เรื่องสั้นและนิยายแนว After Death Werewolf

The night before our Mating Ceremony, my fated mate, Alpha Ryker of the Howling Moon Pack, ordered me to give him the Moon Soul Crystal—the very thing that protected my pack, the Willow Creek Pack. He said he needed it to power up the Howling Moon Pack's Blood Moon Altar. He also promised he'd keep me and my people safe. But he didn't know that we, the healers of the Willow Creek Pack, can only create one Moon Soul Crystal in our entire lives. Making one takes a crazy amount of moon energy. It's the treasure that keeps our pack alive. My mother, worried about me using up my moon energy while I was pregnant, gave up her own Moon Soul Crystal instead. But just three months after Ryker and I were mated, she got sick, fast. She was dying. I knelt in front of Ryker, crying, begging him for the Silverleaf Herb from the Howling Moon's forbidden grounds. It was the only thing that could save my mom. But he just looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment, and kicked me away. "I asked for the Moon Soul Crystal to test you," he snarled. "And just as I thought, you married me for our pack's treasures! Your mother's not sick. You're making it all up!" "You don't deserve to be the Luna of the Howling Moon Pack!" It wasn't until after my mother died, when he was arguing with me, trying to kick me out of the pack, that my mother's things fell and scattered everywhere. Her Soul Stone, the symbol of a wolf's spirit, shattered. That's when he finally realized he was wrong. He fell to his knees, begging me not to leave, crying for me to forgive him.

The stench of silver dust filled the air, and every breath seared my lungs. My broken body lay twisted among the jagged rocks of the abandoned silver mine, where even the strongest werewolf would feel their strength waning. Beside me, my mate’s first love, Sophia, whimpered softly. A shallow scrape marked her knee. The tunnel was collapsing. Only two people could pass through the exit at a time. Lucas did not hesitate to scoop Sophia in his arms and abandon me. His golden eyes, once filled with unwavering loyalty toward me, now burned with something colder—indifference. I reached out, my fingers trembling as they grasped the hem of his clothing. My voice was hoarse with despair. "Lucas… please… don't leave me here." “I am your mate. I’m carrying your pups.” He glanced at me with a clenched jaw and broke free, shoving me back onto the silver-laced ground. Agony burned through my veins, consuming my soul like fire. “Are you serious, Ava?! After pushing Sophia into this damn abyss and getting her injured, you still dare to compare with her.” “You know what?! You deserve to be left here and reflect on your mistakes!” With that, he vanished into the light, and the tunnel collapsed behind him. His words cut deeper than silver ever could, and the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me was the sound of their retreating footsteps.

My wolf was cursed. I had three days left. But my parents and my mate, Alpha Edwin, forced me to surrender my Luna title to Meggie. All because she claimed a curse was killing her, too. In my despair, I agreed. The moment our mate bond shattered, the backlash nearly broke me. With tears in my eyes, I asked them, "If I died, would you even miss me?" They told me to stop faking it, their expressions ice-cold. But they didn't know. Meggie's curse was a lie. And mine was all her doing. It wasn't until my wolf faded to nothing that Meggie's true colors were revealed. Only then did they scream at her, blaming her for my death. But Meggie just snarled back, "I wasn't the only one who killed Hazel. You all did, too, didn't you?"

I was born a liar. That was the label my mother gave me. In the Dark Moon Pack, every pup carries a Lunar Mark on their wrist. Green means truth. Red means liar. My twin sister Maya slashed Mommy's ceremonial dress with a blade and blamed the pack hounds. Her wrist stayed soft and green. My mark went crimson when I said I was cold. "Mommy, I'm telling the truth. Please believe me." Elena would crouch down, look me in the eye, and say the same thing every time. "The Goddess's mark is absolute, Selena. Your own heart betrays you." She never touched me. She just looked at my wrist with disgust. No matter how honest I tried to be, my heart would race when I was scared. And every time my pulse spiked, the mark turned red. I lied when I said I was hungry. I lied when I said I loved her. I lied when I cried. After enough years, I stopped fighting back. I started to believe her. Maybe I really was broken. Maybe I was just born wrong. The night I died, I wrote one last line in my Penance Journal. "Mommy, help me. It hurts. Please — just believe me once." She never saw it. She had already locked the door and walked away. I'm sorry, Mommy. I died still trying to get it right. In my next life — will you hold me?

At the request of my sister, Wendy Moonveil, the whole family explored the outer woods, only to be attacked by rogues. My fated mate, Allen Sangre, scooped Wendy into his arms and broke through the aggressors. My parents, Terence and Camile Moonveil, dodged the attacks with agility before making a run back to the pack. Terence even found the time to keep the kitten bought recently for Wendy safe in his embrace. That night, they returned and shared their thrilling close call on social media, celebrating their lucky escape from the clutches of vicious rogues. One thing slipped their mind, though. Their delicate Omega was still surrounded by the rogues—alone and without help.

