เรื่องสั้นและนิยาย Childhood Sweethearts แนว Werewolf

I was the deadliest warrior in the Black Moon pack, raised by Alpha Silas himself. I was his fated mate. And his dirty little secret. I always knew he only used my body to soothe his restless wolf. But I didn't care. Being by his side was all that mattered. Until a political alliance forced him to mate another—Ravenna, the Alpha’s daughter from the Sunfire Pack. On the night of the full moon, the moment he marks her, our sacred mate bond will shatter. Forever. Once he cast me aside, I would vanish. But after I walked through fire for my freedom and disappeared from his world… he went insane.

I was born a Rogue. At seven, my sorry excuse of a father almost sold me to a disgusting old wolf. Julian the Alpha saved me. He taught me how to fight, to have dignity. Another Alpha, Lucian, showed me how sweet life could be. They treated me like their precious treasure. It all changed when their childhood sweetheart Claire returned. Julian and Lucian stopped spending time with me, and even severed our mind link. I thought that if I worked harder and was more obedient—if I changed myself to suit their tastes a little more—I could get them back, even if it meant losing myself entirely. One day, everything ended. To protect Claire, they intentionally rigged the game and lost the match. They threw me into the Death Forest, full of savage Beasts. There, a Beast pounced at me, its sharp fangs tearing my neck apart. I closed my eyes, the smell of blood drowning me amidst the cheers. No one cared for me… None. So be it! No longer would I have any expectations!

In my last life, I secretly slipped a Love Potion into the cup of my destined mate, the Alpha of my pack, Jason Green. As expected, he fell in love with me. We held the grandest mate-bonding ceremony in our pack's history and became the couple everyone envied. The effects of the Love Potion would last seven years. I naively believed that it would be enough to win his true heart. But Jason's childhood friend, Lilian Foster, traded her own tongue to a black-market witch for the antidote. The moment the truth was exposed, the love in Jason's eyes turned into a hatred that pierced through the bone. He sold me to the black market as a live test subject for experiments and forced me to drink a Corrosive Spellvial. My insides rotted away, and I died from sheer pain. Now, I had regressed in time, once again holding that same bottle of Love Potion. This time, I didn't hesitate. I drank it all in one swift movement. Jason, I wouldn't beg for your love again. I was going to love myself. So… Why are you the one who ended up regretting it?

Before my boyfriend, August Cadwell, marked me, we went to register our mate bond at the Pack Affairs Department. Without a word of explanation, he unexpectedly had someone throw me out of the office. Then he walked in with his childhood sweetheart. He didn’t even blink when he saw me sitting there on the ground, shaking with disbelief. "Hailey's pup needs to be part of the Aurelis pack. The best and quickest method is for her to register a mate bond with a werewolf from the Aurelis pack. As soon as we sever the mate bond, I'll form a mate bond with you." Everyone assumed the lovesick version of me would wait just one more month for him. After all, I'd already waited seven long years. But that night, I did something unexpected too. I accepted my parents' arranged mate bond and quietly left for the Lymerian pack, disappearing from his life entirely. Three years later, I returned to my original pack to visit my family. My mate, Ryder Weyland, was now the lycan chairman. Because of an urgent council meeting, he arranged for someone to collect me from the airport. I never imagined that “someone” would be August. The moment he spotted me, his eyes immediately landed on the sparkling bracelet on my wrist. "Isn't this a knockoff of the bracelet Ryder Weyland, the lycan chairman, spent two million dollars on for his mate? Didn't expect you to turn this vain after just a few years. "You've caused enough chaos, haven't you? It's time to return. Hailey's pup is now of school age. You can take on the responsibility of pick-ups and drop-offs." I gently ran my fingers over the bracelet on my wrist. Little did he know that this was the cheapest one Ryder had ever given me.

The first time my childhood friend Nathan Sinclair awakened as a werewolf, our friends called me over to help him through his heat. But Nathan shook his head. "I really don't want her to get this so easily. Werewolf love is loyal above all, and the first person I mark becomes my only mate for life. When Bella shows up, I won't give in even if she begs to help me." He waited and waited, but I never came. Nathan didn't know that his brother's bodyguard, Liam Smith, had already flooded my phone with messages. "Ms. York, Mr. Theodore has already claimed you as his mate. Please, can you come and give him a kiss?" It turned out that I had fallen while skiing and died five years ago. His brother, Theodore Sinclair, marked me and gave me half of his lifespan, pulling me back from the jaws of death. That night, I wrapped my arms around Theodore's neck and teased him, "Theo, stop holding back. Tell me, how many years have you secretly been in love with me?"

