Cerita Pendek Tragic Love Werewolf & Novel Alpha Countdown

I did three things when I had made a decision to leave Alpha James. The first thing I did was throw all the precious gifts he had given to me. The second thing I did was secretly donate the wooden house he had built for our future and tear up the ceremonial dress that was custom-made for me on our marking day. The third thing I did was go to the Northern Territory to guard our pack, so I cast all ties with the entire pack and disappeared into the tribe. What he didn’t know was that I had quietly planned my departure while he was out hunting and spending countless nights at the Moon River with Doris, his childhood sweetheart. I became the ideal Luna he was hoping for, considerate and tolerant. Later, he lost control and asked me: “Why aren’t you angry? Don’t you love me anymore?” I lowered my head in silence and announced my decision to leave after seeing the ambiguous messages Doris, James's sweetheart, had sent to me.

Three rogues cornered me in the woods when I was eight weeks pregnant. My mate, Adrian Blackwood, Alpha of the Blackpine Pack, was watching fireworks with his brother’s widow. I called him with one hand clamped over the claw marks on my arm. “Adrian, please. They’re going to kill me.” “Nora, being pregnant doesn’t mean you can make things up. You’re staying at the penthouse in the heart of the werewolf clan.It’s guarded by pack warriors. How would rogues get in?” A growl came from behind the tree. On his end of the call, Selene laughed beneath the fireworks. “It’s the anniversary of my brother’s death. She needs something to take her mind off it. Just wait until tomorrow. I’ll come home then.” His brother had died taking a silver blade meant for him. Ever since, everything I needed could wait. Our anniversary dinner. Our first prenatal appointment. Now this. Warriors reached me before the rogues could finish what they had started. They couldn’t save our pup. I accepted a position at the Silver Bay Wolf-Spirit Research Center in Oslo, Norway and began preparing to leave. By the time Adrian asked what had happened to our baby, I was already gone.

The wolfsbane had reached my bones, and I decided to stop treatment. Once, Ethan Anderson, the pack's Alpha, was the only light in my life. He promised we would travel the continent together, chasing the northern lights across frozen plains and exploring ancient ruins. But while I lay dying from wolfsbane poisoning, he took Murphy Blake, my best friend and the person I trusted most, to every place I had dreamed of seeing. My dreams became the story of how they fell in love. I was ready to let go. I wanted only to see the final place on my list. Then the antidote shattered, my ticket was soaked in blood, and Ethan abandoned me alone in the frozen wilderness. My life entered its final countdown. And there, at the edge of death, I discovered a secret that would change the fate of every werewolf. Ten years later, when the wolfsbane curse that had plagued werewolves for a thousand years was finally broken and everyone called me their savior, Ethan finally understood: He hadn't merely lost a mate who loved him. He had lost the one person who once would have spent her last breath waiting for him to turn back. But by then, I no longer needed his love.

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?"

On the day of my bonding ceremony, I somehow slept for six straight hours. By the time I reached the Moon Temple, the ceremony was long over. My fiancé, the Alpha of the Shadow Pack, had already completed the bonding rite with my sister. When he saw me burst in, drenched in sweat, Charles gave me a careless smile. “A rogue has his eye on Annie. The only way to protect her was to beat him to it and go through a fake ceremony with her first. She didn’t want to be claimed by some filthy rogue. Babe, you know I was just trying to help her.” He didn’t even think he’d done anything wrong. He went on, completely relaxed. “Don’t make a scene, Lilith. I’ll take you to seal the mate bond next week.” “I’ll get you a new bonding gown too. A more expensive one, with a train way bigger than hers. Okay?” I had spent almost half a year choosing that bonding gown myself. The hall went quiet. Everyone was waiting to watch me fall apart. But I only let out a long breath. Good. I didn’t want to be his mate anymore either. That rite would bind my sister’s wolf to Charles’s. She would never be able to awaken the bloodline power that belongs to our family. And I would leave the Shadow Pack and head for our ancestral land, where my own awakening ritual was waiting for me.