For seven years in a row, the Moon Goddess chose me to serve as the Saintess of the Silver Moon Pack. And every year, my mate-to-be, Alpha Kael Ashborne, handed the title to my adopted sister, Rosalie. "Rosalie is an Omega. She needs the position if she is ever going to earn the pack's respect." "I promise, Elara. Next year, the title will be yours." My mother baked Rosalie a cake to celebrate and dressed her in a one-of-a-kind gown sewn with moonstones. My father watched me as though he expected trouble, then let out a weary sigh. "Elara, could you try being generous for once and stop making a scene?" A bitter smile tugged at my lips. They had no idea why I had fought so hard for the Saintess title for seven years. I had Wolf Soul Decay Syndrome, and only the Silver Spring water reserved for the Saintess could save me. And now, I had only one month left to live. I no longer cried or argued. I simply nodded and agreed to everything they asked. They thought I had finally grown up. They thought I had learned to put Rosalie first. What they did not know was that I would soon be gone for good.

The night before I awaken my wolf form, my parents host an apology live stream on my behalf. They train the camera on my face and force me to confess that I tried to kill my younger sister, Daisy Clifford, in the fire seven years ago. They want me to claim that I did it by deliberately locking Daisy in her room. My father, Henry Clifford, bellows at me before the audience, "If you still refuse to apologize to Daisy, get out of this house right now!" Daisy cries so hard that she can't catch her breath. "Katherine, I just want justice…" My mother, Rose Miller, glares vehemently at me as she hugs Daisy. My eldest brother, Hans Clifford, shreds all my capes in front of all the werewolves watching the live stream. "No amount of clothing can hide such a wicked heart!" he declares. My second brother, Hayden Clifford, kicks over my plate of cookies and shouts, "Hurry up and apologize to Daisy! Are you expecting us to beg for it?" The live stream chat is filled with vicious comments telling me to die. Even a good friend I grew up with sends in a message that reads, "You disgust me. I really regret ever knowing you." I stare at the message, amused. For seven whole years, not a single person has asked me how I received the burn on my arm. I straighten and swallow back the blood that threatens to rise in my throat. I ask, "What if I was the one who saved Daisy during the fire back then?"

A pack of rogues tore me apart on the very day I went into labor. Instinctively, I reached out through a mind-link to my mate, Alpha Keith Martin. "Keith," I called out in my mind. My voice trembled from the pain. "Help m–" I hadn't even finished when he cut me off. "Can you stop being so annoying? Are you doing this just because you're jealous of Madison? Why don't you just go to hell?" He blocked the mind-link completely. The world dissolved into agony. Darkness swallowed me whole. 'Congratulations, Keith. You got exactly what you wanted. I really did die, and I'll never bother you again.'

I was once the strongest warrior of the Cedar Pack. I was Alpha Killian’s fated mate. But Bianca, an omega who had always secretly loved Killian, saw her chance. While I was leading a team to claim new territory, she lured a pack of rogues to ambush me. They severely wounded me and left me for dead in a marsh. She sold our secrets to the rogues. Then she framed me for the slaughter that followed. Everyone thought I betrayed Killian and left. Killian believed it too. Bianca played the part of the gentle woman who saved him. She became his new mate. Three years later, my body was found. The moment Killian saw the pup inside me, his wolf went feral. His eyes bled red.

My mate's adoptive sister asked me to go for a walk in the mountain forest and we encountered a sudden flash flood. My mate Nathan, the Alpha of Snow Peak pack, rushed to save us. But because we were both trapped on a breaking tree branch above the raging flood, he could only save one person at a time. To save his physically weak adoptive sister, my mate abandoned me - his Luna who was five months pregnant. I begged him desperately to save me. He watched as the flood waters dragged me under. "Sarah has always been weak since childhood. If we leave her here, she'll die." "Your wolf is strong enough to swim, but Sarah can't swim." But after my death, he went mad.

For the Christmas holiday, my family sets off to the Christmas holiday camp up north. Along the way, my younger brother, Jamie Hale, says he needs to use the restroom. Mom tells my older sister, Ava Hale, and me to go as well. "It'll be a while before we reach the next rest stop, so you two should go with Jamie. I don't want anyone fussing to go to the restroom again on the way. And be quick! Don't waste time dawdling." I run to the restroom at once. But when I come back out, I see the familiar SUV slowly driving away. I'm left standing outside, in -4 degrees Fahrenheit weather, while a snowstorm sweeps through the rest stop. Mom and Dad have forgotten all about me, their Omega daughter. I've been left behind at the rest stop, with no one else around. I run as fast as I can, shouting, "Mom! Dad!" But the SUV turns the corner and disappears into the traffic along the interstate.