I wake up to find the entire room shrouded in thick smoke and flames. I grab my phone and call my boyfriend, a fire captain I've been dating for five years. The phone rings seven whole times before he finally picks up. His sharp, irate voice comes through before I can get a word out. "Bella! How many times have I told you not to make false fire reports out of jealousy! You're a Warrior. Don't you feel ashamed of yourself for constantly picking fights with an Omega like Laura?" Suddenly, I hear Laura Knapp's sweet, pitiful voice on the line. "Thank you, Daniel. I'm safe because of you." As the flames spread, I have no option but to dial the emergency hotline. But the dispatcher tells me, "Sorry, ma'am, but all firefighters in your area are currently tied up. The earliest we can send help is in 30 minutes. Please hold on." I hang up with a bitter smile and see the news of a fire captain rescuing an injured pregnant woman. The flames close in around me, and just before death takes me, I send Daniel Ingram one last text. "Farewell. I wish you a happy life together."

I am a Servant of Death, sent to the werewolf realm by the Dark Goddess of the Underworld. She gave me a single rule. Every year during the pack's Dark Moon Festival, I must receive a water lantern carrying a genuine blessing. The first year, my future Alpha mate, my brother, and my childhood best friend all wrote my name on their lanterns. The second year, my childhood friend Julian said my adopted sister, Chloe, was too weak, so he wanted to pray for her just this once. The third year, even my brother, Ryker, who swore to protect me forever, gave his lantern to Chloe. Only my fated mate, Declan, left one for me. This was the fourth year. I couldn't sleep at all, so I finally told them the truth. "Please, just leave one lantern with my name on it. That's all I ask." The three of them smiled and promised. "Don't worry, you'll get every single one." But on the night of the Dark Moon Festival, the pack's sacred lake was filled with water lanterns drifting toward the Underworld River. Not a single one bore my name. I searched everywhere with tear-filled eyes, only to find the three men surrounding Chloe in celebration. "Four lanterns! I'm the one with the most blessings from the Moon Goddess this year!" Pain stabbed through my chest, and my voice trembled. "You promised me." Ryker looked away. "Chloe is under a lot of pressure for her Werewolf Academy interview this year." Julian, my once-gentle childhood friend, shrugged. "You've had so many before anyway. Missing one year won't kill you." Declan, my Alpha mate, didn't even look up. "To fight over a few lanterns, you even made up this 'Servant of Death' nonsense. Aren't you embarrassed?" Chloe leaned on his shoulder, covering her mouth to hide a laugh. "Stop making a scene, Amara. If you're a Servant of Death, then I'm the true daughter of the Moon Goddess." But they had no idea that if I failed to receive a single lantern, the Dark Goddess would take me back to the Underworld.

The day my college acceptance letter arrived, I found a post on Mom's phone asking strangers for advice. [I promised my older daughter I'd pay for her college, but now my younger daughter wants to apply too. How can I give the tuition I saved for my older daughter to my younger one without the older one holding it against me?] Every reply said the same thing. [You already promised your older daughter. Why would you betray her? Can't you find some other way?] Dazed, I accidentally hit refresh, and a familiar profile picture popped up. It belonged to my brother. [That's not really betrayal. It's your money, and you can spend it on whoever you want!] [I'm family, so I'll be honest. The older daughter is an Omega, the lowest rank there is. She's been slow since she was little, her grades are average at best, and whatever school she gets into is bound to be terrible.] [But the younger daughter is different. She's a noble Beta, just like the rest of us, and she's always had excellent grades. Plenty of colleges will want her, and our whole family is happy to spend the money on her.] My mate chimed in under my brother's comment. [He's right. Once the younger one gets in, we can all go stay with her and take care of her so she can focus on her studies.] I gripped my phone, my heart aching. My family and my future mate had always favored my Beta sister. They bought my sister expensive makeup and told me I was plain, not a tenth as pretty as her, so makeup would be wasted on me. They took my sister to all kinds of parties and told me I was too awkward, not bubbly and outgoing like her, and I'd just kill the mood. Even now, when it came to college, they thought I wasn't as good as my sister. I looked at the acceptance letter on my computer. Then I chose the university more than 600 miles from home because it had offered me a full tuition waiver. I was done with this home where I'd never been anyone's favorite.