On the night of my twenty-first birthday, Silvercrest Pack held my coming-of-age mate selection ceremony. When the full moon rose above the forest, none of the four candidates had appeared. They were the four men who had grown up beside me—and the heirs to the four highest-ranking positions in the pack. I waited alone on the ceremonial dais until the ritual ended. Following a livestream, I found them at a private estate across the forest. The camera was pointed at the birthday cake in front of Mira. She was a she-wolf Silvercrest had recovered only three months ago. Missing since childhood, she had grown up among humans. When the patrol found her, wolfsbane still lingered in her blood. She was so weak she could barely shift. I had brought in the pack’s best healer and arranged for her to live on pack grounds. Yet now Everett, the future Alpha, was taking a glass of wine from her hand so she would not have to drink it. Nolan, the Beta heir, draped his coat around her shoulders. Julian, the Gamma heir, crouched to straighten the hem of her dress. And Rhys, the Delta heir, placed the Moon Crown I had personally chosen on her head. My phone rang a moment later. Everett’s low, controlled voice came through the speaker. “Elara, don’t come in here and make a scene in front of Mira. She almost cried a minute ago. We’re only trying to give her a proper birthday.” Nolan took the phone. “The mate selection can be rescheduled. Mira has only just returned to the pack. Emotional distress could interfere with her recovery.” Julian laughed softly in the background. “She never even had a real birthday before. You grew up with the entire Silvercrest Pack doting on you. Is it really so terrible to let her have this one night?” Outside the estate, two servers lowered their voices. “Not one of the future Luna’s candidates showed up for her coming-of-age ceremony.” “They’re all here celebrating with that newly recovered she-wolf. After tonight, Miss Elara will be a joke in every pack in the region.” Once, I would have pushed open the door. I would have demanded to know why it was always Mira—what, exactly, I lacked that made all four of them choose her over me. This time, I simply unpinned the silver moon crest that marked me as the Luna-in-waiting and dropped it into the sink. Then I sent a message to my grandmother, Silvercrest’s High Elder. [Grandmother, I won’t choose any of them.] [Contact Blackridge Pack.] [I accept Callum Thorne’s alliance proposal.]

Seven months pregnant, and I accidentally overheard a conversation between my Alpha mate Kane Frost and the pack Beta Ethan Roberts. "This one's going to Vivian too?" Ethan's voice was thick with fury. "You're really giving away Elena's pup to repay a life debt?" Kane was silent for a long moment. "Vivian saved me." "Seven years ago, that silver dagger was meant for my heart." "She took that blade for me. The residual silver poison destroyed her womb. She can never have a pup of her own." "Her only wish is to keep Elena's pup by her side." Ethan slammed his fist against the wall. "But she's already gotten two pups!" "This is the last one." Kane's voice was hoarse, but there was no hesitation. "Vivian promised me. After she gets this pup, she'll leave Silvermoon territory." "When this is over, I'll have another pup with Elena." "I'll spend the rest of my life loving her. Making it up to her. To the pups we'll have together." My stomach churned. I nearly threw up right there. Three years. I'd been pregnant twice before. And every time, after the surgery, Kane held me and told me the pup had stopped breathing before it could be born. I'd cried myself raw over those two little souls who never got to see the light. I'd clutched their tiny clothes every night, unable to let go. Only now did I understand. They never died. They were alive. Kane had stolen them from me, given them to someone else. Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and endless. I gently touched my swollen belly. "This time, little one. Mommy's taking you away."

My Alpha Female, my mate, had been gone a week surveying her territory. The moment she got back, I rejected our bond. "Just because I forgot your little trinket?" She laughed, blue eyes careless as ever. "Yes." I stared at her, face a mask. Seven days ago, Rowan, Alpha Female of the Silvermoon Ridge Pack, took her core warriors to inspect a newly acquired mining territory. When she returned, she had gifts for everyone. Even the border patrol got aged liquor. She forgot the only thing that mattered. The pure Moonstone I needed to soothe my burning Alpha blood. I'd waited two months. Then her new Omega scribe, Finn, posted a selfie on the pack network—showing off a wolf-fang necklace carved from raw Moonstone. [Thank you to the most powerful Alpha Female in the world! My loyalty will never fade!] Rowan's comment sat right below: [You deserve it.] I stared a long time. Then I deleted the message I'd been typing to her: "Waiting for you to come home, my Alpha." Rowan and I grew up together. Twenty years intertwined. When we came of age, she became the Alpha Female, I became her Beta. Once, I was the only one by her throne. Then, slowly, the entire pack got in line ahead of me. Just like now. We were breaking our bond—the most serious thing imaginable. But her phone lit up with Finn's message. "Need your guidance on the territory resource files." She didn't even look up. "Stop making a scene, Caleb. It's just a rock. I'll get you one before next month's ceremony. Finn has something urgent. Drive yourself back." She hurried away. I didn't stop her. I pulled out my phone and replied to the Alpha of the Blackpeak Pack. He'd invited me seven times. "I'm in. Flight's tomorrow night. See you in Blackpeak." I pulled the moonstone bracelet from my wrist and left it in the drawer of her office desk. Rowan. From now on, you have your throne. I'll get mine.