My mate, Alpha Logan, was at the Sanctuary preparing to mark me when he was called away. “The mating doesn’t have to be on a full moon,” he said. “Something urgent has come up.” He left me alone in the sacred Sanctuary on the night of the full moon, all because his human friend, Lila, had been injured by a rogue wolf while hiking. A moment later, his text came through: [Lila needs a special serum. I have to get her to Canada within 48 hours. Let's reschedule the mating ceremony.] I’d lost count of how many times Logan had chosen Lila over me. But this time, I wasn’t going to get jealous, throw a fit, and ultimately cave like I always did. Because Logan has no idea that if we don't complete our mating bond by tomorrow, I'm going to die.

I spent five years patching the cracks in Jonathan Blackwood—the Blackwood Pack’s legendary Alpha—until his first love, Isabella, “rise from the dead.” Jonathan dropped me in a heartbeat, dragging our two pups to her side. Blinded, they saw only Isabella’s shine—never her evil, never my heartbreak. At last, I woke up. I filed the bond-dissolution in silence and walked away—leaving everything, even my pups, to that foolish Alpha and the calculating she-wolf. When his wish was granted and her mask fell, Isabella’s cruelty began to fill Jonathan’s hollow chest with doubt and regret. He knelt before me, punished her, and begged me to return. I only looked at him with pity. “The one who hurt me most was never her. It was you.”

The day before my mating ceremony, my mother caught my soon-to-be mate Derek in a passionate embrace with my step-sister Scarlett. The anger triggered my mother's heart attack need a transplant surgery immediately Fortunately, I was compatible with my mother for a heart transplant. I decided to give her my heart and use an artificial one instead. Faced with the enormous cost of the surgery, Derek, my coward of a mate, vanished. I went to beg my step-sister Scarlett, who had married an elderly but wealthy Alpha Marcus, for help. She claimed she didn't have enough cash, yet the next day she was showing off her new enchanted moonstone necklace. In my darkest hour, Alexander Stone appeared. He was the most renowned healer and Marcus’s son，the future Alpha. He covered all the costs and offered to perform the surgery himself. When I woke up, Alexander's face was filled with regret. He told me my mother had suffered a sudden rejection reaction during surgery and passed away. He pulled my tear-stained face to his chest, declaring his love and begging me to let him care for me for eternity. Seven years into our mating bond, I accidentally overheard his conversation with his beta: "So you gave Sarah's heart to Scarlett instead, right in front of her mother? That was brutal, even for you." "What could I do? Her heart matched Scarlett's perfectly." "But we had already found a suitable donor heart! Scarlett only needed to wait half a day. Why were you so impatient?" Alexander sighed, his voice heavy with emotion: "I couldn't bear to see Scarlett suffer, not even for a second."

Before the start of the marking ceremony, my mate's childhood sweetheart, Gracie Green, almost drowns in the swimming pool. Simon Lloyd is bent on thinking that I was the one who pushed Gracie into the pool with the intent to murder her. So, he has me tied up in the bathtub as a punishment. "One year ago, you pushed Gracie down the stairs and cost her her pup! Now, you even intend to drown her! Why are you such a vile and selfish she-wolf? "Anyway, the marking ceremony shall only be held once you've finally acknowledged your mistakes!" When I'm in the middle of getting corroded by silver nitrate, Simon is busy celebrating Gracie's birthday with her. When Gracie pretends to be all gracious by suggesting to Simon that I should be released, he replies instantly, "Hmph! I'll only let Juliette out when she finally apologizes for her mistakes! This is what she gets for bullying you all the time, anyway!" After that, he gives my favorite moonstone necklace to Gracie as her birthday gift. One week later, Simon receives the prenatal vitamins that I've bought beforehand. He's finally willing to release me from the bathroom. The news of my pregnancy delights him so much that he keeps telling everyone he meets that he's about to become a father. But what he doesn't know is that the water running from the bathtub's tap has been changed to silver nitrate. My body has gotten corroded to the point that I'm now a pile of bones.

Everyone in my family could see the countdown floating above my sister's head. The pack priest said it was the Moon-Debt Curse, branded into her bloodline. When the countdown reached zero, the Moon Goddess would take one daughter of the Calder family. Everyone assumed that daughter would be my sister. From then on, she became the most precious child in our home. The best food belonged to her. The prettiest dresses belonged to her. Even our parents' bedtime stories belonged to her alone. I loved my sister, but I envied her for receiving every ounce of their love. On the night before her sixteenth birthday, I developed a raging fever after being poisoned by wolfsbane. Afraid I would cause trouble, our parents locked me in the basement storage room. I pounded on the door in terror. "Mom, let me out. I think I've been poisoned. My head hurts so much." Mom gritted her teeth. "Enough! Your sister may die before this night is over. Can't you let her have this one last day?" "But I really don't feel well." The sounds beyond the door gradually faded. Then my consciousness sank, little by little, into darkness.

