the treaty. But the first thing my arrogant ex-fated mate did was rip the huge moonstone pendant off my neck. "That's the Vampire Prince's moonstone. He bought it for his blood-bonded mate years ago. Where did you get that cheap knock-off? A street stall?" "Enough with the tantrum. Come back. Brielle's kid is three. You can have a cot in the utility closet and clean up after him. Now take that cheap thing off your neck. Don't screw up the peace treaty." I just stood there, rubbing the sore spot on my neck where the chain had scraped, and let out a quiet sigh. He didn’t know that the moment anyone tried to rip this pendant from my throat, Lucian would feel it. And the only thing that would greet them… was his world-ending fury.

After chasing my crush, Edward Lightwood, for ten years, he finally accepted me as his blood bound. But, the day we were taking our eternal vow, his first love, Beth, from the allied clan was murdered by a gang of vampire hunters. He blamed me for her loss and tormented me every day. Exposed me to the eternal sun, pierced me with wooden stakes just not enough to kill me and then locked me up in his basement. Exhausted and heartbroken, I grabbed the oak stake and stabbed my chest in front of him. I killed myself. But, I did not die. I was reborn to the day I had confessed my feelings to Edward. But, this time, I'll not repeat my mistake. I'll stay far away from him.

Before my parents died, they entrusted me to the most powerful vampire clan — the Vanderlooms. I married Jason, the heir, and spent ten years by his side — only to discover he'd gotten his vampire subordinate pregnant. He said I was just a human. That conceiving a vampire's child was nearly impossible for someone like me. That even if my parents died saving his life, it didn't mean I could hold on to the title of lady of the house forever. Vicky said she needed human blood for her pregnancy and demanded I serve as her blood thrall. Jason just watched with casual indifference. He didn't stop her. So I packed my bags and calmly handed him the divorce papers. He sneered. "That trick doesn't work anymore. You want to leave? Go ahead." "Give it a week. You'll come crawling back." But what he didn't know was that I'd already accepted another man's proposal. This time, I was done loving him for good.

The blood-infused elixir I crafted won the top honor at the Nocturne's Gala, but my adopted sister stole it and claimed the credit. She thought she'd won glory, not realizing it was a vampire betrothal contract to the Prince Kaelan—rumored to be impotent, barbaric, and monstrous. When the proposal arrived, my archmage fiancé, to "protect" her, hastily bound himself to her with a blood-mark and took her to his bed. She returned, the fresh mark on her neck a badge of triumph. "Sister, your man is mine now. You turn twenty-five in three days. If no one claims you, the Matchmaking Registry will toss you to some aging, wife-beating rogue mercenary..." She was wrong. I always had a choice. I walked to my parents, who were scrambling to clean up her mess, and declared calmly. "If she refuses to marry Kaelan Nocturne, then I will."

I was Vampire Lord Bastian’s exclusive blood thrall. My blood was an addiction he just couldn't kick. But six years ago, an accidental blood pact left me pregnant. Yet, he never once allowed our half-blood son, Liam, to call him "Dad." After he blew off Liam’s birthday—again—for his pureblood companion Ophelia, I severed the pact. I took my son and walked out of his immortal life for good. The ever-so-elegant ancient vampire finally snapped. He tore into my empty lab, roaring, demanding to know where Liam and I had gone. But this time, neither Liam nor I would ever look back.

After Giselle left for Europe, I took her place. I made a blood pact with Julian—the feared vampire lord and CEO of Evernight Biotech. Every night for five years, he pinned me down, kissing every inch of my skin. We became enemies, craving and hating each other. He hated me, believing I schemed to drive Giselle away and stole her place as his mate. I hated him too. Every time he took me, he moaned Giselle’s name. He never even acknowledged me before his clan. Because of my awkward status, my parents—who desperately craved immortality—were mocked by high society. They poured all their toxic resentment onto me. In my past life, on a Blood Moon night, Julian and my parents threw a lavish welcome-home party for Giselle. They left me behind in the unwarded old manor. When rogue vampires broke in, I—a fragile human—was drained dry, along with the unborn half-blood baby in my womb. Meanwhile, my sister was enjoying the blessings of North America's elite. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn. It was the exact day Giselle returned. This time, I refuse to beg Julian and my greedy parents for scraps.

Lucius Nightshade, the Original Vampire Progenitor, was ambushed. A rogue hunter on a suicide mission. But my mate, Julian Thorne, and his elite guards weren't there. They were at a midnight masquerade, playing bodyguard for his childhood sweetheart, Lilah. I didn't invoke the mate bond to summon Julian. Instead, heavy with an eight-month pregnancy, I threw myself at Lucius. I traded my life to shield him from the fatal silver shrapnel. Because in my past life, I did invoke the emergency bond. Julian ditched Lilah, teleported to the scene, and saved Lucius. For that, he got a seat on the High Council. He became the Lord of his clan. But Lilah threw a fit because he left her behind. She ran off the territory in a tantrum and got ripped apart by our clan's worst enemies. Julian didn't say a word. But on the day I was due to give birth, he forcibly dragged me into the Sunlight Cell. His fangs grazed my ear, dangerous and cold. His hands shook violently on my shoulders, fueled by pure grief and manic rage. "The Progenitor had so many elite guards! Why did you have to force-summon me? Am I just a stepping stone to you? You don't love me. You just wanted the vanity of being a Lord's wife, didn't you?" "Lilah wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for your damn jealousy! You are going to suffer a thousand times worse than she did!" Then, without a shred of mercy, he shoved me and my newborn into the blazing daylight. I watched in horror as my baby burned to ashes right beside me. When I opened my eyes again, the harsh stench of silver powder filled the air. I was back on the day Progenitor Lucius was ambushed.