As the daughter of the Shadow Pack’s Beta, I was born with power, grace, and devotion. Justin, the future Alpha of the pack, was hailed as my fated mate from the moment our paths crossed. I once believed that we were meant to be. With the Moon Goddess bringing us together through a mate bond, even death could not tear us apart. Yet, the illusion was shattered three years ago. Justin pushed me away time and again in the name of repaying an obligation to Marissa, a rogue, for saving his life. Everything that should have been ours, he gave to her, be it our home, title, and our life plans together—all because she said she wasn’t happy. By the ninety-ninth time, the debt of gratitude was finally repaid. I stood at the mating ceremony venue in my gown, filled with anticipation that he would mark me. Alas, all my waiting ended with the news that he had given Marissa a top-tier moonstone, symbolizing eternal love. In that moment, all the pain I had held back came crashing down. My wolf howled in my mind with a voice so primal and sad. For once, I didn’t silence her. I believed it was time to make room for Justin and his lifesaver.

A year ago, my father died in battle with a Rogue. As compensation, Silverania's Alpha King, Lacus Kingston, promises that I can choose my own husband. I don't need to wait for the Moon Goddess to send him my way. In this lifetime, I don't pick Perry Cardell again. Instead, I go for his half-brother, Alaric Kingston. Lacus is surprised. After all, everyone in Silverania knows that Perry and I grew up together—we're practically childhood sweethearts. After he saved me from vultures at the age of six, I followed him everywhere he went. My biggest wish since childhood has been to marry him. I smile bitterly and recall my past life. After Perry and I got married, he refused to be intimate with me. I thought it was because he had an indescribable condition. I helped him cover the truth and even comforted him, telling him it wasn't an issue. However, everything changed when he was gravely injured. As I healed him, I discovered my cousin's name—Shirley Lamos—tattooed on his chest. Only then did I realize he wasn't frigid—he just didn't love me. If that is the case, since I've been given a second chance at life, I'll give them my blessings. But later, when I stand before the Moon Goddess in my wedding gown and with Alaric by my side, Perry suddenly descends into hysteria.

I'm the only sister of Ronan Mooncrest, Alpha of Mooncrest Pack. For as long as I can remember, Cassian, our Delta, Orion, our Gamma, and Nikolai, our Beta, swore they'd die before letting anyone hurt me. When I wanted the moon, they built me a tower. When the river was freezing and I refused to go home, they carried me across on their backs. I was their princess—the wolf they spoiled rotten and loved down to the bone. And of course, I loved them too. I was sure one of them had to be my mate. Then Dana came to Mooncrest. An outsider she-wolf. Bold. Gorgeous. Untouchable. No joke cracked her. No stare made her blush. On her first day, she challenged our pack warriors one by one. After that, Cassian started saying I was spoiled. The first time he left me shaking in a storm just to walk Dana home, Orion and Nikolai snapped at him. "Cassian, you're choosing her. Don't cry when you regret it." But soon, Orion got pulled in too. At my birthday party, I looked at the only one still beside me—Nikolai—and my eyes burned. "Nikolai... is this my fault?" He kissed my hair. "Don't go there. They're idiots. They don't know what they're losing." Then I saw him put the moonstone crown he'd promised me on Dana's head. Just to make her smile. Eyes red, chest wrecked, I knocked on Ronan's door. "Mooncrest is sending someone to Frostfang in three days. Let it be me."

When I find out that Joe Herring—the man I've loved for ten years—is planning a grand proposal, I'm so thrilled I can't sleep a wink that night. But the next day, everyone in the pack is buzzing about how Alpha Joe just proposed to my stepsister, Nora Safford. He comes to me afterward, trying to explain. "It's not even real, Anna. Nora doesn't have anyone in the pack. I'm just doing her a favor. "Don't worry. I'll break it off before the mate-bonding ceremony next week. Then we'll have our ceremony, just like we planned." But over and over, he keeps asking me to compromise for Nora. And when the mate-bonding ceremony finally arrives, he's still with her. So in the end, I let her have him and walk away without a word.