A rival pack invaded, plunging our pack into the worst crisis we had ever faced. The witch, Morgana Vale, said that only a blood sacrifice could save the entire pack. So despite my anemia, I was dragged onto the altar. Morgana slit my wrist, and the moment my blood dripped onto the totem, the ritual began. When the bleeding got to be more than I could take, I tried to call it off, but my mother stopped me cold. "Sweetheart, hold on a little longer. You're the Alpha's daughter. Making a small sacrifice for the pack is only right. It's just a little blood. It won't kill you." I gritted my teeth and held on, my heart pounding like it would burst. The ritual lasted from morning until dusk, and my blood never stopped flowing. "Mom, I really can't take it anymore." My face was ghost-white, and my vision was starting to blur. But she just gave my bloodless face a cold glance. "Sacrificing for the pack is an honor. Being the Alpha's daughter doesn't mean you get to shirk your duty. I did not raise you to be selfish." By midnight, everything went black, and I collapsed on the altar. I'm sorry. I failed to do my duty. I'm sorry, Mother. I let you down.

The day my birth parents found me, the reunion banquet they threw turned into their funeral. My parents and their adopted daughter, Leila, died of food poisoning that night. The only one who survived was my older brother, Alpha Kian. He didn’t like sweets, so he never touched the cake. The cake that I handed to them myself. “So you want to take Leila’s place. “You’re just jealous because she got all our love! “She was the only one who ever accepted you, and you still killed her!” Those were Kian’s exact words as he shouted at me right outside the hospital room. From that day on, I became a sinner. To make up for it, I barely slept four hours a night and worked five jobs just to buy back the villa the rival pack seized during the chaos. However, the day I finally saved up enough, I saw my dead parents throwing a birthday party for Leila in that very villa. Kian stood among them, looking at her with a warmth I didn’t recognize. My mother said, “Isn’t today also Lily’s birthday? It’s been eight years. Maybe it’s time to forgive her.” However, Kian didn’t hesitate to refuse. “No. Even though Leila sniffed out the wolfsbane and saved you, we agreed that Lily gets ten years. “We can’t risk her ever trying to poison Leila again. Not even a day less.” I clutched the diagnosis paper from the clinic tightly and laughed through my tears. I knew I wouldn’t get to ten years. I was already dying.

After my parents adopted my sister, we started drawing lots whenever we wanted the same thing. A long stick meant I won. A short one meant she did. Dad was our pack’s Alpha. Mom was its Luna. They could have given us both almost anything. I was the one who had asked them to bring Lily home. At first, she followed me everywhere, calling me her big sister. I loved the sound of it. But for the past year, I hadn’t drawn a single long stick. Even Ethan, my childhood sweetheart and the pack’s Beta, told me to stop keeping score. “She’s already lost one family,” Mom would say. “Do you really need to make her fight for this one? It isn’t her fault you’re unlucky.” So I practiced. Surely, if I kept trying, my turn would come. On my eighteenth birthday, my parents promised to spend the day with me. Then Lily decided she wanted to go to the amusement park by the coast. Mom brought out the box. I secretly joined two short sticks together. Just once, I wanted them to stay. Mom caught me. She snapped the sticks apart and sent me to my room. Then my chest tightened. My rescue inhaler didn’t help. I caught her sleeve. “Mom. I can’t breathe. Please take me to the medical center.” “You lose the draw, and suddenly you’re sick? You’re not ruining Lily’s day.” Lily called from the stairs. Mom took my phone and closed the door. “Don’t call us home with another emergency.” Their car pulled away. My inhaler slipped from my hand. I couldn’t pick it up again. I’m sorry, Mom. Next time, I’ll try harder to draw the long stick.

I exterminated my mate bond with Alex, when he was exiled from our pack 6 years ago. He left with a broken heart. When he returned, he challenged the former Alpha King of the pack. I still remembered how he tore the Alpha King apart with his claws and how he looked at me. After he earned himself the title of Alpha King, he asked me to be his Luna Queen. Everyone in the pack thought this was a dream come true for both of us. Only I knew that to him, I was only his lost obsession. He brought different she-wolves back to our mansion. Their laughter and scream echoed from the guest room. He made me the joke of our pack. But I never once confronted him. That night, when Alex kissed me roughly and grabbed my chin, he asked “Aren’t you even a little jealous?” He had no idea. Every single day he thought he was taking revenge on me, I was just counting down how many days I had left. For I had already been poisoned by the lethal wolf venom.