We were engaged for three years. Yet Kyros delayed our vow ceremony at Hera's temple thirty-three times. The first time, he went to guide his fragile apprentice, Lyris, on her first mission. I waited alone all night by Hera’s sacred fire. I endured the agony of divine punishment. The contract mark on my ring finger burned my flesh to a crisp. The second time, Lyris whined over the comm-stone that she was scared. Kyros dropped my hand without a second thought. He left me to fight a lesser beast for her. After that, every single time we stood at the altar, Lyris somehow ran into a "deadly crisis." Then came today. "We'll have our ceremony, I promise. But I'm responsible for Lyris. She doesn't feel well, so I have to go." He kissed my ear, tossing me a casual excuse, and walked away. Through the comm-stone, I heard him laughing with his friends. "Who cares if I delay it? She's an orphan. Where is she going to go without me and the guild?" I wiped my tears. I swallowed the soul-shredding agony of Hera's wrath. I was done. He didn't know I wasn't an orphan at all. I was a Goddess from Mount Olympus. My only reason for coming to the mortal world was to spend the rest of my life with him. Now, thirty-three divine punishments later, it was time to let go of this pointless romance. It was time to go home. But when I crossed the Gates of Olympus—a place no mortal could ever reach—he broke. He fell to his knees at the foot of the mountain. He even tried to rip out his own Demon Hunter heart with his bare hands, just begging for one last look from me.

In my first life, my twin sister and I were born with a rare bloodline, and tradition demanded that we marry into rival factions. I married Lucian Vale, crown prince of the Vampire Court, and became the princess everyone revered. My sister was sent to the Hunters' Order. Within a few years, its brutal discipline had killed her. Lucian blamed me for stealing my sister Rosalie Ashford's future and driving her to her death. He poured all that hatred into punishing me, then drained every drop of my blood to feed his Bloodmoon Scepter. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day our marriages were arranged. I changed the bride's name on Lucian's contract to Rosalie's without a second thought. Everyone believed Rosalie and I carried the same bloodline, only hers was a little weaker. Only I knew the truth. Her blood had mutated years ago, turning into a lethal curse. If Lucian loved her so much, then he could drink the poison from her veins himself.

I was a human sacrifice, yet an ancient blood pact bound me to Lucian Voss, the most feared vampire prince of the Night Realm. Any pain inflicted upon me would befall him tenfold. When consecrated silver cut my palm, the flesh burned from his hand. When a vampire lord forced poison down my throat, Lucian woke screaming, tore him apart, and burned his estate to the ground. After that, no vampire dared touch me. Until Lucian entered his once-a-century blood sleep. Duchess Seraphina, the pureblood vampire who had desired Lucian for five hundred years, broke into my chamber and pressed a red-hot silver brand against my chest. “A lowborn human sacrifice will never be worthy of our prince.” I watched her bring the brand toward my chest. “If this hurts me once, how many times do you think Lucian will feel it?” Her smile twisted. Then she drove the burning silver into my skin. I couldn’t fight back. I was too weak to even move. Because deep beneath the castle, Lucian was suffering ten times the pain. And when that pain dragged him from his sleep, every vampire in this room would regret ever laying a hand on me.

Before the wedding began, Rosien Valmont, the vampire prince, chained me to the blood altar. A dagger carved with a blood curse was pressed against my heart. "Give Bertha your blood one more time and I'll honor the blood pact. Otherwise the wedding is off." Rosien and I had loved each other for 200 years. He swore in front of the whole clan that he would make me his princess. Then, three years ago, everything changed when he brought Bertha Bell, a dying human, home. Whenever her illness flared, Rosien cut open my chest to draw my blood. On every full moon, pain ripped through my body as though my flesh were being torn apart. Bertha Bell lay pale in his arms. "Rosien, let it go! Katherine has waited a long time for this wedding. If she doesn't want to, I don't mind dying." When he looked at me again, there was nothing in his eyes but impatience. "Bertha saved my life. You're only giving up a few drops of blood." He pushed the dagger in another inch. "You begged for this wedding in the first place. I can call it off whenever I want. But if you're willing to give Bertha your blood, I'll still make you my princess." I looked down at the ring on my finger and laughed softly. "One last time." Rosien had no idea that this was the 99th time he had taken my blood. In three days, when the blood moon rose, the Founder bloodline sealed within me would fully awaken. I would take control of the clan.