On the day I return to the pack once again, my future mate, Kellan Cohen, throws a fancy banquet for me. My younger sister, Lia Smith, asks me loudly while holding a champagne flute, "Ella, I heard that you were exiled to the wilderness where the lowly inbreds roamed instead of patrolling the borders. Is that true?" Everyone gasps in surprise upon hearing Lia's question. Kellan shoots Lia a glare immediately. If this were to happen a year ago, I would've taught Lia a lesson right there and then. But instead of getting mad at her, I even take off the bracelet, which is a family heirloom, and put it onto her wrist just to thank her for showing her "concern" toward me. Not only that, but I also bring up the fact that I want Lia to replace me as a candidate to host the next day's offering ceremony with Kellan. Mom is happy to see me behaving like this. As she pats me on the head, she says, "It seems that Ella finally has learned how to play nice." But Kellan just stares at me with mixed emotions swirling in his eyes. "Didn't you claim that you'd rather die than hand over the position to Lia?" I just sigh quietly on the inside. He's right, but the truth is, I'm about to die.

Our Pack followed an ancient law: if a she-wolf wasn't bonded by the age of 23, the Pack had the right to assign her a mate, regardless of her will. Felix is my childhood sweetheart and fated mate, the Alpha of the Moonclaw Pack. But he postponed our bonding ceremony and is holding a mating ceremony with an Omega first, all because of that law. Felix pitied Omega, Valentina, who was already 22, afraid she would be matched with a bad mate. But he seemed to forget that after waiting for him for 5 years, I would turn 23 next month. My mother and I begged him to reconsider our mating ceremony only to be met with Felix's dilemma attitude: "You've waited this many years, what's a little longer?" "Besides me, who else would choose Valentina? Clara, you still have parents, but Valentina is poor, she only has me." "Please wait, after the mate bond ceremony with Valentina, I'll break it and then bond with you." Later, in order to prevent me from bonding with a slave, my mother hurriedly chose a mate for me. Coincidentally, my mate bond ceremony and Felix and Valentina's mate bond ceremony were on the same day. On the day I was being taken off in a luxury car, I passed by Felix handing him ceremonial flowers. When he saw me, he suddenly shifted into a wolf and blocked the car insane. Even after being hit and vomiting blood, he stared intensely at me and asked why I was wearing a wedding dress…

I'm the only daughter of the Alpha King. My father's always been swamped with pack affairs, so I grew up in Howler, raised among the wolves there. The Alpha of Howler had two sons, and they were my shadows growing up. Logan was gentle and doting. Derek was wild and electric. They both pursued me, adored me, fought for my attention in ways that made every wolf in the pack green with envy. I thought I'd choose one of them as my mate someday. I really did. Then Rose showed up. She was beautiful. A gifted healer. Capable in ways I never was. When Derek came back wounded from a skirmish, Rose was the one stitching him up. When Logan got buried in pack business, Rose was right there beside him, smoothing out every problem like it was nothing. Logan started singing her praises in front of me, always finding ways to mention how I wasn't mature enough, not independent enough, not enough. Derek promised me a gift once. He gave it to Rose instead. And the night I nearly died during my first shift? They were both with Rose. Because she had a scratch. They had their red rose. They didn't need their faded moon anymore. So I left. Went back to my father, the Alpha King. I told myself it was over. That we shouldn't have any ties. But then why—why did they beg me to come back?

When I'm four months pregnant, I come home from a checkup to find my mate, Ethan Hale, standing on a ladder in the nursery, pressing glow-in-the-dark constellations onto the ceiling. His childhood friend, Mia Vance, sits below with her chin in her hands, directing his every move. "Ethan, Orion's crooked. Shift it right a little. Yes, like that, so my goddaughter can see it from her crib." "You're worse than the actual mom, you know that?" He laughs. They joke back and forth, and neither of them notices me in the doorway. A pack member wrapping up a furniture delivery catches Ethan on his way out. "Alpha, the Luna really cares about the pup. That star map looks perfect." Ethan glances at Mia, who ducks her head with a blush, and says nothing to correct him. I don't move. Every detail in this nursery is Mia's doing. She picks the snow-white paint on the walls and the carousel mobile over the crib. Even the baby's nickname is Amber—named after a rabbit Mia had for eight years before it recently died. I tell Ethan over and over that I don't like any of it. He always says the same thing, that it's just a casual nickname and not worth getting upset over. I open my phone and submit a mate bond dissolution request to the Elder Council because this is my pup, and I'm going to be the one who names her.