My younger sister, Ivy, was engaged to Nathan, the heir to the Silver Moon Pack. After Nathan and I drank laurel wine laced with an aphrodisiac, we lost control and slept together. To preserve the alliance between our packs, Mother had me take Ivy's place. Nathan and I completed the mate bond, while Ivy was sent north to marry its elderly, gravely ill Alpha. On the day of her mating ceremony, however, Ivy's convoy was attacked by rogue wolves. She died at the border. Nathan hated me from that day forward. For more than twenty years, our bond brought me only neglect and humiliation. When I died after a long illness, he did not visit. He sent only one message. "Tessa, stay away from me in your next life." When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment the drugged wine was placed in my hand. Before I could react, Nathan snatched the glass away and smashed it against the floor. The moment I saw the way he looked at Ivy, I knew that he had been reborn too. Before the elders of both packs, he took Ivy's hand and announced, "Ivy and I will hold our mating ceremony this month." He led her away without looking at me. Once they were out of earshot, Mother drew me aside. "North Ridge has agreed to an alliance. You'll marry their Alpha." Memories of my final moments flashed through my mind. This time, I decided to give Nathan exactly what he wanted. "All right," I said. "I agree."

Every year on the first spring full moon, Callum Thorne and Sienna Blake turn the anniversary of our relationship into a game for the entire pack to enjoy. Every year brings another humiliation, from a false Luna ceremony and a moonstone ring designed as a joke to a room filled with laughter at my expense. Every year, Callum assumes I love him too much to leave, no matter how deeply he humiliates me. This year, laurel wine runs down my face as I remove the ring I have worn for six years and drop it at his feet. He still does not follow me because he believes I will forgive him by morning. He has forgotten one thing. I am not Tessa Reed, the ordinary woman with no family, no pack, and nowhere else to go. My real name is Tessa Valeborn. I am the Alpha King’s daughter and the rightful heir to the royal bloodline. Six years ago, I concealed my identity and left the royal court because I wanted someone to choose me without knowing my title. I believed Callum was that man. Then I discover that even his first confession began with a full-moon bet. This time, I refuse to remain their favorite joke. Tessa Reed is about to disappear from Callum’s life. The Alpha King’s daughter is finally going home.

While on a trip, I caught my Alpha fiancé cheating on me with my adoptive sister, Selena. Once they realized I saw them, they ruthlessly abandoned me in that forbidden forest and let Selena return to take my place. For ten days, I was missing. No search party came, and my communication crystal remained silent. Then, while trying to escape a savage bear, I fell down a rocky slope and was left broken, bleeding, and alone. Just as I was on the brink of death and unable to heal, Ryker appeared and saved me. He was wild and imposing, yet lethally gentle. During our days and nights together in the wilderness, it took only a few hoarse whispers to tear down my defenses. I grew absurdly attached to him, believing he was my only salvation in this desolate place. Until one night, I found him contacting the outside world on a high-grade crystal. On the other end was Selena. "Why haven't you finished her off yet? As long as she never comes back, Alaric will be all mine." And my devoted savior replied in that same doting tone, "As long as it makes you happy, I'd spend a lifetime keeping up this charade with her in the wilderness." It was then I understood. What I believed to be a gift from the Goddess was nothing more than another death trap, meticulously woven to ensure Selena got her way. When my heat arrived, on the night of our supposed marking, I threw myself into the roaring river of death that marked the border. I would rather be torn to shreds by the current than look at that despicable "mate" for another second.

There was a legend in Mist Pack that whoever possessed the Moonstone Pendant, which was passed down through generations of the pack, would spend a lifetime with their fated mate. When my mate, Lucas, fastened the Moonstone Pendant around my neck, he promised he would never betray me. Later, on the day he publicly ordered me to take it off so he could place it around Layla's neck himself, every werewolf in the pack waited to see how I would react. After all, everyone knew how deeply I loved Lucas. Every time he led a hunting party, I would wait for him atop the pack's highest watchtower. It didn't matter how fiercely the snowstorm raged or if I had to stand there until dawn. Every werewolf wondered how I would tear Layla apart. But when Layla appeared before me while elegantly linking her arm through Lucas's, I simply removed the pendant and fastened it around her neck myself. While holding Layla in his arms, Lucas looked at me with contempt. "Diana, if you can stay as obedient as you are today, I might just let you remain by my side." I touched my bare neck with a blank expression on my face. What Lucas didn't know was that just before the ceremony, all of my memories had returned. I was the daughter of the Alpha King. I was also his only heiress. In three days, my dad would arrive at Mist Pack with his elite guards to bring me home.