"When will you finally be willing to love me?" My Alpha, Jack Newman, pins me beneath him and asks in a hoarse voice. His tail brushes lingeringly across my waist, sending a shiver through me. This is the seventh night we are tangled in bed together, our bodies bare and inseparable. Seven days ago, he returned from the battlefield, carrying the scent of bloody slaughter and long-suppressed desire. One year ago, I became his Luna. But I never truly open my heart to him. My wolf, Hannah, refuses to acknowledge the man who takes me by force. But over this past week, under his repeated, forceful confessions, my defenses crumble bit by bit. I think he loves me desperately. After he once again takes me tirelessly, I finally admit, "I love you..." He smiles in satisfaction and leaves his mark on my neck. A month later, the doctor says I am carrying a pup. I think this is the beginning of my happy life. Just as I decide to accept him wholeheartedly, his first love, Isabella Boyd, returns. Dressed in a set of armor, she is seen alongside Jack at the border training grounds, stirring rumors throughout the pack. He comes back at dawn once again. As I look at his handsome sleeping face, I quietly go to the council of elders and submit a request to dissolve our mate bond.

My name is Addison Calder. During my first heat as an adult werewolf, Morgan Flint suddenly announces that he wants to end things. I can't stop crying—not from a broken heart but because the torment of my mating cycle is consuming me from within. Gripping his sleeve tightly, I lean closer, attempting to kiss away the tension. Impatient, Morgan shoves me toward his older brother, Tucker Flint. "Hey, Tucker. Addie's drunk and losing it. Can you help calm her down?" As Tucker steps forward, Morgan leans in and whispers, "Keep an eye on her. Don't let any other men get close. I'm only breaking up with her for now. Once I'm done fooling around, I'll get back together with her." Tucker nods and gently lifts me into the car. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he says softly. Overwhelmed by the pain, I clutch his tie with tears streaming down my face. "Please… Help me," I plead. Tucker's pupils contract, his voice low and hoarse. "And how exactly do you want me to help you?" In a flash, I lean in and press my lips to his. "Kiss me… or let me kiss you." Our passionate kiss melts away much of the tension gnawing at me. Noticing Tucker's reddened ears, I grab his tie once more. "Will you take me home?"

When I was two months pregnant, the Alpha, Lucas, asked me to give blood to his childhood friend. She pretended to have been injected with wolfsbane by a rogue werewolf and required the Luna's blood to recover. “Jessica, your physical constitution is good; hurry and give Lilith a blood transfusion!” “A real Luna wouldn’t just stand by and watch her die!” Lucas and his friends pushed me into the operating room. “It’s just a blood transfusion; it won’t harm the fetus. Even if we lose it, we can have another, but Lilith must survive.” I gave up struggling, watching my blood being drawn and transferred into Lilith's body. After waking up, I dragged myself home, only to be pushed to the ground by Lucas. I ended up with a miscarriage. That was the moment I decided to give up on this relationship.

When I was eighteen, Rowan, the Alpha heir of Shadow Pack, promised that once I graduated from the Healer Academy, he would take me to the werewolf capital for New Year’s Eve. When the countdown reached zero, he would propose and make me his future Luna. Ethan, the Beta heir who had grown up with us, even laughed and promised that he would be there to watch Rowan put the ring on my finger. Four years later, we finally arrived in the capital. But just before we were supposed to leave for the celebration, I suddenly developed severe stomach pain and had to stay behind at the hotel. Rowan and Ethan took Lily, who had recently returned to the pack, to the central square instead. After taking some medicine, I forced myself to go after them. But outside the entrance, I heard Lily ask, “If Claire finds out you deliberately switched her oat milk for regular milk so you could give me her pass, will she be angry?” Ethan sounded unconcerned. “She’ll be upset for a few days at most. We know her too well.” “But Rowan was supposed to propose to her tonight.” Lily lowered her head. “Maybe I should leave.” Rowan stopped her. “I can propose next year. But this is your first New Year’s Eve since returning to the pack. You’ll only get one.” At that moment, I finally understood. The future I had waited four years for could always be postponed for Lily. I did not go inside. Instead, I accepted a five-year assignment as a healer with Blood Moon Pack and submitted an application for a permanent pack transfer. They still believed that once the New Year’s celebration ended, I would return home with them as I always had. But at midnight the following night, I would leave Shadow Pack forever. Rowan was already planning his next proposal. He had no idea there would never be a next time for us.