My Alpha fiancé, Evan Hillard, wants me to get a crescent moon tattooed on the side of my neck. "At the marking ceremony seven days from now, I'll leave my bite right here," he says. I lower my head without answering. For three years, our marking ceremony has been postponed again and again as I try to become the perfect mate he wants. He likes golden-brown fur, so every two weeks, I endure the burning pain of dyeing mine. He says a red beauty mark near the corner of the eye looks stunning, so I let a witch doctor tattoo one there with a fine needle. Then I accidentally see a message on his phone from his first love, Vera Dawson. "Can you have her get the same crescent moon tattoo as mine?" she asks. "That way, you can pretend I'm the one you mark." My hands turn ice-cold. Trembling, I tap her profile picture. She has golden-brown fur, a red beauty mark near the corner of the eye, and a crescent moon on her neck. Everything becomes clear. All the pain I've endured over the past three years has been for nothing. I'm just a cheap imitation, molded in the image of the woman he truly loves. I don't cry. I calmly exit the chat and reply to the Healers' Association. "I accept the job offer. I'll report for duty in seven days."

At the Full Moon Festival, Edward asked me in front of everyone if he could have the opening dance with Sophia. I didn’t argue. I simply stepped aside and gave them the space. Edward froze for a moment, surprise flashing across his face as he looked at me. But in the end, he still took Sophia’s hand. Under the moon, the two of them danced gracefully . I turned and walked away. Not long after, my phone rang. “I told you Sophia gets shy easily. She just learned the dance, and she was too nervous to dance with another male werewolf.” “Can’t you stop getting jealous over nothing?” “Otherwise, I won’t dare tell anyone that you’re my future mate.” I smiled. He had no idea that just moments ago, I had accepted an invitation from the Northern Pack to become their herbalist Wolf. Later, we would never see each other again.

When I was three months pregnant, a pack of Rogues ambushed me. In the last moments before my consciousness began to fade, I begged for rescue through my mind-link to my Alpha mate, Adrian. But he never answered. I was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, only to be informed that the Saint-Tier Healer had been forcefully taken South by Adrian to treat Evelyn, his first love, after she lost her mate. When I woke to the pain of losing my pup, my fingers shook as I checked social media, then I saw Evelyn's post: [I knew that no matter how far away I am or how much time has passed, Adrian would always come for me. He even brought a Saint-Tier Healer to ease the pain in my heart.] In the photo, Adrian's dark eyes, which were usually cold and distant, were focused on the woman beside him with tenderness. While I was fighting for my life and losing our cub, my Alpha was protecting another pregnant wolf. I chuckled at myself bitterly. It felt as if the bond mark on my chest was withering away. I then dialed a number without hesitation. "Dr. Clark, I accept the position at the Northern Ancient Wolf Research Institute. Yes, the sooner the better. I won't be holding a farewell ceremony."

The third time Jake—my fated mate and Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack—forced me to swear a blood oath and sever our mate bond to protect his pampered new Omega, I cut my palm without a word. His hand went still around his cigar. For a long moment, he looked down at me. Then a low, mocking laugh slipped from his throat. “When did my Luna get so obedient?” “Did you finally realize throwing tantrums won’t bring me back, so now you’re trying a new trick to get my attention?” I pulled my collar aside, exposing the faded mark on my neck—already dulled by medication—and kept my voice flat. “No. I’m just done fighting for you.” He didn’t know the Council had already approved my petition to leave the pack. After midnight tonight, he would never feel my wolf again.

There is a legend among the wolves that any vow made before the Moon Goddess will never come true if it isn't fulfilled within three years. Cedric Vaughn has broken his promise for three years, and I've become a traitor in the eyes of the entire pack for supposedly betraying my vow to the Moon Goddess. In the first year, when I confront him about breaking his promise, he's busy helping my best friend, Rowena Gilmore, prepare her inauguration speech for Blood Oath Day. He says, "There's no rush, Thea. We still have two years, don't we? Becoming my Beta has always been Rowena's dream." He touches my face gently, his voice soft and remorseful. "I promise I'll fulfill our vow once this is over and complete the mating ceremony with you." I believe him and continue to wait. But over the next two years, Cedric and Rowena are inseparable. She becomes his constant companion and appears by his side at all kinds of events. Meanwhile, after countless instances of endless waiting and disappointment, I become a laughingstock to every wolf in the pack. It is clear I am nothing more than Cedric's pathetic backup choice. My mom is furious with me for being so weak. "Cedric is the Alpha of the pack, and Rowena is his Beta. You're an Omega nobody respects. They're making a fool out of you." Cedric messages me, saying, "I can't let Rowena attend the celebratory party alone. I promise this will be the last time. Rowena is your best friend. She'll be the one planning our mating ceremony. I'm sure you'll love it." I don't wait for him like I used to. Instead, I buy a plane ticket to leave six days from now. A vow that will never come true isn't worth keeping.

I've always been half a beat behind everyone else. But my childhood friend Charles and my best friend Annie always seemed to grow faster than me. After every training session, they'd be the first to pack up and leave. I'd still be sorting my gear, piece by piece. Once, we had a moonlit hunt training together. I fell into a trap and screamed for help, but they were long gone. On the day we submitted our Shifter Academy applications, they filled out their forms and left. I was still double-checking my last entry. "Lilith, you're way too slow. I still have to go with Annie to pick up Moon Festival admission passes. We're leaving. Not waiting." "Annie and I are both applying to Silver Moon Academy. Make sure you put that one down too. That way we can all keep training together." Charles said his piece. Annie hooked her arm through his, and they hurried off. They were in too much of a rush to hear the words I said behind them, so quiet the wind nearly swallowed them. "I'm not applying to Silver Moon Academy." I watched their figures shrink into the distance. For the first time, I didn't chase after them. "From now on, you never have to wait for me again."

I was four months pregnant with the Alpha’s heir when my best friend, Ariana, slammed into me. She called it an “accident.” I lost the pup. My brother, Liam, tried to expose her to the pack elders. But he was framed for treason, stripped of his Beta title, and thrown in the pack dungeons. I ran to my mate, Alpha Byron, begging for help. He held me close and swore he'd save Liam. The next day, I found Liam in the dungeons, chained in silver, barely alive. Heartbroken, I went to Byron again, searching for a way to prove Liam's innocence. That's when I overheard him talking to his right-hand man. “Alpha, if the Luna finds out you let them frame Liam… she will hate you.” Byron’s voice was laced with exhaustion and suppressed pain. “I know what she’s like. This was the only way to make her forgive Ariana at the Blood Moon ceremony. Ariana saved my life. I won’t let this destroy her.” He paused, his voice completely cold. “As for Sandra… I’ll more than make it up to her. She will never know the truth. Ever. Right now, she just needs… to obey.” The mate I trusted with my life… He threw my family to the wolves. All to protect the woman who killed our child. My heart shattered. Shaking with a fury I’d never known, I called the one person I hadn't spoken to in seven years. My father, Alpha Caden. [Father, I'll accept the strategic alliance. The marriage you wanted. But I have one condition. I need your help… to burn the Blackwood Pack to the ground.]

Because I was born under the Moon’s blessing, my body ripened earlier than any she-wolf my age. On the night of my eighteenth turning, my brother—fearing I’d be force-claimed by brutes—entrusted me to his blood-oath brother: Silas, Alpha of the Northern Peak. The first time we met, his golden eyes locked on my bared neck and never left. His fangs sank into my scent gland that very night, claiming me beneath the full moon. For four years since, I’ve been his scribe by dawn light, and his whore by moonrise. He trained my body to fit his every hunger, covering me in bite marks, yet never left the Mating Mark that would make me his true mate. Four years later, his confidante from the Central Territories returned. He tore from my heat-soaked sheets without a backward glance, racing to the moon-platform to greet her. I followed, stomach hollow, scent glands throbbing with his phantom claim. Only an hour before, his hand—scarred from my own teeth—had clamped over my mouth as he rutted me into the furs. Now, before the assembled Pack, he stroked another woman’s silver hair. “Amara, don’t show that jealous look. Have you forgotten—four years ago, you were the one who crawled into my bed while I was moon-mad.” “This tantrum is unbecoming.” He was right. I had chosen this life myself. But when I finally chose to leave him, he was the first to break.